Transcripts For WRC Today 20100712

boat chase in the bahamas and true to his name he was shoe was when he was caught. his attorney speaks out in an exclusive interview today. his attorney speaks out in an exclusive interview today. monday, july 12th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. >> nice to see you. i haven't seen you in about ten days. >> welcome back. it's great to have you back. >> unfortunately this terrible story in uganda. >> this morning secretary of state hillary clinton said she's strongly condemning these bombings that killed 64 people including an american man in the capital of uganda. she's vowing the u.s. will bring whoever is responsible with justice. >> the american is nate haan. we're told he was in uganda visiting with his ant. tom aspell is tracking the investigation from london. what can you tell us. >> reporter: good morning. police say two suicide bombers killed at least 64 people in the capital surnd night. the somali islam grub group is expected to be behind the attack. it's the first time they struck outside of somalia. the final minutes of the world cup. millions glued to television screens all over the world. in uganda it was an opportunity for terror. three bombs ripped through bars. there was no warning. >> we heard an explosion, and then the second one went off. >> reporter: at least one american was killed in the bombing. a san diego group called invisible children named his as nate hann. several other americans from a pennsylvania church group were wounded. the police believe a militant group from somalia with ties to al qaeda may have been responsible for the bombs. a severed head and legs indicate they were uside attacks. >> they target civilians and that's in one side. they're engaged in a guerrilla war as well. they use roadside explosives and suicide bombings. this is a very unpleasant form of war father. >> last week they called for attacked for uganda for contributing troops to an african union peace-keeping force. uganda hosting somali groups fighters trained to fight against them. >> if the african union left, they would take control of the entire city, mogadishu. >> reporter: this worng the american embassy warned americans against attending large public gatherings. matt. >> tom aspell in london covering this story for us. thank you very much. here's ann. >> matt, thanks. there was cautious optimism from bp this morning on what could be the most effective effort to contain the disaster in the gulf. a new cap is placed on top of the pipe that would capture all the oil coming out. ann, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. ann. crews continue to work around the clock on putting that new cap in place. bp is encouraged by the progress, but no one is celebrating yet. the robotic vehicles are the workhorse of this project moving the spool on top of the blow-out preventer. the spool will ultimately connect the gushing pipe to the new cap, what bp calls a kreen cap, but is unwilling to promise it will collect all the oil rushing into the sea. >> we continue to ramp up that capacity, and somewhere along that line, whatever the flow is, we'll capture it all at some point. >> reporter: throughout the weekend only the q-4000 kept collecting oil and burning it off through the distinctive flame, but it only captures a fraction of the oil spewing from the well. it's a con founding nemesis. we're 44 miles from louisiana's coast, two miles from the leak site. even though more oil is gushing into the gulf, on this trip we have not seen any oil, not a ribbon, not a patch, not even a tar ball. still, on the other side of the operation, we could see smoke rising from the controlled burning of the oil. there is another kind of rescue mission going on in the gulf. to save endangered sea turtles. this young turtle is covered in oil. they often mistake oil streams for seaweed where they feed and hide from predators. getting them out of the oil is just the first stem in a rehabilitation that will ultimately take them back to the gulf. >> i saw a sign that said what would jimmy buffett do, throw a party at the oil slick. >> reporter: jimmy buffet had a concert in gulf shorz, alabama to boost the morale. >> whether you see 40,000, 50,000 people down here this afternoon, that is indicative of the whole country trying to come together to make a difference here. >> reporter: giving people here a rare reason to smile. it will take most of the week to put the new cap in place, and then bp says it will take another two weeks to get this new containment system ramped up to full capacity. matt. >> anne thompson, thank you very much. chad allen is the incident commander for the government's response to the disaster in the gulf. good morning. good to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> we seem to be, what, day three or four into what could be a five or seven-day process. give me the best progress report you can right now, admiral allen. how is the new cap fitting into place? >> well, matt, there's been significant progress made. late last night we were successful in putting what we call a transition tool into the top of the lower marine riser package of the well bore. we have an intermediate connection this will allow a containment cap on. i've asked bp for a detailed time line to do a well integrity test that could begin as early as later today when we slowly start to close the valves to see how much pressure the cap can withstand. we look forward to doing that later today. >> for the first time in a long time we hear people use words like significant progress. the people at bp seem very optimistic that this procedure will greatly reduce or even completely reduce the amount or eliminate the amount of oil l k leaking into the gulf. how do you manage expectations at this stage? people have been disappointed in the past, as you know. >> matt, there could be several outcomes of the well integrity test that have to be run. what they're slowly going to do is close the valves and contain pressure inside the containment cap. if the pressure is not what we expect it to be for the well bore to be intact, we have to figure it out. down at the reservoir is the pressure between 11,000 and 12,000 psi. we would expect that cap to have somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 psi if the oil is pushing up to the well bore. while we made significant progress and this could lead to a shut-in of the well, we're going to have to get the pressure readings to understand it. >> can you clear something up for me? it's my understanding bp was planning this particular kind of fix for a later date, but that you were one of the people who said, no, we should try this now. we have good weather, and the seas are cooperating. is that accurate, you wanted to do this sooner than later? >> well, i think there was a convergence of opinion that we had probably an uncommon weather window for this time of year. i did independent consultation with the administrator of noaa to make sure we had the latest and best scientific data regarding the weather fronts coming through. that said, it appeared we had a window, and therefore i asked bp for a plan to move ahead. they provided one, and now we're at the end of how to do a well integrity test when we get the cap up. >> if you wake up in the gulf this morning, if you're one of the residents so dramatically impacted by this disaster, do you have reason to be optimistic? >> i think we'll know substantially more than we have in the entire event to date once we get that cap on and do the well integrity test. where that takes us, remains to be seen. we'll know a lot more by tomorrow, i believe. >> a lot of people keeping their finger crossed. thanks for your this time this morning. good luck. >> thank you. now, here's ann. >> matt, thanks. now to the economy. all signs point to a big week on wall street with corporations set to announce second quarter earnings, but what does it mean for you? we have jim cramer, who is the host of "mad money" joins us. good morning. usually when you're here, you come bearing bad news. today you're all smiles. why is wall street so happy? >> one of the things that's occurred is we're at ernlgs season, and i think it's going to be a good season. the companies have too much cash. very strange position to be in. they hire or give it back to shareholders. >> we have a first indication of that last week. the stock market jumped 450 points which is? >> 5%, which is a gigantic move. typically that means people are too negative. i've been saying it's just not a jobs recovery. i think that's going to change in the second half. we're starting to see hiring for the first time on wall street. very important. >> so that point, though, that wall street is beginning to hire, even though we're not seeing overwhelming hiring in the rest of the sectors, what does that mean? is that an indicator? >> it's a fantastic indicator. they tend to be ahead. they start hiring because companies need more money. they only need more money when they want to expand rather than contract. i've always found when wall street is hiring, more hiring follows. it's a very important predictor. >> i'll put your feet to the fire. where do the first jobs come at wall street, what sector? >> i think the automobile industry is hotter than anybody realizes. the numbers for june are extraordinary. i think things are improving in the country. >> how soon might they begin? >> it will be something they have to do by september. i think people are sproized the inventories are low. we see material that is go into car starting to go up in price. the railroad car loadings are the best in years. this stuff cannot be ignored. >> you're being very optimistic here. what about the talk about the double dip? what do you think? >> i think you can take that off the table. i think we're not going to have a strong economy, but the rest of the world is on fire. south korea, mexico, latin america, india, china, even germany and france, these are more important countries than we think. they can pull our economy up. >> if wall street got us into the mess, is it the world leading us out or wall street? >> it's the world. i don't want to be as optimistic about our economy. we haven't created jobs yet. the census jobs end, so it won't seem so rosy. when industrial america starts to hire, it's hard to stay negative. >> you say the recovery is like this. it's going up bushg, but it's g down a little bit. >> a lot of the worry was about that europe was about to fall apart. i think that's not going to happen. the systemic worry the whole world is blowing up, that is off the table, ann, and that's very positive. >> what about this other view, for the full recovery to happen will take a long time? will you agree with this idea? some jobs won't come back or take years to come back? >> i think that's very true. we don't have enough money as a government to continue to spend money without raising taxes. raising taxes would send us into a double dip. we're getting clues the administration doesn't want to do that. the administration is declaring a truce against business. of course, they never thought they were at war. >> jim cramer, that's the last word. we're out of time. we get a lot when we talk to you. you can catch "mad money" weeknights at 6:00 and 11:00 eastern time on cnbc. let's get the rest of the top stories. natural liss morales is for me at the news desk. today marks six months since haiti's earthquake and conditions remain desperate for much of the population there. robert boozele is in port-au-prince. >> reporter: this is not an anniversary people are sell bralting. not only are 1.5 million people homeless, there isn't an end to this homelessness anytime soon. 4-year-old kevin has sun block. he lives in a camp run by a clinic that has rehabilitation so he and his 5-year-old friend will get prosthetics for the limbs they lost in the quake. eight groups are delivered some 400 artificial limbs so far in haiti, but in the camp life is tough. a few have tents, but in others they're made of scrap wood and metal. all are terribly hot inside and even the tents leak in the now frequent rain. take this camp managed by the american red cross. before the earthquake that pile of rubble was a thriving neighborhood. most of the people from there live here, and most of the houses were salvaged from that trash. the international director for the red cross says they have spent 148 of the $468 million it's raised. >> i don't think that anyone has completely understood how huge this disaster is and how much it completely devastated this country. >> reporter: there is some progress. most kids have returned to school. an international cash for work program is clearing rubble, but the pace is slow. everybody could ask why is this recovery going so slow, and of course there's many reasons. mainly it's the donor government vs gin only 10% of all that money they promised in the days after the terrible earthquake. back to you, natalie. >> thanks so much, bob. appreciate it. violence overnight in northern ireland where youth riots injured more than two dozen police officers, some them with gunshot wounds. a bit less pain at the pump. gas prices are down 4 cents agallon in the last two weeks. the average price for regular is $2.73 a gallon. a rare total eclipse of the sun sunday. this is how it looked from easter island in the south pacific. it's a beautiful sight. as you know by now, spain is the new world cup champion after beating the netherlands sunday 1-0 in the 116th minute. it is spain's first world cup title for the first team to do so after losing in the opening match. quite a feat it came back so far. 7:17 now. let's turn it back over to matt. you were all watching. >> what about what's happening in your house, because your wife is dutch. >> my kids are half dutch. we had half the dutch family in to watch it. there were a lot of people with orange hats on, but we're good sports. it was pretty good. a little disappointing for them. natalie, thank you very much. and a good monday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. a little bit of sunshine getting through. some morning clouds around the area. temperatures are now in the upper 60s and low 70s to get your monday started. here's a look at live doppler. no rain in the immediate area just yet. may have a chance for showers mid- to late afternoon, west of the blue ridge. here in the washington area, around 6:00, 7:00 this evening. high temperature, before any chance for rain shows up, we'll be around 90 today. 80 tomorrow with showers a lot more likely. there are new developments and some new suspicions this morning. more than five weeks after the mysterious disappearance of 7-year-old kyron horman. kristin welker is in portland, oregon. >> reporter: good morning. there's intense krut any over the last person that saw kyron. now police want to speak with a second person, a person who could have information about the little boy. heartache but also hope at a candlelight vigil over the weekend as a community prays for the safe return of little kyron horman. >> he's going to come home. i know he is. >> reporter: kyron's stepmother hasn't officially been named as a suspect is, but the mother and father believe she may be responsible for his disappearance. >> when i look in her eyes, i'm not confident she wouldn't do something. >> reporter: kyron's father said teri has failed two lie detector tests and walked out from a third. kaine horman says his wife suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of their daughter. police believe teri is involved in kyron's disappearance. >> i've seen women who have killed their children, who have injured their children doing it. the motivation behind that is to hurt their husband, their ex-husband. >> reporter: teri horman denies having anything to do with the disappearance and has turned down repeated interview requests. while a community and a desperate family waits for a break in this painful case. >> he's the kind of son that every father hopes they're going to have. >> reporter: investigators have been trying to put together a time line of kyron's last day, but sources say he teri horman's accounts don't square with the bankcard records and her cell phone records. she's not been named a suspect or a person of interest, but you can bet police will be turning up the heat this week to try to get answers. matt. >> all right. kristen, thank you very much. still ahead. after two years on the lamb, the 19-year-old barefoot bandit is behind bars in the bahamas. we'll take exclusively to h hey, i'm jennifer hudson and i'm winning. durched his talent agency amid allegations. >> we'll have the latest after your local news and weather. so . ♪ win i'm so comfortable in my jeans. i love the progress. it makes me love myself that much more. i 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[ male announcer ] if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq®. pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor about all your medications, including those for migraine, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. pristiq may cause or