Transcripts For WRC Today 20091002

good morning. "late show" shocker. a stunning confession from comedian david letterman that he's had sex with women on his staff and that someone who knew about it was trying to blackmail him. now a cbs news producer is in custody charged with attempted grand larceny. decision day. will the olympics come back to the united states? president obama makes an impassioned plea overnight to bring the 2016 games to the city he calls home. >> i've come here today to urge you to choose chicago for the same reason i chose chicago nearly 25 years ago. >> but the competition is fierce. we'll go live to copenhagen where the announcement will be made. and mariah on the plaza. second only to the beatles, with 18 number one hits, one of the biggest superstars on the planet. mariah carey is here for a special live concert today, friday, october 2nd, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. i was watching "letterman" last night -- >> were you really? >> yeah, i was, because i had heard about this. so i'm watching the taping that had been done earlier. and at first, it's obvious the audience thinks it's a joke. >> right. >> doesn't make sense, but then there's no punch line. you realize it's very serious stuff. >> letterman stopped his usual "top ten list" and then told his audience he wanted to tell them a little story and he went on to describe the blackmail attempt in detail. he then confessed he had sex with women on his staff. this morning an employee for the cbs program "48 hours" is under arrest in connection with this case. we're going to have much more on this bizarre story coming up in just a couple of minutes. and also ahead, this is it, the day that we will learn if chicago will be awarded the olympic summer games seven years from now. the competition could come down to two votes, but will it be chicago? will it be rio de janeiro, madrid or maybe tokyo? we're going to go live to copenhagen in just a moment. but we begin on this friday morning with the extortion plot targeting "late show" host david letterman and his confession that he d sex with female staffers. nbc's michael okwu has details. >> i have a little story that i would like to tell you and the home viewers as well. do you feel like a story? >> reporter: the late-night audience was primed. at first, clearly amused. but then not quite sure where the story was going. >> i get into my car, and in the back seat of my car is a package i don't recognize and have never seen before. and there's a letter in the package, and it says that "i know that you do some terrible, terrible things and i can prove that you do these terrible things," and sure enough, contained in the package was stuff to prove that i do terrible things. >> you heard a lot of laughter, but that was a lot of nervous laughter. >> reporter: a couple minutes in, perhaps as it was dawning on some folks this was no comedy bit, a bombshell. >> there seems to be quite a lot of terrible stuff he knows about and he's going to put it into a movie unless i give him some money. >> reporter: letterman said the man confronted him, demanding $2 million or he would reveal some potentially embarrassing information about the comic's sex life at cbs. >> and the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to this is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who work on this show. and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would. perhaps it would, especially for the women. >> reporter: jokes aside, letterman said he went to authorities, who had him deliver a bogus check to the suspect, who cbsnews.com identified as robert joe paldeman. >> we do know that he's a producer on the news magazine "48 hours," which airs on the same network, cbs, so, he runs in the same circles, obviously, dave anddave's staff. >> reporter: it's unclear when letterman had the affairs with his staffers. letterman married regina lasko, his girlfriend of 23 years, in march. the couple have a 5-year-old son harry. in 2004, a house painter was nabbed for plotting to kidnap the comedian's son. before that, a stalker was repeatedly arrested for routiny breaking into letterman's estate before she committed suicide in 1998. through the years, the 62-year-old comedian has made jokes about it all. but last night, letterman ended with a serious note of concern that perhaps this might be different. >> i feel like i need to protect these people. i need to certainly protect my family. i need to protect myself, hope to protect my job and the friends, everybody that has been very supporte through this, and i don't plan to say much more about this on this particular topic, so thank you for letting me. >> reporter: for "today," david oak you. >> good morning to you. letterman talks about finding this package in the car, opening it up and says indeed this guy seems to have a lot of terrible stuff that he knows about him. what would be in that package? >> we don't know, but it's clear that there was evidence, right? we know that it was something that made it very clear to david letterman that this guy could essentially prove that he's done terrible things, and the allegation is that that's why he's given it to letterman, to make sure he knows, i can release this. i can embarrass you. i can hurt you. and that's going to be a crucial queson legally, right, which is the intent. meaning, in these types of cases, very often you see a defense which says, i didn't mean it that way. i didn't mean to suggest this was a quid pro quo. i just wanted him to know what i had. i just wanted to work with him on the project, whatever it is. those are the sorts of defenses we see in cases like this. >> is that why they set up the sting? >> absolutely. look, and that's why i think they wanted to make sure that there was this fake money that was actually -- >> the $2 million check, bogus check. >> that's right, because then you don't face the problem later of, i didn't actually want the money. i just meant it theoretically. but now, the fact that there was actually this phony check written and that he actually received it, now the authorities can say, there was no ambiguity here. it's clear he wanted money for this and he was paid what he thought was money. >> the fact that letterman was part of the sting, is that unusual? >> no. extortion and these types of alleged crimes are very personal to the individual involved, and so, you kind of need them to play along. and look, they very quickly went to the d.a.'s office here. i mean, letterman goes to his lawyer, they figure out what they think is happening, very quickly bring in the d.a., and this all moves very quickly from there. >> was he smart to talk about it last night? a, he admits on air, yes, i have had sex with women on the show, and he also says i'm trying to protect my job. what are the legal ramifications, in terms of his job? >> see, it's interesting, because he's got both -- two things to think about. number one is the legal issues and number two is the fact that he's a public figure and that his reputation is very valuable to him. so, i think that he wantedo get out there as much as possible, and i think that's what people, when there is an effort to extort them, try to do. they say, look, here's everything tha this person knows about me. here's what happened. so now this person doesn't have anything on me anymore. but as you point out, look, does this open him up to possible lawsuits in the future, et cetera? who knows? who knows how these women feel about the relationships with david letterman. there's no sense, there's no allegation that anyone's upset at letterman. so, at this point, it doesn't seem it's opening him up to anything, but any time you get into these sort of sticky issues and you have to discuss these kind of uncomfortable matters, there's always in the back of your mind these days the questions of not just how's this going to affect me personally, not just how is this going to affect my family, but what could happen legally. >> and the story is just evolving. dan abrams, thanks very much. now let's go back to matt. thank you. now to the much-aicipated announcement of the host city for the 2016 summer olympic games. suspense is building in copenhagen following president obama's big pitch to the committee. "today" national correspondent natalie morales is inside the hall where the presentations are being made. natalie, good morning to you. >> reporter: and good morning to you. that's right, this convention center right here is where the action is happening right now as we speak. the delegation for rio de janeiro now wrapping up its presentation. the president, inacio dasilva speaking a while ago, along with soccer star pele, making a passionate case for brazil and for rio. but earlier this morning, the spotlight, the focus, of course, was on the president of the united states, barack obama, along with the first lady, as they made a passionate and emotional appeal for chicago. down to the wire. the president swooping in on a whirlwind trip arrived just in time this morning, joining the first lady and chicago's 2016 delegation to deliver the final pitch before the crucial vote by the ioc just hours away. >> it's a bustling metropolis with the warmth of a small town, where the world already comes together every day to live and work and reach for a dream. that's not just the american dream. that is the olympic spirit. that's why we want them in chicago. >> reporter: the first lady appropriately shining in gold, emphasized chicago's diversity and love of other cultures. >> and i a dreaming of an olympic and paralympic games in chicago that will light up lives and neighborhoods all across america and all across the world. >> reporter: afterwards, the president and first lady took time to shake hands and take photos with the olympic voters, making every last best effort. >> i think chicago could not have made a better presentation. obviously, n it's up to the ioc members. >> reporter: it has been a hard-fought race all along, but especially in these last 48 hours. >> we were saying earlier to those from the united states, it's just like the iowa caucuses, where every single vote counts, and down to the last second. and we said, do you need a break? and she said, "we didn't come here to rest, we came here to work." >> reporter: the rest of the work is up to the ioc, facing the difficult decision today to send the olympics perhaps to unchartered territory in south america, with the choice of rio, or perhaps more lucrative ground in europe, asia or the u.s. while the tense and tight battle has reached fever pitch, chicago's powerful delegation seems confident. whatould this do for chicago, to bring the olympic games back to the u.s.? >> you know, when we get it, the moment -- if we get it and we're, you know, very hopeful -- >> reporter: what's that going to feel like for you? >> we're very hopeful. i'm telling you, the party starts. so, it's a seven-year party. i can't wait. >> we can't wait. >> reporter: thank you. indeed, the celebration already seems to be getting under way on the eve of e vote -- >> chicago! >> reporter: it was chicago's best team effort on display, no matter what. now, the vote will happen just a few hours from now, and here's what will happen. it will be by secret ballot and electronic. a majority -- that , % of the vote plus one voter -- needs to be had in order for the bid city to win. if in the first round of voting there isn't a majority, it will then move to a second round of voting and possibly even a third round of voting, but we should know in just a couple of hours. and meredith, so much excitement here. we just can't wait. >> natalie, thank you. a lot of excitement here, too. nbc's lester holt is in chicago awaiting today's decision. lester, what is the mood like in the windy city? >> reporter: oh, first of all, people are tired because they've been up since the wee hours of the morning, meredith, watching the president, watching the chicago pitch on tv, all the stations here carried it. behind me is a picasso statue in daley plaza bearing the olympic medal. let me walk you through here. this plaza has always been a source of celebration for chicagoans. the 2005 world series win by the white sox, the '85 bears super bowl championship was celebrated here. what could happen here later today could top all that. they're expecting thousands to fill this plaza here in the heart of the loop. they've got the jumbopatron set up, where they'll be able to watch the announcement from copenhagen. a stage is set up where there will be an old-fashioned, civic pep rally here, and of course, the world's press is recording it all. they expect to have to close down streets in downtown chicago as thousands pour here. it could rain. certainly won't rain on the parade if chicago gets the 2016 nod. the only thing they worry about is public support here is not as high as some of the other cities. they believe that could hurt them, but people feel really good about the pitch made in copenhagen today, meredith. >> all right. we'll see what happens, lester. thank you very much. it is 7:13. for more, here's matt. >> meredith, thank you. the delegation from rio de janeiro just wrapped up that city's final presentation to the committee. nbc's miguel almaguer is in rio this morning. miguel, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. we can see that presentation over our shoulder on the big screen wrapping up for the folks that are out here. the mood here in rio is as bright as the sun. roughly 100,000 people are expected to cram into the beach here at the famous strip of the copacaba copacabana. it is an unofficial holiday here for the city and for the region of rio. folks have been told not to go to work. many students have been let out of class. brazilians will tell you they believe rio has an excellent opportunity to bring home these games here. they say they are concerned about chicago. they believe this is a two-city race, but the olympics, they argue, have never been held in south america. now, rio has had four bids for the olympic games, the most recent is '04 and 2012. they say they are prepared. they do have the infrastructure. just two years ago, the panamanian games were held here in rio. they believe it is their turn. now, there is some down sides to the city of rio. of course, they'll need billions of dollars in infrastructure to bring the games here. this city is also notorious for crime. some of the freeways that connect the international airport to the beach strips here have actually been down because of crime. some also argue that rio is just not experienced enough to host the world. folks here in rio and their committee will certainly tell you they're prepared and they do believe it is their time, matt. >> all right, miguel, thanks very much. miguel almaguer in rio this morning. allen abrahamson is a columnist for universalsports.com, at the bella center in copenhagen where the vote is being held. allen, good morning to you. >> hi, matt. >> we talk so much about rio and chicago. do we have our blinders on? should we be keeping an eye on madrid and tokyo as well? >> you know, not so much tokyo. i think everybody expects tokyo to go out in the first rod, and i think frankly, each the japanese expect tokyo to go out in the first round. madrid is an entirely separate story. the former president of the ioc just from spain, of course, he remains a figure of considerable, and i mean considerable influence within the ioc, and it would be a huge mistake to write them off. >> you've written something recently. i want to read it. you said "it will come down to this -- the united states of america is reaching out to the world. is the rest of the world ready to reach back?" so, you see this as something much bigger than the city of chicago. this is an american bid. >> it's totally an american bid, matt. when you've got not just the mayor of chicago, but the government of the state of illinois, and more importantly, the federal government reaching to and through the president of the united states, who is emotionally involved, personally involved, profeionally involved, you've got really, everyone's all in. and i really think the issue here is the president has made it indisputably clear that he is reaching out on behalf of the entire country. is the rest of the world ready to grab the president's hand figuratively speaking? >> let's go to the nuts and bolts real quickly, alan. when we look at things like venues and finances and security, tell me about the strengths and weaknesses for the city of chicago. and we'll do rio right after that. >> okay. the city of chicago has probably -- well, not probably -- the city of chicago has the, hands down, best bid every put together by an american entry. most of the venues would be along lake michigan. i think anybody who's been to chicago knows the lakefront is spec fak lar. most of the venues would be within a five or ten-minute drive of each other, maybe a little walk. there would be an olympic village just south of the loop. really, it is an exceptionally technical, well thought out -- technical plan is really, really well thought out. financing for the first time ever, the united states has agreed to pay all -- agreed to underwrite all government guarantees. that is a first for an american bid. i mean, if not now, if not with this bid, the question is, what more could the united states do? >> all right, so alan, who's going to win? >> you know, if you'd asked me that question in june, i would have told you probably rio. if you had asked me three weeks ago, i probably would have told you rio. if you asked me today, i'd say probably chicago by a nose. the obamas were rock stars here today. they were absolutely magnificent. >> alan abrahamson putting it on the line there. thank you so much. we'll be talking with you tomorrow, i'm sure. >> yeah. a lot of people in chicago will be calling him if he's wrong. >> exactly right. now let's check on the rest of the morning's top stories with ann curry at the news desk. good morni, ann. >> good morning, everybody. we begin with the humanitarian tragedy in indonesia, where the u.n. says at least 1,000 people died in wednesday's earthquake. officials say almost 3,000 others may still be trapped in rubble of collapsed buildings, but rescuers have not given up and they're still pulling people out alive. this morning, a teenager was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed