Transcripts For WRC Today 20110523

and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith vieira. your heart goes out to everyone in joplin when you see these devastating images of what the tornado did. >> when we arrived yesterday we knew it was a bad story. we heard 25 to 30 people had died in the last hour. the number has gone to 89 and could go higher. >> they are saying 25 to 30% of the city is damaged by the tornado. >> among the buildings that took a direct hit, the town's hospital. doctors and nurses had just moments to scramble patients into hallways. to give you a sense of the twister's power, x-rays and medical records from inside the hospital building have now been found more than 60 miles away. >> missouri's governor declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard. entire neighborhoods have been turned into debris fields littered with the splintered remains of cars, homes and trees. this morning, more severe weather could be on the way. we'll get right to al roker. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt and meredith. that was st. johns hospital. this is a parking lot. there were cars there, completely packed. the cars are now strewn as far as the eye can see. 360 degrees of devastation. we'll show you the radar as it comeses in. this is the radar and bringing in that line of thunderstorms. by 6:45, boom. it just comes slamming into joplin, missouri, creating what is now the deadliest tornado in missouri history. with 89 people confirmed dead and the number likely to rise. to give you a sense of the devastation, the 360-degree arc, this was a neighborhood. as far as the eye can see, there is nothing but devastation. as the search and rescue teams into into neighborhoods looking for survivors or worse, the cleanup is just beginning. >> oh, gosh. okay. got it. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: the eye of the storm -- joplin, missouri. >> that is a monster tornado. >> reporter: a massive one half to three-quarters of a mile wide tornado tore through joplin, blowing debris 18,000 feet into the air. >> bad. oh, my gosh. this is awful. >> i don't know what that was. >> this is -- look at that. that is destroyed. >> this was an f-4 or f-56789. >> two of the trees -- the trees are debarked. >> reporter: streets and neighborhoods stripped bare in moments. within moments, rescue workers raced to the scene to rescue those trapped in the rubble. mike bets wtes was chasing the tornado and arrived ten minutes after it hit. >> we rolled up maybe 45 minutes ago. i have witnessed fatalities in joplin. we are trying to figure out if anyone needses help. people are scrambling right now. take a scope of the damage. it's taking my breath away here. multiple homes, businesses destroyed. cars have been flipped. mangled debris everywhere you look. people are trying to help any way they can. people being pulled out of buildings this evening as well. we have come across many people that need as much help as possible. i think they will be overwhelmed with the amount of damage, injuries and fatalities here. they need help in joplin. >> i got in the basement, put my arms over my head and it caved in on me. >> reporter: one of the area's primary sourceses of emergency care -- st. johns regional medical center -- was destroyed. >> the backup generators got hit. no power. there was nothing but darkness. the wind just started blowing the doors open. stuff started just flying. we all got down on the floor and just prayed that we made it through. >> reporter: the raw emotion of the moment was difficult, even for a seasoned reporter. >> people are looking for family members. if you look at this neighborhood, all i can say is it lookses reminiscent of what we saw last month in -- excuse me. in tuscaloosa. yeah. it's tough. no question about that. it's a very tragic scene in jopl joplin, missouri. tornado devastation as far as the eye can see. in the distance beyond the firefighters doing search and rescue we have fires that are erupting in joplin. it really is an unfolding scene. changeses minute by minute. neighbors are trying to pull -- oh, they just pulled out their dog. that is great. they just pulled the dog. he looks to be okay. that's great news. neighbors have been telling us, i know my neighbor is in there. it's too dangerous to get in there and there aren't enough first responders to deal with the immense tragedy that's here. >> reporter: joplin wasn't the only midwest area hit hard this weekend. tornadoes touched down in oklahoma and minneapolis, killing at least one person there. hail the size of golf balls pelted nebraska. but back here in hard-hit joplin, as dusk settled, so did the harsh reality of all that's been lost. >> they had a theater and a play this evening. we had to dig through there and actually did have a couple dead in there. >> reporter: and joining me now, the weather channel's mike bettes. mike, that was incredible reporting on an incredible situation. has it all sunk in yet? >> sort of. you know, i don't think any of us think we'll be witness to something like this. i think i just got overcome. so many people are devastated. they are very emotional and that carries over when you're out there looking at it. look at it, al. it's completely flattened. it's very tough for people who live here. it's tough to be amongst this and we were literally here ten minutes after the tornado hit. >> reporter: you were held up by hail from the tornado which probably saved your life. >> we have been out here on a two-week project storm-chasing. it hailed and rained so hard we had to stop in our vehicles. had we not we would have been in joplin when the tornado hit. our crew is fine. they're safe, but a lot of people aren't. our hearts go out to them. >> reporter: probably will never be the same again. mike, thankses for your work. the sad part is we have to worry about another risk -- a strong risk of devastating weather here. it's a wide swath stretching from dallas into the northeast. as you take a look as far as missouri is concerned, you can see from dallas on up into springfield and little rock, we are looking at the possibility of strong storms, tornadoes possible here. we have also got to add to that strong rain, heavy rain coming in. you can look on the radar. right now we have clear skies but it will be firing up again. rainfall amounts anywhere from two to four inches of rain. so we have flood watches and warnings up for a good portion of missouri. as you can see the rainfall amounts anywhere from two to four inches. but the big fear now, matt, is that if there is a tornado here, god forbid there is, there is nowhere to go. there is no place for anybody to take shelter. there is no shelter. so we pray to god this doesn't happen again, we don't have a repeat of this later today. matt? >> our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of joplin and other hard-hit areas. try to imagine what it's like to survive something like this. a group of people rode out that tornado at a gas station in tornado and posted the chilling situation on youtube. listen to the terror as the twister hits. >> oh, my god! >> it's okay. >> i think we're going to do it. [ screaming ] >> oh, my god. >> jesus, jesus. >> mitch randalls is the fire chief in joplin, missouri. chief, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> just give me a sense where you are concentrating and the personnel are concentrating efforts this morning. >> well, we have completed or we are working to complete an initial search of the damaged area which is about a six-mile-long, half-mile-wide swath through the center portion of joplin. in about an hour, we're going to swap out those crews that have been up all night in searching those areas with some fresh crews and start the fwrdoor-to-r search of those areas again in the sunlight and daylight looking for survivors, people that are trapped and people in need of assistance so we can steer them to assistance they need. >> chief, al roker just said there could be more severe weather in the area. where are you taking people? there are no shelters there anymore to get them out of harm's way? >> well, we do have a few shelters that we have opened. one is at missouri southern state college. i believe the other is at one of the middle schools in town. we are trying to get folks in and out of the weather in case that comes to fruition here. we are, of course, hoping for no more weather like yesterday and the rain will hamper some of the rescue efforts and make it more difficult to get out there and do the rescues and searching for the trapped and the injured still. >> chief, obviously your official dutieses are to oversee this search and rescue and recovery effort. you're a resident as well. i understand you lost your own home. >> yep. yes, i did. >> is your family okay? was anyone there? >> luckily, we were attending my son's graduation at the local high school last night when the storm warnings went out. i took them to work with me to the fire station. so i did have my entire family with me at the fire station when it hit and destroyed our home. >> i'm sorry for the loss of your home. we are thinking about all the people in that area who lost not only homes but loved ones. our best wishes to you, chief. thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> 11 after the hour. here's meredith. >> ken ayton was working in his garage when the tornado hit. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> at first you thought this was going to be a small storm. at what point did you realize it was a big deal and you needed to take cover? >> well, i first realized it -- my dogs told me before the sirens did. they were going crazy. i realized something was wrong, so i brought them in and the sirens went off. i credit my dogses with helpinge get ready for the storm. >> you got in your bathtub because you heard stories of people surviving like that. can you describe the moments the tornado ripped through your neighborhood? >> yeah. i started looking out my bathroom window just to see what the wind was doing. i saw one tree whying back and forth. it went right down. second tree, almost right after that. the third tree, i decided i was getting in the bathtub. i heard of houses being levelled and people saved by being in the bathtub even though it was on my outside wall. i covered up with the pillows and waited to see what would happen. >> how frightened were you, ken? >> i was scared to death. i really, quite frankly, didn't think i would be standing here today talking to you. >> once the tornado passed through -- your house is one of two left standing in the neighborhood -- you walked out to look at the damage. what did you see? >> i don't know if you can see the devastation where i'm at. our town is eight mileses to the east here and it is exactly the same. trees down, levelled houses. you know, i just don't understand why my house is still standing or the other one. i had two cars parked in the driveway. one totaled, one not touched at all. >> ken, do you know about your neighbors? as i said before, almost all the houses were destroyed. are the people who lived in them okay as far as you know? >> yes. that's the one thing that amazed me. we all came out and checked up on each other and made sure we were all okay. from all over the neighborhood. so, you know, it made me feel good about the safety of everybody where i'm at. >> i know you moved to your sister-in-law's. she lives in an area unaffected by the tornado. al reported there is the possibility of more tornadoeses toda today. how are you preparing for the possibility? >> right now, we haven't thought about that actually. we want to go back to our house today and try to assess for madge. if it's going to rain, like they say, i have leaked all over the house because the roof is uncovered. her house has a down stairs. i guess that's where we'll be if it happens. >> all right. also dealing with gas leaks in the neighborhood. thank you for your time. our thoughts and prayers are with you and all the folks in joplin, missouri. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. much more from joplin throughout the morning. brian williams will be in joplin live tonight on nbc "nightly news". >> ann is at the news desk with the headlines. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and meredith, and to all of you. in one of the taliban's most daring raids in years a major pakistani navy base was invaded last night where insurgentses destroyed u.s. aircraft and killed at least 12 pakistani security officers. at least a dozen insurgents remained there in morning in a stand-off. russ russia's vladimir putin will apparently run for president. it could mean a power struggle with the current president. putin's one-time protege dmeetry medved medvedev. during a four-minute conversation the hikers told their families they staged a hunger strike after they were presented from getting letters from home. another icelandic volcano is going on. a cloud of ash shot into the sky on sunday and could reach spanish, french and scottish air space this week. and the classmates of the youngest victim of the shooting in tucson, arizona, had an out of this world conversation last night. [ cheers and applause ] >> commander mark kelly, the husband of wounded arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords told the classmates of 9-year-old christina taylor-green it's important to work hard in school. it is now 7:17. back to meredith and matt. one thing when your parents say it. maybe a bigger message from mak impression when it comes from outer space. >> we're going to head back to al in joplin, missouri, for more on today's weather. al? >> well, meredith, thank you. and as you look, we've got a shot of the sunrise. it's very deceptive because it's really a beautiful morning coming up over this horrible devastation, just horrendous devastation. and within the next few hours, the weather conditions are going to change drastically here. we are in the middle of a moderate risk of strong storms making their way toward this area. and it is going to be just horrible. take a look at the map. it's a wide area that joplin, missouri, is just smack dab in the middle. from dallas all the way to western new york, the mid-atlantic states, we have the possibility of large hail, damaging winds and tornados. again, the possibility of tornados. heavy rain making its way in. rainfall amounts anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain over a wide swath. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. it is cloudy, warm and humid. radar not picking up any rain close to washington, but there are a few showers right along the northern blue ridge, northern shenandoah valley drifting east. might have a passing shower another hour or so but otherwise the main threat will be afternoon and early evening thunderstorms, some of which could be severe with damaging winds and hail. highs before that under a partly sunny sky climbing into the low and mid-80s. a smaller chance of afternoon storms tomorrow. then an increased chance again on that's your latest weather. matt? >> now to presidential politics. tim pawlenty is throwing his hat in the ring for the gop nomination. he's in des moines, iowa, for his formal announcement today. good morning. >> good morning. >> let me ask you the simple question. why do you want to be president? >> i want to be president because america is in trouble. our finances are out of control. the debt and deficit aren't being tackled by the current president. i have experience in minnesota as governor in tackling spending. i balanced budgets. i got an a rating from the cato institute. one of only four governors to do it and the other four aren't running for president. president obama doesn't have the courage to look the american people in the eye and tell them the tough truth of what we have to do to get spending under control. >> since you talk about balancing budgets and the record in minnesota, let me ask you about this. a former republican governor of the state of minnesota, arnie carlson, had this to say about your time there and your fiscal responsibility. quote, i don't think any governor has left behind a worse financial mess than he has. this is a republican saying that. how do you respond? >> well, actually arnie carlson had become an obama and john kerry supporter and said he'd left the republican party some years ago. it's not accurate. every time during my time as governor -- eight years, four budget cycles, i balanced the budget every time. the last one ends this summer and it will still end in the black. they are talking about a projected deficit down the road based on big spending increases i don't support and wouldn't allowed had i continued as governor. >> takes a lot of money to run for president, especially going against mitt romney who has a lot of money and can raise a lot. some of the thinking was donors may have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to hear what mitch daniels was going to do. he announced he won't run. i know you have reached out to those donors. what response are you getting? >> the response has been good. we are not going to be the money champion. mitt romney will be the front-runner in that regard. but we'll have enough money to run a successful campaign. it may not be the bmw or mercedes campaign but it will be a buick or a cadillac and that will be enough to win. >> you're in the single digits. looks like mitt romney seems to be the front runnerer now. let me ask you a direct question. why would you be a better nominee than mitt romney? >> i don't criticize or draw contrastses to other people. i can tell you my strengths. when it comes to getting the federal spending, deficit and debt under control, like i said, there are only four governorses that got the a rating. i did. i cut taxes. did market-based government reform. performance pay for teachers. that's why outside groups are saying this is one of the best if not the best conservative record in the country. i'm proud of the record and it's a strength i bring to it. i have a background that a lot of american wills like. i grew up in a blue collar town. my dad was a truck driver. my mom was a home maker. those stories connect with people not just in terms of policy positions but a heart and gut level as well. >> people often look at you and say was there enough charisma for tim pawlenty to beat barack obama? what's your answer? >> i'm not running for entertainer in chief. these are serious people and they need serious solutions. if you're looking for a comedian, vote for somebody else. i'll fix the country. >> tim pawlenty, congratulations. come see us in studio, please. >> i'll do it, matt. thank you. >> thank you very much. we'll have much more on the deadly tornado that tore through joplin, missouri, where the cleanup is just beginning this morning. the search for survivors continues. but first this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] want to achieve more with your money? pnc virtual wallet gathers your spending and saving in one place. credit and debit purchases, checks, bills, and other financial information. it lets you see the details as well as the big financial picture. so you can do more with your money. see what a complete view of your money can do for you at pncvirtualwallet.com. ♪ pnc bank. for the achiever in you. just ahead, did arnold schwarzenegger's mistress go to his wife maria shriver for advice during her pregnancy? we'll have new details on the scandal. >> plus, should parents be held responsible for their kids' failings at school? first your local news and weather. bayer advanced aspirin. h it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. new bayer advanced aspirin. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast. we search, browse, and shop from anywhere. we live in a social world. isn't time we had a social currency to match? membership reward points from american express. use them to get the things you love on amazom.com. good morning. it's 7:26 on this monday, the 23rd of may. i'm joe krebs. in the news for today, the father of a murdered teenager is can you in court today on charges that he killed the 17-year-old girl. police say rodney mcintyre killed ebony franklin of capital heights last november. her body was found stuffed into a trash can in columbia heights. there was evidence mcintyre actually had a sexual relationship with his daughter. weather and traffic are next but here's here's a look at what they're working on at news 4 at 5:00. >> tonight on news 4 at 5:00, gas prices not keeping everyone home for the summer travel season. the four things you can do today to get the most out of every mile. club card overload. how you can simplify your life and store all those codes in one and store all those codes in one i'm drinkin' dunkin'. dunkin' iced latte. iced dunkin' decaf. estoy tomando café helado. large caramel iced with skim. one shot of hazelnut, iced, cream and sugar. i wouldn't want it any other way. get your iced coffee your way. america runs on dunkin' coffee. good morning. warm and humid. now we're in the 60s. later today into the 80s and a likelihood of afternoon storms, some of which could be severe. chance of storms each day this week. how's traffic now, jerry? along 395 northbound a couple of accidents, both of which are on the shoulder, but the latest begin 7:30 on this monday morning, may 23, 2011. you are looking at the damage in joplin where a powerful tornado damaged 25 to 30% of the town. just unbelievable images of destruction this morning. meanwhile, inside studio 1a i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer. we'll check in with al for the latest from joplin ahead. >> an emotional day in court for amanda knox, the american college student convicted of murder in italy. we'll tell you what brought her to tears during an appeals hearing. >> and maria shriver appeared in public over the weekend as she deals with fallout over her husband's affair and secret love child. we begin with more on the tornado that devastated joplin, missouri. al, good morning once again. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. this is st. johns hospital. all patients were evacuated. they have set up triage in inflatable tents on the other side of the building. these are cars that were in the parking lot. they have an x on them when first responders check to make sure there are no people inside. there is a car seat in there. the car is all pockmarked where it was lifted into the tornado and banged around by hail. 89 people killed. that makes this the deadliest tornado in missouri history. the worst one was 56 killed back in 1957. as this storm system moved through, it devastated. the tornado was about three-quarters of a mile to a mile wide depending on where you were. it cut a swath of four miles through town. it has just utterly devastated 25 to 30% of the town. it's been wiped out and they are just now starting with first light to go back out into the areas. i have never seen devastation like this before. to add insult to injury, matt, we are now smack dab in the middle of a strong risk of storms and a possibility of tornadoes and flooding rains. three to four inches of rain possible within the next 24 hours. the misery is not even close to being over for folks in the southwestern missouri town. >> al roker in joplin this morning for us. al, thank you very much. we'll check in with him in a few minutes. now to the arnold schwarzenegger scandal. details are emerging about his mistress and her possible relationship to the former govern governor's wife maria shriver. peter alexander is in los angeles. good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. arnold schwarzenegger has been keeping a low profile for almost a week now. his former housekeeper and the mother of his secret son mildred baena has not surfaced since the scandal broke, but maria shriver and her children aren't hiding from view. dealing with her husband's bel trail a -- betrayal and the implosion of her marriage, maria shriver took a walk on the beach surrounded by family and friends. among those by her side, her daughter catherine. as my healing begins after this crazy week i ask for privacy. during an interview on bravo, gayle king described the moment with shriver on stage. >> at one point in the script it says she's thanking oprah for wisdom and truth. she paused and what was great is the whole audience -- 13,000 people applauded. it was a lifting of maria. >> reporter: this morning new details are being reported about the relationship between shriver and the family housekeeper, mildred baena, known as patty, with whom arnold schwarzenegger fathered a secret son born just five days after his and shriver's youngest son christopher. >> we were told patty would come to her for advice, ask for love advice from maria. would go to maria and at the time she was pregnant with arnolds's kid and maria was also pregnant with arnold's kid, patty would ask maria for pregnancy advice and maria would give advice. >> reporter: while researching his book -- >> she seemed extremely in the present. she boasted about being a single parent. said how enriching it was and how proud of her son she was. >> reporter: this was arnold and maria's place? >> yep. >> reporter: susan lives in this stunning estate which she bought in 2003 from arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver, the same couple they lived in with baena as their maid. >> the first thing i thought when i saw arnold in front of the christmas tree with his love child is that's the same shot we talk the next christmas after we bought the house. >> >> reporter: maria shriver appears to be moving ahead with plans for a divorce. the couple didn't have a prenuptial agreement and celebrity attorneys say shriver could get half of his estate valued at more than $200 million. >> peter alexander this morning in los angeles. thank you very much. now a check of the weather from al who's inrom al, who's still joplin, missouri. >> all right, thanks a lot, matt. and as we look at the week ahead, we've got still a very active week as far as weather is concerned. the early part of the week we are looking at strong storms in the midsection of the country into the southeast. we've also got above normal temperatures in the south. out west below normal temperatures. midweek period, those cooler temperatures hang around the plains and the upper midwest and the west coast. it stays warm along the eastern seaboard with more severe weather activity. the latter part of the week we are looking for a return to more normal temperatures in the mid-plains and mid-mississippi and ohio river valleys. above normal temperatures through the south. the gulf coast with more rain along the eastern seaboard. below normal temperatures out west with rain in the pacific northwest. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> warm and humid weather on the way for much of the week ahead. right now it's warm and rather muggy and temperatures in the 60s. radar is scanning the skies. those patches of blue over the northern blue ridge and northern shenandoah valley areas, a few sprinkles and light rain, those are drifting off to the east. later today a little sun breaking up. we should make it into the low and mid-80s. mid to late afternoon into early evening is when we have a risk of thunderstorms coming through and a small chance an isolated storm would produce wind damage. and that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you very much. now to the new home for dominique strauss-kahn, the once powerful international banker accused of sex crimes in new york. after spending nearly a week in jail he's now under house arrest. jeff rossen has the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, meredith. good morning to you. as you well know, this town loves spectacle and new york has one now. out's the by star new tourist attraction in lower manhattan. between the media camped out, people walking by on the sidewalk taking pictures. they have been all weekend, all because dominique strauss-kahn is in an apartment on the ninth floor of this building, as you mentioned, under house arrest. we have new details about his life inside and prosecutors' case against him. his new digs on broadway just steps from wall street, where dominique strauss-kahn was once respected. now living under strict home confinement. it's not going over well with his new neighbors. >> obviously i don't like it. >> of all the places that somebody at the top of the international news wires could be staying, they are staying in the building i'm staying in in manhattan? just my luck. >> reporter: strauss-kahn is living with his wife. she was seen leaving the building sunday. the international press documenting her every move. inside the apartment dominique strauss-kahn is under 24-hour electronic surveillance, including an armed guard posted outside and the nypd in front. >> let's go. if you're not part of the media, let's go. >> reporter: prosecutors say the case against strauss-kahn is getting stronger by the day. they say he sexually assaulted a hotel maid twice inside his expensive suite. according to published reports, even before the attack, strauss-kahn hit on two other hotel employees, asking them to drinks. how will it all play in court? >> if the defense dares suggest that he's not the type then all of the things he's done to virtually every woman in his life could, in theory, become relevant, especially thingses he was doing to other women around the time of this event. >> reporter: to stay out of jail on bail, dominique strauss-kahn may need a new place to stay. this is temporary corporate housing. sources close to the case tell nbc news his wife has been out and about in new york trying to find a new apartment building, but most apartment buildings in the city do not want him and don't want the media circus that comes with it. >> can't blame them. jeff rossen, thank you very much. still ahead, who's most responsible when it comes to a student's failing grades? 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[ clears throat ] jennifer hudson is our little cousin. jennifer shined a new light on everything. she really inspired me. i said to myself, "if she can do it, i can do it." weight watchers pointsplus makes you slow down and think about the things that you put in your body. on weight watchers, our family and friends have lost over a thousand pounds. i still can't believe it. ♪ and i'm feeling good ♪ and i'm feeling good go on, join for free. weight watchers new pointsplus. because it works. we're back now at 7:42 with the latest sign of how bad the real estate market is in some areas. if you want to unload your timeshare you may have to give it away. here's mark potter. >> reporter: at a timeshare resort near disneyworld in orlando, vacationers are enjoying the good life, but with the timeshare market suffering so badly now some of the ownererses are finding it hard to sell. alan and carol cole own several timeshare deeds. when they decided to unload the one in orlando they had to give it away. >> it's easier to get them than it is to get rid of them. that's always been the case. even more so now. >> reporter: according to the american resort development association there are more than 170,000 timeshare units around the country with more than 7 million part-time owners. real estate expert michael garrity says timeshare values have fallen nationwide. >> typically 20 cents on a dollar if you are lucky to sell. >> reporter: in a bad economy many owners have trouble keeping up with the annual maintenance fees and are forced to sell to stay afloat financially. >> they have to give up this payment long before the house or car payment. >> reporter: for timeshare buyers the downturned economy is a golden opportunity. >> it comes with furniture, a fully equipped kitchen. >> reporter: david henry is thrilled to have bought into this two week a year timeshare unit in hilton head for $1300. it was. >> it was a good deal and worked into our budget. >> reporter: at the internet company sellmytimesharenow.com jason trembly says timeshares at big name resorts hold their value. smaller, older units are selling cheap. >> there is way more supply than demand. then prices fall. >> reporter: experts say buyers getting a deal should make sure they afford the homeowner's fees which have led so many others tole sell at a dramatic loss. for "today," mark potter, nbc news, miami. >> still ahead, amanda knox makes a tearful appeal in court as she fights to have her murder conviction overturned. first, these messages. uncer ] look outside. it's grow time. so let's plant some perennials that'll turn up every year. trees and shrubs to give us depth. and fill it out with flowers placed in just the perfect place. let's start at the place with the best plants, people, and prices. how about we plant a weekend, water it, and watch a summer spring up? more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we're lowering the cost of a day in the dirt with a special buy on this mulch -- 4 bags are just 10 bucks. he hangs here. because you don't see this everyday. 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(narrator) from unforgettable adventures, to the wizarding world of harry potter, only at universal orlando resort. i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here -- to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there every step of the way. call or come in and talk with us today. we are back at # 7:48. president obama is stopping in ireland today where he'll look at his ancestral roots. norah o'donnell is in moneygall this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: [ speaking gaelic ] irish eyeses a are smiling and people here are thrilled president obama has irish roots and will visit his ancestral home. ♪ >> reporter: in the heart of ireland is the tiny town of moneygall. >> it turns out that i have irish heritage. [ cheers and applause ] >> i do. >> we are the guys who put the o in obama and made him irish. >> reporter: his hometown so small it's a block long. population, 300. why were you surprised? >> he doesn't look like anyone in moneygall. >> reporter: this place got a fresh coat of paint and obama cafe. >> why are you excited about? >> it's barack obama. like the most famous person on earth. >> reporter: henry healey is obama's 8th cousin. >> 1850, barack obama's grandfatherer clo closed the do left for the united states. >> reporter: obama's ancestors worshipped at this church. records show they were shoemakers. >> that would have meant they were better off than most people in the area who were bringing help to the suffering. >> reporter: so his great, great, greatgrandfather was a community organizer? >> absolutely. we're taking credit for it. >> reporter: obama has almost 100 cousins? >> absolutely, in ireland. more by the day. i may have to investigate whether i'm related. >> reporter: the more people we talked to, the more claimed a relation. >> welcome to ireland, cousin obama. >> reporter: meet pat the baker, maker of barack's brack, a tea bread. you're related to him? >> i have relations in philadelphia. >> reporter: including pub owner ollie hayes. you will now be known as the man who served barack obama a pint of guinness in moneygall. how do you feel? >> great. i will take it to the grave. >> reporter: if you're lucky enough to have an irish name you may get your own song. ♪ there's no one as irish as norah o'donnell ♪ >> reporter: you can see they are quite excited here. obama will wrap up his visit to ireland with a big speech at college green in dublin which is expected to draw tens of thousands of people. meredith? >> all right, norah o'donnell, thank you very much. >> how about her scarf she's sporting there? very irish green. >> very cool. >> just ahead, should parents be punished for their child's failings at school? we'll talk about it after your local news. 