worsen high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or glaucoma. tell your doctor if you have heart disease or before you reduce or stop taking pristiq. side effects may include nausea, dizziness and sweating. for me, pristiq is a key in lping to treat my depression. ask your doctor about pristiq. time right now is 7:26. we have 73 degrees here in the nation's capital on this monday, the 12th day of july. good morning. i'm joe krebs. in the news for today, d.c. firefighters responded to a brush fire along the potomac river this morning. the fire began around 6:00 around the c&o canal, not too far from fletcher's boat house. a firefighter quickly knocked down the flames. no word on how that fire began. we'll take a break and come back and check out our weather and the rush hour on this monday morning. "know the species, know the stain." lanolin-free coat, i know it's an alpaca. walks in here, looks says "hey look, it's a llama!" cleaning the stain like he would a llama stain. time he's wasting. ♪ call 1-800-steemer [ male announcer ] progress. progress is saving tax payers millions of dollars, with the help of visa digital currency. which lets troy reiners, manager of nebraska's child support payment center, put money into pre-paid visa accounts for just a penny... instead of mailing out checks for 59 cents each. now that's progress. visa. currency of progress. good morning, everybody. temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s right now. we'll reach near 90 degrees for a high today before our rain chances start to increase late this afternoon and this evening. rain is most likely tomorrow and into wednesday. jerry? >> all right, chuck. we'll take a live look here into the hazy sunshine, interstate 66 loading up now. centerville headed over to fair oaks. out in leesburg, police putting the wraps on an earlier accident, route 7 bypass just east of route 15. lanes should be open here momentarily. other than that, looks like we're doing okay. >> thanks. get informed as soon as you get out of bed. join us every weekday morning at 7:30 now on a monday morning. it's the 12th day of july. temperatures will be around 90 in the northeast. crowd looking cool out there this it morning on the plaza. we'll be out to say hi in a minute. meanwhile, inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer with ann curry, meredith has the story off. just ahead new troubles for actor mel gibson. police in california are investigating allegations he may have hit his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his youngest child, and dmou he has been dropped by his talent agency. we'll have the latest on what is just a kind of unusual story coming up. >> exactly right. also ahead this morning, matt, what are the best cities in the country when it comes to finding work or the great schools you want for your children? we have a new list of the best places to live which we'll unveil this morning. >> let's begin this half hour with a dramatic end to a two-year manhunt for the so-called barefoot bandit. he was taken into custody in the bahamas on sunday nearly 3,000 miles from where his alleged crime spree began. we'll talk exclusively to his new attorney. first peter alexander is in nassau with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. dramatic is right. shots were fired by bahamian police knocking out both engines to the stolen boat he was in. this morning bahamian police say he's in protective police custody in nassau. the fbi describes his a regional nuisance who became a national problem and ultimately an international criminal. but bahamian authorities say the crime spree ends right here. true to his naik name he was barefoot when he was marched off a plane and into an suv on sunday. they arrested the 19-year-old fugitive before dawn on sunday after shooting out the engines of his stolen boat as harris-moore tried to make yet another escape this time in caribbean waters. >> the suspect in an effort to evade capture engaged local police in a high speed chase by boat. after a brief chase, the suspect was taken into custody without incident. >> reporter: for the so-called barefoot bandit is ends a two-year odyssey that included crimes in eight states from washington to indiana. he's accused of stealing cash, cars and at least five planes he taught himself to fly, including this one that investigators say the teenager stole in indiana before a crash landing at 1,000 miles away here in the bahamas. he snatched this suv from a family's garage, police here say, and later was seen barefoot at the sports bar in the bahamas buying a beer. >> you don't see too many 6'5" white guys walk through the door all the time. >> he was also spotted by surveillance cameras breaking into a restaurant before turning each of the cameras towards the wall. >> he looked very, very calm and at ease. it was like he was strolling into his own place. >> reporter: like he owned the place? >> like he owned the place. >> reporter: hthe dive shop was burglarized, too, with one significant piece of evidence left behind. >> it was a perfect hand print. it wasn't like it was accidental, like he accidentally touched something, like he went up on the window like i was here. >> reporter: police say harris-moore, first convicted of possessing stolen property when he was just 12, has been taunting authorities with his brazen antics since he escaped from a halfway house in washington state two years ago. he left behind this photo at one crime scene and chalk outlines of his now famous feet at another. harris-moore's ability to elude police for so long has drawn comparesons to the movie "catch me if you can." >> would you like a drink after take-off? >> milk. >> reporter: online he has a following with more than 70,000 fans on facebook. on the small island where harris-moore was raised, there's relief. >> he's been elusive for a long time and done a lot of damage. i'm glad they finally caught him. >> reporter: now in custody harris-moore's next trip could be could an extradition flight home. this morning we learn new information about how that chase ended. witnesses say that colton harris-moore threw his knapsack with an ipod and laptop into the water and held his own gun up to his head. bahamian police talked him out of it. his first court appearance is later this week because today is a national holiday, bahamian independence day. >> peter, thank you. criminal against attorney john henry brown has been hired by his mother. he's with us now exclusively. mr. brown, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> it's my understanding although you've been contacted by his mother and have been talking to her, you have not had the chance to speak to colton personally yet. what's your first step in this case? >> obviously, getting some contact with colton. i've been informed by people i know in the bahamas that he was allowed one phone call yesterday. he called his aunt, because he didn't have his mother's new telephone number, and since then my name and number has been relayed to him. i know he knew his mother had hired me, but i don't think he had my telephone number. also the american consulate checked in on him in the last couple of hours and called and said that he was physically fine and was doing quite well. >> this guy's been on the run for a couple of years now. he's accused of committing a long list of crimes both in the united states and now in the bahamas. does the bahamas have jurisdiction here? >> i would believe they're claiming they do. as far as probably possession of stolen property, as far as the airplane is concerned and some allegations about burglaries in the islands. so i think if they wanted to hang onto him for a while, they probably could, but it would make a lot more sense to me for colton's best interests and also for the government, i think, to consolidate all these things and have him extradited to seattle where he's charged in federal court in seattle. when you're in federal court, it's easier to consolidate things. otherwise it could be an administrative nightmare. >> there was a high-speed chase at the time of his arrest, there were shots fired at the boat he was in, and there were reports that he was carrying a gun, a weapon as well. how would that complicate his situation in the bahamas? >> well, it actually seriously complicates things. i talked to some people in a position of authority in both the united states government and in the bahamas, and just having a weapon during the commission of a crime makes the sentence -- potential sentence much greater. however, everybody acknowledges that he was not using the gun to harm anybody, never pointed it at anybody, but unfortunately just having a possession of a gun during the commission of a crime makes crimes much more serious. >> there's been so much publicity, mr. brown, surrounding this young man for the last couple of years. he's kind of a folk-lore stat stus, and he's a folk hero to some and a run of the mill criminal to others. how would you handle with the publicity this case has already generated? >> i would hope my job could be to neutralize that in the long run, the intentional die-down at some point and israel this is as far as i'm concerned one of my normal criminal defense cases and just try to deal with it in an efficient manner. it will always have a special ring to it because of the note right of the whole thing. the u.s. attorney in seattle is a very level-headed person, and i think, you know, it's a case. we have to view it as a case and approach it like we would with most normal cases. that's going to be a challenge for me. there's no question about that. >> i don't know how much time you've had, but i'm sure you looked orr the string of allegations against mr. moore. what kind of jail time is he facing if convicted on the most serious charges here? >> well, i've been asked that question. based on doing this for a long, long time, if we could consolidate everything in seattle in federal court, then i would -- the best i can do is give you an estimate. it would probably be somewhere between 4 and 12 years, something like that. if it hadn't had some much note righty it would it be much closer to 4 or less than that. given the number of allegations, of course, daifsh i don't kn-- proof on any of these. there's proof that's clear and they're other alleged crimes we don't know he's involved in at all. for the notoriety, it would abe case you could resolve for less than four years. because of that, i think it will be a higher number. >> john henry brown. mr. brown, i appreciate your time this morning. thanks very much for talking to us. >> you and a good monday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we're off to a quiet start with a little sunshine getting through a partly cloudy sky this morning. 75 now in washington. 73 degrees in potomac, maryland. 70 in fairfax, virginia. and 64 in martinsburg, west virginia. local doppler shows not much in the way of anything around here just yet, but there are showers now moving into west virginia, so rain will be a part of our forecast as we go into the late afternoon and evening hours today, and rain is a big part of the forecast for tomorrow and wednesday. >> a quick happy birthday to. >> aunt geri until oil city, pennsylvania. >> for your birthday forecast go to weather.com 24 hours a day. over to you. thank you very much. still to come, mel gibson looking for a new agent this morning amid allegations of domestic abuse. more on that just ahead. up next, what was wrong with men in charge of investigating the disaster in the gulf speak out in an exclusive live interview. that's right after this. 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what are your marching orders from the president? >> our marching orders and the executive order are to determine what happened, figure out the root cause as well as the cause of the accident, try to recommend policies to make sure this never happens again, and then recommend policies for the future regulation and control and development of offshore oil and gas. >> senator graham, the timing of this. you're setting out to find out what happened on that oil platform some 84 days ago. as part of that, you have to talk to some of the very same people who were actively trying to fix the situation in the gulf right now. might the commission serve as a distraction for some of those bp officials? >> we're sensitive to that. we understand that one of the key steps today is to cap this so that we don't continue to gush more oil into the gulf. our commission has six months from today to submit its final report. we started this weekend with a series of field visits in the affected states. today and tomorrow we'll be here in new orleans hearing from people who have been impacted by the oil spill. i think that will give us a good foundation to then begin to develop our assessment of what happened and what can we do about it. >> mr. riley, as your panel is trying to answer questions, the panel itself is facing questions. as put in the "washington post" this morning this question whether the panel has the expertise or objectivity to deliver credible recommendations. is there enough expertise on the panel to get the job done? >> for the complexity of the kinds of questions we have to ask, you can never have enough expertise on a seven-person panel, but we have very substantial staff resources and expect further consultant resources and we hired a veteran with 33 years of experience in offshore drilling from shell oil, retired from shell. we expect to have all the resources we need to do this. >> you both, senator graham, have your only personal histories coming into play here as well. can you be objective in terms of your findings here, or do you both come to this process with preconceived notions about what has happened and what should happen? >> yes. the people would not have been selected by the president unless they had a considerable amount of background in some area relevant to the inquiry we're about to undertake, but i think that we can be objective and we can be independent. we can be nonpartisan and develop a report that will be influential to the american people and the policymakers as to what the future of offshore drilling should be. what will it take to have this relatively new phenomenon, deep drill be for oil in a sensitive environment that is safe and will protect both the environment and the economy of this region of america. >> you have a big job ahead of you. it's an interesting and very taxing six months. senator graham and mr. riley, i thank you both for your time. good luck. >> thank you, matt. still to come, oscar winner mel gibson dropped bus hi talent agency amid domestic violence allegations and his latest tirade caught on tape. we'll hear portions of that. first, these messages. it's all in the pepperation. we hand-season fresh, never-frozen usda choice beef and cook to order. new handmade burgers with fries starting at just $5.99. like the rojo burger, drenched in rich, smoky hickory sauce. for a little more, enjoy the new avocado burger, or the ultimate stacked, with twice the meat and cheese. wrap your hands around the perfect burger. and now get chili's to-go with new online ordering at chilis.com. as long as there's sun, you and your family can go have fun. because banana boat blocks up to 96% of harmful uva and uvb rays. so you can go, go, go, confident you're protected from sunburn and long-term skin damage. banana boat. we've got you covered. blend it. sprinkle it. sweet! 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[ male announcer ] have a heart to heart with your doctor about your risk. and about lipitor. . time right now is 7:56. 75 degrees. as we take a look at the white house out there this morning on this monday morning, the 12th day of july. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. in the news for today, two men who police say were posing as prince george's county police officers are behind bars this morning. 23-year-old daniel blaiblock and kennedy arturo were arrested yesterday. they attacked two people in langley park while dressed as police officers. police believe there may be more victims out there and are now asking anyone else who came in contact with these two men to come forward. if you use ver, you'll see new faces running the train this morning. amtrak no longer runs the train service. the federal railroad administration will have officials on every train this week to ensure a safe and orderly transition. we'll take a break now and come back and look the gas prices are going down, they go back up again. we know saving money is important. this summer, shop with your giant card and save on shell fuel. earn one point for every dollar you spend. every 100 points earned gets you another 10 cents off per gallon. the more you spend, the more you save. i'm saving money at the store, i'm saving money at the pump, and that works for me. more savings every time you shop, only with your giant card. temperatures are in the low to mid-70s now. highs today will reach the upper 80s and low 90s with building clouds and a chance for some showers, maybe even a rumble or two of thunder later in the day. >> a beltway crash involving a dump truck, the outer loop of the beltway at central avenue. authorities are on the scene. two left lanes are blocked. have to stay to the right to get by. headed to the wilson bridge, looking pretty good. 270 not bad at all. get informed as soon as you get out of bed. join us every weekday morning join us every weekday morning foris starting to feel nervous.v it heard what happened to the vcr and the cassette player. and the answering machine. it knows what happens to obsolete technology around here. what you need to help your tv understand is it's not the one that's obsolete. it's the cable technology that's obsolete and fios is the one making it obsolete. it's time for fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities visit verizon.com/fios. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. 8:00 now on a monday morning. it's the 12th day of july, 2010. we got a great crowd here on the plaza. okay. so it's not as big as friday's crowd for lady gaga, maybe about a tenth as big. these are truenthusiastic peopl and we're very happy to have them with us. this is a beautiful morning. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry while meredith is enjoying the time off. we start this morning with a story ouft of the world of entertainment. is mel gibson's career over? >> the question is asked because his talent agency has just recently dumped him after gibson was caught on -- alleged caught on a fro infant laced rant on allegations of domestic violence charges emerging. we'll have the latest perspective on this. on a lighter note, if you had to pick the best place to live in the country? >> it would be a hard choice, but you have to gauge it. what's good for your kids, all those criteria. "money" is out with the list of the best places to live based on everything from jobs to health care to schools. we'll find out which areas made the list. >> new york is pretty good. >> martha stewart is going to stop by and do a clam bake indoors. >> that should make it it easier and yummier. >> oh! the crowd turned on us. >> we're going to bring clams outside. >> can we quickly get martha stewart outside. let's go inside. natalie morales is standing by at the news desk with a look at headlines. >> good morning to you. at least one american was among 60 people killed by terror attacks sunday in uganda's capital. simultaneous explosions went off at a restaurant and sports bar where soccer fans were watching the world cup final. americans were also among the 60 people wounded. police expect a somali group with ties to al qaeda. a key legal ruling for roman polanski. this morning the swiss justice ministry will not send polanski back to the u.s. where he's wanted for having sex with an underage girl. bp says it will be several days before they can tell if a tighter new containment cap is working. oil has been gushing almost unchecked since the oil containment cap was removed on saturday. in the meantime the oil company reports it has spent $3.5 billion dealing with the spill. meanwhile, jimmy buff fate gave gulf coast residents a break from troubles with a free concert sunday in gulf shores, alabama and he changed the lyrics to his signature song. ♪ some people claim there's a woman to bla ♪ ♪ but i know ♪ it's all bp's fault >> the concert boosted tourism with buffet fans packing hotels and restaurants. the young american fugitive known as the barefoot bandit is locked up this morning in the bahamas where he was arrested early sunday. 19-year-old colton harris-moore is accused of stealing cash, cars and small airplanes during his two-year crime spree. in at least eight states from washington to indiana. police said he was armed when they caught him after a boat chase. he's scheduled to appear in court later this week. severe weather hit sunday in kansas city, missouri where heavy rains and high winds made a mess of some neighborhoods. at the the box office despicable me took over the top spot, the twilight saga: eclipse was second and predators came in third. it is now 8:04 now. you're up to day on the news. let's go back outside to matt and and a good monday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. a little bit of sunshine getting through, some clouds as well, but not bothering anybody. temperatures in the mid- to low 70s around town. low 70s inñi most of our suburb. already a couple of sprinkles showing up in the mountains of west virginia and also down into the southern parts of the shenandoah valley. we'll be keeping an eye on those over the next couple of hours. steadier rain showers arriving late, late, late today and in the overnight hours tonight. highs near 90 today, 80s to matt, over to you. >> stephanie, thanks very much. when we come back, the personal and professional troubles faced by actor mel gibson. we'll talk about that. but first, these messages. they used to spend hours on the couch, watching t.v., playing video games. and with all you hear about childhood obesity, i was concerned. now i take a more active role in their health like insisting on lots of play time and making sure they eat right. like when i make burgers i use lean jennie-o ground turkey. i'm proud i got them off the couch. well, sort of. anncr: be well... with all the great tasting ways to eat lighter. only from jennie-o. last year, she started a pastry business from her small apartment. the problem is -- she doesn't have a car. for months erica's been saving to buy a new toyota corolla. the corolla, it's reliable, which i love. 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[ female announcer ] positively radiant. the beauty of nature and science. only from aveeno. ♪ ♪ ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ one tribe, y'all ♪ we are one people ♪ let's catch amnesia [ male announcer ] this summer, every time you choose pepsi, you support the pepsi refresh project. so choose pepsi. every pepsi refreshes the world. ♪ one, one, one people back now at 8:08 with mel gibson facing domestic violence allegations as well as fallout from an alleged profanity-laced rant on tape. we have george lewis reporting. >> reporter: gibson and his girlfriend, oksana grigorieva, the mother of his youngest child seemed to be madly in love, but not anymore. the celebrity gossip site radaronlight.com released an audio recording of gibson lashing out at grigorieva in a tirade. the n word. >> you go out in public and it's a [ bleep ] embarrassment to me. you look like a [ bleep ] bitch on heat and if you raped by a pack of [ bleep ] it will be your fought. >> the awe then city haventd been fair vied. reportedly grigorieva told the sheriff's department gibson hit her and knocked out a tooth. there are also reports gibson has denied the allegations. >> what happens now is anybody's guess. there's potentially a criminal investigation of him for making threats against his girlfriend as well as domestic violence. >> reporter: the pop zi caught up with grigorieva over the weekend. >> i'll come out in the right time. >> the william morris agency haslett it be known they're no longer representing gibson. so could gibson's run of strange behavior mark the end of his run in hollywood sf. >> mel gibson is either the victim of a lot of bad luck or he's just a very self-destructive man who can't get it right. >> reporter: four years ago when he was arrested for drunk driving, a police report said he made sexist and anti-semantic remarks for which he later apologized. >> they'll never take our freedom! >> reporter: gibson, at the height of his career, winning the oscar for directs "braing "braveheart." his latest film was a box office bomb, raking in $80 million, about what it cost to make. now if he's charged with assault against his girlfriend, the sheriff could take away his freedom. for "today," nbc news, los angeles. >> where does mel gibson go from him. we have wendy and bonnie fuller. good morning to both of you. it's interests these allegations and this audiotape which allegedly occurred in january is now coming out after the couple is already trying to sort of battle over custody of their child. what do you make of that? >> you know, that's not good for her, believe it or not, even though it's horrible. a judge trying to figure out who should get custody is not going to like the fact that this is pressure, you know, in a sense, an exploitation of the situation to bring public pressure to bare on a private divorce/custody situation. it's terrible, but if it was leaked and she's behind the leak, that's not going to help her in court. >> as we heard from george, it's not been independently verified that these are actually authentic. will they be admissible in court? is there something still debated? >> yes. even though sometimes secret recordings are against the law, there's a special law in california in a domestic violence situation, uyou can covertly record anything. that's admissible. that's bad news for mel gibson. there's a special presumption in california that any domestic violence in the five years prior to a debate and a dispute about custody, the presumption is the abuser gets no custody. the primary or shared. this will be used against him in that way. >> in the meantime, you've heard in hollywood because william morris his agent has dropped him. >> that is right. in the court of both public opinion and in the court of hollywood big decision-headacma opinions, he's lost already. he was already shunned after his 2006 outburst in which he made anti-semitic remarks. the fact he's on tape, anybody that knows mel gibson's voice believes it's him. he's slurring women and african-americans on the tape. he's also slurring latinos, and he's previously slurred jews. he is not welcome. people are not going to want to work with him. >> do you think that his career is over? he's the guy who has been lauded in hollywood for decades now. >> that's right. >> he's also a man who has had an alcohol problem. >> yeah. >> so is there forgiveness in hollywood, or do you think that's it for mel gibson? >> i'm not going to say it's it for mel gibson. yes, he's well-known to be an alcohol abuser and went through rehab. however, he is so wealthy that he can continue to finance his own movies. he financed "passion of the christ" which made over $600 million and apocalipto. that was a huge hit. when someone can make money on his own, he can be successful. >> how do you see this playing out, wendy? we're looking at a court case. >> the most important thing is did the crime occur and who should raise their child? people call it an assault. if he knocked her teeth out, which is the allegation, that's actually mayhem, and that's a very serious felony under california law. you know, we have lots of research that shows abusive men are also harmful to children, even if they don't hurt the children. he's going to be hard-pressed to win in a court of law. if he's prosecuted he's hard-pressed to win that case. i don't know about his career. i tell you this, i don't know what group of people would go, because he seems to hate everybody. i don't want to watch any of his movies. >> these are all allegations in terms of this particular case. >> she's made allegations against -- he has made allegations against her and said she was shaking the baby, so we've looked into this. we've heard that the child and family services is looking into the pair of them. >> so we actually -- this is not over, and we don't know the full details of all it. thank you for talking about the allegation we've heard so far. coming up next we unveil the new list of the top five places in america to live. that's after this. hold on a second... come on up here where your brothers sit. 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"money" comes out with its annual list today. hi hi, lelizabeth. cities between 50,000 and 200,000 in population. how do you get to be named? >> for families what's most important to them in choosing a place to live, and the answers aren't that unusual: you want safe streets and good jobs and real estate you can afford. >> do these cities have to do well in all categories, or can they stand out in one or the other. ? >> it's overall. it's tough to be great in everything, so we did it across the board who is the best. >> we'll go from 5 to 1. number 5 is mckinney, texas about 30 miles from dallas. this gets great marks for the downtown area and low cost of housing. really low cost of housing here. >> the typical two or three bedroom house is $160,000. >> how did they do on the other criteria? >> they did well. jobs in particular. texas is booming. you hear these bad stories about california and miami and detroit. it's not like that. >> when you look at number 4 on the list, bellevue, washington, it has more jobs than residents, and a lot of these jobs are with tech companies. >> microsoft in redmond has outgrown the campus and expedia, t-mobile and verizon. it's a great place to find work. >> i imagine they're high-paying jobs as well. >> it's an expensive place because of that. >> number 3 on your list is newton, massachusetts. i lived near there. it's about nine miles from boston. this one gets high praise for the school system. >> really terrific. they're always in the tops in the state, and they finished working on a $200 million state-of-the-art high school opening this fall. >> we talked about real estate a second ago and the low prices in texas. the down side to wton, massachusetts because of proximity in boston, you pay more for a house here. >> $600,000 is typical for a one-family house. if the prices weren't so high, it would have been higher on the list. that dinged us. >> the number two spot goes to two towns columbia, maryland and ellicott city, maryland. what did you love about them? >> unemployment is only 5.2% versus nationally 9.3. >> it's an area of 60,000 people. >> you're commuting distance between baltimore and d.c. or work in town. >> the government is moving more jobs into this area. what kinds of jobs are those? >> that's a big advantage. the national security agency in fort mead, they're consolidating jobs there. other jobs benefit in the area from that. >> i'm going out on a climb here, and the city that's number one on the list, there aren't going to be an awful lot of people in our viewing audience that have been to this place. number one is eden prairie, minnesota. why? >> it's near minneapolis. it's just sort of hip on all fronts. it has a aaa bond rating, meaning it's a stable place. so many municipalities are having trouble. 5.1% unemployment, super low. >> this, by the way, is the city with 60,000 residents. i misstated that. this is the one with 60,000. is there a downside here, though? no offense to the people in minnesota. you move there, you're in for a long, cold winter. >> it seems like a good thing today. >> with our heatwave today. there was plymouth, minnesota that was number one on your list a couple of years ago, so minnesota really kicking butt on this list. >> minnesota never had the boones and busts. just a stable, kind of work ethic place to ray uz your family. >> other town, broken arrow is number two and madison, wisconsin, 94. thank you very much. the list comes out today. now, here's ann. matt, thanks. let's go to the great city of washington, d.c. and check in with our good friend mr. willard scott. >> i don't know if there is one, but this would be near the ides of july. happy birthday from smuckers. you see ola shelley, 100 years old today. known as a real survivor. she suffered a stroke. mary see is 100 and lives independently and keeps busy growing beautiful roses in her garden. we have leon dierberg, 100 years old today. plays pit notiano and sings at senior center. we like visits from helicopters. it's there. we have sam domino from temple terrace, florida, 100 years old. form erma reason and a secret to longevity is marrying the right woman and eating good food. healthy food. we have good old doris klinkerfues, isn't that a great name from woodbury, minnesota, 102. makes hat and crochets hats for people in homeless shelters. look at ethel edwards, 105. lives independently, and does all her own grocery shopping and enjoys gardening and playing scrabble. can't beat that. that's it from washington. back to the big apple. >> all right. thank you so much. would you go to eden prairie, minnesota? you think you might check it out? >> i like the name, the way she described it. it sounds very enticing. why not? >> we'll have to do a show from eden prairie one day. >> coming up next we have a real life indiana jones. >> and martha stewart doing an indoor clam bake after your local news and weather. 8:26 is your time. now 77 degrees, some cloudy skies out there. we're going to have another hot and humid day. chuck will have your forecast after the news. good morning, i'm eun yang. in the news for today, d.c. firefighters responded to a brushfire along the potomac river this morning. the fire began around 6:00 near the casino canal, not too far from fletcher's boat house. a fire boat quickly knocked down the flames. no word on how the fire started. a quick break and weather and traffic wh imagine if it were this easy to spot the good guys. you know, the guys who always do a super job. well, it is. just go to the verizon® yellow pages. and look for a business with the superguarantee® shield. you'll get the job done right, or we'll step in and help to make it right. so, protect yourself with the superguarantee® from supermedia. on its way-- the new verizon® yellow pages with larger, easier to read print. good morning, everybody. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. temperatures in the 70s in nearly every neighborhood. 68 in martinsburg, one of the cool spots. here's your check of local doppler. some sprinkles showing up just to the south and also some more up into the mountains of west virginia. but the broader view on the radar shows the bulk of the rain is still many, many, many hours away. so morning sunshine giving way to building clouds this afternoon. risk of a shower, a thunderstorm late today and better chances for rain tomorrow with highs in the 80s. jerry? >> chuck, some good news. the truck accident, which was on the outer loop of the beltway at central avenue just cleared minutes ago. right about there. so the lanes are open, but the bad news is, delays on the outer loop begin at route 5 all the way on up to the accident scene. not to worry. looking good to the 14th street brin. eun? >> jerry, thank you. get informed as soon as you get out of bed. out of bed. we start at 4:30 in t out of bed. we start at 4:30 in t navigating today's real estate market is complicated. you've seen the signs. that's why having the right real estate agent is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find experts in short sales or bank-owned properties or commercial real estate, agents who can help speed up the process, no matter how intricate. and that's good news, whether you're trying to sell or hoping to buy. because the only sign you really want to see is "sold." nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. 8:30 now on a monday morning. it is the 12th day of july, 2010. pleasant start to the week. the humidity is a little lower than it has been, although we're going up into the 90s today. not a bad way to start the work week with an enthusiastic crowd here in rockefeller plaza. out on the plaza this morning, i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and natalie morales. also out on the plaza is martha stewart, who is down here. martha is out here because the crowds turned on us before, when we said that martha would be indoors for the clam bake. they hissed and booed and threw things, so martha is going to be -- >> the clams are staying inside. >> we're still doing the segment inside, but martha came out to check out the people. we appreciate that. what else is coming up? >> also coming up this morning we actually meet a man who we adore around here. he's a modern day indiana jones chasing mummies and other relics all over the world. he's from egypt, and he's an archaeologist, and he's talking about some discoveries he's just recently unearthed, matt. >> he has the key to basically every major attraction in egypt. you want to see the pyramids? i have the key. he's got everything. he really does. >> it's amazing how that happens. also we talk about some of the health concerns and the issues surrounding big babies. you may have heard stories over the years about, you know, children who are born on the average over 9 pounds are considered large babies. we'll talk more about that, coming up a new discovery special seven-day outlois out. right across from us is the beautiful and talented stephanie abrams filling in for al today. >> they're visiting from and a good monday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we're off to a fairly pleasant start here in the washington area. 77 degrees, our temperature at national airport. 75 now in vienna, 73 in manassas. 68 in martinsburg. there are rain showers moving into central west virginia now, and even a few sprinkles showing up, just to the east of the richmond area. rain will be part of our forecast for late this afternoon and this evening. highs near 90 today. 80s tomorrow with rain more likely. >> and for your weather 24 hours a day, all you have to do is go to bl.com. it's really simple. matt, over to you. >> stephanie, thanks. when we come back, martha stewart will show us how to throw a clam bake in the comfort of our own kitchen. it's a little strange, but how fios takes your hd higher. to a 100% fiber optic picture. to more hd channels than cable. it's also the ultimate on-demand hd movie experience with the movie poster gallery. and the ability to search your hd titles by content or actor, not just title. by changing that old cable technology, your hd tv can finally reach its lofty potential. it's time for fios. visit verizon.com/fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. it's time for fios. this morning on martha on today, a clam bake. no need for the beach, and martha says you can throw your own seafood extravaganza in your own kitchen. she's here to show us hope with help from the recipe from quarter martha stewart living." good morning. th a lot of people think it's too complicated. >> it's easy. get your ingredients assembled as we have. we have three onions just quarters, we have six or seven cloves of garlic chopped coarsely and three lobsters. they have to be in there for 15 minutes, the lobsters to be well cooked. now we add a bottle of beer. >> why do you put beer in there? >> the lobsters will be happy. >> that is a terrible bottle opener. >> no, no. here. how about this way? >> there we go. >> you pour that in. >> that was a little dysfunctional. here we go. all of it? >> in the july issue every state in the union is celebrated. it's a real patriotic issues and interesting facts about all the states. this is seaweed. >> where do you get the seaweed? >> if you live near the beach, wash it after you pick it up off the beach. it's a beautiful, healthy thing. >> ha if you don't live near the beach sf. >> get it at the fish market. >> is there anything to substitute? >> throw in a bunch of herks, a handful of parsley, difficull, the flavoring. >> they haven't been cooked at all? >> no, they've not been cooked. then you add a tablespoon of salt. >> not the kind i dump in. >> not the whole bowl. >> keep me away from it. >> we are chorizo. this is delicious. >> all of it? >> yep, throw it all in. then you throw in your clams. these are little neck clams that have been scrubbed and are clean. >> would this cook first. how long is that going to cook? >> 15 minutes. i want to add everything. it will be okay. >> okay. >> you add the clams. they're going to open. you add your corn. you add all those. >> look at this right on top. >> you add your corn in here. you add mussels if you like mussels. make sure every mussel is scrubbed and closed. you don't want them open. >> you layer this. you wouldn't stir this, right? >> no. don't stir it. your lobsters -- what's in the bottom will take longer to cook these things steam. the shrimp go in very last, okay? cook that for 15 minutes. that has to really cook for 15 minutes. this is what comes out. look. >> so you just take it from the top and put it -- >> this is hot. you have your lobster. what i like to do is sni -- we couldn't find a pair of snippers for some reason. you snip the tips of the lobster's claws off and let the moisture drain out. remove the safety rubber bands to -- you can pull those off if you want. >> martha, is this the same without the smell of sea air and sand in your pants and all that stuff and the bugs? >> what do you think? >> it smells good. >> the mel is fantastic. >> if you can't be on the beach, get a feeling about it. >> what about the friends in the midwest? all those people from ohio are out on the plaza. look how great this is? you have your potatoes and clams, everything is open. you don't have to eat the seaweed if you don't want. the seaweed adds a sea flavor to it. >> you can find a festive way to present it on a platter here and you can put seashells and coral neck to. >> the onions and corn and potato potatoes. >> start to finish, how long are we talking? >> 40 minutes. >> most of the time is spent scrubbing? >> serve them with wedges of lemon. >> it's great for people to serve themselves? >> this is for four. one lobster per person. do you know how to open a lobster? >> i have no idea. >> let's do that. that will be an interesting lesson here. you have your lobster claws. i twist the lobster claws off like this. >> that looks easy. >> one of my friends takes all the meat out before he eats the lobster. i like to eat it piece by piece. then you twist the tail off. you have to be prepared to get your hands dirty. so here. we have a female lobster. see the red row. that's my favorite part. i love that. >> do you know how to get the tail out of the shell? >> i take a knife and slide that and take my fork and pull it out. take the fork like this and slide it under the shell like that i can and take the shell out. >> this doesn't work well. >> everything from martha works. >> the whole tail comes right out. that was a big chunk. >> that's good. >> without any trouble. >> why don't you split it down the middle and crack it open. >> this takes it right out. >> we have one right there if you want it. >> look how it comes out? in a nice, big piece without cutting. it really does come out. this is great. >> there you go. >> nice work, there. >> thank you. >> and then you crack your big claws, okay? these are hard lobsters. i've been eating soft shedders up in maine. >> with the thin shells? >> yeah, i love the shedders. >>. you crack it and pull it out. this meat is so beautiful. dip it into melted butter or a fish broth if you like. >> this must be the fish broth you have here. it has a -- >> that's the juice. then you can add any kind of -- a little kay yen pepper. you can open this if you want or take out the row. look at this row. don't be afraid. >> most people quit at this point. the tail and the claws. >> you haven't been to maine where they sit and eat the lobster. >> i won't eat that, no. what would you generally serve as a dessert. talk about the things you have up there? >> on the cover of "living" magazine all these pies. they are strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb pie, raspberry pie. >> mixing the berries can bring a depth to the pie. >> there's so delicious with that nice, flakey piecrust and bake the pie hot it will it's bubbling in the center. you know your berries are cooked through and through. >> isn't this fun? >> you can make these your weekend when it rains. we're hoping for rain. >> can you put it in the ziploc bag and dip it in the water? >> this is the good, healthy way to make a clam bake. next, a firsthand look at the dirty and dangerous position of chasing during his career he has unearthed some of the world's most famous, important, historical relics and now in the new history series chasing mummies, he takes viewers along on the adventure of a lifetime. it's good to see you again. why did you want to see this series, you're showing arc kolb warts and all, not just the big discoveries but the work that goes into them? >> it's important to show to the viewing audience what we do, what kind of work we do. if you have a tv, they come at the end. with this show we're showing the real archeological issues and danger and excitement. >> there are major discoveries part of this series. how much pressure were you and your team under to actually come up with something during this ordeal? did you know what to expect, that you had some things you were pretty sure you could uncover? >> no. most of what we did actually was things we did not expect, but for example, this major discovery. it's about 11 tons that stick out of the water. >> it's in the depths of alexandra bay. >> it was a big storm, windy, cold. we had to dig this out of the water. it was really something. >> one of the other things that comes across in the series and i don't think a lot of people really think about this is arc kolb is dang ology is dangerous. >> it is. in this show, we were in a tunnel corridors under the pyramids about three and a half miles down. she was inside. >> she got her foot stuck, i think. >> she was stuck. and therefore you really can meet danger and fear and also at the end it's adventure. >> she was lucky, this intern, because based on your knowledge of the area, you had a good idea where shebd be located. >> we know the location of the tunnels, but if you enter for the first time underneath, you lose your way. >> i've known you for a long time. i know how passionate you are about your work, and that passion boils over sometimes. >> true. >> and you were seen in the series sometimes yelling at the people who work around you, and i'm worried, were you at all concerned about coming across as being an archaeological villain? >> matt, sometimes people can talk beside you. i have to tell to make things, and really it shows my passion. at the end of all of this, we learn so much. you literally show to the viewers for the first time the real archaeology. i had to use my passion. >> you're one of the guys that does the kitchen show where you yell at everybody on the set. you're going to get a spinoff from this i know. for the younger people who may be watching our show today and may watch your series "chasing mummies," what kind of person makes a good archaeologist. >> i'm writing a book for children now. it's hard to become an archaeologist, and they have a fan club for children. over 600 wanted to be an archaeologist. i'm telling them, the most important thing is passion. >> and curiosity. you have to be curious about the world around you and how we got to where we are today? >> it's true. but archaeology gives that adventure and passion and mystery and really makes it. this is why young people want to be archaeologists. >> it does a great job, this series. showing the hard work that goes into these things that we on the outside take for granted. it's always good to see you. the show "chasing mummies "quarter " [ music throughout ] [ male announcer ] looking for a complete picture of your money? 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[ clucks ] [ male announcer ] perdue. extra inspections... extraordinary chicken. now to the devastates earthquake in haiti. nancy snyderman has many several trips to the region. >> it's hard to believe it's been six months, and for so many of the thousands that didn't die in the earthquake, everyday life is a struggle. if you plug long enough inside port-au-prince, there are signs of recovery and hope. another typical day for this girl. living in her father's tent and relying on a walker to get around. the professional dancer's dreams were cut short when she lost her leg in the january 12th earthquake. in a land that has always bengie graphically hostile for people with disabilities, overnight haiti became a country of affirm tees. >> it was very hard. >> translator: i find it very difficult to cope because my dream has been shattered. >> reporter: her days seem to have lost her purpose. now she sits on this desolate street corner in port-au-prince. when you look ahead, what does life look like? >> translator: i can't see what live is going to be like other than what i'm doing, sitting on a chair and waiting for people to come and bring me food. >> reporter: now they have come with more than food. dennis runs a small prosthetic company in new hampshire called the new england brace company. after seeing the devastation in haiti, he was inspired to do something and put his company on a different course, going beyond the shores of the united states. >> perfect fit. okay. they're all yours. we're trying to help as many people as we can, but her story just touched our hearts and we decided to follow-through and help her as best we can. >> reporter: after months of despair, a day of hope. >> today is a culmination of a long process we've been working on with her. we're fitting her with her first prosthetic. >> reporter: six months after the earthquake that tore haiti to pieces, organizations big and small have dedicated themselves to get haitians back on their feet. we met this 8-year-old at handicapped international. he was orphaned by the quake, and this rehab and prosthetic workshop in port-au-prince had become like a new home for him. with painstaking ache race see they create individualized limbs for each person. what have you seen in the faces of the people that try out their limbs for the first time? >> we see fear and excitement. when they see that they're able to -- when they see the others doing it, there's hope. >> reporter: dreams are coming true everywhere. she's on track to reclaim her life. >> very good, yeah. >> reporter: what she couldn't have imagined a few months ago is now her new reality. a new leg and a new opportunity to dance. it's important to remember that getting a prosthetic is a long-term commitment. these people have to be followed for many years, so those who volunteered to help in haiti, everyone is in for the long haul. i'd like to especially thank a company, global relief technologies. they are working in a very fragmented system to collect all this data so that frankly no one will slip through the cracks. >> how important. >> isn't this is an early assessment in terms of how many people are in need of prosthetics? >> it's ten of thousands. they have prioritized legs before arms. they're trying to get people mobile again. you know having been there, we're not talking about streets and sidewalks for people. this is an arduous climb back with the prosthetics that work well. >> six months out oftentimes we run away from the stories. >> thank you for reporting there. coming up 8:55 is your time now. 78 degrees. hazy skies over the nation's capital. are we getting anymore rain today? chuck will have your forecast after the news. good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. it is monday, july 12th, 2010. in the news for today, two men who police say were posing as prince george's county officers are behind bar this morning. 