with a young kennedy family member. over the arch. >> aaaahhh >> natalie and jenna are getting ready for the ride of a lifetime, a 200-foot plunge in the middle of the rocky mountains. the day takes off to a whole new level. >> nbc news, this is "today." with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. live from studio 1a in rocky fell ler plaza. >> good morning, everyone, welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i can't stand to watch natalie and jenna. >> 200-feet, 100 miles an hour. have we checked the seven second delay on our audio? it's wild. >> natalie. >> a company called acme. >> never a good sign. >> i'm sure we will see jenna and natalie do that feat live. a top story, a hostage situation that started out as a bank robbery, quickly took a dramatic and deadly turn in northern california. nbc's joe fryer is there live. good morning to you. >> reporter: it started at the west bank where robbers took three hostages. from there, a violent police chase and shootout that lasted over an hour and spanned a large area, leaving three people dead. two suspect itself and one hostage. >> i could see the car getting blasted. >> reporter: a scene out of an action movie played out on a california highway wednesday. >> i could see nothing but police cars on the bridge. cars were just, there it is, kind of mangled and all of a sudden i heard it, pow! pow, pow, pow! >> reporter: police say three men with ak-47 rifles robbed a bank of the west branch and took three fe pail hostages holding when points to their head. >> they weren't going to take no for an answer. even though cops were all around them. >> reporter: minutes later, they fled in an suv and the case began, first on the highway, then a shootout in a residential neighborhoo neighborhood. >> shots still being fired. >> reporter: the gunfire on this day was so reckless that mumtple uninvolved residences and vehicles were struck. >> reporter: during the chase, two hostage, both bank employees were either thrown or jumped from the vehicle. one suffered a gunshot wound. the other was grazed by a bullet. after the chase, a the third hostage, a bank customer, was found dead pence the suv. police believe the suspect used her as a shield during the shootout. >> i got down on my hands and knees and i hid behind the lawn mower. >> police say one suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. the second suspect was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead a. third suspect is still in the hospital and is expected to survive. >> during my 18 years of a law enforcement officer. this is the first time i seen this here in the city. >> reporter: dozens and dozens of shots were fired during that high speed chase. at least 14 police cars were hit, but no officers or bystanders. this morning, we are learning from police that the suspects were doultd gang members and relatives els tell us the hostage who died was a 41-year-old wife and mother, savannah, matt. >> thank you. we want to turn now to a temporary cease-fire in the middle east. israel and hamas have agreed to a cease-fire for aid and food to get to people who feed them the most. almost before it started, it appeared to be over. richard engel is in gaza city. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. for a few hours this city looked very different than it does right now a. brief humanitarian pause of the fighting was in place. people for the first time in ten days were able to go out of their homes, do a little shopping, go to visit their farms, go to the bank. now that humanitarian pause is certainly over. rockets are once again fired from gaza into israel. we heard several incoming strikes, incoming israeli airstrikes in gaza city. we have seen the black presumes of smoke in the city behind me. the question is, are we now seeing the final stages in this conflict? there are numerous reports that a permanent cease-fire deal could be in the works t. final details of that cease-fire have not been reached. a deal is being worked out. it comes after several palestinians were killed yesterday. yesterday, anise real shell sma smashed. it came without warning in broad daylight. a group of boys, cousins, playing on the beach ran for their lives until second later, another shell hits. israel claimed it was firing on hamas militants at the force him but the dead were four young boys several others from the same extended families were wounded, including this boys, he managed to crawl up the beach to a monita hotel. medics rushed in to take the wounded boy to the hospital. parents started to arrive, expecting the worst. a mother asks, where is my son? where is my love? then her worst fears came true. oh! oh! >> reporter: as word spread, the other boy's family came, too. "what were the boys doing, one father asks, they didn't have any rockets. pence the hospital, they spoke with the wounded boy. he could barely talk, shaking and bleeding. "we were playing," he said. i was withpy cousin. then they died. outside the crowds gathered and grief turned to anger over the deaths of four boys who just hours earlier had done nothing more than play on the beach. >> that was richard engel in gaza city. meantime the palestinian american boy family says he was beaten by israeli authorities is now back in the u.s. this morning. he had been visiting relatives in israel when he was arrested and allegedly beaten. last night he arrived in. fla, thanking family and friends for their support. >> i got to give back to you because i you you were all thinking of me, praying for me and sending a message to me. >> israeli police say he was arrested during a protest for his palestinian cousin, who was murdered. savannah. >> now a new nbc poll showing how tight race for president could be. this as new jersey governor chris christie heads to iowa. could he be dipping his toe in those presidential waters? >> nbc news political director conduct todd is here. we'll have more on that. good morning to you. let's start right there with chris christie. your poll is showing a crowded republican field and really yellow flags for christie. >> a ton. there is a reason. if he is going to run for president, he has a lot of work to do. he will be sitting in iowa a bit. that's the standing of the republican party and the candidate for republican voters in iowa, to look at unfavorable ratings. look at this, chris christie starts out as the most unpopular republicans thinking of running for president. paul is seen as the most popular, christie the least popular, savannah, as you know, this has to do with the fact he's not seen as a true conservative. they don't like he hung out with president obama during sandy, they don't like how he's appointed people to judges and things like that. so that's really the hole he has to did he go out of. >> let's go over to the democratic side. you are polling iowa, you have a lopside result, you have hillary clinton with the vice president joe biden. >> you do. maybe it's not a surprise hillary clinton is running away with this. remember, iowa was the beginning of the end of that first presidential campaign where barak obama caught her. this time, her numbers are better now than we've ever seen them before. democrats are ready for hillary. are independents and swing voters in these states? >> we asked you that question. when you do a general election, now who hillary clinton, you see a much tighter race. >> i do, look who we matched them up with. we matched her up with christie, jeb bush, scott walker, you name it. the best person who does hillary clinton is rand paul. look at this here. he ties her in iowa. it's a three-point race. savannah, i think this is an important point. people talk about jeb bush and chris christie, the actual republican front runner right now at the start of the race, rand paul. >> i know you are excited. 15 months away. give me an early vote. >> hey, hey. >> tamron is in for natalie getting ready to be thrown off a cliff. >> this is a big one, an arizona law maker is apologizing after he mistook a bus filled with ymca campers for a bus filled with children. tom. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the issue of how the migrant children is happening all over the country. one politician opposed to it took it one step further, threatening to confront one of the groups head on, a group of children, and he was live tweeting the whole way through. but those kids were going to summer camp oracle, arizona is the latest town torn in two. >> i am american. >> as pro testers await the possible arrival of buses carrying migrant children. >> why are you allowing these children to be used this way? >> reporter: at the scene tuesday, a republican, running for congress, when a school bus filled with children approach he tweeted, bus coming in. this is not compassion. this is the abrogation of the rule of law. >> i want people to see the children on the buses, the fear on their faces. >> reporter: it turns out, that bus was actually filled with ymca kids headed to day camp, which he learned from a reporter from an affiliate. >> did you know that was a bus with ymca kids. >> they were sad, too. i apologize, i was leaving when i saw that. that was school bus. people are not happy down the line, that's an error by me. >> reporter: sorry, if you are going to invite the media out to protest a bus carrying pieg grant children. make sure it's actually carrying migrant children. >> reporter: the intense border battle is a lightning rod to both sides, kwasman wrote, i apologize for the confusion, that was my error. as for the camp kids on the bus the y said they're unfazed. for the time being, kwasman left his tweeting to political events. he said think before you tweet. >> thank you, president obama announced new sanctions against russia on wednesday. they target major energy firms powerful financial institutions, the increased economic pressure is designed to end the insurgency in eastern ukraine. russian president vladmir putin says the latest round is not only hurting russian by person businesses. hey, check this woman who sent letters with eisen to the white house was sentenced to 18 years in prison. a federal judge gave shannon richardson the maximum sentence for smile i mailing three ricin-laced letters to president obama, former mayor michael bloomberg and a gun control group in 2013 and then blamed it on her estranged husband. a story about the man accused of breaking into sandra bullock's home. we incorrectly reported he is out on bail. he is, in fact, in the los angeles county jail on more than $2 million bail. from the list of the next video, it won't be wrong until we are all played by robots. this is the newest version of the humanoid robot. take a look at the way it walks. it's kind of sneaking up on you. the robot can now run, though, about five-and-a-half miles an hour, about two miles faster tan previous models. improved hand exeterty, it can open a bottle and pour a drink, it's a good friend. it can kick a soccer ball. its still not eligible for the world cup. hi, nice to meet you, too. >> he seems like a super fun guy. opens drinks, plays soccer, kind of saunters. >> it's a little. >> first we want to show you video coming out of central washington. almost 900 homes are being evacuated because of these wildfires that continue about waterbury state into oregon as well because of the heat and dry weather. that will continue for at least another 24 hours. in the mid-section over to the plains, we got a big, big problem. heavy thunderstorms, rain, however wind and flooding possible going on right now. in fact the town of value, i-35 is closed right now because of massive flooding. some areas pecked up four inches of rain in an hour and we're going to continue to see this heavy rain as this front just kind of mean ders across the area. we bought the the risk of strong storms from oklahoma all the way down into central texas rainfall apples will be very, very high, santa fe, little rock, flash flood watches and warnings, four to five inches of rain in atlanta and central oklahoma. it spreads out to arkansas, lousiana, a lot of flooding. we will keep an eye on this for you. we will get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month and make this the summer of style. ♪ thursday morning to you, i'm meteorologist christina loren. taking a live look here at mt. hamilton. beautiful start. sunol showing you the same clear sky. meanwhile, we have a little bit of moisture accumulating here on the lens. you might find a little drizzle out there at the immediate coast. that fog is going to clear quickly and we're going to see a really comfortable finish to the day. 79 in the south bay, 64 in san francisco. east shore's at 72 degrees. we'll stay steady all the way through your weekend. and that's your latest wet. matt. >> al, thank you very much. the next step for army sergeant bowe bergdahl, in the coming weeks, an army investigator is expected to questionle about the circumstances that led to his disappearance and cap cure in 2009. he could face a court marshall or going awol. sergeant bergdahl retained a civilian lawyer and expert eugene fidel. good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> after so much fanfare, the president met with his parents, top officials were quoting saying they didn't think he would face major punishment. then the criticism starts, the controversy starts. there is now a full fledged investigation. do you think the military is succumbing to public pressure on this? >> no, i really don't. obviously, there are a number of narratives competing for attention. part of it consmation on some people about the release anyone from guantonomo. there are people really invested in that issue. they would like to make sergeant bergdahl's case a punching bag because of that concern. >> you had read so much about the case before you met him. you now have the chance to sit down face-to-face with him. is he what you expected? >> i don't think i have a concept of what to expect. what i can say is my meeting with him in san antonio last woke was productive. i like him. for what it's worth, the chemistry is productive. you have to get along with your client. >> fellow soldiers have accused him of desertion. as you know the army alleged it was incomplete. they seem to conclude, in fact, he did walk away from duty. there is this e-mail from sergeant bergdahl to his parents, i'm ashamed to be an american him the title of the u.s. soldier is just the lie of fools. the horror of america is disgusting. how do you defend a guy against his own words? >> we don't have all the facts yet. i know more than you know. i know more than anybody knows about what happened here. i am perfectly comfortable defending him. this is not the place to layout a strategy him maybe kenneth staal doing the investigation will go out. he has a big team. >> he's back on active document is he proud to be wearing the uniform of the u.s. military? is he proud to be serving his country? >> yes, i believe he s. he is back to duty, non-com. >> is he going to stay in the military or looking to get out? >> i think he's ready for the next chapter. >> all right. thank you very much. >> ply pleasure. >> we will be following this story. let's go over to savannah. >> we have carson here the chatter about the natalie-jenna experiment. >> are you hashtag? >> no way. >> that's what they're up against today, jenna and natalie are out of their minds, where do you fare? we got the hashtag, there is not even a camera there. we have to hook up a gopro in there. there is the plunge. would you do it? i hashtag no way. hashtag no fear, matt, would you do that? >> yes. i would do that blindfolded. >> well, there is a plane leaving for denver if an hour. >> i want to have a mic on me when i do. >> all right. coming up, bizarre few revelations at the break-in at the famed kennedy compound. how the suspect was able to sit down and have a meal with a kennedy family member according to version. a man is missing of scuba diving with sharks. one of the dangerous creatures responsible. first, this is "today" on nbc. coming up, is 42 the new 20? >> plus the ice bucket challenge, who took me up on it? i you're watching "today in the bay." a very good morning to you, 7:26 i'm laura garcia-cannon. police in stockton have identified the surviving suspect in yesterday's deadly bank robbery and shootout. they say 19-year-old jamie reynolds of stockton was arrested on homicide, kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder charges. the investigation is also revealed the other two suspects who were killed by police were 30 and 27-year-old men and documented gang members. crime scene investigators are still on the scene. so far they have found three handguns and an assault rifle. a 53-year-old man is in custody in the men time accused of breaching security at sfo and posing as a security agent. the man reportedly got past the security check point in the international terminal on tuesday and pretended to be a security screener. investigators say he was drunk when he directed women into a private screening area and patted them down. so far, he's only been charged with a public drunkenness but could face more serious charges including false imprisonment. let's look at the forecast christina loren, it's going to be nice. >> it is, coolest day of the week, temperatures only maxing out in the upper 70s to low 80s ian in the hot spots. you don't need a jacket. even though your instincts might tell you to grab one. that's what happens in the bay area for a while, mostly cloudy to start. you're still in the 60s. i want to show you la honda, work down the peninsula. beautiful start here, low clouds, meanwhile the low clouds are fading fast in the south bay and temperatures here today will be comfortable, 79 for us, peninsula 74, 65 in sfraebs, wine country's at 80 and here's mike and the drive. northbound 101, not the only one for the south bay. this is it, 680 and 101, as we show you the maps, extends from here into sunnyville and mountain view. look at the slow drive for 101 and westbound 237 also. they merge, the con jenks point, earlier crash kicked that off. 280 slow downtown and up towards the 880 interchange and there's the ripple affect over through the area. also in directions northbound, there's a crash blocking one lane slowing from both directions, laura, back to you. we'll be back with another local news update in a half hour, see you then. here we go. [ cheers and applause ] >> . our temperatures are going to start to moderate as of today. we've got a beautiful day ahead, starting with a live look here overcast sky over san francisco. mostly sunny meanwhile over san jose and look at this, beautiful start down in santa cruz, very little low cloud cover here. nonetheless, temperatures are going to be perfect. a little bit below average, 79 in the south bay, 72 on the east shore, 64 in san francisco, even the hot spots only reaching into the low 80s for today. and as we get into that weekend, temperatures level off. ♪ shield...sneeze...swish. shield...sneeze...swish. ♪ ♪ this back to school, there's a new routine. ♪ ♪ grab a kleenex tissue, to help keep your hands clean. ♪ ♪ shield...sneeze...swish. ♪ shield...sneeze...swish. ♪ la...la....la...la... this back to school, start the year off right with kleenex tissues. ♪ they're thick and absorbent to help keep stuff off kids' hands. pick some kleenex tissues up today. i think i'm getting the hang of it. 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(announcer) tidy cats lightweight. all the strength, half the weight. we're back now at 7:43 with a scare in the skies over southern florida.3 c3 cielos de la florida, donde un thousands of people looked on. an investigation is under way after an unmanned drone nearly crashed into a helicopter. and this is, of course, reigniting the debate over drone regulations throughout the country. nbc's tom costello has much more on this. tom, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the helicopter was filming an early morning charity run in sunrise, florida, early morning, when the crew spotted an unidentified aircraft in its path. it was this drone moving its way and getting closer by the second. this is what the helicopter's pilot and cameraman spotted in may hovering in the pre-dawn sky. pilot paul barth says it was an unmanned drone with colorful lights on an apparent collision course with his helicopter. >> it came at us, it went right underneath us. if that drone had hit my tail rotor and taken me down, i would have come down on 2,000 people in the streets. >> reporter: disaster averted, barth followed the drone and his cameraman shot this video of its operator. his name is jeffrey civitano and he holds a commercial pilot's license. nbc station wtvj spoke with him by phone. >> my objective was to yield the right-of-way to him as a full-size aircraft and to get back on the ground as quickly and safely as possible. >> reporter: both men contacted the faa. he says this sort of thing has happened before. the proof is this youtube video from a different drone of his helicopter on a separate occasion. >> drone technology and capabilities are both way ahead of the law. for example, privacy is a real issue with drones. drones are capable of doing many different types of surveillance. >> reporter: that can lead to confusion and confrontation. >> yeah, you want to take pictures? >> reporter: police say a teenager in connecticut was assaulted after his drone was spotted flying over beachgoers. a seattle woman got the surprise of her life last month when she saw a drone out the window of her 26th floor apartment. >> it was pretty scary. then i realized i had no clothes on. >> reporter: the operator of that drone apologized. he had been hired to snap pictures of real estate, one of a growing number of uses for the 7,500 small commercial drones the faa now estimates will be in use by 2018. that number could grow. just last week, amazon sent a letter to the faa urging the agency to ease restrictions so amazon can further test its drone delivery system. congress has asked the faa to come up with new safety guidelines for civilian drones by next year. as for that near-collision in florida, the faa says it's investigating. amateur drones flown by a hobbyist are supposed to stay well below 400 feet. guys? >> tom, thank you very much. coming up, who took me up on doing this? we'll reveal the next person to take the ice bucket challenge. up next, a little throwback thursday. carson has some letters from camp in the orange room. we'll check in with him in just a bit. >> send cash. two medium cappuccinos! let's show 'em what a breakfast with whole grain fiber can do. one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate hold the whip, two espressos. make one a double. she's full and focused. 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"dear parents, i have been forced to write letters. otherwise, i can't have dinner. but otherwise i am having a good time." [ laughter ]. >> this is a great one. a little hard to read. "how are you? i want to go home now. i love you very much. around dinner, i cry and miss you. please reply or come." this is the best part of this one from grayson, "these wet spots are my tears." grayson cried on the letter and sent it to mom and dad. >> that's horrible! >> jamie writes, "sorry i have not sent a letter yet. i think my other letter got lost in the mail. i miss you all so badly i could barf. not really barf. but i do miss you very much. stay strong, mom and dad." keep them coming. so much fun to read. if you've tweeted #orangeroom. speaking of twitter, the hashtag battle for the big pterodactyl run that jenna and natalie will take is at -- we don't have it up. 52 say no way, 48 say no fear. i would have no problem doing it. we'll see those girls take the plunge live in little bit. >> by the way, do you have any letters that start, "hello mudda, hello fadda." coming up in trending, why is there a backlash over one men's magazine that claims 42 is the perfect age for women? are you as nervous as we are? we'll check back in with natalie and jenna who are about to get launched 100 miles an hour into a canyon. michael buble on the joys of fatherhood and taking his whole family, including the baby, on tour. major makeover let's do we got this and a whole lotta look what we did then let's sit back and enjoy the view. let's do this. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. for a limited time shop our newest vanities starting just one hundred eighty nine bucks of swedish experience in insidperfecting the rich,ars never bitter taste of gevalia. we do it all for this very experience. 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[ male announcer ] your favorite bars: bite-sized. two phones got you too through? mcdonald's bacon clubhouse is a new breakthrough in break time. connect with one-of-a-kind big mac special sauce on 100% pure beef. a break this important both hands. are you about to spend that on paper towels? mom: well, i use bounty... kerri: ooo! use sparkle®... it's just right for cleaning up everyday little messes without cleaning out your piggy bank. sparkle®. the bright way to clean. we're getting ready to take the ride of our lives. good morning erin, 7:56, half hour we could find out whether prosecutors will file charges against the santa rosa mother accused of attacking a 12-year-old boy at school. the boy was allegedly bullied by the woman's daughter, or bullying the woman's daughter rather. delia garcia bratcher was arrested in may after investigators say she went top her young daughter's school during lunch, grabbed the boy by the throat. her attorney says she confronted him, but never touched. several children support that claim. private investigator say the boy choked himself. she'll be in court at 8:30. we'll have a reporter at the courthouse and have more information as soon as it's available to us. in the men time, let's check your -- meantime, let's check your weather. >> good morning, live look just a beautiful start here in lo los gatos. little bit of lingering cloud cover, it's going to fade fast. meanwhile in tibarron, you're going to be stocked in with fog, we'll all see a beautiful, sunny finish to the day and comfortable temperatures. the east shore's at 72, 64 in san francisco, and even in the hot spots, just the low 80s for today. let's get right over to mike with a traffic alert. yeah christina, however, this is the camera over there off seaport boulevard. now look at this live shot. and you see they aring that overturned rig. closed two of your three lanes for eastbound seaport boulevard. now they scheduled it to be open at 7:30, clearly that's not yet the case, they are making good progress on that. we'll continue to track that. you can get by in one lane, that's to the east side. meanwhile, congestion as you get off the off-ramp, they're just south bay, dramatic slowing for 280, earlier crash and slowing towards mountain view as well. >> good stuff. thank you. we'll have another local news update in a half hour. . it's 8:00 on3 c3 today. a continuación, we'll show you how. plus, free falling. natalie and jenna bush hagar are set to be launched into a colorado canyon at nearly 100 miles an hour as "today" takes off. and the bubls hit the road. we'll talk to michael buble about music, family, and what it is like to take a 10-month-old on tour. >> he really likes this. ooh! >> today, thursday, july 17th, 2014. we're from texas. hey, y'all! >> up on the "today" show! >> hey, how's it going? >> hi! >> it's my 50th birthday. i love matt. >> we love al roker! ooh! >> woo hoo! >> welcome back to "today" on this great thursday morning. the weather is beautiful. the crowd is happy. the music is good. tamron picked a good one today for throwback thursday. >> like that. >> well played, miss tamron. >> absolutely. >> we're just moments away from the big jump. >> we've been talking about this ride all morning long. natalie and jenna out there in colorado as part of "today takes off." we understand there may be a little mechanical issue. let's go to our ladies. what's going on? >> i know. if we could build the drama any more here. i got to tell you. i mean, the drama is certainly building and the tension as well because we've just been told in the last couple minutes there is a little bit of a sensor issue. so grant carrie is the general manager. what does this mean? >> the high humidity is affecting some of the very sensitive work that is in the computer so there is no problem with the ride. technically, there is no problem. it's just that there are about 50 sensors on the ride and all 50 have to talk to each other at one time. if they don't all talk, then it has a delay. so, in this case, we're just making sure that all the sensors talk together. >> yes. >> and there is no danger in the ride, itself. it's just mechanical. and the engineers are here. they've created the ride from soaring eagle. there is really not a problem. it can even be manually run if we have to. >> so we're going to be safe. >> we're going to get to go. >> you're still going to get to go. >> it'll come back, right? >> it'll come back. >> you know what? we can go down and have a cup of coffee. >> that's right. come in the cave and we'll do a cave tour for that. >> i'm for that. i don't think we have to worry about it. obviously if there are any issues we will not do this. >> no. >> it looks like it's going to be fine. >> we're excited to do it. >> in the live shot. >> now we're terrified. >> we'll check back in, ladies. good luck with that. >> it'll work. >> i was going to say, okay. >> why do you say, technically there is no problem? >> no way. >> really trending. we'll check back and make sure it's all safe. >> something else we've been talking about all morning -- who took me up on the ice bucket challenge? i took it on tuesday after being called out by my pal greg norman and i challenged three people to do it as well. brian williams, martha stewart, and howard stern. as we told you earlier, one of them has accepted. who was it? well, take a look. >> hi, matt. it's martha. i accept your challenge. what the heck. doesn't matter. pour a bucket of ice over my head. it's pretty cold, too. very cold. >> it is. >> and i challenge gwenyth paltrow. i challenge blake blithely and ellen degeneres. they have to do the same thing that i'm doing. i'm sure it'll be very stylish. here goes one, two, three. >> okay. >> ooh! >> does that satisfy you, matt? >> well, yes, it does satisfy me, martha. well played there ms. stewart. a reminder, gwenyth paltrow, ellen degeneres, and we'll keep you posted on how they do. brian, howard, still waiting to hear from you. >> over to you guys. let's head over to tamron in for natalie this morning. good morning everyone. police are investigating a wild chase and shootout in northern california that left three people dead. officials in stockton say three men with assault rifles robbed a bank then took several people hostage. one of the hostages was thrown from a moving vehicle during a nearly hour-long pursuit. the chase ended with a shootout in a residential neighborhood. when it was over, one female hostage and two suspects were dead. no officers or bystanders were hurt. israel and hamas were said to be making progress this morning toward a cease-fire in their two-week border war. however, israel said three mortars were fired from gaza during a five-hour humanitarian cease-fire today. hours before that truce, an israeli air strike destroyed a hamas leader's home and israel said it caught palestinian fighters who had tunneled under the border. this morning in texas, online donations for a family of six, gunned down last week, have reached almost $400,000. this as the sole survivor, a teenage girl, attended her family's funeral. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the story. >> reporter: six caskets, an overwhelming loss. at first you wouldn't know it from looking at 15-year-old cassi cassidy, the massacre's sole survivor. >> she is amazing. she is every bit as strong as she portrays herself to be. >> stay strong is this community's new motto, after a gunman who police say was looking for his ex-wife broke into his former sister-in-law's house. along with her parents and four siblings, police say cassidy was shot execution style, but the bullet just grazed her. cameras weren't allowed inside the church, but reporters were invited. the mood was one not of sadness but of hope. 13-year-old brian gave great hugs. so did 9-year-old emily. 4-year-old zach loved music and chicken nuggets. his older sister, rebecca, was nervous zach would grow taller than she was. their dad, steven, was remembered as a committed family man. as for his wife, katy, she will forever be our mary poppins -- practically perfect in every way. >> they were a real family. they were human just like anybody else, but they tried every day to be better and taught their kids to be better. >> reporter: as mourners left the church, the girl who stayed so strong could not help but cry. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, houston. breaking news for microsoft this morning the tech giant announcing it will eliminate up to 18,000 jobs over the next year. that number includes both factory and management positions. the cuts will come as microsoft absorbs the nokia device business it bought in april. in its e-mail to employees the ceo said the changes are needed to become more agile and move faster. more than 125 passengers and crew members from a stranded casino ship woke up on dry land this morning. they spent nearly a full day on the waves after the ship ran aground early wednesday off georgia. efforts to refloat the vessel failed, so the coast guard ferried everyone back to shore. the casino ship was on its maiden voyage. for the first time, a female athlete has qualified for the final round of american ninja warrior. mighty casey aced the obstacle course while seeming to barely break a sweat. the five-foot tall, 100-pound former gymnast will now go up against men nearly twice her size at the finals. okay. i'm going to say it. girl power! go mighty casey. it is 8:08. let's get another check on the weather with al. >> oh, thanks so much, tamron. got a lot of fun folks hanging out. you want to wish your aunt chris good luck? >> yep. she is getting her first chemo treatment for pancreatic cancer on friday. >> god bless her. we'll say a prayer for her. thanks so much. let's show you what's happening as far as your weather. our pick city, kare nbc 11. fantastic weather right into the weekend. temperatures in the low 80s. and, unfortunately, it is not the same over dallas. heavy rain has been falling. if there is a silver lining, there is rain getting into where they need it in the drought areas. so that'll be good. but as you can see, the next 24 hours at least 4 to 5 inches of rain along the oklahoma/texas border and you can see over the next two days it expands out into arkansas and northern mississippi as well. for today, the rest of the country, eastern seaboard, fantastic. gorgeous up into the plains. temperatures have finally started 8:10. happy thursday to you, as we round third, getting ready to hit home base. we've got a gorgeous finish to your week. and i can tell you, we had a hot, humid start. we're going to finish things off right. 65 degrees in san francisco. 74 for the peninsula, 82 in places like napa, you'll hit 80 in santa rosa for today. and oaktown, 72 degrees and that's it. and yeah, beautiful conditions, even out in the tri-valley, low 80s coming your way. as we get into the weekend, temperatures stay steady, we hit that sweet stride. and that's your latest weather. >> all right. al. thanks. coming up on "trending, what is patricia after a starbucks barista gets their hands on your coffee cup? a hilarious new look at new names. >> creative stuff we might say. and the suspense is building in colorado. will natalie and jenna be able to take off as planned on the 200-foot plunge? we'll find out in a few moments. what is it like to take a 10-month-old on tour? we'll talk to michael buble about his music and his family. >> but first these messages. you can hide uneven skin tone from here. but what about here? 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"esquire" magazine has a piece called "in praise of 42-year-old women." so good, so far. here is what he writes, let's face it. there used to be something tragic about even the most beautiful 42-year-old woman. if she mained sexual she was either predatory or desperate. if she remained beautiful, what gave her beauty force was the fact it's fading. if she remained alone, well, then god help her. i tweeted this out but hadn't read the article. i was like, yay. >> i'm 43. savannah taught me a new word. i'm not going to say it. the 20-year-old me would have called them that. the 43-year-old me said, that's scary. >> the magazine says times have definitely changed pointing to sexy stars by cameron diaz, sophia very gar row and jennifer garner in. we would point to our own savannah and natalie. a lot of critics calling it sexist and outdated. others saying it's more about con grgratulating men for findi them attractive. "esquire" magazine has no comment except to say the magazine is on sale right now. >> you always say something. >> hey, listen. the lesson here is before you tweet an article, you should tweet an article. that's the message. >> i read the headline and i was like, that sound good. >> you might want to avoid talking about school buses. today on today.com, a heartwarming letter every parent and child must see. an 11-year-old from the uk named charlie got the letter in the maim along with his standardized test scores. every student who took the test got the same letter. here is what members of the faculty wrote. these tests do not always assess all of what it is that makes each of you special and unique. >> the letter goes on to say "the scores you let will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything." the letter ends reminding students there are many ways to be smart. charlie's mom allison says the letter they got brought her to tears. >> we love this. >> love it. >> great letter. have you ever visited a starbucks and give your name to the barista only to find something completely different scribbled on your cup. a whole blog devoted to it. ivillage gather add few. one customer gone olorn. she said her name was lauren. how about botchadra even though it was supposed to be patricia. look at this one. oh monica. problem is it is juanita. here is one for delaney. they went for kelly's friend. i had somebody write rock on mine. a little confused. >> that's what's trending today. up next, would you know how to break into a car if you saw a child locked inside that hot vehicle? we'll be back in 30 seconds. we're back with the growing national conversation on how to prevent tragedy after the death of the child who was left inside a hot car in georgia. this morning nbc's kerry sanders is in shambly, georgia, with what you can do to possibly help save a child's life. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i have safety gear on from dekalb county fire and rescue. what we'll demonstrate is what you need is, how difficult it is to smash a window on a car. you're in a situation where you see a child. the easiest thing you can gather is a tire iron. you want to stand back a little bit so when it shatters it didn't get you. a gentle tap, didn't break, harder, doesn't break. even harder. one more time. what do you do if you find yourself in this situation? take a look. it can happen to anyone. a mother in katy, texas, accidentally locks herkies in the car along with her two children. onlookers quickly rush to help her, breaking a window, allowing the mom to pull her kids to safety. not every story has a happy ending. on a hot day, a closed car can reach temperatures over 100 degrees in just 15 minutes. at 107 degrees children can die. so far this year at least 17 children have died in hot vehicles. according to kids and cars.org, and who it's happening to may surprise you. >> 90% of the time it's the best parents you could ever imagine. >> reporter: texas, florida, california and arizona lied the nation in the number of children who die in cars from heat stroke. the danger triggered a new good samaritan law in tennessee. it allows anyone to break into a locked hot car when they see a child alone and in trouble. but breaking a car window is not easy, even for professionals. the bottom line, they say, kids should never be left alone in a locked car on a hot day. >> we all need to be involved in making sure our children stay safe. >> eric jackson is here from dekalb county fire rescue. the window in a car is five times stronger than the glass you have at home. it takes 15,000 pounds per square inch to break a window oovps. i go back like that. even that, it's not breaking. what am i doing wrong? >> you're hitting it in the wrong spot. if you hit it in the corner, that's the weakest part of the window. go ahead and take it. >> reporter: you explain to me, don't push the glass in, but go nand pull it out. >> if you keep pulling it, you pull out the entire window. now at this point you can reach in, open the door and get into the back seat and pull out the baby. >> reporter: question for you. i'm in a parking lot. i see a child and i say to my sefshlgs oh, my god, where is the mother, where is the father? they left the child in there. do i dial 911, immediately get a tire iron? >> you want to dial 911 and have the fire department en route to that location so the firefighters considerable prepared to get the baby out. >> usually a three or four-minute response time. what if i see the child and i see the head is dropped over and this is an emergency. go ahead and break the window? >> go ahead and take the glass. >> reporter: you'll demonstrate aa piece of equipment that you carry. >> we have a spring-loaded center punch. this is something we can utilize to break the window. we go for the corner, the same thing, and we would do, in fact, the same thing with our glove. we use it to clear out the glass. as you see, we can take out the glass, reach in, pull the handle, open the door and go nand get the baby. >> reporter: in an emergency with a panic going, somebody might say let me grab the baby and pull it out. you still have glass here that can cut the child. once you get the door open, take a deep breath and move methodically. >> that's correct. >> reporter: i think it's useful device. this device here, they sell these at automotive stores. they're popular not only in areas where it gets hot, but also in areas of this country where there is a lot of water. sometimes cars go in the water and people use this so they can actually punch the window out if they're inside the car and the car went in the water and they can't get the window or door open because of pressure. >> that's correct. there's another device that has the same effect that you can also buy to break that window out, to have the same effect as the spring-loaded center punch. >> reporter: eric, thank you for joining us and explaining it to us. useful advice. >> i had no idea that was the weak spot on a window. i would have tried to smash in the middle. >> i'm one-clicking the center punch on amazon. >> they have one that has a razor where if you're trapped, you can cut the seat belt. they're good to go with the pterodactyl. we'll get to that in the next half hour. first we'll take a look at these messages from your local news. a very good morning to you. it is 8:26 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. we are learning more about the deadly bank robbery and shoot-out in stockton. stockton police say the suspects involved were members of the one of the most violent gangs in the city. we have a picture of 19-year-old hami ramos of stockton as well. he is the only surviving suspect. the other two were killed by police and have not been i.d.'d. there is that picture of ramos right there. investigators still don't -- day don't have a motive, but they say the suspect came armed for a fight to that bank. they were loaded with magazines, strapped to their bodies. investigators are still on the scene, collecting bullets and looking for crews. we have a crew in stockton. of course, we'll bring you more information when it's available to us. sadly, a woman was held hostage and she was eventually killed as well. let's move on to the morning commute now with mike. >> all right, laura. we have our crew over there in redwood city, and all lanes are now open at c4 boulevard. that's better news. 101 in san jose, recovering a little with speeds. a very slow drive, it has been this morning for 101, up towards 237. things starting to move much better for all of your northbound routes through the south bay, including for mountain view, along the peninsula, an easy drive. dumbarton bridge, a little slower than you might like. >> thank you very much. another update in half an hour. see you then. wlp blp. >> announcer: "today takes off" is brought to you by capital one. what's in your wallet? 8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 17th of july, 2014. and the moment is here. we're on "today takes off." this week it might be the most literal translation of that yet. we've got jenna and natalie out in colorado about to ride the pterodactyl, and it's all systems go. ladies, take it away. >> all right. well, here we go. we're ready, alex. go ahead, press that button. >> oh, no. here we go. >> ahh! >> jenna is terrified. >> jenna's face. >> ah! >> i'm terrified. >> no, no! i want to hold your hand. i want to hold your hand. [ laughter ]. >> i love you mila. i love you. >> kids, we're okay. >> ready? >> there they go. >> it's slow. >> and now it releases. >> whoa! >> where are they? >> mommy! mommy! >> oh, my god. >> it's beautiful. >> hallelujah! [ laughter ]. >> this is absolutely terrifying. >> now they're just swinging 200 feet in that canyon. what we haven't told them one of the sensor issues does make it impossible for them to retract it. we'll see you next week, ladies. >> let's go again! let's go again! >> she's singing a different tune. >> jenna and natalie, can you hear us? >> yes. it's awesome. we love it. >> jenna, you seemed very calm and collected during that. how did it feel? >> i was terrified. >> she was shaking like a leaf. >> i wanted to hold natalie's hand. at the very end she tried to take it away from me. we're still holding hands. i'm just happy i didn't wet this little seat. >> it was awesome. >> by the way, jenna, you were screaming before you even moved an inch. let's see this one more time. >> savannah, have you ever been pushed into a canyon? >> ah! ah! mommy! mommy! >> mommy! mommy! >> #mommy is trending right now. >> i love the "mommy." can you imagine the former first lady sitting at home. sorry, mrs. bush. >> mommy was our code word. >> it was for every expletive we should have been saying. >> it stands for a few other things that we don't say at 7:00 a.m. >> a new item on my bucket list. i want to go to universal with you. i want to ride all the rides with you. >> we did it. yay! hallelujah. >> that's impressive. >> al, how about a check of the weather? >> that's impressive. it really is. let's show you what we have for you today. we are looking at plenty of sunshine in the east on saturday. wet weather through the gulf coast. also expecting a few showers in the pacific northwest. moving ahead towards the rest of your weekend sunday, rain in the upper ohio river valley, gulf coast into the great lakes. look for a beautiful day through the southwest on in to southern california. l.a. looking for sunny skies and 74 degrees. that's what's going on around the country. here is wh 8:34. taking a live look at los gatos. here we're talking about sunny skies and maybe 78 degrees. that's it. in the south bay, a beautiful day, 79 for us here in san jose. tiburon looking great. all this cloud cover is going to keep your temperatures nice and comfortable in the north bay this afternoon. up to about 75 degrees and that's it for the north bay. 79 in the south bay. 74 drivewegrees along the penin. and yes, 65, comfortable day shaping up for you in the city by the bay with a building ocean breeze. beautiful evening temperatures ahead as well. so proud of jenna showing her daughter mila how to be strong and brave. >> how about natalie? she's totally zen. barely breaks a sweat. i'm impressed. pretty cool. >> still to come. a new look at love in the modern world. up next, how carson is getting kids to eat their fruits and vegetables. but first this is "today" on nbc. but first this is "today" on nbc. for the freshest produce you want to be close to the people who are close to the land. that's why safeway works with over 150 local growers. the folks whose hands are in the soil. planting and nurturing the kind of delicious produce that gets delivered daily to safeway. so there's more local produce to love. like this week, locally grown g&s farms sweet corn is just 8 for $2.00. safeway, ingredients for life. we're back at 8:37 with our "shine a light" series. it's a year long commitment to giving back. carson has helped build school gardens to help raise awareness about childhood hunger and obesity. carson, that's a good cause. >> yeah, it is. and i teamed up with three adjoining schools in brooklyn. i told the kids if they'd help me build and take care of this garden, that i bet they'd actually start to like vegetables. it took a while, but i think i got them to realize it. >> i have a vision. right where i am, you know what i see? i see a beautiful apple tree. who likes apples? >> reporter: when i first sprung the idea of a garden on these brooklyn elementary school kids, the reactions were mixed. >> who is with me on that? >> he told us there is going to be a garden and everybody was just like, what? what are you talking about? >> reporter: to make a point in an earlier story, i filmed the kids enjoying piles of junk food and they were hooked. but a platter of harmless vegetables -- >> ready, voila -- look at this. >> reporter: -- was worse than cooties. you're not going to die. >> he said he would promise us that we would like vegetables at the end of the summer. i don't think it will happen. >> reporter: as we spent the next few weeks building. this is an nbc news special report. here is matt lauer and savannah guthrie. good afternoon, good morning, everyone. matt lauer with savannah gut re. this is an nbc special report. the news we bring you today is a little difficult to track down and confirm, but we are getting a lot of reports, especially over social media and other sources that a plane has crashed somewhere near the ukraine, russia border. we are being told this is a malaysia air flight that started in amsterdam on its way to koala lumpur. >> apparently this happened somewhere near the ukrainian russian border in that air space. want to get to tom costello. as we said, multiple news organizations report 295 souls on board. what's the latest you have been able to find out? >> reporter: this is malaysia flight 1-7, amsterdam to koala lumpur, a boeing 777 it has gone down. we are led to believe from reports from inter fax news agency from russia and the ap and reuters, gone down near the ukrainian russian border, of course an area that's been the scene of a great deal of military conflict. from are reports from interfax that the plane was shot 20 miles short of russian air space. nbc news has not been able to c confirm it. there are reports that it was shot short of russian air space. 280 passengers 280 passengers on board and 15 crew members, coming months after a flight disappeared on a flight to china from koala lumpur, and the search still continues for that plane, believed to have gone missing somewhere in the south indian ocean off the coast of australia. they still haven't found any sign of that plane. but this is an unrelated incident, and again, a report that this plane missing and has gone down near the ukrainian, russian border, possibly shot down. >> a couple of things here. there have been reports on social media that there might be video circulating. amateur video of a plane on fire in that area. interesting report from sky news, and it says this, malaysia airlines confirms incident, tom, on board one of its flights. amid reports of a plane crash in ukraine. the wording on board one of its flights is what catches me. >> reporter: yeah, and we don't have any more than that. this just crossing, adviser to ukraine's interior minister, according to ap, says a malaysian plane carrying 295 on board has been shot down over a town in the east of ukraine. this is coming from an adviser to ukraine's interior ministry using that language, shot down. of course, we don't have that independently ourselves. i have seen that video, i would tell you, that social media video. it looks like a very large explosion or fire. we have no way to know if that is, in fact, a plane burning and on fire, and have no idea what plane, if any is on fire in that video. >> tom, we are all digesting this together. here is an authoritative source. it would seem a tweet saying it has lost contact with mh 17 which originated from amsterdam. the last known position was over ukrainian air space, and the airline says more details will follow. >> we want to mention it is plus seven hours in that area now, coming up on 6:30 in the evening in ukraine. this would have been about a 12 hour flight from amsterdam to koala lumpur, so somewhere about halfway through, maybe a little bit before halfway through that flight when whatever happened on board or to that flight did occur. let's bring in former investigator greg fife. good morning to you. what are you starting to hear and what can you put together from these pieces of information? >> based on what tom talked about, that is the initial information. right now, the faa and boeing are working to obtain additional information. boeing typically has service reps in the area, they'll be able to get some on the ground information. of course, the faa will be talking to their counter parts around the world, including malaysia airlines to see what in fact has occurred with the loss of contact with this airplane. >> greg, you are an aviation expert, not necessarily a military expert. when we're starting to hear reports this plane was possibly shot down, it would have been traveling above 30,000 feet at this stage in its flight. what can you tell us based on that information? >> there's going to be coordination between the faa, our military, and all our military intelligence in that region because like you said, if it was at high altitude, it would have taken a high altitude or aircraft that could fire at high altitude, unless there was a ground based missile that was fired. again, satellite data will confirm that, intelligence will confirm that. then of course any kind of investigative activity that takes place will be looking for those tell tale signs of shoot down or explosion type event that will confirm or validate whether in fact this was a shoot down. >> we should mention this isn't happening just anywhere, apparently happening on that tense border between ukraine and russia. there have been reports of russian fighter jets, shoot downs happening in that area recently, so it is worth bringing in michael lighter, nbc security analyst, he is on the phone with us. michael, as we very well know, we have sketchy details now. set the stage for us because this is happening in an extremely volatile area of the world. >> yeah, you're obviously right. there's been enormous amount of conflict there, including some surface to air missile fire taking down several ukrainian jets and some arguments from the ukrainian side that the recent take down of ukrainian military flight was from a surface to air missile on the russian side of the border. given the altitude of the plane, if this was, we have to stress if this was a surface to air missile, this almost certainly has to be a radar guided high altitude missile, the standard mobile infrared shoulder fired missiles generally wouldn't get to altitude of 30,000 plus feet, so it certainly is a possibility. there has been confusion in the past where civilian airliners have been taken down when they're intense areas, most notably, of course, the u.s. shooting down an iranian passenger plane in the '80s in the persian gulf. >> michael, are you in a place where you can see ourík/$ pictur are you just in a place where you can hear us? >> just hear you, matt. i am on the way to the studio. >> for viewers, i want to tell people. we are going to run a piece of video, a youtube video, amateur video. i want to tell you now, we cannot confirm the reliability of this video, that this has something to do with this subject we are talking about, this loss of this aircraft, but this is that video that purports to be of the crash of this flight, malaysia air flight 17 somewhere inside ukraine, not far from the russian border. this is the video that's now making the rounds on social media. again, we cannot at nbc news independently confirm that this is authentic video. >> for what it is worth, all of the reports that are out there suggesting it could have been shot down are coming from within ukraine. an adviser to the ukraine interior minister being cited by other journalists in the area, we have not confirmed that. as far as the official word, the best from malaysia air, they have lost contact with flight 17, which was on route from amsterdam to koala lumpur today. >> that brief report from sky news earlier, citing malaysia air officials saying they have reports of an incident on board one of their flights, don't know if that's lost in translation with a different language,k7 they meant something happened on the plane or something happened with one of the flights. to recap, we believe, we no independent confirmation of this, that malaysia air flight 17 has been involved in some major difficulty that is a 777 aircraft, possibly as many as 295 people on board, maybe 280 passengers. 15 members of crew. traveling today from amsterdam to koala lumpur. it has reportedly crashed somewhere about a third way through the flight. >> many reports are coming in it was possibly shot down. if so, it is assumed it would have been traveling at a height of something around 30,000 feet. do we still have tom costello, we can check in, see if he has been able to glean more. >> reporter: malaysia airlines says in a tweet, did lose contact with flight 17 it has lost contact with flight 17 reuters is out saying -- pardon me. reuters is saying they believe according to inter fax news agency that the plane was shot down by a buk ground missile, according to ukrainian interior ministry missile. a buk ground to air missile was common in the former soviet union as part of their arsenal. keep in mind, ukraine was part of the former soviet union. we have no idea if this is in fact what happened. all we're doing is passing along reporting from interfax, via reuters and associated press and malaysia confirming they have lost contact with their flight over ukrainian air space, they say. >> any time you say lost contact with their flight, impossible to talk about this story without putting it in context of what happened march 8th of this year, malaysia flight 370 lost contact, that was a flight going from koala lumpur to beijing with 227 passengers on board, 12 crew members. no piece of debris from that plane has been found to this date. it disappeared without a trace. >> and absolutely no indication at this point that there's any relation to that incident, but of course, one can't help but think of that in light of today's events. let's get to greg fife, former ntsb investigator. greg, what are your thoughts as we just start digesting this information? we are getting little bits and pieces. >> i think right now as michael talked about, there has to be some confirmation. this is going to change the complexion of the type of investigation that's conducted, whether it is a pure accident or intentional act. and that will dictate who will be the authority or the authorities that will be conducting the investigation. >> greg, can i ask you as someone that knows this type of aircraft, if in fact a ground to air missile were fired at a plane like this or aircraft like this, traveling at some 30,000 feet, would they have radar confirmation of that in the cockpit? might they have time to get off a radio distress call to someone on the ground? >> that's a good question, matt, only because if this was a shoot down with a missile, depending on how much destruction that missile caused, that would dictate whether or not the crew would be able to get a radio call off. >> would they have had indication that missile was incoming? >> no, because the only system on the airplane, which is called p cast, interrogates transponders in the area. this wouldn't have that in the radar. >> not like a fighter jet we have seen in the movies, where they know something is targeting them. >> that's correct. >> and we have been putting up video of the flight tracker, the trajectory of the flight before it went down. greg, you speak fluent airlinese. do you think anything of the way they describe it as having lost contact with the plane, not saying more about it. do you think the airline is being cautious. >> i think they're being abundantly cautious, especially in light of what you just talked about with their previous malaysian flight. they don't want to start giving away information without having a factual basis for it because both the malaysians and the malaysian government have been criticized in the past. i think they're going to pick their words very carefully as this information starts to come out and they can vet that information. >> as opposed to any kind of terror act as you have been talking about, it would seem this flight originates in the netherlands, heading to koala lumpur. if it is simply flying through ukrainian air space, it would seem as if it were targeted by some ground to air missile, it might just have been a tragic accident? >> one of the big things, matt, is whether or not the air space that they were in, we saw this years ago with a korean airline flight shot down because they strayed into restricted air space, so the question, of course, will be whether or not this airplane was on a proper flight path and did they get into some level of restricted air space and were mistakenly identified as a threat. >> do we still have mike lighter with us on the phone? >> i am. >> mike, former counter terrorism center director in the obama administration, we heard again reports from tom costello, unconfirmed, it could have been what they call a buk launcher. obviously this is something that used to be used in the soviet union. when you hear that, does that give indication of what might have happened here? >> i think the location and the frequency of airplanes being targeted, not civilian airliners being targeted in the region can't but make investigators immediately look in that direction. we have talked about two instances where this has happened in the past, ka 007, shot over the so far yut union, and then the u.s. navy shooting down an iranian airliner. so these things have happened in the past. the location certainly makes you very concerned about that, and as we talked about in the previous malaysian airliner mystery, the 777 is incredibly modern plane, flying in a very routine flight path. for it to fallout of the sky is not -- it is almost unheard of. so that's why i think as doug said, you start to look at the other possibilities of catastrophic events. >> again, we're just getting, to repeat this ap report, an adviser to ukraine's interior minister, something savannah mentioned the not long ago says a malaysian plane carrying up to 295 people has been shot down over a town in the eastern part of that country, he says on facebook page, flying at altitude about 32,000 feet. >> i think tom costello has more information. >> we are all trying to read what we can off the foreign sources, that same individual is also saying this was a missile fired by separatists. keep in mind there will be a lot of information, misinformation, disinformation in the coming hours. there could very well be a blame game. initially, the ukrainian interior ministry blames it on separatists, saying a missile fired by them hit the plane at 33,000 feet, bringing down the boeing 777 as we said, a horrific sight in eastern ukraine, following four and a half months after malaysian flight 370 disappeared. malaysian airlines confirming it has lost contact with the plane over ukrainian territory. our information about the plane going down comes from the ukrainian interior ministry and interfax news agency out of russia. all reports suggesting at this point it was brought down by a missile, and the ukrainians blaming separatists at this point. >> tom, we have been showing the video of what seems to be a plume of smoke coming up from the ground. to reiterate, although that's making the rounds, and people are saying it is directly associated with this crash, we have not independently confirmed what you see is a plume of smoke from flight 17. >> we have been hearing from ukrainian authorities. there's word we may hear from the president, poroshenko, soon. this is a place where there's a ton of conflict going on now. we have information and accusations, that's something we have to sort through in the coming moments. >> the imagery is starting to pile up. we have a second video, again, we have not independently confirmed it is authentic. here is another piece of video from a similar area, showing that plume of smoke beginning to rise from the ground. again, this is said to be the result of the crash of this flight, 17, malaysian a flight 17, a 777 that's been confirmed by malaysia air that has lost contact with the ground. >> we turn to evan coleman with us now, an nbc terrorism expert that watches this area closely. evan, you of course are in the same position as all of us, trying to put this together. does anything stand out to you? >> well, i mean, so far the reports from russian media are citing it as being the act of a buk missile system, a medium range surface to air missile system, not something that terrorist groups use, it is a piece of military equipment. so whoever was operating this, they had access to serious military equipment. this is not what you see in iraq and elsewhere where people are operating shoulder fired surface to air missiles, taking shots at low flying aircraft. this is an aircraft that was flying at apparently 30,000 feet. so the chance of this being done by conventional terrorist group like al qaeda or something like that is almost nonexist tent. >> given what we know, evan, is this something given that it is military equipment, not a rogue actor, does it sound like what people are presuming at the moment that it might be some kind of accident? >> it is hard to say. you think of the incident with the korean airliner in the 1980s. sometimes when there are tensions and missiles being fired, you know, civilian aircraft get too close, and things like this happen. but if you look at the fallout that happened in the soviet union after that tail spin incident, there's reason to believe it was the work of separatists. this is obviously extremely bad news for them. reflects poorly on the target selection they're doing. if you look at the past few days, there are a number of different missile attacks on ukrainian aircraft flying near that border. it is one thing i guess when it is a military target. when you talk about an international airliner, i would say that's bad news for the separatists that fired this missile. >> evan, thank you very much. stand by. michael, stand by as well. jim miklaszewski at the penalty gone. >> reporter: officials are scrambling to find out just what happened here. they do point out, if the plane was shot down as the ukrainian defense ministry claims, it would have had to have been as evan coleman indicated a minute ago, it would have had to have been a military style weapon. and according to officials and documents we have here in our office, both the ukrainians and russians have the same kind of beuk surface to air missiles capable of bringing down an airliner. they don't know this yet. they're scrambling to work it out. >> don't go anywhere. we're going to take a quick break. some of you with stations across the country will be leaving us, others will continue with this special report. we will have more coverage on this situation throughout the day. we are back with more of our special report, matt lauer with savannah guthrie, covering what appears to be the shooting down of a civilian passenger jet, malaysian air flight 17 on route from amsterdam to koala lumpur a short time ago, has apparently been shot down over eastern ukraine. >> we are having multiple reports from news organizations, people citing authorities inside ukraine suggesting it was shot down, perhaps by separatists. the pentagon is watching this closely. we go to jim miklaszewski. what are you hearing from sources about what they're making of the incident? >> reporter: they are scrambling to try to figure out exactly what happened. given the fact that u.s. satellites have been watching the russian military movements on that border, one would assume that if there was a shoot down of the malaysian airliner, some of their surveillance satellites or assets would have been able to pick up that kind of activity. now, again as the ukrainian defense ministry is claiming, they say the malaysian airliner was shot down by a military buk, surface to air missile system. according to u.s. military officials and according to the documents we have here, both the ukrainian military and the russian military have these soviet era surface to air missiles that could be capable of shooting down an airliner. there is one other factor in all of this. there was a ukrainian military cargo plane that was shot down earlier this week, and it was unclear who may have shot that plane down. but the latest indications from some of u.s. intel and military surveillance assets is that it appears now that that cargo plane, ukrainian military cargo plane shot down earlier this week, that that surface to air missile did come apparently from the russian side of the border. way too early to tell, first of all, if the plane was actually shot down in this case, the malaysian it is anybody's guess right now about who could have shot it down. there is plenty of these missiles on both sides of the border. >> when you talk about the border and the flight path, in earn ukraine, about to approach the russian border, it's hard to tell whether somebody on the russian side of that border saw the plane coming and got nervous that it posed a threat, or someone on the western side in ukraine wanted to prevent something from happening over a sensitive area. we're being told it has gone down near the town of donesk. we don't want to talk in general terms, this area, what do we know specifically about that, michael? i'm sorry, we lost michael. evan, maybe you can take that? >> this area of ukraine in the earn part of ukraine near the down of donesk, do we know anything about that particular region? >> we know it is the center where the conflict is taking place. it's extremely active and it has been the epicenter of the fighting. so the fact that it was shot down over the area, it brings up the question of why it was flying overthat area to begin with. usually in cases of open conflict like this, you would think that civilian airliners would give this a wide berth. so they were wondering why it was so close to here in the past few days. >> michael made it in here, you're disadvantaged because you're in transit there, but putting together what we no right now, you're helping us analyze fragments of information here. we know the flight pattern, we know where it was located at the time. where this missile was fired from either side of the border. >> we know the 777 is a very reliable type of aircraft. this area is kind of the main crucible right now of conflict between the russian separatist. two military aircraft had been shot down earlier. >> that raises the question and you may be the wrong person to ask, but if it is the red-hot center of the conflict, wouldn't commercial airliners try to avoid it especially knowing in recent days there have been these kinds of incidents. >> when you have a conflict like this the international civil litigation authority can put a no fly area around that. i don't know if they did that in this case. it was flying at an altitude that would normally make it perfectly safe from any standard ground fire or anything like that. the report we heard about a missile battery being used, this is known as an as-11, a surface air missile system. this is good up to 65,000 feet. it's a fairly advanced system. this is the sort of weapon system that would be capable of shooting down an aircraft at that high altitude. >> is there any advanced planning to a shoot down like this. these units are designed to be rapid reaction. if you have the system in place, it's on a mobile vehicle, you don't even need a visual. it's radar guided. and when you see a blip on a radar, you don't know what kind of a plane it is. that could quickly engage and be a possibility here. >> is not an area with a no fly zone. one would think that folks would be seeing commercial airlines all of the time in a heavily trafficked area. >> yes, and you never know the other incidents where this has happened, things like this happened with the soviet union there have is often areas of contract, they think it is something military and tragedy follows. >> let's go back to com costello. and he covers aviation for us. the ukrainian prime minister is ordering an investigation into an airplane kas as catastr what he called it. you have parties with different interests. you can expect an international outcry overthis. the russians have seen, because of this news, their stock market fell and their kushsy has fallen all in the last couple of hours because of this news coming out of ukraine. i also make the point that in the case of malaysian flight 370 that was a flight of mostly chinese passengers. in this case you're going from the netherlands to cokuala lump. we will see many different people who were transiting for work, family reasons, or what have you. the international outrage over this, i suspect, will grow as developments come in. >> we're talking about 