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[ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one, money magazine's best rewards card if you aim to rack up airline miles. what's in your wallet? so, you're a democrat right? what's in your wallet? what makes hershey's s'mores special? hershey's chocolate goodness, that brings people together. hershey's makes it a s'more. you make it special. pure hershey's. we have 67 degrees here in the nation's capital. some sunshine getting through all that mist out there. good morning, i'm joe krebs. it is 7:56 on this monday, the 23rd of may. in the new, fairfax city police are investigating the cause of a deadly crash from early this morning that killed a man and seriously injured his brother. the crash occurred around 1:30 this morning on picket road near colonial avenue. police have not released the victim's identity. we'll take a wreak, look at weather and traffic when we come back. first of all, here's what they're working on for 5:00 tonight. >> tonight, gas prices not keeping everyone home for the summer travel season. the four things you can do today to the most out of every mile. club card overload. how you can simplify your life and store all those codes in one and store all those codes in one i'm drinkin' dunkin'. dunkin' iced latte. iced dunkin' decaf. estoy tomando café helado. large caramel iced with skim. one shot of hazelnut, iced, cream and sugar. i wouldn't want it any other way. get your iced coffee your way. america runs on dunkin' coffee. good morning. right now mostly cloudy. we'll get some breaks in the clouds over the next couple of hours and sunshine breaking up. we'll climb into the 80s later today. there is a likelihood of scattered, afternoon storms, some of which could be severe. there is a slight risk an isolated storm could produce wind damage. how's traffic? >> we're crawling along 395. couldn't find anything blocking, just appears to be volume. top side of the beltway an earlier accident, the outer loop at i-95 has been cleared. on again, off again delays [ male announcer ] it was forged from the fires of imagination. sculpted by an unyielding passion for design. ♪ and tempered by 125 years of legendary performance. introducing the all-new 2012 cls from mercedes-benz. where the world's greatest automobiles take shape. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. 8:00 now on a monday morning, the 23rd day of may, 2011. just some more of the images we are seeing from joplin, missouri, this morning where a monster tornado ripped a nearly six-mile-long path of destruction through that town. that's the hospital, or what's left of the medical center there in joplin. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. that building took a direct hit. medical records have been found 60 miles away from the city, from inside that building. this morning the missouri national guard has been activated to lead the search for survivors and assist in the cleanup. we'll get a live report from al roker in a couple of minutes. >> and amanda knox makeses an emotional appeal but will it help her? we are live in italy with the latest on that. >> and how about this question? who should be blamed when a child underachieves at school? some states are proposing laws to punish the parents, give them a grade or fine them? is that fair? should the rules of younger students apply to the parents of a high schooler? first to more in joplin, missouri. al roker and ron mott are both on the scene. al, why don't we start with you? >> as you were looking earlier there is st. johns hospital. we see medical personnel going in. some doctors, it looks like. the cars marked with x's have been checked by search and rescue folks to make sure nobody is in them. this tells the tale, tells the story of the devastation that goes for blocks and blocks and blocks. you can see a playground there. a playground just hanging through the trees that have been broken. all the debris that's scattered through the area. 89 people so far confirmed dead. 25 to 30% of this town, joplin, missouri, has been destroyed. and this is now the deadliest tornado in missouri history. the deadliest was 56 people killed back in 1957 during one twister. this one obviously far surpasses that. my colleague ron mott is also here in joplin, missouri. ron, what are you seeing? >> reporter: hey, al, much of what you're seeing. the death toll is 89 and the fear is that it will go higher. a high school commencement was going on yesterday at a local college. the high school itself was destroyed. so that was fortunate that it was not taking place there. you can see cars all over the city. a six-mile stretch of the city has damage like this. take a look to my left. this is richardson park which is destroyed. a lot of trees snapped in half, falling on buildings. there was a two-story house reduced to one story. the big push today is to get search and rescue teams out and about into the neighborhoodseses. they had 50 people out yesterday. they will have a hundred today, the fire chief says. of course they want to be sure they can get people who were trapped in their homes out. they will be looking for more victims of the devastating tornado. national weather service expected on the ground within the hour to start assessing the damage here. matt? >> ron mott and al roker on the ground in joplin for us. thank you very much. >> mind-boggling when you look at the pictures. we have a check of the other top stories from ann curry. >> thanks, matt and meredith. president obama expressed condolences to joplin, missouri, from dublin, ireland, where he and michelle obama are visiting the hometown of his irish great, great, great grandfather. ireland is the first stop on a tour that will include britain, france and poland. tim pawlenty officially announced his run for president on sunday on his website. on this program this morning he denied that he has a charisma problem saying he's not running for entertainer-in-chief. there was a massive response this morning as a flight had to make an emergency landing after a pilot found a problem with the landing gear. secretary of state hillary clinton expressed disappointment that yemen's president has rejected a deal to step down in 30 days. mediators brokered the deal hoping to end violence that claimed the lives of at least 170 anti-government protesters. police in los angeles say they have arrested 31-year-old giovanni ramirez, the primary suspect in the beating of a giants fan outside dodgers stadium in march. he's being held on $1 million bail. the victim brian stowe remains in critical condition. he's a paramedic and a father of two. melissa lee joins us from the new york stock exchange. >> italy is getting a warning that its credit rating may be downgraded intensifying concerns about the debt crisis. we are seeing a risk off trade. a flight to safe haven trades like the dollar, gold and u.s. bonds, all trading higher. stocks will be under pressure and oil is, of course, a barometer of economic growth. that's trading lower, below $98 a barrel. ann? >> thankses, melissa. baby boomers have a new generation. the fix-me generation. knee replacements have tripled for the age group and hip replacements are trending in that direction as well. doctors say many patients are health conscious people who wore out their joints staying active. and the playfully peculiar hat worn by princess beatrice sold to an anonymous ebay bidder for $131,000. the proceeds go to children's charities including unicef proving that hats are a symbol of positivity, as the hat designer said. it's now 8:06. back to matt and meredith. hatses off meredith. >> a positively ugly hat but went for a lot of money, which is great, for charity. >> proving people will pay a lot of money for almost anything. >> let's head back to joplin, missouri. now it looks like more severe weather is on the way. al, what do you have for us? >> well, we're a little nervous about this. if you look over here, you've got pretty blue skies. things fairly bright, look pretty good. but you come over this way and look to the west and you can see how dark those skies are, and that is pretty ominous. in fact i'm going to show if you just take a quick look here, this is the radar from springfield, missouri. there's joplin. here's springfield, missouri's, radar and there are severe thunderstorm watches until 1:00 out of this system. this is part of a much larger system. let's go to the other graphics and show you the risk area. there's a slight risk area, a wide one that stretches from dallas all the way to the northeast. but look at that, the brighter red. that's a strong risk and joplin, missouri, is in the middle of that, the possibility of tornados. the weather channel has us in a 5 out of 10 possibility of getting tornados. as you can see right now, the radar pushing through. heavy rain. so we are looking at anywhere from 1 to 3 inches. some areas could pick up 4 inches of rain. and we have flood watches and warnings for this area stretching from parts of missouri, arkansas an on to the north. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. sunshine now breaking out around much of the region and temperatures are now into the mid and upper 60s, near 70 by the bay. and later today into the mid-80s by mid-afternoon and a likelihood of storms coming through, some scattered thunderstorms could be producing damaging winds and hail between 3:00 p.m. to as late as 8::00. a smaller chance of toermz tomorrow afternoon. increased chance wednesday and matt, the big concern now is if we have another tornado, god forbid, there is nowhere for anybody to take shelter. they have set up some shelters, but obviously they are few and far between. so there are a lot of very nervous people in town right now. >> al, is the warning system still even working there? do they have power to operate that? >> i'm not sure. i don't know. in fact, i see state troopers there. i will find out and get back to you. >> al roker in joplin this morning. thank you very much. up next, amanda knox makes a tearful plea in court for her release. we're live in italy with details after this. with "dud," "reject,"nonys "flop," "failure," "bust." 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor about pristiq -- 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. anti-depressants 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 nset 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 helping me treat my depression. now to italy where amanda knox broke down as she addressed the appeals court looking into her murder conviction. keith miller has the latest from ferugia. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. aymmanda knox's defense team appears to be taking the prosecution apart and knox declared to the judge that she's innocent. knox seemed confident as she entered court greeting friends and family including her father curt. but three and a half years in prison has taken a toll. this is knox three years ago as she entered the underground bunker built to prosecute mafia bosses. three years latser the strain of imprisonment is obvious. the strain is what knox talked about saturday, choking back tears she told the appeals judge that being locked up is mentally exhausting for a person who is innocent. >> she goes through a variety of emotions from anger to anxiety to, you know, crying. if she'd gone through those emotions and she's calm. >> reporter: knox and her former boyfriend were convicted of murdering and sexually assaulting knox's british roommate meredith kercher who died from multiple stab wounds in the neck in what the prosecution contends was a sex game gone wrong. in court, the forensic scientist appointed by the appeals judge to examine disputed dna were given a 40-day extension to file a report because police have failed to produce the original dna lab findings. it was revealed that on the two crucial pieces of evidence linking the defendants to the crime there is not enough dna material to test. leaks reported in the italian media say dna material on the alleged murder weapon is insufficient to convict knox and a bloody bra clasp allegedly containing dna was found rusted and rotted after being stored in a bag of water. if confirmed in court if prosecutions's case could fall apart. >> the house of cards it was built on is slowly collapsing or will collapse in a spectacular fashion f. the leaks are proved correct by the independent report then where is the evidence? >> reporter: the judge ordered the dna report to be delivered to the court in late july. it could be september before this appeals process wraps up and, meredith, we are not expecting a verdict before autumn. >> thank you very much. joe takafina is a noted criminal defense attorney in new york and has a practice in italy. good morning. >> good morning. >> as keith pointed out the prosecution's case relied heavily on dna evidence. if it's thrown out what happens to the case? >> the case should be thrown out as well. there would not be enough evidence to indict amanda knox if this happened in america let alone convict her. the dna evidence is under fierce challenge. i have spoken to a few people, one in law enforcement, in italy over the weekend who believe the findings will support the innocence of amanda knox. it's something people have thought for a long time was factually correct. >> the judge is allowing for testimony from new witnesses including five inmates. what do we know about them? >> you have to be skeptical of inmate testimony. most of the time they are testifying to get a break. here they are testifying for the defense. some will say it's not amanda knox or rudy giday who was convicted. some say rudy, is the sole perpetrator whose dna was all over the crime scene admitted to doing it alone and amanda had nothing to do with it. >> amanda knox had an emotional appeal to the judge over the weekend. will that have an impact, do you think? >> quite frankly the press attention on the case has gotten in the way of justice a little bit. i believe when the italian justice system came under attack by our media for the most part they sort of had a bunker mentality and tried to verify and validate their findingses. i don't think any emotional pitch for appellate court will work. look, she's a 23-year-old girl who spent three and a half years in jail for something i don't believe she did. >> public opinion was a factor in the original trial. a lot of italians felt the entire justice system was on trial. it got hated. do you expect the same thing here? >> surprisingly enough there was a groundswell of support for the appeal in italy which is important. >> which you wouldn't expect. >> you wouldn't. but enough cracks in the armor are starting to unfold in the prosecution's case. i think enough people believe this girl and her boyfriend might actually be innocent and having spent three and a half years in jail there is enough evidence coming out that they had nothing to do with this. >> separate from the case, amanda knox and her parents have been accused of slander for suggesting that the police roughed her up during the initial question. where does that stand? >> that's an open charge. only in italy. part of her defense was that her, quote/unquote, confessions were beaten out of her. because she said that they claim that's a slanderous statement and therefore she is under new charges. i think that will rise and fall with the appeal and the initial case. >> so you think that will be dropped? >> i think that will all go away. >> joe, thank you so much. still ahead, can a school hold a parent responsible for their child's shortcomings in the classroom? 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[ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. lets go... haha. if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. with being fed on. we demand k9 advantix ii. it not only kills fleas and ticks, it repels most ticks before they can attach and snack on us. frontline plus kills but doesn't repel. any tick that isn't repelled or killed may attach and make a meal of us. so let's put our paws down in protest. no fetching, no friendship till we all get k9 advantix ii. join us at poochprotest.com. [ male announcer ] ask your veterinarian about k9 advantix ii. yep! 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(announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. choosey moms, choose jif. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. air optix® contact lenses let up to five times more oxygen through the lens. more oxygen for healthy-feeling eyes. air optix. the lens you can let your eyes breathe in. visit airoptix.com for a free one-month trial offer. this morning on "be well, be healthy today" food with benefits. grocery store foods offer foods with more fiber and antioxida s antioxidants. but can they help your body or are they too much of a good thing? joy bauer is a nutritionist and "today" contributor. you see them everywhere in the supermarket and it's been going on for a long time. these things have been around since the '20s. >> we started then fortifying salt with iodine to prevent goiter and then started adding vitamin d to milk to prevent restric rickets in kids. >> is this about great marketing? >> slick marketing. companies know and put thought and strategy into the persuasion of packaging. by adding a couple of vitamins, minerals or omega-3 fats consumers think there is health in these products and they will have a health advantage by eating them. >> are you concerned when they start adding fiber and antioxidants that you can get too much of them? >> definitely. in rare instances you may be able to get too much of a nutrient from fortified foods but the big worry is that people are bamboozled into overeating calories, sugar, fat and salt. >> because they think it's healthy. >> they think it's good for them. >> beverages, you see it all the time. they are one of the biggest hits. this one was given antioxidants. what's the reality? >> it does have antioxidants because they put a dash of vitamin e into it. you are also getting in a cup more than six teaspoons of sugar and artificial color. for the same hit of vitamin a you could eat even almonds. >> that's it. equal the benefit of the soda. >> there are your antioxidants. >> chewy fruit snacks. this one is fortified with 100% of the vitamin c per day. >> it is, along with corn syrup, artificial colors and dye. you can get the same hit of vitamin c, 100%, by eating seven to nine strawberries. no added gunk at all. >> let's move on. juice. every household has juice in it. this one has added fiber. let's talk about the benefits of fiber. how much are we getting in that? >> you get three grams of fiber per one cup serving and also six and a half straight teaspoons of sugar. you can eat, for the same three fwra grams of fiber, an orange. >> are they charging more when they write fiber in there? >> they are. and we are falling for it. marketing is so powerful when you think you're getting something extra. >> let's move on to the orange juices here. are we talking omega-3? >> yes. orange juice and peanut butter are healthy foods but you don't want too get your omega 3s from these sources because they are minuscule amounts per sefbing. do you know that you would get more omega-3s from one bite of salmon. >> just the corner of that little piece of salmon gives you what you get in a glass of this orange juice? >> more omega-3 in this little bite than two tablespoons of peanut butter or a cup of the orange juice. >> people go to the grocery store. they are inundated with messages. what's the best rule of thumb? >> make sure the food is healthy before you consider the add-ones. if it's not, put it back on the shelf. if it is, a little bit of extra this or that, consider it an added bonus. >> thanks, joy. appreciate it. we are back after your local news and weather. it is 8:26 out there. 