school. she had been there some 40 hours after the magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck and under the rubble of other buildings rescuers are still hearing cries for help. more international aid, meantime, is arriving in samoa and american samoa, where the death toll is nearing 200 in tuesday's earthquake and following tsunamis. hundreds of people are still missing on those islands. president obama has called on iran to allow international inspectors unfettered access within two weeks to his previously undisclosed uraum enrichment plant, and iran has agreed to cooperate. it is just one of the breakthrough at the much-anticipated talks in geneva on thursday. and nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell joins us again from there. hey, andrea, good morning. what are the details? >> reporter: good morning. well, there could be a lot here, a lot could come to pass if iran does not renege. the president is taking a stern tone because iran has not delivered before, but if they do, in addition to letting those u.n. inspectors into that secret nuclear site, they are promising to take most of their stockpiles of low-grade, enriched uranium fuel and turn it over to russia and france to be processed into a form of fuel that could not then be used to make a nuclear bomb. this could be a very big deal. mohammed al bairdie, head of the u.n. nuclear agency, is going to be in tehran tomorrow to try to follow up. and iran has promised to be back with the world powers by the end of the month at another meeting. ann? >> all right. sounds like a lot of creative thinking in those negotiations. andrea mitchell, thank you. iran will be the topic on sunday when the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice, appears on "meet the press." and the replica of the wright brothers' plane crashed in ohio, injuring a pilot. he had been practicing for an upcoming event to mark the anniversary of practical flight more than 100 years ago. it makes us mindful about just what a miracle it is that we can fly. it is now 7:20. let's now go back to matt, meredith and al. >> we should probably embrace the new technology in aviation after all this time. not ad bad idea. we hope he's okay. >> nice of you to add that. >> exactly. >> i didn't realize that was going down the wrong path. >> save us, al, save us. >> a check of the weather, pal. >> mr. sensitive! let's take a look, show you what's going on right now, and you'll see we've got this, just a brutal cold front stretching from minapolis all the way down into houston. we've got showers and thunderstorms along the front. we've got a risk of strong storms from corpus christi, also down through the gulf coast. strong winds,ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# partly to mostly cloudy. our temperatures are cool. we have low to mid 50s around washington and nearby suburbs and 40s where the cloud cover is broken up across parts of virginia. some sunshine in and out this morning. cloudy this afternoon with a high around 70. xloudy tonight. could have showers around sunday morning. sun back in the afternoon. mostly >> that's your latest weather. meredith? >> thanks, al. and still ahead, we will have much more on that extortion plot targeting david letterman and his admitted sexual encounters with workers from his just ahead, jon gosselin forces his family's reality show to stop production. kate's legal adviser speaks out. plus, mariah carey after your local news. ♪ good morning. welcome, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. the time right now is 7:26 on the second day of october, 2009. in the news at this hour, the family of a murdered d.c. police officers will go to court to fight to keep one of his killers behind bars. officer oliver smith was gunned down back in 1997. all three were sentenced to life in prison. one of them had his sentence deuced. a parole hearing will be held this morning at the prince george's county courthouse. police have identified a man shot dead in capital heights overnight. he is 26-year-old john lee scott of southwest washington, killed around 9:30 on walker mill road last night. no word on suspects or a motive. we'll take a break and be back with weather and a look at traffic right after this. stay with us. partly cloudy with temperatures in the 40s and 50s. sunday, and monday, highs in the low to mid 70s. ashley linder, how is the traffic? as we travel along i-95. slow. around the capital beltway, significant delays. slows from college park to silver spring. both the inner and outer loop affected at allen road along the left side. we ♪ 7:30 now on this friday morning, october 2nd, 2009. and talk about devotion. mariah carey's fans started lining up overnight in 47-degree weather to see her perform live out on the plaza, and that concert is coming up one hour from now. inside studio 1a, i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer. still ahead, real-life drama for reality stars jon and kate gosselin. >> jon has now stopped production of their reality show, even posting a sign on the front gate warning the crews to keep out. he claims he had an epiphany that the show was not healthy for the couple's children. kate says the timing is curious, considering jon's name was just stripped from the title of that show. so, what's next? kate gosselin's legal adviser will speak out in an exclusive, live interview. also ahead, there are new developments in the murder case against casey anthony, the florida mother accused of killing her toddler, caylee. her lawyers are now asking for the murder charge to be dismissed. they're going to tell us why when they join us, coming up. but we're going to begin with elizabeth smart and never-before-heard details about her nine-month kidnapping ordeal back in 2002. she took the witness stand on thursday at a competency hearing for her alleged abductor, facing him for the first time in seven years. nbc's chris jansing is in salt lake city, utah. chris, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. it will be a few months before we know the legal impact of elizabeth smart's testimony, but i was in that courtroom, and i can tell you, the emotional impact was tremendous, as she gave the details of what can accurately be described as a journey to hell and back. it had to be tremendously difficult, but her father told me that elizabeth is determined to see that the man who kidnapped her is never again free to hurt another little girl. under the glare of the media barrage, elizabeth smart entered the salt lake city courthouse looking confident, purposeful, to tell her story for the first time ever in public. the testimony began with a single sentence. "a man broke into my house and held me at knifepoint and kidnapped me." she identified that man as brian david mitchell, and in a calm, steady voice, described him during almost unspeakable brutality whenhe was just 14. >> there were certainly a lot of things that i had never heard before, and i had to -- i had no idea what she had gone through so much out there. >> reporter: elizabeth told of having a knife at her throat and back as she was taken out of her home in the middle of the night and made to hike into the wooded hills where mitchell and his wife had set up camp. there, she was forced to change out of her pajamas. "i went ahead and put the robe on," she testified, "after which he came in the tent and performed a ceremony which was to marry me to him. i screamed no, but that did not have any effect on him. and he said if i were to scream, he would kill me. after that, he proceeded to rape me." it was the beginning of nine more months of terror, almost daily sexual assaults. she testified that mitchell was obsessed with sex, that he used drugs, alcohol and pornography to try to lower her resistance, and for a time, "he had a big cable bolted onto my leg," she said, "which was strung between two trees and there was a lock." often, there was little food. once she survived for a week on rainwater. she called mitchell "crude," "vulgar," and a hypocrite to get what he wanted. with family members directly in her sight, elizabeth said confidently she never fell for his manipulation. >> i can't tell you what it meant to me to hear her say, you know, the times that she said no to him and the times that, you know, she tried to get away. >> reporter: as he's done before, mitchell entered the courtroom singing religious hymns and refused to stop until the judge had him removed. it would have been the first time elizabeth had seen him since she was found in 2003. >> she actually wanted to face him. and in fact, i think she asked brad if he could be muzzled and ve to sit there and watch it. >> reporter: the testimony was by any measure a remarkable testament to resilience, dignity and faith. asked by mitchell's attorney, "when you say, "i was recovered, i was found, he was captured," what's the phrase you use?" elizabeth answered simply, "i came home." i was watching her family there in the front row throughout her testimony. it seemed to be particularly difficult for her brothers, but afterwards, all of them -- her parents, her grandmother, her uncle -- all talked about how proud they were of her, and when asked how she was doing, they said she was relieved. meredith? >> what a remarkable and very strong young woman. chris jansing, thank you very much. we're going to change subjects dramatically here. and as we swing it over to you, do you have a good day in plan weatherwise for my daughter romy's 6th birthday? >> oh, birthday. >> happy birthday, sweetheart. >> 6 years old already? >> i know. >> she's going to be dating soon. >> why do you do that? see, earlier, we said let's just do a two-shot, but we included meredith, and then you see what happens? >> now i've got to go home. >> you've got ten years to worry about it. >> oh, thanks. all right, let's -- what goes on in your attic? >> i don't know. it just happens. >> anyway, let's take a look. the fall foliage, it's going to be -- we've got peak weather out in the rockies, getting near peak in the pacific northwest, and we're getting near that peak also as you get up into the ohio river valley. as we take a look today, you can see a lot of wet weather attached to a low pressure system over minnesota, and the cold front that stretches down, brings rain all the way into the gulf. look for showers in the pacific northwest, sunny and nice from the southwest oç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç## good morning. we have sunshine gleaming off the potomac river. we are just about a half hour just past dawn in washington on this friday morning. we are in the upper 50s. suburbs, low 50s. across central virginia, shenandoah valley, 60s. highs today near 70 with a cloudy afternoon and evening. sun ght to return tomorrow afternoon with highs mid 70s. >> and, of course, it's friday, and you know what that means. that's right, it's sunday night, "football night in america." that's right. the san diego chargers bring their 0-13 record against the steelers into heinz stadium. can they catch up? i don't know. partly cloudy, cool, temperatures 53 to 57. on sunday night "football night in america." meredith. >> al, thank you. still ahead, much more on david letterman's stunning confession that he became the target of blackmail after he had sex with female staffers. we're going to have the latest on that. but up next, does newly released dna evidence suggest casey anthony did not kill her daughter? her attorneys speak out in an exclusive live interview. back now at 7:40 with new developments in the casey anthony case. she is the florida mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee. her attorneys are now asking for the murder charge to be dismissed. we'll talk to them exclusively in a moment, but first, nbc's kerry sanders has the latest. >> reporter: it took casey anthony 31 days to own up her daughter caylee was missing, a month-long period where the then 22-year-old partied around orlando and admittedly lied to investigators when they asked questions. odd behavior that triggered investigators' suspicions. and eventually, casey's arrest on charges she murdered her own daughter. in just-filed motions, casey's lawyers argue "the court should dismiss the first-degree murder charge against miss anthony because the state's case is based entirely on circumstantial evidence." but what about all the scientific evidence -- the duct tape found on caylee's skull, the bags of evidence gathered from the woods where her body was found and more evidence pulled from her house, the car, the toxicology tests? all of it was sai to be overwhelming and easily supported a death penalty case. but now, with almost 10,000 pages of evidence and analysis, the science still does not connect casey to her daughter's body. but the defense says newly released fbi investigative documents suggest someone else's dna was on caylee's body. a single strand of hair was found, but it is not consistent with originating from caylee anthony or casey anthony. forensics experts say this could be a problem for prosecutors. dr. bruce levy is the chief medical examiner in tennessee. he's provided forensic expertise in hundreds of criminal cases. he says when juries have a circumstantial se, they want dna to answer their reasonable doubts. >> i've been involved in cases where jurors struggle over these very issues, trying to reconcile what they believe they've learned from these fictional shows, the "csi" effect from the reality of what's going on. >> reporter: casey's parents, cindy and george anthony, asked their lawyer to make public these documents questioning the strength of the state's scientific evidence. each piece of data is like a link in a chain, says attorney brad conway. >> now we're getting to the point where the links are being questioned, and those links are what's called reasonable doubt. >> reporter: this is what almost 10,000 pages in court documents look like, and there's still more to come before a june trial. prosecutors say, in these court documents, they believe the evidence exists to convict casey anthony. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, orlando. >> casey anthony's attorneys, jose baez and lynn mckinney bodden are here with us exclusively. >> good morning. >> so the prosecution dumps these documents, piles of pages and days later you file motions asking for the death penalty and first-degree murder charges to be dropped. so, what did you see or not see in those documents that made you file those motions? >> well, you know what, matt, we've been asking for these documents for ages, for eight months now, and we finally got some of them, not all of them. and what we saw was that there is a foreign hair at the crime scene. and that's why you do crime scene evidence is to see what other hairs the might be. that does not belong to my client. >> what are some explanations? could it be a hair from an investigator, a police officer? >> let me say, if it was casey anthony's hair, you would say that's it right there. what you have is forgn dna on the duct tape, no toxicology showing chloroform. all of the things the public was led to believe are true, they were misled. >> as defense attorneys, you are do what defense attorneys should do. you file the motions to get the charges dropped and the case dismissed and for your client to get out of jail. is that really a possibility after all that's gone on here? >> well, what you also need to look at, too, is what prosecutors must do is prosecute their case, and what they are lacking in this situation, with all that's coming out is any forensic evidence, and that's the problem with the case is there's not enough to substantiate these charges, which are first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. >> what you're saying is there's not enough to answer certain evidentiary requirements. for example, how did caylee anthony die, when did she die, where did she die? is there proof of any violence, who killed her and was it murder? >> and that's what you need. >> to prove murder in a death penalty case. >> and you need something connecting her to the crime scene. of all the evidence they have, nothing -- the fibers found on the duct tape do not connect her to the crime scene, nothing. there is no fingerprint evidence. nothing connects her to the crime scene. >> but folks, for all the questions that you raise, and appropriately raise, people watching right now are going to raise the other questions and say, if she didn't report her daughter missing for a nth, if she went out and partied during that month, if she admits that she lied to investigators abo what she knew and what she did, then how do you answer those cases? >> well, because people do stupid things all the time. people confess to crimes did not commit, and when you get the scientific evidence, they confess to a crime somebody else did. so, you can't go by the inflammatory, oh, what would i have done, what would she have done, what would someone else have done? you have to go by the hard evidence. >> last time you were on the show, you were criticizing selective leaks on the part of the prosution. u say people don't know the truth because the evidence is flaw and the information is flawed. what is the truth? do you know the truth? >> well, the truth will come out at trial, should we get to that point. hopefully, the court will consider our motion, dismiss this first-degree murder charge and the aggravated battery of a child, aggravated child abuse, and what needs to come out is the truth, and that will come out at trial. >> such a basic question in a case like this. can casey anthony get a fair trial in that location? are you going to need a change of venue here? >> yes, yes. we filed a change of venue motion and we believe we can get a fair trial if the judge does the right thing and follows the law. >> okay. linda and jose, thanks very much. >> thank you, matt. thank you very much. >> we appreciate it. we'll follow this story. still ahead, david letterman admits that he had a sexual relationship or sexual relationships with workers on his show and that he's the victim of a blackmail attempt. we'll hear more from him. ♪ take a look at that big crowd for mariah carey. al, how's it looking? >> wow, it is big, big, big, meredith. got a lot of folks out here, all hanging out, having a great time. and this is just amazing. what time did you get here? >> what time did we get here? >> yeah. >> like 3:30. >> 3:30 this morning? how cold was it? >> from connecticut. freezing. >> but you're here now. >> it's worth it. >> it's worth it? >> for mariah, of course. >> we've got all these people here. wow. what time did you get here? >> about 6:00 this morning. >> for your birthday! >> for my birthday. >> you know what, we're holding this concert just for you for your birthday. >> yay, thank you, that's great! >> thank you. >> thank you, al. >> now come down here. hi, how are you? are you a big mariah carey fan? >> yes. >> yes! and what's your name? >> sheryl. >> sheryl, what time did you get here? >> 7:15? >> oh, not so late! >> not so late. >> which explains why you're all the way back here. >> exactly. >> but you'll be part of the crowd, the experience. >> it's the new york experience. >> it's the new york experience. very, very exciting. so, everybody's ready. mariah, actually, things are warming up. going to be perfect for her. if you're in the area, come on down. matt, meredith? >> all right, al. it's great to see all those people out there. we thought the concert series was over, but then mariah comes and brings it back! >> concert's coming up. first, your local news and weather. another beautiful morning here in the nation's capital. 