295 people on board between this plane between passengers and crew. and you're looking at the video we have been thousands you. people wondering is it posble that anyone has survived this. there is a report saying after this malaysian airliner was shot by militants on thursday, all 295 people on board were killed. so they believe that someone has gotten to the scene of this crash and now confirmed everyone on this plane has been lost. >> let's go to our white house correspondent, and we expect at a time like this that the president has been briefed on what has been discovered. >> reporter: white house officials will not confirm at this point that the president has been briefed, but i can tell you that his departure to delaware, where he was headed today, was delayed by about 15 minutes. i just heard from josh ernest that he will be speaking about it once air force one takes off. we anticipate that would happen momentarily. at this point you have to expect that president obama has been briefed but the white house not confirming that. this region has commanded a lot administration just yesterday they announced a new sanction against russia for escalating the crisis in ukraine. this is a region that the administration has been focused on for past several months and this adds an entirely new dimension to the conflict there. officials paying very close attention and we anticipate we will hear something from josh earnest momentarily. he was leaving from the white house today asking him to comment on this situation. he ignored that question. >> just to be clear, he went on this trip to delaware. >> he did, it is a trip that will focus on the economy, but i would not be surprised at some point if we heard from the president about this situation. >> okay, kristin walker, thank you. i want to bring back greg. i want to ask you about something that michael eluded to. when you have an aircraft at 32,000 or 35,000 feet. when you use a radar system for one of these missile systems, it's hard to tell if it's civilian or an aircraft that poses a threat. and looking at some reports here saying it would have been very difficult to make that mistake. does the signature of a 777 resemble the signature of a cargo plane? >> it depends on the type of cargo plane, matt. they could have the same profile, but when you talk about separatist firing at a dot on a radar screen, i don't think they're distinguishing if it is a cargo or a civilian plane. >> so they would not have the technology? >> not like the military. >> what advantage could be gained by them shooting down a special airliner? they would have to know it looks different, and the trajectory looks different, but why would they do that? >> i flew in the navy pressing enemy air defenses and that was all about disrupting enemy surface to air missiles. and what you're looking at is a blip on the radar. you get altitude and air speed. there is no picture to look at. it is very easy for these guys if they're not well trained and coordinating with lots of other people on the ground to not know. it looks like a target coming into their air space. let's remember the u.s. had this happen as well. >> and just the context here is incredibly important. this is a red-hot center of conflict. there has been reports of cargo military planes being shot down. the president was informed, as we start to get information put us in context here. there is differing agendas here, and there could be a lot of misinformation early on. >> absolutely you have confusion to begin with. really we're trying not to speculate, reporting what we hear, but we really don't know the facts yet, there is already confusion. add to that the very clear political agenda of the three parties. it is very -- it will be confusing and hard to get a full, complete, and contract picture. >> once again malaysian airlines once again thrust into the headlines. now this incident with malaysian air flight 17. kristin, we understand the mt. has been briefed? >> that's right, josh earnest just started his gaggle with reporters, his briefing with reporters on air force one and they said that president obama has been briefed on the situation with the malaysian airline flight. the president is not in a position right now to confirm any of the details coming in. but according to josh ernest, the president directed his staff to be in immediate and close contact with senior ukrainian officials. they will be going on behind the scenes at the white house as the administration continues to monitor these breaking developments out of the ukraine. president obama was briefed and we anticipate that we will be getting more information from josh ernest who just started his conversation with reporters on air force one so we anticipate there will be more information coming out of that. >> kristin welker, thank you very much. and the prime men ster according to keir simmons says he was shocked by reports. >> a couple points, let's talk about this boeing 777. we believe this is a 200 series. it went into service in the late '90s. 19956-1997. we mentioned there was 295 passengers and crew members on board. bowing is only saying "we're aware of media reports of a downed plane and we're gathering more information." this will be another unusual situation for bowieing. if it was brought down by military action there will probably not be an investigation for them into it. we believe it went to the south indian ocean and as a result of that plane missing boeing doesn't have anything to go on in that case either. this is one of the safest big body airplanes in the world. prior to 2013, there was no fatal incidents at all. then in 2013 we had the asiana flight crash. boeing suggesting their aware of it and they don't have anything else at the moment. >> and to that point you made, the range of this airplane, it was just a few hours into a very long 12 hour flight and it would have been carrying an awful lot of fuel. you can only imagine the catastrophic results of a missile hitting a plane at 32,000 feet for that kind of fuel load on board. >> that would account for the black smoke if that is indeed video of the crash. it would be the result of a fuel fire. i want to add that our pete williams is saying that the tsa is saying we simply don't know enough information about what happened in the ukraine yet to make any judgment about if u.s. airline oerpperations could be affected. this seems to be strictly a foreign case of military action. >> we're relying a lot of foreign news organizations right now. there is a reporter for reuters who says he is there. because of the conflict in this region, this is a closely watched area by u.s. officials. >> that is absolutely right. for several months now the u.s. has had surveillance assets on this area. they watch the rebuild of of russian resources on the border. one could assume that the u.s. would be able to determine if there was a missile fired and if, in fact, that brought it down and where it came from. at this point, they don't know. >> how long might that take? >> it could be, you know the analysis sometimes takes a long time, it is impossible to say precisely. but it shouldn't be very long. if, in fact they can narrow down the time frame, which they have when this plane went down, and go to their surveillance data they have, which may or may not be able to indicate if a missile was fired and where it came from. moments ago we were told by senior d.o.d. officials that it's not clear yet that the plane was shot down. they're pursuing that as a likely option, but they're not sure. again a reminder u.s. officials here report there is no indication so far that separatist that have been crossing the border or working inside the you crane even possess those kinds of surface to air missiles. they know the ukrainian military also has these surface to air missiles that could take down an airliner. and the russian military, not clear of their position right on the border, but they would also have that capability. a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of speculation. the one claim made by the ukrainians as a separatist could have shot it down. it doesn't appear likely for the moment. was it the ukrainian military responding to a threat they thought was from russia, or was it the russian military responding to what they thought was a threat from ukraine. all questions remain to be answered and people are digging hard to try to figure it out here at the pentagon. >> if we have information that this aircraft was brought down by a missile, you have to leave all other possibilities open. if could have been a catastrophic error, it could have been a terrorist on board the plane, we have no indication, but that one piece of information coming earlier saying there was an incident on board the plane. it could be just wording, but until we have confirmation that this is the result of a firing of a missile we have to keep all avenues open. savanna, we are learning more, josh ernest is continuing his report. he just told reporters that president obama spoke with russian president vladimir putin earlier today. however he would not confirm that the two leaders discussed the downed plane. we know to recap that president obama has been briefed about the reports of the downed plane, and the white house says they can't confirm those reports. president obama directing his national security team to be in contact with top officials in the ukraine so they can get the latest information and help in any way possible. so he said that president obama spoke with vladimir putin, and it's not surprising. president obama mentioned yesterday the stiffest sanctions yet for russian for ramping up the issues in ukraine. they have been calling to deescalate that military crisis for some months now. it has not happened so yesterday president obama announcing a new round of sanctions. so we're not surprised that they reached out to vladimir pugh ti. but the organization monitoring the situation, and we think we will continue to get more information from them. president obama was going to delaware to talk about the economy, but this changes that event and the contours of it. so the question now will we hear from president obama today or in the next 24 hours? >> of course, the white house wants a better grip on the information as all of us do before the president speaks. our colleagues saying that the ukrainian president saying the armed forces of ukraine did not take any action today against any airborne targets. it might be worth doing a pause here and doing a primmer for everybody here. >> yes, this goes back more than six months now when the previously supported russian government in ukraine was forced out by broad protests, the russians would consider it a coups. that led to the russian incursion into the crimea, south of the area why this plane was shot down. that lead to ukraineian push back against other parts of ethnically russian ukrainians. and in the past three or four months there has been serious conflict between the ukraiye uk russians. and they are pushing back and trying to get them to push back. >> and there is a question of them saying we're not manipulating, what's happening there, and secreting conceptism in u.s. officials. >> we had the map up just a second ago and the flight path of malaysia air flight 17. we're told it hat not yet crossed into russian air space. it appears to be a cat troughic crash site with a plume of smoke coming up in the distance. and some officials have gotten close to this site and confirmed burning wreckage and the siting of bodies. i wonder how long it will be before video of the crash sight makes it's way to social media and the internet. two separate pieces of video, that person with a large plume of spoke. the second one there with it just over the tree tops. at the pentagon, jim, anything else you can add? >> no, people are trying to figure it out. they do say that a trained russian military would be up likely to fire blindly at a plane at 30,000 feet when they would be an unlikely way that the ukrainians would respond to any military threats from russia. however, when you're dealing with militaries in a situation like this, they do acknowledge that anything could happen. but at this point, what they do know is it's not believed that the ukrainian separatist have that kind of surface to air missile in their possession. the ukrainians do, but as we heard a moment ago, the ukrainian president denies that his military took any action against any airborne targets. if you eliminate those two, and they have not here, but if you eliminate them, the most likely if the plane was shot down would be russian. what is most intrigues is the response to the malaysians that say there was a report from the plane that there was an incident on board. it's unclear what that meant, but could that have been a terrorist attack on the plane itself? >> they say it's unlikely that a trained russian military would shoot down this plane, but because of this incredible tension in the region in the previous months, nothing is out of the question in terms of mistakes occurring. >> just to look at the players in the region, you have three possible suspects. what we have been reporting and confirmed is that with regard to this particular surface to air missile launcher, it's just the soviets and the ukrainians that would have access to the machinery. >> yes, but lots of russian military hardware has made it's way to the separatists. we have assessed it quite frequently and now that they don't have it, but it is always possible. and where the plane crashed does not tell you where it may have come from. it has a significant range. >> it won't surprise anyone that according to some reports the separatist are blaming the ukrainian government. >> let's go to tom costello again, tom, new information? >> we have been checking on u.s. airlines. which u.s. airlines fly that rout. i have myself on klm going from amsterdam to dubai. they say they do not fly in that air space. we're checking with the other ones and when we get that we'll pass that along. it is not commonly flown, it's likely to be the international airlines. also i found this important and interesting. you may recall the face of malaysian flight 370 from the malaysian side. he appeared regularly at those news conferences out of kuala lumpur. his words coming out of the m . malaysian defense minister. but again as we have been reporting this is a big plane, the 777. a standard, long-haul airline flown around the world. if you're talking about the big haul, it's the 777, and on the air bus tide you have the a-380 and a-330. we are looking at the possibility of 295 people on this plane going down on the ukrainian russian boarder er e border in a very remote area. and probably investigative resources as well, guys? >> we are collecting a rot of difference information. a lot of it coming from other news organizations in the region. let's focus on what we know officially. one is that they say they lost contact with the flight over ukraine, and the defense minister saying there is no confirmation that the plane was shot down. as we cover this news this morning, it's good to know what happen happened. it is an incredibly tense region of the world where there is an abundance of military equipment and there has been as recent as this week incidents of planes trading fire or missiles, so there is a lot for us to learn, of course. >> no question about it, we appreciate michael staying by with us. we're going to be staying with tom costello, and we have our former ntsb investigator, you're beginning to piece together some of this, anything else you want to add to this? >> yes, some of the sources that i have been talking to just gave me new information that the airliner was at 33,000 feet and checked in with u craneian aircraft control. >> one second, we this is an nbc news special report. there has been loss of contact with a flight in eastern ukraine. >> the airliner checked in at 33,000 feet with ukrainian air traffic controllers, and it has not been verified, but this is what i'm getting from pretty credible sources. and the aircraft, as it went over ukraine, went to no radio contact for a very long period of time. that may have some coincidence, or coincide with possibly the cryptic report from malaysian airlines that there was an event on board that may have prevented the flight crew from making normal radio calls or responding to air traffic controllers. so this possibility stays open that something on board could have taken place that resulted -- >> let's go over this one more time. you're saying the plane flying, leaving amsterdam, gets to a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet. checks in and somewhere over eastern ukraine goes into radio silence and that's not a normal proceed, correct? >> no, that is not normal especially if the ukrainians were tries to make contact for position reports and things like that and they were not getting a response from the flight crew. the fact that the malaysian airline folks that put out a statement saying they have information, or eluded to in their press release that there may have been an event on board, this may have some relationship to the fact that the crew may not have been making normal radio call or responses. >> okay, greg, i want you to keep working your leads. >> what we hear from malaysian airlines is critical at this point? flight aware.com. we rely on it at nbc news for very accurate information on where planes are, what their altitudes are, and they have a good track record. they're tells us this plane left at 12:14. it tooblg off at 12:30 p.m. for an estimated landing about 5:50 a.m. local time. they're saying their last position was at about 9:20 a.m. eastern time just west of the eastern ukrainian border and it was cruising at 33,000 feet. we need to up date, but they are approaching the russian border on the right there. imagine coming into the yellow, and just as it approaching the russian border, that's where it shows the flight ending just prior to that russian border on the right. >> tom, with that, not knowing every flight path out there, is that a logical trajectory for this plane that's leaving amsterdam -- >> yes. i think that's logical, and i reason i think it makes sense is the earlier flight path that we had, and this is part of the world where you have a lot of gaps and flight paths because the reporting is not as good. the original flight path had it ending over western ukraine as opposed to eastern ukraine. so now they're saying the plane has gone down in the eastern portion. >> something that we talked to mic about earlier, are you aware of any restrictions over the air space in this area because it subpoena such a hot bed of conflict right now? >> i'm not aware and we need to do some reporting on that. >> okay, thank you very much, i know you will continue to stand by. -- contact with the ground authorities somewhere after reaching an altitude of 33,000 feet. it wept into no radio contact for a long period of time. we know as it approached the border between eastern ukraine and russia, it went down. we're looking at video right now shot in the area. you see a huge plume of smoke there, we don't have confirmation that is coming from flight 17. we have report that's officials made their way to the scene and they have seen burning wreckage and bodies on the ground. 295 people on board this flight. 280 passengers, 15 members of the crew for a 12-hour flight from amsterdam to kuala lumpur. >> and they're now saying they received their notification they lost contact with flight 17, which i think confirms what greg's sources are telling him. we have this perplexes statement from malaysian airlines about an incident on the plane. we don't know if that is a term of art, if it's lost in translation, we don't know how much significance we can attach to that. >> we still have no confirmation that a missile was fired at this plane. earlier reports from ukraine said it was shot down by a b.u.k. or missile. you have to look at the other scenarios. there was a mechanical failure. catastrophic failure, or that someone on the plane may have done something of a terrorist nature on that flight in midair. >> u.s. officials are watching this very closely including president obama who i believe just landed in delaware for a previously scheduled trip. let's go to kristin welker. >> just to recap what we know, president obama touched down in delaware. he has an event later on today. on the trip over on air force one, white house press secretary josh ernest briefed reporters saying that president obama has been briefed on reports of that downed malaysian airline flight. but that the white house is not in a position right now to confirm any of the details. we know that president obama directed his top officials to be in contact with senior ukrainian officials as they continue to monitor the situation. we know that president obama spoke with russian president vladimir putin today about the sanctions that the united states broughai of this downed airline. it is a question of timing and it's unclear when specifically that phone calm took place. we know that president obama is monitoring this crisis quite closely and he is scheduled to talk about the economy, about infrastructure later today. they say at this point there is no plans for president obama to speak about the downed plane. as you know savanna, the white house is incredibly cautious before they put president obama out to speak. when there is a breaking news situation the president likes to have all of the facts before he addresses the nation. that is part of the calculation. at this point in time, no plans for president obama to address this while he is in delaware. that could change. this is a developing situation they are monitoring quite closely. >> we thank you for that and we will check back in as we go along here. >> let me add something, this plane could have been shot down, there could have been a cat troughic mechanical failure, or activity on board of a terrorist nature. there would also have been activity having nothing to do with terrorism, but if it were a terrorist act, would it be likely to have a claim of responsibility at this time? >> not so soon, and i tend to -- it's very early in this. i don't see anything in this profile of this flight that would make it a lightly target for terrorists. amsterdam is a very, very secure aircraft. they have problems in the past and they're very protective. it could not normally be targeted. >> we're keeping all options open. what we're looking at here is another piece of video. the third piece that we have seen come into the news room. what we see confirmed is a big thick cloud of black smoke which is consistent with what we heard about an explosion and burning on the ground. and we're working our level best to try to get these videos confirmed to get our own reporter there is as fast as we can. that appears to be the scene in eastern ukraine. and involved to some extent, and perhaps no accident that this is where this is taking place today. >> and that website we jus put up there a second ago, tom costello mentioned it, we rely on it to track commercial flights around the world. you see the line on the upper left-hand corner of the screen. it takes off in amsterdam, and that flight ends right at the border between ukraine and russia. >> this would have been a long flight, according to malaysian air it took off at 12:15 local time and it was due to land at 6:10 local time in malaysia. here is a plane that we're told is flying at 33,000 feet. not the typical moment that planes run into trouble. it's generally on take off and landing that there is the most danger presented. so that just adds to the mystery this afternoon as we move into the afternoon on the east coast for what exactly happened here. >> as tom mentioned you're looking at that thick black smoke. this is a plane about a couple hours into a 12-hour flight. a heavy load of fuel. you're seeing that fire still burning. i don't know how long ago these images were shot, but they're working to get to that scene. >> our aviation producer says that the f.a.a. in april prohibited u.s. airlines from flying in this area. it has nothing to do with what we're talking about here, but there are some civil authorities that thought this was not a safe area for commercial airliners to fly through. >> we're covering this crash of malaysian flight 17. it is about an hour and a half now since the plane went down on the border. still many, many more questions than answers. still no confirmation of what scenario took place to bring the plane down. she a decorated military man and a consultant here. jack, you have been listening in, what are your thoughts? >> it is going over an area that is hotly contested with lots of armed people on the ground. and they have the capability to shoot down that this altitude. there is a couple interesting things here. the first is that every aircraft carries a beacon that identifies it. so it's easy to identify that it is a civilian aircraft. indeed, what flight it is, for anyone on the ground who otherwise, or in the air, might shoot it down. it is unlikely that either side would do this. the pointy edge of the spear, at the bottom of the food chain where you have relatively low ranking people making snap decisions on what to do it is entirely possible that a missile could have been fired at this target even though it was clear that it's not a military target. we don't know what the russians, i certainly don't know the rules of engagement, but they're probably pretty strict given the fact that civilian aircraft fly over this terrain. it is interesting, as we mentioned, the communication from the aircraft that said there was a problem. it is possible that it could have been hit by something, a missile, that didn't disable it completely, and that was the problem. but it is very, very difficult to envision how either tide with these kinds of weapons would release the weapon to shoot down a civilian aircraft. it has happened before, but it's unlikely. >> jack jacobs, stay with us if you could. imagine the scene at the airport in kuala lumpur right now as relatives of those who had family on friends on that flight, and they're getting reports that the plane has gone down and we're hearing there are no survivors. people are looking for answers and separadesperate to find out happened to their loved ones. so just a scene of heartbreak in kuala lumpur right now. >> yeah, the human toll is devastating. 15 crew members and we await official word for what the fate may be. let's go to jim, are you learned any more? can you shed any more light? >> it's a complete mystery here at the pentagon and there is a certain level of frustration among some military and other intelligence officials. that there are so many possibilities involved in this that nobody is going to jump to any early conclusions. secretary of defense chuck hagel has been briefed on what the u.s. knows, which apparently isn't much. the one thing they do know is that when a ukrainian military cargo plane was shot down on ukrainian soil this week on monday, all indications now according to the intelligence and surveillance they have keeping an eye on that hot border. all indications saying it was shot down by a surface air missile lunches from the russian side. no one will jump to the conclusion yet that the russians shot down this airplane. the search goes on, like i said, they have surveillance assets over that area because of the tensions on the border there. recent new build up. so at some point one would think they would have the kind of intelligence or surveillance t assets, that could help unravel this mystery. right now as far as the pentagon is concerns, that's exactly what it is, they emphasize they had no indication of how it was shot down. >> are you saying the u.s. put more surveillance and intelligence and resources into that area in the last several months because of the conflict there? >> and they were keeping an eye on the recent build up of the russian military forces on the border there. so one would think -- are those assets, michael lighter would know better than i, are those assets locked on that border area 24/7? who knows. there were some intelligence assets keeping an eye on that border for some period of time and watched as the russian military crew and watched as the russian military began to reinforce. they estimate now there are some 10,000 russian troops along the border, and an unknown number of russian backed separatist in ukraine itself. nobody believes at this point that the ukrainian separatist working with the russians did have the capability, those same missiles, in their possession. >> jim at the pentagon. we mentioned michael lighter. >> tom costello has been working and monitoring some of these international organizations. i'm intrigued, tom, that it was from the ukrainian air traffic control that it lost routine radio contact with the plane, what do you make of that? >> that would stand to reason. there will be caps in communication within you're on these massive long-haul flights. so it's possible they may not respond to a message from base, and not necessarily is kuala lumpur talking to a flight on a routine flight. but when an air traffic control facility loses contact they will alert the home base as quickly as possible. on the cable side, you reported there was an f.a.a. notice out in april which essentially prohibits u.s. carriers from flying into that region or over that region because of the continued conflict in the crimea and ukraine and russia, but in addition to that, we have now just learned that the german airliner decided to stop flying in that area as well. i suspect that you're going to see all of the major airline liners making this announcement in very short order that they will avoid this transit point as much as possible. they will probably, very quickly, decide they will reroute. >> you're assuming they're taking that action and they're assuming this plane was shot down. >> i don't think they can do anything else at this point. when you have such widespread reporting they have to take the safest route. >> and there is no place where it declares where they can travel. is it an airline by airline or country by country decision? >> i'm not sure who covers the air space over that part of the world. if it was the united states it's f.a.a., in europe it's euro control. i can't give you specifics for that area. it's up to airlines sometimes to decide if they will avoid a route. sometimes they make these decisions based on economics. what's the fastest route to burn the most fuel. and you will probably see these airlines in short order decide to avoid it. >> again, i want to say there is absolutely no evidence of connection between this and malaysian flight 370 that disappeared on march 8th of this year, but another heartbreaking episode for this airline. they had people from 14 different countries and they flight was going from kuala lumpur to beijing when it lost all radio contact after taking off, and no wreckage has been found after it's disappearance. >>. >> they are hearing word that the plane has gone down, but they don't know how it went down. chuck hagel has been briefed on it, and our pentagon correspondent has been watching. hopefully they will find out in short order what may have transpired. >> we always talk about the possible scenarios. what could have happened that could have brought the plane down. but it is important, as you just said, to stop and recognize this is a catastrophe. you have 280 passengers and 15 crew members all with stories. what was taking them on that trip from amsterdam to kuala lumpur. were they traveling with family members or as individuals. >> we are getting a lot of images and tweets are coming in. we can't say it enough. we're doing our level best to try to es information from the most official sources. this appears to be a tweet. can you see -- >> this is a photo from reuters. it appears to be much closer, at the scene of the accident. but i think i can see portions of wreckage in the background there, although i don't see -- i guess in the upper left hand corner there, that is smoke still rising from the wreckage site. but these images will start to filter into us. this is the force that we have from the scene of the kracrash. >> yes, one reporter said he was at the scene and he is seeing bodies on the ground. here is more footage that came in, it is thick, black smoke. none of them confirmed, showing something of a similar scene. this is rising up in eastern ukraine. >> so if we can go back to that still photo, we can go back to the and of the crash. and we can look at it and pick things out. if you can put that back out, let's go to tom costello as we're waiting on that. >> i would just make a couple points about the boeing 777. this is one of the safest planes in the world. the leading theory is that malaysian flight 370 was intentionally flown into the ocean. this has a remarkable safety record. it is very, very, very rare to have an incident at altitude at 30,000 or 33,000 feet. very rare. most incidents occur on landing or talk you have. second of all, the 777 has so many redundant computer systems to keep them in the air, if they lost power or an engine, a propeller drops out of the back of the tail of the triple 7 and regenerates electricity to control the flight controls. even, according to a 777 pilot i spoke to, it can defend against bad pilots. that's one of the reasons why you have so many people saying if you have people on the ground saying this could have been a missile, this is a plane that simply just doesn't crash on it's own at altitude. >> if in fact this plane or aircraft was struck by a missile, would it have broken apart in the air on the way down from 33,000 feet, and might you have a much wider debris field? >> it all depends on where the missile struck and what it took out. looking at that image, it would appear that there was fuel still on board, because you have a deep black burning smoke. but as to the trajectory of the plane and what the missile may or may not have taken out, i can't speak to that. >> tom costello covering this with us for the last few hours. this is a report from reuters. i think if you look closely you can make out what could be airplane reckage right there. >> you see very recognizable rivet lines. >> a wheel there in the background. we continue to follow this and there is a lot of images coming in now from the area. that is to be expected. we have video of the thick black plume of smoke. it's malaysian air 17 that has gone down. it left amsterdam about noon, local time there, was expected to land in kuala lumpur at 6:00 local time. high in altitude. it was considered to be at a safe cruising attitude but flying over one of the most volatile areas of the world right now. a few days ago between russian separatist, the ukrainian government, there is also, of course, suspicion and skepticism about how much involvement the russian government has with regard to the separatist movement, and the white house is watching this closely and the pentagon is watching this closely. >> and as you just mentioned, the situation and attention between russian and ukraine and the separatist, in the initial fazes of the coverage of this, we're going to hear things from all of those sides to distance themselves from any responsibility. they will be pointing the fingers at the other side and it will be hard for us and journalists around the world to short through what is the sprin from each side and get to the truth. >> and we have seen that and the ukrainian government saying it has nothing to do with this. we have seen the separatist who oppose that government saying it was the ukrainian government. the reporting that we have from our reporters at the pentagon, there really are, of all of the entities at play here, two would possibly have the launching hardware, serious military hardware. so they still have access to this type of material and the ukrainian government. >> i'm being told we have more images coming in of the scene, is that correct? yes, there is a piece of wreckage in a residential community. that would indicate that plane broke apart in the air because that looks to be part of the wing. it has the rounded support systems, but that has fall nn an area far away from where the fire is burning. you don't see smoke in that image. there is a first responder on the scene trying to bounce the flames. >> what you don't get a sense of is how wide of a debris feed we may be talking about. there again is the other image we got that is from reuters that said they have a reporter in the area and they have footage of as this. they're at at our aviation to ot happens. >> the imagery that we have been seeing on the air, and that is what appear to be pieces of what is fearing, may lay shan airlines flight 17. a lot of social media now bubbling up with a lot of the same pictures, most have been showing a smoke trail already on the ground. and now, of course, the conflicting reports. about what might have brought this aircraft down. it was intentional, was it a case of mistaken identity. tom costello for malaysian airlines. this has been such an awful period in the life of this carrier. and this was supposed to be a relatively routine long-haul flight for another their 777s. it's and half we have been saying, most experts now believe that was the case of an intentional deviation on that flight. someone saying they will reroute the plane. no evidence that the plane ended up in the south indian ocean. and they're saying that could take decades. now we have a completely separate and unrelated incident. and in this heavy military area. thereporters on the scene are saying it looks like the debris field is spread over an area of nine milesdiameter. area. this in as relatively normal and typical flight, customary flight from amsterdam into asia. brian? >> tom, some of the media pictures that, again, unverifi d unverified, popping up, show the flag. they show kind of identifiable, discernible parts of the fuselage. you can see the ever-present insulation, if you put those pieces together it would certainly point to a malaysian 777. >> yes. i mean, and the tragedy of this, obviously, for those people onboard, horrendous and their families, and was "discussed earlier, it is highly likely this is a fly representing many different nationalities on the flight going from kuala lumpur to beijing, mostly chinese passengers. this case, likely to have many different nationalities of europe represented as well as asian nationalalities for this big transit route. you know, going from amsterdam to kuala lumpur is a typical route from europe into asia. the question's going to be, why fly over this war zone? brian, i tnk it's important we should reiterate, u.s. airlines were told by the faa back in april when russia was seizing crimea, told, do not fly over this area. u.s. airlines do not fly over the area, lufthansa telling us the german flight carrier is going to avoid that area. the question, why did malaysian allianz continue to fly that route over a war zone when you have major airlines avoiding the route? was it because, the quickest point from point a to point b? you burn the least amount of fuel. questions malaysian airlines would be asked in tough news conferences to come. >> and saying what were they doing in that airspace, flying over that country? it really is a judgment call from care yrier to carrier, war zone to war zone, troubled region to trouble the region and up to the individual companies often. >> right. you can have initial states make that decision, the faa make that decision for the united states. euro control for europe, but going over this area here, to be candid with you, i'm not sure who controls the, who has any regulatory authority over the ukrainian/russian area. i suspect, especially a contested area, i can't answer that, but that is why you have often times the foreign carriers or these national carrier, and their governments deciding, listen, we're not going to go there. >> greg fyfe is with us by telephone. former air safety defector with the ntsb. veteran pilot himself, for his living he's had to look into way too many catastrophic airline incident, and, greg, your thoughts coming up what is known about this aircraft going down at this hour? >> brian, there's a couple of things we all have to keep in mind. a lot of people, of course, speculated based on the early information that, you know, the shootdown of a missile. however, some of the sources that i've talked to indicated that the crew had checked in with air traffic controllers in ukraine, and then for some reason went to a no radio contact, what they call nordo, for an extended period of time, and, of course, then the aircraft was down. what the question is, is did that no radio contact have any correlation to the statement from malaysian airlines, who said that they believed there was an event that took place onboard the aircraft, which could suggest there was something happening with the airplane, rather than ap shootdown. >> that would, certainly would invite an entirely new area of speculation and questioning. greg, to tom costello's last point. the judgments that carriers must make about using the air space, and, look, at 30,000 feet, you can feel above it all and vulnerable, but using the airspace over a troubled region? >> absolutely, brian. and tom brought up a good point. there are a lot of different authorities that go into the decision-making process. while the airline may want to fly a route, say they want to try a new route, they have to have it approved by their faa equivalent authority, to approve that route. and in this case, they're constantly ly evaluating this route. the question will be, why was malaysian airlines flying this route? did they feel that there wasn't enough of a threat for something like this to have happened? and, again, we are assuming right now, base and early information, that this may have been a ground-based intentional act of a missile, when, in fact, it could have been an airborne event and so happened to be over this highly volatile area. so one of the other things that tom was talking about with some of the pictures, and you also mentioned where the scattering of debris is, there's going to be tell tale signs. if there was a missile event, you'd expect to see parts shed, it's very high altitudes and spread over a very long distance. so if we have a very long or wide wreckage area, or at least a debris path that could confirm or at least validate if, in fact, there was a missile-type event. if the airplane had just gone out of control, because of an event that took place onboard the airplane, you can have an in-flight breakup due to ae aerodynamic overload, where the airplane exceeds its structural capabilities and starts to come apart because of a high speed and aerodynamic forces that took the airplane apart. the investigators, whoever does the investigation, will have to piece all of these things together to give us a good understanding whether it was some sort of external explosive type event like a missile, or something took place onboard the aircraft and the in-flight breakup, if in fact that happened, wa as result of some other event. >> former ntsb investigator. stay with us. to our viewers just joining us, yew seeing pictures on the air. some of them are coming from the 24-hour russian cable networks over there. some of them are coming from amateur video. social media. we have stills. we have videotape. it's important to stress that none of them have, are the product of nbc news or its immediate affiliates, and, of course, it is early yet. we're showing smoke plumes. we're showing this photograph of a firefighter foaming down wreckage. this photograph of the wreckage field and the more rokz recognizable pieces of fuselage, one piece, a wing strut with an identifiable malaysian flag. we want to bring in on the telephone the last former russian ambassador, michael mcfaul. he is now out in california, stanford university. ambassador, you by now know the map here, and what we're talking about, where the aircraft is said to have gone down. refresh our viewers on the state of play in exactly this area, and in your view what the possible causes here could be. >> thanks, brian. well, to remind everybody, there is a war going on in eastern ukraine. it's not a rebel thing. it's not some low-level conflict. it has been an all-out war, especially in the last several days, and i'd just like to remind everybody that two other aircraft have been shot down in this same vicinity in the last several weeks. ukrainian aircraft. military planes. shot down by the rebels, or the terrorists, depending on the way you talk about them. >> i'm sorry. go ahead, michael. >> and so, you know, we obviously, as you're correctly being cautiously, in reporting what we do and do not know. we don't know that much right now, but the russian reporters and ukrainian reporters that are on the ground there, are alleging the plane was shot down, and even the commander of the rebels, a guy named igor, a russian military xbrenintellige officer also at mitted, allegedly, reported by people on the ground. i'm not on the ground, just reading what they're saying that he claimed responsibility for it, and admitted that they mistaken -- mistook the plane to be a ukrainian military aircraft. >> so, ambassador, and we'll be checking in whip our own pentagon correspondent here shortly, but this would be consistent with military hardware, something that could take this down at 30,000 feet, for people with passing knowledge of that kind of thing, this is not an amateur or a shoulder-fired missile. this would be one of the big ticket surface-to-air missiles, perhaps going back to the soviet era? >> correct. and, again, you know, the pattern would be that just in the last couple of weeks, two other aircraft were brought down in a very similar way. so the reason -- we would suspect that is what has happened here again. again, i just listened to your previous guest, and that's a very different story that i've been hearing out of eastern ukraine. so i want to urge caution and then we need to know all the facts before we come to conclusions, but, you know, the way i look at it, reading what the russians are saying and ukrainians are saying on the ground, this looks like a plane shot down by the rebels in eastern ukraine. >> ambassador michael mcfaul. former ambassador michael mcfaul, among the leading experts on this region. thank you very much, especially for the caution and quoting the ambassador, this is an active war zone to the pentagon we go. our correspondent jim mcla shec miklaszewski. if this was brought down by military hardware, walk us through the types of things that would do something like this. >> it would be a s.a.m. missile. surface-to-air missile. and both militaries have russian soviet-made buks.a.m. long range surface-to-air missiles kpaubl of taking down an airliner like the malaysian air flight. officials and experts, however, say that the ukrainian stockpile of these missiles is pretty much soviet era. so it's not even sure that they could still work. they have to be replenished. their batteries replenished. it's not clear the ukrainians would be capable of doing that. the russians certainly would be, and so far according to senior defense officials, they have no indication that these kind of powerful s.a.m. missiles have fallen into the hands or have been given to the separatists there in ukraine itself. but going back to what the ambassador said a moment ago, about two recent shootdowns, and what could be very telling in regards to this incident. there was a ukrainian military transport plane, cargo plane, that was shot down in eastern ukraine just this past -- just this week, on monday. and according to u.s. officials, there is, all indications, according to u.s. intelligence, probably surveillance satellites, that that missile was fired from russian territory, across the border, into ukraine. so at least, if in fact, this was a shootdown, and, again, everybody's emphasizing that's not clear yet, that this aircraft was shot down, but if the russians shot it down, or anybody shot it down, the u.s. would have the kind of evidence necessary to figure out exactly where that missile came from. as you know, earlier this year, we reported extensively about the russian military buildup on the ukraine border, and the recent rebuildup just within the past week or so, now 10,000 troops. again, on the border. the only reason that the u.s. could know all that, and that kind of detail is that they have those overhead satellites looking straight down and counting the numbers. >> that was to my next question. these things leave signatures, and because this is an active region of the world, the u.s. and presumably others, have constant eyes on this territory. so perhaps by now, perhaps by the close of business today, the united states and others will have a signature trail and a much better idea as to what did this? >> reporter: and whether they share that with us at this point is still the question, because something -- something as cat stracat -- catastrophic and earth shaking as an airliner, they're going to be darn sure they have all the information exactly right before anybody goes out and reports that from the u.s. government, i'm sure. >> all right. jim miklaszewski, at the pentagon. go across town to our senior white house correspondent chris jansing, and chris, just yesterday president obama gave a statement on this very matter, this very conflict, just yesterday, he announced the next incremental upping of the sanctions. take us through that and what is being said there today about what's going on behind you. >> reporter: i think most significantly, brian, it's that the president this morning shortly apparently after this all happened was on the phone with russian president vladimir putin, talking about those sanctions, and it was towards the end of that call, we've just learned, from white house officials, that putin said to the president that he had a report that talked to him about these earlier reports of a downed jet line ir. now, as you well know, these were significant sanctions that were levied against russia yesterday. that was the main part of the call. although we have know other details beyond that. what we do know, one of the things the president said when he was in the briefing room of the white house yesterday was that he had pushed russia over the last several weeks, and we know there was increasing concern here at the white house what was going on at the border, he had pushed russia to urge separatists to support a cease-fire. something emphasized over the last several weeks as there has been pressure whether or not there would be further sanctions on russia. some of it, of course, coming from congress. banks, energy companies, some individuals. the focus of these sanctions, because of the increasing concern about what was going on at the russian/ukrainian border. i should also say that the president before he left today, and he took off on marine one a little bit late, directed, to be in close contact with senior ukrainian officials, but we have no further readout either from nfc or white house officials about any of that communication. >> chris jansing at the white house. michael leiter, former head of the office of counterterrorism, and former white house official in both the bush and obama administrations is with us by telephone. he, of course, is an nbc news analyst. i'm told he's on a moving train. so this could be dicey communications. michael, what do you know, and based on your listening to the coverage and following what we know so far, what do you make of it? >> well, brian, i know that officials really don't yet know what happened. lots of people in the white house, briefings, and elsewhere doing what we're doing. gathering small pieces of evidence and trying to put them together. what we also know, in my assessment is, you've got a very good airplane flying at a high altitude. very unlike lie something is going to happen flying directly over, plik michael mcfaul said, a war zone, and that does especially in light of the early ukrainian reports suggest to me that this well could have been taken down by a surface-to-air missile and that wouldn't be a shoulder-fired missile. a fairly sophisticated one to reach 30,000 feet. >> that's right. that would limit it to military hardware, to the universe of let's say russian manufactured s.a.m., surface-to-air missiles, and then that would open the door to the whole kind of, the strate strategy, political thought behind this. it's already been mentioned on the web about unit disciplined -- individual unit discipline among the military on the ground, chain of command who would have ordered it? who swrowouldn't have known abo it? so in the days to come, so many questions to be asked. >> there are, and we're in the immediate area, a three-sided conflict with ukrainians, the ukrai ukrainian separatists and russia. and a loose affiliation -- so it's very easy to understand how something like this could happen, because the aircraft flying over, this wouldn't be the first time it happened, in addition to the ukrainian military air craft shot down. of course, the tragedy shot down bip t by the soviet union and the tragedy of the uss ship over the persian gulf in the 1980s. so the fog of war can bring great confusion. simply looking at a blip on a radar screen in a war zone, this is the sort of tragedy if it was, that can happen. >> i know we're competing with the train announcements. one more question, michael, about eyes on the region. is it -- as you are just fresh from the u.s. intelligence apparatus, is it your understanding that we have the, pretty much immediate capability of knowing when something is launched to that great an altitude from a region like in? like this? >> were there not a conflict going on previously, we wouldn't be in a great position to know that, but u.s. intelligence resources have surged since the russian incursion into the crimea and the subsequent conflict. so the defense intelligence agencies have technical capabilities to detect launches like this, potentially, not definitely, but potentially to trackvia radar. my thought, with that sort of intelligence, it shouldn't take too long to have a good sense if a missile took it down and potentially where that missile came from. >> michael leiter, thank you very much for being with us. tom costello remains in our d.c. bureau. he covers aviation for us. tom, what more have you learned? >> reporter: just a few tidbits, brian. number one, lufthansa said it's not going to fly that route anymore and just heard from the russian airliner they are also going to avoid ukrainian airspace. as you and i discussed, probably we're going to get these announcements over the course of the next few hours with most of the major allianz of the world announcing they will not fly over this particular air zone, air region, if you will, because t would appear this plane. to answer one question that i raised and then i answered it myself, who controls the airspace in the area? we're told it is, in fact, euro controlled. so despite the fact it's a pretty far distance from brussels where they are based, that falls under euro control can airspace. one other point, brian, and my apologies if i'm jumping ahead what you've already reported, but there is some discussion about people perhaps claiming responsibility, and then immediately taking it down off of twitter already. so this is -- this is the war of words, now well under way on the intern internet. >> and we have a statement from the kremlin merely talking about putin sending his condolences to the government of malaysia about this crash. the word "crash," while technically accurate, is used twice here, in this statement. the ukrainian president has issued a longer statement. tom, real quick, because it will probably become germane, euro control is procedure the overarching, they speak multiple languages, but english is the standard language of air control, and they handle all kinds of incoming and outgoing aircraft over this region on their screens. >> reporter: that's right. it would be like the faa and the vast area that the faa controls in the united states, when air traffic control and regulation and euro control tries to do that for europe. it is based in brussel, where euro control air traffic controllers are based. of course, they have regional air traffic controllers throughout the entire region. i suspect when talking about entering into russian air territory at that point, you'd be under russian control. >> and, tom, a quick word about this airline, and this aircraft. here we are again talking about a malaysian airlines 777, for those just joining us, this is flight 17, with 295 souls onboard. flying amsterdam-kuala lumpur. it's hard to believe of all the global carriers and all the aircraft we're back here again. >> reporter: yes. i mean, this is the -- the boeing 777, until july of 2013, had no deaths related -- associated with it, and then last july you recall that crashed landing with the av jana flight in san francisco. then the missing flight, malaysian flight 370, and, again, we don't have any idea where that plane is. the best guess, based on the, those satellite handshakes for that flight is that it went down in the south indian ocean, but they still haven't found a single piece of wreckage. that flight bound for beijing. again, a 777. now a boeing 777, and it has gone down over the ukrainian border with russia. we believe it's a 777-200 er, extended range plane, meant nor, as the name suggests, very long flights from, for example, amsterdam to kuala lumpur or san francisco to beijing and one of the workhorses of the long-haul planes around the world and incredibly reliable. talk to most pilots, they will tell you that is their dream plane. a pilot's plane, and it is also built with multiple redundant systems that backup one another and computer systems that backup one another. i discussed about an hour and a half ago, a system called the air turbine, and it drops out of the back of the plane, should the plane lose engine power, this turbine drops out of the back near the tail, and spins in the wind so that it can generate electricity and keep the avionics working. the plane is designed to fly, regardless of what kind of a situation it comes up against, and regardless of the quality of the pilot that's in the cockpit. but what it can't fly, when it cannot keep flying, in the event it's brought down by hostile action. >> tom, just yesterday, just last night on "nbc nightly news" we reported boeing, rolling out a new 777x, because this has been such a successful airframe, they're lengthening it, widening it, their launch customer will be qatar airways, $19 billion order for 50 aircraft with an option for 50 more. so to your point, the business of flying people safely is concerned, this has been a technical marvel and as we speak there's a notable number of them in the air. >> reporter: yes. the biggest competitor out there for them is airbus. even the a-330 or a-380. a-380, double-decker big plane we reported so much on, but the 777 has the track record of reliability now going back 20 years almost. i think the 200 series came out around '95. 200-er, '97 or so. a reliable plane and relatively fuel efficient for airlines looking for that on these long flights. >> all right. tom costello in our washington newsroom. we're monitoring a bunch of things obviously. the news wires, incoming information, social media, at this hour, the state department is briefing, and we're monitoring that to see if they can add anything to this conversation and chris, tell us more about communication between the two presidents, obama and putin? >> reporter: it was a phone call this morning, and the phone call, which we are now told, brian, was initiated by president putin, to talk about the sanctions that were imposed yesterday, hit the biggest companies in russia, including some individuals. that was the topic. they're tied in, of course. towards the end of that phone call, it was president putin who said to president obama, something about the early reports at the time of this downed plane. we don't know any of the details of what was discussed. we only know that the president has been informed, and the timing of it isn't clear either. we only know that obviously that phone call took place, and then the president got on marine one. what's interesting here is the increasing concern we have heard at the white house over these last couple of weeks about what's been going on at that border. about the increased hostilities, and the president made a specific call yesterday to say, in the briefing room, when he announced these sanctions himself, that there had to be a cease-fire, and he expected russia, he expected president putin, to push separatists to do that. having said that, the white house, now the president is on the ground. he is at an event in delaware, brian, and then will head to new york. they have not confirmed at all that they have any details of what happened here, and they are being very careful, as you know, this is a white house that doesn't like to come out ahead of the facts, and so i would not expect that while the president is in delaware we would hear any comments, as he walks out to marine one, there was shouted questions. he did not respond. see if we hear anything directly from the president later today. brian? >> all right. chris, we're going just across the way from you in washington. jen sake, state department spokeswoman at the podium. >> -- the secretary is, of course, aware of these reports. and we're seeking additional information. our embassy in kiev is in close contact with the ukrainian authorities on this incident, but at this point, that's all the details we have. >> so you have seen the reports apparently coming from the manifest that there were 23 u.s. citizens onboard. even if you don't know that that's correct, can you say whether you have that information from the manifest, that apparently there were 23 u.s. passengers aboard? >> we've seen the public reports. i spoke to our team right before i came out here. we don't have any additional dames at this point on american citizens. we're looking to, of course, ob take that information. when it's available we'll make it available to all of you. >> as the secretary we know the president spoke to president putin this morning about, not this, but the plane came up, has the secretary made any calls to anyone in russia? anyone in ukraine? that you're aware of? >> not at this point. obviously, this just happened a couple of hours ago. we can keep you updated as well on any additional call thags he makes this afternoon. >> does he plan to? >> i don't have any planned calls to predict for you, but you know, if any calls happen, we can make sure those are available to all of you. >> the ukrainians, board of ministry is saying that they have reason to believe that this is not a guess, based and assessments, that this was a russian-made missile that was in the hands of the russian separatists who also have, chatter on twitter about some of the separatists saying they did shoot down a plane. has your team on the ground spoken to the ukrainians? have they told you that this is your assessment? that this is their aassessment and you just want your oh confirmation? >> as i mentioned, woo we're in touch -- >> you'll share this? >> i don't have further readout but it's a safe assumption we're discussing reports and obviously a range of comments out there. we don't have the our own confirmation of details. i can't predict for you if and when we will. but obviously, veen lobviously, on the ground. we have no nor information to share. >> given the fact it's fluid and very early, there is already a kind of, you know, common wisdom saying separatists have done it. just to confirm that, is this your belief, and you don't have confirmation of that? do you have suspicions of that at this point? >> i'm not going to speculate for obvious reasons. we don't have additional details to share other than the reports you've seen about the plane crash. in terms of the causes, individuals onboard, i have nothing else here. >> and the ukrainian transport planes shot down i think in the last week, maybe in the same area? is that something you're looking at in terms this could be a similar mistaken -- >> i won't speculate further for obvious reasons. >> you saw from what actually happened or whatever was responsible for it, is it correct that this type of missile that was just mentioned, the missile was among the -- sorry? >> i could have said that wrong, but -- >> this kind of missile waweapod over the past month or so that had been transiting from russia from these military facility sites in southeast -- in western russia, sorry, in western russia, to the separatists in ukraine? >> i'm happy to check that, but i don't know, we don't have confirmation that is the cause or source of the plane being down. >> i understand that, but are these missiles that the ukrainians say were responsible for this plane, are those the types of missiles, quite apart from this incident, that you were complaining had -- that russians had been sending into ukraine? >> i'm happy to check with our team on that information separately from this particular incident. >> and one of the things yesterday when you imposed new sanctions on the russians. i mean, isn't it true that one of your concerns is that the russians have been doubling down on their increasing, actually, their supply of weapons to the sprifti i separatists? >> we stated that publicly and still have a concern about that. there's a difference between making unconfirmed -- >> i understand, but without talking about the specific -- has it been a concern the russians have been supplying them with truck-mounted or shoulder-fired missiles? >> we've expressed concerns in the past. >> particularly those type of missiles? >> i would point you to past comments made about them. >> and very clear, blame the russians for escalating the conflict in this area and that added attention to there. so whoever is to blame ultima ultimately for this -- this downing of the airliner, is there some source of responsibility borne by moscow for the situation as it now exists in the area? >> well, i think broadly speaking, matt, the fact we announced yesterday a new round of sanctions, including several defense companies, several energy companies, speaks to our level of concern about the escalatory actions that we continue to see from russia. however, we don't have enough information with this specific incident and that's why i'm not going to be able to provide you any confirmation of details, and i don't want to speculate on who's to blame or the root cause when we don't have that information at this point. >> speaking of the climate of conflict escalated there and led to this tragedy? >> again, we don't know that at this point in time, because we don't know what the causes are or who's responsible for this plane going down. >> and what if any assistance would the administration provide for any of the investigation of this incident? >> it's too early to say. and we have traditionally, historically provided a range of assistance. you're familiar with the assistance when the malaysian plane disappeared. we can keep you up to date when the a request is granted from our end. >> given the fact the plane did fall down in separatist territory, clearly those separatists are not equipped, capable, to launch -- i see they've called -- they've said they'll try and help with an investigation, but given the fact they clearly don't have any type of capability to launch any type of investigation, i think they might have control over the black boxes, i mean, how do you see the ukrainians and how can you help navigate ensuring there is an investigation? >> well, we're in close touch with ukrainian authorities, and if there are requests made, we will keep you all abreast. however, we are providing assistance and what kind of assistance we're providing. >> any americans onboard? >> i can't at this point in time say, and this just happened so recently, lucas, but we are happy to provide all of you with that information as soon as we have any details to confirm. and obviously, we're seeking that information as we speak. >> [ inaudible ]. >> anymore -- okay. go ahead? okay. go ahead, matt. >> and ukraine, apart from this incident, just generally speaking of the situation in the east, i presume, but, please, tell me if i'm wrong, that you still have the same concerns and the same issues with the russians that you did yesterday that led to the imposition of the new sanctions? is that correct? >> correct, yes. >> and you haven't seen any movement by them towards meeting, towards meeting what has been asked of them? >> in the last 24 hours? no. >> excuse me. i'm not sure if you had a reaction. i don't think you did, because it happened so late, but the eu's move -- >> well -- >> based that -- they would have new sanctions by the end of the month. is that okay with you guys? >> well, as you know, they place some restrictions, they took steps yesterday to impose costs on the russian economy. including yesterday, close coordination with the eu. they moved also to put in place the legal framework needed to impose costs on russian companies that undermine ukraines stability and territory integrity with a deadline, i think that's what you're referring to and certainly we were coordinating closely with them in touch with them. we welcome the steps the europeans have taken in this regard. i'm sure you have the details. i'm happy to outline those if up have any questions. >> one of the companies hit, a company that makes ak-47s. the russians are saying today this specific sanction runs counter to the interests of u.s. consumers. do you have any comment on that? >> well, let me first say that clearly as we were making decisions about sanctions as it relates to here or any around the world, we've taken into account the impact on the united states, on u.s. businesses and consumers, and certainly we feel that peace and political stability and respect for international law are of critical importance to the global economy and to u.s. businesses. but let me give you some specific examples of the precautions that we take. the sanctions we impoesed yesterday, deliberately crafted to eliminate spill joovers on t united states and third-party companies. for example, in the financial sector we deliberately avoided interfering with day-to-day operations to avoid a shock to global financial markets and the energy sector, we took steps to limit the ability of certain companies to raise dollar financing, but not tried to interfere with their ability to export oil or gas or maintain of course,ures. any impacts on u.s. businesses, u.s. consumers, as we make these decisions. >> so the pacific sanctions on this company will not affect american consumers of ak-47s? >> i haven't seen the specific impact listed. we can -- if there are specifics we can look into that. >> as far as you know, the ability of the american consumer to purchase semiautomatic assault rifles from kalashnikov have not been affected? >> i can check of level of specificity for a direct impact. sure? >> gaza, u.s. bombardment. >> uh-huh. >> are you aware of any efforts undergoing now of a cease-fire and whether the united states -- listens to jen psaki, spokeswoman for the state department. the briefing is now moving on to, of course, the other wall-to-wall coverage story we have been covering. that, of course, is the middle east. andrea mitchell, our chief foreign affairs correspondent, is standing by and has been watching this with us. andrea, it's hard to know where to begin here. >> reporter: i know. >> except that, why don't you start off where former ambassador michael mcfaul left off, because we have been preoccupied with israeli/gaza/hamas we saw images monday of a ukrainian military transport plane, the tail logo was visible. that had presumably been shot down over this airspace. what has the pace of this war become of late? >> reporter: it has escalated dramatically. there were reports also of a ukrainian fighter jet shot down over separatist territory, and that was only last night. that was what our colleague, of course, at the pentagon, jim miklaszewski was working on to try to confirm this morning, because in the fog of war, and with all of the partisan antipathy, we knowreports out of kiev cannot be taken, you wouldn't take reports out of moscow or dmplt onyetsq, that a fighter jet was shot down and now see the horror of the damage you're now showing, the details from the ground around donyetsk, where this airliner went down. we don't know, 33,000 feet, cruise speed, and clearly good weather. no untoward event, not on takeoff or landing. the usual wind shear moments of danger. this is obviously very, very troubling. they've not been able to confirm what the cause was and the most significant thing i heard, a veteran diplomatic correspondent from the associated press asking about reports from his colleagues in the area. the associated press has widespread coverage, that 23 americans may have been manifested on that plane. we don't know, but this is peak travel season and that flight from kuala lumpur and on to other asian areas, a prime vacation area for american citizens living in europe or elsewhere, to be traveling on to malaysia. so this is obviously a horrible tragic coincidence with the malaysian airliner that's nerve been accounted for over the indian ocean. we don't know whether it's terrorism, shot down by one partisan or another. we do know if it was, it was likely some kind of surface-to-air missile, if it was shot down and we have no confirmation of that. the other point we should be making that i know our colleagues are making as well, that this area has widespread intelligence coverage. it won't take long, the intelligence committee in the senate is organizing, they'll have a briefing this afternoon. a previously scheduled briefing but will meet, dianne feinstein said, getting a briefing. i talked to john mccain earlier. he said it's way too early to jump could any conclusions, but if this were not pilot error and shot down, then it is not just tragic. it is a game changer in terms of the lack of international attention to ukraine, as we've been focusing and the roast est the world, focusing on the middle east. last night we were briefed by treasury and the state department and white house, and there were sanctions imposed around 5:15 last night. the president came out and spoke himself about ramping up the sanctions. they were significant. they're still not the sanctions that could also indiscriminately affect european allies and economicest trs as well as american interests but they are going after key defense energy and banking interests in russia, and, in fact, medium to long-range investments blocked to russian interests. not able to have access to the u.s. capital markets, and the treasury officials briefed us last night said that they were prepared to step that up. that was the subject of the president's conversation with vladimir putin earlier today. but sanctions, medvedev issued a strong blast against the sanctions. we don't know what putin said to the president, obviously, but this was just about at the time that early word was coming about this downed malaysian airliner. brian? >> andrea, to one of your points i want to emphasize to our american viewers watching, especially those who may fear for a family member, may fear they have a connection to someone traveling in europe, transiting through amsterdam what we heard in that briefing, in the form of a question was the first we've heard that there was the possibility of 23 americans onthat manifest. you heart the state department spokeswoman say no confirmation. we certainly don't have independent confirmation of that fact or number as yet. we've been told we'll hear from the airline, the carrier, at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. this airline, sadly, just received a crash course in dealing with disasters, and members of the public and the media. they still have an airliner missing in the pacific, in the indian ocean, presumably. what a turn of events, and andrea, it is now known that we have notice to aviators in that region. common sense, because there was warfare ongoing at ground letve and it's left off to americans flying over that region, but it's left up to individual carriers. >> reporter: indeed. in fact, the escalation there, make that point, brian, because there had been a call for a cease-fire around the time we all in normandy at d-day and pairchenko, the new leader was there with vladimir putin. we saw the dramatic sort of interactions with obama and putin that day, which we were reporting on, and that conversation at lunch in normandy was all about a cease-fire. that ukrainians were arguing for. and which they accepted. and they claim, and the u.s. agrees with them, that the separateists did not go along and there have been incidents in the air, tragically, as well as according to american intelligence, an escalation rather than a de-escalation of armaments, tankses and other heavy artillery going across the border from eastern ukraine to russia. and it was that legged proof from american intelligence cited by treasury and white house officials last night when we were briefed saying it was an escalation of resupplying of the sprift its led them to the decision vladimir putin was not doing what he promised to do. de-escalating the conflict with ukraine, and that was the result, the sanctions, and the europeans were meeting simultaneously. they met last night and today and the europeans led by angela merkel, the most powerful of them all, were complying with much less stringent sanctions, but sanctions nonetheless. this, obviously, is an incident that turns out to be an act of war or terror, or an act by one side or another is going to dramatically escalate the stakes for iran involved, europe as well as the united statesants and, andrea, check in briefly with someone we both know. retired army four-star general and nbc news military analyst general barry mccaffrey in seattle. general what strikes you as you've been listening to coverage watching incoming pictures? >> i'm astonished at the enact of the spokeswoman to say anything sensible about the situation. one would think the u.s. embassy in the netherlands almost immediately within an hour or so would know whether u.s. passengers were aboard. second comment. obviously this was a mistake, shootdown, by somebody. nobody wants to bring down a commercial airliner. they're try fog hide engagement. third observation, these sa-17 buck missiles, tremendous self-pro pepped capability. they have a range out to kilome. you can see or hear an aircraft at 30,000 feet. normally engaged by target acquisition radar. if this was were russian i would hope they would have easily detected a known flight path, an iff, identification gender pro, lard to imagine the russian military would have done. so the conclusion is, if it's a shootdown, then it's more likely very sophisticated equipment the russians are pushing across that border that would have targeted and brought down by mistake a commercial airliner. final comment, nobody in his right mind should be flying commercial aircraft in that part of the world. it's astonishing to me malaysian airlines was still using that route. >> andrea mitchell, back to you, briefly? >> reporter: very briefly, i wanted to explain to the officials from the state department, the first word la to come from malaysia air about who was 0 on that manifest. there are also privacy laws and we've known whatever things like this happen, whenever incidents happen with americans abroad briefly, the state department is not permitted to release names until families are notified, but the first word as to whether there are americans would come from the manifest of that site and that will await, probably the 4:00 eastern briefing from kuala lumpur. >> and general mccaffrey, if this was indeed a mistake it again raises questions about unit discipline, trigger discipline, firing discipline on the ground? >> well, you know, these self-propelled weapons, the sa-17, you can launch them and acquire a target from a fairly small crew. normally they're glued into a batal yarn and anti-aircraft brigade control system. tied into the commercial transsponsors. so, again, it's, it would be a major incompetence if the russian military had done this, but it's easier to see how it would happen with poorly trained units operating separate from a larger control system. >> all right. general barry mccaffrey in seattle. and continuing to do that in our washington, d.c. newsroom. tom costello pap flight 17, amsterdam to kuala lumpur, a long-haul flight. for that that yeesed a long-haul aircraft. extended range version of the wide body boeing 777. the boeing 777 last in the news, because this same airline suffered a catastrophic failure of some find, lost one in the indian ocean, and, tom, what more do we know? >> reporter: the flight left or pushed back from the gate at about 6:15 eastern time, we believe, today. 