24-year-old daniel blailocke and another were arrested yesterday. police believe there may be more victims and they are now asking anyone else who came in contact with these men to come forward. we'll take a quick break and have your weather and traffic wh ♪ [ male announcer ] progress. progress for new york city cab drivers, like ossman ali is being able to carry people, who aren't carrying cash. meaning more convenience for passengers, and more business for cab drivers. all thanks to the ease and freedom of visa digital currency. now that's progress. visa. currency of progress. good morning, everyone. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we have a pearl to mostly cloudy sky in place already. what sunshine we have this morning will eventually turn to a mostly cloudy sky this afternoon. chance of a shower, thundershower this afternoon. more likely for rain overnight tonight and much of the day tomorrow. today's high near 90, tomorrow in the 80s. >> relatively quiet morning. the outer loop of the beltway is slowing from river road across the american legion bridge once you pass the exit for the dulles toll road, your pace begins to pick up. from interstate 66, a mile or so backed up traffic approaching the beltway. >> get informed as soon as you get out of bed. join us ev we're back now with more of "today" on a monday morning, july 12th, 2010. another steamy day in the northeast. as you can see, that has not deterred a great crowd of people here on rockefeller plaza. th're going to stick around here. this is before the heat against too unbearable. >> maybe 90 today? >> 90s today, but the humidity is picking back up. you can't complain, although we do. i'm on the plaza with ann curry. coming up, we talk about the fbi's personal hunt for the killer of one of its own. >> somebody wo worked in their office, melissa mooney. she died, and so the fbi are trying to investigate who, in fact, was responsible for her death. so this became a really weird story with lots of twists and turns. we'll be catching up with where they are today on this story. >> also ahead mel gibson is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. apparently he's being investigated after allegedly hitting his ex-girlfriend. this tape has emerged with gibson in an objescenity laced tirade. where does his career go from here? we talk about that coming up. on a different subject they say bigger is better. that's not the case when it comes to pregnant women and their newborns. we highlight the potential health risks associated with large babies. >> all right. there's a pink one right there. ann is standing here and natalie is at the news desk with the headlines. >> good morning. two terror bombings sunday killed more than 60 people including one american in uganda's capital. explosions targeted a restaurant and sports bar where soccer fans were watching the finals. americans were among the 60 wounds. police suspect a somali group with ties to al qaeda. bp says a new cap over the leaking oil well could contain almost all of the crude if it works according to plan. the old cap was removed on saturday. bp's spending has surpassed $3.5 billion. the swiss government rejected a request to extradite roman polanski. the swiss justice ministry said polanski was arrested in september and is now a free man as far as it is concerned. american teenager known as the barefoot bandit is behind bars this morning in the bahamas after evading officials for the last two years. peter alexander has more from nassau and the bahamas. >> reporter: true to his nick name he was barefoot on sunday. authorities in bahamas arrested the 19-year-old fugitive before dawn on sunday after shooting out the engines of his stolen boat as harris-moore tried to make another escape, this time in caribbean waters. for the so-called barefoot bandit it ends a two-year odyssey that included more than 100 separate crimes in at least eight states from washington to indiana. harris-moore is accused of stealing cash, cars and at least five planes that he taught himself to fly including this one. investigators say the teenager stole it in indiana before a crash landing at 1,000 miles away here in the bahamas. he snaps this suv from a family garage police here say and later was seen barefoot at a sports bar in the bahamas buying a beer. >> you don't see too many 6'5" white guys walking through the door. >> reporter: he was spotted by surveillance cameras alleging breaking into a restaurant before turning each camera towards the wall. >> the thing that struck me was it looked very, very calm and at ease. >> like he owned the place? >> like he owned the place. >> reporter: her dive shop was burglarized with a significant piece of evidence left behind. >> it was a perfect hand print. it wasn't accidental, like he accidentally touched something. it was like he went smack up on the window like i was here. >> reporter: police say harris-moore, who was first convicted of possessing stolen property when he was 12 has been taunting authorities with his brazen antics since he escaped from a halfway house from washington state two yerz. he left behind this photo at one crime scene and chalk outlines of his now famous feet at another. this morning we learned new information about how that chase ended. witnesses say colton harris-moore threw his snap sack into the water and held a gun up to his head. bahamian police talked him out of it. his first court appearance happens later week. today is a national holiday, bahamian independence day. natalie. >> peter reports from nassau there. there's a bit less pain at the pump. gas prices are down 4 cents a gallon in the last two weeks. according to the bundberg survey, the average price is 2.73 a gallon. look at this beautiful sight. a rare total eclipse of the sunday. this is how it looked from easter island in the south pacific. the first total eclipse in 1400 years. that's amazing. it is now five minutes past the hour. let's go out to matt and ann. >> thanks a lot. what bad news could stephanie abrams have? a good monday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we're off to a fairly sunny start first thing this morning. temperatures are now climbed into the upper 70s to near 80 degrees, pretty much all across the area. showers with a few embedded thunderstorms now moving into south central virginia and southern west virginia. you can see on the loop, they're clearly moving in our direction. our rain chances start to ramp up after 5:00 or 6:00 this evening. rain a little bit more likely as we get into tomorrow and wednesday. >> and over to you. stephanie, thanks. the fbi hunts down criminals of day, but when the victim is a friend and co-worker the case becomes personal. we have the story of agents who just didn't give up until they brought their friend's killer to justice. >> reporter: melissa mooney was building a new life for hersz in north carolina. she had a job she loved as the office manager of the fib. in the summer of 1999 she had just bought a house, her fist. >> she was real excited about that. this is a big event. >> reporter: on august 6th melissa's fbi colleagues gathered early to help move, but thirp every punk wall office manager was late. larry bonnie was melissa's boss. worried? >> yes. >> reporter: after only 15 minutes? >> if she was a minute late they called. >> reporter: the fbi agent drove to melissa's new home where he made a shocking discovery. >> it's clear to me that she's dead laying on the floor. >> reporter: immediately her parents had an idea of who could have killed their daughter. >> i said rojier. >> roger mooney, melissa's ex-husband, a marine with a temper. >> not a happy marriage. >> reporter: agents zeroed in on roger and investigated him exhaustly, but logical suspect roger mooney had his own set of facts starting with this one. he insisted he didn't kill melissa. >> the only thing i could rely on was the fact i didn't do it, and eventually the truth would come out. >> reporter: in time melissa's boss started to believe him. >> i started saying, it should be roger, but i don't think it is. >> reporter: two years after melissa was murdered, investigators were fairly certain of one thing and one thing only. >> we reached a point where we said, roger mooney is not our guy. >> reporter: in 2001 they started all over. investigators re-interviewed everyone they'd spoken with in 1999 and they ran across a neighbor who struck them as unusual. >> i said there's something about this guy. >> reporter: they learned the man's name was tyrone delgado, a metal worker. investigators started to dig into his background and shared their findings with prosecutors. >> mr. delgado was one of only a few people on eartha h that cou perpetrate a crime like this. >> who was this man and adid he know? it led investigators around the country and led to an arrest and conviction for the murder of melissa mooney. for "today" josh mank wits, nbc news. >> paul cox was the lead fbi agent on the case and ben david was the district attorney. good morning. >> good morning. >> paul, let me start with you. first of all, how was it to work on a case if which you actually knew the victim, which in this case was the first experience of that for you and why you didn't let this go, given how tough it was. >> well, ann, basically it was different. you know, we work a lot of homicides, but you really don't expect to find like a secretary in your office dead in her home. that morning when we went to check on her, we were hoping against hope that she was fine, but when we saw the footprint on the door, we realized this was different. it was tragic. melissa was a great mom to her daughter, sammy. so it was different in that sense, but like any other homicide, you really just have to, you know, start looking at the people in her life, and that's where we started. then as the tape showed, we went around the neighborhood and found tyrone delgado. >> did you have to put your own personal emotions aside? according to the story we saw, you were actually if i'm not mistaken in the house, and so you found her body, if i'm not mistaken? >> yeah. it was pretty shocking to find her body, but i think obviously you kind of go on auto pilot. you have the support of your friends, your family, your co-workers. this was just a tragic case, like i said, but at the end of the day you have to pull up your socks and get to work and do what you need to do. >> ben, as the district attorney, based on what we just heard, it would have been so easy to send the wrong person to jail. what does that tell us? >> well, it's so important to search for the truth and to never give up. agent cox never did. we liked the ex-husband for a lot of ryans. melissa said if she was dead, he did it. he was using her picture as a target at the shooting range and failed two polygraphs. what we're proud of is not only we cleared an innocent man but removed a very violent predator from the streets of community. >> what was the thinking there? it would have been so easy to pursue her ex-husband. what was the thing that turned for you that made you able to do that when that might not have been the case depending on who was investigating this? >> well, there's two things you look to. there's talking witnesses and what we call the silent witnesses, the physical evidence that's seen. there was things that didn't add up when we looked at the ex-husband. what we did is we had the sheriff's office collect all the dna evidence and we compared that later to a next door neighbor who as the piece showed came under the radar screen about two years later. it was chasing down his past and unearthing the numerous victims around the country that were able to let the road stop here at wilmington for this serial rapist. >> he's currently in jail, life without parole. do you believe you found all of his victims, or do you believe by going public with this today there could be more victims out there who still need to come forward? >> i'd like to address that, ann. we do hope that the piece might show other people out there sexual crimes are one of the most underreported crimes in the country. now that people can see a little bit about him, you know, his voice, his appearance, his demean demeanor, we may find somebody else out there. this is a unique subject that didn't stop. even when he knew we were looking at him, he didn't stop. we feel like this show might identify other victims. >> paul cox and ben david, thank you so much for your hard work and for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. and still to come today, the hidden dangers in your own backyard that you may not know about if you want to keep your family safe this summer. we'll tell you what those are. coming up next, the health risks associated with having big babies and some add rice for expectant mothers and parents right after this. for expectant mothers and parents right after this. d for expectant mothers and parents right after this. vice for expectant mothers and parents right after this. finally, what you love is what your skin needs. experience new positively nourishing body washes from aveeno, the naturals brand dermatologists trust most. delightfully fragrant, truly moisturizing. that's positively nourishing. only from aveeno. that's positively nourishing. we asked real people to film themselves taking the activia 14-day challenge. hi. i'm emily ilic. i think from being a skeptic in the beginning i do think that activia actually works. take the activia challenge. it works or it's free. quick question... what does she sn him? 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[ female announcer ] walmart and p&g present the jensen project, july 16th, 8/7 central on nbc. family movie night is back. make yours complete with all of this for just $9. save money. live better. walmart. there's a full serving of vegetables in every manwich. announcer: surprise. every manwich has a full serving of wholesome vegetables. manwich. meat your vegetables. special k protein shakes -- ♪ a truly great-tasting breakfast shake. with 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, it's the creamy, delicious way to satisfy... your hunger to help you lose weight. ♪ so you can kick the tin can habit. try special k protein shakes today. having a big baby used to be seen as a sign of good health. many times the opposite is true for the infant and mother. a new documentary called "big babies" looks at larger than average newborns and the health risks involved. this doctor is the director of newborn services at mercy medical center at baltimore, maryland. big babies mean different things in different societies and cultures, i believe, but largely there are a lot of health risks associated, right? >> sure. officially a large baby is a baby who is about 9 1/2 pounds or more. and there are a lot of health risks associated with that both for the mother and baby. >> what are some of the risks involved and what are some things to be aware of during pregnancy? >> certainly as we see as featured in the discovery health serious "big babies," we follow four women wire obese and get pregnant. it's all the various medical problems they have such as diabetes, the development of dwibts in obese women is much more xhan than in normal, average weight women. >> three of the women have large babies? >> right. one of the other complications of obesity and pregnancy is actually the opposite, having a baby that is not well grown and a maul baby. >> when you talk about some of those risks, diabetes, gestational diabetes, what's the real link between obesity, as we see in the case of these four moms that are obese and during pregnancy and having larger babies? >> there is a strong link between the development either of having pre-existing diabetes or diabetes when you're pregnant, and the development of a large baby in utero. babies who are being developed with moms who have diabetes are exposted to high sugar. therefore, they're growing at an accelerated rate, and all during that pregnancy. so it's very important for the mothers to control their sugars as best they can while they're pregnant. >> having a large baby leads to ongoing health risks for the child but as the child grows up as well. you follow in the discovery health series, follow one of the children and through the age of three years old he's 70 pounds, so that's double the weight of an average 3-year-old at that time, right? is there a strong link that because the child is born a large baby that, therefore, obesity will follow the child later in life? >> yes, but not necessarily. yes, babies start out large, but there's no reason they absolutely need to continue on that scale. with a healthy diet, good nutrition, talking to your pediatrician about good care for the baby, it doesn't necessarily mean that baby has to be obese. >> the real message is if you're obese or wanting to get pregnant or pregnant, it's about taking into account all the health risks associated? >> yeah. i'm involved with one of the other shows later in the week baby week on discovery health where we follow several women in the first show that are obese and have diabetes and one of which the baby needs to come to the nicu because of low sugar right after delivery. so we also see some of the complications that the moms have. >> by the way, that series as well as i can imagine a real roller coaster because i know they followed you in the nicu for five weeks. i imagine for the parents and families of these newborns, it's a party of life or death sometimes shortly after their born. for you, it must be a stressful job. >> i love the job. i think one misconception about nicu that hopefully you see in the show on "nicu" is we follow the family through the journey. there are highs and lows, and there is no recipe for when that baby is going home. you'll see some of that disappointment in the families on the show. >> yeah. i can imagine. wow. it's great that doctors like you are making sure that babies are getting home healthy and safe. thanks so much. it sounds like great series. you can watch the hour-long documentary "big babies" at 9:00 p.m. on discovery health and the new series "nicu" on thursdays at 10:00 p.m. coming up, the personal and professional drama surrounding mel gibson. we'll have details on that, but first, these messages. introducing anew emulsions... another breakthrough from avon. high intensity emulsion, works super fast. you'll see the change no matter what your age. look up to 5 years younger in 14 days. anew emulsions by avon. there's one for your age. want it? 