57 degrees. tom will be along to tell us what we can expect from the rest of this day. nice weekend on the way he tells us. time right now 7:55. in the news at this hour, montgomery county police need your help finding ten-year-old noah kaiser, last seen at robber toe clemente middle school. he is describ as 4'11", brown hair, brown eyes. he was last seen wearing blue jeans and shorts and a black penguins t-shirt. if anybody has information about his whereabouts, call montgomery county police. security will be tight at kennedy high school's football game after a violent fight. video of the fight from last week's game has made rounds. two girls jumped another girl who had just finished cheering. at a meeting last night, the school's principal assured parents that the school is orderly and safe. well take a break and come back wi good morning. partly sunny. in the 50s around the region this morning. farther to the south and west, in the 40s. we will have some sun, clouding up this afternoon, high near 70. maybe showers saturday morning. otherwise, the weekend looks dry and mild. ashley, how is the traffic? on the capital beltway, an overturnn the median. both inner and outer loop dealing with significant delays in and around route 4. joe, back to you. thank you, ashley. we will have another update in 25 minutes. we want to know if you have questions about the swine flu. e-mail today at ♪ 8:00 now on a friday morning. it's the 2nd day of october 2009. we have got a huge crowd out on the plaza this morning. they're patiently waiting for one of the biggest names in pop music today. mariah carey is putting on a concert for these people about 30 minutes from right now, and this is one we've been looking forward to all summer long, now into the early part of fall. i'm matt lauer along with al roker. meredith is, even as we speak, on her way out here. and coming up in this half hour, we're going to have more on this shocking news coming out of the "late show" and david letterman. >> really amazing. last night on letterman's show, "late night," he talked about someone found out about his sexual relationship with female staffers on the show, laenge tried to blackmail him. a cbs news producer is now in custody. we're going to hear from david letterman in just a moment. also, we're going to be talking about the fact that tlc has apparently halted production of that reality show that's now called "kate plus 8," formerly "jon & kate plus 8." he has apparently issued a cease and desist order. doesn't want that show shot on his property anymore. kate's legal adviser is going to be on to tell us a little bit about what she may be saying about that development. >> what a mess. >> did we not predict that? >> yes, yeah. >> remember the first few times we covered that story, we said this isn't going to end well. >> although you didn't have to be too much of a fortune teller to know. >> we're not clairvoyant here. and first note, it's time to find out "where are we today?" on thursday, we showed you this shot of an undisclosed location. >> the answer, a well-known site off of route 66 in amarillo, texas. our camera has been at cadillac ranch, where a dozen graffiti-covered cars are half buried in the texas panhandle. it's located near the historic route 66 in amarillo. creators encourage visitors from around the world to bring their own spray-paint and add to the experience. ♪ ♪ i'm gonna pack my amp, i'm gonna take them down to the cadillac ranch ♪ >> would you have guessed that is this. >> never would have gone there. >> actually, i was guessing the yugo ranch. >> the subway -- >> the subways don't have any graffiti on them. ann curry's got a check of the headlines. >> good morning once again, everybody. in the news, grave news from indonesia, where it's now estimated that nearly 3,000 people may still be trapped under the rubble of wednesday's earthquake. rescuers haven't given up hope on finding survivors. just thisorning they pulled a young woman out alive and say they can still hear the cries of other people. the u.n. says at least 1,100 people have died. meantime, thousands of survivors in the samoan islands are now living in shelters after the tsunamis there. more than 165 people have died and hundreds are still missing. today the international olympic committee announces which city will get the 2016 olympic games, and in copenhagen this morning, the president made a personal push for his hometown, which is competing against madrid, tokyo and rio de janeiro. meantime, before leaving copenhagen, the president met with the commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan, general stanley mcchrystal, on board a parked air force one. the white house says the two discussed the strategy going forward in afghanistan but did not release any other details. president obama is now weighing mcchrystal's recommendation to increase troop levels in afghanistan. overseas markets are down. cnbc's melissa francis is at the new york stock exchange. hey, melissa. >> hi, ann. the focus really today is on thosenemployment numbers, this one day after the dow, the russell and the s&p had their biggest single-day drop since july. one of the reasons, auto sales, whh tanked in september on the heels of the cash for clunkers program. gm reported a 45% decline versus a year ago, chrysler 42%. only hyundai bucking the trend, up 27%. ann, back to you. >> all right, melissa, thank you so much. finally now, some clown paid $35 million to go into orbit and made it to the international space station this morning. in fact, he was the founder of cirque du soleil. laliberte. he threatens to tickle the cerp while they're sleeping. uh-oh, that could be annoying. it is now 8:04. time for the weather and al. >> announcer: "where are we today" is brought to you by comfort suites and the other fine choice hotels. got some more big mariah fans over here. you guys have a pretty good shot there, see mariah. are you excited about this? >> huge fan. >> yeah. >> yeah! >> yes! >> so excited! >> you're so excited. very good. you can tell they're excited because they said so. let's check your weather and see what's going on. and we'll show you for today, chicago, illinois, pick city, waiting for the big news. a few showers and windy. and as we take a look and show you saturday, we've got mountain snows in the pacific northwest. we've got rain, heavy rain down in florida, texas,eavy rain in the northeast as well. then sunday, sunday, look for more rain in new england, snows in the pacific northwest, showers inç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# sn sunny now. a live picture from our sky watcher camera showing the national cathedral in the foreground, washington in the distance. temperature in washington, 58. in the mid 50s in the nearby suburbs. near 60 near the bay. highs reaching near 70. cloudy ternoon. cloudy tonight should be good weather for the high school games tonight. may be showers saturday morning. should be good weather >> that's your latest weather. mr. lauer? >> mr. roker, thank you very much. when we come back, mariah carey live in concert. plus, more on david letterman's shocking revelation and the extortion plot against him, right after this. really bad. then we learned that a flu shot can reduce the risk of getting the flu by up to 70%. we got our flu shots at cvs pharmacy. best thing we ever did. yes, indeed. [ laughs ] come in to get a flu shot today and get a $100 coupon book just for stopping by. go to cvs.com to find a flu shot location near you. cvs pharmacy. the cleaner you feel. olay deep cleansers go beyond what the eye can see. they remove 2 times more dirt and make-up than basic cleansing. for a deep clean feeling, deep cleansers from olay. nothing. you don't enjoy things the way you used to. you're sad, restless, you can't focus. maybe you feel guilty or worthless. changes in weight, sleep, appetite and fatigue. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a prescription medication that treats many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop takin cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. ask your doctor about cymbalta. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. back at 8:08 with more on that bombshell from david letterman. instead of delivering his customary "top ten list" last night, the "late show" host launched into a bizarre story about sex with staffers and blackmail. and this morning an employee for the cbs news program "48 hours" is under arrest, charged with attempted grand larceny. here's a look. >> this started three weeks ago yesterday, and i get up early and i come to work early, and i go out and i get into my car, and in the back seat of my car is a package i don't recognize and have never seen before and don't usually receive packages 6:00 in the morning in the back of my car. i get to looking through it and there's a letter in the package, and it says that "i know that you do some terrible, terrible things and i can prove that you do these terrible things," and sure enough, contained in the package was stuff to prove that i do terrible things. so, i go through it and i study it, andhat this is is a guy is going to write a screenplay about me. and you know, that's good news for anyone, isn't it, really? in this packet, there seems to be quite a lot of terrible stuff he knows about, and he's going to put it into a movie unless i give him some money. yeah. so, i call my attorney, and he takes a look at it and he says, well, let' schedule a meeting with the guy just to see what he has in mind. so, there's a meeting with the guy, and it turns out, yes, in fact, he wants a large sum of money or he's going to produce this screenplay of all the terrible things that i do. embarrassing, terrible things. so, then we call an operation called the special prosecution bureau, which is a division of the manhattan district attorney's office. so, we took the stuff down there and they said, whoa, hello,his is blackmail. now, i don't think i ever mentioned the amount up until now, but he was asking $2 million. i had to go downtown to testify before the grand jury, yeah. and i had to tell them how i was disturbed by this, i was worried for myself, i was worried for my family. i felt menaced by this. and i had to tell them all of the creepy things that i have done that were going to be -- well, now, why is that funny? that's, i mean -- so, the idea is, if they believe, in fact, a crime has been committed, then they issue a warrant, and that's exactly what happened, and a little bit after noon today, the guy was arrested. [ applause ] and the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to that is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who work on this show. and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would, perhaps it would, especially for the women. but that's a decision for them to make if they want to come public and talk about the relationships, if i want to go public and talk about the relationships. but what you don't want is a guy saying, oh, i know he had sex with women, so yeah, i would like $2 million or i'm going to make trouble for you. so, that's where we stand right now. >> let's welcome back in nbc's chief legal analyst dan abrahams along with steve adubato, msnbc.com's media analyst and bonnie fuller, editor in dheef of hollywoodlife.com. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> good to be here. >> starting with you and bonnie, we're watching this tape today. >> sure. >> he's admitting some pretty shocking stuff about extortion and having sex with female employees, but in a lighthearted way. is that going to work against him? >> first of all, the audience who loves him loves him. you can see it there. first of all, they can't even tell whether or not it's real. he gets points for full disclosure. a lot of times you're outed by people who have information. i argue, get the bad stuff out there. the problem is, just like the michael richards situation, where he said let me get my apology out there on letterman, peopleere laughing. they don't know what the joke is. they don't know what's serious. the other part is this, this is a guy for years, he's gone after inton, the lewinski thing, sarah palin's daughter. you put it all together, very funny guy, very talented. i'm a fan of his. i don't think he did this well. >> do you agree, bonnie some. >> actually, i disagree. i think he was very smart to do full disclosure, and i think, yes, i think the audience didn't realize that it was real. however, there's a difference here between him and some of these other cases. when these affairs, which i assume they were occurred, he was not a married man. he's also not a politician. he doesn't have to come to have the same standard of behavior as somebody who's going to lead the country. >> even if they're in the company and they work for him? >> he was not married. we all know people have office romances. >> but steve, you have a good point. i'll ask you about that, dan, because he does run the company. he's the boss. so couldn't this have some serious legal ramifications for him, saying, yeah, i have had sex with women inhe company? >> sure, but the women know he has sex with them. it's not a disclosure to the women he had sex with. they know that. so if they want to do something, if they felt it was inappropriate or improper, they would have done something with it already. >> but maybe cbs will decide it's improper. >> maybe, maybe. my guess is that cbs is not going to say that it's per se improper for david letterman to have hadex with people he works with. they would probably say we'd rather you didn't. it's not a good idea. it doesn't help if anything comes up. you can expose us to legal liability. but the fact that he's admitting this on television i don't think necessarily opens up a whole new can of worms here. >> i'm okay with you on this, dan, and i'm not a prude about this stuff at all. and you know, people live their lives. but here's my problem -- you're not just the head of the company, he's who he is, power, perceived power. you say that those women could have done something about it. >> i'm not making a judgment about the fact that he had sex with these women. i'm not making a judgment about that at all. what i'm saying is that the question was whether now that he's admitting it publicly on television -- >> it's not going to go away. >> no, is he now opening himself up legally? and my answer is that maybe, but i don't think it fundamentally changes anything from the fact that if these women had wanted to pursue it legally before, they might have. >> maybe. maybe, but i'm dealing from a pr point of view, and i'm telling you, part of his problem is the persona, the snarkiness, the jokes and everything else. you put it together, his audience will love him, but others will say, wait a minute -- >> that may be true, but i don't know that he had a choice. >> he also said he's not going to talk about this anymore. >> he may not want to. he doesn't get that choice. just because he started it. >> i don't know the legal aspect of thesituation, but there's a lot we don't know here. we don't know when the relationships occurred. now, his former girlfriend, meryl marco, she used to be a writer with him. they worked together. they had a relationship for many years, and i think there's a difference between a power relationship where you're the boss, the immediate subordinate, and you are applying pressure. but when you are -- when there's been long-term relationships, i think that that can be a very different situation. >> but let me switch gears -- >> but he was a victim. he was a victim here. for us -- >> not the total victim, but go ahead. >> what do you mean, not total victim? >> how difficult will it be for him to prove his case if he wanted to? >> look, the defense in these types of cases tends to be, they misunderstood. it tends to be, that's not what i meant, i didn't mean he had to give me the money. now, in this case, they gave him a phony $2 million check. so, what might the defense be? i thought we were going to do a movie together. i thought we were going to write a book together. is that going to be the defense here? i don't know, but that's the sort of defense we see in cases like this. >> dan looks at it from a purely legal point of view, which is what he's supposed to do. when i say he's not the total victim, i don't meanly, but from the public perception, a number of people, disproportionately women, will say give me a break, dave. you had the power, you've done it over a period of time and you're making jokes about it. >> does that mean h should be extorted? >> absolutely not, he should not be extorted. >> this could be discussed all day and all weekend. thank you for coming in. up next, jon gosselin puts a stop to his family's tv show. we'll talk to their legal adviser about this. no additives. no artificial ingredients. select harvest from campbell's now has twelve soups that are 100% natural. with ingredients like this, we want to show the world. select harvest, from campbell's. caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. plavix, taken with other heart medicines goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix, protection that helps save lives. 