68 degrees. a muggy, humid morning. a little rain today. tom will have the rest of your forecast after the news. good morning, i'm eun yang and it's monday, may 23rd, 2011. the father of a murdered teen is due in court on charges that he killed his 17-year-old daughter. police say he killed ebony franklin of capital heights last november. her body was found stuffed in a trash can. there was evidence that he had a sexual relationship with his daughter. we'll take a quick break and have weather and traffic next. first a look at what they're working on for 5:00. tonight on news 4 at 5:00, gas prices not keeping everyone home for the summer travel season. the four things you can do today to get the most out of every mile. club card overload. how you can simplify your life and sto partly sunny now. temperatures in the upper 60s to near 70. later today into the mid-80s and a likelihood of scattered afternoon and evening storms, some of which could be severe. how's traffic? ♪ 8:30 on this monday morning, may 23, 2011. that's rihanna performing her hit song "s and m" at last night's billboard music awards. she picked up radio hit of the year and top female artist. she'll be at the plaza to kick off the summer concert series. by the way, ten lucky fans will win on-stage tickets to her "loud" concert courtesy of livenation. if you're coming, bring your best rihanna sign. >> all right. that's cool. also coming up, if a child consistently gets to school late or starts to fall behind in terms of grades, who deserves the blame? well, some are starting to think the parents deserve the blame. you can't blame teachers and schools and some think we should grade parents or fine them. we'll get into that controversial idea coming up. >> also we have jimmy fallon in the house. >> never talk to me like that again, ever! how dare you? do you know who i am? this is ridiculous. you shut your trap! >> oh, i don't think he realizes he's on television. >> i'm about to be on live television! >> jimmy, you're on tv now. >> remember when >> remember when he was so nice. >> oh, he has changed so much since he started this show. >> i still have a crash on him, though. >> and he's got a new book. plus nate berkus shows you how to work the spring and summer floral trend into any room in your house. there it is. using wallpaper. first it was down to the final two on nbc's "the celebrity apprentice" so who did donald trump pick? marlee matlin or country star john rich. take a look. >> the winner of the "celebrity apprentice" 2011 is -- john rich. >> and joining us right now is john rich. congratulations! >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. thank you so much. >> check this out. >> what? >> a check for $250,000 to the kids at st. jude's. >> that is fantastic. >> that was the big prize. i'm really proud of that. >> you've raised close to a million dollars. >> $1.3 million we raised for st. jude. it's a record season on apprentice. >> basically it sounds like you won because trump thought throughout the course of the entire competition you were always creative and consistent. that's a good thing. >> body of work is what we were calling it, because it is such a grind. "celebrity apprentice" goes and goes and goes and goes and goes. the whole challenge is can you be really at it the whole time. i tried to be that way. my goal was try to win and never have anybody say a bad word about me. i wanted to go at it like that and i succeeded. it was great. i made friends with everybody on the cast. >> were you surprised at how well you did? did you go in there feeling you had that confidence? >> well, i went in there knowing that i felt like i could raise a lot of money thinking you're going to win. you can misspell one word and be fired just like that, so i never thought that it was a guarantee, but a little bit of luck went a long way. at the end of the day you're up against marlee matlin, one of the most incredible people in the world. it was just a great season all around. >> besides that check and all the money you raised for st. jude's, which is a great hospital, what's your takeaway? what did you learn about yourself? >> i would say that i'm better when i'm playing on behalf of something bigger than myself, without a doubt. because there was a lot of times i wanted to engage the craziness or become a part of the drama and i went i'd really like to go say that to him or her. you know what, i'm not going to do it because you're there for your charity, you're not there for yourself. >> winner of "celebrity apprentice" the 2011. congratulations. >> that was a good message. >> way to go. >> thank you. let's go back out to joplin, missouri. they have had such a tough day out there. al has been covering the tornado that ripped through that town. al, good morning again. >> yeah, good morning, matt. it's about to get tougher if the skies are any indication. we've got, again, fairly bright skies here, but you look to the west and as you go further west, the skies get darker and darker. we have seen some lightning. our crews have been wrapping things up and putting our equipment away because we're afraid we're going to be looking at some really strong storms with this. in fact the national weather service saying as we go to the maps we do have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 1:00. in this storm, anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3-inch hail in diameter and strong winds, so we're going to be watching that as this system moves through. you can see the rain now very heavy at times. this system pushing through. it's also going to be bringing with it the risk of flooding, anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain. this just in, matt. if this death toll of 89 in joplin stands, this will be the deadliest single tornado since the worcester, massachusetts, tornado of june 9th, 1953, which killed 90 people. if it goes above that, it would go back to 115 died in flint, michigan, on june 8th, 1953. so a devastating day just gets worse. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. warm and humid weather on tap for the week ahead. good morning, i'm tom kierein. later today into the mid-80s. we'll have sunshine in and out until early to mid-afternoon. that's when we'll have likely some storms coming through our region. there is a small risk an isolated storm could produce wind damage and hail. overnight tonight we'll settle down. a smaller chance of afternoon storms on tuesday. otherwise partly cloudy, hot and humid. hot and humid again wednesday, but again an increased chance of afternoon and evening that's your latest weather. matt? >> thank you very much for your reports this morning. when we come back, on a much lighter note, jimmy fallon is in the house to talk about life's little annoyances. first this is "today" on nbc. we are back at 8:38 with the very funny jimmy fallon, the host of nbc's "late night" turned his popular thank you notes segment into a new book. don't know what i'm talk about? check it out. ♪ >> thank you, slow walking family walking in front of me on the sidewalk. [ laughter ] >> no, please, take your time. and definitely spread out, too. [ applause ] >> you create sort of a barricade of idiots. i'm so thankful that you forced me to walk on the street and risk getting hit by a car to pass you so i can resume walking at a normal human pace, thank you. >> the book is called "thank you notes, courtesy of jimmy fallon and late night." >> nice to see you. >> who came up with the idea? >> jeremy bronson is our head monologue writer. you want a top ten list or something -- >> that's a signature. >> like headlines for jay leno. so jeremy thought of the idea. all the writers chipped in throughout the season. every friday we get together and talk about what's bothering us or something that went wrong and we make a sarcastic thank you about it. >> you thought it would be one time only? >> yeah. it was going to be a one-off. then facebook and twitter, everybody said, we liked that bit. so i thought, we may have a hit. we're so excited about it. so we did it every week and got a whole bunch of different thank you notes. we figured we'd make a book out of it. >> make some money. >> right. the calendar's next. me posing dressed as a fireman. >> can you read some of the notes? well, let me cue the music. ♪ >> wow. weirdly enough, matt lauer is playing that. very talented. >> naked. >> thank you, micro brewery, for making my alcoholism seem like a neat hobby. thank you, the word "moist," for being the worst word ever. i think i speak for all americans when we say, we don't want you as a word anymore. last one. >> okay. >> thank you, dad, for discovering text messaging. i really like the text you sent with the smiley face. not as much as the 27 blank text messages you sent right after. they kept me awake. thanks so much. >> i actually do that. >> yes. it's ridiculous. he's like, i don't know what texting is. then don't do it, dad. you don't have to do it. >> and james -- >> james plays the keyboard on that. he invented this soothing piano and it makes it that much funnier. >> they are fantastic -- the roots. >> they are fantastic. they're great. we're cruising. over two years now. it's fun to get things like that. have a book come out of my madness. it's -- we're all just excited. i'm an author now. >> a big deal author. the show is fantastic. >> it's bonkers. >> you said you don't like to kick people when they're down. >> i kick them when they're up, yeah. >> or when they are not really down. you have a job for charlie sheen. >> ashton kutcher took his job. he'll be great on "two and a half men." now charlie sheen has taken over -- it's called sheen. it's a prank thing. he goes around and does pranks. he just eats someone's apple and says, you got sheened. i didn't realize. >> it scared me how much you look like charlie sheen. >> weird, right? i never knew i had the impression until he started opening up. >> do a little bit of him. >> well, if i furrow my eyebrows and bug my eyes, pull hair down like that. sheen'd. great to be here, meredith. it's fantastic. good morning to you. tiger blood. duh, winning. >> by the way, i loved you on "snl" over the weekend. >> justin timberlake and gaga, come on. >> and jimmy fallon. >> i love you so much. >> no, you. >> why me when there's you? >> the book is called "thank you notes." jimmy fallon, thank you very much. he'll chat with kathie lee and hoda this morning. catch "late night" at 12:35, 11:35 central time here on nbc. up next -- stop the music. ♪ >> holding mom and dad responsible for their kids' shortcomings in school. ♪ >> they're still playing u. [ female announcer ] in and out. out and in. now you can apply sunblock to your kids' wet skin. new neutrogena® wet skin kids with helioplex. the first sunblock designed to be applied directly to wet skin. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin kids instantly cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum protective barrier. with wet skin kids, your kids have full strength sun protection. try new wet skin sunblock for adults too. neutrogena® #1 dermatologist recommended suncare. this morning on "today's family" should parents be blamed for their child's failures in school? that's being debated in school districts nationwide. in alaska, for example, a parent can be fined if their child is truant from school. in california a parent could face a misdemeanor charge if the problem is severe enough. is it fair? lisa belkin is a new york times writer and blogger for "the mother load." good morning, ladies. how much blame do we place on parents? >> i definitely think we better have them step up to the plate. the number one correlation of a kid who will succeed in school is parent involvement and a kid who shows up prepared to learn. that means a lot of kids aren't walking in the door with enough sleep and being there on time, matt. >> lisa, you look at kindergarten and i have a few who passed through it. parents are there, front and center. at some point in elementary school the attention span or participation drops off. >> right. when the kindergarter isn't there it's because the parent didn't get there. when the high schooler isn't there i'm not sure whose fault it is. then there is the socioeconomic difference. you have parents who are there too much. then you have a swath of parents who don't know how to be there. >> the 6th grade year is a transition year. that's when parents drop and that's the benchmark year of whether they will make it in the rest of the school 101. >> but will punishment help? >> fining them is extreme. what about grading parents? what about if teachers had the same right to grade parents they do to grade students? >> that's the proposal in florida. a parent would get a satisfactory, unsatisfactory or needs improvement. if a child doesn't have supplies. >> do you think negative reinforcement works with parents? >> no. we have to reach them early and we have to be sure we are teaching them to step in. parent education is teachable. if you don't step in by the time they are 5 we have parents discouraged. >> the parents say, oh, the school isn't educating my child. my kid got a bad teacher this year. maybe they're not doing their share. >> this legislation is a reflection that everyone is frustrated. something is going wrong, so let's blame someone. >> i talked to a prominent activist and he was adamant about the fact that we don't spend time talking about the impact of poverty on kids and their ability to learn in school whether they get proper nutrition, parents are working three, four jobs and can't be there to supervise homework. >> it's huge, matt. we realize that at age 3 or by the time the child goes in at age 5 there is a spread of vocabulary from 5,000 to 20,000 words. that trajectory keeps going. we have to start intervening early because too many kids are holding a white flag ready to hold out. >> poverty is the hardest thing to fix. it's easier to say, your fault. we'll give you a bad grade. >> we'll probably see more initiatives holding parents somewhat accountable. >> there are dozens already in the works now. but no more excuses. we can still make a difference here, matt lauer. >> yes, ma'am. got it. if you would like to weigh in head to today.com. up next, nate berkus on bringing one of the hottest trends into your home. first, this is "today" on nbc. back now at 8:51. we are at home with nate berkus today. floral patterns are popular on clothes and jewelry this spring. nate is an interior design expert and host of "the nate berkus show." nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> before we talk about flowers in the house i want to talk about oprah. this is her last week. >> i know. >> you did so many makeovers and she helped launch your show. what are you feeling? >> oprah is skipping. she's so excited. i'm bittersweet. for me it's about all the producers. it's like a family for me. i know oprah will do the most exciting things, but it's hard. i just got back from chicago a couple days ago. >> you sent her flowers. >> i did. yes. that will be appropriate. thank you, oprah. here are flowers. >> this is a trend, the floral look, for spring and summer. >> absolutely. everybody wants to bring the outside in a little bit. i came up with ideas this morning that are easy and inexpensive that you can do yourself. >> beginning with taking a picture of the flower in your yard and framing it. >> or in someone else's yard. i love the idea of involving the kids, snapping something beautiful. the frame is under $20. buy them all over. white mat, white frame. looks fresh. take what's over the sofa down or in the powder room or and hang something spring-like. >> or bring in real flowers but you say keep it to one kind. >> i'm a fan of single species. when we do floral arrangementses, unless you're really into it, which is there is a whole group of people into it. i don't know how to do it well. one species always looks gorgeous. we have lilacs in little silver mint julep glasses. i like the one species because it takes the pressure off when leaving the grocery store or deli. grab one. >> more variety in the vase. >> exactly. >> this is an idea i never would have thought it. get a room divider with a floral pattern on it. >> i love this. this is a great way to add dimension to a room. the room divider you can find anywhere. online. target has them. i actually bought a double roll of wallpaper under $100. >> cheaper than fabric. >> and make it easy with the self-adhesive wallpaper. put it up and that's it. you have the pattern. for fall you can switch it out with a stripe. you can keep changing this. >> good idea. >> change your chair seats as well. >> yes. i have to go one step further always. that's the way it works in my brain. >> of course. >> but this dining chair, i thought it looked sad, feels wintery. >> one yard of fabric under $20 and anyone can do it themselves. i left half of it undone. >> it's a mess on the bottom. >> it is. if your dinner guests are lifting up the chair seats, kick them out of your home. >> this is stapled on the bottom. i left an edge like this so you can see. fold over the corner and it goes back down and you have a new look. >> you didn't have to paint the chair, but you did. >> you wouldn't have to. >> this is brilliant. make a pillow and these are napkins. >> $3.99 from west elm. get the napkins and any local dry cleaner. thank you very much. meredith found a string. any local dry cleaner can do it for $16. >> a pillow party. >> yes. they can add a zipper. that's a neutral pillow for under $20. a neutral pillar under 20. 