Transcripts For WRC Today 20091013

good morning. critical decision. the only health care reform bill fully backed by the white house facing a key vote on capitol hill today. can it pass with only one republican likely to vote for it? the latest from washington. rush unleashed. if you thought you had heard a lot from conservative radio host rush limbaugh on monday, just wait. >> i say president obama, you say? >> disaster. >> michelle obama? >> garden. >> garden. >> yeah, plants a garden out there. >> jimmy carter. >> an utter disgrace and embarrassment. sorry for the four words, but i needed them all. >> this morning, the rest of our rare and exclusive interview with rush limbaugh. and tasered. that 72-year-old great grandmother tasered by an office during a traffic stop that got out of control walking away with a $40,000 settlement. did she get paid for breaking the law? she's here for an exclusive interview today, tuesday, october 13th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm matt lauer. it's a big day on capitol hill. >> it is. >> this morning the senate finance committee is set to pass budget on senator max baucus' health care reform bill. >> that's ght. ahead of today's vote, a newly released insurance-funded study is raising a lot of eyebrows. it suggests that some people would actually pay more in insurance if this bill passes. we're going to get the latest from the white house in just a moment. also ahead, is zero tolerance always the best approach? coming up, we're going to meet a 6-year-old cub scout who could be sent to a reform school for 45 days because he brought a camping utensil to his school with him. we're going to talk to him and his parents about that decision. and a story that could outrage a lot of families. we're going to talk with the parents of that adorable 4-month-old who was originally denied health insurance because the insurer deemed him too fat. more on that in a moment. but we're going to begin with that key health care vote on the hill today. nbc's chief white house tront chuck todd has more. dhuk, good morning. >> reporter: goomorning, meredith. despite president obama's hope for a bipartisan health care reform effort, today's vote in the senate is likely to get at best one lone republican vote. that said, the white house believes today's a very important step on this road to reform. after months of controversy, president obama now sees consensus, not division, over health care. >> what's remarkable is not that we've had a spirited debate about health insurance reform, but the unpredented consensus that's come together behind it. >> reporter: but even as the senate finance committee gets ready for the vote, there may be only a single republican, senator olympia snowe of maine, even considering voting with the democrats. the bill, crafted by senator max baucus wor baucus would insure 94% of americans with $829 billion over ten years, but backers claim it will reduce the deficit through forced cost savings, but republicans have dismissed the savings of the bill, the only bill full white house support. >> it's irrelevant. the bill it's referring to will never see the light of day. >> reporter: even some democrats could vote ainst the bill. senator jay rockefeller of west virginia and oregon senator ron wyden both see flaws in the legislation. >> it's going to be really hard for members of congress to explain why their constituents get no choices while elected officials here in washington, d.c., get lots of them, good-quality ones. >> reporter: still, the white house expects to have both democrats if they need their vote, but the senator they care most about is snowe. everything she's asked for, including a one-week delay in the vote itself, she's gotten. >> i'm probably more optimistic than less. >> reporter: and after working with the white house to craft legislation, the health insurance struck back monday with a report claiming the finance committee bill would cause health care costs to go up higher with individuals with individual insurance. >> yes, i did feel blind-sided. i did feel we were working constructively to work with the congress to make sure any legitimate concerns they have were addressed. >> reporter: now, some supporters of the baucus bill actually think this attk in the last-minute nature of it by the insurance industry might actually help galvanize support on the left, since some on the left had been very critical of baucus' bill because it didn't include things like the public option. meredith? >> all right, chuck todd, thank you very much. let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories and go to ann curry at the news desk. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and meredith. good morning, everybody. this morning, iran's nuclear ambitions are topic a in moscow, where secretary of state hillary clinton has been meeting with russian officials. russia's foreign minister says neither country has asked the other for anything specific in dealing with iran because "our positions coincide." over the weekend, clinton told nbc news that there are ongoing discussions about what the consequences should be for iran, should it ignore the international community. protestors took to the streets this morning in south korea, denouncing five new short-range missile tests by north korea, and they burned photos of north korea's leader, kim jong-il. the world health organization said it hopes to begin shipping out 60 million doses of the swine flu vaccine to poor countries next month. so far, drug companies have pledged 150 million doses. in philadelphia, officials are investigating why a crane toppled over on monday, sending a construction worker 125 feet to his death. overseas markets are mostly lower this morning. cnbc's trish regan is at the new york stock exchange. trish, the focus there is on earnings. >> very much so, ann. earnings happen to be what it is all about this morning. the third-quarter earnings. we're going to hear from a number of companies, including intel, google, j&j, ibm, ge, parent of this network, all happening this week. now, the reason it's so significant is that investors are really hoping to see some top-line sales growth. last quarter, what we saw was there was a lot of cost-cutting, they were firing workers, reining in costs, and that led to higher profits. this time, they want to see sales. it's a big window into the economy, ann. >> thanks a lot, trish, this morning. and the philadelphia phillies have advanced to the national league championship series. last night they came from behind to beat the colorado rockies 5-4. the phillies take on the dodgers for the national title starting thursday night. it is now 7:06. let's go back to meredith and matt, and look who's back -- >> mr. roker. >> mr. roker. >> that's right. >> boy, you've got some busy days. >> i'm telling you, it's crazy out there, especially out west. let's show you what's going on. you have a massive storm. look at this system, just barreling into the west coast. and you can see that rain starting to firento the border of oregon and on into northern california. rainfall amounts are going to be kind of rough. we're looking at flash flood watches and warnings from central california into northern california. the rainfall amounts going to be anywhere from three to seven inches of rain before this is all over. we have the weather channel's julie martin in marin county, california, over by the golden gate bridge. julie, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, good morning, al. as you can imagine, flash flooding and landslides the major concern up and down the california coast, all the way from the bay area through los angeles, where california emergency management folks are keeping a very careful eye on those burned-out areas near los angeles from the wildfires earlier this year. i can tell you, sandbagging efforts are happening statewide. in fact, here in the bay area, as of yesterday, the city ran out of sandbags. so many people were requesting them. they had to bring in some more. so, al, it does appear that people are preparing for this whopper of a storm, but you know, hopefully, all of thathat it's a serene october morning. good morning. here's a live look from the city camera. sun rise is five minutes away and a clear sky over the potomac. it's only 50 degrees in washington. and 40s in the suburbs. maryland and virginia, mid-40s. high today, though, should climb into the upper 60s to near 70 and a blustery northwest wind. much cooler and >> that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. now more of our rare and exclusive interview with conservative radio show host rush limbaugh. this morning, his thoughts on his past addiction to painkillers and some of the most powerful names in politics. he sat down with "today" national correspondent jamie gangel. jamie, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. get ready. here it is, what rush thinks about everyone from sarah palin to hillary clinton, what he would say if president obama invited him to the white house, and why he says his struggle with addiction is actually the best thing that ever happened to him. but we started by asking his thoughts on the next presidential race. give me your top three picks for who will behe republican -- >> i have no idea. i'm certainly not in charge of picking them. the only thing i can do is recite names from 2008 that probably want back in it -- sarah palin, mitt romney, huckabee, tim pawlenty's probably going to go in. but at this stage, as the anointer of the republican nominee, i'm not going to go out there now and destroy the chances of three or four other people. i have more compassion than that. >> do you think the republicans can win? >> yes. >> do you think they will win? >> two students say, b -- too s to say, but i think it's entirely possible, but we do have obama, and he's truly polarizing the country. so, there will be a significant vote against. but you've got to have somebody to vote for at the same time. >> if he invited you to the white house, would you go? >> absolutely. >> and what would you say to him? >> well, dpebepends on what he wanted me there for. >> well, if he wanted you to sit at the picnic table and make -- >> have a beer? >> less polarizing, more unity. >> i'd be honest with him. look, the president of the united states is the president of the united states. he's my president, too. i want this country to succeed, and if he invited me up there to chat, i would owe him the dignity and honor of being honest. >> reporter: never one to hold back -- >> this is a joke of the administration, except it's very, very, very real. >> reporter: we asked rush to play word association. i say president obama, you say? >> disaster. >> michelle obama? >> garden. >> garden? >> yeah, plants a garden out there. >> jimmy carter. >> an utter disgrace and embarrassment. sorry for the four words, but i needed them all. >> sarah palin. >> misunderstood and underestimated. >> you love her. >> well, no. love. i admire her. people have tried to destroy her. she's got more of a backbone than any man in the democrat party. >> george w. bush. >> he's just the most decent, down-to-earth, real man you can ever hope to meet. >> glenn beck. do you worry about the new guy on the block? >> no. 1988, i'm the only national conservative voice. now look at conservative media. look what i have spawned. glenn beck to me is right on, daddy-o. glenn beck is a rest of my success. >> hillary clinton. >> nurse ratchet. >> bill clinton? >> you know, i, when i hear about clinton, i can't help -- i start channeling the guy, and i can't help -- look it, do you realize how quick i am, jamie, look what i've managed. the democrat party is going to be really, really sad when i'm gone because i'm the glue that's holding them together. i'm wealthy, sold a lot of books, i still scored $2 million for the stimulus plan that's supposed to create jobs. ha, ha, how clever am i? [ clinton impersonation ] >> you're bad. >> comedy has to have a hint of truth in. >> reporter: chances of the white house invitation not likely, but president obama has been good for rush. his ratings are soaring. >> the more obama mes himself known to the public, the more the public rejects what he is selling. >> reporter: and personally, he says he's never been happier. he's lost 85 pounds and talks freely about his past struggle with addiction to prescription painkillers. do you struggle with any of it anymore? >> with the opiates, the pain pills? no. i haven't had a craving, which is odd, they say, but i haven't. i haven't had, no struggles with it at all. >> what did you learn from rehab? >> you know, i actually thank god for my addiction, because i learned more about myself in rehab than i would have ever learned otherwise. there was a time where i desperately cared what people thought of me, desperately. not professionally. i always, somehow, knew that that didn't matter. but personally. when you're worried about what people think of you, you stop being who you are and you start tailoring yourself to everybody else so that they like you. >> you don't worry what people think about you? >> oh, i'd be insane if i did. i don't even give people the power to offend me. i'm not -- you cannot offend me. >> as you know, matt, rush is in the news this week because he wants to buy the st. louis rams. it's causing quite a bit of controversy from some of the players to his critics, but rush says he is misunderstood and he will continue with the bid. matt? >> all right, jamie gangel, fascinating interview. thanks very much. >> thank you. it is now 7:14, and once again, here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. should overweight workers be forced to pay a little extra for their medical coverage? that is the plan in north carolina. some are calling it a fat tax, and it has been greeted with lots of controversy. nbc's ron mott explains. >> reporter: it's an issue where the debate can get quite heavy. should overweight people pay more for health insurance than others? here in north carolina, state employees whose body mass index or bmi exceeds a certain limit will have to dig a little deeper, forking over higher out-of-pocket medical expenses. >> it's a very invasive on privacy. i don't tell my boyfriend what my bmi is, much less the legislature. >> it's discriminatory. >> reporter: critics of the plan, dubbed a fat tax in some reports, say it unfairly pushes the burden onto the 600,000 state workers and retirees, arguing there's plenty of blame to go around for america's bulging waistline. workers hoping to qualify for a low lower-price option will be subject to randomized testing. >> it's all stick and no carrots. there's a ropper way to do that, and not based on punishment. it should be incentives built in. >> reporter: but state health officials counter that's exactly what the initiative is, a program designed to reduce preventible illnesses and death. north carolina ranks in the bottom 25% of states for obese adults. and even in the heart of tobacco country, state workers who smoke are under fire, too. it will cost them about $40 more a month. >> we will spend in excess of $2.4 billion for medical claims and pharmacy clai, and it is rising at a rate of between 9% and 10% per year. >> reporter: state officials have yet to calculate how much they believe taxpayers will save on the weight component of this plan but say the crackdown on smokers could net as much as $13 million a year. north carolina is hardly the first state to consider such a plan, yet only the second behind alabama to actually make it a reality. alabama's law didn't go over well with a lot of state employees there, either. >> there's a lot of us that have got health problems because we're overweight. it's causing us to be overweight. it's not something that we've just decided to become fat. >> reporter: siz matters growing in controversy. for "today," ron mott, nbc news, raleigh. >> and later this morning we will talk with a family who was originally denied health insurance for their 4-month-old son because he was deemed too fat. but for now, it is 7:17, and once again, here's matt. >> meredith, thank you. t next big blockbuster movie could be a little film with no big stars, no big-name director and was reportedly made for less than $20,000. it's called "paranormal activity," and as nbc's lee cowan explai, it could have a lot of people in olly wood running scared. >> reporter: it is one of the most screamed about movies of the fall season, called "paranormal activity." it's a low-budget, hair-raising thriller about a couple trying to videotape things go bump in the night. >> she thinks there's something in the house. >> you believe me, right? >> reporter: it was shot in the director's own house, reportedly for less than $15,000, but this weekend it was the fourth biggest grossing film at the box office. >> oh, god. oh, my god. >> reporter: which some say makes it the next "blair witch." >> it was way scarier than i was actually expecting. >> reporter: at first, paramount wasn't sure the movie was marketable, so instead of a big, theatrical trailer, they offered limited, free midnight screenings, mostly in college towns and hoped the internet buzz would do the rest. >> we said to the fans, if you keep showing up, we'll put the movie on more screens. >> reporter: students were told if they liked it to logon and demand a bigger release. paramount promised if it got a million hits, it would take it nationwide, and guess what? >> it hit a million within four days. >> jordan runs the website eventful, usually used as a marketing tool for concerts or political appearances. >> one click, you can tweet about it. you can put up a widget on facebook. >> reporter: but this is the first theatrical movie that's gone viral. >> i think it's transforming the industry. >> reporter: it's a whole different model. the theory -- make a film scarce and then let the fans market the movie for you through the internet. >> the only money we really invested in the campaign was setting up our demand it page and let the fans take it from there. >> it's not a ghost. what is it? >> reporter: so, this time, if you're scared out of your wits, just remember, you asked for it. for "today," lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. and now to new revelations about that first posthumous single from michael jackson. it was released on monday to a lot of fanfare, but now singer/songwriter paul anga claims that it's the very same song he wrote with michael back in 1983, recorded by a singer named safire in the '90s. first, we'll listen to michael's version. ♪ this is it, here i stand, i'm the light of the world, i feel grand ♪ ♪ there's love i can feel and i know that for sure it is real ♪ >> all right, that the version of the song recorded by michael jackson, released just a couple of nights ago. now listen to the 1991 version recorded by safire. ♪ this is it, here i stand, in the light of the world, it's grand ♪ ♪ this love i can feel and i know, yes for sure, it is real ♪ >> the same song, words and all. beat's a little different, but -- >> yeah, so, paul anka heard about this and said wait a minute, that's my song. that's exactly the same song. so, theackson family has come out and said it was a mistake omitting him from the credits, and apparently, he's now going to get 50% -- >> 50% of the copyright -- >> of the royalties. and