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(male announcer) if you take plavix with other heart medicines continuing to do so will help increase protection against a future heart atta or stroke. feeling better doesn't mean not at risk. stay with plavix. top safety pick awards than toyota. so it's okay to be overprotective. we are. toyota has won more total quality awards - than any other automaker. - hey, ken. - hey, ken. - hey, kenny. hey, ken. - kenny. - all: kenny. and we could all use a little more quality these days. jon and kate gosselin's divorce is apparently taking a strange turn. on thursday, tlc announced it's shutting down filming of their reality tv show after receiving a cease and desist order from jon's lawyer. nbc's peter alexander has the details. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. in the past few days, we learned that "jon & kate plus 8" will now be renamed "kate plus 8" and jon would have a limited role on the show, but he as not on board with that plan and now says his children's participation is hurting them. >> i need to be a father. i need to be a father and i need to take my kids off the show. >> reporter: a new reality for jon gosselin, appealing on "larry king live" alongside his attorney thursdanight. jon explained why he wants his children off the family's hit show. >> i don't think it's healthy for them and i -- the reason i don't think it's healthy for them is that we're going through a divorce right now and i don't think it should be televised and i think my kids should be taken off the show. >> reporter: on the gate of his family's pennsylvania home, which he owns with kate, jon posted this sign, warning tlc crews to keep out, and so far, they've listened. >> daddy, we're doing interviews. >> reporter: tlc announcing on thursday that any snooting involving the gosselin children has been suspended >> well, jon decided to stop production of the show just days after it was announced that tlc was going to call the show "kate plus 8" and his role was going to be diminished. the timing is a little bit funny considering six days earlier he was happily participating in the show and he was filming with his children. >> reporter: kate, meanwhile, continues to tell her side of the story, saying in a statement, "i do the show for my family because i believe it provides us opportunities we wouldn't otherwise have. jon used to share that belief until as recently as the day the network announced the name change of the show and indicated that jon would have a lesser role in the show." >> aiden and joel, do you want to share? >> reporter: kate also says while her priority has always been her children and their wellbeing, jon's priority is jon and his interests. a show that started out documenting life with eight kids has quickly turned into a real-life drama. this year, following reports of jon's infidelity, jon and kate's lives were sashed across magazine covers. and in june, the couple announced their marriage was ending. >> we can't be cordial with one another, then we've decided to separate. >> reporter: now jon is hoping the family's reality tv show comes to an end, too. >> we know we're not going to be husband and wife anymore, but we're always going to be mom and dad. we have to work together against this. we have to pull our kids off of television and work this out as a family. >> reporter: and tlc told us that despite jon's now limited role on the show, he remains under contract, meaning he's still getting paid. by the way, jon told larry king last night the family made $22,500 an episode last year. matt? >> all right, peter alexander. peter, thank you very much. mark mangian is ke gosselin's legal adviser, joins us now exclusively. mark, good morning, nice to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> i don't nmally start with questions like this, but what's going on here? >> well, i think this is less about a change of heart and more about a change in strategy. >> on jon's part. >> on jon's part. i couldn't help but watching the segment that meredith vieira had on thatapanese international kidnapping and talk about the grave risks to those children. here we have children that are loved by both of their parents. jon admits that his wife is a wonderful parent. they live in their family home. kate is their primary caretaker. they have reached agreements about custody. >> yeah, but he's saying now, he's saying with this divorce, these kids, being on tv is not the healthiest thing for him, and i would imagine there are a lot of people who are probably listening to that and saying you're right, but you should have said this a year ago. >> well, he could have said it a year ago, but he didn't. in fact, his active participation and encouragement of the show involved all the children and a decision by both parents to include the children and continue production. >> kate was watching this last night as he appeared on "larry king"? >> she's seen the segment. >> so what's her reaction to all this? >> well, she doesn't know which jon is going to show up. i mean, he's obviously different people at different times. >> basically, tlc released a statement on behalf of kate that said, in effect, i continue to do this show because it provides me a way to support these children and opportunities for these children. obviously, money is important to her. so, you know, is it her plan to continue doing this if she can find a way around this? >> i think if she could, and she would, and she is going to honor her contract. she'd like to continue with the show. she loves doing the show. >> is it your understanding that legally he can stop the show from being produce smaed. >> no. it's my understanding just the opposite. these parties entered into an agreement once the divorce action was filed that allowed each parent that had physical custody of the children to make the filming decisions when the children were with them. so, when the children are with kate, jon agreed that kate would make the filming decisions involving the kids. >> these two don't talk very often? this would be a real good time for them to get together face to face and work this out. >> i agree, butt's really not kate's position. she really does want to engage jon. it's just that he's not engaging her back, and that's regrettable in any custody case. >> mark, thanks for your time. i appreciate it. >> thanks, matt. our time is 8:26. 58 degrees out there on this friday, this second day of october, 2009. good morning. i'm joe krebs. in the "news 4 today," the family of a murdered d.c. police officer will go to court to fight to keep one of his killers behind bars. officer oliver snit was gunned down by stlee suspected robbers in maryland in 1997. all three were sentenced to life in prison until one of them, donovan strickland, had his sentence reduced. a parole hearing will be held this morning at the prince george's county courthouse. we will take a partly sunny and cool. temperatures in the upper 50s to near 60, climbing to near 70 by mid afteryoon. should be cloudy this afternoon and tonight. showers saturday morning. by the afternoon, sun returning. highs reaching the mid 70s. sat night, partly cldy. should be mostly sunny on sunday in the morning. cool, near 50. afternoon highs, near 70. in the midweek next week, maybe some showers tups and wednesday. how is the traffic, ashley? great seneca highway. the accident involving the pedestrian has the intercession shut down and again matini road shut down. capital beltway, outer loop slows through silver spring. joe, back to you. we will have more news coming up at 8:55. ♪ 8:30 now on this friday morning, october 2nd, 2009. our plaza packed with a sea of mariah carey fans. and folks, it will not be too much longer. an entire half hour of music just moments away. and a lot of these people have been here all night, and i don't think that they can wait much longer. >> they'll just have to wait a couple minutes. this is really going to be fun. this is a huge crowd. and again, any time you wake up and get to a place at 2:30 in the morning to see a singer, that means you really have devotion to that person. >> that's exactly right. >> that's nice. later on, real quickly, we're going to talk about some products that have been recalled that you may still have in your home and that could pose a threat to your family. we'll be talking more about that. >> okay. also coming up, we'll be talking about our teen sensation, selena gomez, star of the emmy award-winning sho "wizards of waverly." where is she? >> she's right over there. >> debut album "kiss and tell" released this week. >> good to see you. good to have you here. >> before we get to the show, you were in the crowd unicef, youngest member ever. tell us about your role with the organization and particularly the trip you took to africa, to ghana. >> i've been working with them for a good year and a half now and last year i raised about $7 thnd,000 for unicef and this year they asked me to be their ambassador and i got to go to africa to do field work and see how they live and kind of educate kids my age on that. >> it must have changed your life. >> completely. i definitely had nothing to complain about when i came back. it was life-changing and i would be glad to have the opportunity to share that with my fans. >> we're glad you're working with them. let's talk about your new project, "kiss and tell." this is rock and roll. >> yeah. >> it is, it is very heavy rock and roll. >> yes. >> do you like that? >> i do very much. i dedicated this record to my fans, so i hope they like it. >> but you wanted the lyrics to be empowering, you said. >> yes, especially to younger girls, and that's what this record represents. >> and you're here on a morning when one of the biggest superstars in music, a little bit of inspiration for you? >> are you a fan? >> my gosh, yes. and i just got the cd, too. i'm so excited. >> are you met mariah? >> no, i haven't. >> you haven't? we might have to arrange that. >> oh, gosh. >> well, good luck. >> thank you. >> "wizards of waverly," very, very huge. >> thank you. >> congratulations. well, al, the weather has turned beautiful. >> it has, and of course, as we know, october is breast cancer awareness month. this sunday the nfl kicks off its own campaign with its fans, even players wearing pink. well, tanya snyder is the nfl spokesperson for the cause, also happens to be the wife of redskins owner dan snyder. tanya, good to see you. >> thank you so much. thank you for having me today. >> so, tell us about this effort. >> well, i'm just very happy to be here on behalf of the nfl representing the campaign for breast cancer awareness. >> and there are some changes going on. tell us about those, with all the pink and stuff. >> well, the pink is just to let you know through the nfl that there's no boundaries, and with our players and everyone within the nfl, just to show the support for the cause. >> and in fact, in some of the stadiums, even the goal posts are going to be pink? >> oh, absolutely. you'll see a sea of pink everywhere. >> and this is a very personal cause for you guys. >> yes, it has. it really has no boundaries. from players to owners to ç#ç#ç# good morning. here, it is now 58 in washington. in the mid 50s in montgomery, fairfax, arlington and prince george's counties. near the bay, near 60. near 50 farther west and north. highs just near 70 today. it looks like a cloudy afternoon and evening. maybe some rain on saturday morning and some sun back sat afternoon. highs reaching the mid 70s. chilly sunday morning. lots of sun. more of t >> and that's your latest weather. matt? ♪ make it happen >> announcer: the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota. toyota, moving forward. >> and the fans hav been waiting since the wee hours of the morning. we're not going to make them wait anymore. ladies and gentlemen, mariah carey. >> what's up, new york! ♪ >> we're gonna try and make it happen for you this morning, is that all right? let me hear you! ♪ ♪ not more than a few short years ago i was abandoned and alone without a penny to my name ♪ ♪ so very young and so afraid, no proper shoes upon my feet, sometimes i couldn't even eat ♪ ♪ i often cried myself to sleep but still i had to keep on going ♪ ♪ never knowing if i could take it, if i would make it through the night ♪ ♪ i held on to my faith, i struggled and i prayed and now i've found my way ♪ ♪ if you believe in yourself enough and know what you want, you're gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪ ♪ and if you get down on your knees at night and pray to the lord, he's gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh, make it through the night, i held onto my faith, i struggled and i prayed, and now i've finally found my way ♪ ♪ yeah, yeah, make it happen ♪ and if you get down on your knees at night and pray to the lord, lord, oh, oh, oh, whoa ♪ ♪ i once was lost but now i'm found, i got my feet on solid ground, thank you, lord, thank you, lord ♪ ♪ if you believe within your soul, just hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ you can make it, make it happen, don't let go, don't ever, ever let go ♪ ♪ don't you let go, don't let go, don't ever, ever let go ♪ ♪ never, ever let go, don't let go, don't never, ever let go, never let go, babe ♪ ♪ never, ever let go, don't let go, don't ever, ever let go, don't ever let go ♪ ♪ don't ever let, don't let go, eh, eh, eh, don't let go, don't never, ever let go ♪ ♪ never, ever let go oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, no, no, don't let go, no ♪ ♪ if you believe, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, make it happen, you're gonna make it ♪ ♪ and if you get down on your knees at night and pray to the lord, pray to the lord, pray to the lord, hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ if you believe in yourself and know what you want, you're gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪ ♪ ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, he's gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪ ♪ >> thank you! >> mariah carey. we'll have more music from her ♪ baby come and take me away mariah carey's 18 number one hits are second only to the beatles, and one of her current singles, "obsessed," off her new album "memoirs of an imperfect angel" is quickly climbing up to the top ten. mari mariah, good morning. they love you here, mariah, love you. >> i love you! this is my hometown. >> and i love the title of this album, "memoirs of an imperfect angel." intriguing. what's that about? how did you come up with that? >> it's kind of a long story, so i'll kind of condense it. >> okay. >> everybody's imperfect, but we try the best we can, and it's tough. and just memoirs is the fact that i write and i write. i've been writing poems since i was a little girl. i write m lyrics and songs, and it's just a little bit of reflecting on life. >> and this album is all about reflecting on love. what have you learned through the years about love? >> i've learned that one needs to be selective and then you can find the right person. >> and am i thinking nick cannon as you smile? >> of course i'm thinking nick cannon. he's somewhere hiding. i don't know where he went. >> whirlwind romance, a year and a half later a marriage. how has he changed you? >> he's just very -- he's a calming person, but he's very funny. so he's got both sides of the spectrum going and it's really nice. >> look at that smile. and i want to congratulate you as well not just on the album, but also on the movi "precious." >> oh, thank you. >> which is a really good look at teen pregnancy and incest. >> yes. >> it's getting rave reviews, a lot of oscar buzz and a lot of talk about you. you play a social worker, miss weiss, right? >> miss weiss. >> yes. that's a role with no makeup -- >> it's just like a little mustache here and a little under the eyes. i love lee daniels, the director. he really trusted me with that part. so, it was so great to be with that cast and now tyler perry and oprah winfrey are executive producing. so, i just feel so blessed, really. >> was that a hard part to do? i mean, because it's very, very powerful. >> um, it was difficult, but i think it freed me in a lot of ways, just you know, i learned a lot, yeah. >> we are so glad you're here. you're about to sing "obsessed." >> yes, it's a fun song. >> and are you amazed it's become so popular on the internet, so incredibly popular. are you amazed that you still can move crowds the way you have over the years, or -- >> you know what it is, i love, i love my fans, and i think they really know it. they know it. especially the people that have been here for me so long, and it's almost like they're my friends and fans, so, i appreciate them just as much. >> they are definitely your friends. mariah carey, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> now go perform "obsessed." have fun. >> thank you. >> i was like, why are you so obsessed with me?