6:30 when it was supposed to have cleared the ramp. cleared the tarmac at amsterdam's airport and then went off radar about 9:15 eastern time. so three hours or so into the flight. according to flight tracker.com. a come other quick tidbits i've been following here. there is a report out of the netherlands that a dutch tour group, tour operator, says there were dozens of dutch citizens booked on that flight. we would also point out, as you mentioned, a 777-200 series we believe delivered back to malaysian airlines's in 1987 and it had about 43,000 hours of flight time on it. standard. not excessive. by any means, a good number of hours, if the plane's being managed and accordingly. maintained accordingly. the defense minister out of the malaysia, out of malaysia, rather, you recall we became familiar with him during the moo lash hsia 370 story, the gentleman who appeared sometimes with a tie and sometimes he was also wearing a hat or a cap of some sort. he says that there's no yet confirmation that this plane was shot down. he's instructed the country's military to check the prime minister of malaysia also ordering an investigation. i found this interesting. as we are all perusing all of the wires and all of our foreign contacts as best we can, that the associated press is reporting that a launcher similar to the beuke missile system, seen near the eastern ukrainian town held by rebels. who knows where this originates. that's one report out of the ap. 295 people ongourd, malaysian flight 217 and believed all of gone and we hearken back and recall the other malaysian story follows for moss, back in early march, 239 people onboard and the plane is still missing and has not been seen and not a single piece of wreckage turned up that is believed to the in the south indian ocean. on that investigation, australian authorities are hoping to begin again, begin anew, the search in a new area off the australian coast by about 1,2 miles in about another month the time or so and told by australian commanders that effort could take months. one of the executives with malaysian airlines says the search for malaysia 370 could take decades. his word. >> and the a point about topography, going through the still photos again. there are plane-spotting websites and photographers all over the world, and, of course, no two aircraft are alike and they go by tail number, and manufacturing date and serial number. these are the photos available on the web of this and of the plane we're talking about. not a similar model. we don't know if this blue and white, the paint job, was still on the aircraft at the time of the incident. airlines, the paint schemes come and go. sometimes they're one-time promotions. a lot of aircraft were painted specially for the recent world cup, for example. so we don't know if this is exactly how it looked when it went down. we do know that this matches the tail number of the aircraft, flight 17, this 200 series er that went down today. i just wanted to make that point, because with the web age, we have no shortage of imagery or people that hang out at airport, aircraft and the record all of this. >> reporter: in fact, i got an e-mail. maybe this is the photo. i haven't looked at it. somebody suggesting they have a photo of the plane today in amsterdam. that is certainly out there. it's also worth just mentioning preefly, you cannot -- you can compare this to the tremendous human tragedy and suffering, as we've seen nearly 300 lives lost or the 239 we believe were lost on malaysian flight 370. if these two incidents were the results of somebody else's actions, a rue pilot, for example, in this case a missile, this airline suffered two horrendous tragedies in the course of 4 1/2 months. it is a partially state-owned airline. the as you would expect in having been shot down by it was believed russian forces and now something quite different. a passenger airliner on a long haul flight from amsterdam to kuala lumpur. again, flying under the malaysian flag, malaysian airlines. our coverage is continuing. we're going to pause here for just a second or two while at the top of the hour we greet new viewers who will be joining us for our nbc news coverage of the downing of this malaysia airlines 777. welcome back at 2:00 p.m. here on the east coast, as more and more people are tuning in now to this breaking news story. a malaysian airlines 777, and, of course if that sounds familiar, the same basic type of aircraft that went missing in the indian ocean. this incident, far differ. feared shot down near the ukrainian/russian border. tom costello covers aviation for us in our washington newsroom. tom, tell us what we know at this hour about this story we've been covering? >> reporter: this just crossing just now. the international association of air transport association is saying based on the information currently available, it is
in a major victory for human righ activists, a former guatemalan police chief has been found guilty for ordering the spanish embassy to be set on fire in 1980. 37 peasant activists and student organizers died in the fire. we will speak to nobel peace prize-winner rigoberta menchú. her father died in the massacre. >> we have been denied the truth for 35responsibility for mr. garcia is clear and also that of all of the people that remained in the hearing, many of whom have already died, but also responsibility of the state. i think this is what makes us the most happy and due process makes us happy, too, because we have the patience to reach this moment and we are really excited. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. islamic state militants have posted a new video threatening to execute two japanese hostages. the militants demanded japan pay a $200 million ransom without 72 -- within 72 hours, the same amount prime minister shinzo abe pledged to give saturday in nonmilitary aid for countries fighting isis. the hostages shown in the video are kenji goto, a freelance journalist, and haruna yukawa, the head of a private security firm. prime minister abe demanded the hostages' release but did not say if japan would pay the ransom. >> it is an unacceptable act to threaten us in exchange for human lives and i felt angry about it. i shortly urge them to immediately release the hostages about harming them. >> in germany, anti-racist demonstrators have continued to outnumber members of an anti-islam rallies. authorities banned the far-right pegida party from holding a march in dresden monday after an assassination threat against the group's leaders. rallies went ahead in berlin munich and other cities, but thousands of counter-protesters vastly outnumbered them. in chechnya, meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to condemn the depictions of the prophet mohammed in the french magazine charlie hebdo. the rally has been called the largest ever held in the north caucuses. fox news has apologized for broadcasting false information about muslims in the wake of the paris attacks. last weekend, self-described terrorism expert steve emerson claimed on fox news that parts of europe, including the entire english city of birmingham, were totally muslim areas where non-muslims don't go. emerson was forced to apologize, but the claim about so-called "no-go zones" was repeated by other fox guests and anchors. on saturday, according to a cnn money tally, fox news took time out of four broadcasts to apologize. julie banderas issued the broadest apology directed at the , people of england and france. >> a correction over the course of this last week we have made some regrettable errors on their regarding the muslim population in europe. particularly with regard to england and france. this applies especially to discussions of so-called no go zones, area where non-muslims allegedly are not allowed in and police supposedly long ago. to be clear, there was no formal designation of these zones and either country, and no credible information to support the assertion are specific areas in these countries that exclude individuals based solely on their religion. >> the fox apology came just hours after she interviewed a guest who falsely claimed that 69% of muslims in france support isis, a claim fox subsequently corrected. meanwhile, louisiana republican governor bobby jindal has continued to claim the no-go zones exist. jindal is considered a possible contender for the republican presidential nomination in 2016. he told cnn "look, i've heard from folks here there are neighborhoods where women don't have comfortable going in without veils." and mullally, devastating floods have killed at least 176 people and displaced 200,000. rescuers have rushed to bring aid to people cut off from food and supplies. the floods come as nasa climate scientists confirmed 2014 was the hottest year on record due to human-caused climate change. >> 2014, the year just ended was the warmest year on record going back to when the record started in the 1880's. 2014 was about one and 100 degrees warmer than the average -- one and one quarter degrees warmer. >> a woman working for the united nations peacekeeping mission has been kidnapped by gunmen in the capital. the news comes one day after anti-balaka militia members seized two aid workers. a new report finds the obama administration's accusation that north korea carried out the hack on sony pictures was based on evidence it gathered from its own hacking of north korea. the new york times reports the national security agency began penetrating north korea's networks in 2010 and planted malware to monitor activities. meanwhile, a report in the german newsmagazine der spiegel, based on documents from nsa whistleblower edward snowden outlines how the united states is engaging in extensive preparations for an online guerilla war which -- "threatens to transform the internet into a lawless zone in which superpowers and their secret services operate according to their own whims with very few ways to hold them accountable for their actions." the guardian meanwhile has published a new report based on snowden documents which show the nsa's british counterpart, gchq, collected the emails of reporters as part of its bulk spying operations. emails from the bbc, reuters the guardian, the new york times, nbc, the washington post and the french newspaper le monde were saved and shared with staff on the agency's intranet as part of a test exercise. the agency also listed "investigative journalists" as a threat alongside terrorists or hackers. in switzerland, a whistleblower has been found guilty of violating bank secrecy laws by giving information on offshore accounts to wikileaks. rudolf elmer headed the cayman islands office of the bank julius baer until his firing in 2002. in 2011, he publicly handed compact discs containing information on offshore account holders to wikileaks founder julian assange in a bid to reveal what he called the "damaging" impact of hiding money offshore. elmer's attorney has vowed to appeal the guilty verdict which comes with a suspended fine, but no prison time. an israeli airstrike has reportedly killed a top iranian general and six fighters with the group hezbollah. the dead include a hezbollah commander and the 26-year-old son of a late military leader. the international criminal court has opened a prelimary inquiry into possible war crimes committed by israel in the occupied territories. the inquiry comes as palestine is set to become a member of the icc on april 1. emeric rogier of the icc prosecutor's office said the examination would cover possible crimes by both sides. >> it is important to understand it is not an investigation. it is a process in the course of which the office will gather information on crimes committed in palestine since june of last year. we will assess this information and at the end of the process, we will decide whether to open an investigation or close the matter are possibly if you need further information. >> the u.s. state department opposed the inquiry, saying -- "it is a tragic irony that israel, which has withstood thousands of terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutinzed by the icc." in argentina, a federal prosecutor who had accused argentina's president of helping to cover up iran's role in the deadly 1994 bombing of a jewish community center has been found dead of a gunshot wound to the head. alberto nisman's death was discovered just hours before he was due to testify before lawmakers on his findings. last week, nisman accused president christina fernandez de kirchner and other top argentine officials of plotting to conceal the role of iranian suspects in the attack in a bid to obtain iranian oil. nisman had been under police guard after receiving death threats, but authorities say his death appears to be a suicide. the u.s. supreme court has agreed to take up the issue of whether same-sex couples in all 50 states have a constitutional right to marry. the decision comes three months after the court refused to hear appeals from states seeking to uphold marriage equality bans, triggering a chain reaction that increased the number of states allowing same-sex marriage to 36. the court has agreed to hear appeals from couples in four states where bans remain in place. attorney general eric holder has unveiled changes to the federal government's role in civil asset forfeiture, a practice where police seize property that belongs to people suspected of crimes, even if they are never convicted. the new rules prevent federal agencies from taking property seized by local and state police, with exceptions for items like guns and child pornography. in a statement, the aclu called the move -- "a significant advancement to reform a practice that is a clear violation of due process that is often used to disproportionately target communities of color." in eastern montana, crews have been struggling to clean up an oil spill in the partially frozen yellowstone river. the bridger pipeline company has acknowledged 50,000 gallons of oil spilled from a burst pipeline. residents have reported an oily taste in their drinking water and an oil sheen has been spotted nearly 60 miles downstream. a new study from oxfam finds the world's 80 richest people own as much as the bottom half of the world combined. the group warns the richest 1% now own 48% of the world's wealth, and are poised to own more than half by 2016. the report's release comes as global elites gather in davos, switzerland at the world economic forum. speaking in davos, oxfam's max lawson urged world governments to take action. >> the claim is that they should tax the rich, tax rich people and rich corporations progressively and fairly, rich individuals, particularly the richest individuals should pay a reasonable amount of tax the kind of level of tax or playing as recently as the 1990's. >> president obama is expected to propose plans for taxes on wealthy americans during his state of the union address tonight. new york city has agreed to pay $75,000 to an african-american man who said he was placed in a police chokehold in 2013. kevin dennis-palmer said he was approached by police while parallel parking outside his home. when he couldn't get out of the car quickly due to his large frame, police tried to pull him through a window, pepper sprayed him, slammed him to the ground , and placed him in a chokehold while he yelled, "i can't breathe." the case closely mirrors that of eric garner, an african-american man killed in staten island when police placed him in a chokehold and and pinned him down. he said, "i can't breathe" 11 times. the new york city council is considering a bill that would make police chokeholds a misdemeanor, but new york city mayor bill de blasio has said he would veto it. and protesters across the country held more than 50 actions monday to honor martin luther king by reclaiming his radical legacy and condemning police killings of unarmed african americans. marches and acts of civil disobedience under the banner of "reclaim mlk" were held from oakland to chicago to st. louis to new york and denver, colorado where an estimated 30,000 people were in the streets. in a statement, the group ferguson action said -- "we resist efforts to reduce a long history marred with the blood of countless members of our community into iconic images of men in suits behind pulpits. this mlk weekend we will walk in the legacy of dr. king and the movement that raised him." and those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report, i'm amy goodman. and i am caring that day. we begin in yemen, where the capital sana'a is seeing its worst violence in months. intense clashes between government forces and shia houthi rebels have sowed chaos and raised the threat of a coup. the latest round of fighting broke out this weekend when the houthis kidnapped the chief of staff to president abdu hadi. the houthis are protesting the text of new draft constitution that would divide yemen into six federal regions. talks for the charter began under a peace deal reached in september, after houthis mobilized large protests and captured most of sana'a by force. they were supposed to withdraw in the months since but have only expanded their hold. now the country faces political collapse. on monday, new gun battles erupted as houthi fighters surrounded the prime minister's residence and the presidential palace. the attack came despite a second ceasefire between the two sides. the capital appears calm for now but uncertainty prevails. >> the houthis' rise has further upended yemen's fragile political order. as the government fights the houthis, it also wages a u.s.-backed offensive against al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap. despite the long-running u.s. drone war, the al-qaeda insurgency has only grown deadlier each year. the houthis themselves have also fought al-qaeda at the same time as they now take on the yemeni government. the houthis appear to have major backing from longtime president ali abdullah saleh, ousted in a popular uprising in 2011. the latest unrest also comes days after al qaeda in yemen took responsibility for the charlie hebdo massacre in paris. for more we are joined by two guests. iona craig is a journalist who was based in sana'a, yemen for four years as the yemen correspondent for the times of london. she was awarded the martha gellhorn prize for journalism in 2014. the government has cracked down on local and foreign journalists and at one point last year iona craig was the country's last accredited foreign reporter. she is joining us from london. we are also joined by jeremy scahill, co-founder of the theintercept.org. just days after the charlie hebdo massacre, jeremy broke the story that al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap, had taken credit. he cited a confidential al-qaeda source in yemen. days later, aqap put out an official statement confirming it took responsibility. we welcome you both to democracy now! iona craig, tell us what is happening right now in yemen and who the houthi militants are. >> what is happening now, it is really political posturing on behalf of of the houthis. they have kidnapped the presidential aides, the chief of staff in order to get that leverage. in the fighting we saw in the last 20 four hours is also part of that. the negotiations at the moment are going on for the release of the chief of staff in exchange for changing the draft constitution. the issue with the houthis they were formed as a movement in 2004 and then fought the government and six wars between 2004-2010. but they then became part of the arab spring. they put down their weapons, join the protest joined the siddons, particularly in sana'a and became part of the peaceful movement. the transition that followed that was backed by the international community can actually instigated by the u.s. in the first place did not go their way. when the national dialogue was concluded in january last year and the decision was made about federalism and to divide the country to six regions the houthis were not happy. that is when they started taking territory. there were pushing from their stronghold, if you like, in sana'a to the north, up by the saudi border, and started pushing south toward sana'a. this was also an opportunity for saleh to join in because the houthis'main enemy is on the brotherhood who gained a lot of power after the arab spring and a lot of political power. that a joint enemy. so between the support of saleh and the houthis, they were able to take background and eventually got to sana'a in september and in the space of four days of fighting, the military -- minister of interior ordered troops to stand down and they took control of the city. >> when you say the houthis are engaging in political posturing, deeming they're not trying to carry out a coup despite all this fighting in the capital? >> i think it is really hard to determine whether that is the case or not. in september they have the opportunity to do that. they could have kicked the president out of that time, but they didn't, which makes me think they probably won't do that now. it depends on how far they are pushed. if they don't get their way with the constitution, they may do that, but i think the houthis has stopped short of taking difficult power. again, they could have put their own people as ministers when a new government was formed at the end of last year, but they chose not to do so because it means than they're not held responsible for when the government collapses and things go wrong. where there taken the sonic control by try to manipulate the government can't take control inside the military without having their own men in power. >> jeremy scahill, how does what is going on in yemen right now place you also have spent time in and reported from, relate to what happened in france and aqap taking responsibility for the charlie hebdo attack? >> one thing that is interesting to add to her analysis which i think is spot on, the houthis had been an interesting political football of sorts in the u.s. policy in yemen. they've also been bombed repeatedly by the saudi's. saudi arabia waged a not so secret war bombing the houthis in the wikileaks cables, you see when saleh was in charge officially empower in yemen, he would consistently say to the united states, we have to do something about the houthis because they are being backed by iran. to the credit of u.s. diplomats they said, well, we don't exactly think that is true. what was happening saleh was a master manipulator of the united states, and he was looking for anyway way he could to justify getting more military assistance , more money to bolster his own forces that were supposedly fighting al qaeda, to actually use them to shore up his own power base. when the well was starting to dry up with al qaeda and the arabian peninsula, he would then appeal to the united states and say, hey, we have these iranian agents in the form of the who these inside yemen. what we're seeing right now is saleh, who himself is a shiite and has roots in that region, has now flipped sides and as iona said, and the not so hidden hand behind some of the power grab efforts of the houthis. as it relates to the charlie hebdo massacre, of course al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is facing a situation in the world where they and al qaeda central have sort of been clipped by the rise of the islamic state isis. so in this case, seems like an a minimum, there are ties between the kouachi brothers who conducted the massacre and aqap. if the -- it is to the benefit of the aqap to maximize the with a group of trays its involvement with charlie hebdo, but there are series questions about whether or not they financed it and directed it or that they simply provided some training to aspiring jihadists who on to conduct his very public globally recognized massacre. >> iona, germany mentioned saudi arabia. can you expand more on their role in this current conflict and you agree saleh is playing a major role in the current unrest? >> yes. i think is certainly clear that saleh has played some role. it was clear to me after the houthis had taken over control of sana'a, just walking around the city, talking to people, even talking to some of the men that were houthis and other people around the city that many of those plane closed gunman you were seeing on the street as houthis at accident part of republican guard before, which the republican guard was a unit under saleh's time and was commanded by his son. very much an overlap between the houthis in what used to be the republican guard in the takeover of sana'a and a continued control of the city since then. just to go back to the issue the saudi's sort of stop the situation now where -- stuck in a situation where the houthis are supported by iran. how much support there is is an clear. but those are obviously the regional rivals. the saudi's were very much involved in bombing the houthis and we know from our recent reporting that the requester bombs that were fired on the houthis during those wars they came from america, that were sold to them by mecca to the saudi's. the slogan they have of death to america not only comes from a dislike of american foreign-policy, but issues over whether the houthis up and it is american bombs or hitting them in the past. saudi arabia is now the situation where the houthis effectively are in charge of the government, though not 6 -- physically. they're reluctant to give any more economic aid to yemen as a result because the houthis are in control and very much supported by iran. that brings them in closer to the edge of economic collapse which it is now facing at the moment. on the other side, you have who is taking on the houthis, the saudi's looking at from that perspective. the only people who were physically and willing and able to take on the houthis at the moment is al qaeda, which is also putting a lot of tribal groups in a difficult position. when the houthis started taking further territory after sana'a in september, the areas where they did want houthis coming into the territory and they found themselves, whether they liked it or not come on the same side as al qaeda possibly with the prospect of fighting alongside al qaeda even if they did not agree with them ideologically because they were the only one standing up to the houthis' expansion because the government was neither willing or able to do so. >> iona craig, i want to ask about the comments of louisiana governor bobby jindal. he is in london right now. he was repeating the allegations that have repeatedly been uttered on fox, and now four major apologies from fox about what they have been saying, that whole areas of london, of brother britain, are no go zones. being that you are in london right now having reported in limit for years -- yemen for years, can you talk about the response of david cameron and others in britain can also -- fox also made the allegations about france. >> i think really people feel incredibly insulted by that kind of ignorant comment. some people have just laughed it off as slightly ridiculous, as many people see those kind of comments. i've spent time in birmingham and i'm living in the moment in south london. these communities, multicultural committees in both cities, that are certainly no go areas for anybody in that respect. so, yes, i think it is deeply insulting to the people of birmingham -- >> birmingham is the place where the so-called terrorism expert steve emerson said on fox is completely muslim. its majority christian, actually, then he was forced to apologize. " i think probably the crucial thing is the so-called terrorism experts. perhaps this is some of the who hasn't spent much time from behind the desk for a while. he certainly has not visited birmingham, anyway. >> back to yemen, what you see happening next? >> it is hard to predict. the situation politically obviously, unless you have political stability, you can't have security. you have a very weak government very weak president, effectively a president now with a gun to his head with the houthis sent we want the draft constitution change, otherwise we're going to keep control and hold on to the chief of staff. you have al qaeda who has really changed their mode of operation since the houthisd took over in september and have started targeting civilians as a result. civilians they claim are houthi s. but before, al qaeda had never elderly going out of their way -- never deliberately run out of their way to kill civilians and that changed when the houthis to control in september. attacked in october and twice since the beginning of this year they have attacked civilians and to liberally targeted civilians. that is a really warring for people in yemen, obviously, but now civilians are seen as a legitimate target by al qaeda. they claimed responsibility for over 150 attacks across yemen since the houthis to control. the issue of instability both politically and security wise and the economy, as i mentioned on the brink of collapse with the government has run out of money to even pay the civil service in the military. but the moment, it is all in the hands of the houthis. it is up to them whether they start this fighting again in order to push forward the government into a corner and take heed of their demands, or whether we now see a peaceful and to all of this. it won't be an end. the houthis still have the power in their hands at the moment and the president does not. >> iona, thank you for being with us, joining us from london, based in sana'a for four years as a yemen correspondent for the times of london. she was awarded the martha gellhorn prize for journalism in 2014. when we come back from the break, we will be continuing with jeremy scahill, cofounder of the intercept. about the so-called terrorism experts and the networks there on. we will play a clip of jeremy taking on cnn on cnn, and also what does it mean to protect sources and better who or where they are. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> at the nobel peace prize concert in 2011, 1 of the three people awarded that year was singing "africa." this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. our guest at we continue it is jeremy scahill, the author of "blackwater." 's latest book is called "dirty wars: the world is a battlefield." he broke the story that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and aqap, took credit for the charlie hebdo massacre in paris, based on a now cut a source in yemen. days later, aqap put out a statement of that very nature. jeremy broke it first. jeremy, talk about the controversy "the washington post" has written about, you are on cnn talking about it, protecting what they call terrorist sources. not naming the sources that leaked you that story before it was officially acknowledged. >> i have been a journalist for around 20 years. i am honestly a bit dumbfounded at the response from other journalists. a classic part of good journalism, responsible journalism, going many many centuries back is that your china provide people with information that is actionable that they can use to make informed decisions on what to believe or positions to take on certain issues, and a key part of covering war is that you have to have journalists willing to go to the other side to speak with the people that you're told are the enemy. and to get their perspective. so we can better understand the nature of this conflict. so just as i have gone to areas in yemen are controlled by al qaeda or areas in somalia controlled by al-shabaab or areas in afghanistan that are controlled by the taliban, we have an obligation [indiscernible] understand where al qaeda in the potential is coming from. the idea we should have a special standard that in certain cases were not journalists, but we are somehow militant nationalists who should not engage in responsible journalism because the us government doesn't like us talking to those individuals, to make him a just flies in the face of just basic journalistic principles. >> the director of the fbi criticized "the new york times" for anonymously quoting a source from al qaeda and i consider -- assume he would criticize you too. he said the use of the source was mystifying and disgusting and added -- your response? >> clearly, director comey doesn't exley want us to have a truly free press. let's remember, this justice department is waging a role -- war in whistleblowers that effectively amounts to a war against journalism. i don't believe in using anonymous sources widely. particularly think newspapers and news organizations should not be giving u.s. senior officials anonymity, which is largely was senior u.s. officials request anonymity. they want to be able to say things that secretly or privately benefit u.s. policy and not actually moving the story forward. a lot of disinformation gets pushed out that way. i believe in a limited use of confidential sources. in this case, we have a situation -- we at something that was determined us news value on a breaking news story. the government had declared they were from al qaeda in yemen. there's a lot of speculation going on. i reached out to sources that i know our members of aqap with access to the leadership of that organization to try to get an understanding of whether or not this was true. it was not clear at the time that any official statement was forthcoming from aqap, and if we were to identify our source who is not authorized to speak -- not just because they're like a private spokesperson, but because aqap has a very strict set of guidelines as to who speaks officially for the organization. also, the source could potentially be in danger, which, to me, is the number one reason why you would grant anonymity to, dental source whose information in the past has been verified as judgment of their life is going to be in danger. i didn't just decide this on my own to grant anonymity to someone from aqap, our general counsel review this, our editor in chief and to senior editors we all discussed this issue and ultimately made it the decision that granting anonymity in this case was the responsible thing to do. >> on sunday, you appeared on cnn hosted by brian stilts are. >> or think it gets into really fear generating territory is when you have the so-called terror analysts on the air for many of them also work for risk consultancy firms that benefit from the idea of making us afraid. i don't think that cnn, msnbc and fox news do anywhere near a good enough job at revealing the potential conflict of interest of some of the on-air analysts who also worked in the private sector and it money off the idea we should be very afraid. >> you understand that these people want us to be frightened inappropriately, for unnecessary reasons. >> i've spent a lot of is investigating. you'll have retired generals come on air and talk about the danger of a terror group in a particular country, and they are on the board of a huge weapons manufacture or defense company that will benefit from an extension of that war and expansion of that war. perhaps the biggest file leader of this is general barry mccaffrey who has made a tremendous amount of money off of were contracting and then brought on these networks. >> that is jeremy scahill on cnn "reliable sources." if you could take it from there. you're talking about general mccaffrey and others. >> we also know that soon after 9/11, the pentagon expanded its use of a program where they were invited former u.s. military brass who were serving as pundits on cable news and it would basically give them talking points that amounted to propaganda, a backdoor way of the war machine being able to spread its message. and these guys are without disclosing the were part of the secret meetings, would go on cable networks and project supposedly as independent analysts, the very policy that rumsfeld and others at the pentagon were trying to drive through to the mac in public. most all of these guys who are retired generals are retired brass industry to one degree or another. many are making money off working with risk consultancy firms, where they're going to big multinational corporations and offering them their services analyzing risks and countries around the world. if you remember paul bremmer was put in charge of the occupation of iraq him of what he was doing prior to 9/11 was benefitinoff of the notion that companies need to be afraid all around the world and that they need people like him to help them assess the risk and mitigate any kind of potential terrorist actions against these corporations. on the one hand, it is the retired generals and other brass that are working in the war industry. on the other hand, it is people like evan coleman who was on msnbc who is a total fraud and is constantly brought on as an expert. his so-called express testimony has been used to put countless people away in prison on very dubious, thin tourism charges. yet samuel laurent who was on cnn for a couple of days. we don't know where he is. he doesn't seem to be on cnn anymore. but he was a french so-called terror expert and widely viewed in france as a fraud and people are up in arms when cnn put him on the air as a terrorism expert. part of what i think is the problem here is, cnn has really great international reporters who have great experience on the ground. i have tremendous respect for many journalists particularly in the international section of cnn, but then they bring on these analysts who have a vested interest in revving up the fear engine and don't disclose in many cases the built-in agenda a particularly some of these retired military people. >> i just want to ask a combat the story broke about al qaeda in yemen taken responsible for the charlie hebdo massacre. what you see is going on without them coming for to say they financed the brothers, train them, because presumably, it would invite and intensify drone war. what questions or concerns do have going forward in the aftermath of them taking credit? >> this may be somewhat of a cynical read on this but who has benefited? the people who benefited most from the u.s. drone war in yemen have not been ordinary yemenis have not been the people of the united states. the only real beneficiaries about -- of that policy have been the manufacturers of drones and the missiles fired from the drones and al qaeda in the iranian peninsula. when the u.s. conducts a drone strike and they kill innocent civilians, aqap can use that as propaganda purposes. in the limited cases where they have killed individuals from aqap, then they are celebrated as martyrs. so i think part of what aqap is doing is trying to goad the united states into once again escalating or intensifying its from campaign inside of yemen because it elevates the stature of aqap. it could be aqap had emitted involvement and that all of the facts about it are armored on the table. my senses if aqap did indeed direct this plot, they're going to produce video evidence to back that up. if they don't do that, then i think it is likely that the truth is that they had some involvement, but were not effectively running the show. >> what is repeated on summit of the networks that anwar awlaki was behind this terror attack on charlie hebdo? >> they try to link anwar to every plot under the sun awlaki so-called long will terrorists. whether he was operationally in charge of this is kind of a joke. he was not even mid-level management in aqap. there are exploding his legacy because of the power of nightmares. he speaks in english. the united states has elevated his status within the organization. aqap has a leadership structure. anwar awlaki was not the top of that. quick jeremy scahill, broke the story aqap took responsibility for the charlie hebdo massacre. his latest book, "dirty wars: the world is a battlefield," is out in paperback. his film "dirty wars" was nominated for an academy award. when we come back, we go to guatemala for remarkable verdict that is just come down around crimes against humanity. stay with us. ♪ [music break] "spiritual." dr. martin luther king and malcolm x and ed mentor evers inspired the music. a big shout out to ruth hayden, the widow of charlie haden, who has joined us today at our studios just to come by and say hello. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> a major victory for human rights activists, a guatemalan court has returned a guilty verdict in the spanish embassy massacre of 1980. on monday, the court found former police chief pedro garcia arredondo responsible for ordering an attack on 37 peant activists and student organizers who were occupying the spanish embassy in guatemala city to protest government repression. judge maria eugenia castellanos delivered the verdict. >> this court unanimously declares first that the defendant pedro garcia arredondo is the perpetrator of the crimes of murder. >> according monday's ruling arredondo was the officer who gave the order to set fire to the diplomatic mission, burning the activists to death. he was also found guilty of two separate murders and sentenced to a total of 90 years in prison. one of the victims of the spanish embassy massacre was don vicente menchú, an indigenous peasant leader and father of the nobel peace prize-winner rigoberta menchú. in a moment, rigoberta menchu will join us from guatemala city to discuss this historic verdict , over three-decades in the making. but, first, i want to go to a clip of the 1983 documentary "when the mountains tremble." in the film, menchu looks directly into the camera and explains why her father and other peasant activists occupied the spanish embassy on january 31, 1980. >> the security forces arrived in our village to throw us off our plots. according to them, and belonged to a nearby landowner. we were very scared since we did not speak spanish and could not understand them. >> that was rigoberta menchu in the 1983 documentary "when the mountains tremble." just two people survived the embassy fire. one was then spanish ambassador máximo cajal y lópez. the other was a guatemalan farmer named gregorio yuja -- he was subsequently disappeared and his body was found with evidence of torture three days after the fire. during the dirty war, more than 200,000 people died. 83% of them work indigenous mayans. >> well, for more, we're joined now via democracy now! video skype from guatemala city by rigoberta menchú. she was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1992. she's published many books including, "i, rigoberta menchu: an indian woman in guatemala." she's been translated into over a dozen languages, awarded more than 30 honorary degrees runs , the "the rigoberta menchu tum foundation." and here in new york we're , joined by pamela yates. she is a partner at skylight pictures, a documentary film and digital media company that focuses on human rights and social justice stories. in 1983, she collaborated with menchu on the documentary, "when the mountains tremble." we welcome you both to democracy now! that's first go to guatemala city. rigoberta menchu, you were in the courtroom when the verdict and sentence handed down. can you describe your reaction? >> well, undoubtedly, this is a historic event. this trial and verdict are huge. we waited 16 years for this verdict to be handed down. the trial went on for 16 years. and this verdict has been issued 36 years after the event itself. so we are deeply moved and this is a very special moment in our history. >> can you talk about your long quest for justice almost four decades in the making? >> well, first of all, i left guatemala and fled. i was forced into exile and i promised myself and i promised my father and i promised the memory of guatemala and the victims of water mullah -- guatemala, would not cease fighting against impunity. and that is precisely what i have done. your and and year out, every day of my life i have dedicated myself to gathering the evidence and putting together the cases to fight for this truth. i think that is very important and what is really crucial here is the memory of the victims and the search for the truth and also the commitment to substantiate the truth. so the truth is foremost. because they accused us of being liars. they tried to denigrate the memory of the victims. they even said the victims had burned themselves. but the truth has come forward with this verdict from the court that holds not just garcia arredondo responsible, but holds the state of guatemala responsible for this massacre. >> let's go to the issue of the state. in the same courthouse general rios montt is on truck, the that trial has been delayed. can you talk about the significance of what he has done? >> yes, there are two depths guilty verdicts that have been issued in this courthouse. first, the guilty verdict for the spanish embassy massacre and secondly, the guilty conviction of rios montt. in both cases, we're seeing there are significant legal challenges. the constitutional court has declared the case against rios montt as been an old, but these are illegal arguments. they are breaking with due process. and so both cases face significant legal challenges and hurdles to stick. >> pamela yates, if you could talk further about what is happening with rios montt, what he was convicted of, why he is back in trial. and as we wrap up, how this implicates, or does it, the current president of guatemala perez molina and the role of the united states? >> that is a lot. the case against rios montt, he is being retried on the same charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. but his lawyers's strategy is to delay and deny delay so you will never go to prison. he is 88 years old. they hope you will die before that. but isn't it incredible the people of guatemala now have successfully adjudicated these two cases? one for genocide, never happened before -- >> that was rios montt. >> yes. >> the verdict set aside? >> yes, but for some and he people in guatemala, the verdict is valid. the quest for justice is justice. the fact that people came into the courtroom and spoke for two months about what has asked the happen in guatemala in both the rios montt genocide case and the pedro garcia arredondo, burning of the spanish embassy contributes to be historical narrative and setting the record straight about what happened in guatemala so everyone knows what a happened and no one is afraid to talk about it. >> and the u.s. role? >> well, the u.s. was totally complicit in the genocide in guatemala. we now have the documentation to prove it. when rios montt was being tried for genocide, the public ministry, like the attorney general's office, had a very narrow focus on one particular region and one particular group of at thef ethnics. many other areas need to be explored. the role of the current president of guatemala, the role of the united states. i'm hoping the conviction in the spanish and a ck's will increase momentum for this justice initiative to continue. or people have been tried, arrested, convicted of crimes that have happened during the war in guatemala in the last four years than in previous 30 years. i think the international community has to support that initiative. >> rigoberta menchu as we wrap up, do you hold the united states responsible in addition to your own government at the time, the guatemalan government and military? >> yes, i totally concur. there is a great till of documentation that has been compiled. part of it related to the cold war. in fact, the weapon that was used to incinerate the spanish embassy and to burn those that occupied it is also of a dubious source, which is being looked into and document it. so in conclusion, i do hold -- >> we have to leave it there. support for christina cooks is provided by eden foods, dedicated to the creation and maintenance of purity in food. and suzanne's specialties, makers of pure sweeteners-- the way mother nature intended. closed captioning of christina cooks provided by melissa's, world variety produce. put up your dukes! we're all fighting the aging process. we'll explore better and healthier ways to age gracefully, today on christina cooks. captioning made possible by telenium and u.s. department of education
has been abducted. will the yemeni government be overthrown in a coup? we will speak to journalists iona craig and jeremy scahill. then to guatemala. in a major victory for human righ activists, a former guatemalan police chief has been found guilty for ordering the spanish embassy to be set on fire in 1980. 37 peasant activists and student organizers died in the fire. we will speak to nobel peace prize-winner rigoberta menchú. her father died in the massacre. >> we have been denied the truth for 35 years and today, the responsibility for mr. garcia is clear and also that of all of the people that remained in the hearing, many of whom have already died, but also responsibility of the state. i think this is what makes us the most happy and due process makes us happy, too, because we have the patience to reach this moment and we are really excited. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. islamic state militants have posted a new video threatening to execute two japanese hostages. the militants demanded japan pay a $200 million ransom without 72 -- within 72 hours, the same amount prime minister shinzo abe pledged to give saturday in nonmilitary aid for countries fighting isis. the hostages shown in the video are kenji goto, a freelance journalist, and haruna yukawa, the head of a private security firm. prime minister abe demanded the hostages' release but did not say if japan would pay the ransom. >> it is an unacceptable act to threaten us in exchange for human lives and i felt angry about it. i shortly urge them to immediately release the hostages about harming them. >> in germany, anti-racist demonstrators have continued to outnumber members of an anti-islam rallies. authorities banned the far-right pegida party from holding a march in dresden monday after an assassination threat against the group's leaders. rallies went ahead in berlin munich and other cities, but thousands of counter-protesters vastly outnumbered them. in chechnya, meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to condemn the depictions of the prophet mohammed in the french magazine charlie hebdo. the rally has been called the largest ever held in the north caucuses. fox news has apologized for broadcasting false information about muslims in the wake of the paris attacks. last weekend, self-described terrorism expert steve emerson claimed on fox news that parts of europe, including the entire english city of birmingham, were totally muslim areas where non-muslims don't go. emerson was forced to apologize, but the claim about so-called "no-go zones" was repeated by other fox guests and anchors. on saturday, according to a cnn money tally, fox news took time out of four broadcasts to apologize. julie banderas issued the broadest apology directed at the , people of england and france. >> a correction over the course of this last week we have made some regrettable errors on their regarding the muslim population in europe. particularly with regard to england and france. this applies especially to discussions of so-called no go zones, area where non-muslims allegedly are not allowed in and police supposedly long ago. to be clear, there was no formal designation of these zones and either country, and no credible information to support the assertion are specific areas in these countries that exclude individuals based solely on their religion. >> the fox apology came just hours after she interviewed a guest who falsely claimed that 69% of muslims in france support isis, a claim fox subsequently corrected. meanwhile, louisiana republican governor bobby jindal has continued to claim the no-go zones exist. jindal is considered a possible contender for the republican presidential nomination in 2016. he told cnn "look, i've heard from folks here there are neighborhoods where women don't have comfortable going in without veils." and mullally, devastating floods have killed at least 176 people and displaced 200,000. rescuers have rushed to bring aid to people cut off from food and supplies. the floods come as nasa climate scientists confirmed 2014 was the hottest year on record due to human-caused climate change. >> 2014, the year just ended was the warmest year on record going back to when the record started in the 1880's. 2014 was about one and 100 degrees warmer than the average -- one and one quarter degrees warmer. >> a woman working for the united nations peacekeeping mission has been kidnapped by gunmen in the capital. the news comes one day after anti-balaka militia members seized two aid workers. a new report finds the obama administration's accusation that north korea carried out the hack on sony pictures was based on evidence it gathered from its own hacking of north korea. the new york times reports the national security agency began penetrating north korea's networks in 2010 and planted malware to monitor activities. meanwhile, a report in the german newsmagazine der spiegel, based on documents from nsa whistleblower edward snowden outlines how the united states is engaging in extensive preparations for an online guerilla war which -- "threatens to transform the internet into a lawless zone in which superpowers and their secret services operate according to their own whims with very few ways to hold them accountable for their actions." the guardian meanwhile has published a new report based on snowden documents which show the nsa's british counterpart, gchq, collected the emails of reporters as part of its bulk spying operations. emails from the bbc, reuters the guardian, the new york times, nbc, the washington post and the french newspaper le monde were saved and shared with staff on the agency's intranet as part of a test exercise. the agency also listed "investigative journalists" as a threat alongside terrorists or hackers. in switzerland, a whistleblower has been found guilty of violating bank secrecy laws by giving information on offshore accounts to wikileaks. rudolf elmer headed the cayman islands office of the bank julius baer until his firing in 2002. in 2011, he publicly handed compact discs containing information on offshore account holders to wikileaks founder julian assange in a bid to reveal what he called the "damaging" impact of hiding money offshore. elmer's attorney has vowed to appeal the guilty verdict which comes with a suspended fine, but no prison time. an israeli airstrike has reportedly killed a top iranian general and six fighters with the group hezbollah. the dead include a hezbollah commander and the 26-year-old son of a late military leader. the international criminal court has opened a prelimary inquiry into possible war crimes committed by israel in the occupied territories. the inquiry comes as palestine is set to become a member of the icc on april 1. emeric rogier of the icc prosecutor's office said the examination would cover possible crimes by both sides. >> it is important to understand it is not an investigation. it is a process in the course of which the office will gather information on crimes committed in palestine since june of last year. we will assess this information and at the end of the process, we will decide whether to open an investigation or close the matter are possibly if you need further information. >> the u.s. state department opposed the inquiry, saying -- "it is a tragic irony that israel, which has withstood thousands of terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutinzed by the icc." in argentina, a federal prosecutor who had accused argentina's president of helping to cover up iran's role in the deadly 1994 bombing of a jewish community center has been found dead of a gunshot wound to the head. alberto nisman's death was discovered just hours before he was due to testify before lawmakers on his findings. last week, nisman accused president christina fernandez de kirchner and other top argentine officials of plotting to conceal the role of iranian suspects in the attack in a bid to obtain iranian oil. nisman had been under police guard after receiving death threats, but authorities say his death appears to be a suicide. the u.s. supreme court has agreed to take up the issue of whether same-sex couples in all 50 states have a constitutional right to marry. the decision comes three months after the court refused to hear appeals from states seeking to uphold marriage equality bans, triggering a chain reaction that increased the number of states allowing same-sex marriage to 36. the court has agreed to hear appeals from couples in four states where bans remain in place. attorney general eric holder has unveiled changes to the federal government's role in civil asset forfeiture, a practice where police seize property that belongs to people suspected of crimes, even if they are never convicted. the new rules prevent federal agencies from taking property seized by local and state police, with exceptions for items like guns and child pornography. in a statement, the aclu called the move -- "a significant advancement to reform a practice that is a clear violation of due process that is often used to disproportionately target communities of color." in eastern montana, crews have been struggling to clean up an oil spill in the partially frozen yellowstone river. the bridger pipeline company has acknowledged 50,000 gallons of oil spilled from a burst pipeline. residents have reported an oily taste in their drinking water and an oil sheen has been spotted nearly 60 miles downstream. a new study from oxfam finds the world's 80 richest people own as much as the bottom half of the world combined. the group warns the richest 1% now own 48% of the world's wealth, and are poised to own more than half by 2016. the report's release comes as global elites gather in davos, switzerland at the world economic forum. speaking in davos, oxfam's max lawson urged world governments to take action. >> the claim is that they should tax the rich, tax rich people and rich corporations progressively and fairly, rich individuals, particularly the richest individuals should pay a reasonable amount of tax the kind of level of tax or playing as recently as the 1990's. >> president obama is expected to propose plans for taxes on wealthy americans during his state of the union address tonight. new york city has agreed to pay $75,000 to an african-american man who said he was placed in a police chokehold in 2013. kevin dennis-palmer said he was approached by police while parallel parking outside his home. when he couldn't get out of the car quickly due to his large frame, police tried to pull him through a window, pepper sprayed him, slammed him to the ground , and placed him in a chokehold while he yelled, "i can't breathe." the case closely mirrors that of eric garner, an african-american man killed in staten island when police placed him in a chokehold and and pinned him down. he said, "i can't breathe" 11 times. the new york city council is considering a bill that would make police chokeholds a misdemeanor, but new york city mayor bill de blasio has said he would veto it. and protesters across the country held more than 50 actions monday to honor martin luther king by reclaiming his radical legacy and condemning police killings of unarmed african americans. marches and acts of civil disobedience under the banner of "reclaim mlk" were held from oakland to chicago to st. louis to new york and denver, colorado where an estimated 30,000 people were in the streets. in a statement, the group ferguson action said -- "we resist efforts to reduce a long history marred with the blood of countless members of our community into iconic images of men in suits behind pulpits. this mlk weekend we will walk in the legacy of dr. king and the movement that raised him." and those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report, i'm amy goodman. and i am caring that day. we begin in yemen, where the capital sana'a is seeing its worst violence in months. intense clashes between government forces and shia houthi rebels have sowed chaos and raised the threat of a coup. the latest round of fighting broke out this weekend when the houthis kidnapped the chief of staff to president abdu hadi. the houthis are protesting the text of new draft constitution that would divide yemen into six federal regions. talks for the charter began under a peace deal reached in september, after houthis mobilized large protests and captured most of sana'a by force. they were supposed to withdraw in the months since but have only expanded their hold. now the country faces political collapse. on monday, new gun battles erupted as houthi fighters surrounded the prime minister's residence and the presidential palace. the attack came despite a second ceasefire between the two sides. the capital appears calm for now but uncertainty prevails. >> the houthis' rise has further upended yemen's fragile political order. as the government fights the houthis, it also wages a u.s.-backed offensive against al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap. despite the long-running u.s. drone war, the al-qaeda insurgency has only grown deadlier each year. the houthis themselves have also fought al-qaeda at the same time as they now take on the yemeni government. the houthis appear to have major backing from longtime president ali abdullah saleh, ousted in a popular uprising in 2011. the latest unrest also comes days after al qaeda in yemen took responsibility for the charlie hebdo massacre in paris. for more we are joined by two guests. iona craig is a journalist who was based in sana'a, yemen for four years as the yemen correspondent for the times of london. she was awarded the martha gellhorn prize for journalism in 2014. the government has cracked down on local and foreign journalists and at one point last year iona craig was the country's last accredited foreign reporter. she is joining us from london. we are also joined by jeremy scahill, co-founder of the theintercept.org. just days after the charlie hebdo massacre, jeremy broke the story that al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap, had taken credit. he cited a confidential al-qaeda source in yemen. days later, aqap put out an official statement confirming it took responsibility. we welcome you both to democracy now! iona craig, tell us what is happening right now in yemen and who the houthi militants are. >> what is happening now, it is really political posturing on behalf of of the houthis. they have kidnapped the presidential aides, the chief of staff in order to get that leverage. in the fighting we saw in the last 20 four hours is also part of that. the negotiations at the moment are going on for the release of the chief of staff in exchange for changing the draft constitution. the issue with the houthis they were formed as a movement in 2004 and then fought the government and six wars between 2004-2010. but they then became part of the arab spring. they put down their weapons, join the protest joined the siddons, particularly in sana'a and became part of the peaceful movement. the transition that followed that was backed by the international community can actually instigated by the u.s. in the first place did not go their way. when the national dialogue was concluded in january last year and the decision was made about federalism and to divide the country to six regions the houthis were not happy. that is when they started taking territory. there were pushing from their stronghold, if you like, in sana'a to the north, up by the saudi border, and started pushing south toward sana'a. this was also an opportunity for saleh to join in because the houthis'main enemy is on the brotherhood who gained a lot of power after the arab spring and a lot of political power. that a joint enemy. so between the support of saleh and the houthis, they were able to take background and eventually got to sana'a in september and in the space of four days of fighting, the military -- minister of interior ordered troops to stand down and they took control of the city. >> when you say the houthis are engaging in political posturing, deeming they're not trying to carry out a coup despite all this fighting in the capital? >> i think it is really hard to determine whether that is the case or not. in september they have the opportunity to do that. they could have kicked the president out of that time, but they didn't, which makes me think they probably won't do that now. it depends on how far they are pushed. if they don't get their way with the constitution, they may do that, but i think the houthis has stopped short of taking difficult power. again, they could have put their own people as ministers when a new government was formed at the end of last year, but they chose not to do so because it means than they're not held responsible for when the government collapses and things go wrong. where there taken the sonic control by try to manipulate the government can't take control inside the military without having their own men in power. >> jeremy scahill, how does what is going on in yemen right now place you also have spent time in and reported from, relate to what happened in france and aqap taking responsibility for the charlie hebdo attack? >> one thing that is interesting to add to her analysis which i think is spot on, the houthis had been an interesting political football of sorts in the u.s. policy in yemen. they've also been bombed repeatedly by the saudi's. saudi arabia waged a not so secret war bombing the houthis in the wikileaks cables, you see when saleh was in charge officially empower in yemen, he would consistently say to the united states, we have to do something about the houthis because they are being backed by iran. to the credit of u.s. diplomats they said, well, we don't exactly think that is true. what was happening saleh was a master manipulator of the united states, and he was looking for anyway way he could to justify getting more military assistance , more money to bolster his own forces that were supposedly fighting al qaeda, to actually use them to shore up his own power base. when the well was starting to dry up with al qaeda and the arabian peninsula, he would then appeal to the united states and say, hey, we have these iranian agents in the form of the who these inside yemen. what we're seeing right now is saleh, who himself is a shiite and has roots in that region, has now flipped sides and as iona said, and the not so hidden hand behind some of the power grab efforts of the houthis. as it relates to the charlie hebdo massacre, of course al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is facing a situation in the world where they and al qaeda central have sort of been clipped by the rise of the islamic state isis. so in this case, seems like an a minimum, there are ties between the kouachi brothers who conducted the massacre and aqap. if the -- it is to the benefit of the aqap to maximize the with a group of trays its involvement with charlie hebdo, but there are series questions about whether or not they financed it and directed it or that they simply provided some training to aspiring jihadists who on to conduct his very public globally recognized massacre. >> iona, germany mentioned saudi arabia. can you expand more on their role in this current conflict and you agree saleh is playing a major role in the current unrest? >> yes. i think is certainly clear that saleh has played some role. it was clear to me after the houthis had taken over control of sana'a, just walking around the city, talking to people, even talking to some of the men that were houthis and other people around the city that many of those plane closed gunman you were seeing on the street as houthis at accident part of republican guard before, which the republican guard was a unit under saleh's time and was commanded by his son. very much an overlap between the houthis in what used to be the republican guard in the takeover of sana'a and a continued control of the city since then. just to go back to the issue the saudi's sort of stop the situation now where -- stuck in a situation where the houthis are supported by iran. how much support there is is an clear. but those are obviously the regional rivals. the saudi's were very much involved in bombing the houthis and we know from our recent reporting that the requester bombs that were fired on the houthis during those wars they came from america, that were sold to them by mecca to the saudi's. the slogan they have of death to america not only comes from a dislike of american foreign-policy, but issues over whether the houthis up and it is american bombs or hitting them in the past. saudi arabia is now the situation where the houthis effectively are in charge of the government, though not 6 -- physically. they're reluctant to give any more economic aid to yemen as a result because the houthis are in control and very much supported by iran. that brings them in closer to the edge of economic collapse which it is now facing at the moment. on the other side, you have who is taking on the houthis, the saudi's looking at from that perspective. the only people who were physically and willing and able to take on the houthis at the moment is al qaeda, which is also putting a lot of tribal groups in a difficult position. when the houthis started taking further territory after sana'a in september, the areas where they did want houthis coming into the territory and they found themselves, whether they liked it or not come on the same side as al qaeda possibly with the prospect of fighting alongside al qaeda even if they did not agree with them ideologically because they were the only one standing up to the houthis' expansion because the government was neither willing or able to do so. >> iona craig, i want to ask about the comments of louisiana governor bobby jindal. he is in london right now. he was repeating the allegations that have repeatedly been uttered on fox, and now four major apologies from fox about what they have been saying, that whole areas of london, of brother britain, are no go zones. being that you are in london right now having reported in limit for years -- yemen for years, can you talk about the response of david cameron and others in britain can also -- fox also made the allegations about france. >> i think really people feel incredibly insulted by that kind of ignorant comment. some people have just laughed it off as slightly ridiculous, as many people see those kind of comments. i've spent time in birmingham and i'm living in the moment in south london. these communities, multicultural committees in both cities, that are certainly no go areas for anybody in that respect. so, yes, i think it is deeply insulting to the people of birmingham -- >> birmingham is the place where the so-called terrorism expert steve emerson said on fox is completely muslim. its majority christian, actually, then he was forced to apologize. " i think probably the crucial thing is the so-called terrorism experts. perhaps this is some of the who hasn't spent much time from behind the desk for a while. he certainly has not visited birmingham, anyway. >> back to yemen, what you see happening next? >> it is hard to predict. the situation politically obviously, unless you have political stability, you can't have security. you have a very weak government very weak president, effectively a president now with a gun to his head with the houthis sent we want the draft constitution change, otherwise we're going to keep control and hold on to the chief of staff. you have al qaeda who has really changed their mode of operation since the houthisd took over in september and have started targeting civilians as a result. civilians they claim are houthi s. but before, al qaeda had never elderly going out of their way -- never deliberately run out of their way to kill civilians and that changed when the houthis to control in september. attacked in october and twice since the beginning of this year they have attacked civilians and to liberally targeted civilians. that is a really warring for people in yemen, obviously, but now civilians are seen as a legitimate target by al qaeda. they claimed responsibility for over 150 attacks across yemen since the houthis to control. the issue of instability both politically and security wise and the economy, as i mentioned on the brink of collapse with the government has run out of money to even pay the civil service in the military. but the moment, it is all in the hands of the houthis. it is up to them whether they start this fighting again in order to push forward the government into a corner and take heed of their demands, or whether we now see a peaceful and to all of this. it won't be an end. the houthis still have the power in their hands at the moment and the president does not. >> iona, thank you for being with us, joining us from london, based in sana'a for four years as a yemen correspondent for the times of london. she was awarded the martha gellhorn prize for journalism in 2014. when we come back from the break, we will be continuing with jeremy scahill, cofounder of the intercept. about the so-called terrorism experts and the networks there on. we will play a clip of jeremy taking on cnn on cnn, and also what does it mean to protect sources and better who or where they are. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> at the nobel peace prize concert in 2011, 1 of the three people awarded that year was singing "africa." this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. our guest at we continue it is jeremy scahill, the author of "blackwater." 's latest book is called "dirty wars: the world is a battlefield." he broke the story that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and aqap, took credit for the charlie hebdo massacre in paris, based on a now cut a source in yemen. days later, aqap put out a statement of that very nature. jeremy broke it first. jeremy, talk about the controversy "the washington post" has written about, you are on cnn talking about it, protecting what they call terrorist sources. not naming the sources that leaked you that story before it was officially acknowledged. >> i have been a journalist for around 20 years. i am honestly a bit dumbfounded at the response from other journalists. a classic part of good journalism, responsible journalism, going many many centuries back is that your china provide people with information that is actionable that they can use to make informed decisions on what to believe or positions to take on certain issues, and a key part of covering war is that you have to have journalists willing to go to the other side to speak with the people that you're told are the enemy. and to get their perspective. so we can better understand the nature of this conflict. so just as i have gone to areas in yemen are controlled by al qaeda or areas in somalia controlled by al-shabaab or areas in afghanistan that are controlled by the taliban, we have an obligation [indiscernible] understand where al qaeda in the potential is coming from. the idea we should have a special standard that in certain cases were not journalists, but we are somehow militant nationalists who should not engage in responsible journalism because the us government doesn't like us talking to those individuals, to make him a just flies in the face of just basic journalistic principles. >> the director of the fbi criticized "the new york times" for anonymously quoting a source from al qaeda and i consider -- assume he would criticize you too. he said the use of the source was mystifying and disgusting and added -- your response? >> clearly, director comey doesn't exley want us to have a truly free press. let's remember, this justice department is waging a role -- war in whistleblowers that effectively amounts to a war against journalism. i don't believe in using anonymous sources widely. particularly think newspapers and news organizations should not be giving u.s. senior officials anonymity, which is largely was senior u.s. officials request anonymity. they want to be able to say things that secretly or privately benefit u.s. policy and not actually moving the story forward. a lot of disinformation gets pushed out that way. i believe in a limited use of confidential sources. in this case, we have a situation -- we at something that was determined us news value on a breaking news story. the government had declared they were from al qaeda in yemen. there's a lot of speculation going on. i reached out to sources that i know our members of aqap with access to the leadership of that organization to try to get an understanding of whether or not this was true. it was not clear at the time that any official statement was forthcoming from aqap, and if we were to identify our source who is not authorized to speak -- not just because they're like a private spokesperson, but because aqap has a very strict set of guidelines as to who speaks officially for the organization. also, the source could potentially be in danger, which, to me, is the number one reason why you would grant anonymity to, dental source whose information in the past has been verified as judgment of their life is going to be in danger. i didn't just decide this on my own to grant anonymity to someone from aqap, our general counsel review this, our editor in chief and to senior editors we all discussed this issue and ultimately made it the decision that granting anonymity in this case was the responsible thing to do. >> on sunday, you appeared on cnn hosted by brian stilts are. >> or think it gets into really fear generating territory is when you have the so-called terror analysts on the air for many of them also work for risk consultancy firms that benefit from the idea of making us afraid. i don't think that cnn, msnbc and fox news do anywhere near a good enough job at revealing the potential conflict of interest of some of the on-air analysts who also worked in the private sector and it money off the idea we should be very afraid. >> you understand that these people want us to be frightened inappropriately, for unnecessary reasons. >> i've spent a lot of is investigating. you'll have retired generals come on air and talk about the danger of a terror group in a particular country, and they are on the board of a huge weapons manufacture or defense company that will benefit from an extension of that war and expansion of that war. perhaps the biggest file leader of this is general barry mccaffrey who has made a tremendous amount of money off of were contracting and then brought on these networks. >> that is jeremy scahill on cnn "reliable sources." if you could take it from there. you're talking about general mccaffrey and others. >> we also know that soon after 9/11, the pentagon expanded its use of a program where they were invited former u.s. military brass who were serving as pundits on cable news and it would basically give them talking points that amounted to propaganda, a backdoor way of the war machine being able to spread its message. and these guys are without disclosing the were part of the secret meetings, would go on cable networks and project supposedly as independent analysts, the very policy that rumsfeld and others at the pentagon were trying to drive through to the mac in public. most all of these guys who are retired generals are retired brass have their hand in the war industry to one degree or another. many are making money off working with risk consultancy firms, where they're going to big multinational corporations and offering them their services analyzing risks and countries around the world. if you remember paul bremmer was put in charge of the occupation of iraq him of what he was doing prior to 9/11 was benefiting off of the notion that companies need to be afraid all around the world and that they need people like him to help them assess the risk and mitigate any kind of potential terrorist actions against these corporations. on the one hand, it is the retired generals and other brass that are working in the war industry. on the other hand, it is people like evan coleman who was on msnbc who is a total fraud and is constantly brought on as an expert. his so-called express testimony has been used to put countless people away in prison on very dubious, thin tourism charges. yet samuel laurent who was on cnn for a couple of days. we don't know where he is. he doesn't seem to be on cnn anymore. but he was a french so-called terror expert and widely viewed in france as a fraud and people are up in arms when cnn put him on the air as a terrorism expert. part of what i think is the problem here is, cnn has really great international reporters who have great experience on the ground. i have tremendous respect for many journalists particularly in the international section of cnn, but then they bring on these analysts who have a vested interest in revving up the fear engine and don't disclose in many cases the built-in agenda a particularly some of these retired military people. >> i just want to ask a combat the story broke about al qaeda in yemen taken responsible for the charlie hebdo massacre. what you see is going on without them coming for to say they financed the brothers, train them, because presumably, it would invite and intensify drone war. what questions or concerns do have going forward in the aftermath of them taking credit? >> this may be somewhat of a cynical read on this but who has benefited? the people who benefited most from the u.s. drone war in yemen have not been ordinary yemenis have not been the people of the united states. the only real beneficiaries about -- of that policy have been the manufacturers of drones and the missiles fired from the drones and al qaeda in the iranian peninsula. when the u.s. conducts a drone strike and they kill innocent civilians, aqap can use that as propaganda purposes. in the limited cases where they have killed individuals from aqap, then they are celebrated as martyrs. so i think part of what aqap is doing is trying to goad the united states into once again escalating or intensifying its from campaign inside of yemen because it elevates the stature of aqap. it could be aqap had emitted involvement and that all of the facts about it are armored on the table. my senses if aqap did indeed direct this plot, they're going to produce video evidence to back that up. if they don't do that, then i think it is likely that the truth is that they had some involvement, but were not effectively running the show. >> what is repeated on summit of the networks that anwar awlaki was behind this terror attack on charlie hebdo? >> they try to link anwar to every plot under the sun awlaki so-called long will terrorists. whether he was operationally in charge of this is kind of a joke. he was not even mid-level management in aqap. there are exploding his legacy because of the power of nightmares. he speaks in english. the united states has elevated his status within the organization. aqap has a leadership structure. anwar awlaki was not the top of that. quick jeremy scahill, broke the story aqap took responsibility for the charlie hebdo massacre. his latest book, "dirty wars: the world is a battlefield," is out in paperback. his film "dirty wars" was nominated for an academy award. when we come back, we go to guatemala for remarkable verdict that is just come down around crimes against humanity. stay with us. ♪ [music break] "spiritual." dr. martin luther king and malcolm x and ed mentor evers inspired the music. a big shout out to ruth hayden, the widow of charlie haden, who has joined us today at our studios just to come by and say hello. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> a major victory for human rights activists, a guatemalan court has returned a guilty verdict in the spanish embassy massacre of 1980. on monday, the court found former police chief pedro garcia arredondo responsible for ordering an attack on 37 peasant activists and student organizers who were occupying the spanish embassy in guatemala city to protest government repression. judge maria eugenia castellanos delivered the verdict. >> this court unanimously declares first that the defendant pedro garcia arredondo is the perpetrator of the crimes of murder. >> according monday's ruling arredondo was the officer who gave the order to set fire to the diplomatic mission, burning the activists to death. he was also found guilty of two separate murders and sentenced to a total of 90 years in prison. one of the victims of the spanish embassy massacre was don vicente menchú, an indigenous peasant leader and father of the nobel peace prize-winner rigoberta menchú. in a moment, rigoberta menchu will join us from guatemala city to discuss this historic verdict , over three-decades in the making. but, first, i want to go to a clip of the 1983 documentary "when the mountains tremble." in the film, menchu looks directly into the camera and explains why her father and other peasant activists occupied the spanish embassy on january 31, 1980. >> the security forces arrived in our village to throw us off our plots. according to them, and belonged to a nearby landowner. we were very scared since we did not speak spanish and could not understand them. >> that was rigoberta menchu in the 1983 documentary "when the mountains tremble." just two people survived the embassy fire. one was then spanish ambassador máximo cajal y lópez. the other was a guatemalan farmer named gregorio yuja -- he was subsequently disappeared and his body was found with evidence of torture three days after the fire. during the dirty war, more than 200,000 people died. 83% of them work indigenous mayans. >> well, for more, we're joined now via democracy now! video skype from guatemala city by rigoberta menchú. she was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1992. she's published many books including, "i, rigoberta menchu: an indian woman in guatemala." she's been translated into over a dozen languages, awarded more than 30 honorary degrees runs , the "the rigoberta menchu tum foundation." and here in new york we're , joined by pamela yates. she is a partner at skylight pictures, a documentary film and digital media company that focuses on human rights and social justice stories. in 1983, she collaborated with menchu on the documentary, "when the mountains tremble." we welcome you both to democracy now! that's first go to guatemala city. rigoberta menchu, you were in the courtroom when the verdict and sentence handed down. can you describe your reaction? >> well, undoubtedly, this is a historic event. this trial and verdict are huge. we waited 16 years for this verdict to be handed down. the trial went on for 16 years. and this verdict has been issued 36 years after the event itself. so we are deeply moved and this is a very special moment in our history. >> can you talk about your long quest for justice almost four decades in the making? >> well, first of all, i left guatemala and fled. i was forced into exile and i promised myself and i promised my father and i promised the memory of guatemala and the victims of water mullah -- guatemala, would not cease fighting against impunity. and that is precisely what i have done. your and and year out, every day of my life i have dedicated myself to gathering the evidence and putting together the cases to fight for this truth. i think that is very important and what is really crucial here is the memory of the victims and the search for the truth and also the commitment to substantiate the truth. so the truth is foremost. because they accused us of being liars. they tried to denigrate the memory of the victims. they even said the victims had burned themselves. but the truth has come forward with this verdict from the court that holds not just garcia arredondo responsible, but holds the state of guatemala responsible for this massacre. >> let's go to the issue of the state. in the same courthouse general rios montt is on truck, the that trial has been delayed. can you talk about the significance of what he has done? >> yes, there are two depths guilty verdicts that have been issued in this courthouse. first, the guilty verdict for the spanish embassy massacre and secondly, the guilty conviction of rios montt. in both cases, we're seeing there are significant legal challenges. the constitutional court has declared the case against rios montt as been an old, but these are illegal arguments. they are breaking with due process. and so both cases face significant legal challenges and hurdles to stick. >> pamela yates, if you could talk further about what is happening with rios montt, what he was convicted of, why he is back in trial. and as we wrap up, how this implicates, or does it, the current president of guatemala perez molina and the role of the united states? >> that is a lot. the case against rios montt, he is being retried on the same charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. but his lawyers's strategy is to delay and deny delay so you will never go to prison. he is 88 years old. they hope you will die before that. but isn't it incredible the people of guatemala now have successfully adjudicated these two cases? one for genocide, never happened before -- >> that was rios montt. >> yes. >> the verdict set aside? >> yes, but for some and he people in guatemala, the verdict is valid. the quest for justice is justice. the fact that people came into the courtroom and spoke for two months about what has asked the happen in guatemala in both the rios montt genocide case and the pedro garcia arredondo, burning of the spanish embassy contributes to be historical narrative and setting the record straight about what happened in guatemala so everyone knows what a happened and no one is afraid to talk about it. >> and the u.s. role? >> well, the u.s. was totally complicit in the genocide in guatemala. we now have the documentation to prove it. when rios montt was being tried for genocide, the public ministry, like the attorney general's office, had a very narrow focus on one particular region and one particular group of at thef ethnics. many other areas need to be explored. the role of the current president of guatemala, the role of the united states. i'm hoping the conviction in the spanish and a ck's will increase momentum for this justice initiative to continue. or people have been tried, arrested, convicted of crimes that have happened during the war in guatemala in the last four years than in previous 30 years. i think the international community has to support that initiative. >> rigoberta menchu as we wrap up, do you hold the united states responsible in addition to your own government at the time, the guatemalan government and military? >> yes, i totally concur. there is a great till of documentation that has been compiled. part of it related to the cold war. in fact, the weapon that was used to incinerate the spanish embassy and to burn those that occupied it is also of a dubious source, which is being looked into and document it. so in conclusion, i do hold -- >> we have to leavçñ? o experience the serenity of the sunrise and you'll quickly discover you're not alone. the place is crawling with bugs. but what may seem like disgusting pests to you and me are what many in this region would call lunch. with 40 tons of insects to every human on the planet are we in the west ignoring one of the world's great untapped resources? that is huge.
has been abducted. will the yemeni government be overthrown in a coup? we will speak to journalists iona craig and jeremy scahill. then to guatemala. in a major victory for human righ activists, a former guatemalan police chief has been found guilty for ordering the spanish embassy to be set on fire in 1980. 37 peasant activists and student organizers died in the fire. we will speak to nobel peace prize-winner rigoberta menchú. her father died in the massacre. >> we have been denied the truth for 35 years and today, the responsibility for mr. garcia is clear and also that of all of the people that remained in the hearing, many of whom have already died, but also responsibility of the state. i think this is what makes us the most happy and due process makes us happy, too, because we have the patience to reach this moment and we are really excited. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. islamic state militants have posted a new video threatening to execute two japanese hostages. the militants demanded japan pay a $200 million ransom without 72 -- within 72 hours, the same amount prime minister shinzo abe pledged to give saturday in nonmilitary aid for countries fighting isis. the hostages shown in the video are kenji goto, a freelance journalist, and haruna yukawa, the head of a private security firm. prime minister abe demanded the hostages' release but did not say if japan would pay the ransom. >> it is an unacceptable act to threaten us in exchange for human lives and i felt angry about it. i shortly urge them to immediately release the hostages about harming them. >> in germany, anti-racist demonstrators have continued to outnumber members of an anti-islam rallies. authorities banned the far-right pegida party from holding a march in dresden monday after an assassination threat against the group's leaders. rallies went ahead in berlin munich and other cities, but thousands of counter-protesters vastly outnumbered them. in chechnya, meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to condemn the depictions of the prophet mohammed in the french magazine charlie hebdo. the rally has been called the largest ever held in the north caucuses. fox news has apologized for broadcasting false information about muslims in the wake of the paris attacks. last weekend, self-described terrorism expert steve emerson claimed on fox news that parts of europe, including the entire english city of birmingham, were totally muslim areas where non-muslims don't go. emerson was forced to apologize, but the claim about so-called "no-go zones" was repeated by other fox guests and anchors. on saturday, according to a cnn money tally, fox news took time out of four broadcasts to apologize. julie banderas issued the broadest apology directed at the , people of england and france. >> a correction over the course of this last week we have made some regrettable errors on their regarding the muslim population in europe. particularly with regard to england and france. this applies especially to discussions of so-called no go zones, area where non-muslims allegedly are not allowed in and police supposedly long ago. to be clear, there was no formal designation of these zones and either country, and no credible information to support the assertion are specific areas in these countries that exclude individuals based solely on their religion. >> the fox apology came just hours after she interviewed a guest who falsely claimed that 69% of muslims in france support isis, a claim fox subsequently corrected. meanwhile, louisiana republican governor bobby jindal has continued to claim the no-go zones exist. jindal is considered a possible contender for the republican presidential nomination in 2016. he told cnn "look, i've heard from folks here there are neighborhoods where women don't have comfortable going in without veils." and mullally, devastating floods have killed at least 176 people and displaced 200,000. rescuers have rushed to bring aid to people cut off from food and supplies. the floods come as nasa climate scientists confirmed 2014 was the hottest year on record due to human-caused climate change. >> 2014, the year just ended was the warmest year on record going back to when the record started in the 1880's. 2014 was about one and 100 degrees warmer than the average -- one and one quarter degrees warmer. >> a woman working for the united nations peacekeeping mission has been kidnapped by gunmen in the capital. the news comes one day after anti-balaka militia members seized two aid workers. a new report finds the obama administration's accusation that north korea carried out the hack on sony pictures was based on evidence it gathered from its own hacking of north korea. the new york times reports the national security agency began penetrating north korea's networks in 2010 and planted malware to monitor activities. meanwhile, a report in the german newsmagazine der spiegel, based on documents from nsa whistleblower edward snowden outlines how the united states is engaging in extensive preparations for an online guerilla war which -- "threatens to transform the internet into a lawless zone in which superpowers and their secret services operate according to their own whims with very few ways to hold them accountable for their actions." the guardian meanwhile has published a new report based on snowden documents which show the nsa's british counterpart, gchq, collected the emails of reporters as part of its bulk spying operations. emails from the bbc, reuters the guardian, the new york times, nbc, the washington post and the french newspaper le monde were saved and shared with staff on the agency's intranet as part of a test exercise. the agency also listed "investigative journalists" as a threat alongside terrorists or hackers. in switzerland, a whistleblower has been found guilty of violating bank secrecy laws by giving information on offshore accounts to wikileaks. rudolf elmer headed the cayman islands office of the bank julius baer until his firing in 2002. in 2011, he publicly handed compact discs containing information on offshore account holders to wikileaks founder julian assange in a bid to reveal what he called the "damaging" impact of hiding money offshore. elmer's attorney has vowed to appeal the guilty verdict which comes with a suspended fine, but no prison time. an israeli airstrike has reportedly killed a top iranian general and six fighters with the group hezbollah. the dead include a hezbollah commander and the 26-year-old son of a late military leader. the international criminal court has opened a prelimary inquiry into possible war crimes committed by israel in the occupied territories. the inquiry comes as palestine is set to become a member of the icc on april 1. emeric rogier of the icc prosecutor's office said the examination would cover possible crimes by both sides. >> it is important to understand it is not an investigation. it is a process in the course of which the office will gather information on crimes committed in palestine since june of last year. we will assess this information and at the end of the process, we will decide whether to open an investigation or close the matter are possibly if you need further information. >> the u.s. state department opposed the inquiry, saying -- "it is a tragic irony that israel, which has withstood thousands of terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutinzed by the icc." in argentina, a federal prosecutor who had accused argentina's president of helping to cover up iran's role in the deadly 1994 bombing of a jewish community center has been found dead of a gunshot wound to the head. alberto nisman's death was discovered just hours before he was due to testify before lawmakers on his findings. last week, nisman accused president christina fernandez de kirchner and other top argentine officials of plotting to conceal the role of iranian suspects in the attack in a bid to obtain iranian oil. nisman had been under police guard after receiving death threats, but authorities say his death appears to be a suicide. the u.s. supreme court has agreed to take up the issue of whether same-sex couples in all 50 states have a constitutional right to marry. the decision comes three months after the court refused to hear appeals from states seeking to uphold marriage equality bans, triggering a chain reaction that increased the number of states allowing same-sex marriage to 36. the court has agreed to hear appeals from couples in four states where bans remain in place. attorney general eric holder has unveiled changes to the federal government's role in civil asset forfeiture, a practice where police seize property that belongs to people suspected of crimes, even if they are never convicted. the new rules prevent federal agencies from taking property seized by local and state police, with exceptions for items like guns and child pornography. in a statement, the aclu called the move -- "a significant advancement to reform a practice that is a clear violation of due process that is often used to disproportionately target communities of color." in eastern montana, crews have been struggling to clean up an oil spill in the partially frozen yellowstone river. the bridger pipeline company has acknowledged 50,000 gallons of oil spilled from a burst pipeline. residents have reported an oily taste in their drinking water and an oil sheen has been spotted nearly 60 miles downstream. a new study from oxfam finds the world's 80 richest people own as much as the bottom half of the world combined. the group warns the richest 1% now own 48% of the world's wealth, and are poised to own more than half by 2016. the report's release comes as global elites gather in davos, switzerland at the world economic forum. speaking in davos, oxfam's max lawson urged world governments to take action. >> the claim is that they should tax the rich, tax rich people and rich corporations progressively and fairly, rich individuals, particularly the richest individuals should pay a reasonable amount of tax the kind of level of tax or playing as recently as the 1990's. >> president obama is expected to propose plans for taxes on wealthy americans during his state of the union address tonight. new york city has agreed to pay $75,000 to an african-american man who said he was placed in a police chokehold in 2013. kevin dennis-palmer said he was approached by police while parallel parking outside his home. when he couldn't get out of the car quickly due to his large frame, police tried to pull him through a window, pepper sprayed him, slammed him to the ground , and placed him in a chokehold while he yelled, "i can't breathe." the case closely mirrors that of eric garner, an african-american man killed in staten island when police placed him in a chokehold and and pinned him down. he said, "i can't breathe" 11 times. the new york city council is considering a bill that would make police chokeholds a misdemeanor, but new york city mayor bill de blasio has said he would veto it. and protesters across the country held more than 50 actions monday to honor martin luther king by reclaiming his radical legacy and condemning police killings of unarmed african americans. marches and acts of civil disobedience under the banner of "reclaim mlk" were held from oakland to chicago to st. louis to new york and denver, colorado where an estimated 30,000 people were in the streets. in a statement, the group ferguson action said -- "we resist efforts to reduce a long history marred with the blood of countless members of our community into iconic images of men in suits behind pulpits. this mlk weekend we will walk in the legacy of dr. king and the movement that raised him." and those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report, i'm amy goodman. and i am caring that day. we begin in yemen, where the capital sana'a is seeing its worst violence in months. intense clashes between government forces and shia houthi rebels have sowed chaos and raised the threat of a coup. the latest round of fighting broke out this weekend when the houthis kidnapped the chief of staff to president abdu hadi. the houthis are protesting the text of new draft constitution that would divide yemen into six federal regions. talks for the charter began under a peace deal reached in september, after houthis mobilized large protests and captured most of sana'a by force. they were supposed to withdraw in the months since but have only expanded their hold. now the country faces political collapse. on monday, new gun battles erupted as houthi fighters surrounded the prime minister's residence and the presidential palace. the attack came despite a second ceasefire between the two sides. the capital appears calm for now but uncertainty prevails. >> the houthis' rise has further upended yemen's fragile political order. as the government fights the houthis, it also wages a u.s.-backed offensive against al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap. despite the long-running u.s. drone war, the al-qaeda insurgency has only grown deadlier each year. the houthis themselves have also fought al-qaeda at the same time as they now take on the yemeni government. the houthis appear to have major backing from longtime president ali abdullah saleh, ousted in a popular uprising in 2011. the latest unrest also comes days after al qaeda in yemen took responsibility for the charlie hebdo massacre in paris. for more we are joined by two guests. iona craig is a journalist who was based in sana'a, yemen for four years as the yemen correspondent for the times of london. she was awarded the martha gellhorn prize for journalism in 2014. the government has cracked down on local and foreign journalists and at one point last year iona craig was the country's last accredited foreign reporter. she is joining us from london. we are also joined by jeremy scahill, co-founder of the theintercept.org. just days after the charlie hebdo massacre, jeremy broke the story that al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap, had taken credit. he cited a confidential al-qaeda source in yemen. days later, aqap put out an official statement confirming it took responsibility. we welcome you both to democracy now! iona craig, tell us what is happening right now in yemen and who the houthi militants are. >> what is happening now, it is really political posturing on behalf of of the houthis. they have kidnapped the presidential aides, the chief of staff in order to get that leverage. in the fighting we saw in the last 20 four hours is also part of that. the negotiations at the moment are going on for the release of the chief of staff in exchange for changing the draft constitution. the issue with the houthis they were formed as a movement in 2004 and then fought the government and six wars between 2004-2010. but they then became part of the arab spring. they put down their weapons, join the protest joined the siddons, particularly in sana'a and became part of the peaceful movement. the transition that followed that was backed by the international community can actually instigated by the u.s. in the first place did not go their way. when the national dialogue was concluded in january last year and the decision was made about federalism and to divide the country to six regions the houthis were not happy. that is when they started taking territory. there were pushing from their stronghold, if you like, in sana'a to the north, up by the saudi border, and started pushing south toward sana'a. this was also an opportunity for saleh to join in because the houthis'main enemy is on the brotherhood who gained a lot of power after the arab spring and a lot of political power. that a joint enemy. so between the support of saleh and the houthis, they were able to take background and eventually got to sana'a in september and in the space of four days of fighting, the military -- minister of interior ordered troops to stand down and they took control of the city. >> when you say the houthis are engaging in political posturing, deeming they're not trying to carry out a coup despite all this fighting in the capital? >> i think it is really hard to determine whether that is the case or not. in september they have the opportunity to do that. they could have kicked the president out of that time, but they didn't, which makes me think they probably won't do that now. it depends on how far they are pushed. if they don't get their way with the constitution, they may do that, but i think the houthis has stopped short of taking difficult power. again, they could have put their own people as ministers when a new government was formed at the end of last year, but they chose not to do so because it means than they're not held responsible for when the government collapses and things go wrong. where there taken the sonic control by try to manipulate the government can't take control inside the military without having their own men in power. >> jeremy scahill, how does what is going on in yemen right now place you also have spent time in and reported from, relate to what happened in france and aqap taking responsibility for the charlie hebdo attack? >> one thing that is interesting to add to her analysis which i think is spot on, the houthis had been an interesting political football of sorts in the u.s. policy in yemen. they've also been bombed repeatedly by the saudi's. saudi arabia waged a not so secret war bombing the houthis in the wikileaks cables, you see when saleh was in charge officially empower in yemen, he would consistently say to the united states, we have to do something about the houthis because they are being backed by iran. to the credit of u.s. diplomats they said, well, we don't exactly think that is true. what was happening saleh was a master manipulator of the united states, and he was looking for anyway way he could to justify getting more military assistance , more money to bolster his own forces that were supposedly fighting al qaeda, to actually use them to shore up his own power base. when the well was starting to dry up with al qaeda and the arabian peninsula, he would then appeal to the united states and say, hey, we have these iranian agents in the form of the who these inside yemen. what we're seeing right now is saleh, who himself is a shiite and has roots in that region, has now flipped sides and as iona said, and the not so hidden hand behind some of the power grab efforts of the houthis. as it relates to the charlie hebdo massacre, of course al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is facing a situation in the world where they and al qaeda central have sort of been clipped by the rise of the islamic state isis. so in this case, seems like an a minimum, there are ties between the kouachi brothers who conducted the massacre and aqap. if the -- it is to the benefit of the aqap to maximize the with a group of trays its involvement with charlie hebdo, but there are series questions about whether or not they financed it and directed it or that they simply provided some training to aspiring jihadists who on to conduct his very public globally recognized massacre. >> iona, germany mentioned saudi arabia. can you expand more on their role in this current conflict and you agree saleh is playing a major role in the current unrest? >> yes. i think is certainly clear that saleh has played some role. it was clear to me after the houthis had taken over control of sana'a, just walking around the city, talking to people, even talking to some of the men that were houthis and other people around the city that many of those plane closed gunman you were seeing on the street as houthis at accident part of republican guard before, which the republican guard was a unit under saleh's time and was commanded by his son. very much an overlap between the houthis in what used to be the republican guard in the takeover of sana'a and a continued control of the city since then. just to go back to the issue the saudi's sort of stop the situation now where -- stuck in a situation where the houthis are supported by iran. how much support there is is an clear. but those are obviously the regional rivals. the saudi's were very much involved in bombing the houthis and we know from our recent reporting that the requester bombs that were fired on the houthis during those wars they came from america, that were sold to them by mecca to the saudi's. the slogan they have of death to america not only comes from a dislike of american foreign-policy, but issues over whether the houthis up and it is american bombs or hitting them in the past. saudi arabia is now the situation where the houthis effectively are in charge of the government, though not 6 -- physically. they're reluctant to give any more economic aid to yemen as a result because the houthis are in control and very much supported by iran. that brings them in closer to the edge of economic collapse which it is now facing at the moment. on the other side, you have who is taking on the houthis, the saudi's looking at from that perspective. the only people who were physically and willing and able to take on the houthis at the moment is al qaeda, which is also putting a lot of tribal groups in a difficult position. when the houthis started taking further territory after sana'a in september, the areas where they did want houthis coming into the territory and they found themselves, whether they liked it or not come on the same side as al qaeda possibly with the prospect of fighting alongside al qaeda even if they did not agree with them ideologically because they were the only one standing up to the houthis' expansion because the government was neither willing or able to do so. >> iona craig, i want to ask about the comments of louisiana governor bobby jindal. he is in london right now. he was repeating the allegations that have repeatedly been uttered on fox, and now four major apologies from fox about what they have been saying, that whole areas of london, of brother britain, are no go zones. being that you are in london right now having reported in limit for years -- yemen for years, can you talk about the response of david cameron and others in britain can also -- fox also made the allegations about france. >> i think really people feel incredibly insulted by that kind of ignorant comment. some people have just laughed it off as slightly ridiculous, as many people see those kind of comments. i've spent time in birmingham and i'm living in the moment in south london. these communities, multicultural committees in both cities, that are certainly no go areas for anybody in that respect. so, yes, i think it is deeply insulting to the people of birmingham -- >> birmingham is the place where the so-called terrorism expert steve emerson said on fox is completely muslim. its majority christian, actually, then he was forced to apologize. " i think probably the crucial thing is the so-called terrorism experts. perhaps this is some of the who hasn't spent much time from behind the desk for a while. he certainly has not visited birmingham, anyway. >> back to yemen, what you see happening next? >> it is hard to predict. the situation politically obviously, unless you have political stability, you can't have security. you have a very weak government very weak president, effectively a president now with a gun to his head with the houthis sent we want the draft constitution change, otherwise we're going to keep control and hold on to the chief of staff. you have al qaeda who has really changed their mode of operation since the houthisd took over in september and have started targeting civilians as a result. civilians they claim are houthi s. but before, al qaeda had never elderly going out of their way -- never deliberately run out of their way to kill civilians and that changed when the houthis to control in september. attacked in october and twice since the beginning of this year they have attacked civilians and to liberally targeted civilians. that is a really warring for people in yemen, obviously, but now civilians are seen as a legitimate target by al qaeda. they claimed responsibility for over 150 attacks across yemen since the houthis to control. the issue of instability both politically and security wise and the economy, as i mentioned on the brink of collapse with the government has run out of money to even pay the civil service in the military. but the moment, it is all in the hands of the houthis. it is up to them whether they start this fighting again in order to push forward the government into a corner and take heed of their demands, or whether we now see a peaceful and to all of this. it won't be an end. the houthis still have the power in their hands at the moment and the president does not. >> iona, thank you for being with us, joining us from london, based in sana'a for four years as a yemen correspondent for the times of london. she was awarded the martha gellhorn prize for journalism in 2014. when we come back from the break, we will be continuing with jeremy scahill, cofounder of the intercept. about the so-called terrorism experts and the networks there on. we will play a clip of jeremy taking on cnn on cnn, and also what does it mean to protect sources and better who or where they are. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> at the nobel peace prize concert in 2011, 1 of the three people awarded that year was singing "africa." this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. our guest at we continue it is jeremy scahill, the author of "blackwater." 's latest book is called "dirty wars: the world is a battlefield." he broke the story that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and aqap, took credit for the charlie hebdo massacre in paris, based on a now cut a source in yemen. days later, aqap put out a statement of that very nature. jeremy broke it first. jeremy, talk about the controversy "the washington post" has written about, you are on cnn talking about it, protecting what they call terrorist sources. not naming the sources that leaked you that story before it was officially acknowledged. >> i have been a journalist for around 20 years. i am honestly a bit dumbfounded at the response from other journalists. a classic part of good journalism, responsible journalism, going many many centuries back is that your china provide people with information that is actionable that they can use to make informed decisions on what to believe or positions to take on certain issues, and a key part of covering war is that you have to have journalists willing to go to the other side to speak with the people that you're told are the enemy. and to get their perspective. so we can better understand the nature of this conflict. so just as i have gone to areas in yemen are controlled by al qaeda or areas in somalia controlled by al-shabaab or areas in afghanistan that are controlled by the taliban, we have an obligation [indiscernible] understand where al qaeda in the potential is coming from. the idea we should have a special standard that in certain cases were not journalists, but we are somehow militant nationalists who should not engage in responsible journalism because the us government doesn't like us talking to those individuals, to make him a just flies in the face of just basic journalistic principles. >> the director of the fbi criticized "the new york times" for anonymously quoting a source from al qaeda and i consider -- assume he would criticize you too. he said the use of the source was mystifying and disgusting and added -- your response? >> clearly, director comey doesn't exley want us to have a truly free press. let's remember, this justice department is waging a role -- war in whistleblowers that effectively amounts to a war against journalism. i don't believe in using anonymous sources widely. particularly think newspapers and news organizations should not be giving u.s. senior officials anonymity, which is largely was senior u.s. officials request anonymity. they want to be able to say things that secretly or privately benefit u.s. policy and not actually moving the story forward. a lot of disinformation gets pushed out that way. i believe in a limited use of confidential sources. in this case, we have a situation -- we at something that was determined us news value on a breaking news story. the government had declared they were from al qaeda in yemen. there's a lot of speculation going on. i reached out to sources that i know our members of aqap with access to the leadership of that organization to try to get an understanding of whether or not this was true. it was not clear at the time that any official statement was forthcoming from aqap, and if we were to identify our source who is not authorized to speak -- not just because they're like a private spokesperson, but because aqap has a very strict set of guidelines as to who speaks officially for the organization. also, the source could potentially be in danger, which, to me, is the number one reason why you would grant anonymity to, dental source whose information in the past has been verified as judgment of their life is going to be in danger. i didn't just decide this on my own to grant anonymity to someone from aqap, our general counsel review this, our editor in chief and to senior editors we all discussed this issue and ultimately made it the decision that granting anonymity in this case was the responsible thing to do. >> on sunday, you appeared on cnn hosted by brian stilts are. >> or think it gets into really fear generating territory is when you have the so-called terror analysts on the air for many of them also work for risk consultancy firms that benefit from the idea of making us afraid. i don't think that cnn, msnbc and fox news do anywhere near a good enough job at revealing the potential conflict of interest of some of the on-air analysts who also worked in the private sector and it money off the idea we should be very afraid. >> you understand that these people want us to be frightened inappropriately, for unnecessary reasons. >> i've spent a lot of is investigating. you'll have retired generals come on air and talk about the danger of a terror group in a particular country, and they are on the board of a huge weapons manufacture or defense company that will benefit from an extension of that war and expansion of that war. perhaps the biggest file leader of this is general barry mccaffrey who has made a tremendous amount of money off of were contracting and then brought on these networks. >> that is jeremy scahill on cnn "reliable sources." if you could take it from there. you're talking about general mccaffrey and others. >> we also know that soon after 9/11, the pentagon expanded its use of a program where they were invited former u.s. military brass who were serving as pundits on cable news and it would basically give them talking points that amounted to propaganda, a backdoor way of the war machine being able to spread its message. and these guys are without disclosing the were part of the secret meetings, would go on cable networks and project supposedly as independent analysts, the very policy that rumsfeld and others at the pentagon were trying to drive through to the mac in public. most all of these guys who are retired generals are retired brass have their hand in the war industry to one degree or another. many are making money off working with risk consultancy firms, where they're going to big multinational corporations and offering them their services analyzing risks and countries around the world. if you remember paul bremmer was put in charge of the occupation of iraq him of what he was doing prior to 9/11 was benefiting off of the notion that companies need to be afraid all around the world and that they need people like him to help them assess the risk and mitigate any kind of potential terrorist actions against these corporations. on the one hand, it is the retired generals and other brass that are working in the war industry. on the other hand, it is people like evan coleman who was on msnbc who is a total fraud and is constantly brought on as an expert. his so-called express testimony has been used to put countless people away in prison on very dubious, thin tourism charges. yet samuel laurent who was on cnn for a couple of days. we don't know where he is. he doesn't seem to be on cnn anymore. but he was a french so-called terror expert and widely viewed in france as a fraud and people are up in arms when cnn put him on the air as a terrorism expert. part of what i think is the problem here is, cnn has really great international reporters who have great experience on the ground. i have tremendous respect for many journalists particularly in the international section of cnn, but then they bring on these analysts who have a vested interest in revving up the fear engine and don't disclose in many cases the built-in agenda a particularly some of these retired military people. >> i just want to ask a combat the story broke about al qaeda in yemen taken responsible for the charlie hebdo massacre. what you see is going on without them coming for to say they financed the brothers, train them, because presumably, it would invite and intensify drone war. what questions or concerns do have going forward in the aftermath of them taking credit? >> this may be somewhat of a cynical read on this but who has benefited? the people who benefited most from the u.s. drone war in yemen have not been ordinary yemenis have not been the people of the united states. the only real beneficiaries about -- of that policy have been the manufacturers of drones and the missiles fired from the drones and al qaeda in the iranian peninsula. when the u.s. conducts a drone strike and they kill innocent civilians, aqap can use that as propaganda purposes. in the limited cases where they have killed individuals from aqap, then they are celebrated as martyrs. so i think part of what aqap is doing is trying to goad the united states into once again escalating or intensifying its from campaign inside of yemen because it elevates the stature of aqap. it could be aqap had emitted involvement and that all of the facts about it are armored on the table. my senses if aqap did indeed direct this plot, they're going to produce video evidence to back that up. if they don't do that, then i think it is likely that the truth is that they had some involvement, but were not effectively running the show. >> what is repeated on summit of the networks that anwar awlaki was behind this terror attack on charlie hebdo? >> they try to link anwar to every plot under the sun awlaki so-called long will terrorists. whether he was operationally in charge of this is kind of a joke. he was not even mid-level management in aqap. there are exploding his legacy because of the power of nightmares. he speaks in english. the united states has elevated his status within the organization. aqap has a leadership structure. anwar awlaki was not the top of that. quick jeremy scahill, broke the story aqap took responsibility for the charlie hebdo massacre. his latest book, "dirty wars: the world is a battlefield," is out in paperback. his film "dirty wars" was nominated for an academy award. when we come back, we go to guatemala for remarkable verdict that is just come down around crimes against humanity. stay with us. ♪ [music break] "spiritual." dr. martin luther king and malcolm x and ed mentor evers inspired the music. a big shout out to ruth hayden, the widow of charlie haden, who has joined us today at our studios just to come by and say hello. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> a major victory for human rights activists, a guatemalan court has returned a guilty verdict in the spanish embassy massacre of 1980. on monday, the court found former police chief pedro garcia arredondo responsible for ordering an attack on 37 peasant activists and student organizers who were occupying the spanish embassy in guatemala city to protest government repression. judge maria eugenia castellanos delivered the verdict. >> this court unanimously declares first that the defendant pedro garcia arredondo is the perpetrator of the crimes of murder. >> according monday's ruling arredondo was the officer who gave the order to set fire to the diplomatic mission, burning the activists to death. he was also found guilty of two separate murders and sentenced to a total of 90 years in prison. one of the victims of the spanish embassy massacre was don vicente menchú, an indigenous peasant leader and father of the nobel peace prize-winner rigoberta menchú. in a moment, rigoberta menchu will join us from guatemala city to discuss this historic verdict , over three-decades in the making. but, first, i want to go to a clip of the 1983 documentary "when the mountains tremble." in the film, menchu looks directly into the camera and explains why her father and other peasant activists occupied the spanish embassy on january 31, 1980. >> the security forces arrived in our village to throw us off our plots. according to them, and belonged to a nearby landowner. we were very scared since we did not speak spanish and could not understand them. >> that was rigoberta menchu in the 1983 documentary "when the mountains tremble." just two people survived the embassy fire. one was then spanish ambassador máximo cajal y lópez. the other was a guatemalan farmer named gregorio yuja -- he was subsequently disappeared and his body was found with evidence of torture three days after the fire. during the dirty war, more than 200,000 people died. 83% of them work indigenous mayans. >> well, for more, we're joined now via democracy now! video skype from guatemala city by rigoberta menchú. she was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1992. she's published many books including, "i, rigoberta menchu: an indian woman in guatemala." she's been translated into over a dozen languages, awarded more than 30 honorary degrees runs , the "the rigoberta menchu tum foundation." and here in new york we're , joined by pamela yates. she is a partner at skylight pictures, a documentary film and digital media company that focuses on human rights and social justice stories. in 1983, she collaborated with menchu on the documentary, "when the mountains tremble." we welcome you both to democracy now! that's first go to guatemala city. rigoberta menchu, you were in the courtroom when the verdict and sentence handed down. can you describe your reaction? >> well, undoubtedly, this is a historic event. this trial and verdict are huge. we waited 16 years for this verdict to be handed down. the trial went on for 16 years. and this verdict has been issued 36 years after the event itself. so we are deeply moved and this is a very special moment in our history. >> can you talk about your long quest for justice almost four decades in the making? >> well, first of all, i left guatemala and fled. i was forced into exile and i promised myself and i promised my father and i promised the memory of guatemala and the victims of water mullah -- guatemala, would not cease fighting against impunity. and that is precisely what i have done. your and and year out, every day of my life i have dedicated myself to gathering the evidence and putting together the cases to fight for this truth. i think that is very important and what is really crucial here is the memory of the victims and the search for the truth and also the commitment to substantiate the truth. so the truth is foremost. because they accused us of being liars. they tried to denigrate the memory of the victims. they even said the victims had burned themselves. but the truth has come forward with this verdict from the court that holds not just garcia arredondo responsible, but holds the state of guatemala responsible for this massacre. >> let's go to the issue of the state. in the same courthouse general rios montt is on truck, the that trial has been delayed. can you talk about the significance of what he has done? >> yes, there are two depths guilty verdicts that have been issued in this courthouse. first, the guilty verdict for the spanish embassy massacre and secondly, the guilty conviction of rios montt. in both cases, we're seeing there are significant legal challenges. the constitutional court has declared the case against rios montt as been an old, but these are illegal arguments. they are breaking with due process. and so both cases face significant legal challenges and hurdles to stick. >> pamela yates, if you could talk further about what is happening with rios montt, what he was convicted of, why he is back in trial. and as we wrap up, how this implicates, or does it, the current president of guatemala perez molina and the role of the united states? >> that is a lot. the case against rios montt, he is being retried on the same charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. but his lawyers's strategy is to delay and deny delay so you will never go to prison. he is 88 years old. they hope you will die before that. but isn't it incredible the people of guatemala now have successfully adjudicated these two cases? one for genocide, never happened before -- >> that was rios montt. >> yes. >> the verdict set aside? >> yes, but for some and he people in guatemala, the verdict is valid. the quest for justice is justice. the fact that people came into the courtroom and spoke for two months about what has asked the happen in guatemala in both the rios montt genocide case and the pedro garcia arredondo, burning of the spanish embassy contributes to be historical narrative and setting the record straight about what happened in guatemala so everyone knows what a happened and no one is afraid to talk about it. >> and the u.s. role? >> well, the u.s. was totally complicit in the genocide in guatemala. we now have the documentation to prove it. when rios montt was being tried for genocide, the public ministry, like the attorney general's office, had a very narrow focus on one particular region and one particular group of at thef ethnics. many other areas need to be explored. the role of the current president of guatemala, the role of the united states. i'm hoping the conviction in the spanish and a ck's will increase momentum for this justice initiative to continue. or people have been tried, arrested, convicted of crimes that have happened during the war in guatemala in the last four years than in previous 30 years. i think the international community has to support that initiative. >> rigoberta menchu as we wrap up, do you hold the united states responsible in addition to your own government at the time, the guatemalan government and military? >> yes, i totally concur. there is a great till of documentation that has been compiled. part of it related to the cold war. in fact, the weapon that was used to incinerate the spanish embassy and to burn those that occupied it is also of a dubious source, which is being looked into and document it. so in conclusion, i do hold -- >> we have to leav >> start of the game. [cheering] >> what is it? >> tony came to new york for christmas. the boys found a football and they st