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[ female announcer ] discover the power of aveeno positively radiant. with total soy, it's clinically proven to visibly reduce past damage while advanced spf 30 helps prevent future damage. aveeno positively radiant. when we get together for the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks lunch at olive garden, it's so good, sometimes... we forget to talk. announcer: lunch at olive garden with our homemade soup, fresh salad, and warm breadsticks. enjoy all you want, for just $6.95. at olive garden. 9:26 is your time now. 80 trees. we had some rain this weekend. will we get more today? chuck will have the answers after the news. good morning, i'm eun yang. it is monday, july 12th, 2010. in the news today, you may want to add extra time to your commute if you have to take 16th street through northbound washington. a portion of 16th street is closed at crescent place because of work to fix a retaining wall. traffic is being shifted to provide two lanes in both directions all the time. you can also no longer park along southbound 16th street. the changes are expected to be in place for about three months. we'll take a break and have your weather and traffic when we come back. imagine if it were this easy to spot the good guys. you know, the guys who always do a super job. well, it is. just go to the verizon® yellow pages. and look for a business with the superguarantee® shield. you'll get the job done right, or we'll step in and help to make it right. so, protect yourself with the superguarantee® from supermedia. on its way-- the new verizon® yellow pages with larger, easier to read print. a good monday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. a little bit of sunshine getting through. warming our temperatures now into the upper 70s and low 80s across the area. rain showers continuing to make slow but steady progress now into the southern parts of the shenandoah valley. so we'll have a risk of rain here, starting mid- to late this afternoon, especially out to the west of washington. rain likely for just about everybody. overnight tonight and through the day tomorrow. jerry? >> all right, chuck. take a look here and see how we're doing. 395 northbound, a little slow, well after the pentagon, to and across the 14th street bridge. no incidents there. outer loop of the beltway in maryland, still sluggish, we'll call it, from before river road across the american legion bridge at the toll road. right now all travel lanesñi do remain available. eun? >> jerry, thank you. get informed as soon as you get out of bed. join us every weekday morning for news 4 the pain and embarrassment on the outside was one thing, but the prison i was in on the inside was unbearable. >> that is 55-year-old lena from new york city. she finally decided she had enough of the body. she lost half the body weight and lost 140 pounds. she'll show off her new figure later on "today." meanwhile, coming up in the half hour we talk about a heavyweight, a hollywood heavyweight mel gibson under fire. >> his ex-girlfriend is the mother of his young daughter is alleging he punched her in the face and there's a newly released audiotape of gibson. now he's under investigation by police for what really happened. we'll look. >> on a much different subject we talk about backyard dangers, things you might not realize, but there's very common things that -- everything from where you fire up your grill to unfenced pools to poisonous plants. there are things that are dangerous in your backyard. also in today's kitchen we go south of the border for a very popular chicken dish in mexico called dinga. i can't wait to try it. it can be used on everything from tacos to quesadillas and good monday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we have some sunshine getting through an otherwise partly cloudy sky. there's a live view from our tower camera, looking out to the northwest. some mid- and high-level clouds drifting on in. 78 downtown right now. 80 in annapolis. 73 in martinsburg, west virginia. the radar shows a steady march of rain showers. the rain showers are moving in our direction, so morning sunshine will give away to more clouds this afternoon. chance of a rain shower or shower late today and tonight. those rain chances continue through tomorrow. >> so the 80s and 90s a much needed relief. was it unbearable last week? >> it was. you weren't here. >> it's not cold so it's all good. coming up next, we talk about the case we mentioned about mel gibson facing off with his ex-girlfriend in a police investigation right after this. the specialist? he compares rates side by side. you could save hundreds. it's easy. great. okay, pickles! do your thing. 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[ female announcer ] if you join right now, you can join for a dollar. hurry, offer ends august 7th. weight watchers. because it works. it's playing out lie a hollywood drama. mel gibson is in the spotlight again. the los angeles sheriff's department is investigating allegations he punched his ex-girlfriend. nbc's george lewis has more. >> reporter: gibson and his girlfriend, oksana grigorieva, the mother of his youngest child, seemed to be madly in love, but not anymore. rad radarjohn line.com released an audio recording of gibson lashing out at grigorieva in a tirade with object seven anies and a racial slur. >> you look like a [ bleep ] heat in heat, and if get rape bid a pack of [ bleep ] it's your fought. >> the awn then city hasn't been verified. reportedly grigorieva told the sheriff gibson hit her and knocked out a tooth. there are also reports gibson has denied the allegation. >> what happens now is anybody's guess. there's potentially a criminal investigation of him for making threats against his girlfriend as well as domestic violence. >> reporter: the paparazzi caught up with grigorieva over the weekend. >> it will come out. >> reporter: the william morris agency haslett it be known it's no longer representing gibson, so could gibson's run of strange behavior mark the end of his run in hollywood? >> mel gibson's either the victim of a lot of bad luck or he's just a very self-destructive man who can't get it right. >> reporter: four years ago when he was arrested for drunk driving, a police report said he made sexist and anti-semitic remarks for which he later apologized. >> they'll never take our freedom! >> reporter: gibson ashgts the hooilt height of his career, winning the oscar direc "braveheart." his latest film was a box office bomb, raking in $80ion, about what it cost to make. now if he's charged with assault against his girlfriend, the sheriff could take freedom. for today george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. coming up next, how to protect your family from the hidden dangers lurking in your backyard. that's right after this. ♪ [ female announcer ] why use the same hand towel over and over... 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[ female announcer ] splenda®. america's favorite no calorie sweetener. two complementary fragrances alternate to keep things... fresh day after day. and not just for 30 days -- but for 60. it's our longest-lasting plugins freshener. s.c. johnson. a family company. we asked real people to film themselves taking the activia 14-day challenge. hi. i'm emily ilic. i think from being a skeptic in the beginning i do think that activia actually works. take the activia challenge. it works or it's free. at olive garden the other night. c'mon pass a breadstick to your favorite uncle. ohhhh!!! ohhhh!!! we had a ball. announcer: try olive garden's two new parmesan polenta crusted dishes. sauteed chicken breasts topped with a golden parmesan crust. or try our tender steak medallions. both with mezzaluna ravioli filled with four italian cheeses in our creamy alfredo. plus unlimited salad and breadsticks. you know, these kids are growing up a lot like we did... yeah, around family. announcer: olive garden. when you're here, you're family. in these lazy days of summer, you may spend a lot of time enjoig the backyard, but before you fire up the grill or jump in the pool, there had hidden dangers you may want to know about. courtney, good morning. >> good morning. >> thanks for being here. let's go down the list. first of all, you say we worry about the gas grill, but maybe not thinking about it, everything we should think about. >> if your grill is near your deck railing or by the side of your house, you probably want to move it. when you keep your grill near combustibles like a wooden railing, the side of the house, overhead branches and vegetations that are low-hanging, that's a leading cause of barbecue fires. leave a 10-foot clearing between your grill and any of these combustibles. >> that's a lot of space. that's what you need to do. >> it's important. it's the flame and grease and it will keep you safe. >> pools of water. they're breeding grounds for mosquitos. >> they are. even the tiniest bit of water, the amount you catch in a bottle cap, mosquitos can breed in that. so you want to do a weekly check of your grounds. look for buckets, plastic covers, bottle caps and dump that water to reduce the mosquitos, and also if you have a birdbath or fountains, you want to change that water weekly. that will lower your risk of mosquito-borne illnesses as well. >> you're concerned about toxic plants. toxic in terms of pets eating them? >> yes. kids, too. it's actually very dangerous. 68,000 people are poisoned by plants, and children are really at risk for fatalities as well as pets. they can be common. some examples are oleander, poppies, azaleas, lillys. you can't memorize the whole list, so the bottom line is know what's going in your backyard and ask about the issue when you buy vegetation, keep an eye on children in the yard and make sure they don't pop anything in their mouths. >> also, pesticide residue. it's hard to know what has the pesticides. obviously, it's on the plants, right? there may be residue elsewhere? >> also, owners apply pesticides incorrectly if they're not following directions, and they can get flu-like symptoms. that's a sign you've been overexposed. we recommend natural ways to cut down on pests feeding in the garden. one is plant sun flowers. plant nem in the garden, and they atam insecretarieses like assassin bugs, parasitic wasps. they don't hurt us or plants but they kill bugs that do. also birdhouses to attract blue birds. they eat the insects and are available for $20 online. >> do you get in a situation where you don't use pesticides at all? >> that's the optimum. there are nonsynthetic fertilizers. it takes education but it's worth it. >> we're sitting in these adirondack chairs on a deck. you have problems with a deck? >> yes. if you don't waterproof your deck every two to three years, moisture can seep in and warp the wood and up your risk of falls. you want to check kryour deck every spring, look for splinters and cracks. i see one in the corner over there. you want to see if you can penetrate that one-quarter to a half-inch with a screwdriver or ice pick. if you can, you need to replace the wood. moisture has damaged it. >> lastly, ladders. you don't want them to be too short. >> use common sense. if you're overreaching and put your foot near the top step to do your job, you're at risk of falling. if you can keep three limbs on a ladder, two feet and one hand, you're probably balanced and have good stability. another is approximate if you have to switch to a longer ladder that you prop against the side of the house, make sure the angle is appropriate. if the ladder is -- for every four feet in height, you want the base to extend one foot from the wall. >> you base this on statistics, because there are a lot of accidents when people don't follow rules. >> we check with experts, safety organizations, so it is important. you think i'm going to prop it against the house. you want that 4 to one rule, there are steps to take that are verified to keep you safe. >> courtney smith from "prevention" trying to keep us safe. thank you so much. coming up next we'll have a appreciate the easy days, are what keep me coming back for more. and the customer says, on the carpet." i'm thinking, what? gonna be difficult. don't tell me about a dog. an exploding crockpot, free-ranging house chickens. call a day's work. ♪ call 1-800-steemer this morning on "today's kitchen" we're spicing up your chicken dinner with a mexican dish. it can be used in everything from tacos to cassady yas. >> good morning. >> good to be here. >> what exactly is this? >> the chicken is one of the tastiest ways to make chicken in a kitchen. it's popular all over mexico, and i think it's going to start to pick up here sflooch. >> good we hope. the base is the puree of tomatoes. >> we're going to use some ingredients that everybody knows like toe matte toes, but we'll use mexican ingredients now widely available in the u.s. people should be comfortable with them because they bring magic in it. >> you can see it over here. it's like the tomato. here we have the sweet, and plump and ripe tomato and the toamio is a much firmer and it has a tart taste. we cook in water for ten minutes. boil it down for ten minutes until they're soft and mushy. put them in the blender and then make it puree. >> you have your base. once you have the base going, then over here you start it. >> we have some onion and garlic cooking for five minutes and then we add the puree. >> just pour the whole thing in? >> just pour the whole thing. it's a nice, rich base. we keep on going. >> it's all about the spices, of course? >> it's all about the riskness and complex layering of flavors. so we have some thyme and kosher salt and pepper. we'll use chipolte chili. some think heat and spicy with chiles. they're so much more. they're sweet, they're smoky. >> you can vary how hot you want it by what you put in. >> if you don't want spicy, you add the sauce. if you want to pump it up, drop in the whole chili. we leapt it simmer for a few minutes. then we add some already cooked and shredded chicken. it can be boiled chicken, rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken. very easy. so this is a very versatile dish. once you make it and i always make a load of it, you can just fashion it up in a thousand ways. i'll show you two ways that i love to do it. these are you know chicken tostadas great for entertaining. these are like edible, open packages. >> you took these corn tortillas. >> you bike them already made or get your corn tortillas or throw them in the oven or deep fry them. anything goes. you can put whatever you like on it. you assemble with the chicken. >> with the chicken, and then to make it -- you know, it's like a one-stop meal. you have the earthy -- >> this is great for parties for kids, too. >> it makes for a really active dining experience. >> and the tangy cheese, and want to take it it over -- that's fresh mexican cheese, and then sour cream. then you top with garnishes and tomatoes. >> every time you have one, it begs for some ripe mexican avocado because it's creamy and luscious. you can do this, you can also do some cass del quesadillas. and you have a floured tortilla. >> come on in. >> great to see you. >> how are you? >> they're joining us. >> i'm here to eat. >> you have come to the right place. you can't go wrong. >> these are delicious. >> these are floured tortillas. >> there you go. >> there's one for you. >> we like to feed our guests. >> you are going to get put to work here. >> they look healthy and amazing actually. well-done. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> what do you have coming up? >> first of all, i have him with me today, which will be interesting, i think. >> this is a lot of work. >> i don't think kathie is going to like it. he has huge feet. she has little feet. >> they're coming up right after she has little feet. >> they're coming up right after this. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com 9:56 is your time now. 82 degrees. cloudy and hazy out there. what kind of weather are we going to have? chuck will have answers after the news. good morning, i'm eun yang. it is monday, july 12th, 2010. in the news for today, two men who were posing as prince george's county officers are behind bars this morning. 24-year-old daniel blaylock and kennedy kennedy arturo were arrested yesterday. police believe there may be more victims and they are now asking anyone else who came in contact with these men to come forward. turning now to the forecast, the rain felt so good this weekend. i know we need some more. >> we do. we need every drop we can get. we're more than 5 1/2 inches behind in rainfall year to date so far. so every little drop we can get is appreciated and we have some more drops in the çdorecast. temperatures are holding back just a little bit. upper 70s to near 80 degrees right now, thanks to the slowly increasing number of clouds out there. regional doppler shows light rain showers moving into southern parts of the shenandoah valley. rain chances will be on the up and up over the next couple of hours. best chances for rain are tonight and tomorrow. >> let's take a live look along 395 northbound. pretty much wide open across the 14th street bridge, all lanes are open. different story if you want to head south. construction in place, 95 southbound after newington. the right lane is blocked, jammed leaving the capital beltway. eun? >> jerry, thank you. get informed as soon as you get out of bed. join us every weekday morning for news 4 today beginning at 4:30 a.m. tune in tomorrow morning for t in nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hey, everybody. it's monday, july 12th, 2010. kathie lee is off in l.a. she's working with her daughter cassidy, but with me is msnbc's willie geist. >> hoda. >> if you don't know willy, you don't have insomnia. >> so flattering. >> it's before "morning joe" called -- >> "way too early." i'm on at 5:30 in the morning. >> who are your viewers? who's up? >> i know most of them personally, because there are seven of them. we get together on weekend, they're nursing mothers, people up drunk on the west coast. i'm not even kidding about that. haz huge. >> that's ours, too. >> retired military personnel who are used to waking up, that's one group, and then beyond that, mostly people with severe drinking problems. >> okay, good. >> i see that's going on here, too. >> so let's have a little toast to you. >> willie will be with us this week monday through thursday. >> yes, ma'am. >> cheers. >> i've been here five minutes and i've had a quesa dilla, and this. i'm never going back. >> you were on vacation? >> i went to the beach. >> you have a couple kids. >> a 3-year-old and 1-year-old. there they are. look at that. >> that is the best picture ever. >> that's my son who just turned 1 and learned how to walk on his first birthday. >> how cool. >> my daughter is 3, and my wife. >> adorable family. >> thank you. >> on friday, if you guys were watching the "today" show it was a crazy, spectacular concert. lady gaga packed in 20,000 fans. the coolest thing to me -- my favorite part of the whole concert was when it started pouring and she wouldn't leave the stage, because -- okay. look. we're at the her be careful because of the equipment ant that stuff. she did not listen. she just sang in the rain. >> is she all right? >> that's performance art, baby. the people stayed out -- look at that. people stayed out all night, so they were in hefty bags, wrapped up, stuff like that. but i thought it was cool. that was one of those things where you could have said for safety reasons to make sure no one gets electrocuted. >> frankly who will get in the way of her. she wears cigarette glasses and douses herself in blood. are you going to say no between her? >> i like her. >> i've got to say i've come around. i like lady gaga. i'm not afraid to say it. >> i was standing next to her mom. her mom, by the way, is very sweet, conservative, you sort of wonder who's lady gaga's mother. she is adorable, conservative, sweet, beaming, i thought it was sweet. >> she comes from new york city, went to a pretty conservative catholic school, and there she is, lady gaga. >> busting out. spain won this weekend. are your viewers, your seven people world cup fans? >> 3 of 7. crunch the numbers on that. i don't know if the game yesterday did anything to help soccer in america. it was a scoreless game all the way up to the end, a 1-0 final, and it was kind of an ugly game. the knock on soccer here in the united states is it's not enough scoring, not excited enough. i'm not sure yesterday did help a lot, though it was exciting at the end. >> look at that. >> that's what you love. >> here's what i love. >> that's in madrid. >> the goalies from spain, his girlfriend is a sexy sideline reporter. spain lost the very first game, and somehow the country or i don't know who, blamed in gorgeous reporter/girlfriend, saying she is was distracting. fast-forward to the winning moment, goalie's being interviewed by his girlfriend, okay? just watch the body language. here's the goalie, the girlfriend. she's interviewing, and he's talking. look at it after. get away. it's my job, i'm a professional. >> what kind of compliment is that. he missed the goal, and the critique was she's so good-looking that she caused -- he was distracted. that's about the nicest thing you can ever say about a woman. you're so hot you cost us a world cup. >> i would love that. that would be the best thing on earth to hear. >> it's beautiful, and then they just made out on world television. >> she looked a little freaked. >> yeah, i think there was a thing of this is my job, take me seriously, don't make out with me on tv, which i think is a fair thing to ask. the other story lately, lebron james, okay, the question was -- i hate this buildup, was he coming to new york or not? he decides to get an hour on espn, which remind me, if a guy is dating six girls and says everyone gather around at 6:00, and i'm going to pick someone. >> akron, ohio, he lives there, the city has had a tough go of it the last several decades, hitched their wagon to lebron james. they feel so let down. you saw it from the team ease owner. he just fired off an e-mail thursday night, said it was terrible, a betrayal of lebron james, of his hometown, and there's been a backlash. not just cleveland, it's new york city, how could you not come to new york. a very new york thing to say. >> he came to new york for a wedding, some guide got married. >> carmelo anthony, and all the new york papers slammed lebron. they called him everything, a jackass, and get out. >> you know, the press achbds everyone else invested so much, because the knicks were just depleted and it was don't worry, we're getting lebron, and then they didn't get lebron, and everybody feels like an idiot. >> he has a tattoo, which i don't like, on his back on somewhere that says "chosen one." who tattoos that? >> office it on my abs, and it's spread out over the years as i've lost my definition. it's ugly. >> stop. >> i think he made a mistake at least not nodding to cleveland. he had a whole special, said it was a hard decision, it was very callous and cold. they're the yankees of basketball now. >> mel gibson, you guys, listening to this tape is surprising. we should point out, we don't know -- it hasn't been confirmed that it's mel gibson's voice, but he's in an argument with his girlfriend, who also is the mother of his child. some of the stuff he says is really disturbing. i think we have cued up a tape of what mel gibson -- again not confirmed this is his voice, but allegedly on a telephone call. let's listen. >> you go out in public and it's a [ bleep ] embarrassment to me. you look like a [ bleep ]. >> okay. that's filled with horrible -- i mean, horrible everything. horrible words to women, it's racist, a million things, but a lot of people -- we've heard him have a few rants. >> four years ago, 2006, he was pulled over for a dui and made an awful comment about jews, and now you have this. for some reason he slid by a bit on that, saying, well, he's drunk, maybe he didn't mean what he said, but now you hear this on tape. there's no running away from this. in fact hollywood has started to run away from him. >> we actually have rob on later, and he's going to talk about that stuff. his agency has left him, his friends are leaving him. there's other clips we'll try to get later in the show. >> one stewed qulo chief said i wouldn't tough this guy with a 12-foot pole. >> if you're living in one of the 100 best cities, the number 3 best city in the nation, buckle up, newton, massachusetts. the number 2 city in the country is elicott city, which our producer is from. and the number 1 city in the country, is eden prairie, minnesota. >> near the twin cities. beautiful. >> beautiful. it's got low unemployment, and you can get a -- >> the water tower. that's the shot we got for the best city in the world? >> people need to know. >> they have picnics from time to time, children are walking in some parks in town. it looks terrific. on monday we do our favorite things. what are yours? >> i have an obvious one. the ipad. see, i'm slow on the uptake, this took me a couple weeks to get, an just last week i started playing with it? >> is the important, willie. really? terrible. >> you've got your blackjack on here, so you can practice, and then i -- i haven't figured out where to go, there's so many apps. we have some blackjack, or maybe you just want to hear winston churchill make a speech for no reason. that happens sometimes. >> i like that. >> see that? >> you never know when you might ever want to hear that. >> how about playing blackjack when you're listen to go winston churchill? >> i like it. >> that's one thing. this is more of a problem than a favorite thing. these are entenman's little cookies. they stare at you when you walk by. they're so small that you figure i'm going to have one, two, and no problem. the next thing you know. if you give me an hour, that box will be gone. in fact i might eat it by the enof the show. it's starting to show up. remember my "chosen one" is -- my wife is trying to get me off of them. i refuse. my favorite things, one is a picture in my dressing room this morning. this is one of my favorite things -- >> wait for it. >> hold it. those are from willie. those are the flowers. i'm in the background trying to focus. >> i was going to bring booze, but you already had it. >> we already have it. i started journaling in the mornings. ten minutes sit down, write a couple lines. if you write your grateful list, and then sounds corny, but lessons learned things, it's interesting what day-to-day lessons you learn anytime. >> i love that. >> just ten minutes, it makes you feel better off your mind, heart, and onto a piece of paper. >> it's hard to keep track -- i know i have thinks moments and great thoughts, so nice to write them down. i love it. >> sara? >> my crest white strips. >> you like those? >> those in-office treatments are so expensive, these actually work. >> those are some white teeth. coming up next, we have the weekend buzz, right after this. two complementary fragrances alternate to keep things... fresh day after day. and not just for 30 days. um... okay. our longest-lasting plugins air freshener lasts for 60. well, that lasted longer than i thought. i knew it would. get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson. a family company. [ buzz! ] [ beep-beep! ] it's... time! shh! [ girl ] it's on! [ female announcer ] walmart and p&g present the jensen project. family movie night is back. make yours complete with all of this for just $9. save money. live better. walmart. hey, here's a good call: new whole grain helper. try some! mmmm... honey mustard chicken. with 100% whole grain rice. hey, can you catch? no, sir, i cannot. new whole grain helper. one pound. one pan. one whole grain meal. thanks, skyler. let's go to last night's highlights. there's mom and dad cleaning up. and there's the meatloaf. yuck. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips. oh, bingo, falls in. mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that's all today for glad tv. [ both ] don't get mad -- get glad! it is time for "today's buzz." what a buzzy weekend it was. >> rob shooter is here to bring us up to date on all things celebrity. >> good morning, friends kathie lee, you're looking a little different. >> mel gibson, we talked about him. before you analyze what happened, we do have one more clip again of an audiotape, it's not confirmed to be mel gibson, but they're trying to figure out if it is. let's take another listen. >> you're try to go breastfeed with [ bleep ] foreign bodies in you. is that it? >> that has nothing to do with it. >> oh, it has nothing to do with it. >> correct. okay. good. >> this is amazing. >> i've never ever heard anything like this in my job like this. it's not proven it's him, but it does sound like that take from "braveheart." i think they're trying to find people to defend him. a couple years ago, willie mentioned it earlier, he had some similar incidents where he used some very harsh words, and people did defend him. jodi foster came forward, several directors, saying he doesn't mean this, but this time no one is defending him. >> we talked about his agents have left him, and friends. does it seem like his career -- would you call this a defining factor? >> not only is his career over and this is an important point for mel, his legacy may be over. we won't remember all that great acting or director, it will all be over. >> he seems so charming, in interviews, jung either, but below the surface. >> for years people have known him he has troubles. he was loved in hollywood, a bit of a prankster, and his talent is so great that people forgave a bit of the personal side. now he's stepped the line and i think it's done. >> we had a weekend for weddings, three big weddings. >> massive. the biggest was probably carrie underwood and her football player. they got married in georgia. >> who was there? >> a fantastic wedding. the three original judges from "american idol" was there. >> is that the wedding dress? >> no, i have a story. you will not see the wedding dress, because on the way in, everyone had to check the cell phones, because they have sold the pictures. >> what about one of my favor guys on "the office"? >> and we all know him from "the devil wears prada." he's friends with george clooney, so he's been staying in george's villa in italy. george went to the wedding. >> and who's the third? >> third one is a v-jay from mtv, lala and some football player -- >> not football, carmelo anthony. that's why i'm here. >> so sports stars the big wedding in new york, kim car dashia, but the big guy that was there was lebron. >> booed on the way in. >> booed? >> people were booing him. >> reporters were shouting questions. >> if you're booed at a wedding, you're in a lot of trouble. >> thank you. how with you fan talked her favorite author into being her matron of honor. i'm not kidding. that's after this. nutritious fiber cereal.sly, i am. well, you don't want that one. new kellogg's fiber plus cereal®. the delicious taste of berries, plus yogurty clusters, plus 40% of your daily fiber... plus wait for it... antioxidants! so, two more wishes. mmmm. maybe later, then. 