8:55 is your time now on this monday, may 23rd, 2011. good morning, i'm eun yang. a father accused of stabbing his 17-year-old daughter to death is scheduled to be in court today. 45-year-old rodney mcintyre was charged this weekend with first degree murder in the death of ebony franklin. her body was found stuffed in a trash can in columbia heights last november. we'll take a quick break and have weather and traffic up next. fist here's what we're working on for 5:00. tonight on news 4 at 5:00, gas prices not keeping everyone home for the summer travel season. the four things you can do today to get the most out of every mile. - ( music playing ) - we know technology can make you more connected. but now it can make you more connected to your doctor through e-mail. test results from home. check records. change appointments. now doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists are all digitally connected to each other. and ultimately connected to you. at kaiser permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful. kaiser permanente. thrive. good morning, i'm tom kierein. temperatures are near 70 degrees and partly sunny. later today into the mid-80s and likelihood of scattered afternoon storms, some of which could produce some damaging winds. it looks like the time for that would be 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. then a smaller chance of storms tomorrow. a little hotter. increased chance again wednesday. how's traffic, jerry. we are crawling on the beltway this morning. the inner loop delays begin just above springfield all the way to braddock road. so even though the lanes are open. heavy traffic american legion we era back with more on monday morning. we have a gray day in new york city, but a nice crowd of people sticking around on the we haven't been out much today, so we apologize for that. inside the studio i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and natalie morales. more on how joplin, missouri, is coping. what a day they had in the aftermath of the tornado that tore through town around 5:30 in the afternoon on sunday. by the time it was over dozens were killed. 25 to 30% of the town was damaged including the regional hospital. that was evacuated moments before it took a direct hit. >> missouri's governor declared a state of emergency and activated the national guard to help with a search for survivors. they could be facing more severe weather today which is unbelievable. al is there. we'll check in with him in a few minutes. >> the sky is so ominous. meanwhile, coming up, a guide to summer health. we'll help you separate fact from myth when it comes to enjoying the summer months ahead. later on, does your high schooler need help choosing a university and you don't know where to take the family this summer? we have five college towns that double as great family vacation destinations. >> that's two for the price of one. it works out well. first let's get to al in joplin, missouri. al, what's the latest? >> the latest is, matt, the skies are really threatening. we have a severe line of thunderstorms. nowhere near as bad as yesterday. in fact, as you look at the time lapse from yesterday, you can see that line coming into joplin, missouri. and this is the result of it. that's st. johns hospital, completely devastated. cars strewn all over, picked up by the tornado. dropped here. and then, of courses, the real devastation, you can get a real sense of it. this was a neighborhood. and this scene is repeated block after block. for these people they are just beginning to climb out of this hole. >> oh, gosh. okay. got it. >> oh, my gosh. >> reporter: the eye of the storm -- joplin, missouri. >> that is a monster tornado. >> reporter: a massive one half to three-quarters of a mile wide tornado tore through joplin, blowing debris 18,000 feet into the air. >> bad. oh, my gosh. this is awful. >> i don't know what that was. >> this is -- look at that. that is destroyed. >> this was an f-4 or f-56789. -- f-5. >> two of the trees -- the trees are debarked. >> reporter: streets and neighborhoods stripped bare in moments. within moments, rescue workers raced to the scene to rescue those trapped in the rubble. the weather channel's mike bettes was chasing the tornado when it hit ground. he arrived here in joplin about ten minutes after the tornado hit. >> we rolled up maybe 45 minutes ago. i have witnessed fatalities in joplin. we are trying to figure out if anyone needses help. people are scrambling right now. take a scope of the damage. it's taking my breath away here. multiple homes, businesses destroyed. cars have been flipped. mangled debris everywhere you look. are trying to help any way they can. people being pulled out of buildings this evening as well. we have come across many people that need as much help as possible. i think they will be overwhelmed with the amount of damage, injuries and fatalities here. they need help in joplin. >> i got in the basement, put my arms over my head and it caved in on me. >> reporter: one of the area's primary sources of emergency care -- st. johns regional medical center -- was destroyed. >> the backup generators got hit. no power. there was nothing but darkness. the wind just started blowing the doors open. stuff started just flying. we all got down on the floor and just prayed that we made it through. >> reporter: the raw emotion of the moment was difficult, even for a seasoned reporter. >> people are looking for family members. if you look at this neighborhood, all i can say is it lookses reminiscent of what we saw last month in -- excuse me. in tuscaloosa. yeah. it's tough. no question about that. it's a very tragic scene in joplin, missouri. tornado devastation as far as the eye can see. in the distance beyond the firefighters doing search and rescue we have fires that are erupting in joplin. it really is an unfolding scene. changes minute by minute. neighbors are trying to pull -- oh, they just pulled out their dog. that is great. they just pulled the dog. he looks to be okay. that's great news. neighbors have been telling us, i know my neighbor is in there. it's too dangerous to get in there and there aren't enough first responders to deal with the immense tragedy that's here. >> reporter: joplin wasn't the only midwest area hit hard this weekend. tornadoes touched down in oklahoma and minneapolis, killing at least one person there. hail the size of golf balls pelted nebraska. but back here in hard-hit joplin, as dusk settled, so did the harsh reality of all that's been lost. >> they had a theater and a play this evening. we had to dig through there and actually did have a couple dead in there. as you look at the latest radar, we have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect. joplin is in that. it looks like it is anywhere frompart of that. it looks like there's anywhere from 2 to 3-inch diameter hail in this system. we're not seeing a rotation yet that would indicate a tornado. joplin in the strong risk area. the slight risk stretching from texas all the way up into american pennsylvania. rainfall amounts from 2 to 4 inches of rain so we have flood watches and warnings in effect for the area for a good portion of southern missouri and northern arkansas. and with 89 people killed, matt, ann and natalie, this is the deadliest single tornado since worcester, mass, june 9th, 1953. 25 to 30% of this town has been devastated. matt, earlier you asked me about the warning, the tornado sirens. it's sporadic. in some areas they're working, in some areas they're not. and we're getting lightning now. this is a really changeable situation. the big concern, while they have some shelters set up, there's nowhere to go really. if the tornado strikes, there's nowhere to go. guys, back to you. >> al roker reporting from joplin. that is a concern. you've got people milling around the wreckage trying to find people and possessions. if some other storm comes through, hopefully they'll have enough time to react. al, thank you so much for that. >> let's hope it doesn't happen. >> you've got the rest of the top stories? >> president obama began this morning expressing his condolences for the tornado-ravaged city of of joplin, missouri. he and the first lady are in ireland visiting the hometown of his irish great great great grandfather. ireland is the first stop of a week-long tour that includes britain, france and poland. another icelandic volcano is erupting and scuttling air traffic. they are only restricting flights in iceland. a cloud of ash shot 10.5 miles into the sky on sunday and could reach scottish airspace tonight. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is the latest republican to enter the 2012 race for president. this morning on this broadcast pawlenty said that president obama does not have the courage to look people in the eye and tell them what we have to do to control government spending. one of the taliban's most daring raids in years, a major pakistani navy base was invaded last night where heavily armed insurgents destroyed u.s. surveillance aircraft and killed at least 12 pakistani security officers. two american hikers held in iran on spy charges got to call home on sunday for only the third time since they were arrested nearly two years ago. shane bauer and josh fattal told their families they had staged a 17-day hunger strike when their male was stopped. the hikers' mothers began their own hunger strikes on thursday after getting word that their sons were fasting. and the latest installment of "pirates of the caribbean" plundered the weekend box office. it made $90.1 million. "bridesmaids" came in second and "thor" fell to third. >> i hear good thing about that pirates. >> yes. i hear maybe one of the best ever. i also hear great things with thor and bridesmaids. let's get another check of the weather now. mr. roker back out in joplin. good morning again. >> what's your name again, sir? >> john degraph. >> john, where do you live? >> the third house, if you can find wherever -- there's a little bit of a roof left right there. i live in the third house right here. >> how much warning did you guys get when the siren went off? >> the sirens went off as i was running up the alley to go to the big house on the corner. they went off roughly two, three minutes before the tornado hit. we made it to the basement. my ears started popping and that giant house came down. >> you say you have a next-door neighbor who's unaccounted for? >> yeah, larry. he's 73. he's the only one unaccounted for on this block. i know he was home because he was home about an hour before i pulled my car in under the car port. >> john, sorry for your loss. >> thank you. >> but we're glad you're safe. >> thank you very much. let's quickly show you what's going on. again, for today we've got some severe weather, risk of strong storms stretching from texas all the way on up into parts of western pennsylvania, western new york. we've got, again, more rain moving into the pacific northwest. sunshine through the gulf. but again, the severe weather here and we're keeping an eye on it. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. hot and humid, for the rest of the week warm and humid around our region and we will have temperatures right now near 70 later today climb into the mid-80s by mid-afternoon and we do have a risk of strong thunderstorms here during the mid -- part of the afternoon, around 3:00 to perhaps as late as 8:00 p.m. that's when we could have some strong storms that may produce some wind damage. then tomorrow partly cloudy, a little bit hotter. smaller chance of that's your latest weather. natalie? ♪ >> al, thank you. this morning on be well, be healthy, summer health myth busters. by now we know mom's warning to eat 30 minutes after eating before swimming or you will cramp up. well, it isn't true. and we are here to separate fact from fiction. doctor, good to have you here. first up is we are spending time outdoors in the summer. the big question is can eyes get sun burned? >> that's a fact. your eyes can be sun it is bubu. symptoms are red, tearing eyes and light sensitivity. if you allow your eyes to be exposed to the sun for extended periods like if you run every morning without sunglasseses you can get a number of eye conditions developing over time. they have difficult names. one is pingwekula, or yellow spots on the eyes. terigium is tissue growth between the corner of the eye and the iris and can lead to cataracts and macular degeneration. we always recommend wearing sunglasses with uva and uvb protection. >> all right. good point. next up, flip-flops. everybody has them and wears them in the summer. fact or fiction. are they not good for your feet? >> that's fact. they are not good. they don't offer arch support, cushioning or shock absorption. it can lead to heel pain, tendinitis, pinched nerves in the foot and also when you clench your toes around the thong it can create a hammer toe. >> not pretty. >> certainly not pretty. >> best solution is go with a shoe that offers more support. >> like a sandal or a wedge is a better bet. it distributes weight more easily. >> you need the arch support. >> next is a dip in the pool is like taking a shower. fact or myth? >> definitely not. when you think about when you go in the pool. >> so gross. >> we don't rinse off. it's sweat and sunscreen. it can make chlorine less effective. so you can get a bunch of bacteria that grow in the pool. one is common called cryptosporidium which causes diarrhea. also skin rashes. get out, wash with soap and water. >> and the chlorine dries your skin. >> it does. >> next poison ivy rash is not contagious. fact or myth? >> they are not contagious. the oil on the plant, when gets on your skin you can get an allergic reaction. the rash itself, no matter how much crusting and oozing you have, if i touch it, i won't get it. >> ew. >> you have to wash -- it's the oil that's contagious. >> so if the oil is on clothing or other items that can spread. >> exactly. >> anything that came in contact with the plant wash thoroughly with soap and water. and tonight forget your shoelaces. >> i didn't think of that. next is air conditioning makes you sick. fact or myth? >> it doesn't make you sick. that's a myth. a lot of people think i go in the cold, i got a chill. only germs cause illness. often times you're experiencing when you go outside and get the sniffles, it's allergies. stay indoors if you are prone to allergies and get a hepa filter to protect from indoor allergens. >> great information. thanks for separating fact from myth for us. up next, answers to your pressing questions about today's housing market. first, these messages. with olay challenge that and give drastic measures a rest. regenerist night elixir gently resurfaces for the smooth skin of a light chemical peel. sleep tight. regenerist, from olay. this is stacy. who runs circles around asthma. and dan. he never lets high cholesterol get him too low. and amy with her arthritis well in hand. they go to walgreens... where their pharmacist not only refills prescriptions but gives advice... immunizations... and health tests. staying on top of your health starts right in your neighborhood. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. you get so hooked on feeling fresh, you'll want to pass it on to a friend. ♪ visit getfreshwithafriend.com. ♪ tell a friend about fresh and you'll both get a cottonelle fresh reward. so fresh is always at your fingertips. ♪ so go on, get fresh with a friend. 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[ male announcer ] get up to $6 in savings on zyrtec® products at zyrtectv.com. ♪ ♪ >> this morning on "today's real estate" answers to your real es talts problems from making home improvements to finding property in the caribbean. we have barbara corcoran here with advice. good morning. >> good morning. >> always great to see you and your sunny self. >> thank you very much. >> first we have paul from california on skype. what's your question? good morning. >> good morning. good morning, barbara. >> good morning. >> my wife and i are professional with stable incomes. we want more space for our growing ys, but given the market and economy do we try to sell our house and move or do we stay for a while? >> your timing is perfect. you fall into the category of trading up. in today's market the big winners are people who trade up. even if you take 20% less or whatever's going on in your neck of the woods less for your home you will get the better home, the more expensive home for a 20% discount. so you're ahead of the game. a pretty little house, but if you are thinking of trading up don't waste time. get out in the market and start shopping. >> thank you very much. >> thanks, paul. do you think that's true for people who want to trade up will benefit? >> definitely. the worse the market, the better the advantages. >> we have a telephone call from anna in woodland, california. another early riser. what's your question? >> we are considering selling our home. is replacement of a roof, windows or remodel of a bathroom a wise investment? or is it better to wait and negotiate those issues when selling. >> everybody out there shopping for a home is cranky. you think you can renegotiate or get a discount in some fashion to take care of what's wrong with the house. it's not that kind of market. people aren't forgiving the sins. you have to make the improvements to sell your house. the good news is that's your house there, i take it. the windows need replacement. you may have mentioned the roof. you get 70% to 80% of money back when you make those improvements. it's not about whether you should do it or not. it's whether you have to to sell your house. >> thanks. >> thank you, anna. we have an e-mail question from dan in reno, nevada. he writes, my wife and i are thinking of relocating to the beautiful caribbean islands. >> ooh. >> we'll rent an apartment to get a feel of the location before we purchase. can you please tell us where to find information on rentals in puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands? >> this is a tricky thing. most people don't think there are websites to let you find homes. here's what happens. if you search "houses for rent" or "houses for sale" plus puerto rico you will turn up every house for sale like all the u.s. huge sights. you will get to know everything. if you want details like where do the americans live or where do i have internet service? for that you have to pick up the phone and speak with the brokers. but remember the key phrase. >> it can work wherever you want to live. >> people think once you get outside the states it doesn't work anymore. it works everywhere. >> barbara corcoran, thank you very much. coming up next, how to turn a college visit into a family vacation. first, these messages. part of my job is teaching my patients how to take insulin. but i've learned a lot from patients who use flexpen. flexpen comes pre-filled with the insulin i take and i can dial the exact dose of insulin i need. i live my life on the go and need an on-the-go insulin. i don't need to carry a cooler with flexpen. novolog is a fast-acting, man-made insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. do not inject novolog if you do not plan to eat within 5 to 10 minutes after injection to avoid low blood sugar. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. the most common side effect of novolog is low blood sugar. other possible side effects include reactions at the injection site. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat or sweating. ask your healthcare provider about novolog flexpen today. learn more about the different insulins available in flexpen at myflexpen.com. flexpen, insulin delivery that goes with you. coming up, the real housewives of new york city are getting together in times square to help keep us healthy. we'll tell you how. >> after your local news and weather. today we're going to surprise people with the taste of activia. that's good. wow. this is really good. great flavor! it's really creamy, it's really tasty. ooh! wow! jamie lee curtis! it's activia! it's delicious. i am shocked. it's hard to believe it's that good for you. it's so good. try the fabulous taste of activia today. taste it, love it, or it's free! and now discover activia dessert. in rich indulgent flavors like strawberry cheesecake. try activia dessert today. ♪ activia weather. it's 9:26 right now, 71 pleasant degrees outside. good morning, it's 9:26 on this monday, may 23rd, 2011. i'm kimberly suiters. fairfax city police are investigating the cause of a deadly crash that killed one man and seriously injured his brother early this morning. that crash happened around 1:30 in the morning on picket road near colonial avenue. police have not released the victims' identities. first here's wendy and jim with a look at what's ahead at 5:00. >> tonight on news 4 at 5:00, gas prices not keeping everyone home for the summer travel season. the four things you can do today to get the most out of every mile. club card overload. so, at our company, we pay about the same, even though i'm a great driver, and he's... not so much. well, for a driver like you, i would recommend our new snapshot discount. this little baby keeps track of your great driving habits, so you can save money. [sighs] amazing. it's like an extra bonus savings. [ cackling ] he's my ride home. how much can the snapshot discount save you? call or click today. good morning. getting some sunshine now. temperatures climbing into the 70s, later today into the mid-80s and a likelihood of scattered afternoon and early evening thunderstorms. there is a slight risk an isolated storm could produce wind damage. a smaller chance of storms tomorrow. steve, how's traffic? >> tom, we're looking at a picture of the american legion bridge right now. traffic across the bridge, the outer loop moving pretty slowly. springfield, pretty good up to >> i just wanted to see who the dragon warrior was. >> how interesting. >> master? are you pointing at me? >> him. >> who? >> you. >> me? >> the universe has brought us the dragon warrior! >> what? >> what? >> what? >> if you recognize those voices, you're probably right. that's jack black reprizing his role as the panda named po. we have other big stars in "kung fu panda 2" including angelina jolie, seth rogen and jackie chan coming back as well. jack black will be here to tell us about it tomorrow on "today." i love that guy. >> i'm so looking forward to the sequel. i have been waiting for a good animated summer movie. >> meanwhile, we are outside with these great people. coming up, we want to talk about college towns. a lot of times when we are helping our high school kids figure out what university is right for them? can you take a family vacation at the same time? we'll show you five college towns that can also double as great family vacations. >> you did it with your daughter. >> i did. that played a part in which school she chose. >> that's fun to do. also ahead, it's prom season, time to pick a dress for a great occasion. we have dresses your daughter will like that will get mom's stamp of approval. that's important. this is the time of year where teens conflict with their parents over what's appropriate and what's not appropriate. >> i went prom shopping with my daughter yesterday. it's a lot of fun. let's go to al roker who's in joplin, missouri, this morning as he has been all morning reporting on the terrible tornado and the impact there. morning reporting on this terrible tornado and the impact there. hey, al, what more can you tell us? >> well, as you can see, the sky has turned exceedingly black. the wind is picking up. it's starting to rain. and we are looking at a storm that's got anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3-inch hail in it, wind gusts of 65 miles per hour. so it's starting. and again, ann and natalie, the big concern is if there is a tornado out of this system, you know, there's nowhere to go. i mean there are some shelters set up, but they are few and far between. i want you to, tony, take a look. you can see the edge of this now starting to roll in. this is not good. and we're going to continue to track this. but we are really worried about it. as you look on the radar, we are under a severe thunderstorm warning until 9:00 a.m. central time as this system pushes through. again, we are -- it's part of a larger area. we are under a strong risk for dangerous lightning, isolated tornados possible. the weather channel's dr. greg forbes has this area under a 5 out of 10 possibility for a tornado today and that stretches right on into tomorrow. whoa! okay. so that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. here we've got some sunshine breaking out and it's a warm and muggy morning. we're into the low and mid-70s now. later today into the mid-80s. there is a likelihood of scattered thunderstorms here this afternoon and early this evening. and there is a slight risk that an isolated storm could produce some wind damage or some hail. then after that we'll settle down later tonight. tomorrow partly cloudy, highs near 90. a smaller chance of afternoon storms. then a greater chance again on okay, a couple of people who lived through yesterday say this is exactly what it was like just before the tornado struck. we are not seeing -- as we look on the radar we are not seeing any rotation, but it's not a good situation right now. >> hey, al. what are the local authorities telling people given what they have gone through yesterday? given what's possible now again today? what are authorities telling people in terms of what they should do given that there are not enough shelters available? >> well, they are telling them to try to get to shelters. again, there are not many around. the warning situations are such that depending where you are, the sirens aren't working. so this is a really serious situation in that the infrastructure is compromised. search and rescue is obviously, as you might imagine, really stretched beyond the limits. we have had people come in, search and rescue, fire, police come from different localities all over missouri. but it's a bad place -- we are in a bad situation right now. >> you know, you put down the microphone, get to safety as much as you can. encourage others as well. thank you so much for your reporting this morning, al. >> wow. >> okay, guys, thanks. >> good luck. to see it go from day to night just in the last half hour is scary. >> very dramatic. >> we'll switch gears to say hello to the real housewives of new york city. kelly, jill, alex -- [ cheers and applause ] >> hello, ladies. >> hi. >> must be something special to bring you all together, hugging each other like this. what's the occasion? >> we are unveiling the step-a-thon in times square which is a free to the public installation where you can step and take small steps to live a healthier lifestyle. >> why are you united on the cause? >> one in five children are obese and 33% of adults are obese as well. that's not okay. the numbers are just not okay. we're going to say every step takes. if i can wake up and work out for 17 minutes so can everyone else. >> every step counts. >> every little thing you do counts. >> there are initiatives. walgreens is part of it as well. >> thank you, ladies. >> we look forward to the rest of the season as well. >> thank you. >> up next, are you doing the college search this summer? we have five college towns that double as great summer vacation destinations as well after this. 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[ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser you gotta try honey bunches of oats with almonds! it's got real, sliced california almonds with a third less sugar per serving than honey nut cheerios. wow! delicious! try honey bunches of oats with almonds! julie: ... i don't feel there's something out there better than what i've got now. vo: so to show her what she's missing, we built a pc store in her house. julie: (gasp) employee: thanks for dropping in! this isn't my house anymore! employee: have a little look around! julie: very nice! employee: this one is touchscreen. julie: i like that. so there is no tower anymore? wow! i admit i'm wrong on this account mputer better than mine. vo: new pc in the house julie(to camera): i'm a pc and i'm gonna kill him. >> announcer: education nation today is brought to you by university of phoenix. educated world is a better world. >> this morning on education nation, five college towns that double as great family vacation destinations. college admissions expert catherine colin, ceo of ivy wise has advice on how to make the most out of a campus visit. >> hi. >> oh, my gosh, i have been down this road. i have been wondering. er there so many ways to look online to get an idea of what's happening, talk to people. why make the visits especially when they can be all across the country. >> nothing replaces an actual campus visit. we counsel families with young kids, 8th, 9th graders to introduce them to different campuses. for those with 11th and 12th graders who have done research they can visualize themselves on campus and see, should i apply to the school? >> you picked five places, destinations you think double as great family vacations for this idea. one is boston which has a plethora of colleges. >> it does. obviously known for the boston tea party, paul revere's ride. it's nicknamed bean town. there is so much to do. you can catch a red sox game at fenway, listen to the boston pops, stroll the commons. i love that there are over 100 institutions and a hundred thousand college stunlts in the area. harvard, m.i.t., tufts, boston college, berkeley college of music, emerson, wellsley, babson. >> so say to your 9th or 10th grader, let's go look at m.i.t. no pressure. you're saying it's good to get them to visualize? >> exactly. >> let's go to washington, d.c., where there are lots of colleges and other things to see. >> the nation's capital. you can tour the white house, see the washington monument or the lincoln memorial or the holocaust museum. take your kids to the library of congress where there are 535 miles of book shelves and so many colleges. you have georgetown, american university, george washington university, howard university. nearby is johns hopkins, uva. >> catholic university of america and chicago has lots of great one t. northwestern is a great school there. it's a town that's fun to visit. >> especially in the summer when it's not so cold. not only is it known for deep dish pizza but catch a cubs game or a blues show at the house of blues. lolapalooza and the modern wing of the museum. you can see the university of chicago, northwestern, depaul university, university of illinois, illinois institute of technology. so many great schools. >> okay. let's move to the southwest. specifically the denver area. >> we counsel families looking for a more outdoorsy location. there is so much to do in denver. hiking, biking, camping, white water rafting. you can visit rocky mountain national park or the rock and roll hall of fame in red rocks park and also see the university of colorado both at denver and boulder campuses. colorado state university, denver university. university of denver. and also johnson wales. tons of schools there. >> los angeles, finally on our list. obviously a great place to visit with tons of great colleges as well. >> that's where i'm from. n you can go to the kodak theater, plan a trip to universal studios, go down the venice board walk. don't miss the tim burton exhibit at l.a. county museum of art. lots of different types of schools. ucla, clearmont college, woodbury. so many places to see. >> if you can convince your son or daughter to go see a college here -- it's tough to do. what would you say? >> well, you need to plan inned a vance. plan with your kids to do the information session and the tour. let the colleges know you're there. don't just do a drive-by. let your kids know this can help for admissions later. colleges track your interest. >> thank you. coming up next, the perfect prom dress that will make mom and daughter both happy. we'll find out after these messages. 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[ male announcer ] new eggo thick and fluffy waffles. this morning on today's countdown to prom, girls are trying to find the perfect dresses but sometimes what they love doesn't get mom's stamp of approval. one such mom and daughter sat down with bobbi thomas. >> what's it like to be 17 and have prom around the corner? >> there is a lot to get ready for. not just finding the dress, but finding a date, going tanning, shoes, jewelry, everything has to be perfect. dieting is big. i guess everyone wants to look their best. >> describe the pressure for me. >> my mom didn't have the same pressure. >> you have facebook. they are all looking at each other's dresses and posting everything. you have the magazines, television. you're bombarded with this stuff. >> okay. where do we start? >> sounds like a lot of work and expensive. >> my mom offered to help, but she can only help so much. >> is there a certain color you want? >> we're not made of money and it is hard. >> reporter: would you trust your mom to go into a store without you and pick your dress out? >> no. >> reporter: if you could pick anything you wanted for her, describe what the dress would look like. >> what would she wear is the question. >> we have different taste. i like glittery and she likes it simpler. >> some of the stuff is unbelievable. just sexy. >> the perfect dress is long and white. >> let's try it on. >> maybe sparkles. i'm not sure. >> we have to figure out a way to make us both happy. >> just one more. let's go to the dressing room. >> oh, you look beautiful! >> thank you. >> all right, bobbi thomas is here with belisa branich. good job. you helped her find a beautiful dress. elise was happy and sylvia was happy. they agreed. there is so much to choose. >> so much. >> how do you narrow it down? >> young girls are influenced by celebrities. taylor swift wore this one. pricey, but you have to have the conversation before you start shopping. both the daughter and mom should look at pictures. >> look online at pictures. what you think in your head may be different from what your daughter -- >> agree on the budget. >> definitely. >> make sure you go in with the same game plan. obviously moms and daughters sometimes have different ideas of what they want to wear as well. >> they do. >> moms want them to wear a turtleneck. and they want to show everything. >> exactly. you have to have the conversation before you pull into the parking lot. you know, the mall or store you are going to. as a mom you may hesitate to be very particular about your guidelines, but you should have the conversation before you get to the store. number one. >> it will be ugly in the dressing room. you're not wearing that. >> uh-huh. >> what if you are still battling it out as you make choices? >> try to go at a time when you feel good about each other. shopping with your spouse you go at a time when you're happy rather than not. pick a time when you feel good about each other to go to the store to make compromise easier. >> good bonding time. thank you so much. i hope yshe had a great prom. coming up, a salsa verde to liven up any dish. first, this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] keurig brews more than just hot coffee. now you can brew over ice for delicious iced coffee or tea. hot or cold, keurig is the way to brew everyone's favorite cup in under a minute. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. this morning on today's kitchen, a simple salsa verde adds a tangy zip to poultry, meat and seafood. his book is called "italian my way." jonathan waxman, good morning. >> thank you so much. >> i love your book. get us started. >> this is the easiest sauce on the planet. when i was a kid i had no idea about salsa verde which is green sauce. you can put it on anything. shrimp, pork, chicken, fish. smash your garlic. put on the anchovy for me. >> right on top. >> and capers. put those red pepper flakes right there and sea salt. we're going to add a little bit of ramps. it's ramp season. >> could you do it with arugala or something if you didn't have ramps? >> we'll put that on top. >> wow. look at that. >> the nice thing about this technique. can you throw on olive oil for me? >> you betcha. >> you can see it comes together almost instan stain louses usely. a little bit of parsley. >> uh-huh. this is italian parsley? >> this is curly parsley. italian is the flat style. >> oh, i see. why use curly? >> you can use both. you can improvise. add a little bit of spinach. >> mm-hmm. you add. i'll chop. i'm doing the boat. >> you do the boat. use your elbow. shove it into that. there you go. >> oh, going forward. i get it. you're a good teacher. >> olive oil on top. we're just about done. >> so this sauce is really chopped up. >> totally. >> it ends up like this. >> keep it in the fridge for two weeks to a month. stir it every once in a while. the olive oil preserves it. >> okay. >> we have porterhouse pork chops with salsa verde on top. will you turn my shrimp for me? >> looks like it needs to. >> little bit of smoke here. we have the shrimp on the skewer. beautiful flat italian onions. >> how did you caramelize those? >> inside a little aluminum bag with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. this is my j.w. chicken, the easiest thing. put it in a salamander, roast it, let it rest for five minutes. salsa verde on top. voila, you're done. >> everything looks good. thank you so much. >> little bit of pork for someone to taste. >> that's for natalie. someo[ male announcer ] there's a new ride coming to busch gardens williamsburg -- mach tower. dude, it's like two hundred and... ...forty feet high... ...right in the middle of oktoberfest... ...the seats go, whoooa... ...up to the top, then... ...the music jusstops. and the seats totally start shaking. it's insane. but then all of a sudden... 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[ male announcer ] mach tower. heart racing. jaw dropping. coming soon to busch gardens williamsburg. heart racing. jaw dropping. it's not about logging on to this week's class. today is a celebration, a triumph of dedication, a victory for that little voice that urges us on. today is a day to recognize that ordinary people can do extraordinary things, and to prove that not all heroes wear a cape. some wear a cap and gown. congratulations to the strayer university graduates of 2011. at 190 miles per hour, the wind will literally lift ordinary windshield wipers off the glass. so, did we build a slower car? or design wipers that could handle anything? what do you think? the cadillac cts-v, the world's fastest production sedan. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs after your local news. good morning. it's 9:56 on this monday, may 23rd, 2011. topping your news for today, a father accused of stabbing his 17-year-old daughter to death is scheduled to be in court today. 45-year-old rodney mcintyre was arrested and charged this weekend with first-degree murder in the death of ebony franklin. last november her body was found in a trash can in columbia heights. let's check in with tom for a look at today's weather. tom. >> partly sunny now and it's rather humid and temperatures are climbing into the 70s. and as we get into the afternoon hours, we'll hit the mid-80s and there is a likelihood of scattered thunderstorms coming through. that would be between 3:00 p.m. to as late as 8:00 p.m. there unfortunately is a risk that an isolated storm could produce some wind damage and hail. again, 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. then tomorrow warmer and a smaller chance of afternoon storms. now steve, how's traffic? >> still very slow, tom, across the american legion bridge. nothing is reported blocking the roadway but as you head past 270 into virginia, it's still very slow. now, in springfield, we had a report of an accident northbound on i-95 just before the springfield interchange. looks like everything is well. >> thank you, steve. here's a sneak peek at what we're working on now. the four things you can do today to get the most out of every mile. club card overload. how you can simplify your life how you can simplify your life and store all captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody. welcome, welcome, we are so glad you're with us what we usually call a fun day monday. it's may 23rd. that's the good news. the world didn't come to an end, but the bad news is it was a terrible experience for a lot of people in missouri with this tornado. one of 68 tornados. >> what was so shocking to me was the breadth and length of it. the swath went through missouri was six miles long and a mile wide. i was thinking about this. don was talking about this. in terms of manhattan, manhattan is 12 miles long. picture half of manhattan just being flattened. that's what's happened in joplin, missouri. 89 people died at this point. the devastation is so sad to watch. you watch people trying to dig out friends and family. even in all this horrific devastation, sometimes you see something and you think, thank god for that. >> a little bit of hope. face of hope. >> there was a puppy or a dog, it looked like, that you could see a family -- >> they just pulled the dog. he looks to be okay. >> this is mike bettes the reporter. he was crying. >> he saw some people killed. >> he's seen a lot of devastating storms. i think when you watch a place that just looks like a bomb blew up and it's flattened. if you think about your neighborhood, six miles with your grocery store, your school, your hospital -- >> ten minutes later, everything is different. >> it's heartbreaking. >> it happens to be a day where our friend max is here. he's written a book called "max on life" which gives his answers to some of these kinds of questions. it's great to see you over there. we are not in our regular studio today because of the updating. there he is on the right and on the left is his friend and mine. >> the great things about max's books, today is a perfect day to read this book. he is a mood changer, max is with the way he writes. again, no matter what your faith or background, there's something about his books that seem to touch everybody. >> he is a beautiful human being and he writes great books this. one is for you, it's signed to you. >> thank you, thank you. >> let's not forget people who have been devastated by the floods. i got a phone call last week from the lennon sisters, kathie lennon. she said will you let everybody know on this thursday there is going to be a branson flood relief benefit. tons of branson, missouri, stars are going to take part in that. you can go to branson flood.com. >> 6:00 on saturday a lot of people were worried what's going to happen. remember, it was supposed to be the end of the world. at 6:00, at 5:00, was getting my hair blown out. >> you wanted to look good for jesus. >> i got me thinking even though i knew the end wasn't there it did get me thinking, what are you doing with your time? if i added up all my hair time, can you imagine what i would have done? i would have had bad hair. i wouldn't have enjoyed it. >> it does make you relook at your priorities in life. >> please, don't. >> while you were doing that, i was the night before with frank and frankie vallie and regis and joy -- there is reg. >> that's mean. >> no, no, i couldn't see. that's frankie. these four guys are his four seasons. he's 77 years old and puts on quite the show. my hair was pulled back. we are raising money. there is reg. reg and i did the auction. first thing up were tickets to cee lo green. and there is joy. she is beautiful. >> saturday was the best "saturday night live." i went to the dress rehearsal which is so much fun. you get to see additional acts in there it was justin timberlake and lady gaga. i knew they were good individually. i didn't know how fun together they would be. he is dressed up as a beer bottle and she is dressed up as a glass of wine. >> sounds like our show. >> the two of them dancing. it's ridiculous. ♪ >> for no reason. >> just for fun. >> is that tina fey in the middle? >> no. that's kristen wiig. in addition to that there were great things going on. jimmy fallon rocked it. he was there, too. >> he's here today. we are so excited. >> he played barry gibb in a barry gibb talk show. it's so funny. ♪ on the barry gibb talk show ♪ check out in this crazy crazy time ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, your host barry gibb. >> why don't you introduce the next guest. >> you've got to be kidding me right now. are you kidding me? hello? listen to me, you white bearded muppet. do you know who i am? i am barry. >> let me handle this. >> look at the hair. >> clear. >> gibb! i survived the rapture. >> jimmy fallon is here with us. >> he's here. he's got a very funny little book called "thank you notes." we've got a big, big show today. we also had a big research that came down. it's not bad at all to shake hands. >> the guys at johns hopkins. you're always worried about getting germs. they tell you fist bump, hug is okay. now they say you get fewer germs than you think shaking hands. they did a test of 5,200 students at graduation. and they swabbed the hand of the shakee and they found it was pretty much clean 93% of the time. it was just harmless strains of bacteria. >> the trouble is, you can't tell from looking at somebody who is not harmless. >> and who has been coughing in their hands. >> and doing other things that should not be discussed. there is good news on this level. beatrice has that hat. it's been auctioned off for a good cause. $131,000. it's going to be split between two charities, united nations children's fund, unicef and british charity's children. >> they won't say who bid on that. somebody only gave their first initial and three asterisks. so it was m. asterisk -- >> look, there we are. >> so you know, big doings around here wednesday. we are going to start our voice competition. we haven't, but our producers have been narrowing it down. it's difficult, they said. >> we are going to cover our eyes because we don't get to see. we have to just hear. >> there are three today. all right. ♪ smile though your heart is aching ♪ smile even though it's breaking ♪ ♪ big lights will inspire you ♪ here for kathie lee and hoda, hoda, hoda ♪ yes ♪ look at me ♪ i'm as helpless as a kitten ♪ up a tree ♪ feels like i'm clinging to a cloud ♪ i can't understand >> those are great. >> that's what i call eclectic. >> i have to learn not to be swayed when they say our names. >> they are kissing up. >> i like it. >> there are the coolest pants in the world. they are the lizette tummy control dress pants on skinny leg, flair and capri. first of all they fit as if they are leggings, but they look like trousers. and they give so they are so comfortable. i just love them. they fit like a dream. >> and they are tight but not painted-on tight. >> feel. they are so comfortable. don't they look like a trouser. >> how much did they say? >> i didn't see how much were they? i never look. it's over $100. you're going to get a lot of wear out of those. >> mine is, karen my best friend told me about a book that changed my life. it's called "left to tell." left to tell." >> i know about this book. i met this young woman. she came to our church. >> in rwanda she is sort of the rwanda ann frank. what she endured and how she did it through faith and sheer strength. it is one of those books that changes your life. if you need a life changer today may be the day you need to read it. >> who do we think we are, oprah? max's new book and "left to tell." >> what does sara have? >> i love this ipad case called the smart case for $39 in the apple store. >> if you want to waste $39. >> jimmy didn't know it was my favorite thing and he said, "i hate your case." >> i don't like it. you flip it over, this is like, that works? >> you have to be capable and smart to do it. >> sara, why don't you write him a thank you note. thank you for telling me you hate my case. >> i'm jimmy fallon-proof. >> i have the same thing and it doesn't work. >> that's all i keep hearing. >> this is your favorite thing? you've got to get out more. >> next we have jimmy fallon. he's going to talk to us. these are these hilarious thank you notes. hey! hey! hey! that's our snack machine. you should try something new. activia parfait crunch! crunchy granola you mix right in to creamy and delicious activia yogurt. mmm! crunchy! and creamy! watch your toes! new activia parfait crunch. more than you think. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. e is soft and more durable so it holds up better. fewer pieces left behind. charmin ultra strong. we've become synonymous with "dud," "reject," "flop," "failure," "bust." "fiasco." anything defective is a lemon. never mind that people love to squeeze us and we're a favorite among aromatherapists. introducing the mccafé frozen strawberry lemonade from mcdonald's. now we're the bee's knees. we're tart and tangy with the sweet taste of strawberry. oh, yeah. how do you like me now? the simple joy of bein' a lemon. ♪ ba-da-ba-ba-ba ♪ it's jimmy >> the song says, it's jimmy. jimmy fallon. if you ever missed the thank you note section of "late night" tv show host, let us treat you to something fun. >> thank you, hard taco shells, for surviving the long journey from factory to supermarket to my plate, then breaking the moment i put something inside you. >> taco salad. >> based on that poignant segment, jimmy has come up with this brand-new book. it is called "thank you notes." >> it's cute. it's like a little mini book. it's already in paperback so you only have to promote it once. >> they didn't want to make anything with the cover. it's as thin as all the pages. we are recycling. we are saving trees. >> when did you know this was going to be a hit? >> it was a one-off. jeremy bronson, my head writer came up with the idea and said maybe just a segment. every time you start a talk show you want a top ten list or headlines. this thing worked. we got twitter and facebook. people loved it. it's great, do it again. guys, i think we have a hit. then we went back and all the writers pitch in. it's like a joke bucket. everyone writes a thank you note. if something bothers you. i was at the store and bought a pack of gum and the receipt was two feet long. i go, you've got to be kidding. >> i love the thank you to the family that walks slowly in front of you and side by side so there is no way you can get around. >> it's a bar cade of idiots. i have to limbo under your arms. >> you don't want to be rude. >> here's one. we are going to read them. >> that's the fun part of the book. >> and there is the music. let's do it together. >> thank you, socks and sandals for being a look that proudly declares to the world, i left my fannie pack at home." >> socks and sandals. >> i like fannie packs. i'm the last one on the face of the earth who does. >> thank you person unwrapping a cough drop in the theater. i know you think unwrapping it slowly is somehow less offensive. it's not. i can hear every damn crinkle of that wrapper. are you rewrapping so you can unwrap it again? thank you. >> that's my mother, by the way. she smuggles in candy to the movie theater. they don't sell those things on purpose because of the wrapping. she is unwrapping this thing for 20. she is watching right now. >> it costs more in the broadway theater. >> can you get something that doesn't have a wrap? >> popcorn makes a noise. >> i remember hearing the thing going, pssss, i said did you smuggle a two-liter bottle of soda into the movies? >> why are you going to the movies with your mother? >> i've got to talk to you about that. >> that was sad. >> i love going out with my mom. she pays for the tickets. >> a few rows behind you. >> i don't sit together with her. i text her, what did you think of that scene? >> can you watch a sex scene with your mom there? >> oh, my goodness. we are irish catholic. we don't talk about that. i shower in the dark. i don't talk about what happens. no. we don't see movies any more together. i remember after that incident -- my wife is a producer so she made this movie. it was a serious scene. all of a sudden you hear this unwrapping and crinkling. i grabbed my mom's hand and said, stop it. stop it. is your breath that bad right now in the middle of the movie where you need a mint? just wait until the end of the scene. >> now you're making more noise than your mother with the wrapper. >> i wanted to escort her out of the place. it's unbelievable. she had a bum knee or something. she is walking around like ozzy osborne. sharon, i go, will you sit down? i could not believe that was my date to the movie. she is trouble. >> how was the end of "snl?" >> did you go partying until 5:00 in the morning. >> i forget that when the show ends, it's 1:00, but i had this whole fake chest hair. it was all glued. i had to get that off. b but i did. it's all crazy fake chest hair. by the time i got that off it's 2:00 in the morning. i went down to the star party. i had a couple of drinks, my wife goes, let's go. i only had two drinks. my wife goes, it's 5:00 in the morning. gaga was such a win. a lot of people think she is scary, she is weird. she was the nicest, most normal, funny, got the joke. her mom and dad were there. they didn't unwrap a candy. >> ice cream. what is going on sneer. >> i don't know. this is very exciting. >> ridiculous. >> sara. >> it was dripping. it's called being polite. >> i have these ben and jerry's late night snack, my own ice cream flavor. the money goes to fair trade university to teach kids what fair trade is all about. it's potato chip. >> vanilla bean with salty caramel swirl and fudge covered potato chip clusters. >> genius. >> i'm serious. >> i never eat this stuff, but i'd do anything for you once. >> oh, my god. the crunch of the chip. >> don't make sounds like that when we are all eating. >> what do you think? >> it's delicious. >> weird right. >> and it all goes to a good cause. we love you. we don't care what anybody says. you're a doll. >> thank you. >> up next, a lot of stuff. part of my job as a diabetes educator is teaching my patients how to start taking insulin. and i've learned a lot from patients who use levemir flexpen. flexpen comes pre-filled with my long-acting insulin, and i dial the exact dose of insulin i need. my flexpen is discreet and doesn't need to be refrigerated. and flexpen goes wherever i go. levemir is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. do not take if your blood sugar is too low. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. the most common side effect is low blood sugar. other possible side effects include reactions at the injection site. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat or sweating. ask your healthcare provider about levemir flexpen today. learn more about the different insulins available in flexpen at myflexpen.com. flexpen, insulin delivery that goes with you. it's nice 'n easy colorblend foam! permanent color with tones and highlights. now in a delightful foam. just three shakes, foam it, love it! it's foamtastic! new nice 'n easy colorblend foam. your right color. new nice 'n easy colorblend foam. ♪ call on me, brother, when you need a hand ♪ ♪ we all need somebody... brawny now comes with a money back guarantee. when you want a paper towel that can do it all, lean on me. ♪ when you need something strong ♪ brawny never lets you down. >>. >> time for webtastic. sara has the one video you want to share with all your friends. >> this week features two talented pianists. >> that's right. they don't play with their hands. they play with their [ bleep ] we'll see. ♪ >> now that's a party trick. >> that is in greece. >> it's greece's "who's got talent?" the question is are they really playing with their dot, dot, dot. >> a new joy fit club member. so i took my heartburn pill and some antacids. we're having mexican tonight, so another pill then? unless we eat later, then pill later? if i get a snack now, pill now? skip the snack, pill later... late dinner, pill now? aghh i've got heartburn in my head. [ male announcer ] stop the madness. take prilosec otc for frequent heartburn. one pill a day. twenty-four hours. zero heartburn. no heartburn in the first place. great. [ male announcer ] use as directed for 14 days. member. >> that was weird! we could be in for some stormy weather this afternoon. coming up on midday, tom kierein has a look at when we could see the highest risk for storms. good morning, everyone, i'm barbara harrison. also coming up, summer fashion trends. how to wear bright colors without looking like a clown. [ male announcer ] there's a new ride coming to busch gardens williamsburg -- mach tower. dude, it's like two hundred and... ...forty feet high... ...right in the middle of oktoberfest... ...the seats go, whoooa... ...up to the top, then... ...the music just stops. and the seats totally start shaking. it's insane. but then all of a sudden... [ group ] aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! [ male announcer ] mach tower. heart racing. jaw dropping. coming soon to busch gardens williamsburg. monday with today's buzz and all the juiciest, steamiest and sizzling celeb stories. >> today we have maureen o'connor with all the entertainment news you can handle. >> thank you for having me. >> maria and arnold, we've been reading lots. what is the latest you have on those two? >> over the weekend, "the new york post" reported that the 13-year-old boy arnold had with his housekeeper did not know until now arnold was his father. >> poor kid. >> he grew up calling somebody else dad. it came out that mildred baena, patty, they said she left on good terms. turns out she wasn't planning on retiring or five or six more years. this was sudden which feeds this idea that something happened suddenly. somebody figured out what was going on and they had to change the plans. they didn't know this secret was going to come out. >> maria hired a divorce attorney. is that the direction they're going? >> it is. she's been shopping for a condo. she has a divorce attorney. it's not clear if they are moving ahead. >> the kids are tweeting a lot. some of them are about forgiving. if you read between the lines, what's going on? >> the one thing between the lines that is telling is that patrick schwarzenegger who is 17 years old and was just profiled in "vanity fair" changed his name on twitter to patrick shriver. >> that says more than any tweet could. >> switching gears, i'm bummed i missed these last night. the billboard music awards were on and i heard there were terrific performances there. >> beyonce was fantastic. she performed "girls rule the world." she said, "i love jay zee" when she accepted her award. there it is. >> sasha fierce is back. >> right in front of the screen. >> that's crazy, huh? who else performed? what were the other big standouts? >> britney and rihanna performed together. interestingly after this song they performed together and they kissed, which reminds us of when britney kissed madonna. >> that's old and boring. >> the telecast seemed to know this. they did not show it on the telecast. they cut away. there are pictures of it because all the photographers were there. they didn't show it on tv. >> do you think the shock value is there? >> miley cyrus has same-sex titilation. if she is doing it, it's nothing now. >> they said this was the highest rated "snl" of the season with lady gaga and justin timberlake. >> little mons terse, her fans were lining up tuesday. she knows her fans are serious about her. she knows every person's name that loves her. >> when we were sitting there, they had it roped off for four seats. four fans outside in the rain got those four seats. crying. they were wearing the outfit -- they had it all going on. >> tiger woods for the first time not even in the top ten of the golfers, best golfers in the world. >> it's interesting this is happening the same time of the schwarzenegger scandal. we are seeing some of these guys have blowback from all their bad behavior. arnold was supposed to make a comic book about him. they scrapped both those. it's been a long time people haven been talking about how sexually aggressive he is. this is the first time his family is taking it seriously, his business enterprises seem damaged. >> thank you very much. good job. nice to see you. >> it was fun. thanks. >> up next, used to look like this. he lost a lot of weight. >> there you go. you're gonna look so handsome once i get these little white pieces off you. how many do i have? more than you think. 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[ sigh ] too bad you're not buying car insurance. like that's easy. oh, it is. progressive direct showed me their rates and the rates of their competitors. i saved hundreds when switching. we could use hundreds. yeah. wake up and smell the savings. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. time for a new installment of the "look at me joy fit club." >> he's kyle calder from waretown, new jersey. >> my name is kyle and i'm 32 years old. i started to gain weight in the second grade and it never stopped. i was lucky enough i was never bullied because of my weight but i was never more than the fat, funny friend. portions were a big problem for me. i would eat too much in one sitting and feel sick afterwards. i always wished i was thinner, but never motivated enough to actually do anything about it. after we were married, my wife and i started eating out three to four times a week. it was always something quick and fatty. by the time i was 27, my blood pressure was getting high and my doctor started me on medication. i had already developed sleep apnea and acid reflux. one day it clicked. i was tired of going to doctor after doctor because of issues involving my weight. i joined weight watchers weighing 323 pounds. i started keeping track of what i ate without giving up the foods i love. march 2010 i lost over 100 pounds. i can't believe i've been at my goal weight over a year. i feel so much better physically and have more energy to do the things i never did before. i'm now pursuing a masters degree while working full time and raising a newborn son. i love sharing my story because it makes me so happy to help others start their own journey towards success. >> sweet guy. before we meet kyle, let's talk to the leader of the joy fit club, joy bauer. >> i love this story. what i love most is his wife liz inspired him to lose weight. now he's inspiring a whole group of other people to lose weight. they lost over 500 pounds. >> still doing weight watchers. >> a little bit. they've taken the ball and run with it at this point. weight watchers was wonderful for them. >> he talked about portions. >> i think one of the most meaningful changes he make was lunch. he used to eat from the company cafeteria. it was a pay $5 all you can eat. it was pizza two, sodas, fries, grilled cheese sandwich, a couple of cookies, 2,800 calories. now he takes five to ten minutes in the morning and brown bags his lunch. 400 calories for a sandwich, portion-controlled amount of chips, sugar-free jell-o and water. >> i love that bread. >> it's the sand watch flat they come in whole wheat. >> i'm anxious to see kyle. here is kyle's before picture. kyle, come join the joy fit club. wow! i'm sorry. hello! you're half of yourself. >> kyle, good to see you. >> thank you. >> how long did it take you to take the weight off? >> it took about three years. >> were you consistent? sometimes when you start the weight comes off and you start feeling great. was it consistent throughout the time? >> it was. i hit a few plateaus here and there. other wise it's been great. >> did you start exercising as well? >> i did. i started resistance training. >> now you're studly man. >> i don't know about that. >> your wife was instrumental in this whole deal and happens to be standing right there you just had a new baby, right? >> four weeks ago. >> we want him to gain weight. >> what's it like seeing your husband this way now? >> it's wonderful. he can do things now he could never do before. >> such as? i didn't mean that. >> just simple things, yard work. i don't get tired as much. >> and he's off medication. >> you spend your whole life at doctors. >> i had sleep apnea, reflux, all gone. >> we are so happy for you. congratulations. okay, what's next? >> up next in the spirit of a before and after, take a look at these ladies. we are doing a hair before and after. love these. what makes hershey's s'mores special? hershey's chocolate goodness, that brings people together. hershey's makes it a s'more. you make it special. pure hershey's. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. progressive makes it easy because we give you choices. you can pick where to get your car fixed. we can cut you a check. or, at our service center, we take care of everything for you. ♪ [nervous laugh] whoo! so many choices. take your time. the service center. okay. giving you choices. now, that's progressive. call or click today. if you think you can't do a think with your hair, wait until you see the ladies we tra transformed from eek to chic. luis lacari rushed to the rescue. it's bad weather hair today. >> not only today, it's been a rough spring. >> we are going to meet these ladies. first up is lindsey. 24 years old. she entered the work place. is having trouble finding the perfect color for her hair. why don't we listen to her story. >> i have been graying since i was 14 years old. it's something i had to deal with my entire life. i tried the boxed stuff, i tried going to salons. no one knows the right color. i work part-time jobs so it's finding the money to get it professionally done is tough. >> i bet. 14. i don't think i ever heard that. >> it's -- lindsey has a heart problem. 14 is mature to go gray. she is not only a little gray, she is very gray. she's hooked into hair color. what lindsey did is decided to make her hair progressively blonder and blonder. what you have to do is ask the question, do i pick the color easiest to maintain or the color that suits you best? hopefully you'll compromise and find something more that suits you best. >> let's see lindsey's before picture. >> she is gorgeous. >> let's see the new lindsey. >> amy adams. >> she does. >> oh, i love it. that is so chic. >> if you look at lindsey. lindsey was a brunette. i brought her back to her brunette. she has soft highlights. when your hair color is not okay, when it has natural nuance color that looks real. i made her brown. dana gave her this great haircut. she has to look professional. she gave her this long fringe she can wear in front of her eye or tuck behind her ear. >> looks great. >> looks more chic and professional. >> you look great. >> awesome. brenda is 46 years old. classical musician from russia. she hasn't cut her hair in more than a year. >> i have problems coloring my hair every two weeks. and mix my own coloring. it's difficult. to feel beautiful and to look beautiful and to feel as i am young and sexy and 16. >> oh, my gosh. i can't wait. there is brenda's before picture. brenda is about to step out. let's see you, brenda. >> oh, yeah. >> see the difference? >> night and day. >> look in the picture. hair color, she used a supermarket hair color. what i did is i made her hair color deeper and dana gave her this layered bob haircut. the make-up is soft and beautiful. blonde hair is not always the answer. darker is often what makes you come alive. >> kathie, 44-year-old mother of five, too busy to go to the salon and cuts her own hair. let's see what she had to say. >> i want a makeover because i have five children. i have no time for myself. my hair routine basically is i take a shower, i wash it, i condition it, comb it, the end. dries by itself. if i had a celebrity to look like, i'd want to look like kathie lee. >> i'm sorry. and her name is kathy, too. >> thank you, darling. there she was before let's bring her out. >> let's see. >> that looks awesome. >> that is adorable. >> i love that hair. >> i love that smile, too. >> she is a star. cathy has five children. she didn't know what she looked like. she had brown hair. she gave herself highlights. i saw her eye color and said auburn is the new color. i made her hair this auburn. dana gave her this bob. you can flip, flop -- not flop, it flips. >> it's a home run. >> she has fine hair made to look fuller. >> you have five kids? >> one is right over there. >> come here, baby. >> look at this. how pretty is she? >> luis, thank you. we love you. >> these are great makeovers. thank you. >> next, international etiquette if you're headed overseas. [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. call now and you'll get this special bonus: $100 back. but hurry. this offer ends soon. fios is a 100% fiber optic network that delivers the best channel lineup, superior picture quality, and more hd, plus the fastest internet in the u.s., with no term contract required. why keep paying for cable? get fios tv, internet and phone for just $99.99 a month for a year. plus $100 back. don't wait. this incredible offer ends soon. call 1.877.827.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.827.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. get the network that delivers more. get fios. a network ahead. today's travel is brought to you by -- time for today's travel. if you're headed out of the country now is the perfect time to brush up on your etiquette. >> if you don't, it may wind up costing you more than you know. robert reed has trips. he is the travel editor of "lonely planet." >> don't worry too much though. wherever you go, you'll be fine. this is what makes travel fun. places where people do different things. >> we'll start with drinking because that's important to hoda. say you're traveling to australia. russia or armenia. three things we need to know. >> australia are fantastic. if you're there, they may invite you out for a shout. talking about drinking, getting each other rounds. they call them shouts. they keep mathematical track of who's got a shot or not. it ends up late. watch out. >> that's your round. >> shouts. you don't have to raise your voice. >> russia. >> i can tell you from personal experience the reputation russia is vodka nation is true. they do not sip vodka and they do not put it in sexy cocktails. you drink full shots and you toast to the betterment of all human beings, to health and things. if you start, know it's serious. >> i don't know how they function drinking like that. i really don't. >> armenians. >> i love this. in armenia there is a lot of wine and brandy. i brought you brandy to try this out. share it with your friends, but it's rude to pour the last drop of the bottle in someone else's glass. you've got to pour it in your own. whoever finishes has to buy the next battle. >> let's talk table manners. in portugal in a restaurant never ask for salt and pepper. >> if your food has been delivered. >> right. once it's on the table, this is a piece of art. it would be like going to the museum of modern art asking for oils to touch up the van gogh. this is the final masterpiece. >> in france there is an issue about deciding how to split the bill up at the table. i agree with that. >> i think we could use that true. faux pas is from france. they think going dutch, splitting the bill is the height of sophistication. if someone invites you out, you will probably get a free meal. you can do it the next time. >> that's what we do. it works out well. >> i think it's better than who got the iced tea. >> in mexico what happens? >> i love a place where even strange errs bond over food. if you just catch the eye of someone in a restaurant, if you're about to eat a taco, you say buen proveco. it's bigger than bon appetite. they want the food to be transformative to you. i love it. >> that's really sweet. >> guess who is coming tomorrow? >> jack black. healthy foods packing on the pounds. and furry friends. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com mach tower. dude, it's like two hundred and... ...forty feet high... ...right in the middle of oktoberfest... ...the seats go, whoooa... ...up to the top, then... ...the music just stops. and the seats totally start shaking. it's insane. but then all of a sudden... 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