we'll talk to him about his new bundle of joy today, thursday, august 21st, 2014. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning. welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i'm matt lauer alongside tamron hall, al roker and natalie morales. savannah enjoying time with vale. and carson has welcomed little london rose into the world. how cute is that? i think a lot of people expected this to happen last week. it was a little late. london rose goes right into second grade, which is fantastic. anyway, congratulations. we're going to hear from carson a little later on. >> very exciting. meanwhile, let's get right to this breaking news. the two americans who contracted the ebola virus being discharged. a news conference scheduled for later this morning. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in atlanta. this is really good news, gabe. good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning. after an emotional journey, this is the day dr. kent brantly, his family and well wishers from around the world have been waiting for. he'll told that he will walk out of this hospital later today. and as for the other american ebola patient, nancy writfol, they'll update us on her. he surprised the world by walking into emory university hospital after being diagnosed with ebola in liberia. health officials made the controversial decision to bring him back to the u.s. >> experts both contain the virus and maintain the safety of both the patients in the hospital as well as the general public. >> reporter: three days later, another american missionary, a nurse, was transferred to emory. the two have been in opposite rooms of the hospital's isolation unit, staffed 24/7. their families able to visit but separated by glass. last week nancy's husband said despite the odds, his wife's health was improving. >> she's getting stronger and she tells me that she is feeling better. >> reporter: meanwhile in africa, the world health organization says the ebola outbreak has no end in sight. the latest figures show almost 2,500 people have now been diagnosed with the virus, and officials say the death toll is at least 1,350. an increase of hundreds in just the past few days. but dr. brantly's recovery is certain to give other patients and doctors renewed hope. at that news conference later today, dr. brantly is expected to speak but take no questions. as for nancy, doctors plan to update on the status of her discharge. >> by the way, hats off to the folks at emory university hospital who did such a great job taking care of them. gabe, thank you. new revelations are emerging this morning tied to the execution of american james foley by isis militants. we've learned the group tried to secure a massive ransom. and the u.s. military attempted a top-secret rescue mission. nbc's chief foreign t chard eng in turkey along the syrian border. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, tamron. isis is still holding dozens of foreign hostages for ransom and political pressure. and now we're learning new details about a failed u.s. military operation to free james foley earlier this summer. isis, the group that executed american reporter james foley, is still holding dozens of foreign hostages for ransom and political pressure. the pentagon said at least one attempt was recently made to rescue foley and the others. officials say special operations forces in helicopters with air cover from u.s. fighter jets swarmed the compound in syria and were immediately engaged by enemy forces. after a fierce gun battle that killed isis fighters, the americans determined the hostages were not at the location and left. with a senior official saying one american helicopter pilot suffered a minor wound when the helicopter came under enemy fire. the official says there were no other american casualties. the mission didn't work. it was a risky proposition from the start. isis controls huge parts of syria and iraq. it's all hostile territory. the last voice reporter james foley heard was of his executioner. >> citizen of your country. >> reporter: with what sounded to many like a british accent. british authorities are scrambling to identify him. president obama spoke for the need for justice. >> the united states of america will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. we will be vigilant, and we will be relentless. >> reporter: james foley's mother said her son bravely endured two years of captivity until the end. >> we are just very proud of jimmy, and we are praying for the strength to love like he did. >> reporter: she's praying for another american journalist, steven sotloff. isis is threatening to execute him, too, unless washington stops air strikes on the militants in iraq. sources here in turkey tell us that isis made repeated multimillion-dollar ransom demands to free james foley. they were even asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars just for proof of life videos, but the u.s., unlike some european countries, as a rule, doesn't pay. matt? >> richard engel in turkey this morning. richard, thank you very much. evan coleman is an nbc terrorism analyst. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's start where richard ended off. they said this was about air strikes in iraq. turns out they've demanded hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom. we don't pay. some european countries do pay. does the fact that they pay complicate the situation when an american is held captive? >> absolutely. the question is about whether or not they even expected to get paid a ransom or whether this was simply a way of convincing the europeans to pay more. in other words, if you don't pay, this is what's going to happen. that's exactly what we've seen in north africa. when the europeans have paid ransom, these groups have been executed britains and americans to try to force the europeans to pay more. >> the isis militants dmapded an end to the air strikes. the president launched 14 air strikes in iraq just yesterday which immediately makes you think about the fate of steve sotlo sotloff, the other american being held. how colicating is that as a or like to do everyth to save mr. sotloff's life. on the other hand, he is with a group of individuals who are extremely unpredictable and most likely have already made their decision about what they're going to do. i don't think this is directly relevant about whether we continue air strikes or not. these folks are looking for a confrontation with the united states. >> and in terms of another possible rescue mission, now that it's been released to the public that we attempted back in july, does it make another attempt impossible? >> look, these folks have been looking for something like this now. but it's another question about why are we not involved in syria? why are we not striking isis's headquarters if we're launching secret missions to free hostages, why aren't we expanding the conflict there? there's a worry, of course, about destabilizing syria, but there's no doubt this is where isis is based out of and where their resources are. >> there's also a worry, evan, based on the accent that we heard from that isis militant a british accent, and some people are saying are they going into western countries recruiting people, training them and then sending them back to attack western interests? a >> and it's absolutely true. there are countries where individuals have returned from syria, carried out terrorist attacks in the name of isis and even called back to isis commanders back in syria looking for advice on how to produce explosive devices they can set up in europe. that's already happened. there's hard evidence. and we've seen in the last few weeks young american guys from orange county, a 20-year-old board a flight and tell fbi agents his intelligent was to go to isis. and if they ask him to, to kill americans. >> evan coleman, always, thanks for your perspective. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. let's go to natalie with overnight developments in that ongoing unrest in ferguson, missouri. >> good morning, everyone. it was another night of protests in ferguson, missouri, wednesday, but far fewer arrests. this as a grand jury begins hearing evidence in the shooting death of 18-year-old michael brown. nbc's craig melvin is in ferguson. craig, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning to you. for the second straight night, ferguson was relatively quiet. just six arrests last night. that's far fewer than the more than 70 arrests we saw here on monday night. the riots that consumed the city seem to have subsided for now. overnight, the smallest, quietest crowd of protesters since it all started marched and chanted past a dwindling police presence. >> tonight was a very good night in ferguson. >> reporter: at one night, dodging thunderstorms but no tear gas or rubber bullets. the federal response many of the protesters have been demanding arrived wednesday in the form of attorney general eric holder. holder made several stops in a st. louis area meeting with officers, students and community leaders. >> my hope is that that will have -- give people some degree of confidence that the appropriate things are being done by the federal government. >> reporter: holder also met with the parents of michael brown. the 18-year-old whose shooting death sparked the nearly two weeks of sometimes violent protests. >> hands up. don't shoot. >> reporter: protesters and police were both present outside the courthouse where a grand jury investigation into that shooting started wednesday. but authorities stress it could take weeks to determine if officer darren wilson will face criminal charges. >> the people are angry, they're frustrated, and they want answers. >> reporter: meanwhile, another officer in ferguson was relieved of duty and suspended indefinitely after pointing a semiautomatic assault rifle in the face of a peaceful protester and screaming threats tuesday night. >> i will [ bleep ] kill you. get back! get back! >> reporter: more evidence that all eyes are on the officers, their actions now constantly on camera. meanwhile, nbc news has learned that the ferguson police department was hit with two federal lawsuits wednesday related to a wrongful death case back in 2011. a family claiming that police wrongfully killed a man using a taser. natalie? >> craig melvin in ferguson, missouri, thank you, craig. the islamic militant group hamas says three of its senior military leaders have been killed in an air strike in the gaza strip. israeli aircraft have carried out more than 100 strikes in gaza since the cease-fire was broken on tuesday. and palestinians launched rockets at israel. egyptian negotiators said they'll continue to try and broker a long-term cease-fire even though both the delegations have left cairo. bank of america has reached a record $17 billion settlement with federal and state authorities. the settlement revolves the investigation into bank of america's role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis. it is the largest settlement arising from the economic meltdown which saw millions of americans lose their homes to foreclosure. officials say the bank will pay $10 billion in cash and provide consumer relief. a million dollars worth of marijuana goes sky high after a huge drug bust near houston. the pot was growing in some fields near a prison. sheriff's deputies cut the plants, and a chopper was then called in to carry them out bundle by bundle. police almost had the suspected growers, but the two men ran off into the woods. and most adorable video of the day, here's a whale of a tale a couple of kids aren't going to forget any time soon. take a look. but wait. and one more time. video shot at the mystic aquarium in connecticut. one of the beluga whales clearly having fun with the kids, keeping them on their toes playing peekaboo. you can see why they're so popular at aquariums. they're sociable and very intelligent. and the kids obviously loving every minute of that. i've got to go to the mystic aquarium to see the beluga. >> wouldn't that be funny if that's not a window but a mirror? the whale was just bored. >> that is phenomenal. >> what's going on up there? >> cobwebs in there. >> mr. roker, how about a check of the weather? >> unfortunately, we've got more hot weather to talk about. dangerous heat. big upper-level high-pressure system pushing way up to the north. we've got heat advisories in effect from texas all the way to the south carolina coast. on into the ohio river valley as well. the feels-like temperatures, the temperature once you combine the humidity and the temperature is going to feel like 103 in memphis. 104 in charleston. st. louis, 105. friday, more of the same. 101 in dallas. and galveston, 105 in charleston. and on saturday, the heat continues feeling like 103 in memphis. atlanta, 102. this is very, very dangerous heat. so please, make sure you take care, limit your time outdoors. lots of water, decaffeinated beverages, nonalcoholic beverages, lightweight, loose-fitting clothing. don't blame me. that's the way it works. >> we blame you. >> check on your elderly neighbors and never leave your kids or pets in this kind of heat. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. ♪ ♪ hi, i'm meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head into the rest of today we're going to see cloudy conditions. temperatures ranging from 80 to 85 degrees. as we get to the afternoon we will see showers an isolated storms that will mainly be ahead into your evening showers. a cooler look at temperatures. take a look at your friday, 77 degrees, more showers expected. that sets up for a fall-like weekend on saturday. and sunday we stay in the high 70s. you guys really turned when i said nonalcoholic beverages. >> i was fine with it. >> margaritas, daiquiris, come on. >> but in moderation. >> good side of the table, bad side of the table. >> we'll examine that later. thank you very much, al. former virginia governor bob mcdonnell is expected back on the stand in his corruption trial about the state of his marriage. and the man who befriended -- or who befriended his wife. our peter alexander is at the courthouse in richmond. good morning, peter. >> reporter: tamron, good morning to you. this is the moment that we have been waiting for, on the stand in the first few hours that he was there, bob mcdonnell began distancing himself from his wife. legal experts say what the 71st governor of the state says and most importantly whether the jurors believe them will go a long way in determining whether or not he and his wife go to federal prison. facing a crush of cameras, bob mcdonnell is finally taking center stage. the former virginia governor defending accusations that he traded the prestige of his office for personal gain. in the form of lavish gifts, luxury vacations, even a ride behind the wheel of a ferrari. all thanks to wealthy businessman johnny williams looking to promote his line of dietary supplements. my administration did nothing for them other than give them access to government, he said. and saying they couldn't have conspired because their marriage was so badly broken. he said he was running on adrenaline. she was yelling about something, he said. it clearly exhibited some of the stress of what lay ahead for her role as first lady. that fight after a congratulatory call from president obama. it reveals a new window into the former couple's relationship turning to his sister, maureen, who shares the same name as his wife. being many dodge ib zrooed two sides to her sister-in-law. one she said was very sweet, very tender. the other, very manipulative, very unpredictable and deceptive. and the governor's sister said maureen once texted her to meet before she had to return to what she called that prison mansion. a close adviser detailed seeing evidence of the crush maureen mcdonnell, a former washington redskins cheerleader, had on williams, the businessman. they appeared to be fond of each other, she said. it was kind of flirty. it was very, very, very friendly. as uncomfortable and as unflattering as so much of the testimony is, legal experts say it could actually be helping the mcdonnells' case. they say for jurors it may be difficult to convict either of the mcdonnells if they can convince those jurors that what governor mcdonnell knew was nothing of what his wife was actually doing, accepting those gifts. some of the most dramatic testimony, tamron, is expected today. governor mcdonnell is expected to testify about his frayed relationship with his own wife. >> all right. peter alexander, thank you very much, peter. so we know savannah is enjoying time at home with little vale. and carson's getting used now to his own little bundle of joy. willie's got more on that. >> time for our weekly segment, a today show baby. come on into carson's orange room. we got an e-mail. the subject line was "the daily baby has left the orange room." it was from carson and his beautiful fiancee announcing the news that london rose daly, 8 pounds, 11 ounces, 22 inches is happy and healthy. i've got him right here in this nifty facetime. carson, good morning, buddy. >> hey, guys. good morning. thank you. thank you very much. >> how's siri? how's baby? >> they're right here. they're doing very well. you can say hello. >> hey, guys. >> hi, siri. >> incredible. we thought this was going to happen on saturday. and it didn't. we went home. it was a long couple days of waiting, but finally yesterday, which was actually a pretty slow day as well, until i got a call with the kids at the house, and it was siri going, come on! come on! it's happening right now! and like a movie, i sped to the hospital and they were literally waiting for me to get there. and we had our beautiful baby girl. and all is miraculous. >> she is absolutely beautiful. carson, tell us about the name. i love it. london rose. >> oh, thank you. well, we've got jackson james and etta jones, so we were trying to fit something that matched there. rose was my grandma's name. etta was siri's grandma's name, so we have a lot of family history in the names. we weren't sure. even when little london came out, we were still throwing around our last-minute short list. and london rose daly was the one. >> congratulations, carson. give our love to siri and to new baby london rose. we love you guys, and we'll see you back here soon. >> bye-bye. >> there she is. >> we miss you! >> so sweet. >> bye, guys. have fun. >> congratulations again. how great. >> she picked a great day to be born. >> yeah, she did. great birthday. >> a "today" show birthday. well, coming up, what a crowd. 34,000 people showed up to see 13-year-old sensation mo'ne davis pitch at the little league world series. we'll show you how she did. and why the animal rights group peta is buying up stock in seaworld. but first this is "today" on nbc. every story is a journey, and this journey will keep you on the edge of your seat all summer long during the emirates airline us open series. don't miss your chance to see some of the top players in the world battle it out to see who's best. 5 weeks. 8 tournaments. 8 cities. which champion will prevail, which new hero will emerge? this is your chance to find out. for complete tv listings go to emiratesusopenseries.com coming up, sleeping in separate beds, is it the best thing for your marriage? and baby got class. one family's ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] give extra. get extra. ♪ how did it become absent-mindedly to snacking? eating one after the next? we are a creamy cheese that still believes in savoring our food. ♪ the laughing cow. reinvent snacking. ...and i'm beth... ...and we raced around the world on a reality show. so when we heard walmart's clothes were better than ever, we had to put 'em to the test. and these clothes are really keeping up with us. discover the look of quality backed by our satisfaction guarantee. walmart. and then there's juicy chicken. the difference is hellmann's. hellmann's is the secret to making parmesan crusted chicken so juicy and so delicious. you can make dinner disappear. hellmann's. bring out the best. you can make dinner disappear. after seeing everything, but let me take one last look. sure. take your time. built-in nav, heated seats for mom, dvd with wireless headphones for the kids! and tons of room for the golf clubs! golf clubs, and strollers. shhh ... i love this part. so what do you think? i think it's everything we wanted. great. discover for yourself why more people find their perfect car at carmax. carmax. start here. >> announcer: "nbc10 news" starts now. good morning. i'm tracy davidson. let's get your "first alert" forecast from meteorologist brittney shipp. britney. good morning, we're seeing a mild start to the afternoon. as we head through the afternoon, thunder showers and thunderstorms. that's going to linger. most clouds will continue to develop heading into the relevant of your morning and afternoon. for reading, 67 degrees. 69 in philadelphia as you're heading out the door. a little cooler at the atlantic city airport. 64. today we will see temperatures warming to 84 degrees. close to average but cooler conditions on the way. tracy. >> before you ride to work, there's an accident you should know about, jillian mele is watching that. where is it? >> it's 76 and you can see skyforce 10 live over the scene. police have this scene completely blocked off because of that accident ahead. on 76, let's take you out to penndot camera and show you what the highway is looking like. you can see the heavy volume at 76 eastbound. your drive time is almost 30 minutes in both directions between the blue route and the vine. tonight, philadelphia's taney dragons will look to beat back. las vegas beat taney 8-1. tonight, the dragons take on the team from illinois. that team also lost to las vegas. first pitch at 7:30. you can count on nbc10 bring you all the action live from williamsport as the taney dragons take the field in the little league world series. we're back with another local update in 25 minutes. i'm tracy davidson. now back to the "today" show. thanks for watching. 7:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 21st of august, 2014. here's a really pretty morning in fort myers, florida. and you can share your morning photos with us using t the #todaysunrise. by the way, the music in the background, a good reminder that country sensation hunter hayes will be live on our concert stage tomorrow morning in our 8:30 half hour. come on down. meantime, here's what's making headlines. dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol, the two americans who contracted ebola in africa and were rushed to the u.s. force treatment have been cleared for release from emory university hospital. a news conference being held this morning. we've learned that brantly will be there, then walk out of the hospital. the u.s. is moving ahead with more air strikes on isis militants in iraq following the murder of american journalist james foley. and we've now learned that a secret mission to rescue foley and other u.s. hostages was attempted earlier in the summer, but it failed. and evacuation orders have now been lifted as crews fight a raging wildfire northeast of bakersfield, california. although officials say the fire has been stopped, the danger remains. it's already destroyed eight homes and ten other buildings. and coming up, have we become a nation of work martyrs? according to a recent study, 40% of americans don't take all the vacation they're entitled to, but we found one boss who actually pays his employees to completely unplug during their time off. >> sounds like a really good idea. it's important. let's begin this half hour with the star of this year's little league world series, mo'ne davis. she was back on the mound last night once again striking out the boys, although the result, probably not what she had hoped for. nbc's katy tur was there. good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, it was such a good and success spentful game last night. although it wasn't quite the outcome they wanted, mo'ne still performed valiantly, especially when you consider the eyes of the nation were all on her. at the packed stadium last night, all eyes were on a 13-year-old girl with a history-making fastball. >> mo'ne davis. >> reporter: from the cover of "sports illustrated" to round-the-clock media coverage, this year's tournament has been all about mo'ne. and if she was nervous before game time, she didn't show it. warming up and signing autographs like a pro. >> go in calm and confident. so that's how i'm going to go into the game. >> reporter: but right off the bat, a run for las vegas. and mo'ne's confidence clearly shaken. >> all right. take a breath. >> you can just feel the fight in mo'ne davis. >> reporter: still, she fought through it. >> called strike three! >> reporter: she said she came out here to strike boys out. and 34,000 people including these guys right here came out here to see her do just that. in 2 1/2 innings, she struck out 6. mo'ne is just the 18th girl to play in the little league world series. back in 1989, nbc featured the first girl to get a hit on this hallowed field, 12-year-old victoria brucker. >> i just swing. >> reporter: 25 years later, and mo'ne is inspiring a whole new generation. >> girl power. >> reporter: and while the taney dragons may have lost, a lot of fans feel like they've already won. >> it doesn't matter that they lost. they still played as hard as they could. >> reporter: but not to worry. the taney dragons and mo'ne are not out quite yet. they play tonight against chicago. the winner of that game moves on to saturday where they'll have to beat las vegas to make it to the world series on sunday. cross your fingers, matt. >> yep. no, we will. you know what, a lot of attention on taney and mo'ne davis, but we have to give credit where credit is due. two kids in little leagues, i've seen a lot of games and a lot of teams. that las vegas team, they are really, really good. >> you know i've been obsessed with their pitcher. he's, like, 6 foote and he's 13. >> yeah. >> what is in the water in nevada? drink a little around here, grow up taller. >> okay. >> the kid brings it. let's check in with a 60-year-old. >> thank you. from 16 to 60. thank you very much. all right. >> you hit yourself a little hard there, didn't you. >> that felt good. let's show you what's going on. we've been talking about this ring of fire, the heat down south. it's pushing storms up and over all this. and so we are looking at some severe weather today in the midwest and the plains. they're already firing up. minnesota, omaha, on into chicago. going to be some airport delays out of this thing. and during the afternoon, as the low pressure moves to the east and pushes this warm front up to the north, more storms will fire up. into friday morning, a lot of rain. anywhere from two to three inches from montana all the way into the great lakes. and we continue on into the east. some areas picking up to three to five inches of rain in central ohio on into the east coast. that's what's going on around hi, i'm "first alert" meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head into the rest of today we're going to see cloudy skies, warm conditions. temperatures range between 82 and 85 degrees and heading into the afternoon, we will see the possibility of showers even isolated storms that will mainly be as we head into your evening hours. a cooler look at temperatures. take a look at your friday, 77 degrees, more showers expected. that sets up for a fall-like weekend on saturday. and sunday we stay in the high 70s. and that's your latest weather. seaworld is back in the headlines this morning. one of its biggest critics is actually buying into the company. and the park is making a move that will permanently change a key element to their killer whale shows. nbc's joe fryer has the latest. good morning. >> good morning, tamron. peta, the animal rights group that's long opposed seaworld's captivity of orcas is now buying up stock in seaworld. it's an attempt to put pressure on the embattled company. this comes as seaworld itself announced it is dropping its appeal of a ruling that bans trainers from performing in the water with the killer whales ever again. >> reporter: from now on, this is what you can expect to see at one of seaworld's biggest draws. trainers beside the pool, not inside the pool. in a filing with the s.e.c., the company says we have elected to not pursue further appeal of a federal citation which kept trainers from swimming with or riding on killer whales during shows. last week seaworld ceo told nbc news his company has invested $70 million in safety upgrades since the death of a trainer in orlando four years ago. >> we certainly did make changes. you know, it forced us to really stop and look at everything we do. we stopped and focused on how we train trainers, how we train whales. >> reporter: the trainer's death was highlighted in "blackfish," a documentary aargues orcas should not be kept in captivity. facing negative publicity, the stock tanked last week, and now one of its biggest critics, peta, is for the second time buying shares of the company's stock. enough now to propose resolutions and submit questions at shareholder meetings. >> peta's not taking over seaworld. what it's doing is leveraging the power of its name and its celebrities' name. >> reporter: in june actress jessica biel entered a question on behalf of peta, asking seaworld when it would move the orcas to pens at sea. something the company does not plan to do. >> you know, it's our responsibility to keep the debate alive. and we will do that until seaworld changes its model and gets rid of its captive animals. >> seaworld says that despite peta's claims its animals are well cared for and their health is a responsibility, the company takes seriously, seaworld just announced plans to build new habitats for its killer whales nearly twice as large as their current environments. tamron? >> thank you very much, joe. take a deep breath and say this. coming up, why you should no longer feel guilty if you relieve yourself in the ocean. >> i never feel guilty. >> i never felt guilty. >> so proud. >> big moment in tv news. and next, no vacation nation? why americans are leaving more than 400 million days of paid vacay on the table every year. and the boss who pays his employees extra to completely unplug right after this. s, the worlds most entertaining device with a color... colorfully brilliant screen that blows the competition out of the water. what is this? i thought i was doing the announcing... stunningly thin and effortlessly light..." i was literally about to say that. it certainly has the best 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[ male announcer ] hurry in for labor day deals. get 10-30% off major appliances $399 or more at lowe's. 7:43. as summer comes to an end, here's a question for the room. will you use all of your vacation days this summer? >> if we're lucky. >> turns out americans are terrible at taking time off. a lot of people refuse to do it or can't unplug from the home office when they're away. well, nbc's tom costello's been hard at work on that. tom, good morning. >> good morning. how often have you heard somebody in the office boast about not taking all of their vacation or working on the laptop while they're supposed to be taking time off? americans love to dream about vacations, but we're not always so good at actually taking one. ♪ >> reporter: right about now, heading off to work, the beach, the sand, the sun, it all sounds so good. but remarkably, america has become a no-vacation nation. 40% of us don't take all of our hard-earned time. >> i definitely do not take all of my vacation. one of the reasons is just feeling a need to be at work. >> reporter: all of those unused vacation days, they add up to 430 million days each year. >> americans are work martyrs. they think if they take vacation, they're going to be seen as a slacker and the opposite is true. >> reporter: and if we don't disconnect, experts say we don't recharge. at full contact, a tech company in denver, employees are rewarded for taking their time off as long as they follow a few simple rules. no e-mail, no phones, no checking in with the office. if you can handle that, the company will give you 7,500 bucks. not a bad gig. >> the first rule is that you have to go on vacation to get the money. the second rule is that you must disconnect entirely from devices. and the third rule is that you cannot work while on vacation. >> reporter: so why do so many americans refuse to relax? it turns out many people worry they'd return to a mountain of work or feel like no one else can do the work while they're away. one-third said they can't afford a vacation, and still others don't want to be seen as replaceable. but we all benefit from time away. the u.s. travel association which would love for everyone to travel more says if we all took our vacation days and traveled, it could mean a $67 billion boost to the economy. more jobs for others. >> i think america gains. it's more productivity. it helps the economy. people shop. they'll go to home depot. it creates jobs. >> reporter: back in denver, bart decided on his company's new vacation policy when he was photographed checking his cell phone while on vacation at the egyptian pyramids. >> and i sort of saw that picture, and i realized, you know, i have to make a change in my own life. it's sort of ridiculous, like this is way too connected. >> yeah, nobody around here has that problem, right? the survey found that managers are big offenders. they all talk about the need for their employees to take time off. yet nearly half said they answer e-mails on vacation. and only one-third of senior managers say they fully unplug from work while they're away. guys? >> it's hard. very hard to unplug. >> that picture of the guy at the pyramids. even the camel looked up and said, "really?" "you're really doing this?" >> be in the moment. >> it's hump day. >> i knew it. i knew it. i did so. because i was going to do it! >> terrible. willie. >> i can't be a part of this, guys. i cannot be. i cannot endorse that joke, matt. i cannot. >> thank you. >> so we put this question to our viewers on facebook. how many vacation days do you use? every last one? what's vacation? or some of them? let's see. survey says -- 60% say they use every last day of vacation. >> good. >> only 19% say some of them. let's look at some of the responses. from amy on facebook, she uses every single one of. it's so important, she writes, to be rested and refreshed from time to time. makes you a better employee. jennifer, though, takes a different view. "the work just piles up while i'm gone. so you spend the week prior trying to get ahead and the two weeks after trying to catch up." and this one, rosemary says "on our wedding night, my husband got about 25 calls and texts from work! are you kidding me?" on their wedding night. keep the responses coming. #orangeroom. >> man. willie, thank you very much. coming up, i love this, are fanny packs all right? all right, all right? matthew mcconaughey may have wait, are you running full adobe photoshop on a tablet? yep. but it's not just a tablet, it's really a laptop. it's a surface pro 3, with a touchscreen. well it can't be as fast as my mac. sure, it can. and it is. but you probably can't plug anything into it. i have a usb mini display port. plug away. and this is my favorite -- it's the kickstand. so you're saying it does more than my mac? well technically, you said it. ♪ we think they're the best-fitting pants in fashion. with technology that slims and shapes and five-pocket styling. they'll be the star of your wardrobe. chico's so slimming peyton pants. we're famous for our legs. at chico's and chicos.com. tthe pleasure you crave bjust got real.leasure? light & fit greek nonfat yogurt. irresistible flavors, like toasted coconut vanilla, with a thick creamy texture. never have 80 calories tasted so satisfying. light & fit greek. taste satisfaction without sacrifice. ♪ dannon look what i got with walmart's low prices. these are for the parent teacher conference. nice these are for when the kids do something good, i get that. and these are for when i want to come off totally laid-back. totally. with frames starting at $38, you don't have to choose just one. walmart. where the reward was that what if tnew car smelledit card and the freedom of the open road? a card that gave you that "i'm 16 and just got my first car" feeling. presenting the buypower card from capital one. redeem earnings toward part or even all of a new chevrolet, buick, gmc or cadillac - with no limits. so every time you use it, you're not just shopping for goods. you're shopping for something great. learn more at buypowercard.com ♪ well-a, well-a, well-a, uh! tell me more, tell me more... ♪♪ twizzlerize your summer fun with twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. it's breakfast.nd crackles and comes from a kitchen, have breakfast for breakfast. the fresh-made, from our kitchen. the egg mcmuffin. only from mcdonald's. ♪ please choose one based oh, no,on the cover.en that. here we go... whoa, no test rides allowed. i can't show you the inside, but trust me. are you kidding me... at university of phoenix, we think you should be able to try before you buy. that's why we offer students new to college a risk-free period. so you commit to your education with confidence. get started at phoenixtrial.com let's go back to willie in the orange room. he's talking music videos. willie. >> yes, sir. the video music awards on mtv sunday night out in los angeles. these are some of the most famous moments. we've got britney with the burmese python and a few others that we won't get into right now. but it is throwback thursday. so we're asking you at home, what's your favorite all-time mtv video? here are your choices beginning with matt. he likes robert palmer's -- >> no, no, no. >> "simply irresistible." >> "wind beneath my wings" with bette midler. >> i think i can see why you like this video so much. there it is. fantastic. janet jackson, "rhythm nation" goes to tamron hall. great call. >> that is an outstanding video, right? so good. >> i love that pick. natalie, somebody had to pick it. "thriller." >> yes. >> clearly the greatest of all time, right? >> it sets the bar. >> absolutely. al, i love your choice. lionel richie, "dancing on the ceiling." takes you right back to the '80s, doesn't it? mine's a little bit of a downer. this is "hurt" from johnny cash. a beautiful piece of filmmaking and a great song as well. keep your responses coming. #orangeroom. want to hear your favorite music video of all time. >> willie, thank you so much. coming up, how to stay healthy at 60 and beyond. al takes you along on his birthday checkup. and the best dog for your home. if your kids are begging you for a puppy, what you need to do in terms of research before you take the plunge. >> have a puppy party? >> we're having a little puppy party. it's our annual clearance event, it only happens once a year. super fun. of course you can get a great deal. hold on. 0% apr financing on a bunch of models. annual and it's right now. they're having fun. you can get all kinds of deals. come on down. yeah, you better hurry in. you tell'em jan sent you. during toyota's annual clearance event, get 0% apr financing for 60 months on a 2014.5 camry. offer ends september 2nd. for great deals on other toyota's, visit toyota.com thanks jan. ooh i got it. toyota, let's go places. taco bell brought back these ronathem a question...sked would you get a breakfast burrito from a burger place? you don't go to a sushi bar and order spaghetti. good point, ronald mcdonald taco bell's new grilled breakfast burritos: just a buck twenty-nine. bananas... rice cakes... raspberries... toast! 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[ male announcer ] rénergie lift multi-action by lancôme. receive your gift with any $35 lancôme purchase. only at macy's, your skincare destination. >> announcer: "nbc10 news" starts now. 12k3w4r good morning, i'm tracy davidson. let's get the "first alert" forecast from meteorologist brittney shipp. >> good morning. increasing clouds as we head into this thursday. we'll see a chance of showers, even isolated thunderstorms but temperatures will stay warm. we're checking out a few clouds over the center city skyline. a closer look at radar shows we're seeing a little bit of shower activity popping up but most of the showers are combined to williamsport right now. we'll see a chance of showers even for the little league world series game. the taney dragons take on illinois. as we head through rest of today, we do expect to see a chance of showers in the afternoon. temperatures at 69 degrees for philadelphia 72 all right. 69 in pottstown. 70 in allentown, tracy. >> if you want to upgrade your ride to what's happening on fix, jillian mele has the traffic. >> that's right. delays are getting worse on 76. you see the police activity. the girard off-ramp from 76 eastbound is closed because of an accident. you can see it's jammed solid in both directions. huge delays on fix eastbound across the board. 40 minutes your drive time eastbound from the blue route to the vine. you can see in that other, montgomery drive, 10 miles per hour. this morning, opening statements are scheduled to begin in the trial of a woman charged with kidnapping a 5-year-old girl from her school. christina regusters has been in jail since her arrest last year. she's also charged with sexually assaulting the girl from being taken from her elementary school. prosecutors say the video dressed in garb. we're back with an update in 20 minutes. i'm tracy davidson. back to the "today" show. ♪ it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, childless by choice. >> you know, i've gotten everything from you're selfish for not wanting children, you're not carrying on your bloodline. >> inside one woman's controversial decision and why she's part of a growing trend. ready for 60. yeah, baby. >> then, taking charge of your health. al takes us along on his birthday checkup and shares what everyone needs to know as they age. ♪ because i'm happy and the dog days are here. we've got important advice on picking the right pet for your family. today, thursday, august 21st, 2014. ♪ >> the hiatt family vacation begins with "today"! >> hello, virginia! >> chicago loves "today"! >> good morning, cleveland! ♪ party till the break of dawn >> just married on saturday! >> al, come give me a hug! >> it's 8:00 now on a thursday morning. it's the 21st day of august, 2014. we've got a big crowd out on the plaza today on a really pretty day in new york city. and by the way, we are ready for some puppy cuteness in our 8:30 half hour. >> yes. but we just had baby cuteness. baby dallas was over. and al and i were taking a picture with him. his dad could not get the camera going. >> way to call him out. >> he's adorable. >> did it work? did you get it? >> dad blew it already? we're going to get that again. by the way, the song in the background is your throwback thursday song. >> yes. "hey, mr. deejay." they were my roomies in college at temple university. renee and jean. they were my homies. >> that's very cool. >> isn't that cool? a live concert right here on our plaza from one of the hottest names in country music right now tomorrow on "today." hunter hayes will be here. >> love him. let's go inside. natalie's standing by at the desk. she has all the top stories of the day. lots of news. >> certainly is. good morning once again. two american aid workers infected with ebola have been cleared to leave the hospital. one of them, dr. kent brantly getting out today. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in atlanta. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning. a highly anticipated day here at emory, nearly three weeks after arriving here, dr. kent brantly is expected to walk out of this hospital today. and doctors here plan to update us later this morning on the status of nancy writebol's discharge. now, they were both diagnosed with ebola last month while working as missionaries in liberia. dr. brantly shocked the world by managing to walk into the isolation unit here in atlanta. nancy writebol, a nurse, was transferred here a few days later. and in recent days, her family had been saying that she had been improving. and again, doctors at a news conference later this morning will update us on the status of her discharge. as for brantly, he's expected to speak at that news conference but take no questions. natalie? >> gabe gutierrez in atlanta for us, thank you, gabe. new details are emerging about a failed american effort to rescue journalist james foley and other hostages held by isis. officials say u.s. special operations forces and helicopters swarmed a compound and had a fierce gun battle with isis fighters, but the americans determined that the hostages were not there and left. officials say isis had also tried to ransom foley for millions of dollars. on wednesday president obama said that despite foley's execution, he will not scale back u.s. military strikes against isis. a grand jury in ferguson, missouri, has started hearing evidence in the fatal police shooting of unarmed teenager michael brown. officials say it could take weeks to determine if officer darren wilson will face criminal charges. overnight, the streets of ferguson were the quietest they've been since the shooting. on wednesday, attorney general eric holder made several stops in ferguson and met with brown's parents. much of the country has been spared from extreme heat this summer, but that will not be the case today in parts of the south and the midwest. nbc's kerry sanders is in memphis. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, natalie. forecasters say it's going to hit 96 degrees here in memphis. and in ten states, it's going to be a heat advisory because it's going to feel up to 104 degrees in kansas, missouri, illinois, indiana, kentucky, texas, florida, georgia, alabama and south carolina. st. louis is forecast to have eight straight days of this heat wave to prepare for that weather. fortunately for folks who live in philadelphia, boston, new york, the heat wave will not extend into that area. forecasters say the highs will probably hit in the upper 70s. remember, if you're out in the heat, drink water, not soda pop. wear cotton, not polyester. it will help you feel a little bit cooler. make sure you're in the shade where it's 10 to 15 degrees cooler. and if you take your phone out and you say i'm checking the temperature and it feels a lot remember with aer, remember the national weather service takes its temperature readings in the shade. and of course, don't forget your pets. one last little tip, natalie, eating ice cream does cool you down. but interestingly, eating spicy food causes you to perspire a little bit, and that perspi perspiration actually lowers your body temperature even better. so i'm in memphis. tangy, spicy barbecue, i think i've got a mission today. >> you've got our blessing. eat all the barbecue you can handle. take care. well, for all of our fear of sharks, maybe it's another fish that we should be worried about. take a look at this video that's gone viral. it shows fishermen trying to reel in a four-foot shark off the gulf coast of florida. suddenly you see there a giant grouper emerges from the deep sea and then swallows that shark up. oh, my goodness, in one gulp. now, this is not unheard of. giant groupers can grow to weigh more than 800 pounds, but they are critically endangered. wow! i feel sorry for that shark. 8:06 right now. let's get another check on the weather with al. >> wow! all right. watch out for grouper. let's show you what we have going on out there for today. our pick city going to be philadelphia. nbc 10. showers and thunderstorms today. tomorrow, on into saturday. and as we look into what's happening currently, minneapolis, showers and thunderstorms throughout the morning. afternoon hours, a chance of thunderstorms as well with temperatures in the upper 80s. you can see that activity going to continue right on into this hi, i'm first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. as we had head into the rest of today, cloudy skies, warchl conditions and temperatures range between 82 and 85 degrees and heading into the afternoon, we will see the possibility of showers, even isolated storms that will mainly be as we head into your evening hours and then cooler temperatures. take a look at friday, 77 degrees. more showers expected. that sets us up for fall-like weekend on saturday and sunday we stay in the high 70s. and that's your latest weather. >> thanks, al. >> thank you very much. coming up, one couple's tribute to the start of the new school year. this is one you probably wish your family had created. plus, why is there a stigma of being childless by choice? one woman who made the decision shares her frustration. and as our celebration of al's 60th birthday rolls on, the health check everybody needs to have a little bit later in life. but first, these messages. ♪ [ dog barks ] ♪ [ male announcer ] imagine the cars we drive... being able to see so clearly... to respond so intelligently and so quickly, they can help protect us from a world of unseen danger. it's the stuff of science fiction... minus the fiction. and it is mercedes-benz... today. see your authorized dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. ♪ ♪ ♪ what 8 grams of protein looks like when you decide water wings are for kids. start your day with the power of protein. milk life. introducing the iconic white shirt collection. only at white house black market. keep t♪e change. at famous footwear we're not just selling back to school shoes, we're selling straight up confidence. we've done our homework to find the hottest shoes to send your kids back in style. like our exclusive shimmer print converse high-tops. anybody sitting here? 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>> snoring. >> want a second-guess? snoring, exactly right. on our facebook page, we asked you is sleeping apart healthy for your relationship? 59% of you say no. 41% say yes. >> interesting. whatever works for a couple, you know. >> you can't underestimate the need for a good night's sleep. >> get a bigger bed. so let's say you're at the beach and you're out swimming in the ocean, having a great time when nature calls. what do you do? be honest. tell us. you know you do. a lot of people will just kneel down and go straight in, push guilt aside. but is there actually anything wrong with peeing in the ocea were wondering. the american chemical society, their verdict is no, there's nothing wrong. they say it's absolutely okay to go in the ocean. yes! the organization says urine -- because you do feel guilty. and you look around. i do anyway. anyway, 95% say it's okay. for the record, it's not okay to pee in the pool. >> and don't go swimming next to tamron. move away a few feet. >> when you see tamron kneeling down in the ocean. >> don't you scream at those people, but then one time you see them, and they're just wading. we all know what you're doing. >> and you're, like, scattered kids. >> also what natalie's doing. >> i'm being completely honest. >> okay. speaking of being completely honest, there's a controversial fashion accessory that's the subject of a top story on today.com. matthew mcconaughey, you know one of the most stylish men in hollywood, does he have enough power, though, to bring back the fanny pack? well, mcconaughey was spotted at a baseball game over the weekend wearing the bag and was called out by a reporter. he was honest about it, and he explained here's the right way to wear it. >> i'm not afraid of the fanny pack. instead of stuffing it in your pocket. you've got to kind of put it on the side to make it look a little -- not as nerdy, but still, practicality wins out. i'm not afraid of it. >> when you've got kids, fanny packs are very useful. even he admitted it may be another decade before this trend comes back. although matt and al and willie. al, you shouldn't wear it to the front. to the side. >> isn't it called the fanny pack for a reason? >> never, ever. >> although i will say designers have brought the fanny pack back, or they've tried. it hasn't quite worked out. >> i will say matthew mcconaughey when he's out in that setting with t-shirt and jeans, but when he's here, he's one of the best dressed guests we've ever had. >> he looks good in a fanny pack. up next, childless by choice. why although it's a growing trend, a woman's decision not to have children still remains relentlessly and publicly scrutinized. nbc's halle jackson has more on the choice to go child free. ♪ >> reporter: fashion designer bree doesn't like to pin herself down with just one label. >> i'm also an author and i'm also an inspirational woman. and i'm also a sister. and i'm also a cat lady. and i'm also -- i'm all of these things. >> reporter: but one thing she's not is a mother. and that's by choice. two years ago just before she turned 30, she had surgery to prevent pregnancy permanently. >> it's not about being alone. don't think for myself, i don't want that responsibility in my life. >> reporter: she says she's felt that way since high school. back then she faced backlash. now she still does. >> i've gotten everything from "you're selfish for not wanting children. your childhood must have been terrible if you don't want to have children." >> reporter: she says men who make the decision not to have children don't face the same stigma. >> i think we have to allow as a society a woman to have power over her body. and trust a woman to make those choices for herself. >> reporter: sealy is not alone. recently the number of women without kids has gone up with nearly one in five american women ending her child-bearing years without a child. lately, celebrities like cameron diaz and chelsea handler have highlighted what it means to be childless by choice. >> i don't ever want to have kids. and i don't like when people tell you that you're going to change your mind about it. >> reporter: sealy's choice was to make her decision permanent. but she says she struggled for years to find a doctor who would perform the surgery. >> if they've known their patient long enough or if they don't know them well enough, they'll be hesitant to recommend a permanent procedure. >> reporter: this doctor says the surgery is more complicated than a man's va secosectomy. >> in the future a woman might change her mind. once you tie your tubes, the chances of getting pregnant again through your own tubes is very difficult. >> reporter: bree knows she made the right decision for herself and hopes more women are accepted for whatever choice they make. zl >> to be fair, women are judged. if you have children, you're judged. if you have none, you're judged. there's not really any happy medium where a woman's not going to be judged on some decision she makes in her life. >> reporter: she believes she opted out of motherhood but not womanhood. >> and so my goal is not necessarily for women to define themselves or put themselves in a box but to really look inside and figure out what that inspiration is for them so that they can take that and share it with the world around them. >> reporter: for "today," halle jackson, nbc news, los angeles. >> very interesting. bree recently shared more of the story on the huffington post, by the way. >> being a mother is such an important decision you should not be pressured into by society. it doesn't make any sense. more now of our special series "60 rocks" with al roker as he celebrates a milestone birthday. >> by the time we reach 60, you'd like to think you're comfortable in your own skin. in fact, most people my age feel pretty good. our new "today survey," found 61% of folks say they're in good health. but no matter how you feel, it's still important to see your doctor. our survey also found that 59% of folks in their 60s get a medical exam once a year. my checkup, we enlisted the help of a few experts including nbc's chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: is there really any stuff that you should be looking at? >> yeah, look. you're turning 60. >>ite. >> you're african-american. you've dealt with obesity in the past. >> dr. t. >> reporter: dr. nancy took me to see nbc's chief medical doctor. let's face it, guys can be stubborn. research shows we're 24% less likely than women to regularly visit our doctors. when you go to see your doctor for your 60th, what should you be expecting? >> some of the routine things that you might have seen before. so blood pressure, weight. you'll likely have your blood done. what your doctor decides to do depends on you and your risk factors. >> reporter: i've also got to be concerned about diabetes. african-american guys have almost double the risk of white men. it's also recommended that men my age get a one-time screening for hepatitis c. at 60 years old, am i done with getting shots? >> unfortunately not. flu shot every year pretty much for everybody now. a tetanus booster is one that a lot of people miss. you feed it every ten years. the one that's specific to age 60 is the shingles cceporter: as get shingles each year, and half of us are over 60. what is shingles? >> shingles is a reactivation of chicken pox. >> what are the symptoms? >> it starts out at terrible pain. you don't know what it is. then it breaks out into a rash. >> reporter: then let's talk about the good times. colonoscopy. when you got it at 50, it's time to go once again. and a prostate exam which matt and i were lucky enough to do live. >> i think you're in good shape. >> ready for 60. yeah, baby! but any doctor will tell you that physical activity is critical to a healthy life as we age. and yet only one in four people 65 or older say they exercise on a regular basis. last year we went to new york's hospital for special surgery where they use cutting-edge technology to diagnose my joint pain. we showed up again to talk to dr. jordan metzl. here it is. i'm turning 60. i don't want to slow down. >> the main thing is keeping your muscles strong. strong muscles mean your joints are seeing less loading force and means less aches and pains. >> at 60, what do you need to know when you come into a gym for the first time? >> the thing i like to tell people, the best kind of strengthening involves body weight and lightweights. >> reporter: so with that in mind, we met up with exercise physiologist. >> if you like the gym, that's great. there's plenty of ways to get stronger. >> we began with the squat. >> it's how you do it. as we get older, form is really key. and making sure the joint is aligned right. >> and the benefit of this? >> the benefit is if you watch, all those muscles are involved. your hips are driving you forward. your thighs are working. your calves are working. >> reporter: next, step-ups for leg strength and side steps with rubber tubing to build up my hips. >> do this for let's say 30 seconds. are you feeling your hips? >> yeah, i am. for balance and core strength, a little marching on a stability ball. and finally to work out any stiffness -- >> oh, god! a foam roller! the foam roller! even a few minutes can help improve mobility. is that the mistake people make? doctor, it hurts when i do that. well, then don't do that. instead of not doing anything, find the alternative. >> find a way. there's always a way to strengthen muscles. >> exercise is not only good for your health, but doctors also say making appointments can be a life-saver. if you're in the habit of putting it off, don't. make an appointment around your birthday. being 60 can be vibrant and fun as long as you get ahead of any preventable health problems and you stay active. >> i think a good mental attitude as well. sometimes you'll meet people -- and i'm guilty of this sometimes -- you get out of a chair and you go uh! like this. you don't really need to do that. you kind of talk yourself into being out of shape or getting old. and it's not such a good thing. >> important to exercise the brain, challenge yourself new things. they always say try to learn something new every day. >> every single day. good idea. tomorrow, the non-retirement retirement at 60 and beyond. interesting. and coming up, how to pick the perfect puppy for your family. we've got a bunch of cute little puppies about to make their way into our studio. we're going to tell you what you need to do researchwise before you bring one home to your family. good morning, i'm tracy davidson. rain is in the forecast. let's get the details from meteorologist brittney shipp. >> we're already seeing light showers in parts of the poconos and as we head through the rest of your morning and afternoon, clouds will continue to increase and warm and humid day with a chance of showers and even isolated thunderstorms. here's a closer look at the showers moving through the poconos. right now all a part of a larger system that drops us down into the 70s by tomorrow and the weekend, but today between 82 and 85 degrees. first alert reporter jillian mele following an accident and a backup on 76. >> you got that right. 76 eastbound the girard avenue off ramp is still blocked off as a result of this accident. you can see crews out there blocking this ramp and also see traffic very slow getting by that off ramp for girard avenue. going to take you about an hour to make your way 76 eastbound from the blue route down to the vine. this is 422. eastbound is heavy and then westbound, check it out, a huge delay over here because of construction that was set up and penndot trying to get more details about this construction project. tracy? happening today in philadelphia, two adults will go on trial after a 6-year-old girl showed up at school with maren with. hunter is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. her daughter took several packets and opened one of the packet. the officers arrested the girl's mother at the school. i'm tracy davidson, another local update in 25 minutes. see you then. ♪ you are the one i want ♪ honey we are back now, 8:30 on a thursday morning, 21st day of august, 2014. thanks to these people for stopping by this morning. we appreciate it. and the music you hear in the background can only mean one thing. olivia newton-john. >> absolutely. that's right. and natalie became a pink lady over the weekend, performing on stage with the star of "grease." how was it? ♪ >> -- come true. >> was the microphone on? >> i was going to say for the audience. not sure it's so amazing. you'll get to see that coming up next hour. >> get out the earplugs, with all due respect. >> come on! >> i've got to watch this. tomorrow on "today," one of country's biggest young star, hunter hayes will be right here on our plaza hitting the summer concert stage. that will be a big deal with a big crowd. >> man, he's so good. ahead in this half hour, is this the new kale? hottest new health food trend. we are going to taste some new drinks. >> okay. all right. plus, puppy love. a segment i've been waiting for all morning. and we've got some important pointers if you're thinking of bringing home a new little pet. aww. they're really going at it in there. >> love it. first, though, seth meyers wore a lot of hats, "snl" writer, anchor of "weekend update" and currently host of "late night with seth meyers." next week he's taking on a new challenge. >> you should know i'm hosting the emmys so i have a lot of tv props in there. do you watch "game of thrones"? >> seth made it through airport security. and when he got to l.a., he helped roll out the red carpet. >> you've never seen a carpet roll out before, it's really something. >> reporter: and after the awards are handed out monday night right here on nbc, seth and about 4,000 guests including winners, nominees and presenters will head over to the governor's ball, a first stop for emmy night parties. catch the emmys on monday night right here on nbc. and by the way, al is going to be live in l.a. monday morning on "today" with an exclusive interview, and he'll have seth meyers as well. and tuesday, carson will join him in hollywood for a full wrap of tv's big night. >> very nice. let's get a check on the forecast. >> all right. let's see what we have for you starting with today. i should say tomorrow. looking ahead to your weekend, wet weather in the northeast, mid-atlantic states. sunshine along the west coast. look for rain along the mid-atlantic coast. and then for saturday, as we head into the weekend, more rain in the mid-atlantic into the ohio river valley. rain in the western great lakes. out west it's going to stay steamy. gorgeous day in los angeles. 75. but the heat continues in the plains. sunday, sunday! look for more heat in the plains. texas on into the mid-mississippi river valley. upper 70s in the pacific northwest. 103 in las vegas on sunday. that's hi, i'm first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head into the rest of today, we'll see cloudy skies and warm conditions and temperatures range between 82 and 85 degrees and heading into the afternoon we'll see the possibility of showers and even isolated storms that will mainly be as we head into your evening hours. and then take a look at friday. 77 degrees and more showers expected and that sets us up for a following weekend on saturday and sunday we stay in the high 70s. and that's your latest weather. tamron? >> al, thank you very much. in the '70s it was tofu and bean sprouts. wheat germ and soy also had a stay. and kale has been the health food rage in recent years. but nbc's kelly cobiella has the new health trend, vinegar. >> mmm, sounds good, doesn't it? can't wait to try, right? that's right. it's not just for your salad anymore. people are actually drinking it and boasting all kinds of health benefits. the thought of it is enough to make you queasy. a big gulp of fermented fruit juice to start your day. heidi klum, miranda kerr and megan fox have been drinking vinegar for years. they say it helps them maintain their glow and trim figure. and it's catching on. at the rawduck in east london -- >> i think i'm going to try one of your drinking vinegars. >> reporter: they cooked up a whole menu based on vinegar and pickled food. >> i love the vinegary taste of things. i find it can break through sort of the richness of foods. i keep hearing about their probiotics. >> it's good for your skin. >> reporter: rory mckroy makes the drinks themselves. it takes unpasteurized, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, the cloudy kind. >> it's still inside which is basically the culture inside. it's all the good enzymes. >> reporter: the romans used it 2,000 years ago. h hippocrates prescribed it in small doses. >> it can affect your blood sugar level. >> taking apple cider vinegar is a great way to fight off colds, keep your immune system running. >> reporter: but can you stomach it? the apple vinegar is really harsh. raspberry. a little chewy. strawberry. wow! black cherry. sounds good. it's actually pretty tasty. i could drink a glass of this. i'm not going to, but i could. ooh. at rawduck, they don't stop with the drink. do you do fermented food, too? >> we do. >> reporter: sauerkraut and kimchi, fermented korean cabbage. >> if you got ready for the take on the food you're about to eat and helps digest and absorbs the newt yeutrients a lot better. >> reporter: it can be quite volatile. >> it's like children, they do need a bit of burping. i think these are probably the smelliest. >> reporter: it smells spicy. not for the fainthearted, but when the payoff could be a glowing new you, bring it on. if you're in a hurry to lose weight, don't gulp it down by the bottle. it's a little tough to take. a couple of spoonfuls in water will do the trick. and guys, lucky you, we found some drinking vinegar in new york. so you guys need to drink to your health. >> what do you have? pomegranate. >> they sell the bottles for about $15. >> this is delicious, actually. >> drink on't drink it straight. always mix it with soda. >> it's very bitter. >> it is. >> mine is honey. i like it. the ginger one tastes like ginger ale. but i get your point about sipping it a little. taking a huge gulp may not be the right thing in the beginning. >> yeah, go slowly and be advised, you might have a little burping action. >> all right. thank you. >> yes! bonus! >> buried the lead there, kel. so nice to have you at nbc. great to have you here. >> the first thing you say. thank you very much. well, coming up, is it that time already? we're going to show you the hottest shoe trends for the fall. and up next, what to look for when you're picking out a puppy. it may cause you to purpose a little bit. this is "today" on nbc. >> blame the dog. "today's pets" is brought to you by petarmor plus igr.no get be rewarding and better yet, it can stop alta begging from your kids. but it also comes with challenges. knowing what to look for when choosing a puppy can help make sure you have the right companion for a long time. andrea arden is an animal pet expert. andrea, good morning. nice to see you. >> good morning. >> your friends here, good to see them. let's talk about the facts here. about 4 million dogs end up in shelters every year, and there are some real reasons behind those numbers. >> yeah, it's believed that about 20 prosecute 6to 60% of t are surrendered. that shows people aren't taking the time to educate themselves. >> by the way, those aren't always older dogs. i think there are a lot of puppies as well. >> tons of puppies, tons of purebreds. we're going to talk a little bit about some of the things you need to think about when choosing a dog for your family. >> what's the most important piece of research? >> i think the most important thing you need to consider is the temperament of the dog. >> right. >> so for example, we have ryder here who's a toy aussie. this is a relatively new and popular type of dog. they've been downsized from australian shepherds. they are deliciously cute, adorable little, tiny dogs, but i need to make sure that no matter how small a dog is, you consider their temperament. >> let's be honest, size does matter. >> absolutely. >> you have to make sure that the dog you're getting is not going to outgrow your house. >> absolutely. >> these two are really going at it here. >> yeah, they're being a little crazy. >> that's okay. you have to make sure you do research on how big that dog's going to grow. >> yes, absolutely. one of the things that i worry about is something which is we call a popularity trend. for example, french bulldogs right now are super popular. if you go on instagram, there's all these accounts -- crazy -- there's all these accounts for french bulldogs. >> okay, okay. >> actually, that makes a really good point. hold on one second. i do want to say something about labradors. this is probably one of the most popular breeds in america. they're lovely dogs, can be wonderful companion dogs. i think sometimes people think they're push button and ready to go. they tend to be very high energy and they deserve an education. they deserve training. you don't think you're going to bring home a lab that's known as a family dog. >> you should be prepared to go through the training process because it makes the long-term experience all that much better. >> absolutely. i think sometimes people forget that you really are becoming a puppy parent. and part of that is educating your dog, how to train them, teaching them to be social, to have good manners, that sort of thing. >> what about cost over the lifetime of a dog? does the size of the dog play into that as well? >> absolutely. and i'm going to have bruno come over here. bruno is a beautiful gray newfoundland. they can grow to be about 100 to 150 pounds. and i think sometimes when they're puppies, they're cute, they forget the cost differential between a puppy like bruno and ryder who's tiny can be a lot just regarding food. so yes. >> you just mentioned temperament again. other breeds that are super kid friendly would be what? >> you know, i'm afraid to say that because i think that's what oftentimes gets people into trouble. >> no generalization? >> there are generalizations that ring true. i said some of them, but i think rather than saying to yourself that breed is going to be good for my dog, stay to yourself i'm going to narrow it down to a few breeds or mixes. look at the history of the dogs and get the sense of what they were bred for and then meet individual dogs and choose the right one for me. >> i'm got a great dog named jules. it can be the most rewarding experience. it's wonderful. but do your homework. thank you so much. appreciate it. >> and thanks for taking care of beasley. >> you know what? i was called to action. i answered the call. you can catch animal planet's "too cute" saturday nights 8:00 p.m. eastern. up next, the hottest fall fashion trends. we're talking about shoes. but first, this is "today" on nbc. back now at 8:46 with "today's style," this morning, shoes for fall. it's hard to believe we are nearing the end of summer. whether or not you're ready for the chillier weather, the stores are filling up with the cold weather styles. and chassis post has the insight on the trends to keep your best foot forward. good to see you. >> good morning. >> i have on white heels, so i guess i have to dump these. >> white shoes, believe it or not, are awesome after labor day. >> because they're closed toe? >> because they're closed toe. we're seeing tons of white on the runway. you don't have to throw those amazing shoes out. >> styles. and men's styles very popular. >> menswear, the boys are back in town. >> i love this. >> here we have morgan showing us how it's done. we have her in a lace-up oxford. and so this is a great alternative to sort of the uber feminine ballet flat. these are by sole society, just $59. and notice they're black and white. >> love it. >> you really can do white after labor day. we paired it with a fun little flirty skirt. these are awesome with anything. a jean on the weekends. love it with the skirt. but you can wear it with a trouser and also a blazer. >> i noticed brianna in a lot of the menswear style. >> the new take on the penny ,$24. >> fabulous. >> a high heel loafer. love the menui here. and of course the smoking flipper. i hear you have a pair of these. >> i love these. they are so cool. >> aren't they fun? instead of the insignia, we've got sort of pop references. these are just $17. >> beautiful. we're going to take our spin and let's look at the next trend. let's spin it. >> i love it. it's like the ultimate rotating shoe closet. >> imagine walking into your closet and seeing this. for you we're looking at our boots. what's hot this fall? >> she's wearing sort of the trend of the season. and is the booty. aren't these amazing? >> but those are open toe. >> these are open toe. and the great news about that is we transition with a pair of tights. we are loving tights with open toe. and these have a couple trends, lace-up and also, you know, they've got the peep toe, as you mentioned. and these are by zahra, $59. she looks incredible. >> right now my mother is saying get those for me, tamron. >> a couple of boot trends is the over the knee boot. anything you wear them with, it i have goes them a little downtown edge. >> we saw it last fall. >> it's back. doc martens and grunge are back for the little ones. aren't they funny? and this season instead of, you know, the classic new pump, try the classic sort of cut-out booty, so elongating and a new take on that. >> and these with tights, too, for example? >> yep. >> love it. >> and to transition. and these are $79. >> let's spin it and see our next trend. here we go. >> now, this is right up your alley, tamron, because it's a statement shoe is the big trend. and so, you know, we say don't be afraid to go bold and let your feet do the talking this season. >> okay. >> so here we have rashem in a fall floral. they're huge not just for spring and summer. >> that's interesting, florals for the fall. >> yes. and what you want to look out for is sort of a dark floral. and that just means with a darker background. and so it's really about florals with attitude this fall. >> and she has attitude. the pants rolled up. >> right? and when you have a major shoe like this, you can go really easy. a little black dress or little navy jumpsuit is the perfect option. another way to make a statement is animal print. why not a little catitude. we love these little slides from target, just $24. or you know, just like you've got the bejeweled on your white pumps, bling. why not wear it on your shoes? >> when you go bling in your shoes, should you go basic in the outfit or does it matter? >> yeah, i think it's a good idea to sort of balance that out. you don't have to wear as much jewelry. and the color of the season, full-color cobalt. >> i love that. >> isn't that fun? >> you've got us all hooked up for fall. ladies, you look beautiful. thank you. we are back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. it's all about blue. ♪ we know they look ridiculous ♪ that's why no one will dance with us ♪ ♪ we're wearing christmas j jammies ♪ remember this a couple of months ago we introduced you to the holderness family? they made this adorable holiday video that celebrated their christmas jammies. the north carolina family is back. this time with a new video for back to school. ♪ baby i'm going to miss ya ♪ so let me kiss ya ♪ but then go home and try it ♪ it's so quiet ♪ fellas ♪ yeah ♪ fellas ♪ yeah ♪ did mom make a healthy lunch ♪ make it make it make that healthy lunch ♪ ♪ baby got class >> that is dedicated to the teachers who take care of their kids. and this is clearly a family with a lot of free time on their hands. the entire video on today.com. good for them. >> the family that has gun together. >> and they are talented. >> good production. >> where did they get the bus? they rented a bus. >> congratulations for carson. stephanie sending carson daly a big congrats on the news of their new baby girl. love the name london rose. carrie tweets, congrats on the birth of your daughter. too cute. shawna tweets, looks like carson may have a bff. she's beautiful. a lot of congratulations on london rose, carson and siri's new baby. >> and some great names. vale and london rose. let's get some birthday wishes from willard. >> down on the farm in the summertime. a nice place to have a birthday party. and lou leonard agrees. beautiful lady from bakersfield, california. a wonderful woman. she sews, cooks and knows how to qui quilt. happy birthday. william reed smith. three names. 