♪ so,h, oh, oh , oh, so, o oh, oh ♪ ♪ all up on the block saying we met at bar when i don't even know who you are, saying we up in your house, saying i'm up in your car, but you in l.a. and i'm out at jermaine's ♪ ♪ i'm up in the a you're so lame and no one here even mentioned your name ♪ ♪ it must be the weed it must be the e cause you be popping hood, you get popping ♪ ♪ oh, oh, why you so obsessed me ♪ boy i wanna know, lying that you're sexing me when everybody knows ♪ ♪ it's clear that you're upset with me, whoa, oh, funny that i know you couldn't impress, last man on the earth still couldn't get this ♪ ♪ you're delusional, delusional, boy, you're losing your mind ♪ ♪ it's confusing y'all, your confused, you know, why you wasting your time ♪ ♪ got you all fired up wit cha neopolitan complex see right through you like you're bathing with wind ♪ ♪ oh, oh, boy, why you so obsessed with me, hey, and all my ladies say, so, oh, oh ♪ ♪ and all my girls say, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, obsessed, oh, oh, h oh, obsessed ♪ ♪ you're on the job, you hating hard, ain't gonna feed ya, i'm gonna let you starve ♪ ♪ gaspg for air i'm ventilation, you out of breath, hope you ain't waiting ♪ ♪ telling the world how much you miss me, but we never were, so whyou trippin ♪ ♪ you're a mom and pop, i'm a corporation, i'm the press conference, you're a conversation ♪ ♪ oh, oh, why you so obsessed with me and b i wanna know, lying that you're sexin me ♪ ♪ when everyboknows, it's clear that you're upset with me, whoa, oh, oh ♪ ♪ finally found a girl thatou couldn't impress last man onhe earth still couldn't get this ♪ ♪ you're delusional, you're delusional, boy, you're losing your mind ♪ ♪ it's conng y'all, you confused, you knowwhy you wastin your time♪ ♪ got y firedp witcha napoleon complex, see right through your like you're bathing in a window ♪ ♪ oh,h, oh, boy, why you so obsessed with me, oh, oh, oh, obsessed ♪ ♪ oh, oh, obsessed, oh, oh, obssed ♪ ♪ oh, he all up in my grge fo ♪ why you so obsessed with me anboy i wanna know, lying that you're sexing me ♪ ♪ when evedy knows it's clearou're upsetith me ♪ ♪ finally f a girl thaou couldn't impress, last man on earth, still couldn't get this ♪ obsessed, oh, oh, oessed ♪ obsessed >> mariah carey, thank you. much more music's here she is with her version of foreigner's classic "i want to know what love is." on, cegaah carey. ♪ ♪ ooh ♪ i've got to take a little time, a little time to think thgs over♪ ♪ i better read betwe ten lines inase i need it when i'm colder ♪ ♪ in my life,here's bn heartache and pain, i don't know if i can face it again ♪ ♪ can't stop now, i've traveled so far tohang this lonel life ♪ ♪ i wanna know what love is, i want you tshow m♪ ♪ i wanna feel what love is ♪ i know you can show me ♪ i'm gonna take a little time, take a little time, a little time to look around me ♪ ♪ i've got nowhere left to hide, it looks like love has finally found me ♪ ♪ oh, in my life the's been heartache and pain, i don't know i can face it again ♪ ♪ i can't stop, i'veraveled so far to change this lonely life ♪ ♪ i wanna know what love is, i want youo show me ♪ ♪ me ♪ i wanna feel what love is ♪ feel what love is ♪ a i know you can show me, show me, i wanna kn, oh, oh ♪ i wna know what love is, i want you tohow me ♪ ♪ hey ♪ i wan feel what loves ♪ ianna feel, oh, and i kno you can show me ♪ ♪ ah ♪ i wna know what loveis, i wa you to show me ♪ ♪ eh ♪ come on, let's tk aut love, oh ♪ ♪ >> thank you so much, new york, i love you! and erybody else watching. thank you! god bless you! >> mariah carey. we're back with more music, but another big our time is 8:55 right now. hazy sunshine out there. this week we can barely see. this friday, the second day of october, good morning. i'm joe krebs. we forling breaking news in montgomery county. police say a driver hit a teenager aund 7:30 a betini road near cinmon drive in germantown. the driver did stay on the scene. the teen was flown to children's hospital by helicopter. we have a crew heading to the scene. we will bring you new information throughout the morning. getting around this weekend could be tough for people in adams morgan. taxi cab drivers say they will not pick up passengers in that area, their way of expressing concern over a bill in front of the d.c. council that would require drivers to pay a monthly fee to operate a taxi within the mid morning, partly sunny to cloudy. we will hit near 70 this afternoon. should be cloudy. cloudy tonight, should have showers saturday morning. highs, mid 70s. sunny, sunday and morning. morning lows, near 50. ashley, how is the traffic? as joe was mentioning earlier, the accident involving the pedestriantill has meti road shut down. here we are looking at the beltway, the outer loop slows as he make are way to 270. coming up on "news 4 midday," e-mail your questions about the swine flu to today ♪ [ applause ] >> i love you guys! thank you so much! >> you're looking at one of the biggest names in pop music, mariah carey, who has just thrilled the crowd here in rockefeller plaza with great music. and if you're just tuning in on this friday morning, the good news is, more great music from mariah. i had a little bit too much of the fridays here. our friend mariah, coming up. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with al roker and amy roba robach. amy's here because natalie is on assignment in copenhagen. and coming up in this half hour, more on this international custody story we've been talking about. an american father has ended up in a japanese jail all because he went to japan to get his children back from his ex-wife who took them there. well, now he's speaking out from prison. his current wife will join us to fill us in on this story in just a second. >> and then more on that david letterman show shocker. i mean, a cbs producer was arrested yesterday for allegedly trying to blackmail the "late show" host, causing letterman to admit on his program last night to having sex with female staffers. it is a bizarre story and we are going to have all of the details coming up. also a little bit later on, we're going to be talking about safety and your kids. we're going to have some very important information for parents about dangerous products that have been recalled, which you may not even know about, from dvd players to bassinets. important information every parent needs to know. >> okay, we've got a lot to get to. ann's got the headlines of the morning. take it away. >> i am. in fact, there's a lot to get to. good morning once again, everybody. today the international olympic committee announces which city will host the 2016 summer games after a big push from president obama, who traveled to copenhagen in a last-minute bid for chicago. officials from rio de janeiro, madrid and tokyo made pitches of their own. before leaving copenhagen, the president summoned his top military commander for afghanistan to join him aboard a parked air force one, and they talked about the war as general stanley mcchrystal has recommended sending more u.s. troops to afghanistan. stories of survival are still emerging from the rubble of indonesia's earthquake on monday. today rescuers found a teenage girl alivend conscious and other people were pulled alive from a martial arts school. officials say another 3,000 victims may be buried under the debr debris. the u.n. says at least 1,000 people have been killed. meantime, the first shipments of foreign aid have arrived on american samoa, one of several south pacific islands devastated tuesday by tsunamis. the death toll in the region is now nearing 200. new figures show the u.s. unemployment rate is increasing to 9.8% in september, a jump of 0.1%. for the month, the economy lost 263,000 jobs. last night, "late show" host david letterman said that there was an attempt to blackmail him for having affairs with several women on his staff. letterman acknowledged he had several relationships, sexual relationships, with an unspecified number of female staff members and said his blackmailer demanded $2 million to keep the matters secret. a fellow cbs employee, who's been identified as a "48 hours" producer, is now under arrest. we'll have more on this, coming up. and in kenya, an elephant is now roaming free after getting stuck in the mud on thursday. rescuers pulled the animal out after tranquilizing him, but when he woke up, he charged toward dozens of spectators who then took off running, but no one was hurt. those elephants. big problems. it is now three minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to al. >> hey, ann. nobody is leaving after mariah's concert because she is still here. she's talking with some of her fans, signing autographs. big fan, eddie may, our security guy. look at him there. in fact, they both have the same sunglasses on. look at that. that's interesting. anyway, it's very sweet. anyway, let's check your weather, see what's going on, show you for today, we're looking at a big storm system, low pressure in minnesota and a cold front trailing, and that's bringing, pushing rain in through the upper ohio river valley, down into the gulf coast we've got a risk of strong storms, texas on into louisiana, mobile, alabama, onç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç## good morning. we have a gray sky over capital hill on this friday morning. here is the live picture from our city camera. the cloud cover breaks up a bit around the region. a little bit of sunshine in and out. temperatures around the upper 50s to near 60 degrees. a bit cooler around shenandoah and the mountains. we will have a cloudy afternoon. could have morning showers saturday. otherwise are the weekend looks dry and milder. afternoon highs saturday and sunday in the mid 70s. >> all right, mariah carey has left, but good news, security man eddie may is still here signing autographs. so, that's really good. let's go back in to meredith. >> al, thank you. and now to the latest on that international custody battle that has landed a tennessee father behind bars in japan. he is now speaking out from jail. christopher savoie is facing charges of kidnapping his two young children, isaac and rebecca, from their mother, his japanese ex-wife, noriko. a tennessee court awarded christopher full custody in august after new yorkie suddenly and illegally took the children 7,000 miles from her home in franklin, tennessee, to japan. on monday, christopher reportedly grabbed his children onheir way to school. local police arrested christopher as they headed into the u.s. consulate. in a jailhouse interview, savoie is said to have told a reporter, "japanese people think she's the victim here. in the states, my ex-wife is the one who's in the wrong." "i want americans to know what's happening to me. i didn't do anything wrong. i'm so scared." earlier this week, christopher's current wife, amy, told me they feared noriko would take the children. >> she had always seemed to find christopher's love for them and their love for him to be very threatening, very annoying. >> but friends of noriko say the newly divorced single mom felt alone and trapped in tennessee. now in japan, noriko is the children's recognized guardian. japan does not honor a 1980 international agreement that would give christopher more standing. congressman chris smith says there are 125 similar custody cases in japan with no child ever returned. >> our government raises the issue but has very few tools in its tool box in order to effectuate their release. >> and for now, christopher savoie remains behind bars, facing up to five years in jail and perhaps longer without his children. christopher savoie's wife amy is with us exclusively along with his lawyer, jeremy morley. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> amy, if i could start with you. we talked on wednesday. you were still in tennessee at the time. i asked you how you were doing, and you said "not good." you've had a few more days to process all of this, to try to make sense of it. how are you now? >> i'm walking a tightrope. i'm okay, but on the slightest bit of good news or bad news, just, i'm just, i'm not even thinking clearly. i haven't slept i don't think since monday. >> what is your greatest worry right now, your greatest concern? i want christopher to get out of jail. i want christopher to get out of jail. i'm worried about him and i need to see him. >> what is christopher up against, mr. morley? at this point, he is in jail. the prosecutor in japan has ten days to make a decision whether to press charges and then an additional ten days, if he so decides. >> he's up against an environment where there's no family court system that will protect him over there. he's up against an environment where there's no understanding that a dad is entitled to participate in the life of a child just as a mother is. and he's in an environment where the story is being twisted and where the mother who stole the children is being portrayed as an innocent victim of an unfair husband. >> well, in this country, he was declared the sole custodian. in japan, is his ex-wife the sole custodian of those children at this point? or because they're not -- it's not a divorce yet in japan, under japan law, are they both parents still of the child there? >> they are both parents, but she is the one in possession of the child. and in japan, since there is no functioning and effective system, possession is 99.9% of the law. she stole the children, had them in her possession, and when he tried to see them, the police intervened because they were now hers because they were simply in her possession. and that's the way it works there. >> so, how can you build any case to get either these kids back for him or get him out of jail at this point? >> well to get him out of jail, we have to work with the prosecutor, and we're looking for world opinion to influence that because the prosecutor has a discretion, and it's outrageous that a man who is trying to speak to kids who were abducted from him should be thrown in jail without asking the government to get japan to change its system. this is just the tip of the iceberg. there are so many of these cases where these kids are taken from the united states and they're basically, the fathers are deprived of access to them for the rest of the children's lives. >> and neither of you have talked to christopher at all. >> we can't speak to him. >> can't speak to him at all. amy, he did give an interview on monday and it almostnd out early because he blurted out in english "i love you," presumably a message to you. and he also said in japanese to his kids, i love you, isaac, rebecca. your daddy loves you forever. what could possibly be going through his mind right now? you know him better than most people. >> yeah, well, i don't know what he's thinking and feeling under this situation of extreme duress that he's in in jail. i don't know how he's being treated, and i know he's very sensitive, and it depends on his situation. i'm sure he's despondent. i'm sure 's -- i know he's worried about me. i know he's really worried about me and he's worried about his future and whether he's going to see isaac and rebecca ever again. >> all right, amy. thank you so much for joining us. i can see how difficult this is for you and jeremy morley as well. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and we will be back right after this. ♪ how long is she going to be living here? give her one of these... 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[ female announcer ] learn more about prebiotics at iams.com. as you probably know, david letterman did something a little out of the ordinary last night. he made a stunning confession to his audience. >> i had to go downtown to testify before the grand jury, yeah. and i had to tell them how i was disturbed bythis, i was worried for myself, i was worried for my family. i felt menaced by this. and i had to tell them all of the creepy things that i have done. and t creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me o this show. >> dan abrams is the chief legal analyst for nbc. bonnie fuller is the editor in chief of hollywoodlife.com and glennis mcnichol is with mediaite.com which dan is the founder and publisher of. good morning, all of you. >> good morning. >> bonnie, glennis, let me start with you. he told us in the monologue, if you watch the whole thing, the audience starts off laughing nervously and by the end they're kind of laughing full-heartedly. should he have prefaced this by saying this is not a joke? >> i think he should have because i don't think the audience was aware at first. clearly, they were only aware at the end that it wavenz a joke. >> but did he do the right thing getting out there and telling the story? >> absolutely. i think he's gotten ahead of the media curve. if they had discovered it before he announced it, he would have been in a great deal of trouble, so yes. >> i think full disclosure, we've al learned, because we've seen the people who have not fully disclosed. i mean, look at the politicians. so, i think it's best to get it right out on the table. >> and remember, that's what's inherent in what the alleged crime was here, right? which is, the threat was, i'm going to talk about this. i'm going to embarrass you. i'm going to shame you publicly. and so, what letterman is doing is saying, okay, first of all, i'm going to report it to the police. and second of all, you know what, i'm not even going to let you hold this over my head. here it is. here's everything. now there's nothing to shame me about. >> but, okay, there's nothing to shame him about, but are there any other gal ramifications from this? >> well, thereould be. there certainly could be. >> like what? >> there could be civil lawsuits. there certainly could be -- again, we don't know, but there's always the possibility of sexual harassment lawsuits, et cetera. but i would make this point, which is that this is notews to the women, right? it's news to the rest of us -- >> right. >> but -- it may be news to the women that there was more than one. >> yeah. >> it may be news to some of the women that this was not something he only did once. so, i think that there's, you know, cbs is certainly going to want to know exactly what happened here. >> right. >> who was involved, to protect themselves. >> sure. now, looking out at this, i mean, letterman makes jokes about bill clinton or any other politician who had this sort of problem. does this hurt him at all, do you think? >> i think that if what comes out was that these were long-term relationships, and this particular relationship, believe, that he was being extorted about happened several years ago. i think that if it turns out that these were consensual relationships that he doesn't have a lot -- anything, really, to fear. and i would like to point out that he did meet his wife on the show. she used to work on the show. and his former girlfriend, meryl marco also worked with him for many years on the show. >> in this, dan, you know, this suspect, robert halderman, how difficult is it going to be a case for the d.a.'s office to prove something against him? >> look, think it's one of the reons thanted to make sure they actually got this check. it was a phony $2 million check that this guy received. why is that so important? because in these cases,ou tend to see a defense which says, i didn't mean anything. i wasn't really asking for the money. and now they've actually got it in hand. so, what will his defense be? unclear. you know, could be something like they misinterpreted it, misunderstood. i didn't mean it as a threat, et cetera. but it sounds like the d.a.'s office really went through this pretty methodically, was able to join forces wh letterman to get thisguy, and that's going to certainly help their case. >> you know, looking at - know, when david letterman