he doesn't think this was done -- >> maliciously, yeah. >> an honest mistake. >> but there were problems from the beginning because jackson took the tape with him and anka said i'm going to sue you way back when, and he did get that back and then that recorded. >> and of course, all this will sell more copies. >> i think paul anka writes every song. >> u2's new album, look -- >> check it out. >> every one, yeah. still ahead, the traffic stop in texas seen around the world. a 72-year-old great grandmother tasered by an officer not once but twice. she will share her side of the story in an exclusive, live interv just ahead, we're going to talk with a 6-year-old who could be forced to attend a reform school for delinquents for bringing his favorite camping utensil to school. also, captain chelsey "sully" sullenberger tells us about what we don't know happened in the cockpit. good morning. the time now is 7:26. we've been following breaking news this morning on the road. we're going to go right to jerry edwards with more. good morning. >> good morning. a rude awakening for a lot of folks. chopper 4 at the scene of the accident that we've been talking about all morning long, eastbound i-70 remains closed just before mount airey. so the cleanup effort is well under way. out of frederick headed towards east of carol county. be warned, that is jammed. a big problem of the morning is the gw closures because of the accident. detours are set up there as well. barbara? >> thank you, jerry. a check on good morning. it's 51 in washington and 40 in the suburbs. temperatures will gradually climb into the 70s and blustery northwest wind at 45 miles an hour. clouds increasing tomorrow and much cooler, 40s tomorrow morning. highs near mid-50s tomorrow afternoon. thursday, friday, chilly rains likely both days and temperatures remaining in the 40s. this may continue into the weekend, too, perhaps saturday into saturday night and drying out late saturday into sunday. jerry, somehow our traffic now? barbara, back to you. okay. green goes gorgeous. the environmental response doesn't mean 7:30 now on a tuesday morning. it's 1the 13th of october 2009. these folks outside on the plaza swaying to the sounds of singer michael buble. he's out with a new album. he'll be here to sing for us live a little later in the program. inside the studio, i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. and also ahead, some new developments in the case of a great grandmother who was tasered during a traffic stop in texas. the situation got out of hand. some might say it was her fault. now she's the one getting the cash settlement, and this might not make some people happy. she's with us exclusively to tell us her side of the story. plus, a 6-year-old first grader facing 45 days in a reform school for delinquents for bringing one of his favorite camping tools to class. we're going to talk with him. and a real american hero will stop by, captain chelsey "sully" sullenberger will be here to talk about his return to the skies, the miracle on the hudson, and why he never once looked at his co-pilot throughout that near tragedy. we'll talk to him a little later on. but let's beg with that great grandmother tasered by a deputy constable. we'll talk exclusively with sue winkfein in a moment, but first, amy robach has details of the story. good morning. >> good morning, matt. it happened back in may during what started out as a routine traffic stop, but things quickly became anything but routine when that 72-year-old dared the ofcer to it's a her. it's one of the most watched videos on youtube. a texas traffic stop that ended with 72-year-old great grandmother getting zapped twice with a taser. >> -> reporter: it started when a deputy constable saw this pickup truck speeding through a construction zone. deputy chris beesy may not have been expecting trouble from a 4'11" kathryn winkfein, but right away, the constable got an earful. >> take me to jail. take me to jail. >> step out. >> a 72-year-old. >> reporter: the deputy agreed to give her a tffic ticket, agreeing that she would show up for court. when she refused, that's when the trouble started. >> give me the [ bleep ] thing and i'll sing it. >> get over here now. >> give it to me and i'll sign it. oh, you're going to shove me? >> reporter: authorities say that shove was to get both of them off a busy highway. >> if you don't step back, you're going to be tased. >> go ahead. it's a me. >> reporter: as minutes passed, the standoff continues. >> i'm getting back in my car. >> you're going to be sorry. >> no, i'm getting back in my car -- >> no, ma'am! >> reporter: and then the officer made good on his promise. >> taser. get on the ground! get on the ground! now put your hands behind your back! >> reporter: winkfein was hit twice with the taser before she was finally handcuffed and taken to jail, charged with resisting arrest. before this dashboard video was released, she denied being difficult in an interview with a local fox station. >> i wasn't arguing with him. i was not combative, okay? all of this is a lie. every bit of this is a lie. >> reporter: authorities say the 72-year-old did not require medical attention but winkfein later demanded $135,000 for pain, suffering and humiliation. even though an internal investigation revealed the officer did everything by the book, travis county offered winkfein a $40,000 settlement, which she's accepted. the constable's office calls that a miscarriage of justice. >> the county wrote a check for $40,000, you rewarded this defendanfor bad behavior, which is wrong. >> so, if the officer did nothing wrong, why, then, the settlement deal? a travis county judge says defending a lawsuit from winkfein could have cost the county a lot more than just $40,000. matt? >> all right, amy, thank you very much. kathryn sue winkfein is with us exclusively along with her son, steve eastland and her attorney, thomas turtleot. >> good morning. >> full disclosure. we spent time together yesterday, i got to know you a bit. we talked. you seemed like an awfully nice lady to me, couldn't be more polite. then i look at that tape, sue, and i think which one is the real sue winkfein? >> well, this one is, definitely. i just -- i just lost my temper. i do that maybe twice a year, but that day i lost it. >> so, when you look at the tape of what happened that day and you see yourself behaving that way, what do you think? >> i think if i had to do it over, i would just not say anything, not react. >> even though you disagreed with the whole speeding concept -- >> right. >> you didn't think you should have been pulled over, but you did resist arrest. >> well, how did i resist? >> i'm going to interrupt her. we're not going to talk about -- >> based on what you see on the tape, did you behave in an appropriate manner with that deputy constable? >> no. >> and when you gave that interview to the local tv station and you said, i did not resist arrest, i did not become argumentative, that was before you knew that there was a camera rolling on this the whole time. you didn't tell the truth there, did you? >> actually, i told what i remembered, because when he tased me and kept it on and it threw me to the ground, that erased all memory. i have no memory until later when ias way away from there on my back. so, i have no memory of being on my stomach. >> when we first ran this story back in may, folks, it was a split decision -- split reaction. a lot of people thought, she got what she deserved. he warned her over and over again to cooperate and she didn't, so she got what she deserved. i'm going to be honest with you, that's what i said at thetime. there are a lot of other people who said under no circumstances do you taser a 72-year-old, 4'11" woman, not only once, but twice. do you think you were mistreated in any way? >> definitely. >> yeah? in what way? >> well, at my age and the taser like that -- he turned it on and kept it on, which -- >> it didn't hit her a second time. >> it didn't it's a me a second time that was too much. >> the other thing is, she twice offered to sign the ticket at the ba of the truck. i still don't understand why he never gave her the opportunity to sign the ticket, proceeded forward with trying to arrest her. he could have easily said let's step over here, let's sign the ticket, and we can all go down the road. >> you guys worry about, what i thought at the time, steve -- and i'll let you handle this one -- like what happens if this -- like right there, more out of hand, she had walked out on the street and some poor driver coming along swerves to avoid her and ends up getting killed? >> well, actually, if you look at the dash cam, his cruiser is out into the street pretty much blocking traffic. i don't think that was possible for that to happen. >> so, you don't think this could have gotten more dangerous for sue, for your mom -- >> i think he had the opportunity to shut the thing down and didn't do it, like tom just said, indicated. twice she offered to sign the ticket, let's all go home. >> granted, she used an ex-tive the first time,ut she was ready to sign the ticket. >> am i missing something here? your mom is 72 years old, as i mentioned, 4'11" -- >> retired school teacher. >> retired school teacher, the mother of 3, grandmother of 11 and great grandmother of 3 more. how did she end up starring in that video? >> you know when i got the phone call that she was ready to be released from the facility, it was surreal. i mean, i sa, released from what? then they informed me she had been tased. again, the only way to describe that is surreal. it's so far out of character for her that -- >> if you ask him how many times in his life he's seen me mad, what would you say? >> you know, never. you know, just once in a while, but never like this. this is -- >> just happened to get caught on tape. and do you feel bad at all about accepting that $40,000? because there are some people who say you misbehaved and you're being paid to reinforce that misbehavior? >> i don't know that i have an opinion on that. i'm not a money person, you know what i'm saying? but steve said, even poor people don't like being poor, but we're not a greedy type, soo know -- >> could charges still be pressed on this? >> there is informal charges. there could still be charges pressed. i'm optimistic that won't happen at this point, but that could still happen. >> but the hid line here, sue, were if this were to happen again and you were pulled over again by a different deputy or the same, you would do what? >> say nothing. >> stay in the car and sign the ticket? >> i would not react to anything. >> i think she's learned not to dare the officers. >> sue and steve and tom, thank you all for joining us. >> thank you for having us. >> we appreciate it. by the way, any lasting effects from the taser? are you all right? >> i'm fine. now, i did have to go to the clinic. i had two holes and one of them got infected. >> but you're all right now. >> i'm fine. >> thank you for joining us. i appreciate it. let's get a check of the weather now from al. all right, thanks a lot, matt. and we've got three generations celebra celebrated grad -- who graduated? >> me. >> your names? >> what? >> your names. >> holly. >> susan. >> three generations. mother can't hear! no, just kidding. thanks for coming down. let's check your weather for what's going on. we have got wet weather through parts of the south. they got hammered yesterday, getting more today, rainfall amounts. we're talking anywhere from one to two inches of rain, flood threats from texarkana into anderson, up to five inches of rain. and cold air coming in, too. temperatures way below normal in the plains, but but s ç#ç#ç#ç## good morning. a chilly start to this tuesday. back to work and school under a partly cloudy sky. a live picture overlooking the potomac river on the 13th day of october. temperatures in the 40s and 50 degrees. 51 in washington and highs in the upper 60s to near 70 with a few clouds in and out. a blustery wind by the afternoon. 40s in the afternoon tomorrow and >> and that's your latest weather, matt? thank you, al. up next, should this first grader be sent to reform school for bringing a camping tool to school? back at 7:43, and now to a 6-year-old first grader in delaware facing 45 days in reform school for bringing his favorite camping tool to school. we're going to talk with him and his family in just a moment, but first, nbc's rehema ellis has details. >> i go to elementary school and i -- >> reporter: zachary christie was a typical first grader like other 6-year-olds until he brought this to school. >> he eats dinner with it and, you know, breakfast and everything else, so it just, it never occurred to him that this would have been something wrong to do. >> reporter: it is a utensil zachary got last year for family camping. it comes with a fork, a spoon and a knife. but when it fell out of his pocket at school, zachary found out he had violated a strict ban on weapons. according to the christina school district student code of conduct, action was necessary. >> the idea was to avoid discriminating against any student and to treat all students the same. >> reporter: zachary was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district's reform school. some school safety experts say the zero tolerance policy goes too far. >> schooldministrators have to be able to administer consequences but still have some discretion that fits the totality of the circumstances. >> reporter: the small town of newark, delaware, is now making national headlines. >> this next story is an example of good intentions leading to some unwelcomed consequences. >> reporter: thousands are logging on to helpzachary.com to show support. >> nobody would have wisd this situation to happen, but now that it has happened, we need to speak up so it doesn't happen to another little kid. he loves science, he -- >> reporter: tonight, zachary's mom wants to present his case to the school board. debbie christie says reform school is not an option for her son as far as she's concerned and she's hopeful zachary will be allowed back in his first grade classroom soon. in the meantime, she'll be teaching her son at home. for "today," rehema ellis, nbc news, newark, delaware. >> zachary christie is with us no along with his mother, debbie, and debbie's fiance, lee irving. good morning to you all. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> debbie, let me start with you. when you got that phone call from zachary's superintendent -- or actually, his principal, on september 29th, what did she say to you? >> she said that i needed to come to the school immediately, that zachary had brought a dangerous weapon in to school and i needed to come and pick him up. he would be suspended for five days, pending a disciplinary action committee hearing. >> did she describe to you what he had on his possession? >> she said that he had a knife. >> and did you know -- this is actually a camping utensil, it's a spoon, a fork and a knife. did you know that's what it was? >> no, at that point -- >> and bottle opener. >> and bottle opener. >> at that point, i didn't know. >> so, you had no idea that he had taken -- >> at that point, i didn't know. >> and you had no idea that he had taken that to school that day. >> no, i didn't know. >> zach, why did you take the camping utensil to school with you that day? >> to eat lunch with. >> to eat lunch with. had you taken it before? >> i had -- no, i had absolutely no idea this was going to happen. i was just -- i wasn't thinking about this. i was thinking about having lunch with it. >> so, when the teacher pulled you aside. when the teacher saw that you had that, did you know you were in trouble? what did the teacher say to you? >> i didn't know. she said, "can i have that? i'm going to hand this to your teach teacher." and she handed it to the principal, and when they called my name up, i was like, uh-oh. and then when i got to the office, my mom and lee were there and i went in. >> yeah. and debbie, you were told, as you said before, that there would be an immediate suspension of five days, and then what? >> and then a disciplinary action committee for alternative placement. and that happened five days later. >> five days later, and that's when you were told that he would have to go to a reform school for 45 days? >> correct, the alternate placement school. >> debbie, let me ask you about this zero tolerance policy the school has, with regards to anything that might be considered a weapon. and in this case, because there's a knife on that camping uutensil, that would qualify. do you think the policy is a sound one? do you understand why they have it? >> i understand why they have it, yes, but i don't agree with the implementation of it. i think they need to look at the age, maturity, intent situation, bring in the teachers who know the child or the principal and allow them to make the first call on these decisions. >> so, what do you think the proper course of action should have been in this case with zachary? >> well, looking at other schools' code of conducts in the delaware valley, their first step would have been a suspension. >> so, at this point, zachary -- you're home-schooling zachary, correct? do you have any intention to allow him to go to this reform school if that is the final decision? >> no. i wouldn't allow him to go to that, and yeah, i am home-schooling him. >> i know that you have appealed to the superintendent and you're going to meet with the school board tonight. you'll have an opportunity to speak to them. what do you hope comes out of that meeting? >> i hope that, of course, they expunge his record and allow him to go back to downs immediately. i think he has had an overexcessive education around this issue. so, i'm hoping that out of all of this, the policy changes and that no other child is affected negatively by what is supposed to keep them all safe. >> chary, what have you learned through all of this? >> to always ask before taking something new into school. >> to ask your mom whether it's okay? >> anybody in the house, anybody that looks over me and stands up for me. >> yeah, and are you excited? do you want to go back to school? are you nervous about it? >> i'm not very nervous. i like being home-schooled. it's kind of -- i mean, it's happy in some ways. it's sad in some ways. i'm -- sometimes i'm sometimes strict, i'm sometimes i can get into my serious mode, i can get into my happy mode. i can -- it's just kind of fun being home-schooled, but i'm not scared to go back. >> okay. you shouldn't be. well, zachary, thank you so much. debbie and lee, thank you all for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and good luck tonight, debbie. >> thank you so much. still ahead, a 4-month-old baby originally denied health insurance for being too fat. but first, these messages. still ahead, we'll talk to miracle on the hudson pilot sully sullenberger. good morning. it's 7:55. we're following breaking news on the road ways this morning. we're going to go straight to jerry edwards. jerry? >> barbara, good morning. it's been a terrible morning out on the roads. and eastbound i-70, approaching the exit for mount aerie, eastbound i-70, multiple tractor-trailers involved. even at this hour it remains closed with a substantial delay on route 144, the alt turn nate route. the pictures taken earlier on the