100 years old today. n norcross, georgia. nice town. and he built four playhouses. his four playhouses are features in "better homes & gardens." take a look, if you will, herbert and katherine russell. and they are 75 years married. love each other very much. and they are from bath, new york state. and courage, love and devotion. i love it. onetha elliott. i don't know that name. 100 years old from sandy island, south carolina. she has a lovable and witty personality, and everybody loves her. now back to the great state of new york. >> willard, thanks very much. by the way, fun in the next hour, an audience participation hour. we'll show you what you're going to need to do. take both fingers like this and then put them in your ears. >> stop it! not nice. >> because you're going to be singing with olivia newton-john. >> yes! yes! >> those puppies upstairs. >> you were a pink lady. >> pink lady. she invited me to come out to vegas with her. and she was so wonderful and lovely. >> you got the moves. >> it was really fun. we had a great time. >> and we get to see your jacket? do you have your jacket? >> my pink lady jacket. i'm officially a pink lady. >> that should good morning, i'm tracy davidson. let's get your first alert forecast from meteorologist brittney shipp. >> we eare seeing scattered showers in the pocono as we head to the afternoon and evening we will maintain a chance of showers and even isolated thunderstorms. here's a live look right now at philadelphia and a coastal look at our radar shows our coastal showers and our temperatures warming into the low 80s, but dropped down into the high 70s by tomorrow. we'll stay that way into the weekend. opening statements are scheduled to begin this morning in the trial of the woman charged with kidnapping a 5-year-old girl from her school in philadelphia. christina rugusta has been in jail since last year. accused of kidnapping that girl and sexually assaulting her after taking her. prosecutors say she was caught on video caught on muslim garb to pose as the child's mom. taney dragons take the field again tonight. the dragons are looking to bounce back from last night's loss to las vegas and tonight they could be facing elimination. mo'ne davis who was great in his last two starts was roughed up against las vegas last night. gave up two-run homer in the second inning had a chance to come back in the fifth but the pitching got the job done as the dragons lost 8-1. count on nbc 10 to bring you all the action today as the taney dragons are still in the running for the little league world series championship. another local update in 25 minutes. you can always get the latest news, weather and updates about taney on nbc10.com. i'm tracy davidson. have a great day. from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales, willie geist and tamron hall live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today" on a beautiful thursday morning here in new york city. it is august 21st, 2014. i'm willie ang with al, natalie and tamron. i will tell you, it's not a 60th birthday on the show, it's a baby. >> lately. >> last week we met baby vale. and now carson and his fiancee, siri, have a new baby daughter born last night. london rose daly arrived at 6:11 p.m. 8 pounds, 11 pounds. >> she's a big girl. >> a big girl, 22 inches long. rose, by the way, is carson's grandmother's name. >> love that. >> i love that name. >> savannah just tweeted a minute ago. she writes "we are so glad you're here, london rose. much love to carson daly and siri. vale can't wait to play. #girls." >> i love seeing etta and jack all excited about their little sister. you know they're going to be good siblings. >> she picked a great day to be born. >> al roker's birthday. >> oh, my gosh. >> al roker's birthday. >> carson says he's taken the kids home to kind of chill out because they thought things were slowing down and delayed. and then he got a call. >> get back. >> rushed back to the hospital and he says that they were literally waiting for him. >> hold on. hold on. >> get back in there. >> did you have that with any of your kids? you go to the hospital, we went once and they send you home. as soon as you get home, it all happens. >> yeah. go and get it done. >> isn't that beautiful? >> the tribute to a family member. my mother's maternal mother's name. >> carson said earlier, etta also a family name as well for their other grandmother. super sweet. look how happy. >> they're a great family. great parents. you see them around their kids, they're so kid. they're the best. >> siri's on maternity leave, who's doing the voice on the iphone? >> ha, ha, ha. you've been waiting for that, haven't you? we did get a tweet from someone, her name is siri? yes. >> congratulations, guys. we're so happy for you. can't wait to meet london rose. >> cannot wait. more exciting news regarding the two americans who were treated for ebola. the two american patients being treated have been cleared for release from the hospital. yeah, this is great news. dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol have been at emory university hospital for almost three weeks. they were diagnosed with ebola while working as missionaries. they were flown to the u.s. for treatment. according to our own dr. nancy snyderman, it's the first time this serum has been used on humans. and now they have been cleared to go home. obviously, people are wondering what this means globally now that you have some 1300 people who have died as a result of this latest ebola outbreak. but this certainly should give medical professionals, researchers some hope seeing the progress with these two people. >> they kind of put themselves up as guinea pigs to further knowledge. so hats off to them. >> unfortunately getting that serum is not so easy. we've reported that there have been shortages on that. so hopefully they start stepping up production somehow and can get what they need there to africa. >> how about the job emory university hospital does. three weeks ago, what are you doing? >> don't bring them here. >> and now they're walking out of the hospital. big credit to them. >> absolutely. this next one is -- yeah. i don't even know where -- >> do you smell desperation? >> we found -- well, al pointed this out to us earlier. >> yeah. >> i guess this video has gone viral. >> my kids told me about it. >> this new song "anaconda." and it's causing a lot of controversy. just when you think you saw all on video, you haven't seen it all apparently. >> we're about to see it. >> you only see about 17 seconds that we could actually show you on morning television. >> because the rest you cannot. >> night television. >> take a look. ♪ ♪ he was getting some coin ♪ shootout with the law but he lived in a palace ♪ ♪ alexander mcqueen ♪ he was keeping my stylish ♪ that's real real real >> so i think you get the point there. but it goes on and on. >> i mean, she's twerking, she's gyrating, there are other dancers. >> well, the lyrics, too, are horrible. i mean, these are young kids, i think, still, you know, they like this music. and they look at her as a pop star, you know, a rap star. and it's just -- it's horrifying. >> it almost seems like nicki minaj has gotten desperate and feels like she needs to do something to get her crown back. >> right. >> from others, iggy azalea and all these other girls that she thinks are honing in on her turf. geez louise. >> she's so talented. she does not need to do that. >> she doesn't need that. >> tamron's not saying anything. nothing to say. >> nothing? >> for once in my life to those who think i talk too much, nothing. >> nothing. >> wow. >> 20 million youtube views already. >> amazing. >> so it's working. >> i guess it is. okay. >> just tell me and then i'll tell them. >> you know what we should do? we should get you on a conference call and see what you think about it. >> this is a nice way to segue. people are able to do these conference calls different places. they don't have to be at their desk. there's a new survey about where you are when you do these conference calls. 65% do it at work. >> or do other work. >> do other work while they're on the conference call. 55% eat or cook. i have done that. >> i've done that. i do that all the time. >> here's one, 47 are doing it while they're in the restroom. >> in the restroom? like putting your makeup on? >> so if you hear an echo. >> what do you mean? combing your hair? >> you could be. >> i think they meant on the can. yeah. >> but you press the mute button. >> i expect that from him. >> vintage. you're coming back now. >> i'm out of my nicki minaj. >> you're back. >> we've all done this, though, right? you put it on mute. >> yeah. do other things. uh-huh. uh-huh. >> oh, yeah. what do you think of this, willie? >> i didn't get anything out of that guy. >> mute. >> and then you're afraid you mix it up. >> make sure you hit it and you look over and over. okay, let me double check. hello? hello? you hear me? oh, they don't hear me. >> she's back. she's back! tamron's back. >> i'm out of my nicki minaj coma. i'm back. okay. now you have to take me back. i'm visually seeing that video. >> because we've got some great videos. this is palate cleanser for the mind and soul after the "anaconda" video. this is the nicki minaj sorbet that we need to cleanse. anti-nicki minaj. mystic aquarium in connecticut. the beluga whales are there. they see three children. three children see the beluga whale. then the magic happens. >> mikey, look. >> wait. >> i could watch this all day. >> it's the best. and then when it goes up to the top, he looks back at them like i've still got my eyes on you. >> like gotch your nose. how amazing is that? i've got my eye on you. >> i see you. >> i've got side eye. >> mystic aquarium is great, by the way. >> it's so fantastic. >> we take long drives to the mystic aquarium. >> not to mention the pizza. >> there is a real mystic pizza? >> from the movie. >> they've got tall ships there. >> fantastic. we should do the whole show from mystic, connecticut. >> we want to meet the beluga. >> then to mystic. great pizza. >> then we'll go to the manta ray aquarium which is spectacular. >> do they have good pizza? >> i don't know. they have good tuna. >> that's not right. >> monterey. tuna canning. >> oh, i thought you were going to go to the aquarium. >> no! no! what's wrong with you? >> he's got "anaconda" and nicki minaj brain. farmers' almanac, they're spri predicting a super cold winter for much of the nation. much of the northeast going to get more snow than normal. it doesn't matter. >> why do we do it every year? >> because it's a piece of americana that i think -- >> wrong. >> is it always wrong? >> is there science that goes into this? >> but you know what? i love it. it's a great piece of americana, and i'm glad it's still around. >> it's like punxsutawney phil. >> he annoys me. i'm done with him. >> our road trip has shortened. all right. let's take a check of the weather. but first -- greek.ay's the greek taste-off is on, and the taste of yoplait greek blueberry. take the taste-off for yourself. >> all right. so we've got this big dome of high pressure. we've got storms riding up over it, but underneath it, we've got the heat to talk about. dangerous heat. we've also got the midwest storms that are firing up with minneapolis all the way to chicago, probably going to be some airport delays during the day today. heavy rain out of this. we've got the risk of strong storms from minneapolis, des moines, chicago, into columbus. we'll be watching this all day. rainfall amounts anywhere from two to four inches. there could be some flash flooding as well. anywhere from bismarck, minneapolis, green bay all the way into western new york and parts of new jersey as well. we're also looking at strong storms and a lot of heat during the day today. dangerous heat. that's w first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head into the rest of today, cloudy skies, warm conditions and temperatures range between 82 and 85 degrees and heading into the afternoon, we will see the possibility of showers even isolated storms that will mainly be as we head into your evening hours and then cooler temperatures. take a look at friday, 77 degrees and more showers expected, that sets us up for fall-like weekend on saturday and sunday we stay in the high 70s. and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks. good news, we're going to talk more about your 60th birthday. 60 by the numbers now that al has marked the milestone, we're going to look at the important health information he and you ought to know about like why is the number 126 so important? >> the number of pizzas i've eaten. >> at mystic pizza. eaten. >> at mystic pizza. >> still got it's the yoplait greek taste-off and we're asking this sports town which blueberry greek yogurt is their champion. it's the bottom of the 9th, who's it going to be? get your greek yogurt here! can i ask you a question? which one tastes the best? a tastes better. a. i love. lift it up and see what the winner is. who is it? no way. it's yoplait! i knew it! do you want to see which one yoplait greek beat? chobani. hoorah! yoplait greek wins again. take the taste-off for yourself. go boston! everything life throws my way. except for frown lines. those i'm throwing back. olay total effects nourishing vitamins and seven beautiful benefits in one. for younger-looking skin. olay. your best beautiful. i will never choose between uv protection and beauty again. new olay total effects now with spf 30. uva/uvb protection and anti-aging in one. youthful skin with a mission. olay. your best beautiful. snack time takes mercy on no one. but snack time has finally met it's match. sargento cheese snacks a natural source of protein and calcium. choose our family's wholesome natural cheese snacks. sargento taste the real difference. without it falling flat? moisture ♪ some moisturizing products can weigh hair down. ♪ dove oxygen moisture is different. it provides lightweight oxygen--fused moisture for the moisture you need and the volume you want. so you can enjoy moisture with 95% more volume. dove oxygen moisture. taking care of your health is important at any age, but as we get older, you really need to take all of those numbers into concern. you want to see your doctor more regularly and not put things off which is a philosophy al lives by. >> from blood pressure to blood sugar, dr. rodriguez is here with important numbers to know for all of us who are 60 or older as we approach that all-important decade. dr. rodriguez, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> you, too. thanks for having me. >> we start with blood pressure. you had your blood pressure taken. let's take a loo look. >> reporter: when it comes to our health, especially guys, i think we put that on the back burner. >> 118 over 75. >> is that good? >> perfect. >> reporter: you wouldn't reschedule your kid's pediatrician appointment. why would you cheat yourself on that workout or that doctor's appointment? >> dr. rodriguez joining us, as we said. so let's start first with the blood pressure. al seems to be in really good number. 119 over 76. >> that's the blood pressure of a 20-year-old, al. >> fantastic. >> that is fantastic. >> i feel bad for the 20-year-old. >> what we need to know, though, is 150 over 90. >> high. for anybody over 60, anything above 150 over 90 is something that should be treated. recently they increased this because people were being treated a little bit too soon and the medication was causing more danger actually than the blood pressure. >> yeah. >> but this is super important because high blood pressure can lead to strokes, heart disease, kidney failure. so it's a good one. >> you should be checking it how often? >> well, you should be checking it at least twice a year. you can go to any pharmacy and have it checked. >> and you can also genetically, though -- even at my heaviest, i never had blood pressure checked. >> correct. and a lot of people think that you can cure blood pressure just by losing weight. 80% of the time you can, but sometimes you cannot. so check it and make sure you do something about it. >> very important and interesting in a "today" survey, we found 47% of people in their 60s said they had high blood pressure. >> absolutely. >> you need to be on top of this. >> this next number, 90, flu shots. >> this one is really important and kind of alarming as far as i'm concerned. in the united states, anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 people die of the flu every year. of those people, 90% are over the age of 65. >> wow. >> i mean, that's a huge number. so getting a flu shot, and now is the time to start getting it, is super important. so if you're a little older and younger, those are the two really high groups that get it. >> this month or next time. >> absolutely. it's never too late. >> moving on to the number 126. and here we're talking about blood sugar, right? >> correct. >> so how often should you check it, and what does 126 tell us? >> 126, you go to your doctor and they check it. if it's above 126, that, by definition, is diabetes. all right. 80 million americans have diabetes. that can cause things as kidney problems, more heart attacks, impotence. that usually gets the men to have it checked. >> what's the range you should be in? >> anything under 100 is normal. anything between 100 and 125 is pre-diabetes. 126 or above is diabetes. >> next number is 1 every 10, and we're talking about colonoscopy. >> something very dear and near to my heart because i'm a g.i. doctor. >> every ten years. >> you should get a colonoscopy at 50. if everything is normal every year, then you need to do one every ten years. >> i did one at 50. i did one last year. >> congratulations. >> you're ahead of the game. >> now, let me tell you something. if you have blood in your stool, if you have any other symptoms, this may need to be sooner than ten years. but if everything is normal, every ten years. >> number 30. when it comes to hearing loss. >> correct. listen up. all right. 30% of everyone over 60 to 65 has hearing loss. and that sounds trivial, but it affect your job, emergencies, and now there's so many good things. >> and your quality of life. >> absolutely. you don't have to -- >> and only one out of five people get hearing aids. >> correct. and now they have such great hearing aids that don't even show. so there's no reason not to hear. >> dr. jorge rodriguez, as always, thank you. great information. next, get you caught up on all the news you need before you walk out the door. and a special camp teaching kids all the right moves for a brighter future after this. the activia challenge! there's nothing like leaving home feeling attractive. but too many times i feel bloated, gassy, uncomfortable with gurgling. nothing seems to feel right! and yet another pile of clothes 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center app, call 1-888-xarelto, or visit goxarelto.com taking a look at the headlines, another data breach to tell you about. some customers of the u.p.s. store may have had their credit and debit card information exposed by a computer virus. the shipping company says information including names, card numbers and e-mail addresses could be at risk. u.p.s. says 51 store affected by the breach. bank of america has reached a record $17 billion settlement with federal and state authorities. the settlement resolves the investigation into b of a's role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis. it is the largest settlement arising from the economic meltdown which saw millions of americans lose their homes. officials say the bank will pay $10 billion in cash and provide $7 billion in consumer relief. a growing number of americans are having trouble making their car payments. the number of loan defaults and delinquent loans surged between the months of april and june. that's according to the credit reporting agency experian. experts say the trend is being driven by loans granted to borrows with spotty credit histories. the average monthly payment is now $474. and take a look at this larger-than-life rubber duck making quite a splash as it sailed into the harbor near los angeles there. the duck's imposing yellow presence could be seen making its way through the channel to kick off the tall ships festival. the rubber duck will be moored there for the next five days. it is the latest and largest version of an iconic floating it is the latest and largest versi[ woman ] the cadillacng summer collection is here. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month. hurry in -- this exceptional offer ends soon. ♪ we think they're the best-fitting pants in fashion. with technology that slims and shapes and five-pocket styling. they'll be the star of your wardrobe. chico's so slimming peyton pants. 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vegas. first pitch is set for 7:30 tonight. you can count on nbc 10 to bring you live coverage today as the dragons try to avoid elimination. again, first pitch at 7:30. from our delaware bureau this morning giving a tour of new improvements to the sussex county airport. the airporunway was expanded to feet and trees were approved near the runway and lighting and pavement stripping was added. real quick, we have to make a correction to a story we ran earlier this morning. we reported a story about this man christopher white facing child endangerment charges. earlier this morning we incorrectly showed the photo of a different christopher white, who is not involved in this case. we'll have another update you for you in 25 minutes. remember, you can always get the latest news and weather on nbc10.com. i'm chris cato, now we go back to "today" show. have a great day. welcome back to "today" on this thursday morning from our cam. it's august 21st, 2014. i'm willie along with al, natalie and tamron. >> bang, bang. >> now you're on team nicki all of a sudden. >> no. >> you've got to pick a side here. >> no, i still like the song. >> "bang bang" he likes. >> it's three women doingsong g she'doing the song, but she's not going to have her -- >> that song makes her niece faint. she's trying to get me to bring her, and i can't. >> aunt tamron not going to bring her? >> she has school, man. got to go to school. >> so you never cut school for a concert? >> no. are you kidding me? >> i'm just asking. >> my dad was in the military. my mother is a southern -- i would have been dragged out of that place where i was hiding from school. no, i was a chicken as a kid. >> okay. >> i was a chicken except for that time -- >> what happened? >> nothing. i'll tell you later. but for clarification for people, you like nicki minaj, some of her work. >> well, her earlier work. >> this song -- >> she's just lost her mind on this song. >> and other things. >> "bang bang." >> yeah. >> you don't appreciate this "anaconda" video. she's better than that is what you're saying. >> yes. she's talented and she's got a lot going for her. she doesn't need to do that. >> fair enough. >> did we end the discussion? >> als ice bucket challenge. we've seen a lot of good ones. president bush did it yesterday. there have been some not-so-good ones. it's time we looked at the bloopers. >> three, two. >> ooh. >> oh! >> okay, here we go. >> these aren't real, are they? >> what are you doing? >> oh, man! >> that would really hurt. >> oh! >> ow! >> oh, geez. >> a sympathetic laugh. >> that last laugh was just maniacal. >> evil. >> wow. >> how about the whole cooler thrown at you. >> how did that happen? >> as len berman would say, nobody got hurt, but i think a lot of people got hurt. >> tom bergeron was there for all of those. >> how did the whole cooler slip from her hands? >> i don't know, just threw it on him. >> those things are heavy. i was going to have george and lucy do it, but they couldn't lift it. >> oh, gosh. >> a heavy bucket. >> how about a check of the weather? you're going to need a bucket to cool off down south, right, al? my segue. >> i need a theme song. we started with "bang bang." >> every great superhero has a theme song. >> i'm not a superhero. ♪ there you go. that's the song. thank you very much. look ahead to your weekend. i love it when a plan comes together for your weather. we've got wet weather in the northeast and the ohio river valley tomorrow. rain from the plains into the southwest. west coast looking gorgeous. plenty of sunshine. on saturday, more rain in the ohio river valley into the mid-atlantic states. we're looking at the plains and the southeast. again, record-setting temperatures. 70s along the west coast. sunday, sunday! we've got a gorgeous day here in the northeast and new england, mid-atlantic states. more rain in the mid-mississippi river valley on into florida. we've got more showers in the northern mississippi river valley and look at the sunshine out west. temperatures will be nice and moderate right along the coast. that's what's going on around hi, i'm first alert meteorologist brittney shipp. as we head into the rest of today, cloudy skies, warm conditions and temperatures range between 82 and 85 degrees and heading into the afternoon, we will see the possibility of showers, even isolated storms that will mainly be as we head into your evening hours. and then cooler temperatures. take a look at friday. 77 degrees. more showers expected and that sets us up for fall-like weekend on saturday and sunday we stay in the high 70s. and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks a lot. now to our series "hope to it," and giving some deserving young people a chance to shine. >> it's called ali camp run by a world-famous company credited with pioneering modern american dance. >> it's the performance off the stage that makes them unique. >> reporter: these kids can dance from pops and locks to arabesque, to moves to frenetic moves, a kind of training any young dancer would envy. but these students are learning much more than counts and choreography. >> it goes beyond dance. it really is about giving these young people something to hope for, giving them a voice where perhaps they otherwise wouldn't have that voice. >> reporter: it's all part of a six-week program serving hundreds of kids ages 11 to 14 in 9 cities across the country. each student facing personal challenges off the dance floor. >> we have children that are in foster families. we have children that are living in shelters. we have children that are dealing with a loss of a parent. we have children who are trying to figure out where they fit in. >> reporter: for 11-year-old jalen, the camp is a welcome relief from the struggles of a broken home. >> it's actually helping me a lot with what i've been through in life. and when i dance, it gives me the opportunity to let out my emotions. >> reporter: camp director and former professional dancer nasha thomas smith sees herself in the students. >> i grew up raised by a single mother in the projects in queens. i feel it's my duty to be here for these young people. they've been told that they can't. they can't have. they can't do. they can't be. and my question is why. why can't you? yes, you can. >> reporter: in addition to daily sessions in -- >> hip-hop. >> >>jazz. >>ye wtingasses and share perso struggles. >> coming from the child of a teen parent, it's not as bad as you think. ignore all those terrible names that people are calling because they don't understand. >> so what if you're different? that is how you make friends because your y're unique in you own way. >> put your mind to it. >> reporter: learning a sense of compassion and self-confidence. >> my friends, i see like all the hard things that they've went through, and then that helps me think of how i'm not the only one. i'm not the different one. >> reporter: it's that camaraderie that translates to the stage when each camp culminates in a final perfo performan performance. >> i just don't want to trip and fall because we've worked so hard. and i give it up to you guys. you guys make me cry. >> we love you. >> reporter: in front of a packed house of family and friends. >> very excited. >> it's a great experience. >> it's a space that really is made for growing. >> reporter: giving some special kids the chance to take to the stage. >> at the end of the day, they're just kids, you know. and they want to have fun and they want to make friends and they want to learn. and that's what the program is about. >> so the camp is completely free for the families of the kids. they rely on public and private donations. for manager information about all the alvin ailey arts in education program, head to today.com. we applaud them for that effort. these kids are beautiful and they deserve that opportunity. >> if you're ever coming to new york and you have the chance to see alvin ailey perform, wow! it will take your breath away. it's one of the best things going. next, natalie gives las vegas a taste of her trademark singing chops. >> it will never be the same. >> when she hits the stage with olivia newton-john. how exciting is this. we'll show you how it went right after this. donuts? ♪ you're cute. ♪ ding special k protein cereal helps you stay satisfied. willpower. what will you gain? how ya doin'? mmmmmmm. okay, bye bye. ♪ ding help satisfy your hunger ... ...with special k protein bars and shakes willpower. what will you gain? olive garden's buy one, take one, starting at just $12.99. it's back, but not for long. choose from a variety of entrees to enjoy today. like new creamy citrus chicken, and take home a second entrée free! buy one, take one starting at just $12.99. at olive garden. it means trying something new. 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"grease," "xanadu," "let's get physical," they were the sound track of my generation. if you could go back in time and tell that 8-year-old little girl that someday you're going to be performing with olivia newt newton-john, i would have said you must be dreaming. but guess what? here i am in vegas, and i'm not dreaming! olivia, here i come! >> hello, hello! >> i can't believe it! >> you made it! >> i made it! this is a dream come true. >> have you been warming up your voice? >> no, no. 35 years since "grease" came out. >> can you believe it? >> i know. does it seem like it was 35 years ago that your life changed forever? >> you know, there's no way i could have possibly dreamt that people would still be loving this movie now. >> to be a pink lady, what do i need to do? >> you just need to get a bit of attitude. >> a little rizzo. >> rid zzo'ed out a little bit. >> are you going to teach me the ropes? >> let's do it. let's go. >> i can't believe i'm doing this! oh, my gosh. >> this is our new pink lady. welcome. >> are you sure you want to hand me a microphone? ♪ uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh ♪ ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more >> my gosh, my own dressing room. look at the star. good luck to our own bad sandy. here's to making your lifelong dream come true. love, your biggest fans, al, willie and tamron. now i've got to go get 'em. i've got to knock 'em dead. it's starting. this is it! the moment i've been waiting for. i'm very nervous. >> two months ago i was on the "today" show. and one of the girls on the "today" show told me that she wanted to be a pink lady. and i'm so excited to invite natalie morales to the stage to be a pink lady for tonight! here she comes. >> oh, my gosh! >> i'm going to give you a jacket, too. hold on. ♪ summer days drifting away ♪ to off to the summer nights ♪ well, well, well ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more ♪ was it love at first sight ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more ♪ did she put up a fight ♪ we made out under the dock ♪ summer heat ♪ summer nights ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more ♪ how much dough did he spend ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more ♪ could she get me a friend ♪ those summer nights ♪ tell me more ♪ tell me more ♪ yeah >> yeah! >> i'm officially a pink lady now. >> wow! we're officially deaf. >> let's talk about that last high note. >> that was beautiful. >> that one move. by the way, i've got to thank olivia newton-john and her whole band. they're fantastic. what a great show. and by the way, "summer nights" has been extended through the beginning of january, and she's there throughout the month of august. >> at the flamingo, right? >> at the flamingo in vegas. it is so much fun. it's like reliving your youth all over again. >> when you looked out at the audience and you were singing and dancing with olivia newton-john -- >> i didn't even see the audience. i'm thinking i'm that 8-year-old girl and i'm singing with my idol, and she is better than ever. >> she's good. >> she's incredible. the show was so wonderful. >> well done. >> thank you. you've got to follow now. vegas for you, willie. >> it ain't that. >> "hangover." natalie won't be performing at the vmas, but we know who will. you should. we'll tell you how to jump start the weekend with the best entertainment after this. look at that. look that the. >> mm-hmm. ♪ tell me more ♪ tell hello! three grams daily of beta-glucan... a soluable fiber from whole grain oat foods like cheerios can help lower cholesterol. thank you! angieby making it easy to buyng and schedule service by top-rated providers, conveniently stay up-to-date on progress, and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects . . . cheese snacks. sargento taste the real difference. we're not just selling back at fto school shoes, we're selling straight up confidence. get our exclusive volt nike flex shoes. only at famous footwear. victory is yours. ♪ shield, sneeze, swish ♪ this back to school, there's a new routine ♪ [ female announcer ] kleenex tissues are thick and absorbent. in this lab demo, they help stop moisture better than the leading competitor's everyday tissue. pick some up today. better than the leading competitor's everyday tissue. i heard you have a tough clog. i only have ten minutes. i only need 7. liquid plumr urgent clear penetrates the toughest clogs with two fast acting gels in only 7 minutes guaranteed baby. so ally bank really has no hidden fethat's right. accounts? it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. it's this new paint. nothing stays on the wall. not any of these things. valspar reserve super stain resistant. and scrubbable. and this color! still perfect! introducing valspar® reserve™ paint + primer with hydrochroma™ technology. exclusively at lowe's. there's nothing like leaving home feeling attractive. challenge! but too many times i feel bloated, gassy, uncomfortable with gurgling. nothing seems to feel right! and yet another pile of clothes on my bed. so i'm taking the activia challenge. eating activia twice a day for four weeks may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive issues like bloating, gas, discomfort and rumbling. when your tummy smiles, things just feel right! join me and take the activia challenge. it works or it's free. ♪ dannon! it is thursday, which means it's time for your weekend jump starter. if you're looking for something to download, watch or read, we've got a few fun ideas for you. >> a correspondent for "entertainment weekly" is with us. >> thanks for having me. >> taylor swift, first single called "shake it off." and the video is generating some controversy. >> that's right. so she released the video on tuesday. it has over 20 million views on youtube. a lot of people are loving it but there's also been backlash. taylor is seen shaking her tinge, wearing gold chains. people are saying she's taking on cultural inappropriations that are better left to the black community. getting a little bit of heat, but the song is heating up on the billboard chart and itunes. whether you love it or hate it, that's the song you're going to be hearing this weekend. >> some say like miley cyrus, twerking. >> exactly. those are kind of negative actions. a lot of people are saying don't do that. you're a white girl. do your thing. leave that type of stereotype alone. >> let's move on to the mtv "video music awards." they take place on sunday. taylor swift will be there performing "shake it off." a lot of people are talking about the opening number. >> i'm so excited. so this sunday at 9:00 p.m., "bang bang" is going to be performed live for the first time ever. you've got nicki minaj, arianna grande, jessie j. we don't know what the core f choreography is going to look like. right after they perform their music video is going to go up live on mtv.com. you're going to get a little bit of a doubleheader. and beyonce's going to be there, too. and there's a lot of buzz about beyonce performing because she could perform old hits or preview new music. or in either case, she could do something that could acknowledge the divorce rumors with jay-z. so it's going to be big. and she was also nominated artist of the night. >> that's cool. >> let's move on to apps. fan cred. >> so this is really cool. it's available on apple devices and also web. you'll get it on android in october. but what it is is like a combination of instagram, twitter and facebook, in that it allows sports fans to talk to each other about their favorite teams. the more you interact, the more points you get, the more cred you receive. and i was playing around with it with my husband yesterday. and in our house, we're all about the minnesota gophers. there isn't much of a following here in new york. but with fan cred, we can see what's going on at home and get to live the sports games and experiences through other fans. >> let's get one last summer read in before we hit labor day. "we are not ourselves" by matthew thomas. >> this book is beautiful. it's from a former high school english teacher. >> he came from my high school. >> exactly. it's a beautiful epic about an iri irish-american family and how they try to achieve the american dream and the emotional costs. i can't put it down. >> from "entertainment weekly." thank you so much. we're back in a moment. first, this is "to coming up next, kathie lee and hoda catch up with donnie osmond. >> and "ambush makeover." >> and danny good morning, everyone. i'm chris cato. 9:56 and rain on the way for later today. let's get your forecast with meteorologist brittney shipp. >> showers moving into the poconos and as we head to the rest of the afternoon and evening, more showers expected and the possibility of a few thunderstorms throughout our area. a few clouds moved into the center city skyline and as we take a closer look on our radar, we are seeing a few spotty showers near the poconos. as we head into the rest of today, warm conditions expected, humid, as well. temperatures pushing into the mid-80s and by etomorrow we drop down to the 70s and stay there straight through the weekend. some startling new video to show you now. police are asking for your help in identifying a suspect in an explosion at a restaurant in north philadelphia. look at this, investigators just released this. shows a teenager that walks into the oriental kitchen takeout on north 18th street last night. he places an explosive device in the wall and then you see what happened there. it blew up. damaged the restaurant, but thankfully no one was hurt. well, in about 9:30 hours look at our countdown clock here. taney dragons are taking the field this time playing a team from illinois. loser goes home. first pitch set for 7:30 tonight. last night mo'ne was, left a lot of runners on base and pitching staff shut them down and dragons lost 8-1 and, again, the elimination game is tonight at 7:30. i'm chris cato. we'll be back with another update in half hour. until then, have a great thursday. ♪ from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody. we're so happy you're here with us today. we have a very, very, very special guest with us today. >> mm-hm. >> we love him. our donny osmond is here. >> he is here. >> the same day as lou. >> i'll be right there. >> i knew he was right there. >> and i've got the chance to know her a little bit over the years and she is his wife of 36 years, debbie. can you believe it? he look like he's still 30. >> she does too. >> 36 of years today. >> 36 years today. >> their anniversary. >> thauchk you for spending your anniversary with us. >> can i give way the news too. >> what's the news? >> what we just found out. >> no, we're going to tell you. >> okay, fine, be like that. >> we are going to give away so much news. there is so much news on kim and kanye's wedding. . >> remember when it was you? remember when it was you on every magazine? >> oh, i remember that. >> they are calling it kim's dream wedding. but that was the last one. right there. that dress is her old dress. my favorite is "in touch." how can you get better than this? wedding from hell. she is trying to squeeze into her wedding dress. >> i don't think that's her rear end. >> maybe it's an artist's rendering. >> my favorite things. >> look. kris drunk all day. kanye throws a fit and walks out. bruce's new look humiliates kim and khloe's men crash the wedding. there's no wedding yet. >> so, good. >> see, i would buy this one. this is the one i would pick up. i would buy that one. >> she went to twitter yesterday clearing up many of the rumors. >> her impending wedding to kanye -- >> she says the reports are false. they are not married yet and photos released of her wedding dress are also false. >> they aren't filming the wedding for tv. they are filming everything leading up to it and everything after. >> they will only release photos of the ceremony, not videotape. >> and the there won't be 1600 people. that's incorrect. but we didn't hear anything about the pre-nup. i heard a lot of that brewing. >> they should both get a pre-nup. they both have a lot of money. >> right. >> all right. >> the only one who so far seems to have it right is us. it just says cat down to crazy wedding. >> there were reports they were in l.a. getting a marriage license. but i think you need to get a marriage license where you're getting married. they are supposedly getting married in france. kris did call me the other day and we talked for quite a while. i guess congratulations are in order, she is married. kris said, she lives in my house, i would know if they were married. >> people were asking, when kim and kanye were on vogue, how well would that magazine sell. there was early speculation it was a blockbuster selling half a million copies. but according to the new york post it didn't sell all that well. it sold half of that, 250,000 copies. but compared to beyonce's it wasn't a lot. >> she is leading cover lady so far with 355,000. than mrs. obama with 269. >> and vogue told nbc, they called us back -- >> well, they didn't call us behe they called somebody. >> they said they don't comment on sales figures. >> neil patrick harris is on the cover of rolling stone. >> oh my god. >> wow! >> wow! >> anyway -- >> everyone is always naked on rolling stone. julia louis-dreyfus was -- >> they are not really naked. he talks about coming out and says that -- >> we don't have that one -- >> we don't have that one, okay. he said coming out helped his career rather than hurt it. he has a huge straight guy following because he played that barney guy all those years on "how i met your mother." he is a terrific actor. he can play anyone. >> by the way, if someone else would have done the exact cover with the top hat covering the strategic part, a lot of people would have been, oh, my god, what are they doing. but because it is neil patrick harris, it is so cute. he can do no wrong. >> certain people get away with it. just loveable. >> yes. >> and he is among them. and oprah winfrey, by the way, she has her own network and all that stuff, own, you wonder, how did someone start out. what was someone like in the beginning before they were oprah. she has an audition tape that was somehow released on youtube. this is own's youtube channel so they did release it. it is an audition for her trying out if are a chicago show in 1983. check it out. >> my name is oprah win try. oprah, o-p-r-a-h, harpo spelled backwards. my folks didn't particularly like harpo marks. bedidn't seen have a television set for years. i was originally named from the bible, first chapter of the 14th verse but no one knew how to spell in my home, so that's why i ended up being oprah. >> her voice is different. >> yes. >> very interesting to hear, right? >> even her delivery. >> i wonder how old she was then. >> well, 1983, they say. i remember pretty well because i started working with regis in 1985. and so oprah was doing her chicago show and one day -- regis an i were local at the same in new york and it was an hour and a half show, monday through friday. they came us to and said, you guys mind giving up half of -- one-third of your show, half an hour because there is a new woman in chicago that's just this -- >> named oprah. >> we said, yeah. >> you made room for oprah. >> no, no. they said they were going to take it from us, but it was nice of them to ask. about a year later, it was syndicated. i think a year before that she was in baltimore. that's what my mother remembers. >> there was a great story where she wanted to relax her hair and it fell out. back then when relaxers -- >> has yours ever -- >> fallen, out, no. but i have put some heavy duty chemicals up in there. and i would risk the consequences. >> so your boyfriend is in the news. >> no. >> your boyfriend in your head. hugh jackman. >> i just love him. >> he decided to do something different to promote x-men days of the future past. sew decided to interview his younger self. >> right. >> you'll get it when you watch. take a look. >> it will sound narcissistic to even ask this, but who is the biggest star in the year 2014? well, hugh, i know you will find this hard to believe, really hard to believe. you are by far and away the biggest star ever, ever, to actually be in motion pictures. >> oh, really? so i've become a huge jackman. >> hugh, you're awesome. i don't know if that's egotistical to say that, but thank you. keep up the good work and keep moisturizing, whatever it is you're doing. >> and that's why i love the man. he can so make fun of himself. >> he is so terrific. >> adorable. his interview with yahoo! uk. okay, he's all good. >> there is something cute. there is a couple who wanted to get married. and they met on the set of a music video. so they both shared music in common. they were trying to think up their vows. they decided they were stuck so they collaborated together and decided to write a song. michael and carissa alvarado. let's take a look at their wedding. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> sweet. >> it's donnie and marie. oh, my gosh. and here is the good news, too. >> they are adorable. >> they scored a record deal. with public records. >> and they are going to set up on 28-city tour in the u.s. this summer. >> good for them. >> that was awesome. >> speaking of adorable. >> i've got one, i got a hot donny osmond song. >> i was just listening to a donnie and marie song, but this is what i chose today. this one is by pharrell and miley together. it is called, not come get it, babe. "come get it bay." >> ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come get it, bay ♪ come get it, bay ♪ come get it, bay >> wow. >> here it comes. >> you got to like it. ♪ hey. >> you know it's going to be a hit, right? they need something to rhyme with crush. >> who is that? >> pharrell. pharrell an miley cyrus. >> i love it. >> yes. >> that's a smash. >> if it is pharrell, i love it anyway. >> your motorcycle. >> really? >> yes. >> oh, come on. >> you got to lose -- >> ♪ because girl i like you, hey ♪ >> go stay in your corner. >> all righty. coming up, is your dog talented? >> you sent in crazy pet videos and we will see them. >> and a day with donny osmond. >> right after this. ♪ cereal and milk ♪ k -- e -- double -- l -- o-- double good ♪ ♪ protein to help you rebuild like you should ♪ ♪ great tasting grains to help you recharge ♪ ♪ put a spring in your step ♪ so you keep livin' large ♪ milk and cereal ♪ cereal cereal ♪ milk and cereal cereal cereal .... make your morning shine with delicious kellogg's cereal and milk. it has protein to help you rebuild, and grains to help you recharge. kellogg's cereal and milk. see you at breakfast. trublcovergirl p!nkrfect blend for each of us blend of rockstar and mama bear. her trublend... light 4 it blends in doesn't build up for a flawless nude look find your trublend at easy breezy beautiful covergirl verizon's 4g lte network? 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try dannon oikos greek nonfat yogurt. perfect cause it's healthy with 0% fat and 12 gr. of protein and so creamy. mmm... could be the perfect... oh! ladies. snack, john! the perfect snack! dannon oikos. possibly the perfect snack. ♪ dannon! ♪ little bit country >>. ♪ no come on and get it, baby >> he's been in the spotlight since he was 5 years old, performing along side his famous siblings. later becoming a teen idol to millions of fans. >> but the onstage chemistry donny has with his sister, marie, that has kept fans wanting more for 50 years. the two will celebrate their 1,000th show together in vegas. which by the way, has been voted the best show in town, for the last three years. >> it is really pretty remarkable. won't you supposed to stay there for six days first? >> six weeks at the flamingo in 2008. here we are in our sixth year. i was talking to my manager and we were trying to figure out, what are we going to do for the 1,000th show. and he said, let's plan the 2,000th show. >> i know it was hard for marie. she was doing the talk show back and forth in l.a. and sleeping on the couch. >> and winning "dancing with the stars" while doing that at the same time. >> of course you did. >> you just rubbed that in marie's face. >> she doesn't win. >> we know she didn't. you did well. you broke your knee and something else. >> my neck. that was before. but i still won. still got it. >> still got it, baby. >> what is it about your shows that you think resonates even now? you have been around forever. >> hoda, i don't know. i would like to think it was talent. >> we all know that hugh jackman got all of that. >> true. what does he know. but we just leave it all on stage. we work really, really hard. and the show changes and evolves all the time. people think is that stale dialogue, is that written for you? she'll throw me a zing, i'll throw her one. sometimes it works. you got to go for it. that's why people keep coming back and want to see the show. we're so fortunate. especially in the entertainment capital of the world. >> and talking to each other, still liking one another. >> let's don't go that far. >> you guys have reinvented yourselves. a lot of people who stayed exactly in their lane, their whole life, wouldn't attract a new viewers that you guys have with new music and stuff. >> hoda, it's important. you can't rest on your laurels. i'm working on my 60th album out in. >> i thought how is that possible? >> i took songs that affected me and influenced me over the 50 years. >> like what? >> michael jackson's "ben." it was written for me. >> michael jackson's bad apple. it was written for the jacksons. it switched. i said, let's get michael to sing it. his number one solo record. >> a little bitter. >> no, no, no. but that -- peter gabriel song, elton john song, every song has a story behind not just me singing a great song, but there is a story behind why a paul mccartney -- ♪ the long and winding road >> but that was music. >> great music. ♪ come on and get it baby >> that was my own fault. i should not set you up for that. >> people have questions for you. at this point in his life, is donny a little more country or a little more rock 'n' roll. >> rock 'n' roll, baby. >> do you still wear purple socks every now and then? >> perfect case of ocd. next question. >> what annoys you the most about marie? >> this show isn't long enough. we have a competition going about twitter. who can get the most twitter followers. follow me on twitter. @donnyosmond. >> how many do you have? couple hundred thousand or something like that. i need to get some more. follow me @donnyosmond. >> how many does marie have? >> two. >> are we going to bring debbie out? >> debbie, come join us. >> it is their anniversary. >> come on, sweetheart, please. everybody wants to see donny's beautiful wife. >> you sit down here. >> see? 36 years. >> 36 years. >> you know what's really interesting? she's not just my wife now, she's my business partner. we started donny osmond home home furnishings. we had no idea it would take off. it went from zero to 60 overnight. you're the only person who has done an interview with us in our home. we made a promise with each other that nobody would do an interview in our home. >> such a bad experience, you said never again. >> $20, i needed the 20 bucks. >> it sounds so funny when i did it, at our house, over our fireplace there is a picture of me, a painting, holding cody. over their fireplace is jesus and a lamb. there's the difference right there. >> congratulations on 36 years. >> broadway or go to dinner? >> i don't know. what are we doing? >> i don't know what we're doing. do you have a suggestion. >> go see "a gentleman's guide to love and murder." it is hysterical. there is lots of good stuff, but that one. >> thank you for the good recommendation. when the new album comes out, come back. >> absolutely. >> put some good music on there. ♪ we're gonna get it baby ♪ get it baby >> time to give frozen's princess a run for her money. >> sick of it. >> what? >>. ♪ best day of my life my budget used to be a real downer, even when we needed stuff for the home. i was a negative nancy. but, thanks to fingerhut.com, now we can shop with low monthly payments, and they've got over 70,000 items from brands like samsung, kitchenaid, xbox. two words: mini donut maker. uh, that's three words. just click on over to fingerhut.com for the credit you deserve to get all kinds of great stuff. [ doorbell rings ] oh, i hope that's our new espresso machine. and that hot delivery guy. ♪ what you get is so much more. garnier olia. the first permanent haircolor powered by oil. brilliant color, visibly improved hair color after color. olia propels color deep inside your hair. amazing! my hair feels healthier... looks shinier. olia after olia. and grays? 100% gone garnier olia. brilliant color. visibly improved hair. color after color. they have more time to travel back in time. try new children's zyrtec® dissolve tabs. children's zyrtec® is clinically proven to relieve kids' allergy symptoms for a full 24 hours. new children's zyrtec® dissolve tabs. theand the kids always eat sky their vegetables.e. because the salad there is always served with the original hidden valley ranch. ♪hey! i found a happy space somewhere to call our own♪ ♪a happy little place and it all starts with you♪ ♪whoa-oh-oh-oh, all this goodness...♪ after-school snacking should be fun and nutritious which is why we put whole grains first in every general mills big g cereal what matters most should always come first general mills. look for the "g," it means goodness first. >> webtastics. time for webtastic where we dig up the next video you'll want to share with all of your friends. >> this one is by two college students at point loma nazarene university in san diego. they did a parody of the song, do you want to build a snowman from the movie frozen for a school contest. >> olivia mowry created this with her friend. they wrote and sang the lyrics. >> starbucks. ♪ i need some caffeine in my veins ♪ ♪ i'm sure i'm about to go insane ♪ ♪ it gets a little lonely all the studying ♪ ♪ do you want to go to starbucks ♪ ♪ it doesn't have to be a starbucks ♪ >> i don't really like coffee. ♪ okay bye >> cute. they won the school's contest and within a couple of weeks this video went viral. good for them. she's got a good musical theater voice. >> she hasn't seen "frozen" before she made this mini film but janae was a fan. she composed the parody. they want to be a director and composer. >> all the best to both of them. >> don't go anywhere, we're asking lou, plus "ambush makeovers." >> lou after your local news. moms know that no two mouths are the same. that's why there's a listerine® product for every mouth. one to clean your whole mouth. one for those hard to reach places. one to protect kids mouths from cavities. even one to freshen breath on-the-go. with over 100 years of innovation in oral care... there's a listerine® product for every mouth in your house. for cleaner, healthier mouths go beyond brushing alone. listerine®. power to your mouth ™. we dip it and shake itrld's best seven times. we hand bread it seven times. we rock it seven times. why all of the sevens? because it's a lucky number? jack pot. ♪ with new jolly rancher filled gummy bites? not today. bites. little greatness. in pampers cruisers. they adapt at the waist, legs and bottom, with up to 12 hours of protection for all the freedom to just play. pampers. curing a yeast infection relieving the itch.... can happen instantly. vagisil max strength anti-itch wipes relieve itch and odor instantly as they cleanse. so why wait to feel comfortable? trust vagisil. the number one wipe for itch. good morning, everyone. i'm chris cato. 10:26 and the rain is starting to arrive in the area. let's check the forecast now with meteorologist brittney shipp. brittney. >> good morning scattered showers in the poconos. we are seeing clouds increasing along the city skyline there. as we head into the rest thompk, we are bog to see clouds continuing to increase. temperatures right now mild at 78 degrees in philadelphia. 71 in pottstown, 67 in mount pocono. for your thursday, showers and storms expected, 84 degrees today. take a look at the cooling trend as we head into friday and the weekend. opening statements that were scheduled for this morning have now been pushed back to 1:00 this afternoon in the trial of the woman charged with kidnapping a five-year-old girl from her school. christina is also accused of sexually assaulting that girl after taking her from bryant elementary school in philadelphia last february. prosecutors say she's the woman in this video from the school. they say she dressed in muslim attire to pose as the child's mother. the girl was found the next day at a playground in upper darby. the countdown continues in nine hours. first pitch against illinois at 7:30 p.m. las vegas beat taney last night 8-1, roughing up osasvegavis.enight on a can you count on n0 bri you lieragayss tr toee championship hopes alive. if they win they get a rematch on friday a full hours of news in 30 minutes. you can always get latest news and weather on nbc10.com. i'm chris cato. have a great thursday. we're back with more of "today" on this thirsty thursday, which means it is time for "ambush makeovers." >> two lucky ladies found shelter from the rain in the hands of our crack makeover team. "today" contributor and stylist to the stars louis licari and "today" contributor and contributing editor for "people style watch" and author jill martin. >> hi, guys. >> a little damp out there. >> a few sprinkles. at this point, what the hey. >> we have a mother's day theme today. >> good. we like themes. we're into themes. okay. our first lucky lady is cindy raymond, 40 years old from alberta, canada. cindy is a substitute teacher with three young kids of her own, leah, matthew and lucas. she has never colored her hair and doesn't wear makeup. this is her first trip away from home, ever, and she couldn't be more excited to see the reactions of her husband and kids when she gets back. let's take a listen to her story. >> well, it is pouring, so everyone needs a makeover. but this is very special. bffs for 25 years. i love this little picture. so why do you want this for cindy? >> this is cindy's first trip away from home. it has been 12 years. she has three kids and rarely does anything for herself. a great treat for her. >> a nice gift for mother's day. what do you think? >> i'm overwhelmed. but i'm excited. >> okay. >> thank you. >> how exciting. cindy is here with her best friend kelly. hi, kelly. please keep your blindfold on for a minute. here is cindy's before picture. all right. cindy, let's see the new you. >> whoa. >> wow. are you ready? >> take off your blindfold, kelly. >> oh, my gosh. >> are you ready? >> yes. >> spin right around with your vogue new haircut. >> put your glasses on. yeah. spin right around. look at camera 12. tell us about the hair. >> it is you. >> you look great. >> it is a dream come true. this is a great haircut, keeping her hair -- keeping it -- some length but great body. i softly highlighted her hair. she lives in a place where she can't color her hair that often, she can maintain it every three or four months. the highlights are warm, not ashy. so it looks young. >> what do you think, kelly? >> gorgeous. >> jill, that's the perfect dress. i'm sorry. perfect. >> darling. >> she picked it out because her son's favorite color is yellow. so this is so sweet. maggie london, we added a thicker belt because look at this little waistband. >> you look really great. >> congratulations. >> go join your friend. >> our second lady is lisa rockwell, 53 from new orleans. >> new orleans! >> mother of seven kids. ages 14 through 28. she says having kids kept her too busy to really pamper herself. she still rocks a scrunchy almost daily. nothing wrong with that, baby. she's thrilled for a glamorous new look, no scrunchy included. let's listen to her story. >> we shocked you when you were raising the roof, though, when we picked you. so you seem excited. >> i am excited. i just can't believe this is happening. it is just a thrill. and it is a thrill to be here and we're celebrating my friend's 50th birthday, and my seven kids are back at home and my husband too. and so i'm just really, really excited. >> seven kids. so you deserve this. >> well, i'm excited. i'm excited. >> you deserve it. >> thank you very much. >> she's here with her dear friends, april, ann and margy. now let's take a look at her before. there is lisa before. let's bring out the new lisa rockwell. keep your blindfolds on, ladies. >> oh, my gosh. >> all righty. >> all right, take it off. >> oh, my gosh. >> beautiful. >> turn around. take a look. >> you look beautiful. >> you look so -- >> i love it when everybody's happy. >> oh. >> we didn't do anything. louis, tell us what you did to her hair. >> what i did is i corrected a very common mistake, i softened her hair color. she was covering a few grays and progressively darker and darker. this is much more appropriate for her coloring. this haircut gave her the volume and of course this all completed with the makeup. >> ladies, please, please get it together. >> new orleans girls everywhere. tell us about the dress. >> she looks totally different. this is cynthia and soma intimates smoothed her out. >> that is nice. >> come back out, cindy. >> jill, as usual -- >> we'll celebrate national pet week with funny dog videos you sent us. you'll like them. first, these messages. 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[ female announcer ] here's to moms who know what a dollop of daisy can do. unlike others, it is 100% pure with nothing else added. ♪ do a dollop, do, do a dollop of daisy ♪ ♪ do a dollop of daisy ♪ do a dollop, do, do a dollop of daisy ♪ we're not just selling back at fto school shoes, we're selling straight up confidence. get our exclusive red patterned vans camden... only at famous footwear. victory is yours. all right, time to fix all the problems around the house when we ask lou. >> "today" contributor and host of the syndicated show "house smarts" lou manfredini is here to answer some of the repair questions you have about your home that you sent into us. >> first question, lou, hi, comes from terry. my older hot water heater is making a loud gurgle and popping noises when i use hot water. is this dangerous? could the bottom fall out? how often should i replace the water heater? >> with water heaters, what is important, when it starts to make those sounds, depending on the age, it is probably a good idea to consider replacing it because the average life of a water heater in the u.s. is about ten years. the way you can know is there is a little guide here, a little stamp, that has the serial number. most of them have a manufacturer's date, this particular one is 2006. then you see that serial number that is to the left, that long geln 06. many don't have the manufacture date, but the last two numbers are the year it was built. this is '06. if it is snap, crackle and popping, better to get it fixed while it doesn't leak, because then it is tuesday morning and you have no hot water and you have to spend twice as much money to have a plumber come out and do it. >> are they under warranty? >> most manufacturers have a warranty of about five years or so. but, remember, it is a manufacturer's warranty on the product, so they'll say, well, hoda, you had this thing for ten years, you spent a thousand dollars, we're going to prorate that over ten years, here is your 100 bucks. still got to get it replaced. >> still 100 bucks. >> susan asks this question. i want to paint -- spray paint my patio furniture. my husband insists we have to use a brush. is there a spray product i can convince him to use? >> looks like there is. >> i can't spray this on the air because we're in a closed-in area and we have all these hot lights. i really like this product by rustoleum, a universal hammered finish. if you look closely at this light switch, we applied this. there is actually glass beads in the paint. and when you spray it, what you want to do, if it is metal, take a sanding sponge like this, do a little bit of prep work to prepare it. if there is any rust or anything like that, get it as smooth and clean as possible. the beauty part about this is now with spray paints you can spray any angle. so it used to be to hold it like this. the chair would be difficult. and so this universal spray and now they have these triggers on there, much easier to use. when you're spraying, you go left to right or top to bottom. you pull, spray, release. pull, spray, release. don't get drips. >> oh. >> and do light coats. this stuff looks great, comes in a bunch of different colors and finishes and really holds up well. >> fabulous. >> good people. >> last one, nancy asks this. i have six-panel closet doors and room doors that need to be repainted. what do i have to do to prep the door and what do i have to do to prep the trim around the door and what kind of paint should i use? >> 90% of a good paint job is preparation. the paint part is easy. with the six panel doors, what you want to spend a lot of time on is the detail in the trim work that surrounds it. the sanding sponges. i just did this a little bit, this is a preprimed door. you want to get all of the debris and the gook that gets in those corners and get this as smooth as possible. we don't have to go crazy here. then if you prime it with a product like this bin primer, this, you're going to take -- you're going to work the areas first this is a very watery primer when it goes on. so you have to be careful about how you put it on. it will drip. and you got to pay attention that it doesn't gather there and leave you big drips. when that drys, once that drys, then you hit it one more time with sandpaper to knock it down and get it smooth and then a paint and primer in one like this valspar product is a heavy bodied paint. you'll do the same thing around the corners. look how nice it brightens up like that and work those areas around, do the squares first, then finish the strokes evenly all the way around, the same goes with your trim. two coats of a paint and primer. it is going to look fantastic. >> thank you, lou. >> only lou has all that information. >> he certainly does. >> if you have questions for lou, go to klgandhoda.com, click on the connect button and maybe he'll answer them next week. >> maybe not, too. a mom with a big family and even bigger heart. >> inspiring >> we're celebrating mothers who inspire us every day. coming up right after this. el b, uncomfortable with gurgling.b, nothing seems to feel right! and yet another pile of clothes on my bed. so i'm taking the activia challenge. eating activia twice a day for four weeks may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive issues like bloating, gas, discomfort and rumbling. when your tummy smiles, things just feel right! join me and take the activia challenge. it works or it's free. ♪ dannon! make your burgers with 100% beef. like this that i picked up at walmart. don't move 'em, and definitely don't press 'em down with a spatula. just flip it once, and you're on your way to burger bliss. try ground beef from walmart. it's 100% guaranteed or your money back. rich, chewy caramel rolled up in smooth milk chocolate. all aboard. rolo. get your smooth on. at hillshire farm spice is the spice of life. that's why our craftsmen seasoned every sausage perfectly. so you can coax out great flavor effortlessly. hillshire farm beacuse it's worth doing right. ♪ shield, sneeze, swish ♪ this back to school, there's a new routine ♪ [ female announcer ] kleenex tissues are thick and absorbent. in this lab demo, they help stop moisture better than the leading competitor's everyday tissue. pick some up today. better than the leading competitor's everyday tissue. that's why there's a listerine® product for every mouth. one to clean your whole mouth. one for those hard to reach places. one to protect kids mouths from cavities. even one to freshen breath on-the-go. with over 100 years of innovation in oral care... there's a listerine® product for every mouth in your house. for cleaner, healthier mouths go beyond brushing alone. listerine®. power to your mouth ™. hope i get this right, epidermolysis, or eb. you'll meet her in a moment. first, here is a look at katie's story. >> my name is katie troop and i'm a mother of six beautiful children. my husband rob and i both come from large families and we also wanted a large family. after six years of marriage, with no luck conceiving, we decided to create our family through adoption. we found an agency and set up a consultation, but two weeks later a friend connected us to another agency we hadn't even applied to. they had a baby with eb. a very rare disorder that causes the skin to be extremely fragile and blister after even the mildest trauma. we immediately went to see him. i took one look at him and i knew he was mine. we watched hiss dressings get changed and it was horrifying to see, but the voice in the back of my head kept saying it's okay, you can do this. this baby was our zach. and after 11 years, thousands of dressing changes, dozens of surgeries, and countless sleepless nights, it is absolutely okay. the first few years of zach's life were very rough. but just before he went to kindergarten, we decided being an only child was not a good thing for zach. and our family did not seem complete. so we were blessed with the adoption of our sweet elizabeth and a few years later charlie. but i still felt like i was missing someone. a friend in the eb community knew of two sisters and even though at the time i just wasn't capable of taking two, i knew i had to try to bring jade and ellie home. just last week, we adopted their younger brother who also has eb. life is crazy, but there is nothing better than a house full of kids that are happy and joyful. >> oh, my gosh. wow. >> hello. >> katie troop is with us with another great mom, jamie silver. jamie's son also has eb. jackson, he's over there, cute as can be. >> jamie and her husband alex started the jackson gabriel silver foundation. they raised more than $2.5 million toward eb research. hi, ladies. >> welcome. happy mother's day. >> thank you. >> wow. by the way, this is incredible. when you adopted originally, that was interesting and fulfilling and to adopt other kids with eb, why did you decide to do that? >> it was a miracle we found him and he found us. we knew we wanted to have more children eventually. and just god's hands came together and found these beautiful children for us. >> tell us, it is rare, but is it forever? this condition? is it curable? >> so eb is a genetic from skin condition. you're born with it. you'll have it for the rest of your life? >> is it manageable? there is wound care we do for our children every day. they're in a lot of pain. and for us, i think, one of the hardest parts is that in order to care for our children, we need -- we need to inflict some more pain. painful bath and bandage changes everyday. so currently that is the way we care for our children. but we're working really hard, the jackson gabriel silver foundation to advance treatments and cures. >> is it strangely easier with more kids who have it because you're used to it and you know how to do it. >> we're an eb family. it affects every aspect of our lives and means there is a lot of things we can't do and a lot of things we can do. so since there are already so many things we can't do, we might as well bring everybody else in and do that too. >> you want every child to have a childhood and so much of childhood is running around and being active and how do you teach your child to be comfortable in their own skin when they know they're going to get hurt if they fall and -- >> we don't feel like we have to teach them to be kids. they know and they want to do it our job is to run defense and be there to pick them back up. >> oh, my gosh. well, jamie and katie, we know you have been terrific moms with kids with eb and it can be a huge challenge. we decided to pamper you guys a little. so you get some gift certificates where you can use at 20,000 locations. you get spa treatments, travel, yoga and more. and we couldn't forget about the kids. we heard jackson is into legos. >> where is jackson? hi. >> the hottest models for him and katie and the company store giving all your kids the softest bedding and adorable bath towels for your little ones and beanbags for your oldest kids and all being shipped to your house. >> thank you for everything you're doing. >> thank you for having us. >> have a wonderful mother's day. >> happy mother's day. >> nice to meet you, jackson. >> all right. okay. >> to learn more about eb and the jackson gabriel silver foundation, head to klgandhoda.com. >> we'll be right back with more. it is national pet week and to celebrate we asked you to send us fun videos of your pets doing cool tricks. >> and you did. >> we put a bunch of them together for you all to enjoy. take a look. >> and sit. >> oh, my gosh. >> speak, speak. >> hop up. >> oh. >> roll. wait, roll. >> oh, oh, my god! >> yea. >> oh, wow. >> i love this. the cat opens the door. >> oh, my gosh. ♪ thanks, everybody. >> tomorrow from the sitcom "alice," linda lavin. >> and how to deal with the annoying neighbors in a nice way. >> and tips for getting enough sleep with all the daylight we've got. >> have an awesome thirsty thursday. >> bye, efb. everybody. have a good one. . everybody. have a good one. everybody. have a good one. everybody. have a good one. . we have breaking news in the ebola outbreak. two americans who contracted the deadly virus have been discharged from an atlanta hospital. taking a live look from emory university where a news conference is set to begin at any minute now. dr. kent brantly walked into the hospital on his own earlier this month. the aid organization says dr. brantly has now recovered from the ebola virus. he is expected to make a statement. he and nancy wrightbol contracted it working in liberia. both given an experimental drug.