had that flap with sarah palin, there was a pretty vocal group of people calling fis ouster, for his firing. do youhinkt chorus starts up again now that this has come ou >> i think he's taken the audice along with him on this trip. when he announced it last night, he seemed to have the audience on his side by the end ofit. i think he blingz the audience along with hi so it's not a david letterman against them sort ofthing. and his humor is traditionally self dep rate kag, so i see him almost working this incident into future jokes. >> the other thing, too, that we have to understand is that when he was j about sarah palin's daughter, he was talking about a girl who was underage, d ts is a very different situation. >> and in going forward, dan, i mean, some people say there's no such thing as bad publicity. does this help him, do you think, ratings-wise, going forward? >> sure, little bi thquestion's going to be what happens with these women, right? do any of these women now come forward and say, i have a problem here, i have a problem with david letterman? if that doesn't happen, i think that you're right, i think this could end up helping him as a matter of pr, recognition, the fact that he's controversial, et cetera. and it will be interesting to see, as glynnis points out, he ends up making jokes about himself. >> but let's not forget he's a victim of extortion. >> crazy case. bonnie, glynnis and dan, thank you very much. >> thankyou. still to come, the recalled products all parents should know about. destroy them with lysol neutra air. it eliminates odor-causing bacteria in the air... and kills 99.9 percent of bacteria at the source. oust air sanitizer is not approved to kill bacteria at the source. enjoy nothing but freshness. with lysol neutra air-- the ultimate odor eliminator. and try lysol neutra air freshmatic for clean, fresh air automatically. really bad. then we learned that a flu shot can reduce the risk of getting the flu by up to 70%. we got our flu shots at cvs pharmacy. best thing we ever did. yes, indeed. [ laughs ] come in to get a flu shot today and get a $100 coupon book just for stopping by. go to cvs.com to find a flu shot location near you. cvs pharmacy. i've got good news. you need more fiber. huh? don't worry, it tastes great. froot loops now with 3 grams of fiber. it makes your tummy happy so it can absorb the good stuff you need, which your mom is nna love. it does taste great. fiber is a great way to keep ya healthy. i can never read these things. kellogg's froot loops and apple jacks cereals, now provide fiber. kellogg's makes fiber fun. to start losing essential nutrients? not long. in fact, green beans lose half their vitamin c in a week. that's why green giant freezes them within 8 hours to lock in nutrients. ho ho ho green giant - uh-huh. - ( rope creaking ) - ( rope snaps ) - ( piano clangs ) - ( crashes ) - glad forceflex trash bags are so strong, one bag is all you need to pick up the pieces from even your biggest disasters. - doorbell rings ) - where do you want the piano? for stretchable strength get glad forceflex. for stretchable strength the sea salts of the world vary in color, taste, and intensity. now campbell's has found one that tops them all. it's naturally flavorful. adding it helps us use less salt than before in campbell's tomato soup. that famous, familiar flavor, as delicious as ever. now with less salt. thanks to a very special sea salt. ♪ so many, many reasons ♪ it's so m'm! m'm! good! ♪ maybe it's an understatement to say that you normally don't see a lot of pink on the football field. >> but on "sunday night football," don't adjust your tv. the nfl is kicking off its breast cancer awareness campaign, and the players and fans will be sporting pink to bring attention to this very important cause. >> tanya snyder is the wife of redskins owner dan snyder, named the nfl spokesperson for breast cancer awareness. good morning, tanya. >> good morning. >> and we said we'll be seeing a lot of pink on the football field. >> yes. >> got a lot of items, from shoes to hats. >> yes. >> what you're saying is the football players themselves -- >> oh, this has touched -- >> -- are going to be wearing pink. how did you talk them into this? >> absolutely. actually, it was one of the player's ideas to do the cleats, so it's exciting. but we're so excited to bring it throughout and be able to have the sea of pink through the nfl. and it will be millions of people, between ribbons and having the sideline -- the players will have the cleats on. we'll have wristbands, the gloves. >> the gloves. >> it will just be throughout. it's exciting as well as the officials. >> for you and your husband, dan snyder, the redskins owner, cancer is very personal to you. it's affected you life. >> certainly. >> what does it mean to you? >> well, i, you know, this has been a personal cause for many years since we own the team, in 1999, for over 11 years. so, it's, as far as me personally, i did all the right things. i did the screenings, was a little diligent in following up on something that wasn't normal, and that's the main message, is you know, get the screenings, because even i had the screenings and right after a mammogram, i kept following up on something that i really didn't feelood about, and it turned out to be not by mammogram, but a sonogram, breast cancer. >> and you're turning this into something that's going to try to bring greater awareness. october is breast cancer awareness month. and so what you're doing with all this pink is not just create a fashion statement. >> no. >> but to say, listen, breast cancer is survivable. >> yes. >> just get it caught early. >> absolutely. early screening is critical. thanks so much for having me today. >> okay. we'll have more coming up. oh... rollerblading. you poor thing. skiing accident? um, mountain biking. mmm. snowboarding? um... hand gliding! respect. hard water stains, huh? (announcer) cleaning hard water stains with the wrong product can be painful. lime-a-way is scientifically proven to eliminate limescale. the leading all-purpose cleaner doesn't. for lime, calcium and rust, lime-a-way is a must. check your weekend newspaper for a money saving coupon cloudy here in the nation's capital. we will have clearing skies, i think. we will talk to tom kierein coming up. 59 degrees in washington. friday, october 2nd, 2000 9d. i'm barbara harrison. in the knenews, we following a developing story a driver hit a teenage driver this morning in germantown. a helicopter flew the team to children's hospital. we are told the victim was critically injured. police investigating a shooting on 18th place. there are no motives or suspects being found. good morning. partly sunny. temperatures near 60. mostly cloudy afternoon. showers saturday morning. highs mid 70s. should be delightful sunday and monday. lots of sunshine. cool in the morning, near 50. here is a look at next week. tuesday into wednesday, a chance of passing showers each day with highs near 70. tuesday, into the low 70s on wednesday. cooler and blustery on thursday. steve, good morning. how is the traffic right now? not bad. here we are in the beltway and silver spring, moving well noflt delay frs college park around silver spring. springfield, looking good north and southbound on i-95. easing up on 395 as well. barbara? thank you, steve. coming up on news 4 at midday, e-mail your questions about the swine flu to today or post them on facebook or twitter. we will have a doctor live thanks, matt. good morning from the "today" show. i'm isabella o'connor filling in for meredith vieira while she's away on assignment. >> i'm owen, and i'm going to show you how video games can help us communicate by using technology. >> and those are just a couple of the very talented kids hoping to be "today's kid reporter." if you know a child full of personality who would be a great addition to the "today" family, there's still time. >> because if you send us a tape showcasing their on-camera charisma, we want to review them all. the deadline is next wednesday, and the video should be no longer than a minute and it should be mailed to "today's kid reporter," 30 rockefeller plaza, new york, new york, 10112. the official rules are posted on todayshow.com. this is actually pretty exciting. i think we're going to have a really fun time with it. >> they're all so impressive. >> yeah. >> we ought to watch out. all right. >> it's how we all first got started. >> bring it on! talking about kids, we have a serious warning for parents. companies recall products for safety concerns all the time, but sometimes us parents miss those recalls. so, we're going to show you what could be being a danger to your children right now. what you need to know. pl, how to get the flavor of the great city of new orleans, city -- >> new orleans. >> new orleans. >> where it's cooking in your own kitchen. my good buddy john besch is here. a little chicken and dumplings. i guarantee that is good. >> he is great. >> and we've got one more song from superstar mariah carey. i'll tell you, when she hits some of those notes -- >> glass shatters. really, it's that high. >> i'm telling you. first, amy and jenna are going to tell us what's coming up this weekend. >> yeah, you guys. >> that's right. call it swine flu or h1n1, we're going to answer all your questions about the flu. and i believe i was warned'm getting the flu shot. >> are you, on air? >> which is great, because i need it anyway. >> where are you getting the shot? >> in the arm, thank you. >> are you saying that the swine flu shot is available this weekend? >> i'm getting the regular flu shot. >> oh, the regular flu shot. >> and then they are starting the other shots for those most in need. >> in fact, if you don't have any reaction, i'm getting it on tuesday. >> good, i'll be the guinea pig. happy to do that. >> also -- also coming up, my adventures in speed dating. mm-hmm. how much can you really get to know about someone in three minutes or less? that's all the time you get at some of these speed dating events now. you may be surprised how much you can actually look for someone. >> good job with the cameras there. also a taste test of frozen meals. they've come a long way since the tvdays. we'll take the test on "today." >> well, we're hoping they taste good -- >> i hope so. >> after you get that flu shot. frozen dinner. >> good to have something -- >> going to be a party on the weekend. anyway, also coming up, tonight we have got a programming note, because tonight on "dateline," we're talking about this really heartbreaking case about an 18-year kidnapping nightmare, really, for this little girl, jaycee dugard, and basically, we're going to be taking a look at why it took so long for her to be found. what were the conditions that allowed a convicted rapist to be released from jail so that this little girl was vulnerable and could be kidnapped? so we'll be taking a look at that in a special edition of "dateline," "in plain sight: a # good morning. a little bit of sunshine around the region. upper 50s to near 60. 59 in washington. highs today reaching near 70. perhaps a bit warmer to our south and around the lower part of the eastern shore. we will have a lot of cloudiness around this afternoon and tonight. maybe a shower saturday morning. sun back in the afternoon. highs, mid 70s. >> and that's your latest weather. >> rainy weekend here. thanks a lot, al. coming up next, recalled products that still may be posing a danger to your children, right after this. breakfast doesn't really start until the grands are on the table grands biscuits. would it really be breakfast without 'em? hoo-hoo! make breakfast grand. [ air whooshes ♪ ♪ i promise to think of myself as a beautiful person. [ applause ] ♪ the best way to tell how great you look... is in your jeans. drop a jean size in two weeks... with the special k challenge. with more delicious options than ever. jeans don't lie. go to... the new specialk.com to design your plan. spray 'n wash bright and white is an in-the-wash laundry booster. just add with your detergent. the colorboost technology safely brightens your colors and whitens whites without chlorine bleach, while the resolve power gets rid of stains. trust spray 'n wash bright and white. now to important information for parents. in the past fiscal year, the consumer products safety commission announced 563 product recalls, but experts are concerned you may still have many of these products in your home posing a danger to your children. don mayes is senior director of product safety for "consumer reports," and he joins us this morning. don, good morning. >> good morning. >> you say tens of millions of children each year are needlessly exposed to unsafe products. that's a pretty strong statement that's going to alarm a lot of parents. you've formed a partnership, though, to try and educate parents about this. tell us about it. >> that's right. "consumer reports" formed a partnership with the national pta, parent teacher association, and the national school boards association to help disseminate important safety information to the parents of school-aged children. and what we're trying to do is push our message out through newsletters, electronic newsletters, through our website, to try to make sure that people learn of the recall information that could be essentially important to the children in their home. >> yeah, because we talk about these products being defective. we've said it in the news. then it just kind of disappears, and if people didn't catch that news program, they may have never heard about it. >> that's exactly right, and that's why the consumer response rate to recall notice seas dismally poor, at best 30%. for even major toy recalls on the front page of the paper, there's about a 10% response -- >> so, we need a better system in this country. >> absolutely. we need a better way to reach parents and that's why we've teamed up to disseminate the recall information, get them into the homes of all parents. that's our objective. >> okay. you've brought along some products so people can be aware. this first one is a bassinet, and this serves as a lot of different products out there that could be lurking in your bedroom. you may not know it's defective or it's been recalled. tell us about this bassinet, originally issued by cpsc back in september of 2007? >> that's correct. this is a particularly dangerous product. this is a bassinet that can be converted into a bedside sleeper, so set up against a bed. >> right. >> the problem is that it can expose a dangerous gap by which a child can slip through, get their head hung up and strangled. >> wow. >> there have been four fatalities associated with the product. now, the company, simplicity, is no longer in business. so if people own one of these, stop using it immediately and go back to the retailers who have sold this product for their money back or a sre credit. >> so the company is no longer a business. you go back to the store, you'll get a refund, you can get something new. obviously, you want to make sure this is not in your home. >> or passed down. >> good point. people give away these bassinets to their friends when this get pregnant and have children. some other products. you brought this children's mask. what's concerning about this? >> sure. just in time for halloween, this mask has come through with lead paint on it. now, that violates the federal lead standard. lead paint has been banned for 30 years. there's no reason to see it on a product like this. when the consumer products safety commission discover it, they decided to get it recalled immediately. >> okay, and this pendant also something of concern? >> yeah. this has been a real concern. we've seen a lot of this come through within the past few years. this is cheap children's metal jewelry. >> okay. >> that is comprised of a lot of lead in the metal. >> oh, wow. >> and if a child mouths it or worse, swallows it. >> my kids always put their jewelry in their mouth. that's just what they do. >> that's a serious problem. we advise parents not even buy metal jewelry for their children. >> what's wrong with these shoes? >> this is a precautionary recall. these are shoes where the tips on the soles can break off and become a choking hazard. >> oh, wow. >> now, we found no incidents in the united states associated with these. however, in the uk there have been several incidents in which the pieces have broken off and the child put the piece in their mouth. >> clark's company that makes the shoes makes the point that no one's been injured in the united states. the uk, six reports of the rubber pieces detaching. >> that's correct. >> but still an example of something to look out for. >> exactly. >> let's move on to this dvd player sold by walmart. what's the problem with this? >> this is a portable dvd player that was overheating and in some cases catching fire. there have been 14 reports of problems with this dvd player, several fires, including some causing property damage. now, 4.2 million of these have been recalled. if you own one of these, take it back to walmart, get your money back. >> okay. also, we want to talk about blinds, and this is something all parents need to be worried about. i've got this issue in my house, too. i'm always trying to loop up the cords. what's wrong with these blinds? >> blinds can be a serious problem. recently there have been 5.5 million blinds recalled because they can cause a strangulation hazard. these particular ones, there have been more than 4 million of these recalled because if the cord is pulled off, it can form this dangerous loop by which a child can get their head entrapped and strangle. there has been at least one fatality assiated with these blinds, so it's very important to heed the recall. go back to the manufacturer, make sure they have a safety kit installed that can release the cord. >> thank you so much for all this important advice, don mays. we mention, we reached out to all the companies involved in the recalls and those we were able to contact all supported the program you are now cooperative with, so we appreciate your time. >> our website is consumerreports.org/schoolsafety will give all the information about the recalls as they are announced. >> fantastic. important, life-saving information. coming up next, down-home cooking from the big easy, right after this. uh hum. no. - which means, someday, - ( dings ) - this camry could be his. - ( car wash whirring ) toyota has more hybrids on the road than all other automakers combined. pheeew! so we can all breathe a little easier. so we can all breathe discover a light yogurt like no other. activia light! delicious, fat free, and above all... the only one that has bifidus regularis and is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. activia light. ♪ activiaaa! to create a technologically advanced clog buster and pipe wall cleaner... an unstoppable foam that penetrates the toughest clogs and pummels them away. liquid-plumr foaming pipe snake. unleash the power of the plumr. ♪ (announcer) try out a few different moms and get all of the extra mothering you need this cold and flu season. the kleenex virtual moms at getmommed.com. and added a little fiber? 