goe washington parkway, it's still being detoured at the memorial bridge. that's obviously having an impact. we'll keep you updated. >> thank you, jerry. we'll keep you updated on the weather next. good morning. here's the live picture from our ci camera. it's a chilly 51 degrees at reagan national. radar is not picking up any precipitation around the region. nearby 40s, montgomery, arlington counties. and many locations in virginia and maryland are in the low to mid-40s right now. right near the bay, low 50s. highs today should climb, though, into the 50s. briefly touching 70 by early to midafternoon with a few clouds in and out. a blustery northwest wind gusting to 25 miles an hour. cooler weather moving in by dawn tomorrow. it will be down into the low 40s and partly cloudy and then cloudy wednesday afternoon. mid-50s for a high and then cool and damp. chance of passing light showers. barbara. good morning. it's green and gorgeous. and in the 8:00 now on this tuesday morning, october 13th,2009. crisp morning with a few showers in the forecast here in new york city, as we step outside to say hello to everyone spending time with us on rockefeller plaza. i said crisp, but -- >> it's pretty nice. >> very nice. i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer and al roker. coming up, the miracle on the hudson. >> we're talking about captain chesley "sully" sullenberger. he was the guy from the miracle on the hudson, in the cockpit after birds basically turned his jetliner into a glider, and what he thought about, what went on in that cockpit during those moments of near tragedy i think will surprise a lot of people. he reflects on that in a new book, and we're going to talk to sully in a couple of minutes. all right, also ahead, a real talker. a colorado couple originally denied health insurance for their 4-month-old because the provider claimed that the baby was too fat. we have details on that coming up. and a reminder for you, next friday, country superstar mr. tim mcgraw putting on a live concert right here on the plaza. yeah. and we need you to pick one of his songs. your options -- "something like that," "live like you were dying" and "red ragtop." vote at todayshow.com. head to our website. or you choice, you can text to 46833. standard text messaging res apply. >> what a deal. >> yeah. we're going to head inside now for a look at the top stories from ann curry. hey, ann. >> hey, guys, good morning. good morning, everybody. also in the news this morning, the only health care reform bill with white house support faces a crucial test today. the finance committee is scheduled to vote on a ten-year $829 billion package that promises to insure almost all legal u.s. residents, but it also includes a controversial tax on high-end private insurance plans. the insurance industry has unleashea last-minute effort to stop the bill. secretary of state hillary clinton is in moscow today, trying to gauge russia's willingness to penalize iran if it doesn't come clean on its nuclear ambitions. afterwards, the russian foreign minister said the threat of sanctions against iran would be counter productive. secretary clinton, who is also to meet with russia's president medvedev, says the u.s. agrees diplomacy with iran is important but that sanctions are possible if diplomacy doesn't work. a memorial service was held on monday at yale university for a graduate student found murdered a month ago on what would have been her wedding day. classmates and professors remembered 24-year-old annie le as a brilliant student and passionate dreamer. raymond clark, the lab technician charged with strangling le, is due in court next week. higher temperatures and rain could make a mess of the early snow that fell in the midwest on monday. there was just enough snow in minneapolis to break out the cross-country skis. wet snow on power lines caused some scattered outages. part of nebraska had more than a foot of snow, a record for october. there was a new great pumpkin it tell you about. this pumpkin from iowa tipped the scales on monday to win the 36th annual world championship pumpkin weigh-off in half moon bay, california. and you could say it squashed the competition. and from half moon bay to this. police in germany say a 24-year-old man was so upset when he was thrown off a train for traveling without a ticket that he turned around and mooned the train. that's when his pants got caught in the door and the train dragged him half naked for about 600 fe. he was not seriously hurt but caught with his pants down. he is in some serious trouble. it is now 8:03. let's go back outside to matt and meredith. >> well, that could have been a lot more than embarrassing. that could have been really dangerous. so, he was not hurt, though, right? >> no. everybody's okay. >> okay, good to know. >> good to know that. now where's al? >> over here. i'm taking the bus! anyway, this nice lady back here from idaho brought me this idaho spud candy. and i said, but there's no potatoes in it! so she reached into her pants -- that's a sponge -- oh, wait, a dropped the mike. wait, let's see if this works better. man, that's a potato! anyway, let's check your weather, see what's going on, in stereo! let's go to the maps. what do you say, huh? how about denver, colorado, news. morning snow showers and drizzle, 49 degrees. those are huge! as you take a look, look at all that rain coming on shore. it is a mess. heavy showers and thunderstorms, anywhere from three to five inches of rain. generally. we've got flood warnings and flood watches all the way up and down the california coast. we're talking anywhere from three to five inches of rain.ç#7 good morning. it's partly cloudy and chilly on this tuesday morning. back to work and school after the columbus holiday weekend. in the suburbs of month ggomery 40s and 50s elsewhere. highs climbing into the 60s. 69 a it may briefly touch that by midafternoon and sunshine. much cooler weath >> some more nice folks here. where are you guys from? >> maryland. >> what's your name? >> donna sellers. >> texas, gloria pleasant. >> and sheryl -- >> texas, did you say? >> texas. >> named after a state! oh, my gosh, are you from idaho? all right, let's go back over to matt. >> all right, al, thank you. coming up next, the 4-month-old baby whose parents were originally told this little boy was too chubby to get health insurance. how'd this turn out? they never heard that. which is better than a comparable toyota camry or honda accord? they are stunned. they can't believe it. they need a minute. i had a feeling they would. introducing the 60-day satisfaction guarantee. buy a new chevy and if you don't love it, we'll take it back. there has never been more reasons to look at chevy. and i was so tender to the touch-- but i didn't know why. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia. and then he recommended lyrica... fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia. so now, i'm learning what a day is like with less pain. lyrica is not for everyone. tell your doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should not drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. could your pain be caused by fibromyalgia? ask your doctor about lyrica today. 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 gonna 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. now provide fiber. sharing, it's what kids do. but every year an average of four million kids get the flu and miss out on sharing. that's why we created goodtoshare.com. re you'll learn about preventing influenza and discover your latest vaccination options. join us at goodtoshare.com. and together, we can all be good to share. back at 8:09, and now to a story that will shock and outrage a lot of parents. a colorado couple initially denied health insurance for their 4-month-old son because he was too fat. nbc's michael okwu has the story. >> reporter: little alex lang isn't so little. >> he is about 18, 19 pounds at 4 months old. >> reporter: and that wouldn't be much of an issue, except his parents believe at 4 months old, dimpled, chubby alex, who they lovingly call chunky monkey, is already a symbol of what's wrong with the health care system. >> i was stunned, you know, kind of speechless. >> reporter: although alex is happy and healthy, kelly and bernie lang applied for individual health coverage for their son when he was 2 months old, but they were turned down. the insurer's reasoning? he was simply too fat. >> we certainly were not going to deny him when he wanted to eat. you don't deny an infant, a baby, food when he's hungry. >> reporter: ex's weight put him in the 99th percentile. again, he's perfectly healthy, but the underwriting guidelines say that any child above the 95th percentile is considered obese, a financial risk, and therefore, uninsurable. >> it's like we're being punished, you know? >> reporter: experts say those guidelines, which are relatively new, are flawed. >> i think that the guidelines that they've used were just ridiculous. they just aren't helping anybody and actually probably pushing some people into being uninsured. >> reporter: alex's father, a local tv news anchor, put his story on their. the outrage it caused compelled the insurer, rocky mountain health plans, to change their policy and provide "coverage for healthy infants, regardless of their weight." >> at the end of the day, it's not about a rigid set of rules or standards. it's about, is this a person that should be covered, and if so, how do we get them covered? >> reporter: it's good news for baby alex. not just a pretty face, but also now a weighty symbol in the health care reform debate. for "today," michael okwu, nbc news, los angeles. >> and weighing in now, dr. nancy snyderman, nbs chief medical editor. good morning to you, nancy. >> hi, meredith. >> so, alex is 4 months old, weighs about 18 pounds, 25 inches long, puts him in the 99% bracket for kids his age. was the insurance company right to be concerned about his future health? >> oh, i think this is going to just show the errs in our system. this is a breast-fed baby, not being fed junk food, lean parents, rocky mountain health plans, one of the signature health plans people have been touting as a plan that can do it right, and conscientious parents who realize that they wanted more coverage for the family. there's nothing good about this. and the presumption from the aspect of the health insurance company is that if you're a chubby baby, you're going to become an obese teenager, obese adult, tap more health care dollars. the reality is we don't know that. growth curves are just that, somebody has to be zero and somebody has to be 100 and others fall within. he was above normal. >> so how do we get to the point that the kids don't have insurance? >> you take away the fact. my nephew has down syndrome, healthy his whole life. he's never been able to get insurance. why would you say that something that starts in utero would deny you coverage in this country? it's the craziness of a pre-existing condition. if you take a baby like alex, who is just chubby, you can say to everybody in utero, everybody, you have something in your genes that's going to predispose you to something down the line, and that is the caveat for insurance companies to say you're too high-risk. >> what about -- i mean, he's 4 months old and is being breast-fed. what about the parents of a child who's like 10 and obese? should they be forced to pay more? >> well, i would flip it around and say do you deny a child heth care because of the errors of the parents? my concern is i worry about immunizations, i worry about a child getting the flu, about a kid using the er instead of the pediatrician's office. we know people without health care access the stimulater in illness, sicker and cost us more money. and if we flip that around and this kid were too skinny and made up 3% to 5% of the growth curve and weren't eating enough, would we kick that child out? no, we would say, oh, my god, there's a crisis. we absolutely need that child in. >> we saw that north carolina state employees would have to pay more for insurance if they're overweight. >> because they're adults. >> is that a growing trend? >> increasingly -- watch this, the self-responsibility issue is going to be addressed. i think sugar and fat are going to be taxed, much like cigarettes. and people can talk about regressive issues, but the reality is, cigarettes and obesity consume 30% of our health care dollars. this is a seismic shift in how we have our conversations. that part for adults is not going to go away, but egregious what rocky mountain did in this case. >> quickly, will health care reform address these pre-existing conditions and whether or not you're allowed to get insurance? >> yesterday we thought the health insurance industry was going to say no more pre-existing conditions. now politics is hijacking that, but i don't think there's any way the industry can condone pre-existing conditions as a way of negating coverage. that's the capitol hill discussion right now. >> thank you, dr. nancy. up next, what you don't know about the hero on the hudson. matt talks with captain sully sullenberger, after this. ♪ do you have a crooked smile do your eyes... ...sit wide? ♪ do your ears sorta wiggle? ♪ does your hair make you giggle? ♪ ♪ does your neck grow long? ♪ do your hips sing a song? ♪ do your ears hang low? vodove and walmart. find real beauty for less. 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. jeans don't lie. go to... it's packed with powerful nutrients that help strengthen your immune system. i'll be your immune system on cranberry juice. okay, bring it on, bad stuff. still healthy? mm-hmm. with ragu, your kids get a full serving of veggies they'll actually eat. all natural ragu. feed our kids well. are still on the road today. uh hum. no. - which means, someday, - ( dings ) - this camry could be his. - ( car wash whirring ) toyota has more hybrids n throad than all other automakers combined. pheeew! so we can all breathe a little easier. now to the hero of the hudson, or on the hudson, captain chesley "sully" sullenberger. he was at the controls of us airways flight 1549 back in january when a bird strike blew out both engines. sully guided that plane to a miraculous descent into new york's icy hudson river, saving all 155 passengers and cre members. he writes about that incident and much more in the new book "highest duty: my search for what really matters." sully, it's good to have you here. good morning. >> good morning. it's good to be here. >> i think a lot of people have heard the story by now of what happened to that plane, but there are some things you write about in this book that jump out at me, and i'd like to condition trait on those, if you don't mind. i've heard people ask the question, how do birds bring down a jetliner? and you wrote in the book, this wasn't just one or two birds. this was like a scene out of a hitchcock movie. can you describe that some. >> exactly. those are the words i use to describe it in the book. the wind screen was filled with many large birds, and we learned later canada geese, up to 17 pounds with a six-foot wingspan. at least two birds engined the right engine and one or two entered the left. >> and the noise of that, you're hearing thuds or thumps and then an eerie silence that followed it, as you realized those engines had shut down. >> those were the worst sounds and vibrations i had ever experienced in my enthir career of flying. >> then you write about something that will turn a few stomachs in the morning. you said "and then came the smell," and the smell was what? >> confirmation that birds had entered the engine. it was the smell of burned birds and the air being drawn into the cabin. >> you write that immediately, when the birds struck the engines, the thought that went lough yo through your mind was, this can't be happening, this doesn't happen to me. and i'm wondering what it is about you that made you feel as if you were almost immune to something like this? >> i wouldn't say i was immune. i would say that we have done such a good job of making this airline business so ultra safe that it's possible for a pilot to go through the entire career and never experience an actual engine failure. of course, we practice it in training, but it had never happened to me in 42 years of flying and here i was in a situation where we lost thrust in both engines simultaneously. >> people want to know then, what is happening in the cockpit and what are you thinking of and things like that. and one of the things that struck me was that you never, during the seconds or minutes that happened between the bird strike and the actual landing in the hudson, you never looked at your co-pilot, jeff skiles. you two never made eye contact. >> well, i looked in his direction and he looked in mine, because we didn't have time to verbalize everything and we relied on each other's seeing what was going on to have the same common understanding, but we never made eye contact. >> you also write in the book, "many people wonder how they would feel, what they would be thinking." you say "i did not think i was going to die. based on my experience, i was confident that i could make an emergency water landing that was survivable. that confidence was stronger than any fear. laurie, kate and kelly," your wife and daughters -- "did not come into my head, and i think that was for the best." explain that. >> we were so busy. it was the most dire emergency of my career. it was one of extreme workload, beyond extreme time compression. we had only seconds to decide and minutes to find a course of action and execute it. and so, there wasn't time for anything extraneous. >> so i guess if you're a passenger on that plane at that moment, the comforting news now is that -- and for passengers who fly -- that pilots don't think about what am i losing, what am i leaving behind, who's going to suffer from this. they think only about -- or the good ones think only about what do i need to do to try to survive this. >> i think that would be true in this case. i think there are other situations where you have more time and then those thoughts would enter your head. >> i've talked to some people about you, sully, and they all describe you as a pilot's pilot, the guy who crosses all the ts and dots all the is, and if something in the manual says check something twice, you check it three or four times. wll did that come from? >> i think part of it's my nature and part of it's just my experience, knowing what matters and that there are things that really are critical and you need to be aware of the trees as well as the forest. >> your nature. also, it's little bit heredit y hereditary, isn't it? your dad was also one of those guys. you write about, you know, he built the house -- >> ye >> -- that you guys grew up in, and he was a detail guy. he said, you know, cut it once and never have to worry about it. so, that had to rub off on you. >> yeah. measure it twice, cut once. >> so you learned that dealing with details from him. >> i think so, but i think it's also important to know that i was able to see the forest as well as the trees. i had an awareness of what was going on around us in many respects, not just the details. >> you write in the book -- it couldn't have been easy to write about -- about your dad's suicide. it was in the '70s. he was not well. he was ill. and i'm just curious -- clearly, that has to rub off on you and has to impact your life as a young person and as an adult. and how do you think that's affected you? >> well, it's a very personal story, but it was important to tell because it's part of what makes me who i am. i think in some small way, it was part of how i was able to handle the situati on january 15th. >> you've gone back to flying, limited flying, because you're a suit now, we should also mention. you're kind of management. >> well, i have an important, new job in safety, but i also have another job, which is essentially to be a goodwill ambassador for the industry, and it's an important job. >> well, let me ask you about the industry. we cover it a lot here on the show and the airline industry has gone through difficult times. the economy has hit it severely. and you talk about some of the pilots who are now flying in the airline industry of 2009, and you say, "some of the smaller regional airlines have lowered the minimum requirements for pilot recruitment and they're paying some pilots $16,000 a year. they'll take someone with 200 hours of flying experience and make him or her a first officer. these new pilots may have exceptional training and they may have high degree of ability, but it takes time, hour after hour to master the art of flying a commercial jet." so, if someone is watching this interview today and they're heading to the airport to go on a trip, how should they feel about that news? >> my concern is going forward, that if we as a society do not value this profession sufficiently, we may not in the future be able to attract the best and brightest. i think there will always be people willing to fill these seats and to take these jobs, but if we don't value this profession sufficiently, it may not be the same kind of people. >> and is there anything the flying public can do about it, other than go to the airport and talk to the ticket or gate agent and say, is my captain captain sullenberger and keep their fingers crossed? what can the public do about it? >> i think that it's all eventually down to the economics. i think there is a linkage between economics and safety, and historically, one of the reasons we have been able to make aviation so ura safe is that many of the airline companies have chosen to greatly exceed the faa minimums in every area. i think now in this time of intense competition and intense economic pressure, what we're seeing is some of those minimums being approached more closel good morning. it's 8:26 on october 13th, 2009. i'm barbara harrison. jerry has his eye on every area around the region. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. first, good news, the gorge washington parkway which had been closed for about five hours this morning because of a serious crash has reopened. still looking at delays but things are getting much better there. elsewhere, we've got the big problems continuing up in frederick. eastbound i-70, one lane is getting by as you travel towards mt. aerie. outer loop in silver springs, looking at delays green belt all the way on over. big difference from yesterday. barbara? >> thanks, jerry. we'll have an uate on your forecast when we come right back. good morning. temperatures in the low 40s and 50s arnt the region. in the 60s later on today. a blustery northwest wind developing this afternoon. sun in the morning and low 40s and mid-50s and chill ree rain kely thursday, fridayrdaynd teme 40s. barbara? >> thank you, tom. tonight on news 4 at 5:00, green goes gorgeous. being environmentally responsible does not mean that you can live ♪ it's 8:30 now on a tuesday morning. it is also the 13th day of october 2009. it's aittle overcast here in the new york area, but moderate temperatures and a nice group of people gathered on our plaza. by the way, the music in the background is our way of reminding you that crooner michael buble is going to be performing live in this half hour, which should be cool. >> he's adorable, that michael buble. >> he is. >> cute as a button. >> his songs -- >> somebody say cute as a button. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira, ann curry and al roker. what else is happening? you guys go home every night and prepare a four-course meal -- >> we want to be invited over to eat your food. >> well, maybe i don't, but i can now because martha stewart is going to show us how. she has a new book out. it is not that hard to prepare a four-course meal in the matter of an hour or so. >> okay. also, you see the stand set up right there? >> yes. >> well, we've got jimmy -- well, the reason they're all set up over there -- >> take our word for it. >> is because we are going to have the handsomest bachelors on the plaza. a little eye candy. >> if you talk little longer, we'll get that shot. >> i'm talking. i'm talking. >> and there it is! >> yeah! >> you know who else is here? cloris anderson. big part of the "today" show history. also part of "the brady bunch." she is here to talk about computers and the internet. a lot of seniors are intimidated. >> hi! >> she was one of them, but she got over it and she'll tell others how to do it. >> talk about cute as a button. >> i know. >> she looks so cute. >> what else? let's meet the latest contestant from "the biggest loeser." this is mr. leo gomez, father of two. >> hello, leo. >> started out at 407 pounds. he's dropped 127 pounds. unbelievable. you lost 43 on the ranch. >> yeah. >> you came home and lost twice as much. >> right. >> how'd you do that? >> just keeping the same principle, trying to keep up the same intensity as best i can. a little more difficult incorporating work and home life, but you know, you find a way to do it. >> from what i understand, the last weigh-in, you needed to lose seven pounds to stay on the show. >> right. >> so, you jump on the scale and see the four come up there. were you surprised by that? >> i was enormously surprised by that. you know, we -- bob and jillian both and i all expected a bigger number, but it just didn't come that week. you know, sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't. >> yeah. >> what was -- >> go ahead. >> ask me all you want. >> it's probably a mental thing as much -- >> very much. >> how did you change your mental outlook over the weeks you were there? >> you know, it was almost changed for me. jillian and bob spent a lot of time with me. and as you know, jillian spends a lot of time trying to get in our heads and trying to figure out why we got to the weight we got to, and that was a big part of it. for me, that was all of it. once you change your mind and believe it, the weight's just a side effect. it just all comes off. >> for all the people listening that also wish they could lose a tremendous amount of weight, what would be the one thing that you had in your head that kept you going? >> for me, it was accountability. i made a decision that i'm going to do this. the day i decided to do it and the day i got the call to go on the show, i quit smoking and decided i'm not going to give up an i did both. >> were not going to lie -- >> you were a smoker, too. >> i had a 20-year habit i just tossed to the sideline. >> look at you in that monitor. you look fantastic. look at yourself. that's fantastic. good for you, julio. great to have you here. >> pleasure. >> congratulations. >> julio, very good. >> thank you. >> way to go. and of course, we want to remind you -- there you go. he's going to go finish his s çk good morning. we have clouds coming through at this hour. partly sunny and chilly. only in the low 50s in washington and near the bay. upper 40s and 50s elsewhere. montgomery, fairfax, prince georges county, highs in the 60s and clouds in and out. the wind is kicking up to 25 miles per hour and chillier tomorrow and here's an update on those stands. are they still there? yes! all right. good. >> all right. >> we're going to fill those with bachelors a little later on. and martha stewart is going to ow you how to make quick and delicious family meals. first, this is "today" on nbc. >> announcer: "martha on today" is brought to you by macy's. the martha stewart collection is now available only at macy's and on macys.com. ack at 8:37. this morning on "martha on today," quick meals for your family and friends, whether you're a seasoned chef or a weekend cook, martha stewart has the secret to perfecting your next get-together in her new book "martha stewart's dinner at home." good morning to you. >> good morning. i'm so happy with my new book. it's a great book for right now because everybody wants to cook a good, nutritious meal. >> and everybody's so busy at the same time. >> yeah. >> and it's dedicated to those busy folks. >> it is, it is, but it's not about opening boxes, opening cans, you know, just throwing stuff in a pot. this is actually real cooking, but it's easy and few ingredients in every recipe, and it's calle "dinner at home." >> okay, well, you gave us an example of this. >> yes. >> this is a four-course meal is the way -- this book is separated into seasons. we're doing the fall. >> eve single menu -- it's all menus -- should be able to be cooked in an hour or less. >> okay. >> somewhere around there. this is the chicken piard. >> okay. >> and we start the dinner with chicopee crustinie. so, it's really just a thin slice of french bread cut on an angle. >> that you put in the oven? >> yes. just toast it a little bit. and this is a mixture of canned chick peas but with beautiful italian olives. >> okay. a little bit of onion in will. >> a little shallot, a little tiny bit of garlic and partly sunny parsley, and it's delectable. and the chicken paillard, you would get two breasts and slice them into four slices. you want to even it out. this is a good job for you, meredith. just think of somebody nice that you want to flatten. >> oh, i've got a name in mind, martha. >> oh, you do. >> okay. >> then just a tablespoon of a plain like a safflower or grape seed oil. >> so nothing that doesn't infuse -- >> any taste. >> okay. >> the chicken is so good. sprinkle with a little bit of salt, a little pepper. >> and that's like the sea salt. >> this takes about two minutes on each side. >> all right, easy. >> in a hot pan, yep. and you just cook that and let that cook two minutes, two minutes. and while you're cooking it, if you use two pans, you can deglaze, and there's a little tiny bit of oil left in here. this is the sauce. a half a cup of chicken broth. use low sodium, unless you have your own in the house. and a third of a cup of walnut. >> whole walnuts -- >> halves. those are halves. whole halves. and a tablespoon or two of sherry win garvinegar. let it cook up. >> i'll do that, you don't have to flip. don't get it on your beautiful suit. >> see how easy, look? and it's almost done. this comes to a boil. >> all right. >> now, the vegetable for this is a salad with cooked sweet potatoes. >> potatoes? >> so, you cut the sweet potato into half and then into demi-lunes. these are leeks, and you roast this with salt and pepper and olive oil for about 40 minutes. >> 40 minutes? what's the temp in the oven for this? >> about 350. >> okay. >> it is so delicious. and then you plate it onto a dinner plate with the sweet potatoes and arugula with the dressing just of olive oil and vinegar and salt and pepper. so, you see, the flavors are intense. >> okay. >> the ingredients are intense. >> now, the chicken goes on top of that? >> yes. the chicken goes on top of this. i would say that needs another -- let's wait for one more minute. >> we don't want to eat raw chicken. >> the dessert is a dait -- do you li dates? >> i have. i don't like them. i know you do. >> and they're very good for you, actually. >> but this is not -- >> this is goat cheese. >> oh, this is goat cheese. i thought that w like a whipped cream. >> with two tablespoons of heavy cream softening. i know, you're on a big diet. >> oh, whatever. >> but other people are not. >> now, that looks delicious. >> and actually, it's not so much to have two or three of these for dessert with a nice cup of tea, a nice cup of mint tea. >> perfect. >> it is good. and don't forget to put a little tiny bit of sea salt on top, just the salt -- >> salt on a dessert? >> yes, because this is a very sweet date. >> okay. >> let me take that chicken out. >> you take that off while i remind people, the book is called "martha stewart's dinner at home, meals to cook for family and friends." and we're talking four-course meals in an hour or less. >> oh, yes, and they are delicious. >> i think master control, they want that in there. probably joe the director. >> okay, fresh-made -- >> fresh from martha from me to you. ♪ this morning on "today's fountain of youth," staying connected. for the younger, tech-savvy generation, computers are a way of life, but what if you're oldeand overwhelmed by the internet? actress florence henderson has a venture that could help. she's here with us along with clark, with aarp. good morning. we haven't seen you in so long. >> i know. >> you have a big family, kids and grandkids and all this. >> yes. >> and for years, you stayed away from computers and the internet, even though it would have been a great tool to stay connected. why? >> to tell you the truth, i was terrified why i was doing later today years ago, everybody was on the computer and i wasn't. i just, i felt like i had spent my life learning how to sing and dance and be musical and all of that, and i was always learning something new in that realm. but as far as the computer, to me, i didn't grow up with it, i didn't understand it. >> but did you feel a lack of connection when everybody else was -- >> yes. >> -- out there talking to their friends? >> i felt terrible and my kids would say, mom -- you know, i have four kids -- it's not that difficult. come on, we'll teach you. then i would ask questions and i felt stupid and you don't like to appear stupid, especially in front of your children. >> now we fast forward, because you're a quick learning, you're texting, video conferencing, you're e-mailing, surfing those racy sites. you're doing all kinds of things. >> you know me too well. >> so, how did you find the process of learning? >> because of the flow club, i found it very easy. and i'll tell you something, and nataca can appreciate, you know, the older population, of which i am one. as i looked around, i saw my contemporaries, a lot of them losing interest, letting going of their bodies, letting go of their minds, losing all interest in life. so, i got together some really young experts and i said, i want to create a company, we'll call it flow, and i want to really inspire and motivate people to get with it, stay connected. this is our first big venture, the flow club is -- >> it's a great idea. nataca, the seniors going online, it's one of the fastest growing segments of the onne population. what are they using the internet for? >> you're right. there are 9 million of them online, and 50 porti% of them l once a month and a third almost every day. they're doing e-mail, texting, watching internet videos and listening to the radio. they're blogging. so, they're doing pretty advanced things. >> and they're finding a way to stay vital because they're continuing to learn. >> that's the key. >> which is a really important tool. >> i think that's the key. and what we do on the flow club -- you know, we have all north american based technical experts, and you can call. they're very patient, they're very caring. you can take all the time you want. you n call as many times as you like and stay on as long as you want. >> wch is important, because all the updates, you get notices on your computer, and the fact that technology changes, it seems, every week, a lot of seniors are going to go, i jus learned this piece of technology and now i've got to learn something else. so, that help is important. >> absolutely. and the fact of the matter is that most seniors go to their kids and their grandkids for help, and like you, florence, these kids grew up with atari and nintendo, and they know it, so -- >> my 6-year-old grandson -- >> exactly. >> they're witnesseshizzes, but can video conference them, see them growing. i have a son in st. louis, a daughter in l.a. it's so exciting for me. >> and we don't have time, but a word of caution. because although they are now logging on in greater numbers, seniors are often targeted for online scams. so we want to make sure that there's information so that they can help avoid becoming victimized by the people who would like to. >> matt, go to flohclub.com, because that is one of the thrusts of our venture is that it's safe and you give permission for the technical experts to access your computer. and you can sit there in your bath robe, your pajamas. knowing you, you would probably sit there naked, and -- >> yeah, i deserve that from before, you're right. you got the last word. florence, thanks. nataki, thank you. good to see you both. up next, a live performance from michael buble, but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ >> announcer: the "toyota concert ries" on "today," brought to you by toyota. toyota, moving forward. >> it's been years since canadian michael buble's last album. now he's back climbing the charts with his latest album "crazy love." michael, good morning to you. i think there's going to be big news about this album before the day is done, but i'm not allowed to say anything. >> it's not official yet, but i hope so. i hope so. >> it's not official yet, but it seems like it's going to do extremely well, or has already done extremely well. this album you said is a change for you, more introspective, more oautobiographical. why did you want to get personal in "crazy love"? >> i think i owe it to myself, to the fans, to interpret and be honest and lyrically really, you know, tell the truth. >> you were recording the story of kind of a difficult time personally for you. breaking up with your girlfriend. i'm sorry. >> no, that's okay, no. >> but how did that affect the music you selected and the way you approached your songs? >> i think breakups are never easy, but for me, i took it as have opportunity to grow as, you know, as a guy and to grow as an artist. and so, i took the negative and the positive and i tried to use it. because as much as there was all the negative kind of things that come with that, there's really positive things. there's hope and, you know, all the great potential of new love and that, so i used it. >> the song you're going to sing in a moment "haven't met you yet" is a great example -- >> exactly. it's a great singles people song. for those of you out there, there's someone you just haven't met them yet. >> and is it harder to put new songs up against the standards or harder to put your stamp on a standard? >> way harder with a standard, because with my songs, you can't compare them, but with standards, there's like 400 iconic artists to compare them to. so, i really have to work hard to make them my own and create kind of my own songbook. >> this is definitely your own "haven't met you yet." michael buble, take it away. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ i'm not surprised, not everything lasts, i've broken my heart so many times i stopped keeping track ♪ ♪ i talk myself in, i talk myself out, i get all worked up, then i let myself down ♪ ♪ i tried so very hard not to lose it, i came up with a million excuses ♪ ♪ and i thought i thought of every possibility ♪ ♪ mm-mmm, and i know some day that it will all turn out ♪ ♪ you'll make it work so we can work to work it out ♪ ♪ and i promise you, kid that i'll give so much more than i get, yeah ♪ ♪ i just haven't met you yet mm-mmm ♪ ♪ i might have to wait, i'll never give up i guess it's halftiming and the other half's luck ♪ ♪ wherever you are, whenever it's right, you'll come out of nowhere and into my life ♪ ♪ and i know that we can be so amazing, and baby, your love is gonna change me ♪ ♪ and now i can see every possibility, mm-mmm ♪ ♪ and some day i know that we'll all turn out, you'll make me work so we can work to work it out ♪ ♪ and i promise you, kid, that i'll give so much more than i get, yeah, i just haven't met you yet ♪ ♪ they say all's fair in love and war, but i won't need to fight it, we'll get it right and we'll be united ♪ ♪ ♪ i know that we can be so amazing and being in your life is gonna change me ♪ ♪ and now i can see every single possibility, mm-mmm ♪ ♪ and some day i know it'll all turn out, i'll work to work it out, promise you, kid, i'll give more than i get, than i get, than i get, than i get ♪ ♪ oh, and you know it'll all turn out and you'll make me work so we can work to work it out ♪ ♪ and i promise you, kid, to give so much more than i get, yeah ♪ ♪ i just haven met you yet ♪ i just haven't met you yet good morning and welcome. our time right now is 8:56. it's tuesday, october 13th, 2009. i'm barbara harrison. in the news, bob wilbe campaigning for the virginia governor. the republican will hold a rally with sheila johnson, the co-founder of pge. he mocked for the speaking style. both candidates faced off in a debate last night. we will be back with weather and traffic in a moment. stay with us. good morning. after a sunny start, clouds are passinging over and the live picture from our city camera, the clouds are heading off to the east and more sun i breaking out over the next couple of hours. it's still on the chelly side. in the 40s. low and mid-50s. later on today, sunshine is breaking out and a blustery northwest wind, though. highs in the 60s and it's that much cooler tomorrow. sun in the morning and in the low 40s and cloudy in the after moon and mid-50s. chilly rain moves in and off and on thursday into friday, scattered light showers are possible. temperatures in the 40s. and remaining that way on saturday, too, into the weekend. it looks like we'll dry out saturday into monday. jerry, how is the traffic now? >> it's been a challenge now. in northern virginia, we are jammed on 95. there's an accident near 123 that's been moved to the shoulder. elsewhere, accidents on interstate 66. there's three of them. as a result, we're jammed most of the way from menace sis on into the beltway. look for delays to silver spring because of earlier accidents up on the beltway. barbara? >> thank you, jerry. tonight at 5:00, green goes gorgeous. being environmentally responsible doesn't mean that you can't live resp we're back now with more of "today" on a tuesday morning. it's the 13th day of october 2009, and, ladies, ts is your lucky day, because "cosmo" magazine has bught the hottest bachelors from all around the country to our plaza this morning. they're going to find out which one is the hottest bachelor, but before they do that, they're going to hang out and spend little time with amy and natalie this morning. >> we have such a tough job this morning. >> twist the arm -- >> what does that mean? oh, that's the twisting the arm. i didn't know what you were showing there. anyway, the bachelors are in the corner there. we'll say on your mark, get set, go, an y ladies run after him. >> is that how it goes? >> that's how it works. >> do you want to help? no. also this morning, michael buble just put on a great show in the studio. if you missed it, don't worry -- well, there he is, first of all, signing autographs for fans on the plaza. he's been nice enough to stick around. we'll hear more from him coming up. >> he's great. also, what do you think of this 72-year-old great grandmother? do you watch that? >> she was a pistol. >> she was stopped in a routine traffic stop. ended up resisting or being argumentativ was tased twice by a deputy constable. she's now received a $45,000 settlement from the county. some people don't think that's right. >> she did say go ahead and do it it's a me. >> and she also gave -- >> it was an xletive. >> we'll have a discussion with the great grandmother to find out her side of the story. >> okay. also, nutritionist joy bauer is here to answer your debting questions. she has a simple formula on how many calories you should be using to lose or maintain your weight. plus, the three food you should definitely stay away from. plus, seeing how all three of us are journalists, i'm assuming none of us did well in math? >> that's your segment, rit? >> exactly, well, we're going to tell you why every kid would want a particular guy to be helping them with their homework, not fme, for sure. he's blowing people away with his math skills. again, he's called the human calculator. >> again, your segment, right? >> right. >> easy stuff. >> easy! >> okay. >> that stuff i could do. >> none of it's easy. >> i know. >> ann's standing by a look at the headlines. >> thanks, matt. good morning, once again, everybody. officials say hillary clinton met with resistance in mosc moscow, where she is seeking russian support for possible new sanctions against iran. she met with russia's prime minister, who said that punishing iran for keeping nuclear secrets would be counter productive. secretary clinton is also meeting with russian president medvedev. protestors took to the streets this morning in south korea, denouncing five new short-range missile tests with north korea and they burned photos of north korea's leader, kim jong-il. the insurance industry is waging a last-minute campaign against the only health care reform bill that has full white house support, and that bill is facing a crucial test today. the senate finance committee is to vote on the bill, which does not include a government-funded insurance option, but does call for a tax on high-end private insurance. warmer temperatures today should help nebraska dig out from monday's record october snowfall. more than a foot in some places. minneapolis had just enough snow to keep skiers satisfied until winter really arrives. and there are some concerns about mudslides because of rain in california. officials in washington state say a massive landslide over the weekend destroyed two homes and damaged about 25 others. it also buried a road, which may be now closed for months. in philadelphia, officials are trying to find out why a crane toppled over on monday, sending a construction worker falling 125 feet to his death. an elderly ohio woman has been ticketed for a weekend accident caught on tape that coulhave been much worse. police say that her minivan hit a gas pump, which briefly then caught on fire before falling onto a 57-year-old man. three people lifted the 500-pound pump and the victim survived with broken bones and a cut on his head. those are some of the top stories at four minutes past. now let's go back outside to matt and amy. >> all right, ann, thank you very much. all right, let's get a check of the weather from al roker. al, good morning. >> all righty, thanks a lot. got a nice group of folks here in pink! where are you all from? >> texas! >> all right, texas! hot pink in texas. let's talk about your weather out west. rough stuff, flood watches from the sierras to parts of southern california. rainfall amounts, we are talking about heavy rain, some areas picking up seven to nine inches in the foothills of the sierras. so, we are looking at flash flooding a big problem, even flash flooding and mudslides in southern california. southeast, we've got more rain coming in. they got hammered yesterday,s ç# partly to mostly cloudy and central southern virginia is all sunny. as the day progresses, we have sunshine coming back. right now, it's still chilly. low and mid-50s. highs today climbing into the 60s with sunshine back and a blustery northwest wind gusting to 25 miles an hour. mostly clear tonight and low 40s. increasing clouds on wednesday. highs only in the mid-50s. cool >> and that's your latest weather. natalie? thank you, al. this morning on "joy's diet s.o.s.," how to drop five pounds or maybe 50. almost everyone watched their calories at some point, but often not without frustration and confusion. so, "today's" contributing nutritionist joy bauer is here with answers to your most asked questions. good morning, joy. >> good morning. >> got a lot of great people lined up with questions. first on skype, we've got kristen. she's in new jersey and she has a concern about foods to avoid. go ahead and give us your question. >> hi, good morning. joy, you gave a lot of great information on the show, so i was wondering, what's the absolute worst food that i should avoid at all costs? >> ooh. >> great question, kristen. there are so many foods that -- >> to avoid. >> -- you should be avoiding. but i would say my top three items are these. first, regular soda. it is literally liquid candy without any nutritional benefits. if you can imagine one 20-ounce bottle has 17 teaspoons of straight sugar. my second item would be stick margarine. stick margarine contains the evillest of all fats, transfat. itrives up the bad cholesterol and down the good cholesterol. so, it's a double hit to your heart. the soft-tub margarines are okay if they say no transfat, but stay away from the stick. lastly, full-fat hot dogs. people think it's a protein food, but it's 70% fat, and the majority is artery-clogging fat and it has a lot of sodium. so, again, it's going to be regular soda, stick margarines and full-fat hot dogs. >> all right, thank you for your question, kristen, great. okay, next we have a viewer on the phone. we have pete from new york city. and pete, what is your question to joy? >> caller: i have triglycerides and were wondering if there were any foods that could help lower them? >> i really like this question, pete. thanks for asking it. because we put so much attention to lowering cholesterol numbers and not enough chatting about triglyceride levels. now, triglycerides, if they're elevated, that means higher than 150 will also increase your risk for heart disease, for stroke and for diabetes. so, when you're lowering your triglyceride numbers, which is incredibly important to do, it's basically the same strategies as lowering cholesterol. so you know the drill -- losing weight if you need to, exercising more and getting rid of those toxic fats, specifically, saturated fat and transfat. but when it comes to triglycerides, there are additional things you can do. you want to omit alcohol and sugary beverages, even fruit juice, because those two things will spike your triglyceride levels. and you also want to eat as much fattfish as you can, because the omega threes in salmon and sardines can margicly lower your triglyceride levels, so much so that if your numbers are very high, speak with your physician about possibly taking a fish oil supplement. >> all right. great question, pete, thank you. now we have a couple questions via e-mail. first one is from marilyn in los gatos, california. she writes -- "how do i calculate how many calories i should be eating for weight loss?" that's a tough question. we don't know much about marilyn. >>right. there are a lot of variables that come into play -- your age, your height, your weight, your activity level. so, here is a ballpark -- >> simple formula. >> -- number, simple formula, specifically for women, to give you somewhat of an idea. take your weight that you're currently at and multiply it by ten. so, let's say if you're 160 pounds and you want to drop 20 pounds, 160 times 10 will give you 1,600 calories per day. if you're 250 pounds, that's 2,500 calories each and every day. but very important to know -- as you lose weight, your body requires less calories. so, you need to adjust that number. so, when you hit 200 pounds, bravo, you've lost 50 pounds from that 250. you only require 2,000 calories now. when you hit 180, you only need 1,800 calories, and of course, if you do lots of exercise, you have more wiggle room with those calories because you're burning calories. >> good, good. so, hopefully, keep the level of activity up and that's going to help you, too. >> food down, activity up. >> calories in, calories out. okay, next e-mail is from laura in longmont, colorado. she writes -- "as important as i know breakfast is, i am just not hungry in the morning. should i force myself to eat something to get my metabolism going?" this is a problem for a lot of people who, you know, have a little bit of a queasy stomach when they wake up. >> it is, and you've heard it a million times, breakfast is oober important because it fuels your brain, revs your metabolism and regulates your appetite throughout the day. that being said, some people are just not morning eaters and i totally respect that. so, if your eating pattern keeps you energized, your weight is stable, you're not overeating or bingeing later in the evening, don't pressure yourself to eat breakfast. and midmorning, when you are hungry, grab something that is healthy and satisfying -- a piece of fruit, a yogurt, a half of a sandwich. it's all fine. breakfast is not the end all for everyone. >> see, i could eat ten breakfasts a day. it's my favorite meal of the day. >> you're a breakfast person. >> i'm a breakfast person, i guess being a morning person. an e-mail from shari in bakersfield, califoia, who says, "i have a juicer and wanted to know if it is really healthy to juice to get your five servings of fruit a day rather than eating them?" >> juicing is terrific because you can control what goes into the juicer -- nutrient-packed produce -- and what doesn't go into the juicer -- preservatives, salt and sugar. >> aren't you giving up a lot of fiber, though? >> yes. >> and that's going to fill you up, too. >> when it comes to vegetables, i'm all for juicing because they're low sugar and you'll never gain weight for down downing a lot of vegetables. this is a great way to get your quota. juice, on the other hand, becomes very caloric. one orange, which is satiating and fills you up, it will take at least two full oranges, 120 calories, to get a small glass of juice. so, you don't realize how much sugar, even though it's fruit sugar, and how many calories you're guzzlinghen you juice a lot of fruit. so, yes to the vegetables. take it easy if you're juicing the juice. >> and if you're mixing in the juice in all of that, too, so. >> right. >> joy bauer, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> great questions from our viewers. and if you need some more answers from joy, head to todayshow.com and submit your questions to joy's mailbox. and we'll be sure to answer them next time she's here. coming up northerext, the g grandma who was tasered in texas last spring speaks out. then later, whether you're looking for bainey gift or holiday shopping early, we have the gifts babies and toddlers will love. ( sfx: lever and stairs flattening noise, and sliding sound ) pop-tarts®, please! ♪ ( sfx: toaster pop ) when you give your kids... kellogg's frosted strawberry pop-tarts®... baked with real fruit, they'll rise. and you'll shine. ( sfx: mom giggles ) pop-tarts®. made for fun™. inining ring ring. progresso. your chicken tuscany says it has fiber in it. yep. four tasty new soups with 28% of your daily fiber. but i like this chicken tuscany. i like it too. but it has fiber in it. that's right. fiber? yeah. but i like it. (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. another take? new revlon doubletwist mascara. a revolutionary 2-in-1 applicator that combines a thickening brush with separating combs for massive volume and remarkable definition. new revlon doubletwist mascara. it's worth a double take. in the ship's main dining room on royal caribbean with a look at the news guiseppe from italy found lady luck on deck 11. the agnarelli's explored the ancient wonders of turkey. back on the ship, the royal caribbean performers brought down the house. and filly, tamara and christian danced the night away. that's the news. i'm eileen, cruising with royal caribbean. why aren't you? (announcer) call 1800 royalcaribbean today. i've tried these, without success. spray 'n wash max has a new and improved formula it has resolve power to break down tough stains better than the competition! it even outperforms the others on these dried-in stains! finally! (alistair) trust resolve power. forget stains. it's the spin & crash raceway start your engines ! speed it up, go, go, go ! uh-oh ! make a pit stop ! last lap, victory ! well done, eddie. and also from the world of little people in a magical castle princess sarah-lynn and prince andrew are getting ready for the ball ! the little people dance & twirl palace and the spin & crash raceway. only from fisher price. last spring, 72-year-old great grandmother katheriryn su winkfein was pulled over for speeding in a 45-mile-per-hour work zone. the incident was caught on dashboard camera. >> i'm a 72-year-old. take me to jail. don't take me to jail. >> step on out. >> just give me the [ bleep ] thing and i'll sign it. >> get over here now! >> i'm getting back in my car. >> you're going to be sorry. stop. taser. get on the ground! get on the ground! >> ahh! >> an internal investigation cleared the deputy of any wrongdoing, but travis county offered winkfein a $40,000 settlement for pain, suffering and humiliation. now she is speaking out for the first time since that incident. earlier, matt sat down with ms. winkfein along with her son and attorney, and matt began by asking her whether she's the hot-tempered woman on the tape or the sweet grandmother sitting with him. >> i just lost my temper. i do that maybe twice a year, but that day i lost it. >> so, when you look at the tape of what happened that day and you see yourself behaving that way, what do you think? >> i think, if i had to do it over, i would just not say anything, not react. >> eve though you disagreed with the whole speeding concept -- >> right. >> you didn't think you should be pulled over, but you did resist arrest. >> well, how did i resist? >> if i could interrupt, we're not going to talk about -- >> based on what you saw on tape, did you behave in a normal manner with that deputy constable? >> no. >> and when you gave that interview with that local tv station and said i did not resist, i did not become argumentative, that's before you knew there was a cam are rolling on this the whole time. you didn't tell the truth, did you? >> actually, i told what i remembered. because when he tased me and he kept it on and it threw me to the ground, that erased all memory. i have no memory until i later when i was way away from there on my back. so i have no memory of being on my stomach. >> when we first ran this story back in may, there was a split decision. a lot of people thought, she got what she deserved. he warned her over and over again to cooperate and she didn't, so she got what she deserved. i'm going to be honest, tt's what i said at the time. there were other people who said, under no circumstances do you taser a 72-year-old, 4'11" woman, not only