the "wall street journal" has an interesting look into petraeus's final days in the agency including reports of interagency finger points and rising tensions. kelly o'donnell is on the hill, and kelly, two months since the attack and finally top intel players are on the hill. frustration seemed to really be boiling over. what's going on? >> that public hearing that you showed some clips from really showed how politically charged this is. that is not where the secret briefings are taking place. that's a separate thing. it was a show place for the partisan divide over benghazi. when you talk to those on the intelligence committees in the house and senate, there's a sober approach to this as far as getting to the fact finding. david petraeus will be here tomorrow. he did voluntarily come to testify, meaning there's no subpoena involved. today they hear from the top intelligence folks from the cia, the fbi, the national intelligence office and they are learning some of the time line. we are told they're getting a sense of what was known, and why did this whole controversy bubble up about a video, a spontaneous protest or an intentional act of terror, which is such a part of the political dynamic here. what we hear from members who were in the earlier briefing, the senate briefing is happening right now, is that there was a difference in the nature of the attacks. the first wave of the attack appeared more chaotic. the second attack went on over a period of seven hours appeared far more coordinated with command and control, the ability to bring weaponry, things like that, that cause some of this unease about how to decide who was behind it and what was going on. when you talk about frustrations, there are those political frustrations but also a lot of frustrations here about wanting to get to the bottom of it to know what happened, why chris stevens, the ambassador, his pleas for additional security, his warnings about dangers in the area may not have been addressed properly. they're trying to look at this to try to put an end to what happened here, to understand it, and to provide for those who are in diplomatic posts in other dangerous parts of the world to make sure this kind of thing cannot happen again. >> so, kelly, this is steve kornacki. part of this story, then, involves the potential nomination of susan rice, the u.n. amambassador, to replace hillary clinton at the state democratic. it's susan rice who a lot of republicans have decided lied to the public. they allege was executing some kind of intentional cover-up plot by the administration. i don't know how that would work or what the cover-up would be. be that as it may, that's what republicans are saying. you have john mccain and lindsey graham both saying if her nomination is put forward, they will filibuster it. are there any indications that that would become an official republican party position, because if the republicans unite, they would have the 40 votes to kill it by filibuster. >> there is a lot of opposition among republicans to a potential susan rice nomination. people are not actively talking about filibuster, although that's the obvious presumption if you talk about members trying to block something like this. in some was they are saying that she was schoezen bied white house to be the public face in the early days after the attack to talk about what happened. if she were to become secretary of state, she would need sort of a greater sense of recognizing that the story that was being put forward might not be accurate. they're sort of compelling her to have greater knowledge than what was given to her by the intelligence community. she has become a political focus here. whether they actually go forward with that or not is a matter to be decided later. what it has done in the moment is to bring greater focus to benghazi. that may be part of the strategy in talking about susan rice so publicly, to get the president involved and have him comment in the news conference to get democrats certainly wanting to talk about as well and putting a national spotlight on it, when there's a lot of frustration here among both parties that the benghazi story and the incident there has not gotten sufficient attention over time. by making susan rice such a front and center personality in this, it has attracted more interest and more information and perhaps more action from the administration to provide answers. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell, thanks so much. >> good to be with you. >> for more on benghazi, we turn to nbc news terrorism analyst, evan coleman, senior partner for flash point global partners. thanks for being with us. we heard the public hearings today. tomorrow's hearings are closed. general petraeus is scheduled to testify. what do you think will be said in those hearings? >> unfortunately, i think it's a lot of politics. part of the problem here is that you have two inquiries going on right now. you have the congressional inquiry, which is a media circus, and a judicial inquiry going on inside the department of justice and fbi looking aat the people who actually carried out the attack in benghazi. what i'm concerned at is all this media circus is taking away from what we need to do, hunting down the people that killed our ambassador and the individuals and bringing them to justice. the only justice these folks are going to see is maybe the wrong end, the business end of a hellfire missile. it's doubtful if they'll see a court of law. >> evan, if we can turn to the middle east, the situation this week is that israel has opened an attack on gaza because of continuing rocket fire from gaza into southern israel. this is an ongoing story. it goes back years. there was a big attack from israel four years ago. i guess my question is this. how much credibility does netanyahu, who sort of ordered this attack, have saying this is the last and only available recourse for israel when there wasn't much of an effort to engage egypt trying to act as a middle man or not much of a concerted effort to the netanyahu government's part to build up the palestinian authority in the west bank. was this really necessary at this point for israel to act like this? >> the israelis were getting hit by quite a number of rockets, and it's within their judgment to defend themselves and take actions to defend themselves. there are facts here that make you wonder whether or not the israelis may have acted hastily? namely the fact that in addition to hamas there are other actors in the game here. a lot of people are al qaeda types firing the rockets. they consider themselves enemies of hamas. they are firing lots of rockets at israel, and israel is blaming those attacks on hamas because hamas is the regional power broker. i don't know if that's really going to progress ourselves forward. these kind of al qaeda splinter groups never stop firing rockets. hamas has no control over them. if there's a constant cycle where these groups fire a rocket to become a spoiler, israel retaliates and there's a clush of forces and nothing gets resolved. it's hard to see where the progress is there. >> evan, let's broaden it out and see where progress could happen or be kept from happening, because this week a hamas commander was killed after an israeli assault, which followed a rocket attack from hamas. broader than that right now we have 30,000 israeli reservists called up just today. so that's like israel saying every man get your gun and come down here and fight. more than that, we have netanyahu is up for election in january. we have morsi with just basically still the new head of egypt. the muslim brotherhood does not like or respect israel at all. how do these other pieces, these leaders, new leader and leader facing election soon, factor into the whole situation? >> mercy is in a particularly vulnerable situation here. when mubarak was heading egypt, he could ignore the arab streak and the protests against israeli attacks in gaza. morsi can't do that. he's also the head of the muslim brotherhood, and hamas is a branch of muslim brotherhood. this is a very complicating factor. i mean, we should say, though, that i think morsi or anyone else in egypt is looking to start a war with the israelis. they're going to have to much more cognizant of what's going on and responsive to, again, i think a sentiment aamong the arab is that the israeli actions are unjustified. as far as netanyahu is concerned and the upcoming election, look, he's playing to a domestic constituency. every time the israelis go into gaza, they do limited damage to hamas and other limited damage to other factions but they have done nothing permanent. we're back in a situation once again, the same situation time and time again over the past ten years, and again, it just seem -- where is the progress? what's being solved here? >> to make matters worse, israel has its plate full from egypt and those frayed relations to gaza and hamas. let's add syria into the mix. israel fired shells into the syrian border after receiving some mortar fire itself in the golan heights. it doesn't have the time or energy to invest in syria, but if things spiral out of control, how much pressure does that also put on israel to act? >> i think the israelis have been pretty clear, including in the last few days, that they have absolutely no interest in getting involved in what's going on in syria. there's so many different reasons for that. first of all, it's an intractable conflict. beyond that, none of the actors involved are pro-israelis. the worst thing they can do is get involved in the conflict and give the regime some kinld of political cover saying we're not just fighting against revolutionaries but against israeli spies and the massad. from israel's perspective they have nuch problems dealing with gaza. the last thing that they need is to add to that plate, and what can be gained by getting involved in syria from the israel's perspective? whoever wins in syria from israel's perspective is the enemy. >> that's right. thanks so much. >> thank you very much. >> up next, oh, mitt. why can't you just leave well enough alone? first we heard romney's honest thoughts on the 47%. now the audiotapes of his explanation of why he lost, and apparently it's because obama voters are just so greedy. we'll figure this out in "the spin." 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[ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8. or...try kids boxes! . we are bang with mitt romney offering up on his take on why president obama won a re-election in a conference call with his biggest donors yesterday. >> his campaign focused on certain members of his base coalition, give them extraordinary financial gifts from the government, and then work very aggressively to turn them out to vote. >> so that would appear to undercut the spin we heard from the romney camp after his 47% comments. does it also show that mitt is kind of a sore loser? let's put that through the spin cycle. there's no question this is bad form for a defeated candidate. you're supposed to be a little humble in defeat and making excuses and blaming and all of that. there are so many directions to go with this, i think, though. one, it proves to me he spent the last month of the campaign after the 47% tape came out saying, no, no, no, i'll be the president for 100%. disregard what you heard there. i think he clearly believed what he was saying in the 47%. i think this is good kwirmgts of that. the irony, of course, is to me is that mitt romney was trying the free gifts to important constituency strategy in this campaign? he told senior citizens that obama robbed them of medicare money and he would give them back the money that obama had robbed from them. it was a phantom issue. what he's saying is invented, but he was promising free stuff. let's not forget that. the bigger point is this philosophy, this 47% don't pay federal income taxes and we should be offended by that, this appoint that infected the party in the obama era. because the tea party and because the base and conservative sort of opinion shapers like hannity and limbaugh was so powerful, no leaders in the party were willing to stand up. romney says this yesterday, and we are hearing from bobby jindal, for instance, last night saying this is trash. stay away from it. kelly ayotte said the same thing today. >> scott walker. >> some republicans are liberated by this defeat now. it's interesting to see how it broadens now. >> some are liberated by it, but some are focused on the free stuff need. it's disgusting and offensive, and it's why they use the word "pandering" when we talk about the groups that get entitlements rather than how liberals look at it in terms of protecting personal liberty and giving people that help the least fortunate among us. i don't want free stuff. i want people who are vulnerable to be protected by government. that's not looking for free stuff, and there's nothing wrong with that. as long as the gop keeps looking at it like that, they're going to keep losing national elections and losing this demographic trend that we have going on. chuck todd talked about it this morning in first read. when you think about it, romney's explanation for obama's viktvy laughable. the president won because he successfully delivered to his voters. isn't that what politicians and presidents are supposed to do? absolutely. >> i thought he went on and on, by the way. it was much more than the clip we played. i thought perhaps the most shocking revelation i made is he thought he ran a superb campaign. just listening to those comments shows you he did not run a superb campaign. he was going on and on about the different gifts the obama administration had given to different couldn't constituents. he said quote, free contraceptives were big with young college-aged women. it struck me, because they said the democrats are reducing women to abortion and birth control. women are much more than that. apparently in the analysis after the fact, mitt romney believes that women just voted because obama was going to give them free birth control. they should have just sent out condoms and birth control. much more effective. >> obama is doing good giving out phones. >> look, whatever you think of the substance of this, and i will say that there's a little truth in here in that democrats did not promise free stuff, and that i don't think that's why people voted for obama. people voted for obama because they liked him, and they believed that his policies are going to work in a second term. democrats certainly did threaten that republicans were going to take a lot of their stuff away. so you could find some truth in there, but i will say never a good idea to blame the electorate. never a good idea to say, you didn't vote for me, and it's your fault for not seeing my greatness. it's just not a good idea. and if the gop needed an easy excuse to back aaway from romney, distance themselves, start anew and move forward, romney just gave it to them. in that sense he did them something of a gift. that bobby jindal and scott walk r and even kelly ayotte from new hampshire of all places can come out and feel comfortable a week or so after the election dispar rajjing romney's comments i think maybe was the kind of cover and restart button that they were looking for. >> you talk about new hampshire, iowa, wisconsin. there are not people looking for free stuff in those states, and obama won all states. >> on the substance, there's no point to it. it underscored the demographic challenge the republicans face competitive long term. you can't talk in boldly divisive terms like romney did in that tape and call. yes, i think it is an encouraging sign for republicans that people say this, but there's another story i want to mention. this is the kind of stuff republicans have to get away from. there's the state party chairman in maine. this wasn't a competitive state that went public and went to the press in his state saying there are hundreds of black people that turned out to strovote in state. white people said they never saw black people in our town and turned out. there's an implication that obama shipped in black people by the dozens in a state obama was going to win from 15 points. stay away from this stuff. >> i will take issue, toure, with something you said that talking about democrats reaching out to the least fortunate and the most vulnerable. i don't think that's what romney is talking about, and i think, you know, a little uncomfortable to classify women and minorities as vulnerable and least fortunate. i think he's talking about broad groups and not just the poor or the im pov riched. he's talking about big demographic groups you would not classify as vulnerable or weak. >> when liberals want to protect personal liblt, and that's what liberals are all about. when you talk about women having the right to make their own choices with their body, that's protecting personal liberty. we're talking about affirmative action. >> i don't think we need to classify them as weak. women aren't weak because they -- >> i didn't -- i certainly never said anything about women being weak. >> the bigger point to what steve was saying, is the republican party has to break out of this druj rush limbaugh cocoon. this is what romney mnmitt romn almost verbatim what rush limbaugh said about obama being santa claus and bill o'reilly said the same thing. >> it's not a productive conversation. >> i would say that was one of the major downfalls of his campaign and republican party in this election cycle, is they were not in touch with reality. it is an encouraging sign that people like bobby jindal are signalling, we'd like to be in touch with reality now. thank you very much. >> it just didn't work. it's not productive. >> the weak, vulnerable, unfortunate, that conversation underscores one of the biggest issues facing america now and going forward. that's the growing income gap. that's why today the issue is inequality, and we've got one of our favorites, sister similar money campbell here to talk about it. that is next on "the cycle." i always wait until the last minute. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. on the eve of the president's white house meeting with congressional leaders about the fiscal cliff or gentle slope, one of the biggest sticking points reap mains tax rates for the wealthy. republicans' latest offer is to close tax loopholes to pay for extending bush era tax cuts including for all including the rich. president obama says the top 2% simply don't need the help, and some of the most charitable folks around agree. the self-described nuns on the bus returned from a trip around denver explaining why it's time to end tax cuts for the top 2%. it's the latest social justice for network, a progress sich catholic organization. sister similar money, campbell the executive director says president obama's plan to increase taxes on those making $250,000 or month could fill in the widening wealth gap in america. she argues it's one of the biggest issues facing the country. today the issue is inequality. in the guest spot we welcome back sister simone campbell. how does raising taxes on the wealthy, as i think congress and the president should do, relate to social justice and inequality? >> first of all, what you need to know is that the wealthy would continue to have the tax breaks on the first $250,000 of their income. so everybody would keep a tax break. it would be just on income above $250,000. this is so important because the programs that we call safety net programs serve often the working poor like billy and his wife and two kids that we met in milwaukee on the first bus trip. billy worked full time at minimum wage, but because minimum wage still keeps you in poverty, he only has enough money to use his entire salary to keep a roof over his family's head. he uses food stamps and st. benedict's dining room to feed his family. what i realized is that these safety net programs, while they're -- i think governor romney would call them a handout or charity to billy, also benefit his employer because his employer has -- can pay low wages and have a fed employee and it benefits us, the consumers, because it keeps costs down. these are not just handouts to billy. this is a whole system we've created of protecting folks who are the working poor in our economy. we need to protect that. >> you know, when we talk about the relationship between income tax rates and inequality, i'm struck by the golden age in this this country. under eisenhower it was 90%, from kennedy through the carter years it was 70%. reagan got it down to 28%, and right now the debate is should we go up to 36% on to 36.9%. sister, my question is if we're talking about you using the tax code to address the equality, we're not having the debate nooe we need to have. this is a higher and more progressive attack system. could it get on the agenda realistically? >> well, i think we're taking steps towards that. when you do the analysis of what's going on in our society, you're absolutely right. we need to address all of the factors that create this huge wealth disparity, but a key one, a first step towards this shall we call it a downpayment even is letting some of the bush era tax cuts expire. that i think is a significant step forward. we have to look at the tax code and look at housing. we have to look at savings and a whole bunch of other issues, but that's a first step towards making what is a very substantive conversation. >> sister, i think everyone can agree we'd like to decrease poverty and even though conservatives have been maligned for wanting to quote-unquote cut social safety programs and the social safety net, expanding welfare hasn't reduced poverty. in fact, adding millions to the rar ranks of welfare has seen poverty explode over the past four years. what's the balanced response mere? . >> excuse me, that data is wrong. >> poverty has not explode snd. >> no, poverty has incomed but welfare has not. the real culprit here is minimum wage. minimum wage has stayed below the poverty level, and what we have to be keenly aware of is in 1970 if you worked for minimum wage it kept you out of poverty. so if we were going to go back to a wage that would keep families out of poverty, minimum wage would have to be about $12.50 an hour instead of its current 7.25. so let's talk about the working poor. people don't realize a big percentage of the people in poverty are the folks who are working. >> more people are on government assistance now than ever before. one in six. >> no, no. okay. what you have to look at is what does that mean? those are very nice sound bites. >> no, they're terrible sound bites, sister. they are terrible. >> they are terrible, but they're erroneous. when you look at who is getting -- the recipients of social security paid into an insurance for a long time. i'm still paying into social security, so when i get it i hope you don't call me a loafer. >> i didn't call dmin a loafer. >> the second piece is the disabled. some folks in our society can't work, and we acknowledge that we support those folks. finally, food stamps has been the lifeline for the working poor, because working poor people in our country do not earn enough to keep both a roof over their head and food on the table. a whole bunch of poor people that i've met on the bus don't have cars to live in. so i think we have to be responsible as a nation na we have chosen not to raise minimum wage. we've chosen rather to have food stamps as way to let people eat. i'm sorry, but i believe, as a catholic, as a christian, that everyone has a right to eat and the government is to take care of. because we haven't raised minimum wage. raise minimum wage, and then we'll deal with it. that would take care of it. >> when i think back to the civil rights movement, which was a religious movement rather than a p political movement. i wonder if you think that's what's required to really fight poverty. people like yourself, religious leaders making it a moral and religious cause. it's not going to come from the political realm. it will come from people like yourself making it a religious, moral cause to end poverty. >> absolutely. that's what nuns on the bus is about. trying to lift up the truth of people at the margins of society, not the comments about the 47%, not the comments about the lazy, not the comments about so many people getting government assistance. the real issue here is hard-working people should be able to support their families. if we can't support their families under salaries, then we as a nation stand with them, because employers benefit, consumers benefit, and we the people of the united states need to solve this problem. it's a big issue. >> sister, i think you hit on raising the minimum wage, something i'd certainly support. i think one of the questions, too, is how do we continue and move forward with more answers of how to address poverty? there is truth to the fact we have these safety net programs that have been vital for millions of americans, but they haven't ended poverty in the way that we'd like. what are some of the most innovative and interesting approaches that you've heard about that we should be having a conversation about? >> great question. i'm grateful for it. what we're doing at network is launching a campaign in january called mend the gaps ways forward. some is tax reform and some is minimum wage. additionally there are things like helping folks get secure housing, and how do we manage low-cost housing for folks working within the poverty level and then gradually moving that then out. we also heard about a fabulous program in denver on tuesday that is helping sbrentrepreneur develop small businesses out of the low income communities and making significant strides forward with small business loans. this is making a really big difference in denver. there's a lot of innovation out there, but it's getting past the sound bites and really buckling down to solve this tough problem. >> all right. >> so stay tuned. >> that sounds great. we'll have you back on to talk about that. thank you p for your time. >> you're well. this afternoon the president was back in the new york area surveying the damage from sfr storm sandy. coming up, the people affected, the growing price tag and, of course, the politics. [ female announcer ] today, jason is here to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. just two pills for all day pain relief. try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief. right now president obama she hadding back to the white house after touring portions of new york that were hardest-hit by superstorm standee nearly three weeks ago. more than 100 deaths are blamed, and millions lost power with tens of thousands still in the dark. the president met with first responders and families this afternoon flanked by new york governor andrew cuomo, the state's two senators and his secretaries of housing and homeland security. >> people still need emergency help. they still need heat. they still need power. they still need food. they still need shelters. kids are still trying to figure out where they're going to go to school. so there's a lot of short-term immediate stuff that has to be dealt with, and we are going to make sure that we stay here as long as people need that immediate help. that's fema's primary task. >> also on hand this time around was new york city mayor bloomberg who didn't give the president a photo-op last time in town but gave him a post-storm re-election endorsement citing obama's position on climate charge. just yesterday he admitted the administration hasn't done enough in the first term when it comes to climate change, but he says the white house wanted to lead a national conversation on the issue during the next four years. with the fiscal cliff and calls for immigration reform, is now the time to tackle climate change? if not now, when we start the conversation? there's always time to talk about it in the backspin. what do you think? >> i'm at optimistic person in general and optimistic for the president's second term. i think we'll see a grand bargain type of deal and see renewed focus on infrastructure and jobs. very hopeful about immigration reform. the one issue that i'm very pessimistic about is climate change. it was basically dead on arrival, cap and trade was so demonized in the first term. i think when the economy is still tough, it's hard to see beyond anything but the immediate pain. isasmuch as the as much as these storms are renewed attention, it's hard to see how anything real happens in this term. >> that fear is clearly very much on the white house's mind. at the press conference yesterday, obama framed and asked what to do on climate change in the second time. he framed it as a binary choice as you can address the economy or climate change. if it's a choice between the two, it's no choice to me. i go with the economy. the bottom line is his administration has imposed new emission standards. for several reasons we're in line to be complianted with the emission reduction standard for 2020. that's the good news. after 2020 the standards for reductions really kind of multiply. if you want to be in compliance with them, if we want to solve this problem, we need to be doing it right now. we need to take action right now. yeah, i think bloomberg, if he thought endorsing obama was going to make this the centerpiece the second term, he got snookered. >> jay carney told reporters we would never propose a carbon tax. this is where they are. >> we have to start with education. i can't believe we're arguing about is this really. is this man made? i don't understand that. hurricane sandy is more like the new normal. you talk about 1 in 100 year storm. that's not the next 100 years. we may see one that year or the year after that. sandy was a category 1 really. a category 3 could change manhattan. locally we might have to think p about storm surge barriers that cost billions of dollars. they have to be several feet high. holland does this very well. people in new orleans might be laughing like you think that's going to make the difference? you leave that up to the government to do? we have to consider something, because we can't just sit here because bigger storms will come more often, and we have to deal with that. >> putting my thoughts on the politics of climate change aside, you will all be happy to know i agree with each of you in some way. i think -- >> my head just exploded. >> it's really uncomfortable. what did i say wrong? >> i think you're right that the best advocates for this issue would be the people most immediately affected. so the victims of the storm. and rightly they are more focused on getting their homes back than they are on issues of climate change and politics. i also agree there's very little democratic will for this right now. the president i don't think wants to waste capital on climate change right now when he knows he has to address some bigger issues. that said, i don't think republicans want to deal with this as much either. then to your point, toure, i think this should raise some infrastructure questions, and mayor bloomberg got a little criticism after sandy for some infrastructure flaws that were exposed in this storm. i think most people assuming that the 12 years at the helm, three terms, there's some of this stuff you might have focused on ahead of big gulps and bike lanes. there's room for criticism all around here, and again, i'm also not optimistic. up next, hot off the presses from america's finest news source. the onion is out with an encyclopedia of all wordily facts. god, sex and congress explained as only "the onion" folks could. a winter wonderland doesn't just happen. it takes some doing. some coordinating. and a trip to the one place with the new ideas that help us pull it all together. from the things that hang and shine... ...to the things that sparkle and jingle. all while saving the things that go in our wallet. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. create a musical light show with the maestro mouse voice- activated ornament. a great clean doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm gonna read one of these. i'm gonna read one of these! [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 duster's extender gets into hard-to-reach places without the hassle. so you can get unbelievable dust pickup in less time without missing a thing. i love that book. can you believe the twin did it? ♪ swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. olaf gets great rewards for his small business! pizza! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ] [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve great rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? ♪ yeah, we're going to let it breathe. oh, i love it. did you know that president jar gerald ford was the most prominent member of the town. i learned that in the "the onion" book of knowledge. i learned that cinder changed to kareem abdul-jabbar after the milwaukee bucks imposed islamic law. the bee gees popularity declined because of the poor handling the iranian hostage crisis. thorough good marshall would have quit law school if he knew he'd inspire clarence thomas, and the constitution of the united states needs no updating because the founders gave us introductions on gay marriage, internet regulations. that's true. the ononbook of known knowledge is the last book you'll ever neen. to find out why let's bring in editor and author of this new smarts bible. con fwrat lagss to you, sir. excellent book. >> thank you very much. thank you for having me. >> i think sometimes fake facts are actually more valuable than real facts at getting at the deeper truths in life. do you think that's true? clearly as an onion guy, you must think it's true. >> toure loves fake facts. >> you heard it here first. >> anything from "the onion" is more important than any information you'd find anywhere else because it comes from us. if that answers your question, yes, absolutely. anything we say is valuable. >> we at "the cycle"le feel the same way, anything we say is valuable. zoo >> you know, i love "the onion" for the way it skewers the media. in one of the your sfwris you defined "the new york times." daily newsletter of the american association of repired personed. founded in 1851 it's an indispensable source of information for aarp members for persons 55 and older as well as news and views from columnists such as frank rich, maureen dowd who provide an elder perspective of issues of day. it helps seniors explore the world with a travel section with ample disposable income and a food section with interesting and safety dining excursions in manhattan. as a fake news outlet, i have to imagine it's part of your daily job to affirm, you know, how terrible the real media actually is. >> yes, absolutely. i think it's part of our job to kind of lord our power over you because, as you know, we are the most powerful media organization in the world. we have annual earnings of over $300 billion. i could cut all of your mikes at any moment if i wanted to. >> prove it. >> yeah, prove it. >> i think it's fun, it's enjoyable for us to kind of wield that power and make you all feel small, which you are. >> fair enough. that's fair enough. my favorite was a very random one. i liked this entry on elk, a species of deer that taught it just heard someone say it's name. there it is. >> definitive. roger simon in politico wrote what was supposed to be satire but it was taken as truth by a lot of outlets about paul ryan marching around his campaign bus calling mitt romney the stench saying, tell stench i'm having finger stand witches with peggy noonan and will text him later. have you had stories like that where people actually took it seriously and it got spread around as if it was real news? >> oh, to an astonishing degree that happens. really almost every day something like that happens. maybe not on that large of a scale, but, yeah, a local newspaper, you know, there will be 100 facebook comments under one of our stories from people who think it's real. >> the state government media of iran. >> exactly. the government of iran for god's sake. it just happens a lot. so at this point it doesn't really faze us. it's just sort of like throw another one on the pile. >> my favorite one in this book was about james polk, one of our former presidents. it creates randomly this story about how nobody believed james polk had been elected president. secret service would routinely escort him out of the white house. will, do you have a favorite entry from this book, one that really stands out? >> well, i don't know if i have a favorite. there's one that's very succinct and i feel is very good advice for anyone who is trying to make their way through life. it's kitchen comma, if another rom contains more knives than this room, get out of that house. i think it's good advice. >> great rule for life. >> excellent advice. will tracy, thank you for not kiting our mikes. >> thank you for having me here. up next, krystal has friendly words of advice for our friends in the gop which includes an elephant with a sombrero. sounds awesome. >> ole. 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[ male announcer ] ...just 'cause. download zeebox free, and have the night of your life with your tv. the republican party is in crisis. what can they possibly do to fix their demographics problem? 36-point gap along single women, 40-point gap along latinos and more than 90-point gap along african-americans and 24% gap among young people. in other words, major problems with every group that is increasing in size. after careful thought and reflection, i've got a few bits of wiss come. first, let's talk about your lady problems. >> what would you call someone of who wants us to pay for her to have sex? what would you call that woman? you'd call them a slut, prostitute. >> lesson number one, if you want single women to vote for you, maybe stop calling them a bunch of ho bags. now, look, i know rush limbaugh doesn't speak for everyone, not all republicans think all single women using birth controls are prostitutes but when mitt romney can only munser the courage to say about rush, that's not the language i would have used, that doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence. next up, young people. >> we live in an opportunity society. you don't sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap. >> president obama once said he wants everybody in america to go to college. what a snob. >> lesson number two, something tells me that young people worgeing hard to earn a college degree and make taking on student debt to do so aren't going to be won over by a message of you're a bunch of lazy snobs. to be fair i haven't seen the polling on this, i'm just going with my gut on this one. finally, let's delve into the gop's problem with african-americans and latinos. >> the demographics are changing. it's not a traditional america anymore, and there are 50% of the voting public who want stuff. they want things. >> what the president's campaign did was focus on certain members of his base coalition, give them extraordinary financial gifts from the government, and then work very aggressive to turn them out to vote. >> lesson number three, well, you know, i guess you guys have it right here. minorities just voted for obama because they wanted free stuff. you know. stuff like access to health care, working economy, and a decent education for their kids. old santa claus obama, he delivers all the goodies. what a bunch of lazy moochers. the gop could never convince them to take personal responsibility for care for their lives. look, the republican party desperately needs to move back to the center to find a place of balance and nuance in their policies on immigration, health care, and taxes among others. but before that it seems to me the first order of business is to stop insulting most of the country. one gop latino operative complaining about gop outreach to lahtinos told politico, they just want to put a sombrero on the republican elephant. that's probably not going to work. before we worry about sombreros or skirts for the elephant for that matter, let's get the elephant to stop calling us s lu.. ts, moochers and grifters. and you got that advice for free just by watching me. i could have saved you guy that is $100 million you sent to cal rove. that does it for "the cycle." martin, it's all yours. >> crystal ball, skirts and sombreros for stupid people. it's thursday, november the 15th, and you are about to enter the twilight zone. >> we thought we had a very good chance of winning. >> what the
not exactly how that happened. and never give up, from disappointment in london to redemption in sochie? lolo jones trades the track for the bobsled to keep her dream alive. she's with us for the first live interview since making the team for tuesday, january 21,2014. from nbc news, this is "today." with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today." it's 7:00 a.m. on the west coast on a tuesday. i'm savannah guthrie. >> i'm matt lauer alongside al roker and willie geist. when we came on the air at 7:00 a.m. east coast time. be happy you're not on this side of the country that the hour because look what's going on. that's times square. snow is already coming down as it is right here on the plaza. >> we're about to get's whole bunch more of it, right? even if you don't live in this area. for example, if you're trying to reach a federal office in washington, d.c., they're shut down. 2500 flights have already been cancelled and there will be more, too. there will be a ripple effect across the country. >> that's why it is the top story. we want to get to tom costello who is on the national mall. how is it looking there? >> reporter: we just started seeing the snow flying. good morning. 7:00 a.m. on the west coast and in the three hours since we did east coast "today" show, ooh gotten a lot colder, a lot windier and we're seeing the snow flying. we've seen five to ten inches of snow in the d.c. area and then the snow moves up the east coast, so if you have relatives or friends in western virginia, in pennsylvania, virginia and up in rural areas of the eastern coast they could get a lot more snow. >> for much of the country it's a rude, mid-january wake-up call. two weeks after the polar vortex deep freeze, more cold, more snow, more wind. in virginia, plows are at the ready. >> we will be slowly mobilizing all of the way up to close to 3,000 pieces of equipment. >> reporter: at this home depot, customers have been grabbing the last remaining shovels and ice melt. >> i am always prepared for the worst. >> reporter: from washington, d.c., today will be a headspinner after a springlike day on monday with temperatures in the high 50s. a chance for drivers to top off their tanks. >> we'll probably get what we normally get. a little dusting and i have an all-wheel drive so i don't worry about it it. >> reporter: to be short, no one is predicting anything like snowmageddon four years ago when i was standing in up to three feet of snow. >> 17,000 homes thought to be without power in northern maryland. >> reporter: this time the afternoon rush hour could be a mess. >> biggest we've seen since 2011. >> reporter: meanwhile, this unusually cold winter has led to a shortage of propane gas used to heat 7 million homes and businesses. the government has declared a home heating emergency, relaxing deliveries in 24 states. in minnesota's jeff dole's heating bills have nearly doubled. he's closed off rooms to ken warm, but he's worried. >> am i going to be able to keep my family warm and give them warm food? >> reporter: the forecast, more snow and bitter cold. so here on the national mall yesterday they were in t-shirts. they were throwing frisbees. today the temperature will drop from 40 to 50 degrees from yesterday, we go into a deep freeze and that's likely to extend all of the way into next week and by the way, the federal government closed today along with all of the area schools. guys, back to you. >> tom costello in washington. thank you. >> mr. roker, what can we expect from this thing? >> we've already seen it out our window and taking a look at washington, d.c., looking at the white house, that lawn will be covered in white in the not so distant future. we will see snowfall rates at about an inch an hour. about 80 million people affected in the area's blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings, advisories and watches for today. here you can see the snow already moving in and just getting into washington and down toro an oak, charleston and new york. this system is developing into the mid atlantic and spreading east of new england, more heavy snow, d.c. to philly and we will have one to two inches of snow per hour and what we call bombogenesis. it's like a bomb that dumps-y snow. early tomorrow morning the bitterly cold air arrives. basically the polar vortex sending that polar area and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per h r hour. snowfall amounts will be anywhere from 5 to 12 inches of snow from new york on into parts of new england. we'll be looking at that snow really starting to fall. some areas could pick up up to a foot and a half to two feet before this thing is all over with very strong, gusty winds, blizzardlike conditions. >> because it's so cold it sticks on the back. thank so much. let's talk about security concerns in russia. with the start of the winter olympic games just 16 days away, in the wake of a video vowing an attack, authorities are searching for so-called black widows who could be used to carry out that threat. nbc's chief foreign correspondent, richard engel is in moscow once again. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. russia says it has the security situation firmly under control, but at the same time russian forces are searching for several suicide bombers, particularly women. wanted posters are now being distributed to russian police stations for five more suspected suicide bombers on the loose. two men, the rest, black widows. young, muslim women. zaira, janet zahaeba, oksana, they join ruzana iwho may have slipped sochi. ruzana was made a black widow last year when russian forces killed her husband and also a suspected militant. that scaro her cheek reportedly came from russian troops. the four women are from the caucuses, the heart of russia's islamic insurgency, but why use women? why black widows? it's the signature tactic of militants from the north caucuses where russia is in the midst of a tit for tat war, with militants fighting back with terrorism and don't underestimate the black widows. they were used to take more than 800 hostages in a moscow theater in 2002. nearly 200 were killed when russian commandos stormed in. now they've placed 40,000 troops to guard the ring of steel around the olympic venues. russia is desperate to find the missing widows. >> the problem is if they need to stop a lone fox, you need to think about government intelligence and preventive measures and not the number of troops you can put on the ground. >> reporter: police warn terrorists may be targeting the olympic torch relay which means these games can be attacked even before they begin. >> the the intelligence is quite specific with officials worry the torch relaying could be targeted over the next three days. matt? >> richard engel in moscow for us. thank you very much. evan coleman is a terrorism analyst for nbc news. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> if this so-called ring of steel has been breached and when you think they're handing out these flyers inside the ring at hotels and businesses, what does it tell us about the russian's ability to prevent an attack during the game. >> there's been so much talk about this ring of steel. it's more of a marginal line. i think the problem here is we're talking about individuals who manage to infiltrate through this ring of steel not a month ago, not two months ago, but less than two weeks ago after -- >> because the reports are they left dagestan on the 11th or 12th of january. ? this is only a few days ago and this is also after the volgograd bombings and after the rugs new definitively that these folks would be targeting these events. >> what makes it so difficult to track down a so-called black widow is they have the ability to change their appearance. on the one side we see this woman weari ing the hijab, the traditional headwear for muslim women. on the other side, hair down, wearing makeup and they can blend in. >> that's what's been so difficult about black widows. they've managed to get on aircraft, and busses trolleys and trains. they cause a lot of damage and people don't see them coming. >> a lot of analysts think it's more likely that because there is such intense security around sochi for the games that these groups who want to make their point might want to make it it in another city where terrorists will not have to go through screenings. >> they're willing to launch attacks in cities like st. petersbu petersburg, but that doesn't mean they won't target the olympics and if you look at the words of the suicide bombers from volgograd this weekend, they were very clear for the tourists coming to the olympics, we have a present for you. you're going enjoy it. >> umarov who has been described as russia's version of bin laden and there are reports surfaced that he may have been killed by russian authorities. if he's so important in terms of a terrorist wouldn't the russians have commented on that? >> we don't know he's dead. there were reports from al qaeda online couriers that he was dead and there were reports from some sharia officials in the caucuses that he was dead. no confirm eation from the caucuses and until we hear, we have to be careful about jumping the gun. >> is there a difference from russian intelligence on these matters or have issues like edward snowden in syria strained that over the last year. >> inevitably there will be cooperation and there is no doubt that things like edward snowden and things like the boston massacre and boston bombings have had an undeniable impact on things like u.s.-russian relations and there isn't a great atmosphere of cooperation between russia and the united states even when it comes to issues like the caucuses where it would seem we have a lot of interests in common. >> thanks very much. >> an important day for governor chris christie. willie is in for natalie with more on that. >> thanks. new jersey governor chris christie will have a national audience today for his second inauguration, this one, though, clouded in controversy. the weather, though, throwing a wrench into today's plans. nbc's kelly o'donnell is in trenton, new jersey, the state capital, with the very latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. the snow is arriving here in trenton and it's having a big impact. organizers tell me they have canceled tonight's inauguration party at ellis island where 1100 guest his already paid $500 a ticket to attend, that is off due to weather, but the governor has attended a church service. heel be sworn in and deliver his inaugural address at the war memorial behind me. that's going on as planned. the triumphant walk on election night. a sweeping victory that was supposed to set the tone for this inauguration day, but two weeks of scandal over bridge traffic, sandy relief and the culture of the christie administration has taken a toll. >> new jersey governorship is a powerful governorship. christie is a powerful guy. he's a guy that knows how to use it. >> reporter: despite multiple investigations, today is still billed as a celebration for chris christie and his supporters. today's swearing in ceremony for christie and his luieutenant governor comes one day after kim guadagno was helping with a sandy project and allegations made by hoboken's mayor dawn zimmer. >> i deny any suggestion made by mayor zimmer that there was ever any condition placed on the release of sandy funds by me. >> but the lieutenant governor would not take questions. >> lieutenant governor, did you ever tell mayor zimmer not to talk about your conversation? >> reporter: zirm made yet another tv appearance monday night still insisting that the lieutenant governor told her last year that hoboken would get future storm prevention money if she backed a project. >> she clearly said these things shouldn't be connected. they are, i know they're not right and if you tell anyone i will deny it. >> reporter: lawmakers will announce today that they are going to adjust how they're doing their own investigation committee and they will work jointly and they will expand their probe and any of these issues about the use of you poor will all be swept into one investigation. willie? >> kelly o'donnell in trenton, new jersey. thanks so much. two people are dead after a plant explosion in omaha, nebraska. today investigators are back at the scene to determine what caused it. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in omaha. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning. in addition to those two killed ten others were hospitalized and four of them critically hurt and dozens more barely managed to escape where authorities are calling an industrial accident. today investigators will be back here at the scene trying to find out what shredded this animal feed plant with 38 workers inside. so far authorities have not said what triggered the collapse, but there were several daring rescues including one worker that had to be cut from concrete and steel. the occupational safety and health administration fined the plant's owner and international nutrition back in 2002 after a worker fell into a mixing tank. and again in 2012 after another inspection. so far the company has not commented, but police say it is cooperating fully. meanwhile again, investigators will be back today trying to figure out what caused this accident. >> this is a terrible story, gabe. thanks so much. >> the white house announced that, during a european trip in march. the president looks forward to discussing with pope francis, their full commitment to fighting poverty and growing inequality. latentries to a surfing competition stole the show over the weekend pain pod of dolphins joined in during the rincon classic in santa barbara. more than 200 surfers and as you can see there about 12 dolphins taking part in the annual event. not a jaws situation. friendly dolphins. >> thank you so much. >> mr. roker, busy week for you. >> absolutely. last week, we were talking about dense fog for the pacific northwest. we're talking about it again for a good portion of the pacific northwest. what's been going on? this ridge of high pressure that's been causing all of the problems as far as drought in california and the heat and high pressure building in. that's the culprit. what happens there's very light wind and no mixing going on in the atmosphere and as you get close to the ground level we get this inversion layer and there's a lid on the atmosphere. the air gets trapped in these valleys and the pollution builds over several days and you get fog and there's no relief in sight. for today more fog in the pacific northwest, more into idaho, san francisco, sunshine, 66 in los angeles today. phoenix, 78 and denver looking good with partly sunny skies and 80 degrees. here in the northeast, we're looking at more snow, strong winds and windy conditions and we expect to see a gorgeous day. phoenix today, look for a high of about 78 degrees. we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. ladies and gentlemen... toyota corolla! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] elevate your style. introducing the all-new corolla. ♪ >> good morning to you. 7:17. feeling like winter to start. feeling like summertime to finish off the day. more of the same for the bay area. you will notice temperatures a touch cooler today. about 73 degrees in the east bay. san jose is going to hit about 70 degrees, belmont 70 degrees, sausalito 68 and east bay and the tri-valley hitting in the upper 60s to low 70s. and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al. thanks very much. there's new fallout this morning tied to that heated post-game interview from seattle seahawks star richard sherman. let's go to carson in the orange room with more on this. good morning. >> there is more on that and good morning, guys. they're calling him the smack talk poet. come on in. we'll tell you where richard sherman is at today. just to catch you up. he's the quarterback that had the game-saving play that resulted for the seahawks. two big things he did that people are talking about in the social space. after that tip he heyed this gesture. that's the choking gesture. that got people talking at the end of the game there and of course, this infamous interview on the field with erin andrews. take a listen. >> joe, thank you so much. let me ask you, the final play, take me through it. >> i'm the best corner of the game. when you try me with a sorry receiver like crabtree. that's the result you're going to get. don't you ever talk about me. >> who was talking about you? >> crabtree. don't you open your mouth about the best or i'm going center are for you real quick. >> it's like you went to the kanye west school of communications or something. just angry. yelling. after that, being, everybody went crazy. he did take time to write on an s.i. blog his whole thoughts and you can get that out there and then he sort of apologized on espn radio saying obviously, i could have worded things better and had done things differently, but it is what it is now and people's reactions are what they are are. your thoughts, #orangeroom. i'm sure there are a few opinions out there, fellas. matt? >> i watched it and tweeted about it. much as the choke ges. there wasn't one player on either team that choked in that game. they played their hearts out. guys being carted off on stretchers. nobody choked. and i don't think you say that about a fellow athlete. >> because you never know when you might be playing next to them. >> probably true. carson, thank you very much. coming up, how much this best-selling story was actually true? tom brokaw's exclusive interview with the "three cups of tea" author greg mortenson. >> but first this is "today" on nbc. coming up, the most memorable guest ever, the 7-year-old who went on "ellen" and took her breath away. lolo jones' first live interview after making the ♪ [ male announcer ] we all deserve a good night's sleep. thankfully, there's zzzquil. it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. ♪ because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. zzzquil. milk wins!!! ding! protein. on the go. got protein. firming + lifting makeup our multi-benefit innovation. skin feels tighter. expression lines look more relaxed. 3x hydration... ... beautiful coverage. 93% of women saw noticeably improved skin. radiant. rejuvenated. revlon. 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goodness, they are gearing up for maybe two feet of snow in philly. that's a lot of snow for philadelphia. meanwhile, we're on the opposite sit end of the spectrum. 69 degrees in san francisco, near record warmth. our temperatures are going to drop off a touch. mild as we get into the next few days. slight cooling, a few more clouds. tomorrow on shore flow returns. >> when you've got weather when you've got weather like this, you want to check out weather on cable, weather online, early edition of wake up with al, complete coverage 7:00 a.m. today. >> wake up even earlier with al tomorrow. all right, al, thank you. a revealing new interview with first lady barbara bush on the bond her family feels with political rival but personal friends the clintons. here is andrea mitchell. >> reporter: former first lady barbara bush on c-span said her husband bush 41 and bill clinton have become great friends. >> every summer. we don't agree politically but we don't talk politics. >> i, william jefferson clinton. >> reporter: they are an unlikely pair. once political adversaries, their relationship was icy after the bitter 1992 campaign. in 2004, george w. bush asked his father and clinton to join forces to help victims of the tsunami and later katrina. >> we took seven trips together. this man who i always liked and respected i literally came to love. >> reporter: in the years since the two visited, shared lunches and often talked to the phone, a relationship that has now blossomed into even more. >> i think he thinks of george a little bit like the father he didn't have. >> people began to judge i was getting so close to the bush family, i had become the black sheep son. >> i love bill clinton. maybe not his politics but i love bill clinton. >> reporter: andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >> nice story. can you imagine 1992 they battle it out for the presidency and to think all these years later they are so close. >> they can put that behind them. well done. next, we've got a "today" exclusive. the author of "three cups of tea" speaking out for the first time about fabricating some of the stories in his nonfiction best seller. then on trending, don't take this the wrong way but -- why you never want to hear that in a conversation. first these messages. 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[ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. back now at 7:40. when the book "three cups of tea" was released in 2007, it spent four years on the nonfiction best sellers list and praised for the insight into afghanistan. greg mortenson was nominated for the nobel peace prize twice. but then in 2011, it all came to a crashing halt. and now mortenson is speaking to nbc news special correspondent tom brokaw. >> reporter: this is a story of worldwide fame and adulation and a steep fall from the pinnacle of celebrity. it's the story of greg mortenson, the mountaineer who produced "three cups of tea." it was required reading for many college freshmen, but then a former supporter got suspicion of mortenson's role. he accused him of not only fabricating stories but also of mishandling his foundation's money to support his book promotion instead of putting that money into building schools. >> you have said that you made mistakes, there were lots of questions about accounting that go well beyond just mistakes. >> i always have operated from my heart. and i really didn't factor in the very important things of accountability, transparency. >> we found there are serious questions. >> reporter: "60 minutes" did a story and mortenson's life went into a tail spin. he was forced off the board, and while an investigation found no criminal wrong doing, mortenson was ordered to pay back $1 million and questions remain what is true in the popular book. >> what i regret is we were under tremendous pressure to bring 1 million words down to 3,000 words. >> no alarms went off in your mind? didn't you think, that's not exactly how it happened? >> i stand by the stories. the stories happened. >> not always in the sequence? >> not in the sequence or the timing. >> you had a book at the top of the best seller list. paying to get you to places but not sharing in the royalties of it all. why there wasn't at some point in your mind an alarm that went off and said, you know, this just isn't right in some way. >> there were alarms, tom. i was -- i didn't listen to them. >> have you gone back to the people who came to you at some point and said, hey, look, we've got problems here and you really effect gave them the back of your hand and not interested in what their judgments were. >> yes, i've talked to people who were very adamant that i make changes, i've apologized to them, i'd also like to apologize to everybody. i let a lot of people down. >> i think you know i know everyone on both sides of this fight. i know your defenders in montana and john who raised the first accusations and it got bitter for a while. and i'd like to thank them. because had they not brought these issues up, we could've gotten into more serious problems. >> mortenson acknowledges the effort to clean up his organization on the ground remains a work in progress. >> what do you say to a college freshman in this country who has been assigned your book and reads other accounts that there were real questions about stories that simply didn't happen. >> in "three cups of tea," the first chapter, the first word is failure. i failed in many ways and it's an important lesson. i'm going to try as hard as i can never to make the same mistakes again. >> and tom brokaw's here with us in the studio. couple of things, tom, any response from john? >> no, i did say i hadn't heard back from john yet. he still has strong feelings about the organization, especially on the ground over there and say they are doing an audit. when greg thanks them for their intervention, it had to do with his heart condition, he probably would've died if he kept his original schedule. >> you talk about the organization on the ground, money is crucial to keep it going. did the funds dry up after the scandal? and is the money returning in some way? >> no, their donations are off about 80%, that's to be expected. it played big across the country. and they still have some proving up to do so to speak. we knew him, i worked a lot in that part of the world, thought it was important. john gave $17,000, he was very upset with what was going on. something else here, viking, the publisher has not yet released their account of these described inaccuracies. and i think the publisher has an obligation to the readers and others to come clean and say here's where we were right and wrong. >> tom, thanks for bringing this to us. we appreciate it. and just ahead, will lolo jones finally get that elusive olympic medal? will it happen in sochi? the track star turn bobsledder will join us live. and carson has the new list of the truly worst passwords in the world. ♪ every breed, every need. every age, every stage. at petsmart, we care about your pet's happiness as much as you do. that's why we carry a wide assortment of premium foods, with formulas to meet his specific needs -all with our unbeatable price guarantee. nourish a lifetime of health and happiness at petsmart®. what does that first spoonful taste likok. honey bunches of oats. ching! mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal. that's my end goal, that's my end destination. for me, even a quick weekend trip to kind of reset makes me a better athlete. [ male announcer ] be a weekender like ashley wagner at hotels like hilton and hampton. book now at hiltonweekends.com. try our delicious new fresh mex bowls with chipotle or margarita chicken. all served with a bowl of soup, like our new southwest chicken. chili's lunch combo starting at 6 bucks. more life happens here. let's go against the grain. this way, that way, even up that way. let's review this, workshop that. let's save and then let's get down to it. let's make your home feel like this and make you feel like this. let's do this. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now pergo highland hickory $2.49 a square foot. ♪ shot of chicago waking up this morning. this morning. 5 degrees currently but going up to the very high high of 11 degrees. >> balmy. >> yes, indeed. let us swing over to carson in the orange room. what have you got going on over there. >> a little captain morgan. >> this is my move. so the list just came out, the data security firm flash data put it out. come on in, don't be shy. we've got a list of the worst passwords of the year. lets quiet right to it. taken from millions stolen, had 123456. sorry, dad, change your password. password, qwerty, on the top of the keyboard. monkey. don't replace with similar numbers like 3 instead of e. us phrases of random waters. you can have let me in underscore monkey. that might help. there you go. go ahead and send us your banking password and we'll #orange room. no, don't do that. >> trouble with that one. >> send pictures of old men on three pieces of paper. >> is monkey really a popular password? >> yes. >> why? lets analyze that. why? >> no idea. >> a funny word. >> have you changed your passwords recently? >> i do. i change them and use words that aren't really words. >> how do you remember them? >> because they come from my brain and i remember them. >> when you have a bunch of different passwords, one for the bank. what's this one again. luckily my wife has a good memory. >> write them down. >> what if you write them down and find them on you. >> that's why i can never lose my phone. >> how many different accounts do you use the same passwords for. >> try all of them, if i can, all of them. >> you have one password for your whole life? >> i'd rather not say this on live television. >> i think you just answered that. >> shadow, sunshine, monkey, photo shop, admin, i love you, all in the top 25 of terrible passwords. >> cool. thanks. coming up on trending, not an actor, not a pop star. why ellen says this 7-year-old is her best guest ever. rafe road to redemption. lolo jones first live interview since making the bobsled team. katy perry on her failed marriage. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. ♪ ♪ ooh, la la ♪ sing ooh, la la la la ♪ come on, y'all, ooh, la la [ female announcer ] set your success in motion with the special k challenge. lose up to six pounds in two weeks. with the cereal you love and so much more. what will you gain when you lose? complete your degree and prepare for a new career with devry university's merit-based career catalyst scholarship. apply by february 28th for up to $20,000 for qualifying new students. start at devry.edu. apply by february 28th. you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. straight talk wireless usesne-- the same cell towers they do. but we don't build or maintain them. so we can offer you the same great, nationwide coverage for half the cost. out here, and here, and here. well, not here. that would be weird. the world needs more straight talk. same phones. same networks. half the cost. get a samsung galaxy s3. unlimited everything just $45 a month. only at walmart. for just a dollar get the crunchy, tangy, brand-new bbq ranch burger. for only two bucks, grab the new bacon cheddar mcchicken with thick-cut applewood smoked bacon. only on the dollar menu & more. ♪ we squeeze 24 fresh-picked florida oranges into every 89-ounce bottle. with absolutely no space for added sugar, water, or preservatives. ♪ tropicana. we put the good in morning. it's not the "limit the cash i earn every month" card. it's not the "i only earn decent rewards at the gas station" card. it's the no-games, no-signing up, everyday-rewarding, kung-fu-fighting, silver-lightning-in-a-bottle, bringing-home-the-bacon cash back card. this is the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. so ask yourself, what's in your wallet? >> good morning. i'm scott mcgrew. the breaking news sin oakland. officers have just announced a man shot by officers after a short chase this morning is dead. the chase reportedly started when the chp officer tried to pull a car over on interstate 580 because it didn't have license platings. after a chase the driver tried to run away, it's not clear, though, why officers fired on the man. today investigators will review a video recorded on the front of the caltrain that hit two people in santa clara, killing one man and seriously injuring another. investigators say the train was likely traveling up to 70 miles an hour when it hit the men passing through the caltrain station in santa clara last night. it was not scheduled to stop there. >> let's check our weather with christina. >> good morning to you, scott. good morning to you at home. maybe it's a back to work tuesday for you. temperatures are going to be nice. make sure you're ready for the two parts of the day. feeling like winter to start. san jose 39. by lunch time in the 60s, bypassing the average of 59 degrees at noon. rounding out the day at about 70 degrees. all across the bay area we expect the low to mid 70s except for in san francisco. 69 degrees there. 72 in the north bay. 73 in the east bay. here is mike inouye. >> this is palo alto, the traffic moves smoothly but how bright the sun is getting. a lot of folks squinting so we watch 101 and 280 southbound. the map shows you the south bay. 87, 85 and 280 looking typical slow drive. we haven't seen this for about two months now in the south bay. 880 around hayward and union city and 580 out castro valley. earlier crashes causedtie-up. a slower drive through oakland. back to you. >> thank you much. 7:57. i'll have a local update for you in about a half hour. it's 8:00 on it's 8:00 on "today." coming up, another shot at gold. lolo jones trades the racetrack for the bobsled as she prepares for the winter olympics and she's here live. plus, bent out of shape? how those popular shaping undergarments could hurt more than they help. ♪ and katy gets candid. katy perry opens up on everything from plastic surgery to her high profile divorce from russell brand. "today," tuesday january 21, 2014. ♪ >> it's her 21st birthday! ♪ >> good morning, chicago. >> ohio team! >> good morning, katy, texas. >> louisiana! >> and good morning right back to you. welcome back to "today" on a tuesday? tuesday morning. good morning. i'm savannah guthrie, alongside matt lauer, al roker and carson daly. is this what i think it is? >> it's starting, it's snow. >> it will be on the air, it will cause big problems travel wise throughout the northeast. coming up in "trending" we'll pose a question that many people want to ask -- are you normal? sglifts watching -- i was watching carson catch snowflakes in his mouth. most guys stop that. it's basically talking to guys in the year 2014, comparing some traits and behaviors that other guys tend to do on a daily basis. when was the last time you cried? >> don't answer yet. >> okay. >> how many female friends do you have? >> none. >> never answer that. >> really? >> yeah. >> impossible. right? >> smart guy. >> anyway, we'll talk about whether a guy is normal in 2014. >> but first, a check of the top stories. natalie is on assignment, so we have willie at the newsdesk. >> good morning. the threat of a major snowstorm and bitterly cold temperatures, closing schools and offices this morning and forcing airlines to cancel nearly 2,000 flights. nbc's tom costello is in washington, d.c. with the very latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. we are in the bull's-eye. the federal government is closed today, hundreds of snowplows are at the ready. they're expecting five to eight inches here in the d.c. metro area. the snow will start flying any minute now. it will really pick up in the afternoon. if you're out of western maryland, pennsylvania, even further north more snow is a possibility. and then they're talking about below zero on windchill. yesterday people were out in t-shirts playing frisbee, but today, we're bracing for a lot of snow. the most snow in the d.c. area in three years and of course a lot of the areas of the country have had more snow than we have had for a long time. willie, back to you. >> messy couple of days. thanks. u.s. military commanders are positioning air and naval forces so they can react to any security emergencies at the winter olympics in sochi, russia. terror concerns have escalated with a new video that shows two men believed to be the suicide bombers who attacked bus and train stations last month. now threatening the sochi games. officials also on alert for female bombers known as black widows who may already be in the sochi area. osha is investigating a deadly explosion in omaha, nebraska. it caused a partial collapse of the plant which makes nutritional additives for animal feed. firefighters were able to pull five people from the rubble. new jersey governor chris christie takes a break from weeks from scandal and apologies for his inaugural today. his lieutenant governor kim guadagno will be sworn in. she denied that she told the mayor of hoboken, new jersey, that superstorm sandy relief aid would be tie to her decision on a real estate project. president obama will meet with pope francis during a european trip in march. the president looks forward to discussing with him their shared commitment to poverty. the rosetta space probe is now sending signals back to earth. they're studying a come elt close up. it will release a smaller probe to land on a comet's surface. the first message sent via twitter on monday had to travel 500 million miles. it said hello world in several languages. couple of shocker at the australian open tennis tournament. djokovic lost his quarter final match this morning to verinka. a back hand return by florian mare hit a ball boy right in the face. the guy barely flinches though. shaking it off and he stood on the court for the remainder of the match. that is one tough ball boy. 8:05. let's go outside to matt, savannah, al and carson. >> all right. thanks, guys. thank you. so it's your birthday today. what's your name? >> kim. >> kim, are you having a good time? >> i'm having a great time and it's snowing. >> you ever seen snow before? >> once. here. >> so, you're back again. as we take a look, we have snow making its way through southern ohio and indianapolis. you can see some snow there in cincinnati. looking at live pictures of snow falling there. that's all making its way to the east. as we show you, but out west, it's unseasonably warm and dry. no change over the next seven to ten days, and bad news for the fire dangers. billings, ten degrees above normal. san francisco gets up to 86 degrees or 66 i should say. windy in the southeast. near blizzard like conditions in parts of northern new england late tonight into tomorrow. snow across the plains. windy in the southeast. 