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(announcer) splenda® with fiber. with your help... ...yoplait will donate 10 cents for every pink lid sent in. help us win. we've been fighting the war against breast cancer... ...for over 10 years at yourlidmatters.com. for clarity and shine in finish quantum. it's unbeatable clean and jet dry action leaves nothing behind but the shine. it's only dishwashing, but we believe you deserve brilliant results every time. finish, the new name for electrasol. the diamond standard. asko, makers of the dishwasher with the largest loading capacity, recommends only one high performance detergent. finish, the new name for electrasol. this morning in "today's kitchen," hot chef john besch is celebrating his hometown cuisine. >> hot chef. keep talking, keep talking. >> he's not only sharing the food he loved as a young man, but is taking you on a pictorial journey of the city's iconic food in "my new orleans: the cookbook." nice to see you. >> how's it going? >> we're keeping sanitary here. >> i thought we'd do this late summer, early fall feast. for us, it's late summer. for you, it's early fall. >> and in the book, the dedication is to the people of new orleans and to those who hold the city close to their hearts. >> that's right. there's like new orleanians all across the country, and for people in new york or people on the west coast, new orleans wouldn't be in the shape it is in today. and we're doing great and -- >> we're glad. >> we're celebrating that. >> so, what are we making? >> chicken and dumplings. ever heard of those? >> i have. >> these chicken thighs are seasoned with a little bit of salt, little bit of pepper, lots of crushed red pepper flakes. love those. it's going to be a little spiys, but that's good. >> that's new orleans. >> then you want to stir that up for me? >> okay. how long do you cook this? >> let's cook this just for a few minutes before adding lots of garlic. >> some of that pepper kind of vaporized and i'm getting -- >> what are you doing, al? >> little onion? >> turn this down. a little onion. a little shallot. a touch of ginger. there you go. >> nice. >> so the big thing here is, let's just brown this up here. >> brown it up. >> you want to stir, stir, stir, cook it, nice and brown. >> yes. >> and then. >> yes? >> you will add some tomato. >> tomato. >> you say tomato. >> some peas. little mushroom. >> and some mushrooms. you knowwhat? whatever you've got in your backyard. basically, look at the farmer's markets around you, use what you have. butt mushrooms, anything works. a little bit of sage. >> uh huh. >> and could you pick some fresh thyme? >> okay. >> now, for the dumpling part, we're going to go with these little ricotta dumplings. >> butter? >> no, we've get to slow down, al. we've got to take our time. >> no, we don't. we've only got about a minute and a half left. >> let's get this thing on the road. >> okay! >> we'll make this dumpling dough out of ricotta cheese, egg yolks, little bit of flour and right into some boiling water. then check this out. you know what these are called in italian? >> what? >> nudeies. >> nudeies! >> and-of-got to be careful that the nudies don't stick to each other. >> that's always the case. isn't it, though? >> we'll take these nudies, come over here, al. barely cover that with stock. >> barely cover it. >> add your nudies. >> let that cook up. >> then we cover it, reduce the heat. >> right. >> medium-low flame, and voila. >> whoa! that's what i'm talking about. come on in here, ann curry! >> i tell you, do you know what's emanating from this kitchen? >> unbelievable. >> hi, john. >> what have we got here? >> oh, that's fried okra, baby. >> taste thoe nudies and tell me they're not the best you've ever had. >> nudies? >> your fall greens, pumpkin seed oil vinaigrette, some blue cheese. >> what is this here? >> pumpkin seed brittle. taste that. >> you know, it's brittle. >> taste it again. >> john besh, thank you so much. >> and a brown butter bear tart. >> amy, you're too late. >> you're all too "today" means plaza ambush makeovers and we have the lucky won. plus, the six secrets your body is telling you. >> that's right, shh! shh! but first, she's got 18 number one hits and is out with a brand new album. ladies and gentlemen, one more song from the incomparable mariah carey. >> go, mariah. ♪ ♪ ♪ ha, ha, ha ♪ once upon a time this world said good-bye, something got a hold of us and we changed ♪ ♪ when you said hello in pride and i said hello and cried, never thought it'd end up this way ♪ ♪ we went round for round and we knocked love down, we believed in the rain, not making a sound ♪ ♪ and if that's a metaphor for you and i, why is it so hard to say good-bye ♪ ♪ i can't wait to hate you, still can't shake you ♪ ♪ ♪ break through, emotional changes, seems like such a lost cause ♪ ♪ i can't wait to hate you, break you down so low there's nowhere left to go ♪ ♪ i can't wait to hate ♪ gonna change my number today, as a matter of fact, i think i'm moving away, oh, wait ♪ ♪ sorry the frustration's got me feeling awake and i keep just having one last thing to say, hey, hey ♪ ♪ a i just wanna hold you, hurt you, feel you, i miss you, baby, baby ♪ ♪ trying to break through, but interests nothing left i can do, but i can't wait to hate you ♪ ♪ i can't wait to hate you make you pain like i do still can't shake you off, still can't shake you off ♪ ♪ i can't wait to break through these emotional changes, seems like such a lost cause ♪ ♪ i can't wai to face you, break you down so low there's no place left to go ♪ ♪ i can't wait to hate you, baby ♪ ♪ i can't wait to hate you, because right now i need you, i can't wait to make y go ♪ ♪ i can't wait, because right now i need you ♪ ♪ >> i love you guys! thank you so much! jooirngs. 9:56 is our time. hazy, cloudy sunshine. as we look outside on this friday, the second day of october, 2009. in the "news 4 today," right now, we are following a developing story out of germantown where a teenager is in critical condition after being hit by a car. police say the 14-year-old boy was hit at around 7:30 this morning. he was airlift td to the hospital. the driver did remain on the scene ande will have much more on this coming up on news 4 at midday. now, let's get a check on our forecast from meteorologist, tom kierein. it's friday morning, we have had a lot of cloudiness ound. there are a few breaks in the clouds around the region. during the afternoon, should be cloudy. highs near 70. cloudy tomorrow night. tomorrow morning may be a passing shower. it looks like we will dry out saturday afternoon. perhaps lingering showers. elsewhere, dry, highs, mid 70s. morning lows, near 50. afternoon highs, low and mid 70s. steve, how is the traffic? we are looking back at route 118 to 270 where there has been some road work. looks like everything is moving nicely. southbound, no problems. no road work yet. southbound 95 on the right-hand side of your screen. looki looking good with no delays right now. news 4, midday, e-mail your questions about the swine flu today. post them on facebook or twitter. we will have a doctor live in ."today" with kathie lee giffor and hoda kotb. live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> hi, everybody. it's friday, october 2nd. we're so delighted you're here with us today. >> we are. there's quite the buzz around this morning about the front -- when you wake up in the morning and there are two very different headlines in the paper. about. >> the same story. >> okay. here is -- just so you know this is the "new york post" headline, this is dave letterman. "i had sex with staff" that's the headline. >> how big is the staff? that's misleading a bit. >> here's the second one. $2 million sex extortion plot. so this is probably the headline that dave would have preferred, the headline extortion. this one, i had sex with staff, is probably the one he wouldn't want. >> here's the truth, they're both right. >> so the story is -- >> one led to the other. >> dave letterman went on the show last night, which he often does when he has something to talk about. he talked about that he -- that someone was trying to bribe him. someone that worked at "48 hours" a producer. >> blackmail. >> wanted $2 million in exchange for this guy's silence. apparently this guy had the goods on david letterman -- >> a cbs producer for "48 hours." that's family. >> it's weird. some people are reading the transcripts of what letterman said it doesn't translate. >> you need tone, you need to know context, right? >> yes, we need tone. >> we will let you have some tone. >> mm-hmm. >> this -- this starte three weeks ago yesterday. and i get up early and i come to work earl and i go out and i get into my car, and in the back seat of my car is a package i don't recognize and have never seen before and don't usually receive packages 6:00 in the morning in the back of my car. i get to looking through it and there'a letter in the package, and it says that "i know that you do some terrible, terrible things, and i can prove that you do these terrible things," and sure enough, contained in the package was stuff to prove that i do terrible things. so, i go through it and i study it, and what this is is a guy is going to write a screenplay about me. and you know, that's good news for anyone, isn't it, really? in this packet, there seems to be quite a lot of terrible stuff he knows about, and he's going to put it into a movie unless i give him some money. yeah. so, i call my attorney, and he takes a look at it and he says, well, let's schedule a meeting with the guy just to see what he has in mind. so, there's a meeting with the guy, and it turns out, yes, in fact, he wants a large sum of money or he's going to produce this screenplay of all the terrible things that i do. embarrassing, terrible things. so, then we call an operation called the special prosecution bureau, which is a division of the manhattan district attorney's office. so, we took the stuff down there and they said, whoa, hello, this is blackmail. now, i don't think i ever mentioned the amount up until now, but he was asking $2 million. i had to go downtown to testify before the grand jury, yeah. and i had to tell them how i was disturbed by this, i was worried for myself, i was worried for my family. i felt menaced by this. and i had to tell them all of the creepy things that i have done that were going to be -- well, now, why is that funny? that's, i mean -- so, the idea is, if they believe, in fact, a crime has been committed, then they issue a warrant, and that's exactly what hpened, and a little bit after noon today, the guy was arrested. [ applause ] and the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to that is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who work on this show. and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would, perhaps it would, especially for the women. but that's a decision for them to make if they want to come public and talk about the relationships, if i want to go public and talk about the relationships. but what you don't want is a guy saying, oh, i know he had sex with women, so yeah, i would like $2 million or i'm going to make trouble for you. so, that's where we stand right now. >> and that's where we stand right now. >> here's the thing. like, he's the boss of that place. my big issue with it, i don't know how many women he sex with, he admitted he did. i don't know how many, how old they were, what happened if them, if they're still there, when you're the boss there's something inately wrong with what he was doing. the extortion -- there's two stories going on. one is the extortion story. one is the boss having sex wh women at work. you know? >> it seems to come down gender lines. here it did this morning. most of the guys are pretty much hey what this guy did to him is just auwful. most of the women are going these are women who work for them. as more information comes forward, we will all perhaps change our minds on the subject. i just know that every single person over the age of 13 years old, maybe younger, has stuff they would like to keep quiet and private for the rest of their lives. you know? i mean, none of us are -- are pure as the driven snow, so to speak. >> i think you want more information. i want more information. >> i think he says i'm not going to speak about it anymore. >> right. >> everybody else is going to, though. it's -- it's going to be out there. >> i find it so interesting, one he's kind of the victim because someone is bribing him. and i think it's really interesting. i'd like to hear if -- i wonder if any of the women are going to talk about what it is. i also wonder what was in the package that, number one, if you're bribing somebody, whatever is in that package you have to have a copy of. >> so you're saying it's videotapes? >> i don't know, but you would think it would be pictures, tapes, something like that, because you wouldn't give your evidence away. whatever it was it was important enough that he, david letterman, went to the lawyer, went to the d.a., the whole resuloute. >> joe, one of our prop guys, he says what kind of an idiot, quoting joe, would go and ask for a check? >> yeah. >> it's not easy to cash a $2 million check and not have the irs raise a little flag, for one thing. even the people down -- that are trying to allegedly blackmail travolta wanted it in installments and cash, but, no check. it was so easy for letterman to write the phony check. >> the guy was arrested. he was producer for "48 hours." >> he should know better he should know better than this. >> i think the guy from 48 was living with a woman who claims or alleges she had sex with david letterman. >> who didn't? just kidding. that was a joke. >> we will talk about this later. we will have a couple people. >> here's the problem with it. it's a big problem for everybody. mostly his wife, frankly. but, unless it was before they were married. those are the details we don't know. i don't even know what i was going to say i was so upset about it. >> has gotten a lot of women talking. in the workplace -- >> i know what it was. >> go. >> that he, for a living, makes fun of other peoples shortcomings, failures, scandals. now he's got his own. it will be fascinating on a socio-pop level, culture level to watch how he deals with other peoples indecembiscretions in t future. i wonder if he will continue to laugh at his own situation. >> which is what he did last night. >> it was interesting to listen to the audience. i think they thought he was kidding at first. >> they didn't know what was going on. >> the story obviously had not broken. >> people clap. he said, yes, i did. that's upsetting to me. youere going to say -- >> i don't remember. >> let's see what sara has to say. >> we are getting both sides. jessica wrote he only owned up because he to. veronica wrote he's not the only one who did this. >> i don't know that he did anything wrong. you don't get that from what he said. he might, but you don't get that. you wh what you get is i got caught and now i have to deal with it. do you agree? >> totally. >> we have a segment. we shuffled or segment around. we have terrific guests, rachel and joe will talk with us. >> on the lht side, we hahave celena gomez. we have like the ying and yang. >> yes. >> the ridiculous and sublime. more on that blackmail scandal surrounding david letterman. >> after a cbs ws producer was arrested on thursday for alleged extortion, letterman made a stunning announcement on his show. >> i had to go downtown to testify before the grand jury, yeah. and i had to tell them how i was disturbed by this, i was worried for myself, i was worried for my family. i felt menaced by this. and i had to tell them all of the creepy things that i have done. and the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to that is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who work on this show. >> joe levy is the editor and chief of "maxim" magazine and rachel sklar from mediate.com. that was such an awkward moment. the crowd doesn't know if he's joking. >> what was awkward was the laugh and then the applause. >> it was silence after the admission. he said i have sex with women who work with me and then the silence. what is your take on the deal? who is the victim here? >> you laid it out effectively. there are two stories here. david letterman is clearly the victim of extortion. having this blown up in an unplanned way. but also he was the boss in the workplace, having sex with stafrs that work with him. i mean, we don't know the circumstances. >> we don't know if they were willing. >> there is a power dynamic. >> there has been some talk, at least from insiders on that show, saying these were consensual affairs. there are affairs in the workplace that happens. but it is absolutely true. he's the boss, not just the boss this is his show. it's completely his business. his name is on the door. it makes a big difference. we don't know whether these things are consensual or not. whether anyone feels it's okay to say no to the boss. >> i don't know the policy over at cbs, but some companies have a policy that you cannot do that kind of thing. >> that's the second and third day story here. >> one of the things he said is he was not jt worried for his family, he said he was worried for his job, probably with reason. you can count on cbs having a sexual harassment policy. >> one day after the rather lawsuit is settled. >> that is an interesting point, yeah. >> do you think dave letterman is in any kind of jeopardy? he's a huge talent. his numbers are huge. >> again it was also one day after sort of big news broke about