once, but twice. do you think you were mistreated in any way? >> definitely. >> yeah? in what way? >> well, at my age and the taser like that -- he turned it on and kept it on, which -- >> it didn't hit her a second time. >> the other thing -- >> it didn't it's a me the second time. that was too much. >> the other thing was she twice offered to sign the ticket when she got to the back of the truck. i still don't understand why he never gave her the opportunity to sign the ticket, proceeded forward with trying to arrest her. he could have very easily said let's step over here, let's sign the ticket and we can all go down the road. >> do you guys worry about, what i thought at the time, steve -- and i'll let you handle this one -- well, what happens if this had getten more -- like right there, more out of hand, she had walked out on the street and some driver coming along swerves to avoid her and ends up getting killed? >> well, actually, if you look at the dash cam, his cruiser is out into the street pretty much blocking traffic. i don't think that was possible for that to happen. >> so you don't think this could have gotten more dangerous for sue, for your mom, or -- >> i think he had the opportunity to shut the thing down and didn't do it, like tom just said, indicated. twice she offered to sign the ticket, let's all go home. >> agreed, she used an xlistive the first time, but you know, that should have made it clear she was ready to sign the ticket. >> steve, let me ask you this, am i missing something here? your mom is 72 years old, as i mentioned, 4'11" -- >> retired school teacher. >> retired school teacher, the mother of 3, grandmother of 11 and great grandmother of 3 more. how did she end up starring in that video? >> you know when i got the phone call that she was ready to be released from the facility, it was surreal. i said, released from what? and then they informed me she had been tased. i just -- again, the only word to describe that was surreal. it's so far out of character for her that -- >> if you ask him how many times in his life he's seen me mad, what would you say? >> you know, never. just once in a while, but never like this. >> just happened to get caught on tape. and do you feel bad at all about accepting that $40,000? because there are some people who said you misbehaved and you're being paid to reinforce that misbehavior. >> i don't know that i have an opinion on that. i'm not a money person, you know what i'm saying? but then steve and i say, well, even poor people don't like being poor, but we're not a greedy type, so you know. >> could charges still be pressed in this? >> there is informal charges. there uld still be charges pressed. i'm optimistic that won't happen at this point, but it could still happen. >> but the headline here, sue, is if this were to happen again and you were to be pulled over again by a different deputy or the same, you would do what? >> say nothing. >> stay in the car and sign the ticket? >> i would not react to anything. >> and that was matterly this morning with sue winkfein, stevestland and thomas turtelot. up next, getting to know them. "cosmo" picks the hottest bachelors in the country, right after this. ♪ brate any moment. fancy feast appetizzrs. simple high qualiiy ingredients like wild alaskan salmon, white meat chicken, or seabass and shrimp in a delicate broth, prepared without by-products or fillers. new fancy feast appetizers celebrate the moment. wiggle your day with jell-o sugar-free gelatin. ♪ ooh, yeah it's 10 tasty calories... loved by lips and hips alike. ♪ shake it, shake it, ooh, yeah ♪ jell-o. because every diet needs a little wiggle room. jell-o. my two granddaughters are my life. they always ask me, grandma, take me here, grandma, take me there. but with my occasional irregularity i wasn't always up to it. until i discovered activia and everything started to change. announcer: activia is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system in two weeks when eaten every day. now i enjoy every minute. my grandkids are happy, and so am i. ♪ activia prepare your mouth for a battle against germs. protect your mouth right with crest pro-health rinse at night. it kills 99% of germs that cause gingivitis, plaque, and bad breath, without the burn of alcohol. for a healthier mouth that's cleaner in the morning. well, you've heard of the economic stimulus package, about how about for all you single ladies on the plaza, today the single stimulus package, huh? sounds like a good thing, because standing behind us, we've got that very package right here. "cosmo's" hottestbachelors, a man from every state represented. >> we like that. and here to tell us how her and her team survived this miserable job of picking the hottest bachelors -- >> it is a tough job. >> -- is kate white, editor in chief of "cosmopolitan." thanks for being with us. >> well, thank you. >> obviously, we can see maybe the physical reasons why these men were chosen, but what goes into picking who makes the list? swrrks wel >> well, i kind of think personalities. because we want guys that are good boyfriend material. so our bachelor committee looks at their photos, usually sent in by moms and girlfriends, one guy's grandmother sent it in this year. >> how many submissions? >> thousands that we get. >> thousands. >> and then we boil it down and i get to make the final pick. >> are you really all bachelors? oh, really? ladies -- >> what does single me? they can obviously have girlfriends. >> well, they swear to us they don't have a girlfriend, but we don't go to their states to check. >> mr. ohio, mr. maine and mr. hawaii. what's your name? >> matt. >> matt? and who submitted you for the bachelor? >> a friend from high school submitted me. >> a friend from high school. very good. and what do you do? >> i'm a third grade teacher. >> sweet. >> very likable. >> aww. >> okay. >> maine, has your name, mr. maine? >> hi, i'm madison. >> what do you do and how did you get nominated? >> i'm a photographer. actually, the woman that i work with. >> the woman you work with. she's not your girlfriend, though. >> no, no. >> of course not. >> just checking. >> and mr. hawaii? >> mu> okay. >> we would love to talk to all of you. obviously, a lot of great candidates here. so, how will you choose? one man from every state. is there like a final selection made of the best? >> this is it, and we're celebrating every bachelor this year with a big party tonight. >> all right. kate white, thanks so much, we appreciate it, and thank you, guys. >> much more coming up after this and congestion. (announcer) you need a sinus medicine ooohhh... that rescues you from all three symptoms introducing new sudafed pe® triple action™. for more complete relief from the sinus triple threat. get more complete relief. with new sudafed pe® triple action™. also find sudafed® behind the counter. no additives you can't pronounce. no artificial ingredients of any kind. select harvest from campbell's now has twelve soups that are 100% natural. all the farm raised goodness you want, none of the chemical stuff you don't. with ingredients this natural, we want to show the world. select harvest 100% natural soups, it's partly cloudy outside. we'll have the full weather forecast in just a moment. the time now is 9:26 and the university of maryland is going to be hosting a forum and they are still on campus and they are calling for a new policy and the concern is about free speech. we will take a look at the weather and traffic. and in the northwest washington, still a bit of a chill in the air in the air and throughout the region we'll hit the 60s and near 30 miles an hour and later on this afternoon, tomorrow, breezy, clouds and chilly rain and partly cloudy and sunny. we'll talk about the traffic now. two lanes are currently closed off and headed for downtown, heavy and slow. going across the 14th street bridge, we'll keep an eye out. >> rough going this morning, jerry, thank you. >> tonight at 5:00, green goes i'm liz lemon! if your man is over 30 and still wears a name tato work, that's a deal-breaker. but not you, mike. >> that's, of course, the lovely and talented a very funny tina fey. it gets better! the force behind the hit comedy "30 rock" and so much more. she's going to be here across the street from the actual 30 rock, but here in studio 1a, thursday on "today" to tell us what she's got up her sleeve. we promise she won't hit anyone. meanwhile, coming up in this half hour, you're going to be talking to the human calculator. thank god it's you, right? >> exactly. well, i'm going to be talking to him. i won't be participating. we're actually going to give him a pop quiz right now. scott flanzberg holds the record for fastest human calculator. so, scott, you're going to count by 57, is that correct? >> he's doing that right now. >> you just do like this, 57 plus 57 equals, 114, 11, 342, 399, 456 -- >> he's not looking at that calculator. >> 855, 919 -- >> woo, i'm exhausted. >> yada, yada, yada. >> my brain hurts. >> natalie and i, after taking two minutes, figured out the next one was 114, but -- >> it stopped there, that's it. you shut us down. >> we'll have more with scott's pretty amazing talents there in just a few minutes. >> woo! wish i had him around when i was taking the s.a.t.s, right? >> that would have been nice. then, with money tight these days, you want to spend wisely. we'll have the best choices for babies and toddlers that will keep them happy and busy and your wallet even happier. hi, baby. plus, more from crooner michael buble, who is out with a brand new collection. and a friendly reminder. monday we introduced you to the first und of the semifinalists in "today's kid reporter." which do you think should join our team? head to todayshow.com to see their video submissions and vote or text your vote to 622639. push 1 for isabella, 2 for benjamin, 3 for sammy and 4 for noah. standard rates apply. >> so hard. they're all fantastic. >> i know. >> time is running out. you have until 5:00 p.m. eastern time tonight to vote and tomorrow we'll tell you who won the first round. then next week, we'll meet four more semifinalists. >> all right. first, let's get a check of the weather from our good friend al. >> all right. we've got a good group re. look at this. wow. they're happ they're happy. why? because they're not out west, that's why. let's take a look, show you what's going on. heavy, heavy rain throughout much of california, on into oregon. strong storms also in the mid-mississippi river valley, snow in northern new england, high pressure making for chilly conditions through the plains. tomorrow we've got sunny skies in new england but cool, wet weher mid-atlantic states, gulf coast down into the southeast. more heare heas ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç#ç# good morning. it's partly cloudy and a live picture from the city camera showing the sunshine on this tuesday morning, pouring down on the potomac river. we should hit the 60s later on today with sunshine. clouds are in and out and the winds are also increasing to 25, 30 mile-per-hour gusts perhaps this afternoon. and then near 40 tomorrow morning after a little sun in the mornin it will cloud up quickly and >> and that's your latest weather. natalie, amy? >> okay, thank you, al. coming up next, quick, what's 142 divided by 7 times 21. can you tell us? >> i didn't hear it but adding left to right, 72, 80, 85, 89. easy stuff. >> oh, yeah, right. real easy. >> we'll check with him after this. veggies in your house? with ragu, you can give your kids veggies they'll actually eat. ragu has more than a full serving of veggies in every hf-cup. so give them a good start with all natural ragu. feed our kids well. i just vacuumed a second ago. vacuuming alone won't get the sticky dirt that's buried deep down in your carpet. resolve high traffic foam removes the deep sticky dirt that vacuuming can't. that's clean! don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. of maxwell house's flavor lock lid. hear that? seals it tight. smells like fresh ground. fresh fresh fresh fre-- that's our favorite part. ...fresh! (announcer) taste why maxwell house is good to the last drop. are on the table grands biscuits. would it really be breakfast without 'em? hoo-hoo! make breakfast grand. for joint pain. for joint pain. we've trapped kimberly in this glass box... with all this dust. well, it only dust. in that dust are allergens from pet dander and dust mites. eww! pledge with allergen trappers... trapup to 84% of allergens in dust. 84%? that's... nothing to sneeze at? yeah... no. that's great. allergen trappers. that's the beauty of pledge®. also available in wipes. s.c. johnson. a family company. my two granddaughters are my life. they always ask me, grandma, take me here, grandma, take me there. but with my occasional irregularity i wasn't always up to it. until i discovered activia and everything started to change. announcer: activia is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system in two weeks when eaten every day. now i enjoy every minute. my grandkids are happy, and so am i. ♪ activia . how fast can you divide 673 by 9? well, scott flanzburg has already done it. he holds the record for the world's fastest human calculator and is talking about the american math challenge. first, we're going to challenge him a bit ourselves. >> thanks for having me. >> you make math look so easy. are you a genius? what is your label? how did you get to that point? >> i have a gift to be able to understand numbers and see numbers in a new way and i've discovered a revolutionary approach that's going to change the way kids learn math around the world. >> so, can anyone do what you do? >> to a basic extent -- >> because i don't think i could. >> well, the speed i get to sometimes is pretty wild. my brain goes so fast that my mouth slows me down. >> to prove that point, we have a few equations for you. >> all right. what do you want to try? >> you have not seen any of these equations beforehand. >> okay. >> add four three-digit numbers together. >> okay. >> 397 -- >> plus -- >> 723 -- >> plus -- >> 599. >> plus -- >> 184. >> 1,903. >> oh! yes, it is. all right, here's a tougher question. >> all right. >> it's a long division question. >> okay. >> i like being the one asking the questions, by the way. >> it's easy, isn't it? >> 923 divided by 7. >> 131.8571425 -- >> oh, we only had to -- >> i got carried away. >> you did it morehan we did. >> last one. you can do equations backwards. >> yes, usually. >> usually. all right. i will multiply a number by itself three times and give you the answer, then you tell me what number i started with. >> right. so just tell me the answer. don't tell me the number you started with. and i'll do the cube root. >> 912673. >> 97. >> that was really fast, and you're correct. >> well, that's what i do. >> okay. so, i think you've proved your point, as we said. no you're here to promote the american math challenge, which is an effort, as you said, to get kids in this country excited about math. >> yeah. >> how do you do that? because that would have been a tough sell for me. >> i think most kids get off the wrong foot when it comes to math. they have a bad experience very young. maybe they had to go up to the board and figure something out in front of all their friends and they didn't get it right, and from that moment on, they decided as soon as i don't have to do any more math, i'm not going to. so, that age limit, 9 to 13, is where kids really identify whether they love or hate math. so we're trying to reach out to all those students to inspire them to be more comfortable with numbers, to build more number sense. it opens up so many doors of opportunity that kids just shut when they choose not to do math. >> and i think a lot of girls do that, too. >> that used to be the case, but girls are sneaking in statistically to average out everything. >> that's good. >> this is the way it was last generation. and this is a free online math challeng >> yeah. how do kids get involved? tell us that. >> go to americanmathchallenge.com. it's hosted by mathletics.com and sponsored by math counts foundation, which runs the biggest contest in the country to find the best mathletes. so we're finding the ambassadors for world math day. this will give us a chance to warm up and see how it works. it's 60 seconds of life racing, you create your own avatar and race kids around the world and get points for every right answer. >> you wanted to teach us a trick you recently discovered, the nine equation. tell us how it's done. >> you look at the capital lator. there's ten buttons, but no ten, it's zero through nine. i say use your ten fingers. ten digits. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. zero through nine are the ten digits that make up all the numbers in the universe. >> okay. >> the secret to numbers is everything goes back to nine. so, look at ten. the first number after nine is ten. it's written with a one and a zero. add up the digits. one plus xeer you gives you one. what's ten take away one? nine. 11, add up 1 and 1 is 2, 11, take away 2 is nine. 12 take away three, nine. add it up, take itway, this equals nine. >> what does that teach you in general? >> great question. the way we teach kids math is to use their memory. you'll say eight plus eight is 16, but you've memorized it. we don't use our calculator sense, but we use our memory. i'm using this to turn on the calculator in the brain of students in america and around the world, because this is the missing chapter in math. if students would learn this, numbers would line up, make more sense. they would have better number sense. then our teachers could teach our kids mormath. because most kids by fourth, fifth grade, they can't do arithmetic, so why will they do algebra? this is to help all those kids that are afraid of math, and even the parents. the american math challenge isn't just about students. it's about parents sitting down with their students. we're challenging them to go on to mathletics.com and pick their worst part of math and give us five minutes and let us show you how we teach it and help your child and yourself overcome your anxiety with math. >> because parents have just as much anxiety doing their children's fifth-grade match. scott flansburg, thank you very. up next, toys for your little ones. let love blossom... in bloom... the inviting new fragrance from reese witherspoon. let your sensuality bloom exclusively for avon. contact your avon representative now. great looking skin... it's in the dna. [ femalennouncer ] new regenerist dna cream with spf 25 doesn't just correct. it helps protect your dna without a $200 department store price tag. olay regenerist. time to deploy the chex mix boring potato chip decoy bag. now no one will want to steal the deliciousness. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting. to buy raisin bran extra! i'm surprised nobody else is here for the big debut of the almonds. oh, guys, i can see it! they're setting it up right now! is it true? are there really going to be cranberries? yep, i can see the boxes, and there's definitely yogurty clusters in there too! i think this is a 24-hour store. introducing kellogg's® raisin bran extra! with cranberries, almonds and yogurty clusters, it's raisin bran with so much extra. ♪ raisin bran extra! it's a mouthful of awesome! we're shopping for car insurance, and our friends said we should start here. good friends -- we compare our progressive direct rates, apples to apples, against other top companies, to help you get the best price. how do you do that? with a touch of this button. can i try that? [ chuckles ] wow! good luck getting your remote back. it's all right -- i love this channel. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. 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. this morning on "today's family," award-winning toys for babies and toddlers. stephanie oppenheim from toyportfolio.com is back with us with her baby-tested and parent-approved picks a babies and parents from the "today" show family are here to help us out. good morning to all of you. great to have you back with us. >> good morning, natalie. >> i've got my 18-month-old, but let's start with the baby. what do parents need to get at that age? >> there are so many toys marketed to parents and the truth is, you don't need to have that many times, but what you bring homes needs to count. meaning they need to be safe, age-appropriate. and in our testing, we found great choices for horizontal babies like matthew down on the map, and vertical toddlers as well. this is a new mat called the twist-and-go. what we loved were the graphics, having the decor look which our testers like, but having an activity mat like this is great for when your baby is awake and ready to engage in the world. it has dangling toys, music, it has a round pillow for tummy time play as well and a mirror. >> so, those are the things you want to focus on, the tummy time. and at this point, they're just starting to be interested in objects. >> exactly. this is the toy that will grow with your baby, but it's also nice to have a musical toy for soothing your baby. this is -- >> peter rabbit. >> peter rabbit with an old-fashioned lullaby with a music box inside, which is really sweet. >> what about these? >> tracking is something you want to work on, and -- >> parents are the best toys. you have to be involved in that. >> absolutely. more important than anything we're going to talk about, playing with your baby, talking and singing is what it's all about. >> definitely. >> you can use a puppet like these from manhattan toy with bold graphics on them. they're lots of fun. i love these soft rattles for newbor babies because they make a little sound. so it's not too much. >> that's great. >> but also, when you pass this off to a new baby, they won't hurt themselves as well. >> we're losing their interest. >> having a distortion-free mirror like this from sassy kerr $15 is a great choice. it can attach to crib or on the floor -- >> and they love looking at themselves. >> they can make something so often before they realize that's their hand or foot. >> okay, when they start to sit up. >> when we get to the vertical stage, we want kids to move, having a softball that you can play back and forth. this is a baba ball. lots of fun, lots of textures to explore. >> little ribbons and things. okay. >> i have to tell you, everybody wants to buy their first matchbox car or -- >> lots of little pieces. very dangerous. >> not a safe choice. >> right. >> so, this year we started to look for vehicles that were age-appropriate for this age group and we found great choices. this is the early years zippity-zoom. it's very chunky with a pullback motor, so it will take off. if you're looking for something green, we love this hybrid car made of all wood. nice big finger holes here as well. >> and you don't have to worry about the pieces falling off. >> no, they're all designed -- and we lost another one, which is on the floor being enjoyed down there. >> which is a good thing. they're using it. >> under $6. you don't have to spend a lot to get a great toy. >> now, these huggable dolls. we saw some of the puppets over there. >> everybody wants to get a doll for their baby. >> my little luke loves them. he just squeezes them. >> exactly. and what's great about this collection- there are multicultural baby dolls and also animals. >> so great, if you're looking for something for boys, this is a great choice. uh-oh, and they're soft enough and light enough for toddlers. there are also zooble ss -- >> they seem to like what's going on down here. >> everybody's liking the toys. >> that's good. they're testing it here for us. >> and if you're looking for a baby doll, this is a rag doll, also a better choice. >> right. then we've got some of these. now, these are the toys that they're actually moving around and making noise here. >> right. so, the first one that we're looking at here, the kids are playing with -- it's a roll-around railroad -- >> parking deck. >> it's really designed for toddlers. it's not a complicated garage. you know from having toddlers, though, if you give them something big and complicated, they're going to sit on it. >> right. >> they really need something where they can make something happen. >> and making music and making letters, as rachel is holding that toy, that's good for that age, too, right? >> now, this is from step 2, and i have to tell you now, most of the musical ts we test had a terrible sound quality to them. and this one is from step 2. it's a basic rhythms. i don't know if you can hear what we're going to play, but -- >> oh, nbc! we like that. >> but again, this is really a great introduction to music, but also about making something happen. >> right. >> and you'll notice with all of the toys that we have here for older toddlers, there aren't a t of bells and whistles. you know, just the fact that they can pick up a block -- >> and just walk with it as they are. >> walk with it, right. filling and stacking. this is from fisher-price and the kids have loved playing with these all morning. and because they're making something happen. it's a real language toy for them. >> really, when it comes to developing motor skills and all that, most important thing, as you said, is the parental involvement. >> most important thing is to get down on the floor and engage. you're modeling the type of play. and eventually, they're going to play on their own. not to worry about that. >> right. >> but it really is the give and take without talking about what they're doing with the toy. >> exactly. and not having to spend a lot of money. but you can fill up pales and that pretty much makes them happy. stephanie oppenheim. kids, thank you! and thanks to all our mom helpers, too, and dad helpers. thanks a lot. and still to come here -- by the way, if you want more on the toys, check out our website, todayshow.com. and we're going to come back with a little bit more of "today" right after this on nbc. look who showed up a little early this morning, hoda and kathie lee. >> we're going to have michael buble sitting with us. >> all things michael buble. we felt so bad for carrie fisher who has the flu. she was supposed to be with us. we wish her a speedy recovery. >> ande have a lot of other things to talk about. the it's a yard granny -- >> the granny who got tasered. >> and the 6-year-old boy who might be sent to reform school. >> reform school. >> can't happen in america, people. it started out pretty cold and breezy this morning but tom says it will be more balmy this afternoon and then more change is on the way. good morning. students at george washington university can breathe a sigh of relief after a man sneaking into female dorm rooms was finally caught. according to a report in the school paper, the man entered at least five different rooms in thurston hall in the early morning hours. they tried to touch the woman and innish ate sexual encounters. the man was signed in by another male university student. let's get the weather from tom. tom, i see the sun poking out in some areas. >> its. after a chilly start, it's climbing into the mid- and upper 50s. and at this hour, we'll see the wind gusting up to 30 miles an hour in the mountains and later on, we could have gusts that high as temperatures climb into the mid- and upper 50s. much cooler tomorrow and chilly rain is likely. i long interstate 66 where we've had a series of accidents and elsewhere, headed for downtown, the lanes remain opened. kimberly? >> thanks, jerry. tonight at 5:00, green captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody. it's tuesday, october 13th. and, boy, do i wish you had been with us just two seconds earlier. >> that's the beauty of commercial breaks. >> putting everybody in pras. >> you have to check and double-check. make sure everybody's fine. >> hello, everyone. glad you're with us. >> you were quite busy in the late-night scene. >> i had such a good time over there. >> you were on jimmy fallon. >> i have officially informed frank gifford it's over between us. >> what? >> it's over. i'm in love with jimmy. sorry. >> we should point out, in the makeup room he was telling us he had a crush on you forever. >> well, that's because i had my big break in show business -- >> i'm sorry, look at you in red! >> that's all right. when he was 2 years old. let's keep this in perspective. this gives the word cougar absolutely new -- >> was there real chemistry between you two, to be honest? >> like an old aunt and her younger nephew. yes. you know what it is. he is just so much fun and he's so adorable and he's so not mine-spirited that he creates an environment there where you just want to be -- you want to be silly and have a ball. and then you want to take him home. >> was he -- sorry. >> you do! >> and i've heard -- you who never e-mail. >> i did e-mail him. he e-mailed me a sweet, little note, which i will be private. ly show you at commercial. and then i don't e-mail. >> you wrote him back. and it will get there on friday. >> i wrote him a little note. >> it will get there on friday. exactly. that's right. it's the old-fashioned carry way, hoda. >> i heard of that with a stamp. >> and it was delivered. >> oh! i want to see -- i deposit get didn't get to see it. it's on late. and you taped it earlier. >> yeah, i taped it earlier. >> let's just watch them in action, kathie lee with jimmy fallon. >> here we go. i got this. >> you are adorable, by the way. you really are. you're lovable with a big old love. >> stop! there we go. four notes? >> yeah. ♪ staying alive >> we played "identify the diddy." >> can i just say something, you were going for the high five, double high five, he went in for the kiss. did you see what happened? >> he hasn't heard about our heinie. that's why. >> what else did you say to him? >> we didn't do much. we played a little game. we had fun. and i really -- i have done all of the different shows. the only one i haven't done is his direct competitor, craig ferguson. i have never been on his show. but i have been on the others. and everybody's got their own personalities, but i got to put him right up there at the top. it was a really, really fun time. >> you did have the cleavage out. you brought it. show it again. you brought it. >> here's the thing. there's no place to put it anymore. unless you dress like a nun, there's no place to put it. >> please! really? now they put the bar up! >> this is the bar up. >> people are looking out for you. you did bring it. yes, you did. >> here's the truth. >> tell the truth. >> eric justian, who does jimmy's clothing and helps me with my cliothing, gave me a beautiful david meister brown dress to wear it last night. >> yeah. >> and momma tried to put it on and momma's mental pop prevented her from wearing it. and i brought the red droes that i had already worn at the emmys as a backup. so mommy tried to put that one on and the menopause was there too! >> are you going to get it sucked snout. >> i think i am. >> no, you're not. >> i'm gonna. >> are you afraid of stuff like that? >> no, no. not with dr. patricia hexler at the helm. you were having fun last night. >> i was at the edward r. murrow awards. by the way, nbc cleaned up. richard engel won an award. bob datsun, one of the finest writers won for the fifth time, "dateline" won an emmy for breaking news. it was a her risk night. >> did ms. modia -- >> i was a presenter. i wore an outfit and gave out things like vanna. >> but you have won one. >> i have won one. i won one back in the day. >> what's it like to win something? really. i -- i get nominated for everything and win nothing. >> i think my winning days are over. >> i don't think so, hoda woman. it's just begun for you. >> so this was an interesting story. it was in the new york papers a while ago. there's a celebrity chef named todd english. he got engaged to a woman named erica wang. she said she wanted to elope. he insisted on the big wding. this is all from her side. >> and he says to her, rig -- no, you will one day recept sen. we're not sure which story is true. it's all a legend. he said, you will resent me someday if you don't get the wedding of your dreams. >> so it was a $150,000 wedding. >> fine. >> it was all getting ready to happen. six days or seven days before the wedding, she didn't hear from him. okay. >> and he didn't hear from her. >> no. she tried to contact him and she said he never -- this is from her side. tried to conct him, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. it is now the day of the wedding. everyone flown in. she has relatives from hong kong. they're all here. it's time for the wedding. he, according to her, calls her best friend and her best friend says, look, you better call her. the wedding's today. and he calls her and according to the fiancee says, i can't get married. >> at 1:00. >> on the wedding day. >> on the wedding day. then she says when she got to the location, they gave her a bill for $12,000 that he hadn't paid for the entire wedding, which was $150,000, that there was still an outstanding balance of $12,000. so she got jilted. and she said they sort of had a party with the people who did show. that's weird. what are you going to do? >> what's the real story here? >> it seems like it's right out of "sex and the city," that movie, remember, was just like that. she's probably in a fetal position right now -- she put on a brave face perhaps and then -- >> yeah. >> went nighty-night. >> he says, this is a statement from todd english. "i'm deeply saddened and remorseful for the cancellation of the wedding and any embarrassment it caused erica, our family and friends." and then he went on to say, our relationship has not been positive for some time. >> we are bet are off alone rather than together. that should have been decided ahead of time. the chivalrous thing seems to be, if you're truly remorseful, send her a check for $12,000. >> but that means he did pay $138,000. >> yeah, but -- >> the understanding was he was going to pay for the wedding, then man up! >> the whole wedding. >> that would be an interesting thing to ask our facebook friends. >> what? >> yeah. should he, if he's truly remorseful send a check to her and this proves i really am sorry. >> according to one report, he asked her to sign a prenup, and she said no to the prenup because it left her with nothing. she said, i'm not signing that prenup. i get nothing if i sign it. >> you know what -- >> money, money, money, money. >> did i ever tell you my prenup story. >> you had a prenup with frank? >> we both had assets, if you know what i'm saying. so we just thought it was not the romantic thing to do but definitely -- >> practical. >> practical thing to do. i was going to be his third wife. he was going to be my second husband. >> you guys have been busy. so, anyway -- >> we sat -- our dear friend ron, our attorney, he said let's talk about it. let's go sit on the beach and talk about it. so we're sitting on the beach. but ron's had a dog named claude, who was a little poodle. and we're talking about the prenup. talking about this back and forth. claude starts to hump my leg like crazy and wouldn't stop. and frank goes, you know what, claude feels about it the way i do. there will be no prenup. isn't that romantic? >> that was sweet. >> that's the way it was. >> any-hoo -- >> so there was none. as of this sunday, 23 years. >> wait, your anniversary was sunday? >> yeah, 23 years. >> how come you didn't say anything. >> it's this coming sunday. yeah, what did you get me? >> i have a beautiful idea in my mind right now. >> you know what we get each other now. this is how romantic it is. for our birthdays or sim birthdays, we both got garage doors. that's so sad. >> are you going to get him something for this? >> no, maybe a new fresh coat of paint on the garage door. come on. >> i know. after a while -- >> you don't need any more stuff. >> no. we're going to spend time together. >> isn't that sweet. >> get alg. we got whipped up in the makeup room over a couple of stories. one was over this grandmother. she was pulled over, she's 4'2", at a 7/eleven and she got pulled over for something illegal and she got feisty. >> feisty. >> let's just watch the confrontation with the police officer, and then you be the judge. >> okay. some of it is cut out. >> there's a lot more to it than that. >> what happened was, she said over the ticket, he said taser me. he tasered her. she's 72, twice. and she was saying, taser me before. look, here's my thing on it. she was out of line but you're not tasering a 72-year-old woman. i'm sorry. there's got to be another way to subdue a 72-year-old greatgrandmother other than tasering her twice on the side of the highway, don't you think? >> i don't know. looked like it worked. >> stop it! that is terrible. >> i tried to have a little fun today. you can take a little note to jimmy fallon, who had a lot of fun with me. >> i didn't see it! >> no. she's fine. this is what bothers me, she did not obey the law. she did not obey the -- what was he -- deputy. >> constable. >> whatever he's cald. now she got $40,000 from the town that they work in -- that they live in. every town is going absolutely bankrupt around, and because she didn't obey the law. >> she could have died. people have dd from being tasered. >> they said he did everything by the book. everything by the book. but it would have cost too much in a lawsuit to fight it. i'm sorry -- >> but when you watch the amping up of the temperature, then you take -- if i say hit me but i don't expect the person to hit me. just because they're threatening me. >> what should he have done? >> lowered the temperature. ma'am, calm down. they were bot uppingp and upping it and pretty soon she's laying on the ground, tasered twice. it's horrible. >> she will never argue with him again. i don't know. >> the laws are there for a reason. >> here's where the law, have you to use judgment. this little 6-year-old boy from nerk, delaware, zachary. he goes camping with his family. he's got one of those little knives, and he has -- it's a -- it's got a fork, it's got a spoon, it's got a little bottle opener, and it's got a very dull little knife used for camping. okay. he takes it to school because he wants to use it during lunch. and they're going to send this kid away for 45 days. >> yeah. they said he violated school policy and he has to go to reform school. >> okay. >> let's listen to what the little boy said. >> they're turning him into a serial killer. >> wait until you see him. you will fall in love with him. >> no, i had absolutely no idea this was going to happen. i was just -- i want thinking about it. i was thinking about having lunch with it. >> zachary, what have you