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[ male announcer ] old el paso. a special blend of seasoning for especially delicious tacos. feed your fiesta. dubbed by "time" as the queen of christians fiction, karen kingbury receives countless letters from readers who say her stories have changed their lives. >> but recent le she got to be part of the life change, when she was asked to be a matron of honor. >> welcome to both of you ladies. that had to be one of the most interesting requests as an author you have ever gotten? >> it was amazing. i got this e-mail and it said "matron of honor" in the subject line. my mom said you cannot miss this e-mail. sheila sent the e-mail first, and she said this is one you have to read. it had a link to her website, so i went to it, and i just saw she was so fun. she was kidding, she wasn't really thinking -- >> no. >> i think she wasn't kidding. >> you know, i dream big, but when i sent it off, i was kidding a little bit, but it became pretty real, when not even 12 hours later i have an e-mail in my inbox. i'm in front of 25 high school students jumping up and down. i'm a teacher. >> what was it about what she wrote that made you understand love. you said i understood love when i read her books. >> long before i met the guy i married, her books gave me this idea that i want to think about him before i even meet him. i started writing a letter, dear future husband, you have to mean karen one day for and thank her. >> you wrote a letter to your future husband before you met him? >> yes. i have about 13 future husband notebooks. for five years i've been writing. her books taught me i need to think about that guy before i meet him. so it's just been so cool that i wrote, you know, dear future husband, thank karen, because she made me better for you. >> karen that's got to be flattering to have somebody that moved by your work. >> my husband saw this letter at the same time i did, and he said you're already on a book tour, you should just do it. so i wrote the letter. i thought it's only like an hour out of my way, and you set out to do something to bless someone else, but what i happened i found in the process, i was the one blessed by it. no question. i wrote a poem for them, and read it as part of my duties as matron of honor, and i read this poem, and i was fighting tears. it was that moving to me that this -- how powerful that is to know that i had this story in my heart and a gift given to me, i feel, a gift to be able to write. >> wow. it's terrific what you did. congratulations to you two. come back after this. servings of vegetables every day if you don't always like the taste of them. i'll be right back, ok? ok. ok. good thing v8 v-fusion juice gives you a serving of vegetables hidden by a serving of fruit. v8. what's your number? get a 1 dollar coupon for v8 v-fusion juice at tryv8.com. summer ain't summer without popsicle pops. ben & jerry: my two best friends. what would i do for a klondike bar? you don't wanna know. i am so happy right now. ♪ just so happy. i've been thinking about your "monthly gift." how do you feel about "sudden rapids"? [ female announcer ] tampax pearl's new leakguard design adapts to sudden changes in flow for more leak-free periods than the next leading brand. so you can outsmart mother nature. ...into a free year's supply? be one of thousands to win free honey nut cheerios for an entire year... its great taste helps make lowering cholesterol a non-challenge. just see specially marked boxes for details. just hours ago, the swiss government announced whether director roman polanski would be returned to the u.s. to face rape charges. coming up on "news 4 midday," we'll have the latest information on his future. good morning. i'm eun yang. also coming up, haiti, six months after an earthquake that killed 200,000 people. today, the country continues to struggle to recover. we'll set down with a local relief worker who has spent and we're back again on this monday with "today's travel" and the necessary items before you even think about packing your family into the car for the summer road trip. first, if you're just tuning in say hi to willie geist, he's on the show called -- what is it? >> "way too early." you don't want to be up watching it. >> kathie lee is off. >> dana points is the editor in chief of "parents" magazine, and has some great ideas of making road trips fun. that's not easy. >> you just came back from one? >> our strategy is run them rat in the yard, and let them pass out in the car. >> that works. three hours is nothing. >> we have one of moss limousine shades, and you put it up and let them sort things out. >> i like how you roll. what are some of the things you should do. >> first of all, we say plan to leave early. three hours not such a long trip, but if you have a long time, my family drives a 14-hour trip at least once a year. you want to leave early in the morning. hopefully slide the kids out of the bed, into the car seat, have a drink, wake up, packing snacks is important, i would recommend an individualized snackpak. >> so there's no fighting. >> don't hand it off to the child. as the grownup you want to be in control. you don't want them noshing constantly, and you always want to know if your child is eating in the backseat. >> one thing i think works is the car games that keeps everybody engaged. nobody's fighting in the back. >> the alphabet game is a classic. >> which one is that one? >> if you see something that starts with the letter a, then you start with b. if you don't have kids who can't quite get to that, you can play "i spy" you're looking for something in particular. older kids try 20 questions, i'm thinking of something, a person or object. they have 20 questions so guess what it is. >> i like the yellow car game. >> we say we look for a yellow car, taxis and trucks don't count. that's challenging. >> what about all these cars where you have the video screens in the headrest. is that good parenting or a cop-out? >> at "parents" we wouldn't recommend against it. if it's something your family does, it's certainly fine. there are times when your child exceeds that two-hour threshold, but you know, don't buy something especially for a trip. if you buy something, you don't need everything. you might just have a personal gaming device. >> what are some kid-friendly dvd choices? what are some things you recommend? >> i would say choose something that the whole family might enjoy. if the sounds is coming from the backseat -- of course you can get headphones -- or mary poppins or toy story. >> i thought toy story 3 was a little scary. >> it was a little dark. it a prison film, essentially. >> i got scared. what about audio books in the car? >> that's what my family uses. we loved the magic treehouse series for kids. and diary of a wimpy kid is good. >> they're not seeing anything? >> the great thing about an audio book is if the whole family is listening, you can talk about it afterwards, so you can engage them. >> i was interested in what you said about rest stops, use them to your advantage. >> pack a little rest stop kid that might be an inflatable beach ball that you can collapse and expand, nerve ball, something like that, a frisbee, a jump rope. you want to get them active. if you forget to pack it, roll down the windows, turn on the radio and dance. >> and kids can creative. every kid i knew, you drew lines in the chairs and don't lean on me. when there's a fight -- >> he's touching me. >> how do you calm down fights going on in the backseat? >> one thing i would say is distraction. buy a few little new toys that are suited to your child's age, and then kind of dole them out as the trip goes on. and then obviously snacks are a great distraction, too. >> and also leaving early one is great for traffic, also. if you're sitting in traffic, it's like a prison cell with the kids. >> thank you very much. good to see you. up next, the newest member of our joy fit club. she dropped like 100-plus pounds. >> her story right after this. ha-ha ha ha ha! [ slam! ] [ ding! ] [ chirp! ] [ stomp! stomp! stomp! stomp! ] [ beep! crank! ] [ pop! pop! pop! ] [ ding! ] [ ding! ] [ clank! fizz! clink! ] it's... time! [ click! click! click! click! ] shh! [ girl ] it's on! [ female announcer ] walmart and p&g present the jensen project, july 16th, 8/7 central on nbc. family movie night is back. make yours complete with all of this for just $9. save money. live better. walmart. ♪ doo doo doo woman: there's only one disinfecting wipe with a low streak formula. clorox disinfecting wipes. in the fridge it's a light and fluffy mousse... ...but put it in the freezer... and... ...voila! yoplait whips becomes a luscious frozen treat. yoplait whips, it is so good. this is my excited smile. 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[ ernie ] we make our cookies the way only keebler elves can: with a little something extra. so every bite can be uncommonly good. time now for look at me now. >> she's a 55-year-old singer from new york city, who weighed 278 pounds and lost half her body weight. >> stop it. her name is leena katrosis. here is her story. >> my name is leena. growing up, i lived in italy, where life was all about food. we celebrated with food, we bonded over food, we were passionate about food. when my mom was diagnosed with a fatal kidney disease, i fed my depressed hungry heart with platefuls of pasta and pizza. i was only 5'2", yesterday i wore a size 16, and my thighs were bigger than my boyfriend's. when i moved to new york to pursue my singing career, i just got heavier and heavier. i was becoming known as the fat girl with the great voice. the pain and embarrassment on the outside was one thing, but the prison i was in on the inside was unbearable. at 278 pounds, i couldn't play with my nieces and my nephews, and i realized i was missing out on the real stuff in life. so i put down the pasta, the potatoes and the sugar. so far i haven't looked back. now both on stage and on, on the outside, and most importantly on the inside, i'm free, and everything seems possible. >> we're going to bring out leena, and hopefully she'll sing for us. hey, joy. >> she's so great. she's beautiful, she's talented and a complete pistol of energy. during this whole weight-loss journey she used a three-prong approach. she attacked it physically through the diet and exercise. emotionally she does some real soul-searching and spiritually as well. >> and we're looking at some of the foods that all of us love. you have the better version. >> she addressed the fact she is a volume eater. she was before, she is now. so the things she was stuffing into her body to leave her feeling satisfied were things like fried potatoes. this amount is 500 calories. now what she does is makes steamed mashed cauliflower. she has a bit of skim milk and butter, this whole important is only 180 calories. check this out. for pasta lovers, this great big bowl of pasta, 800 calories. if you make spaghetti squash, which gives the same appearance and same sort of tex kur, 265 calories for this great big amount. it's the same thing swirl -- >> i've got to see leena. >> and please make her sing. >> we're going to. >> here's leena's before picture. let's see the new you. s. >> whoa. >> hello. >> this is fun. >> how long did it take you to drop all that weight? >> 18 months. >> and did it feel -- how does it feel now? when you look at yourself, what are you thinking? >> really, you know what i'm thinking? i'm thinking i'm hot. >> now, it can't just by cutting your portions in half and changing your diet, what else did you do? >> all right. i cut my portions a bit, but for me really it's -- it is three things. it's my food, it's my mind, my mind-set. i thought, okay, i'm done. i ate it already. how many more times can i eat it? i'm done. and then the other part is i'm a control freak. i decided i wasn't doing such a great job controlling things at 278 pounds. those are my jeans. i can get into one of those right now. >> i loved the line about your boyfriend. >> isn't that -- anyanymore. >> what do you like to sing? >> southern rock, rhythm and blues. a bit of -- >> what can we sing? just belt something out. >> okay. ♪ at last ♪ the skies above are blue >> all right. is your career jurs completely flying? >> no, but it's going to now. leena, thank you for coming. >> thank you. thank you very much, guys. it's been great. coming up next, we have some fashion advice that will have you combing the summer sales today. >> right after this. 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[ barks ] long live your buddy. oh, max! long live your dog. purina puppy chow and purina dog chow. it is time for "today's style" and summer clothes that will transition into fall. one of your favorite topics? >> indeed. you caught me on the right day. an excuse to shop the summer sales, as if you needed one. >> exactly. julie wilson is the staff editor at "real simple," and how you can transition your summer pieces into two fabulous fall looks? we can really do this? >> you can. at "real simple" we're all about making your life easier. >> denim dresses, a lot of us have one of those, so first we have the look of -- julie, come on out. tell us about this look. >> this is a summer dress, lightweight denim from j.c. penney, only $30 with the belt. so you get this belt with the dress in $30. it's great for her hourglass figure, and we paired it with some bright accessories for the summer. >> so if you wanted to makes this for the fall -- >> nyema has made the perfect transition to fall. toned down the jewelry, put some black tights with black booties, which elongates the legs. she looks perfect for the fall. >> tights always turns a thing immediately into the fall. >> i think it's a great tip. if you have a great dress that's not too tropical or floral, you can put black tights on with black heels. >> what do you think, willie? >> i like it. you can go either way. thank you very much, ladies. let's go to the next look. sara? >> this is a nautical top. this is a summer weight. >> this is a big trend for the spring and with 4er boyfriend jeerns, that's also a big trend. she has the sandals. >> are these pricey? >> they're $98, but they're so cute. >> willie wants to know about the boyfriend jeans. they are -- >> they're great, a little more casual, some rips in there. it looks like casual cool. >> like you're wearing your boyfriend's jeans? i catch up quick. >> you can take this blazer and bring it into the fall. the top is a long sleeved, so it's pricier. you could wear the tank in the fall, but we figured we would give you the option. >> so even the lighter colors are okay for the fall. >> yeah, so you're not so blue and white. you have the gold coming in. >> thanks, ladies. we have the high-waist skirt, one of your favorites, willie. >> oh, yeah. >> this is cute. >> this is like a monochromatic look, but we brightened it um with her accessories and summery sandals. she just brightens up that look, that gray. >> how do you make that work? sometimes we try -- those aren't exactly matches, but matching enough. >> you want to stay in the same tone. it's a blank canvas. >> and the shoes, too, you're not the same color, you mix it up. >> i'd like to see how you turn this into fall. i don't think it can be done. >> you've got to believe. >> oh, my god, she did it. >> an enclosed pump, and then a cardigan, a nice coral color, you're still brightening with the accessories, but still appropriate for the fall. >> i love those. thank you both. >> the skinny jean, which is did i from the boyfriend jean. you have to be a certainly girl to wear the skinny girl jeans. >> this is kind of a jegings. >> i know what jeggings. >> you're a genius. >> a little more stretch, a little more body hugging, but gives you a nice streamline, and this top, which i love. >> that's adorable. you found some great bargains, i have to say. >> let's see how we turn the jegging into a fall outfit. it's the same top, different color, and we paired it with a pair of riding boots and this beautiful trench coat from victoria's secret, which is $98. which is really great. >> tell us about those boots. >> they're from nine west. it's not like you're stuffing your regular jeans in it. they kind of streamline. >> can a man wear a jegging? >> no. >> i wanted to suggest that, but -- >> too late. >> those are great. thank you so much. we will be back with more of "today" right here on nbc. imagine if it were this easy to spot the good guys. you know, the guys who always do a super job. well, it is. just go to the verizon® yellow pages. and look for a business with the superguarantee® shield. you'll get the job done right, or we'll step in and help to make it right. so, protect yourself with the superguarantee® from supermedia. on its way-- the new verizon® yellow pages with larger, easier to read print. time for our favorite miss sara haynes. >> jean says diet coke and entenman's, buy two boxes, so you don't have to share your own, and you have a fan for your show. you can count me a fan. i wake up and can't go back to sleep. i'm tuning in. >> see what we're doing for your show? >> the people say that, and wake up at 5:30, and they're like, i'm not doing this ever again. >> we were checking the calories out. for three cookies, how much was it? >> 140. i really don't care. >> we almost finished the box. >> there's seven left. with 56 minutes into the show. >> your tattoo will be ruined. it's on my back at this point. come back tomorrow, you guys. we'll have another one of those kids from "twilight." >> plus how stay-at-home dads and working moms work it out. we'll see you tomorrow. 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