dominance and demos over conan. cbs is in a weird situation. they have a bottom line, a scandal that they want to go away. employees they have to do right by and also potential discipline. >> maybe a potential class action suit of the women? >> you are a lawyer. you are a lawyer. >> i am a lawyer, not practicing anymore. but -- >> maybe women in the past felt they were not the only ones might feel empowered now. >> that'she thing, right? you just don't know what if someone thought they were very special, suddenly they found out they were one of many. they might get angry. >> the devil is in the details here. >> yes. >> we don't know. what we don't know is how these women felt. we know that this extortion attempt, as you pointed out, was strange, bizarre, ridiculous. who asks for a check. we know letterman felt threatened that he effectively shifted this story and portrayed himself as a victim. we have not heard from a single one of these women. >> we said it was cringe worthy, do you think what letterman did, doing it on his terms, his show, his own way. >> that "new york post" headlines wants to come out, you want that headline to follow you. you don't want that headline to determine the course of action. >> he told his story his way. it's what he's done whether the story was his open heart surgery. he's spoken openly on his show about his life before. he did this his way it was cringe worthy. he did also make light of it. it really changed it from what it would have been if he said nothing. >> the long-time girlfriend merrill was one of his righters, and then married regina who was part of his staff. >> relationships happen in the workplace. look, some of them work out. >> a great story, joe. >> how long will this story go? >> this story will keep on going. because we have just discussed all the things that have yet to unfold. >> how will the other late night show guys deal with it. >> that's a good question. >> tonight's monologues? >> he's not on tonight. he takes his friday show on thursday. >> i think there will probably be a gentleman's agreement to be quiet about it. i think there will be jabs -- >> know. >> there will be no shivs. >> the question jay leno asked hugh grant a few years ago what were you thinking. that's a fair question. >> thanks for being with us. >> thank yovery much for coming in on such short notice. >> up next from ""witches of waverly place," selena gomez is here. if you have a tween at home you probably visited with the ""witches of waverly place" if you don't, probably don't know selena gomez. >> i hope you unloaded the dishwasher. >> i did! >> alex, you ow how i feel about you using magic in the house. >> when you need a dish, we take it out. when we're done, we put it back in. >> how do we know which ones are clean? which ones are dirty? >> you smell them. >> is it weird watching yourself? >> yeah. >> do you do that? >> noshgts i don't. not too much. my family watches my show. >> when i was doing kimmel last august, cassidy and i were doing kimmel, we walked into there, you were sitting on your mom's lap. >> i was. >> has she been unbelievably supportive. >> yeah, she's my best friend, my momnd she's very supportive. >> is she on the set with you? >> yeah. >> when you first said to her, mom -- how old were you? >> i was about six or seven. >> mm-hmm. >> i wanted to do lots of things growing up. every day i changed my mind. i wanted to be a cheerleader, a doctor, this. so she supported every decision i made. she took me to the auditions. one thing led to another. >> disney has cranked out incredible stars. miley cyrus, do you like being lumped into that group? >> i can't complain. i can't. i'm blessed to be part of the disney channel family. they know what they're doing. >> they certainly do you just had a huge movie, the one you shot in puerto rico. wasn't that like the highest rated thing on cable or something? it did really well >> yeah, it was insane. we had the movie, the next day they announced we had 11.3 million viewers. >> oh. >> they just don't air it once. it's over and over. >> yeah. >> we have a little boy here today, he is 8 years old, his name is johnny, he to come, get out of school and be here today. because he already decided he's going marry you. he's here with his friend. we'll get them on camera his friend also wants to marry you. they were duking it out over new the green room. what do you say about guys like this? no johnny, you want to come over and ask her to marry you? you have the chance now. maybe -- >> maybe when they get their courage up. >> if only we had some light at general electric. >> you are also a singer. you have a new cd. >> sweet. >> yeah. >> tell us about that. >> it's my debut cd called "kiss and tell." >> love the cover. >> thank you. >> i wanted to make music that was fun, empowering, i wanted the parents to like it i said if your foot is not moving or if your head is not shaking during my songs, i've failed. >> even during the ballads. >> i only have one ballad. >> did you write any of these songs. >> i only wrote one, because i wanted to be good. >> you are not just gorgeous, you're smart and funny, too. >> thank you. >> you got a charity you came to talk b unicef is important to you. >> yes, i've been working with unicef for about a year and a half now. i did a trick or treat campaign last year, this year they asked me to be the ambassador. i'm the youngest ambassador they have where were these pictures shot? >> this was in ghana. i want to ghana recently with unicef and my parents. >> they don't have the disney channel there, obviously. >> no they didn't know who i was which made it that much more incredible. >> we wish you good luck with everything. >> thank you. >> we're grateful for you. >> thank you. >> we'll be back with more after this. president obama is headed home after making his pitch to bring the 2016 olympics to the u.s. did his quick trip to denmark pay off? the decision is expected in td next few hours. we will have a live report from chicago. that's a live picture of daley plaza there. good morning. i'm joe krebs. also coming up, a local doctor answers your ♪ >> we're back on this friday with "today's plaza ambush makeovers." >> as always style ist to the stars lewis vicari and jill martin were out on the crowd on a concert day. they had a lot of people out there in search of their next two ontestants. >> was a mariah carey crowd. how many more people could we find? it was jammed, right? >> it was bumping into people. >> opportunity everywhere you turned. >> first woman you found was carmen hernandez. carmen is 47 years old from san diego, california. she's been married for 23 years and has not changed her hairstyle since they met. she spends her days teaching health to high school students and then caring for her own four kids. she hashad their long hair for 42 years. she pampers herself once a year when her sister takes her out for her birthday. let's listen to her story. >> you let us drag you away from mariah, you want your mom to have a makeover so badly. tell us why. >> look at her, she's so pretty. she has had the same look since high school. she is wearing these dirty old sneakers. chef should be wearing heels and makeup. >> what do you think your husband javier will think. >> he'll be excited. i've looked the same since high school. >> you are ready to gore for three hours of pampering? >> yes, i am. >> we have christina with her blindfold on. keep it on, honey, until i give you the green light. let's look at carmen before. carmen, let's see the new you. ♪ >> whoa! oh. >> don't take them off. >> oh, my gosh. >> are you ready, christina? christina, take off your blindfold. >> oh, she got that layered hair cut, a bob, but with layers. >> what do you think? >> i love it. >> i love that jacket? >> it's white house black market. she felt she was two sizes bigger. now she has clothing that fits this is to celebrate her 16th birthday. >> oh, my gosh. >> what a good birthday present. >> big round for carmen. >> yes. >> thank you. >> walk right that way to your daughter. >> our second lady is lois, she is 54, been married to pete for 34 years. they have two daughters. she worked as a bookkeeper in her school district for seven years. she showed up on the plaza with her seven girlfriends who bombarded us with why she needed that makeover. >> i know you were hre to see matt, but why do you want lois to get the makeover. >> she just found out she's going to be a grandma, she's in new york ski from peoria, we love her, she deserve it. >> are you ready for a whole new look? they're not going to recognize you. >> that's okay. i'm ready. >> lois is here. there are her seven friends. >> the posse. >> let's look at lois before. let's bring the new lois out now. >> don't take off the blindfold. no. no. >> oh, no, no, no, ladies. wow. >> you look so good. >> thank you. >> ready? one, two, three! >> you look gorgeous! >> wow, i think they like it, lois. turn around, give yourself a gande gander. >> look at how chic she looks. >> wow. >> my gosh. >> stay right there. >> look at the split screen. >> hello. >> wow. >> lewis -- >> what we did here, we made you from peoria to new york city. a completely different look. the hair cut. got rid of the highlights, made it this warm brown. >> which makes her eyes come out beautifully. >> the ladies are crying. >> we are doing new york tonight. she's not going to want to hang around with us tonight. >> you are all beautiful. no, come on. >> love it. >> i feel great. >> i love the dress. >> i love the dress. >> i think this will get more attention than your yellow shirt. this is kenzie available at macy's. >> congratulations, ladies. you both have been officially ambushed by the "today" show. congratulations. >> thank you. >> up next, what the size of your calves say about stroke and other terrible maladies. signs your body is telling you right after this. did you know your sense of smell or finger length could determine health risks such as alzheimer's disease and arthritis? >> and those are not the only attributes that can forecast your health. courtney smith from "prevention" magazine has the list. >> hello. >> what an interesting list. >> did you check yourself with everything as you were going along? >> i like this segment because people at home can look and know what you're talking about. >> it's an easy check you can do on yourself at home. >> there are things you can do so don't freak out. the first has do with finger length. >> yes, if your index finger is shorter than your ring finger, now, in women that means you have double the risk of cost osteoarthritis of the knee. >> mine is longer. >> if it's shorter you want to be doing exercises to strengthen the muscles around your knee like leg extension, squats. >> both are related to low estrogen. that's the common link. >> the next one is interesting. you said if there's a wrinkle in your ear lobe -- where would the wrinkle be? >> that's the only place i don't have wrinkles. >> if you have a wrinkle that starts on the back of the ear lobe and across, it is called a linear wrinkle, if you have it, you are at a higher risk of heart attack, bypass surgery or cardiac death, so be heart healthy. >> how can people be heart healthy. >> omega. >> that is one that helps. watch your diet, your weight, get those cholesterol and blood pressure checks with your drchlts. >> your sense of smell. if you can't smell bananas, most people can smell what does that tell you? this is for men and women. if you can't identify foods by their smell -- >> what is that, hoda >> you have five times the risk of being diagnosed with parkinson's disease in the next four years. >> that's unbelievable. >> what can you do. >> omega three supplements protect your brain against a toxin that causes parkinson's. >> if you think you only have four years that can make a huge difference? >> it can. it's never too late. >> all right. >> you want to take charge of your health. the area of the brain that control s smell is one of the first effected by parkinson's. >> and arm length. the length of your arms tells you something about yourself. >> if you have a short arm span, it's really measured this way. if you hold your arms out so they're parlel to the ground. measure it with a tape measure from fingertip to fingertip. you want it over 60 inches. >> what if you're a smaller person. >> hers are six feet. >> they measure women of all heights in the study. so 60 really is the benchmark. >> what if you are shorter than that, what's going to happen? >> you have a higher risk of alzheimer's disease and you really want to be doing stimulating leisure activities. think of as using your arm and brain. paint, take pottery canclasses. >> calf size. if you have small calves -- >> women with small calfs have a higher risk of stroke. if it's less than 13 around -- >> exactly 13. >> but my mom had a stroke a few years ago. >> if you're worried, drink green tea. >> i drink it every morning. >> people who do this, a huge japanese study found men and women who drink five cups a day have the lowest risk of dying from stroke and heart disease. >> as we're talking i want to measure your arms. >> the length of your legs what does that indicate? if you have short legs, women with short legs have a higher risk of liver disease. so make sure you don't expose yourself to toxins. >> there's no more. i got it to 60 here. i want to see how far you are. >> you're 69. >> of course i am. >> that's healthy. fantastic. >> thank you very much. >> no, julie has animals from around the world when we come back. >> i can't wait. grab the little one. we are back with sea world and busch gardens ambassador julie scardina. >> julie, we're always thrilled when you're here. we love having you. >> this little guy is adorable. >> what is this little guy? this is actlly a gibbon. we have some species today we support through our fund. these are critically endangered species in asia, the gibbons. >> he has no osteoporosis problem. >> no. >> these guys are always up in the tops of the canopy. unfortunately th make their home in forests which are being cut down for the wood and being cut down for the palm oil. this guy is two years old? >> yes. >> how big will he get when full grown? >> probably about twice the size. they are not big animals. he's maybe, i don't know, five pounds. >> even his fingers are incredibly long. >> they use them for grasping. >> he was sulking his thumb before we came on. all right. holding on to his blanket like any two-ar-old. >> you asked us to put purrel on before we handle him. why is that. >> because he's young. like for little kids, little human kids, you never know what he will pick up. we're very careful with him. he's from the gibbon conservation center which does propagation and conservation in the wild. we supported them through our sea world and busch gardens conservation fund. this is an animal you don't want to lose this animal. >> what are they down to. >> there's 15 different species, and some of the species are down to just not even 100 individuals. >> my gosh. >> some of them are doing a bit better. some of them are, you know, just depends. they do range through southeast asia. >> he's so cute. >> just take him home. >> that his toy? >> yes, this is one of the toys he plays with. >> we'll have his mom come out. once he sees his mom, he will walk across the table. >> oh, my gosh! >> that's the cutest thing i've ever seen! >> i thought you meant his real mother. >> that's weird. >> that's his surrogate mom. >> that's the sweetest thing in the world. >> he's over you. he's coming back. >> he is like i'm loving this. i like the attention. >> he's done with us. >> we will bring out a couple other primates here. what are these. >> these are cotton-topped tamarins. this is -- come on go ahead on to there. >> he doesn't -- >> mary, kate, ashley -- >> that's their names? >> yeah. >> okay. there we go. >> yeah. >> these guys found in the forests of -- oops. you hang on to that one. >> i'll hold it. don't you worry. >> we have the smallest primates in the wild. >> i'm sleeveless. i don't want those claws on me. >> they have such little habitat left. >> hehoda. >> no, he doesn't. >> very unusual. okay. >> very good. i like symmetry. this is good. >> their dos are fantastic. >> very unique. >> you know what is unusual -- >> like mariah, very high. >> you know what is unusual about the species, the dad takes care of the off spring. >> the dad does. >> as soon as she has them, he basically gets those off spring, throws them on his back and she feeds them. >> we have a cougar. >> i'm fine. don't worry about me. >> she's good. she likes them. >> okay. >> this little guy -- okay. ust weeks old. >> oh. >> he was actually confiscated because somebody thought it would be a good idea to have a cougar as a pet. never a good idea. >> stop it. >> so he needs to be taken care of, bottle fed. you guys help me out. >> remember when we were in san antonio. >> we did this. >> he is so young, you have to help him find the bottle. then he likes to knead with his feet as well. but, cougars are doing fairly well in the western states, even california has outlawed hunting of them, things like that. in florida, they are an endangered species with only 100 lef left. >> sharp fingernails. >> he does want it he doesn't know. >> he will scratch you, hodhoda. >> this is very frustrating. >> we got to run. julie, you'll come back and bring the rest of the animals next time? we'll be back with coming up next week, we will look at people who have inspired us along the way. that's going to be fun. >> and we also have "everyone has a story" plus roseanne cash and nick lachey and "everyone has a story. >> have a great weekend. >> bye, everybody. >> i've been gone a little bit. >> can i just say welcome back? >> why am i working so hard? >> i don't know. ♪ >> derrick luke. >> what a doll. >> so acutcute. >> all about sex tomorrow. >> always is. >> half a bunny. >> very silly. that looks like a little bow. >> so bad. >> that's exactly what i'm wearing. >> my god, for men! >> it's so tight. >> i'm naughty, not really mean, i'm more naughty. >> of course they're fabulous. >> we are fighting over these. >> oh, no. >> bye. >> it's kind of fantastic. >> whoa! >> speaking of drawers, we got these from hoda's dressing room. >> the key is not to lie to your children but to lie to your wife. ♪ it's e talk of the day ♪ so much to say ♪ it's where it's at ♪ kathie lee and hoda