learned through all of this? >> to always ask before taking something new into school. >> to ask your mom whether it's okay? >> anybody in the house, anybody that looks over me and stands up for me. >> oh! >> i started sobbing. >> i know you did. >> not over the little old lady but over the little boy. >> kathy was yelling "taser her." >> how about the little 6-year-old and 72-year-old who should have known better have time-out together. how cute would that be? sit in the corner together. talk it over. >> by the way, the mom said she's not sending her kid to reform school. she's going to homeschool him and then they will work it out. >> she can bring him to my house. i love that little boy. >> i did, too. >> i liked the little old lady too. but she's seven years younger than frank. she should know better. >> i did not like her. >> sarah, what are our facebook people say something. >> with regard to the wedding whether todd english should pay, dixie says, oh, yes, he's the one who ruined it. he called it off. he should pay for the whole thing. i would be interested to hear what he has to say after all of this coverage. she's the only one talking. >> we want to get his side of things. >> come here, hotty. >> oh, yeah. hello! we don't do -- all right. we do the heinie here usually but for you, we'll make an exception. how are you? >> michael goulet is with us. >> crazy for him. >> after these messages. ♪ ♪ we'll work it out ♪ and i promise you that i'll get so much more than i give ♪ ♪ i just haven't met you yet >> you're about to, buddy! look who he just met. this guy needs no introduction at all. >> i'm sure he won't mind if we told you he sold 22 million albums worldwide. and the latest one just hit stores. it's called "crazy love," what's happen something is it number e? >> i haven't heard yet. >> liz, come on. >> very close! >> i look at this video and i look so happy that i should like suck on a lemon or something. >> the girl with you in that video we should point out, how ironic is that, you met her doing this video. did you already know her before --? >> no, no. she just -- you know, you meet something new and the hpy feelings and then it encouraged me to write this song. to all of the single people who haven't met the person. we're all hopeful when we're single that person's going to come along and change your life. >> how did you meet her? >> i was in a show in argentina and i just saw her and i was zblsh smitten, my mother likes to say. >> i was smitten. >> an old biblical word. >> but it wasn't easy. >> no. >> she played hard to get? >> she was very hard to get. neither of us wanted to rush into anything, and we took it slow. >> so how long did it take? >> seven months, eight months. >> and most of the songs are classics almost everybody knows. reinterprets -- >> covers. >> covers. >> reinterpreted. >> reinterpreted in your own style. >> is it tough to take those songs and make them sort of your own? >> sweetheart, it's easy to do your own songs, nobody compared you. but i just did an interview i was talking about, so many people they for whatever reason there's a negative con owe nation put on covering -- by the way, what i think are the eatest gift to the arms from america, these standards. >> and they're around for a reason. they're great songs. >> i'm a canadian kid. and it's so important to keep this history alive. i get to continue is the legacy of my idols. >> who was the biggest influence on you, was it sinatra? >> to be honest, connick. >> harry connick. >> i think this guy could sing the phone book. he dances, he acts, he ranges, he plays the piano. >> you guys become friends? >> i sort of hate him. >> you guys do it all. >> no, i never met him. ways that close to him in new york, and someone said, want to meet connick, and i so -- i have met everybody, and i don't care. i meet presidents and i say, yeah. i did the whole like -- do you want to meet him? oh! >> i met michael quite a long time ago. >> you were there at the knight. >> in montreal, the prime minister, gorgeous daughter was getting married. >> caroline, yeah. >> beautiful girl. >> we were at the wedding and you were the wedding singer! david foster was there. >> you know what, that's why i was brought there. they brought me there knowing the foster men would be there. and she changed my whole life. >> you are kidding. >> what did you think when you heard -- >> it was more than when you hear -- it was more of the way you sounded. you were contagious. long before swine flu, too. you were just adorable. and having so much fun. and you weren't overwhelmed with the fact there were tons of like people from all overtime world, big, big names there. and he didn't care. you were in the zone. >> yeah. i wanted it, too. though. i wanted it. i learned to fake sincerity a long time before that. >> i heard that. >> you got a few conquests in your background. >> oh, my god, kathie lee! stop it. let me show you my shoes. >> look at his shoes. >> there's some change of focus. >> alexander mcqueen's. come on. we got to go. good luck. >> they're gator. >> i can't wait. i'm glad i got to be a small part of it. >> we will look forward to it later in the show. coming up, she brought us french women don't get fat. what she wants you to know right now. first, these messages. ♪ still to come, we reeled in two "top chef" stars to show you how to turn a real restaurant dish into one you can cook in your own kitchen. and michael buble will be back to sing for us after these messages, local news and weather. ♪ coming up today at midday, a big step for health care reform. the senate health care committee meeting could approve the bill soon. we'll have the latest on th. good morning. also coming up on midday, cold and windy weather headed our way. our meteorologist says today will be the best day of the week. news midday begins at 4:00. we'll see you then. ♪ and we're back on this tuesday with more of "today," and the woman who helped countless americanshed pounds when she told us why "french women don't get fat." >> now the author is helping women again. this time to gain different knowledge and teach us how to savor life. it's all about that and it's all in her newest book "women, work and the art of savior faire" and it's so longley. >> thank you. >> you're beautiful. we love everything about you. >> we do. >> and the cool thing, i have loved you for so long, when you wrote that "french women don't get fat" book, it was terrific. i was surprised to find what a strong businesswoman you were. you seemed so polite, kind and wouldn't be aggressive. sometimes you think of a businesswoman being aggressive but not so really. >> you don't need to be. if you'e firm, that's good enough. all you need to be is respected by your team. you don't have to be loved. you don't need to scream to be like a man and curse and have meetings at 7:00 p.m. just be yourself, and you feel professional and you're serious and you help your staff, you have a winning team. >> it's a lot like what deborah norville was talking about the other day, treat people with respect, and it's unbelievable what you will receive from them. you also say one of the great lessons we need to learn as americans is how to bow out -- how to savor lunch the. >> people don't even eat lunch. they sit at their desk and have a sandwich. >> that's essential. and i think that the main difference, obviously, french women have a lot to learn from american women in business. we're 15 years behind. but the one thing i see over and over again is that the quality of life for us is number one. so your work is important because we spend a lot of hours working. >> but it's part of life. >> it's part of it. you have to find a way, this kind of balance to manage all of your expectations from work, from life, from everything else. and find the you time, me time. it's very important. >> i'm selfish in that sense because it's absolutely critical. >> did you ever find -- you were the head honcho of this -- your favorite champagne. >> i love him. >> but dealing with different people from different countries and when they see you walk in, they see a very petite, small, soft-spoken woman. how do you command respect in a room? how do you do that? >> i have great lines in the book about that. once i was taken for a secretary. another time i was treated like -- well, i was coming from nowhere. the great thing was having worked between two cultures and learning about america and france, the languages, which today young women are doing. but in my days, it was very unusual to switch career and to try things and to take risks. so today i was say to the young woman, don't be afraid, be prepared. do your homework, and be out there. make, you know, there's a way about making your own luck. looking for opportunities and be ready for it. >> and you talk a lot about style, and every woman has it. >> that's important. >> she may not have found it yet. she just hasn't found it yet. but you also talk about the greatest accessory you can have is your smile. >> yeah. >> that's always there for you. women don't use it enough. >> no. people don't use it enough period, because we're in a society where everything is fast and we don't focus, we don't pay attention. we don't look people in the eyes. we don't look at them when we shake their hands. >> she said she would never do that. >> and still kissing today. but it's very important. and i know that for developing the brand, the dna through people. and actuly made the analogy, this is about us. we have to learn to develop and each of us, you are unique, i'm unique. >> your own brand. >> your own brand. that gives you a way to communicate from your eyes, in your mouth, in your gestures, everything. and go for it. >> you switched careers. you loved writing. you had such a passion for writing. was it difficult to give that up and maybe step into another maybe less structured arena? >> not at all. i love it. no more meetings and figures and doing all of these things. people think it's a glamorous job. yes, it is. but there's a lot of not-so-glamorous parts of it. >> it's a business after all. >> it's a business and you have people and numbers and profits and especially working for a big company, double-dit number, how can you do it year after year. >> how to coral profits every year. that's pressure. >> and you're alone on the top and it's not always fun. that's why i'm talking about mentoring. young women today need mentors. we all have some experience, some wisdom, and we can teach and help young women not to make all of these mistakes that i made because i had no one to talk to. >> marie, lovely book. >> good luck. >> it is called again "women, work and the art of savior faire." next, we have something fishy going on upstairs. we will show you why two of bravo's "top chef" judges have come together in harmony after this. and we're back with "today's" kitchen. we have two of "top chef" judges with us. tom colicchio and gail is with us. >> tom is going to show us how he makes the cod in your restaurant, right? >> uh-huh. >> while gail is going to show us how to make cod at home. if you happen to live in cape cod, it's great. >> works out for you. >> hi, todd. >> how are you doing? >> good. first off, i will use two different kinds of cod. fresh cod and salt cod. the salt cod we stuff into the onion -- >> explain what that is? >> it's salted dry so you can preserve it. >> it's old fish? >> yes, it's old fish. it's a way of preserving it, and then we reconstitute it in water and then we take it and we cook it with some cream and butter and stuff it into the ravioli. the other thing we do in the restaurant is we take the whole filet of cod and we actually kind of glue it together with meat glue. >> meat glue? what is meat glue? >> no, i don't have it with me. it's already done. and we try it. we do a quick little tie. >> meat glue. i have no idea what you're talking about. what are you talking about? >> anyway, it's just powder that you can actually have, two protein that's adhere to each other. >> oh, i'm sorry. how do you know if you're picking a good piece of cod? >> if it smells fishy and and it doesn't and it has clear eyes and red gills and it's springy to the touch and it shouldn't smell like fish. >> okay. >> so we cut it like a filet. >> i love cod. love it, love it. >> and you leave the string on there while you're doing that? >> exactly. >> so we're cooking it -- >> into the butter and -- >> olive oil. and then we will put a sprig in there of that. >> what is that? >> this is thyme. we have our onions down. they're already cooking. i put them in ahead of time. ly trai will transfer that to t lemon butter sauce. >> this is not for you if you're calorically challenged, right? >> right. no. you break your diet for this one. >> people think they're having fish and they're going to save calories. >> we're just going to baste this fish with butter. >> cooking is as important as the amount of time. you don't want to oveook it. >> that's right. it all depends how quickly you cook it. if you cook it slow, you can actually cook it about ten minutes. so now at the end, we have our sauce. this is a lemon -- a preserved lemon butter sauce. >> that looks really good. >> put me on the plate. >> stop it. >> we also have -- >> and spinach. >> this is dandelion greens. >> what? >> we want bitter, nice and bitter. >> where do you get those? >> in your garden. >> exactly. no, you can buy them in the green markets. and then with have our cod. and then we can finish it -- this is preserve lemon we make in the restaurant. it's made by salting -- salt, sugar, gelatin garlic. it sits for a couple days and you finish it with olive oil. >> cod, you could make that at home. >> yes. >> not as good. >> a little more complicated. >> that looks delicious. >> how did i ruin it? >> she doesn't like chives. >> she has issues. >> do we get to taste it? >> not yet. that comes later. >> okay. >> so actually making the preserve lemons is quite simple but if you don't have time, you haven't done it in advance, you can totally buy them at specialty markets. there are great online resources. >> what's a preserved lemon? >> what tom was using before, salt, garlic, pickling spices basically, preserve the lmons. these are three different kinds. i'm going to make a mayonnaise and half of flavor. so i'm taking a cup of mayonnaise, half a cayenne, garlic. >> is this a particular mayonnaise you use? i'm a hellmann's girl. what are you? >> if i would say, i would say hellmann's girl. but it's also ease dwroi make it at home. but it's another segment. >> okay. >> you put the vitamin mix. sf ready? >> hold on, hoda woman. >> you stir it up and you will get this. it's a beautiful lemon iolle. it is a great sauce. it's great for dipping, sauce, sandwiches, anything you want. now for the cod. i have two pieces of cod here. i'm going to takewonder flour and dredge it lightly. >> instead of glue. good for you. >> no glue. >> i don't like glue in my fish. that's just me. >> i'm using wonder flour. >> that thing is amazing. >> it is. it won't glupe. and i will put it in some hot oil. >> how long do you cook it for? i always make that mistake when i'm cooking fish. >> that's a good question. want it nice and brown and crispy on the outside but you don't want to overcook on the inside. three or four minutes on each side and you want there to be heat in the pan. that's the key. you want to keep it hot. i have my piece here. i will put it on my plate when it's done. >> that looks delicious. >> oh, thank you. >> so does that piece. >> take that pieces. >> that looks amazing. and i have my sauce. you can taste the sauce, too, if you want to. >> no dandelions for you? >> no dandelions. i have roasted potatoes. i won't use chives. >> thank you! >> gail, do it! >> thank you. >> i don't want to upset kathy. are you crazy? >> the old lady will go off on you. >> that's not pretty. >> and let's get the tom dish. >> this is how much i love you, hoda. i will give you that to eat. >> this is not one versus the other. let's be clear onthat. >> this might be overcooked, too. it spent a little extra time in there. >> hoda, you didn't get any of the sauce in there. >> that is so goo >> you can use it for dipping. >> incredible. >> try this, kathy. >> oh, that is scrumptious. >> try this. this one's done. >> you see how easy it is. people are worried about cooking fish at home. it's really quite an easy thing to do and it's quick cooking, which makes it perfect for week nights. >> oh, my god, both delicious! i'mrying to talk. >> i'm so honored i can actually be in the same round as tom. >> try the dandelions. get in there. tom and gail, thank you so, so much. >> this is delicious. >> you can catch "top chef" on bravo, 10:00, 9:00 central time. and look who's going to perform for us right after this. ♪ i love clothes! so my girlfriend says, "shop tj maxx." "their buyers deal directly with designers... the savings come directly to me!" behold a fashionista... who's now a maxxinista! tj maxx. we've got to talk with the wonderful and charming michael buble earlier today. >> wasn't he so sweet! >> he's very cute. >> he's very charming, that michael buble. he cuts quite a swath. >> he does. >> and i like how he moves when he dances. >> oh, yeah, you have been noticing that. >> stop it! michael buble has a song he is playing for us, and it is called "all of me." which you love. >> uh-huh. ♪ all of me ♪ oh, why not take all of me ♪ can't you see i'm no good without you ♪ ♪ take my lips i'll want to lose them ♪ ♪ take my arms ♪ i'll never use them ♪ your good-byes they left me with eyes that cry ♪ ♪ how can i get along without you ♪ ♪ you took the part of that once was my heart ♪ ♪ so why not take all of me now from thtop. ♪ ♪ your good-byes left me with eyes that are crying ♪ ♪ now i'm in love without you now that you took the part that was once my heart ♪ ♪ all of me ♪ why not take all of me ♪ can't you see i'm a mess without you ♪ ♪ you took a part that used to be my heart ♪ ♪ so why not take all of me >> and we will be back with more of "today" on nbc. ♪ so why not take all of me all right. we've been talking about that great grandmother who was tasered by the pice officer. i'm just saying she was tasered. >> what do they say, sarah? >> what do the people think? >> one person agree with hoda saying, jody says, i don't think it was necessary. but joey and everyone else says, zap her, she was rude. tony says yes, granny, they're not above the law. >> there you go. all i'm saying is lower the temperature. lower the temperature. >> you know, i'm going to tase you in a second. just because nobody agrees with you, give it up. >> no, don't taser a great grandmother on the side of the road. that's what i'm saying. >> should you tase anybody? what are we going to do. at 7 top it's aing. >> say to granny, i understand you're upset. >> granny lied afterwards and said none of that happened. >> people show no respect to granny -- >> granny's son said she never usually drops the "f" bomb. >> granny had experience to drop the "f" bomb on the side of the road. >> i can't believe everyone thinks granny should have been tasered. >> that language. >> i had nothing to do with that. i cried about the little 6-year-old boy who didn't know any better. that's the difference. >> ambush. >> ambush. if you want jill and lewis to come ambush you, go to klgandhoda.com. >> nice talk you to you, everybody.