50 degrees in dallas-ft. worth today. . hey, tuesday morning, you know what? more of the same. temperatures right now still cool enough for a coat. 44 in oakland, mountain view at 42 degrees. up to 61 at noon. i want to show you will live picture because it really tells the story of the day, more clouds will stream in throughout the afternoon. none theless, temperatures will be just about as warm but with limited sunshine, a touch cooler for today. 72, hope you have a great day. and that's your latest weather. >> we just asked al how cold it was? he said 35. i said 28. that coat should have its own zip code. >> i have two or three people in here right now. >> let them out. >> yeah. coming up, katy perry opens up like she hasn't before on the subject of childhood, the president, and her love of complicated men. then zac efron is here along with his co-stars to talk about his new movie. we'll catch up with him in a few moments. it's part unicycle and part motorcycle. it could be the next big thing in transportation. an exclusive look at the ryno. but first, these messages. tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics. recommended most by dermatologists. ♪ protmilk vs. omelet (ding!) winner: m-m-m-m-milk! has protein and travels. got protein. [ male announcer ] your eyes. even at a distance of 10 miles... the length of 146 football fields... they can see the light of a single candle. your eyes are amazing. look after them with centrum silver. multivitamins with lutein and vitamins a, c, and e to support healthy eyes and packed with key nutrients to support your heart and brain, too. centrum silver. for the most amazing parts of you. all right. we're back now with what is trending "today." >> it's me and the guys today. i'll ask you the question i've been dying to ask you. are you normal? >> no. >> no. >> well, let's get to the bottom of this. okay. the cover story in the latest issue of "esquire" poses the question, 1,000 men to find out how their behavior compares to what we think of as the modern man. so, you know, it's the guy in touch with his feminine side. are you ready for the quiz? >> go. >> with a show of hands, raise your hand if you use moisturizer on a regular basis. >> oh, yeah. >> okay. 56% said they did use it in the last month. you're normal for this part. two, you've gotten a manicure in the last six months. >> never had one. >> never in my life. >> only 5% said yes. >> me, too. >> okay. >> what about your feet? >> okay. number three, you cried at some point in the last month. >> in the last month? >> oh, i haven't cried in the last decade. >> 37% yes. so far, you're the most evolved, i think. four, you own at least six pairs of jeans. >> six? >> no. not six. >> what about three to five pairs. >> three. >> 22% said they owned at least six pairs of jeans, 51% said they owned three to five. so more normal to be three to five. all right. you said i love you in the last 24 hours. >> yeah. >> you guys are all dads. 34%. >> i said it to -- >> i think you guys are sort of normal. >> all right. >> this has been enlightening. >> don't you know what you cried about? >> i was thinking about my dad. >> okay. sounds good. all right. >> by the way, i cry every day on this job. that's another story. >> you love us. how about this one? have you ever had a friend sit you down and start a conversation with, "don't take this the wrong way." it's the worst, you know it's going to be terrible whatever that person's going to say. language experts call phrases like that qualifiers. they're the subject of the story in today's "wall street journal." "with all due respect" which means they have no respect whatsoever. what about in the middle of an argument someone says "relax." i hear what you're saying, but -- to tell you the truth. nobody tells you the truth after that. apparently we use these phrases when we're not actually going to be open and honest with friends and family. >> you know what your problem is? >> yes, i do. >> you know the worst is when someone says, well i'm sorry you feel that way. >> people are attempting to communicate and they're using these phrases as sort of bridges to try and -- but they're dancing around the truth ultimately. and it can be offensive, with all due respect. >> all right. i've got another question for the panel. >> wow. >> i don't know why i'm asking this question, but i am. do you wear spanx? >> are we still raising our hands? >> yeah. >> how about tighty whiteys? >> a version, maybe. >> i have an aversion to them. >> a version. >> i hear what you're saying, i've got those, too. >> certain kinds of shapewear could be hurting our bodies when they're not worn properly. when they're too tight, they actually squeeze our organs, that can cause acid reflux, heartburn, could cause pain and numbness in our legs. what can you do? not to wear it too often. >> when you say squeezing your orga organs, what do you mean? >> tighty whiteys. >> what about when women war those corsets? >> it was worse then. >> can't be good. cutting off circulation all the time. >> i thought you were supposed to buy them tight to keep everything in. so buying them in an extra large. >> you don't want that. >> burst my appendix. as you know, we're all gearing up to head out to sochi for the olympics in a few weeks, and we've got a picture of the bathrooms we'll be using. check it out. two toilets, one stall, no wall in between. >> come on. >> this is the men's room in the biathlon center in sochi. the photo, literally with the emphasis on "bi." >> wow. >> on the hill top. >> that's right. the toilet there. >> that's not happening. >> no. >> can't wait. >> ellen has talked to superstar celebrities and danced with the first lady, but has she just interviewed her most memorable guest ever. his name is elias phoenix and he's a 7-year-old piano prodigy. >> did you pick that out yourself? or dress like that for me? >> i dressed that like for you and to be myself. >> just to be yourself every day. you're always a snazzy dresser. >> your hair's soft. >> you can see he's quite a character. he's captured the heart of the audience. now we look at what happens next. ♪ >> the audience says it all. elias says he has two goals, to play at carnegie hall and visit ellen, one down, one to go. and now to the countdown to sochi and a familiar face who has made it to the u.s. bobsled team. lolo jones along with lauren williams are about to become the ninth and tenth americans to compete in the summer and winter olympics. we'll talk to lolo and her teammates in a moment. but first, her interesting road to sochi. >> lolo jones. >> it's lolo jones' third trip to the olympics, but her first time competing in the winter games. >> wow. that's impressive. >> and lane one will be lolo jones. >> until now the 31-year-old's event track and field, the 100-meter hurdle. she took seventh place in beijing in 2008 falling from the lead after clipping the second to last hurdle. four years later in london, a year after her spinal cord surgery, a second chance for gold, but missed the winner's podium by .1 of a second coming in fourth. >> i was crushed afterwards. i had the best race of my year. doesn't take away from the pain i was so close to, you know, once again having a medal and not getting it. >> her disappointment was compounded by a scathing article in the "new york times" criticizing jones from benefitting from what it called a sad and cynical marketing campaign capitalizing on her "cover girl" looks. brought jones to tears on the "today" show. >> the fact that they tore me apart, it was just heart breaking. >> after two summer games without a medal, at the suggestion of olympic bobsledder myers, jones tried her hand at a new sport. a silver medal in her first world cup as a breakman, was all she needed to focus on her olympic dreams. >> lolo jones, great way to start her career. >> a natural and dedicated athlete, jones is also made for making headlines off the track. in 2012, leading up to the london games, she said she planned to remain a virgin until marriage. >> there's virgins out there. it's the hardest thing i've ever done in my life. >> jones also took heat for posting a vine video for bobsled paycheck of $741.84. she says to bring attention to how little some olympians make. >> the whole season, that's it. >> now she's got her sights set on sochi. and this time, she's not alone, surrounded by five teammates as she once again goes for gold. and lolo jones is with us now from germany where she is training. good morning to you. >> hi, savannah, how you doing? >> i'm great. i'm thinking about the day after your last race in london, you and i sitting on the set together. how heartbroken you were. if i told you in that moment, lolo, you're going back to the olympics, but you're going to be on the bobsled team, would you have believed me? >> probably not. absolutely not. i think it's funny because in the summer games i was complaining we didn't have air-conditioning. and now i definitely don't complain about lack of cold. so it's pretty thrilling. and i'm excited to be here. >> you know, it is such a feat in itself to completely switch sports, but then to become an olympian in that sport in the space of 18 months. what does this mean to you? the chance to once again go to that olympic podium? >> well, i think any time you represent team usa, it's the biggest honor that i'll have in my life. you feel the weight and the pressure of a country behind you. and you know that, you know, it's not only your hopes and dreams, you're fighting for other people back home. i carry that with a lot of responsibility and i hope to make everybody proud. >> you wrote something on your facebook page after you made the team, bobsled was my fresh start, bobsled humbled me, made me stronger, hungry, rely on faith. it gave me hope. is this about redemption for you? >> well, i think it's even more about redemption. i learned so much from the moment i walked into that olympic training center and the bobsledders. they embraced me at one of my lowest points in my life. i was coming off the summer games and pretty depressed. and they lifted me up. and day by day, they encouraged me to never give up on the olympic dream. and so they really did give me a fresh start. and i am, you know, you know, i know you can't change the past. but knowing i hit a hurdle, got fourth place, i wouldn't change it for the fact i know it led me to be here. led me to meet a great group of female athletes. and we are truly united and bonded and ready to go to sochi and dominate. >> well, one thing i know has changed between your track and field life and bobsled life, you had to put on 30 pounds of muscle. we were back in your home in london and you were making this spinachy smoothy concoction. was it fun to actually kind of change your mentality about what to eat, how to train, how to put on muscle? >> it's pretty easy. >> definitely, yeah, for track and field, obviously, you don't want too much weight on you. and for bobsled, weight comes into factor, you have to weigh a certain amount at the end of the finish. it's thrilling i had to have a different diet and change it up from my past experience with track. >> and let's talk about how you are learning this new sport. are there any skills you carry over from track and field to bobsled? and how does it become a lot more difficult? is this a more challenging support? >> there are some skills that will transfer from track, obviously, the running behind the bobsled. there's a lot i had to learn and you have to be really strong and powerful for bobsled. and there's really no sport like it. and it's not like you can practice the sport in high school or middle school. you really have to come there and have like no knowledge about it and have to learn everything so very quickly. and so it takes a lot of help from your teammates. and you -- it's a lot of people just molding together at the same time and so it's been a challenge. and yes, i will say it's more challenging than track and field in that aspect. >> and also, the fact you can have these spectacular crashes. tell me about the first time you went through that experience. i heard there was a blood curdling scream. >> well, i'm going to have to down play my crashes because my teammates, the ones that crash are right next to me. it was actually really smooth. >> yeah. no sweat, right? team is such an important thing. and from what i've read, that's one of the most important aspects to you of this new life as a bobsledder. what is being part of the team mean to you when all your life you've been in a sport all about the individual? >> well, there's a bible verse that says two is better than one and when one falls, another one can lift them up. that's why team is so important to me. i'd like to introduce you to my teammates. we have lauren williams from track and field, gold medal, jasmine filner, asia evans. >> well, ladies -- >> usa! usa! usa! usa! >> there they are. usa bobsled team. you call yourself the wolfpack? >> we call ourselves the wolf pack. absolutely. >> all right. well, we cannot wait to hear you roar. lolo, ladies, thank you so much. congratulations to you. and we'll see you in sochi. >> thank you, guys. thanks for having us. >> and a reminder, all the action from sochi begins thursday, february 6th, right here on nbc. the opening ceremony is the next night. and coming up, the stars of a new comedy "that awkward moment." first, your local news. a very good tuesday morning to you, 8:26 now, i'm laura garcia-cannon. a gay arights advocate is set t be in court today. investigators say they found dozens of pornographic images on his computer last spring. he is also accused of sending e-mails with pornographic pictures of children. he has worked with the human rights commission for 22 years before retiring in 2010. tough right now for the peninsula. this is far north as we can see. you see southbound there is two lanes blocked. and right is jammed up as well. we'll look alt the map and talk about the major injuries reported here. the point account, and we will get more details as chp feeds them in. also very slow towards san mateo. and a slow drive into downtown oakland, back to you, laura. >> we'll have another local news update in about half an hour, see you then. nbc universal's coverage of the 2014 winter olympic games begins on february 6th. experience it everywhere. on tv, online or streaming on the nbc sports live extra app. welcome to what's next. comcast nbcuniversal ♪ it's 8:30 now on a tuesday morning, 21st day of january, 2014. and check this out. that's carson riding what's called a ryno bike. >> awesome. >> it could be the future of personal transportation, and he's doing it in a snowstorm here in new york. >> it's so awesome. >> you like it? >> yeah. just kind of where you lean. it's easy to ride. it's smoothe. it's super easy and really fun. >> we're going to meet the owner and inventor in a little while. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, al roker, willie geist and easy rider carson daly. we've got three of hollywood's hottest young stars. zac efron, miles keller, and they will tell us about their new movie called "that awkward moment." plus, how far should you push your kids when it comes to athletics? well, there's a new series called "friday night tykes," one youth football league in texas. it does have the fair share of critics. we'll talk to one of the head coaches. and tomorrow, another controversial topic, a conversation we want to get you involved in. are your attitudes about weight and body image rubbing off on your daughters? provocative discussion and we're going to start it tomorrow. >> and it's amazing how young girls start talking about their bodies. i have a 10-year-old. >> and he's the inventor and ceo of ryno bike. hi, chris. i don't think it can be that easy to ride. how does it work? >> it balances with gyro stabilization like in your phone, it knows where the center of the earth is. it stays upright. >> is carson your ultimate customer? >> i like that. >> i love it. >> okay. do you think people could commute? >> it's urban transportation, for i want to go from the train to my apartment and back. i can take it on the train, bike lane. >> 10 miles an hour? >> 10 miles an hour. fast enough. >> available for the public yet, or no? >> april 16th, we're starting to ship. >> price point good? >> absolutely. $5,300. >> wow. >> i appreciate that. >> it's like "star wars." >> thank you so much. let's get a check of the weather. >> carson's helmet says it all, 8:32 tuesday morning, good morning to you bay area. temperatures this morning are a little on the chilly side if you're out and about. you want to pull out a coat, but i can show you right now, san jose as of lunchtime, 60. the idea is to dress in layers. we're tracking a significant cool down. not just yet, we'll have to wait until next week, and for the next few days, temperatures will be unseasonably warm. >> all right. time to talk about the biggest loser. jay eliminated on week 12. jay, welcome to the "today" show. >> thanks, al. >> and i have watched your transformation. it is nothing short of miraculous. your starting weight 297, what are you now? >> i've lost about 110 pounds, i'm about 189. >> man. you've got a ranch. does this make it easier for you to get back in the saddle? >> absolutely, it does. my weight became such an issue to do what i love to do, which is my passion for riding and roping, and my weight totally prevented me from doing that. and i'm already back in the saddle. >> and you look terrific. that's great. and you're vying for the at-home prize. we wish you all the be. >> thank you so much. >> and don't forget, coming up tonight, you can watch "the biggest loser" tonight 8:00/7:00 central right here on nbc. and we've got zac efron and his latest cast all talking in a little bit. but first, this is "today" -- no. okay. matt? >> i'll take it, al. thank you very much. now to another star getting very candid about her life. katy tur is in the studio with more on that. >> at 29, she sold more than 11 million albums, more followers on twitter than anyone on earth. we get a first look at katy perry's "gq" spread and let's call it a quirky interview. ♪ i got the eye of the tiger >> reporter: she's arguably the biggest name in pop music right now. her smash hit "roar," just her latest song to top the charts. and in "gq's" february's cover story, readers got a glimpse of the simultaneously sugary and sultry singer who first splashed on the scene with a song about kissing a girl. ♪ i kissed a girl and i liked >> reporter: she described her childhood growing up poor, singing for food at a santa barbara's farmers market, losing her virginity at the age of 16 in the front seat of a volvo. she touches on her parents' beliefs but calls herself more spiritual, saying i believe in a lot of astrology, i believe in aliens. adding, if my relationship with obama gets any better, i'm going to ask him that question, it just hasn't been appropriate yet. unlike some of her musical peers, this pop princess takes being a role model seriously. she claims to have never had plastic surgery. and she says marijuana isn't her friend. and on her much gossiped about, personal life reveals that russell brand who many believe she slammed in her song "wide awake," never visited her in the world tour for "teenage dream." six months after the divorce, she was dating john mayer, perfect fodder for tabloid headlines. the romance now back on along with a newly released duet. still, perry is quick to deflate expectations, telling writer amy wallace, i'm just having a wonderful experience with a wonderful guy. there's no rush. >> i've said to her at one point in the interview that some would say she had an appetite for complicated men. and she laughed. and her answer basically broke down into she would prefer complicated to dull. >> as for the aliens comment, not sure what she wanted to ask president obama, but she said she was very supportive of his campaign and joked around she might have won wisconsin for him. matt? >> all right. katy tur, thank you very much. up next, the stars of the new movie "that awkward moment." but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ >> is that carson? back now at 8:39 with the three stars of "that awkward moment." three friends when one friend is facing a divorce. take a look. >> ice cream? >> yeah, peanut butter chocolate. >> that's a great flavor. >> no ice cream, no. >> whiskey doesn't mix well with ice cream. >> you need it? >> yeah. >> what are you a fat teenage girl? >> what are you bridget jones? >> give me the ice cream. >> no. get away from me. >> give me the ice cream. >> nobody gets ice cream. >> that was awesome. >> zac efron, michael b. jordan and miles teller join us. guys like to turn to ice cream, too, in times of need. >> peanut butter chocolate is amazing. i love that flavor. >> when i watched this movie, i thought 2/3 of you are total dogs through 2/3 of the movie. >> whoa. >> what do you think? >> i agree with you completely. >> you were the nice one. >> that's right. >> i mean, i wouldn't say -- we're just looking for love and, you know, sometimes you just -- you're not compatible with somebody and you can keep it going or you can just nip it in the bud. >> this is sort of -- i don't know, looking to what it's like for guys to be dating in today's world. and part of it, we really are good guys, all three characters. >> we have good intentions. we may not execute the way we want to. >> we mean well. >> there's a good moral of the story. it's called "that awkward moment." what does that mean in the context of the film? what do you think that's describing, zac? >> i don't know. just -- >> i think it's the awkward moments of us trying to figure it out. sometimes, when you get put on the spot and a girl asks you a question and you weren't expecting. >> like right now, we didn't prepare for the questions. these are not the questions we rehearsed. where are the questions we rehearsed? >> we should have been ready for this. >> a moment when it comes up with a girl, so where is this going? what does this mean? >> right. >> what are we? >> speaking of awkward -- there is a scene that we cannot or maybe just will not show on morning television, involves some kind of naked acrobatics over a toilet. miles, was that a joy to shoot? >> naked acrobatics are on my resume, has been since college. >> skills. >> i have no idea he had any skills. >> worked on it for about a month. >> i started practicing when i was very young. that's actually how i got into acting. >> well, all of you have really an exciting stages in your lives. 2014, your producer on this film, i know last year was a little bit hard, there were reports you'd gone through rehab. anything you want to share about that? and i think mostly your fans want to know how you're doing? >> just that i'm in the best place i've ever been. i've never been this happy before. and i'm extraordinarily grateful for you guys and to be here promoting this movie and -- i don't know, things are good. thank you for asking. >> you've got a lot going on. so do you, miles. it's rumored you're going to play dan akroyd. >> that started, but nothing has been signed yet. >> no, it's something i've talked about and i'd be honored to play a legend like dan ackroyd, but that's how it got started. he threw it out. >> all right. >> there was a mole in the audience. >> and i can't let you go without saying, michael b. jordan, you're being called a breakout rising star, what's next for you? >> i'm not sure. trying to figure it out, honestly. focused on promoting this film and making sure people get out and see it. it's an awesome film that speaks on today. >> yeah. i agree with you, by the way, these guys are the best young actors i've ever worked with, and i'm so excited -- there's never really been a movie like this. and all of us are stoked to get it out there and so happy to be in new york. >> we're the hottest guys. >> working in film, and we're all in the film together so it's like, hello. hello. >> you're doing your richard sherman impersonation right now. cutest, hottest movie stars ever. >> i hope not. awkward moment. >> exactly. thanks for being here. appreciate it. >> thanks very much. >> once again "that awkward moment" hits theaters next friday, january 31st. and a controversy new look at youth football in america. kids 8 and 9 years old, are they being pushed too far? first, this is "today" on nbc. we're back now at 8:46 with a new series documenting youth football down in texas. it's called "friday night tykes" on the esquire network and raising serious questions about things like player safety and just how far we should push our children. take a look. >> it's going to be okay to quit in the classroom if you allow it on the football field. i want to see how fast and mean you are. let's go. you've got to push them. go! go! >> the hardest thing is getting them past the field. once you make that first hit, you start liking it, craving it. >> when i say rip -- you all deserve to be out here, it's a beautiful day. we practice hard, we sweated, now you're going to put it on somebody else instead of each other. >> keep going! >> colby! are you quitting? >> oh, man. >> let's go. breathe. let's go. >> what's the matter? i don't care how much pain you're in. you don't quit. >> lisa is a mom and manager for the junior broncos. good morning to both of you. good to see you. >> good morning. >> let's start with you. that young man at the end of the take, colby, that's your son. >> that's right. very proud. >> you're proud -- as i watch it -- i'm a father, i've got three kids, i think he's being pushed too hard. i say -- >> you don't know my colby. as parents, we know our kids better than anybody else. and i know what colby's capable of, i know it's not too much for him. >> it's obvious right now, this is not one of the leagues you see a lot of these days where they don't make any cuts and everybody gets equal playing time and give trophies to everyone at the end of the season because everyone's a winner. this is tough stuff. >> absolutely. but i'd much rather have colby learn this lesson now in life than when he's 18 and i can't get him motivated to get out there. he doesn't have the self-confidence to try things that are difficult and to push through and to feel that success when it actually happens. >> and you never worry it's too much. >> as a parent, you always worry. you have some reservations, but we talk to colby all the time. it's a conversation, not just a one-time thing, it's almost a lifestyle. and so we are constantly monitoring that. >> you're a coach, your son also plays, i believe he's the quarterback for the team. >> he's a quarterback. >> this type of style of coaching, this in your face, push these kids style, you're happy with for your own child, as well? >> well, everybody has their own style. i truthfully have my own style. what you saw on camera, i don't actually go that route. i'm more conservative. i do push the kids, but in a more sensible manner. >> this -- these are 8 and 9-year-olds, right? >> correct. >> this actually starts earlier. kids start playing football at 4 and 5. they start tackling at 6, which raises the obvious question about the risk of injury. and some of these hits i see on this tape are pretty tough hits. do you worry about your son getting hurt? >> definitely. i worry about that all the time. but the thing is as coaches, we've all got to instill the techniques of tackling. what you didn't see on some of these is where the coach pull them aside and correct them. you've got to keep your head up when you're tackling, see what you're hitting. >> one of the coaches said, one of the hardest thing is getting the kids past the fear. i know your son came to you and i think your wife also and said, look, i'm afraid of getting hurt. how do you as a parent versus as a coach address a child who has fears. >> well, that's when we do become parents. i comfort him. that was one of the first times he came to me because he didn't witness the injury the previous week. >> you think he was nervous coming to you because you're also the football coach? >> in some manner. but my kids are very open to me. i felt -- i felt glad he came to me and approached me in that manner. >> i mentioned the series is raising questions. do you welcome the questions? >> absolutely. i think these are conversations that we need to have as americans. are we pushing hard enough? are we not pushing hard enough? there's many aspects of "friday night tykes." and so far, you've only seen two episodes. there's more to come. >> thank you very much. you can catch "friday night tykes" tonight on the esquire network. and up next, we'll answer the call of the wild. but first, this is "today" on nbc. we are back now with "today's" call of the wild. and remarkable animals. brian staples founder of staples zoo. we've got zac efron, michael b. jordan and miles teller. >> he's done this before. >> he seems chill with me. >> doing great. >> he's cool. we like to go out and -- >> he's your wing man? is that it? >> watch this. give me high five. right here. >> got grapes in his hands now. high five. >> you're making it up. >> he's putting him on the spot. >> come here, wilson. give a high five. >> yeah. >> made it all worth it. >> very nice. tell us about this first animal. >> well, this is roree, a 14-week-old baby lion cub. isn't he great? >> how did he get to you? >> okay. so all of the animals in our program are secondhand or rescued animals. his mother developed mastitis where she wasn't able to feed and that happened over the christmas period. we helped out a local zoo and my zoo keepers took over the role of bottle feeding. so when he's good and healthy, he'll head back to the zoo. >> how big will he get? >> a big boy lion, probably close to 500 pounds. >> roree's going crazy right now. no leash, no nothing. >> what's to prevent him from jumping and running around the studio? >> he doesn't know he can yet? >> and i just said that out loud. >> all of these games and things he's playing now, this is all skills he'll be developing to be a great hunter. >> wow. >> oh, this monkey, pickpocket. >> i'm going to take the paper away so he doesn't eat it. as long as he doesn't eat me. what's the next rescued animal? >> these spots will disappear, by the way. >> oh, my. >> good for you. what kind of fox is this? >> okay. this is an amazing story. this is called a siberian fox. >> oh, yeah. i was hoping -- >> this is how people should wear their furs. >> how did you end up with this one? >> there was a program that started in the late '50s in siberia, russia, would it be possible to breed the domesticated genes in a dog? they lost funding and we have thousands and thousands of these friendly foxes that think they should be a pet. it's posed a terrible problem. they don't know how to survive. >> no one's going to get in what does the fox say joke? >> go ahead. >> an interesting smell, too? >> right. there's a sad story that goes to the whole fox breeding thing for domestication. the scent there is what a lot of colognes are made out of. >> oh, man. this is congo. an awesome guy. >> hey, zac. >> by the way, animal lovers. going to be it is 8:56, o.co coliseum is getting a new look today. 500 truckloads of dirt will be dumped for this weekend's monosere energy super cross race. let's check in with christina this morning. >> not sunday sunday, huh? 70 degrees in the south bay today. you know what, scott? we're going to old on to these temperatures as we get into the weekend. what i can tell you is we're still tracking that rain. next tuesday we open up that storm window and the first week of february also tracking significant rainfall. enjoy this as long as it lasts. i'm detecting increasing levels of happiness. ...and the speed readings are off the chart! paradise found! luscious locks. great glittering galaxies. the happiest place on earth keeps getting happier! explore more, and save up to 25% on select nights at a disneyland resort hotel. there's no end in sight. i'm going to need more time. from nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, natalie morales and willie geist. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today" on what's becoming a snowy tuesday morning, january 21st, 2014. i'm willie geist along with al roker. natalie out on assignment. so our guest cohost, very excited about this, the one, the only mary lou. >> i'm so excited. so neat. >> it's getting a little whacky outside. >> the streamers have already started, it's going to pick up. we're going to be looking at blizzard-like conditions here in the northeast into new england on into tomorrow morning. a lot of schools already closed in the northeast from washington, d.c., virginia, all the way up into this area school delays. over 2,400 fligschools canceled delays. and tonight's flight coming home new york into boston is going to be terrible. >> i missed that because i've been in l.a. i came in town just in time. >> there it is. okay. so the vortex returns. although, it's the snow first and then behind it will be the vortex. >> okay. what's the other term we learned this morning? bobmbo? >> bombo genesis, the low pressure system intensifies very rapidly within 24 hours, becomes what we call a weather bomb. >> weather bomb. see how fun it is to talk to al? well, she is our guest host, you know her, she's actress, author, radio host, she's got that crazy memory. >> do you remember when we met? >> yes. not the day, no. >> do you remember the date? >> of course. i remember the date. >> do you really? >> no, i'm not making it up. it was a monday, it was december 24th. >> come on. >> well, yes. there's a story behind that. >> there's a story behind that. >> there's a story. >> a christmas story. >> was i cheating then? >> well, you didn't remember. >> that's an excellent point. >> so this is called hyper -- >> no. it's called highly superior autobiographical memory. >> highly superior -- >> so our crack research department. >> it's the next one. >> uh-oh. >> so explain for people, a lot of people have heard your story, some haven't, though. explain what it means to have this kind of memory. >> well, most people remember 8 to 11 events within any year. but people who have highly superior autobiographical memory, they -- we remember, they say 200 to 365, events in our daily lives. well, there were a dozen documented, they took measurements, put us through mris, 300 measurements in our brain and found nine areas ten times larger than the normal brain. it's crazy when you see what that looks like. >> we've got a quiz. >> okay. >> so what were you doing on january 27th, 1979? >> oh. that was my first golden globes. that was so much fun. we were nominated, "taxi" was nominated and we won. but i sat with john travolta because we were dating then and he was star of the year. and i would -- what do you want me to describe? >> what were you wearing? >> a real '40s look. black and white outfit with a little hat, and he -- >> there it is. my gosh. >> yeah. >> travolta, by the way with the beard. >> yeah. >> how about this one, what were you doing on september 8th, 1994? >> so september 8th, 1994 was a thursday, and i had -- yeah, september 8th, 1994 was a thursday, i did a whole bunch of publicity that day. i had a lot of different outfits on that day. i had a black sort of french kind of outfit. it was pants and a top. >> do you remember a specific interview? >> a specific interview? was i on this show? >> yes, you were. >> you were talking about your show "marilu." >> i would change clothes all day, it would take me a little longer. my show was premiering that following week. >> i know you get sick of talking about this, but it's fascinating to people. i've heard you describe it once as you call up a dvd and scenes pop up and you get a thumbnail. that's how you see the calendar? >> it's like having 365 simultaneous montages going on. you say january and it's here, september would be here and i see it. and people who have it, we don't -- if i asked you what you did this morning you could describe perfectly and think about yourselves in first person. if i asked you probably, you know, months ago you'd probably go to third, but we're always in first. we go back to a day and right there. >> is it ever a curse? >> never. it's like having the greatest organized system ever. now that you said september 8th, i'll be able to do the morning till night on what happened on that day. >> the apple cover flow, you know. >> yeah. it's like that. it's like that. but it's in a linear sort of time line. and really -- i really do believe that everybody has it in them because your story is in you, it's just we have a great retrieval system. so that's why in my book "total memory makeover" and on my radio show. i'm always telling you i've got a spark memory supplement, and it's so important for people to be able to keep their brains healthy so they can retrieve. >> important to do those brain games? >> well, that takes care of one part. but autobiographical is something else, it's about being able to access your story to bring the past to the present and let it inform a better future. and people always say to me, well, what about the bad stuff? well, memory's tied to adrenaline, you're going to remember the bad stuff anyway. it's about the sweeter moments with your children and your families and things like that. >> what a gift. >> that is incredible. >> one thing that i don't know if seattle seahawks cornerback sherman, richard sherman would like to forget yesterday. >> i don't think so. i don't think so. he's apologized now for an outburst at sunday's big nfc championship game against san francisco. happened after seattle won to move on to the super bowl in the postgame, immediately following with fox's erin andrews. check this out. >> let me ask you the final play. take me through it. >> i'm the best corner in the game. that's the result you gonna get. don't you ever talk about me! >> who was talking about you? >> crabtree! don't you open your mouth about the best. i'm going to stand up for you real quick. >> all right. >> man. like mr. t. is back. >> i pity that poor fool. >> erin andrews for the follow-up. richard sherman writes a column for "si." he posted yesterday, of himself, quote, it was loud, it was in the moment, i don't want to be a villain because i'm not a villainous person. don't judge a person's character by what they do between the lines. judge a man by what he does off the field, what he does for his community and what he does for his family. first of all, he's an incredibly smart guy. h he went to stanford, smart guy, and great, great elite player. i think what offended people is, just make the play, you don't have to talk so much about the play and denigrate the other guy. >> but i'm sorry, i think football because of all of the -- i'm so interested in the brain. a lot of those guys have brain damage and you don't know what's flipping out in their brains at any given moment. >> a lot of adrenaline. >> concussions and adrenaline. >> the nfl has a 10 maybe 15-minute cooling off period before reporters go into the locker room. this was different because it was on the field. >> you're so hyped off. it's like when we come off of doing this show. >> i can't wait. >> some of those interviews we do afterwards. >> crazy. >> offensive things you say. >> oh, good. hope i'm not late for my flight, but i'm sticking around. >> what time is your flight? >> 12:00. >> good that you remember that. seahawks are moving on to the super bowl, playing the denver broncos, super bowl in new jersey, might have some of this kind of weather right here. >> uh-oh. >> you'll be late if you take the gwb. >> according to ticket website, the price, $4,063. that's the average price. $4,063. >> wow. directly it's like $2,800. >> they're still expensive. and some you can buy for like $29,000. >> i know everybody's going to spend that kind of money, but i -- >> not everybody. >> no, not everybody. not everybody. but where does the money go? does it go for a worthy cause or just? >> goes to the nfl. >> if that's your charity. good luck. but, you know, in the roker household, it's going to be our dad's spicy asian wings. >> we were just talking about that. the best place to watch the super bowl, right at home. >> you get the commercials. >> do you know that the day after super bowl sunday is the day most called in sick, the most antiacids are sold and the most toilet flushing. so everybody knows. >> really? >> see. i just read it, i know it. >> your first super bowl? >> it was super bowl xii in january of '78, right? i know it was, i think it was the broncos and the cowboys? >> '78? '78. i think so. you're putting me on the spot here. >> that's the idea. >> i pulled that one up from nowhere. >> hey. >> i think so. was it super bowl xii? >> by the way, you and natalie. >> natalie. >> you and natalie. >> we're on bethenny frankel's show today. here's a clip. >> it helps, too, your family keeps your humble. i have two kids, one 6, one 4, and they have no interest in what i do for a living. my wife says daddy's on. no, bubble guppies, get this off. and if someone's nice enough in a restaurant and says hello, they mock me openly. these are 4-year-old children. >> really? >> ooh, willie geist, so nice to meet you. >> really? why are you so mean to me? >> that's my daughter. she comes hard at me. >> don rickels elementary. >> they go hard. those two -- >> by the way, confirmation from the control room. you were correct. >> you were right. >> i pulled that one out of nowhere. >> '78, dallas beat the broncos. >> do you remember the score? >> no. come on, that was pretty good. >> i'm digging deep. that's amazing. truly amazing. did this help you when you were in school? >> well, yes. but it was -- that's more photographic memory. but i do remember things i relate to and i just, you know, that was my first one out in los angeles because i'd moved there the year before. >> can we turn this into a vegas show? i'm only half kidding. you could make millions out there. people throw dates at you. >> i don't know how interesting that would be, but okay. >> have you seen our show? anyway. let's take a look, show you what we've got going on as far as your weather is concerned. and right now, you can watch on the radar. this is really kind of fascinating because you can see the snow making its way in. so philadelphia right there on the radar, it's just -- literally just on the western border of philadelphia. washington, d.c., just on the western border of d.c. and then, new york city, you can see the snow's already in there. and look at that. man, the snow is there. it is coming down. and it is going to continue. here we go. so the snow, the low develops over the mid-atlantic spreads to the northeast, by 3:00 this afternoon, we are in it from boston, all the way to washington, richmond and roanoke. overnight, 9:00 p.m., this thing intensifies as we talked about, bombo genesis. it becomes what we call a weather bomb. it just intensifies, brings that heavy snow and strong winds, bitterly cold air coming in from canada. wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. we're going to be talking about like ground blizzard conditions from boston on into hartford, connecticut. southern new jersey, as well, on into ocean city. then it moves offshore by 10:00 a.m. but we still got blowing and drifting snow along the cape. and then the big problem going to be single-digit temperatures, subzero windchills, and the secondary part of the polar vortex breaks off, comes in and temperatures are going to bottom out as we get into thursday hey, good morning to you bay area. a good looking day if you're looking for the warmth. more of the same 69 degrees at 4:00 p.m. our san francisco camera shaking a bit. your temperatures have come down a few degrees. here is where we're headed. on the way to the east bay and 70s today in the south bay. your forecast coming up and overall looking good and warm into the weekend. >> i mean -- >> she turned to me and said when were your born? and i said, may 3rd, 1975. oh, that was a saturday. and she was correct. >> well, that was before i was like conscious of. >> in other words, i'm too old. i'm too old to be part of -- >> there are limits, al. >> i may as well have asked for linco lincoln's birthday. >> august 20th? okay. >> coming up next, look who's hanging out in the orange room, andrew garcia's going to join us to talk about his new film. this is a cell tower from one of those major carriers. straight talk wireless uses the same cell towers they do. but we don't build or maintain them. so we can offer you the same great, nationwide coverage for half the cost. out here, and here, and here. well, not here. that would be weird. the world needs more straight talk. same phones. same networks. half the cost. get a samsung galaxy s3. unlimited everything just $45 a month. only at walmart. ♪ ♪ ooh, la la ♪ sing ooh, la la la la ♪ come on, y'all, ooh, la la [ female announcer ] set your success in motion with the special k challenge. lose up to six pounds in two weeks. with the cereal you love and so much more. what will you gain when you lose? 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[ mom ] still counting. ♪ more than a feeling ♪ when i hear that old song they used to play ♪ ♪ more than a feeling [ female announcer ] yoplait light boston cream pie. at 90 calories it is so good when you want more than a feeling. andy garcia is best known as an actor, but the do it all man is a director, producer and grammy-winning composer. >> in his newest film "at middleton" he produced and played a part as a heart surgeon. >> his character learns a few life lessons along the way. good morning. >> good morning. >> it's great to see you. and what attracted you to this script? it's kind of a departure for you. >> the quality of the material was beautiful, beautifully constructed story about two parents who meet on a college tour with their kids and the kids don't want them around, of course. leave me alone. and they kind of, you know, they kind of hook up. start a little adversary. but by the end of the day, they've had the most special day of their life and have to make a decision what to do at the end of the day. >> wow. >> because they're both married. >> i was going to ask you about that. how did you feel about this character personally? because, yes, it's a beautiful sort of budding love story, but they are both married. >> yeah. you know, it's -- you can tell there's some -- their marriages have been coasting a little bit over the years and they just find -- it's not intentional they want to -- looking for somebody. they just happen to find kind of their soul mate. and the most important decision of their life they have to make that afternoon at the end of the day. >> you've been married for 30er y years and you got to work with your daughter in this movie. >> yeah. that was during the clip, yeah. >> and she also got to work with her sister. which is fantastic. how do you -- what's your secret for a long and successful marriage? >> well, you know, first of all, i found that girl, that happened to me when i met my wife and proposed to her the first day i saw her, you know. >> oh, my gosh. >> love at first sight. >> yeah, it was. you channel that and, you know, i think there's a commitment to that. to her and to each other and to your family, to your kids. kind of like a religion, you know. >> and there's a scene where you're smoking pot with your daughter. just curious, was that a little awkward? how did that work? >> no, it wasn't. >> was it familiar? >> no, it was not familiar. >> talk about me. >> i don't know. >> it was not familiar, but it was a real part, you know. we didn't have the budget for that. >> and it wasn't shot in colorado. >> it wasn't shot in colorado, no. it was spokane, washington, doubling for an eastern college. >> do you like making this kind of movie? you've done so much big budget, people have seen "untouchable" and the ocean movies. >> there's a freedom in that. you know, because nobody cares what you're doing. you're out there on your own. >> you don't even know if there's film in the camera. >> people who are there are there for a particular reason to be there for that movie. >> yeah. >> so there's, you know, and usually some of the best material out there comes from the independent cinema. you see it every year in the oscars. the movies, they win you the academy award for best picture sometimes or independent film. >> yeah. >> so you go where the material is. if there's a big budget thing that comes your way, that's fine, if not, you go where your heart is. we raise the money, the writer/director who are here off camera somewhere. and we raised the money for this movie and, you know, from scratch. >> the passion and love shows on camera. >> and in the suit. >> my winter suit. >> i know. >> only andy garcia could pull that off. so great to see you. 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[ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? i need your timesheets, larry! taking a look at the headlines now. more than 2,000 flights have been canceled as a major snowstorm zeros in on the ohio valley and northeast. some areas expected up to a foot of snow, temperatures dropping into the teens. a propane shortage is making the latest cold snap even worse across the midwest and northeast. millions of homes in those regions use propane for heat, of course, but the early cold weather this season has strained supplies and driven up prices. some propane companies are only filling customers' tanks halfway. state and federal regulations are also being relaxed to get more propane delivery trucks out on the road. a new study reveals aggressive behavior in young children is more strongly linked to genetic factors than environmental influences. canadian researchers worked with parents of identical and fraternal twin pairs to evaluate their behavior, environment and genetics. found genetics accounted for large part in aggressive behaviors by hitting and kicking among toddlers, but doesn't mean those tendencies are unchangeable. a bird's eye view was a figure of speech until researchers placed cameras on the heads of falcons to study the way they hunt crows. the footage revealed falcons actually zigzag so their prey doesn't realize it's being followed and then they swoop down to catch their meal in midair. low fat, reduced sugar, what do they mean? we're decoding those confusing food labels you see all over the grocery store after your local [ garner ] there's a lot of beautiful makeup out there to cover up flaws and make skin look pretty. but there's one that's so clever, it makes your skin look better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skins' natural texture, tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics. recommended most by dermatologists. can help your kids' school get extra stuff. they're the only cereals with box tops for education. you can raise money for your kids' school. look for this logo. only on big g cereals. you can make a difference. every cereal box counts. ♪ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! ♪ we are one, under the sun ♪ under the sun... [ female announcer ] fiber and protein. together as one. introducing new fiber one protein cereal. very good morning to you, it is 9:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. police took a man into custody after getting a call for someone braking into a medical marijuana shop early this morning. police say they were able to talk the suspect down from the top of an elevator shaft inside. officers shot a suspect in oakland this morning after a short chase. he tried to pull his car over on interstate 580 because it didn't have license plates. the man was armed with a gun, but they're investigating if he open fired. a early morning fire has damaged an apartment complex at winchester and hamilton avenue. the fire started in the kitchen of one of those apartments. we'll take a quick break and have a look at traffic and weather after this. 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[ female announcer ] at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant welcome back, the time is 9:28. temperatures are warming nicely. half-moon bay is at 46 degrees. great day to hit the beach. beach weather continues. 11:00 a.m. we'll be at 63 degrees here. up to 67 at the hottest part of the day. good waves out there still. temperatures will start to fall throughout the next couple days, 70 in the south bay today, 71 at the peninsula, and we're in store for cooler weather. >> i was transfixed by those birds in your shot. traffic flowing nicely in oakland, starting to move nicely. southbound 101 still slow and recovering here too. we had an earlier crash at willow. south from redwood city, starting to recover, much smoother there at the top of your screen. 280 not a problem, a typical pattern there. northbound routes start to move more steadily through the south bay. a crash earlier has cleared and approaching highway 17. more local news in half an hour, have a great tuesday morning. welcome back to "today," tuesday morning, january 21st, 2014 as the snow begins to fall, not just here in new york, but around the country. natalie out on assignment, we're happy to have marilu henner with us. >> governor christie canceling his party out on ellis island because of the weather. >> is that right? >> going to donate the food to the food pantry. >> we need to talk about "brooklyn 99." >> you know what, i had a feeling they were going to win and i told andy and he was genuinely surprised. he's wonderful and he's got a soul as an actor and i think the show is going to be long running and one of those classic shows. i was very happy. and so happy to be working on this. >> and it's following the super bowl. >> so you know fox loves it, otherwise they wouldn't be doing that. it's great to see young talent like that. >> took the red eye to be here. >> i ran into seth myers, i'd never met him before, but i was in his dressing room march 27th, 2008 for the "celebrity apprentice" party. and it was so much fun. and i love him. so i was -- blessed. it's a blessed flight. >> does he know you know the date you were in the dressing room? did he run in the other direction? >> most people do now. >> i think it's great. >> by the way, in a few minutes, we're going to go head to head to test our fitness knowledge. here's a question for you to think about at home. myth or fact. the more you sweat, the more calories you burn. >> myth. >> myth you say? i'm going with myth, too. >> myth. >> just the opposite. >> go online to today.com and vote. the results will be revealed during the segment. before we do that, al, let's get a look at if weather. >> i'm going to do that. marilu, you going back to l.a.? >> yes, 12:00. >> you're going to get up on time. it's not so bad. in honor of marilu, let's show you los angeles, l.a.x. not looking too bad. couple of flights coming in right now. by this evening. they're getting up to 81 degrees with a few showers. rest of the country, we've had this inversion in the pacific northwest. they've had following and air stagnation alerts, a real mess. here in the northeast. look at this, 13 degrees for a high today in cincinnati, in columbus with snow. tomorrow, frigid weather from plains to the northeast. this technically isn't the return of the polar vortex, but cold air is being spun off of it. and it's going to make its way into the country. the fog continues in the pacific northwest, warm weather, unfortunately, continues in los angeles. they need the rain. and it's going to be cold all the way down 9:32, good morning to you bay area. if you have been enjoying this weather and that some of you have, we have more of the same for you today and we're still tracking that rain on the way as we head through early next week. temperatures today mostly down. not too bad, warm enough for a nice light jacket out there. we'll be at 67 degrees at 3:00 p.m. at half moon bay. everywhere else will jump out of the 40s and 50s into the 70s. terms like low fat, gluten free, cage-free are on packages all over the grocery store. >> here to help us understand the common food labeling is the health director for "family circle" magazine and the author of "read it before you eat it." ladies, good morning. >> hey. >> let's get right to this. the labels really are kind of what draws you in to begin with. starting with the color green. >> exactly. green we all think of as positive connotation. green means good, go, makes us think of nature. it's not necessarily correlated to what's inside the package. there was a study out of cornell university where they showed people identical candy bars, but the nutrition labels were different colors. and people thought that the green nutrition label was better than the other color. so just that color makes people think a product is healthier than it actually might be. so the bottom line is be color blind, think about what's inside the package not outside. it's what's inside that matters. >> that's a good lesson. good concept. let's move to low fat. because this can be very deceptive. not always low-fat if it says so. >> low may not be the way to go. if it's low-fat, that means it has 3 grams or less of fat per serving. who ever said fat was the bad guy anyway? nuts olive oil, these foods could help your heart, help control diabetes. and because they're so delicious, they could control your weight because you feel more satisfied when you eat a food with fat in it. and very often when something is low, it's high in something else. so a low-fat product could be high in sugar, salt, calories. >> so the other one that everybody's jumping on the bandwagon, gluten free. my son's gluten intolerant. but somehow we think it's not only gluten free means healthier and lower in calories and not necessarily the case. >> not necessarily the case. this is the big craze, right? it's the new diet, people going gluten free. and i think it's fantastic there are so many gluten free products on the market. however, unless you're gluten intolerant, it's not necessarily the right pick for you. what something lacks in gluten, they may make up for in sugar or starches. so you really do need to have a discerning eye. don't go along with the trends. >> there's confusing trends out there. you don't know what they mean. one of them is reduced sugar versus low sugar. what's the difference there? >> sugar's like the master of disguise. so many different names, syrups, fructose, so many different names. reduced sugar actually has a definition that's a product would be 25% less sugar than the original counterpart. again, that doesn't mean it's not a high in fat, high in calories or it even has any health value. low sugar actually means get ready for this one, nothing. there's no standard definition for low sugar. there's none. there is sugar-free. and means that the product has to have half gram of sugar or less per serving. but if you're sitting down with a box of cookies that big, then you know you're not necessarily getting free of sugar. this is where free could be costly. >> wow. no such thing as a free lunch or free cookie. now, here's the other one that you see on especially cereal boxes or -- whole grain versus multigrain. and you still think, oh, grain, i must be doing good. >> exactly. and this one really drives me crazy. they caught me on this one a few years ago. what you're looking for is a product that's 100% whole grain. 100%, not just whole grain because if it just says whole grain, it could be 5% or 10%. also multigrain means exactly what it says, more than one grain. and that doesn't mean that the grains that are in it are whole grain. so look for this, the whole grains council has this great stamp, black and gold stamp you can look for that makes it easier to shop for the 100% whole grain products if that's what you're looking for because whole grains are better for you. >> if they got you, what chance do we have? >> thanks so much. great to see you both. to find out more about how you can be misled at the grocery store go to today.com. coming up next, we asked you earlier is it a myth or fact that more you sweat, the more calories you burn. we know what al thinks. tell us what you think on today.com. what does that first spoonful taste like? ok. honey bunches of oats. ching! mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal. and instead of getting stressed about it,fect. you can just perfect it. new revlon age defying cc cream perfect those little fine lines, the dark spots, the uneven skin tone... correct. protect. perfect. revlon. you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. and so do mouth germs. but now i have the protection of colgate total® mouthwash. it works just as hard and just as long as i do. 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>> they are -- i'm very impressed, they are all correct. it is a myth. >> it's a myth. >> yes. just because you're drenched in sweat doesn't mean you've burned any extra calories, it's really your body's way of cooling your skin and regulating your temperature. >> could mean you're out of shape. >> or could mean that the studio was hot or the temperature was different that day or it's just your own body's physiology. >> that's a myth. you're going to quiz us on some of these other things. >> here's one that's good. running is bad for your knees, truth or myth. >> depends on the terrain, your age, i think it depends on -- >> i'm going to say myth because the conventional wisdom -- >> you're right. >> myth. >> i'm very impressed. everyone thinks it's so bad for your knees. despite common knowledge, it isn't that bad for your knees. studies, runners, older runners' knees are no less healthy than those who don't run. in a sense, you're right, our quads and hamstrings are out of balance. >> i think it's posture, if your feet are not placed correctly, it's starting to break down the structure. like a faulty foundation for a building. >> what you need to do is add strength training. if you have -- like you said you do your pilates, anything that will cross train and make sure your knees are safe. >> and good shoes. >> yes. here's a good one. yoga is not a big calorie burner, truth or myth? >> myth. >> it is not -- it's a fact. o yoga is not. people might think it is, but really, you're only burning 237 calories in an average -- >> that's pretty good. >> say you ran for 50 minutes or did a spin class for 50 minutes, you're going to burn twice that amount of calories. if you're doing it for weight loss, great for stress reduction, strength, flexibility, but not like it's a huge calorie burner. >> yeah. >> in comparison to, you know, if you did a spin class for 50 minut minutes, you're going to torch a ton of calories. you should stretch before every workout? >> yeah. >> yeah. warm up and then -- >> depends what you're doing. >> you guys are -- >> caveat. >> you guys are great. >> it's not a black and white situation. >> this one is a myth. in a sense. you shouldn't do static stretches before you work out. that's a 30 second hold, you want to save that for after when your joints are loose and you can gain that flexibility. you want walking lunges, knee swings, anything that gets the blood flowing. >> when should you not stretch? >> don't do those holding stretches before you work out, save them for after. >> all right. good. >> here's one, too. you need to sweat for 45 minutes to get a health benefit. >> nah. >> i don't think so. >> you guys are right. that is a myth. they've shown 30 minutes a day, ten minutes a day is enough to get cardiovascular benefits. and when you break those up into ten-minute segments, you'll do more for your blood pressure. >> multitask. >> but if you really want to lose weight, you'll have to be active on most days of the week. at least 250 minutes of activity to lose weight. >> how about one more. >> skipping sleep can cause weight gain. >> sure. >> 100%. >> yep. >> you know, on average women who had slept less than seven hours gained weight. and here's the thing, even moderate sleep deprivation ups your body's hormone and that is what causes you to be hungry all day long. >> seven hours sounds like a lot. >> how could i have won when i -- >> we missed -- >> they didn't like my caveats. >> i waited to hear what she said and repeated it. i don't know how i could win. thanks so much. congratulations on timothy. >> timothy, 5 months. >> great to see you. coming up next, what do you think of this look for jessica alba? 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[ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort. so fashion trends come and go, but there's some rules that never go out of style. >> like to show some skin above a certain age or how to mix prints. >> well, there's one guy who knows style, it's this guy. he's the co-host of "fashion police" on e! breaking down the good, the bad and the ugly. also the author of "glams yorouy george." what was the inspiration behind this book, george? >> well, a lot of it was being on fashion police and every time someone looked fabulous, we would be like she looks like a movie star. we have reality stars that are wearing their dresses too small and heels too high. >> too shiny. >> i was trying to go back to the roots of movie stars and glamour. and just, you know, giving women ways to emulate that in all aspects of their life. hair and makeup, entertaining etiquet etiquette. >> cate blanchett is elegant and graceful. so just kind of bringing it that way and being accessible, as well. >> let's start with jennifer lopez. you only expose two body parts at once. >> at the max. >> jennifer is doing a super, super short skirt, which is a great way to go if you have great legs. woman at any age. we've been seeing sandra bullock and julia roberts doing the same thing. it's a great way to look sexy and elegant. >> right. >> and at a certain age, do you start limiting how much you show? >> yeah. you know, the legs -- >> yeah. the legs are the last to go. >> the last to go. when you got it, flaunt it. >> if you can't hide it, decorate it. absolutely. >> which i told you not to do. >> that's right. >> she wanted to wear these earrings. i was like, you don't need them. >> no, you've got a colorful blouse, take the earrings off. >> and you're gorgeous. >> thank you. >> jessica alba's a great way of how to mix prints. it's a big trend right now. and what you want to do is mix a larger print with a smaller print and that whey there's -- >> does it matter which top or bottom? >> no, i don't think it matters. >> that's hard to know. >> and keep it in the same color family. to to tones the same. >> and you say structure your clothing. >> yes, define the waist. and i've told mindy this at a dinner once. doesn't matter what size you are as long as you have a waist and it's visible and she loved that. >> yeah. you don't want a big tent. you don't want a shapeless shape. >> what about this dress? >> the printed one? >> a big print is the way to go on a red carpet, as well, because it just stands out more and this a-line fit and flare shape. it's a big look in the late '40s early '50s. a great way to go. >> finally, tell us about james marsden. >> i've got to applaud james for being bold. a lot of guys are afraid to do anything outside of the box. it's a bold checkered suit. i think for the, you know, for the guy at home watching it's easier to mix maybe the plaid jacket with the solid pants or vice versa. on james it works because he's a movie star. >> right. >> he's a cool guy. >> carries it off. >> he's not impeccably dressed as you are, al roker. >> thank you. >> putting me to shame. >> high praise indeed. "fashion police" airs friday at 9:00 pacific on e! or sister network. we're back in a moment. but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪ [ female announcer ] wherever morning brings you, bring the energy you need. nature valley soft-baked oatmeal squares. softly baked, made with hearty oatmeal and a drizzle of cinnamon. they're nature valley's take on a morning classic. because when you keep going, the morning can bring you to brand-new places. ♪ nature valley. nature at its most delicious. look who's here. >> hoda and jbh. >> jenna bush hager is here. kathie lee's in the sunshine we're in the snow. >> but we're fun. >> we're fun. good morning, everyone, 9:56, i'm scott mcgrew, two families on edge this morning after two seemingly random attacks. on sunday, he says a young man rang his doorbell and stabbed him in the thigh when he answered the door. it's not the first time something has happened, last year someone through paint on his daughter's car and slashed the tires. today investigators will record video recorded from the front of a train that hit two people in santa clara. it killed one man and seriously injured another. the train was likely moving close to 70 miles per hour when it hit the man. let's check our weather. good morning to you scott and to you at home. it's one of those days you may want to get outside. about five degrees away from your average in oakland already. the city by the bay will be 63 degrees there. elsewhere, i'm forecasting highs there in the 70s. the clouds will stream in, they're hugging the coastline, and that cool down will continue. here is mike inouye in your morning drive. >> look at this as you're coming to the bottom of your screen, ebb and flow through the area. there is a crash in the area around university and another one that is causing all of the late slowing. in the east bay a slower drive from east 580. now we have reports of a car fire or a car carrier with a car on the back on fire. sounds like it's making it's way up the freeway, but we will track it. >> we'll have a another news update for you in half an hour. ♪ ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good for me around ♪ ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired ♪ ♪ of craving something that i can't have ♪ ♪ turn around, barbara ♪ forever i've been praying for a snack in my life ♪ ♪ and now i have a brownie ending all of my strife ♪ ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. it is booze day, tuesday, january st, 2014 and kathie lee takes an awesome week to be in the sun. she's in l.a., she's going to florida. and jenna bush hager is here. >> i'm dealing with this beautiful weather outside. >> by the way, we do want to say that we feel like the snow was a sneak attack. because no one told us, okay? >> you told me. >> i told you this morning. honest honestly, i was gone for the weekend, came back and looked at the weather. they're talking -- usually these things are coming for days and days. >> they name is after something, blah, blah, blah. i had no idea. granted i was on the show yesterday, al did talk about it. i was listening, of course, i always ask him, you know, for personal advice, personal weatherman, but i had no idea that it was going to be this bad. >> how does your little daughter, does she enjoy the snow, is she into it when it happens? was she out in it last time it happened? >> no. she likes it. she looks up like what is this? but now you have all the accessories for the stroller, the sleeping bag, we have the plastic thing we put over the baby, like, she's a boy in a bubble, you know. we protect her from it. but maybe she'll -- what can she do in it? >> nothing. >> she can't move. >> how old is she now, by the way? >> 9 months. which means i was pregnant with her for as long as she's been alive. so in some ways i can't imagine life before. >> do you love waking up and seeing her and hugging her and -- >> oh, my gosh, she's the best thing in the entire world now. she's a real baby now. she has the legs and the cheeks. she always had the cheeks, but she has the real cheeks. >> i was in florida for the weekend. i traveled with my dog. you put the dog in a bag, and take it on the plane. it is terrifying. >> did you buy him a ticket though, right? >> you have to pay an extra 200 bucks. i was traveling solo on the way down and had the dog and i put him under the seat and the doctor said give him a baby benadr benadryl. >> oh, no. >> i was afraid. because have you ever taken -- >> i've never taken a baby benadryl. it makes you tired. >> for me, it does the opposite. benadryl makes me hyper. all i could think about when i was about to slip him the mickey, i'm like, he's going to be crazy on the flight and i'm not doing it. >> how was he? >> he was okay. you have anxiety because you face -- he's going to start barking, he's going to freak out, you have to get off the plane. delayed a few minutes and you think how long can we sit there? >> this is kind of cracking me up. i used to travel with my cat bernadette, a different story, but you put her in the bag underneath the seat, when you have a child, the amount of anxiety is way worse. because somebody -- nobody is like what a bad dog. but that puppy is so bad. people are, like, oh, look at your puppy. but a baby is wailing and screaming, it is on you as a parent. >> what do you do? >> luckily i have the perfect child. i don't worry about it. but you have -- no, no, no, no. >> how do you calm her down? what do you do? >> some people don't believe in the pacifier, but on a plane, i believe in that binky. it clears their ears because they're sucking. anyway. >> the weekend, i just learned about -- i didn't know this was so good. okay, wait. you got to watch it. i was on the plane and i was in the gym and what was on, vh1, it was so good. so i just want to show you a little clip. it was so excellent. alesha was trying to figure out who the leak was because somebody is ratting her out. so juicy. go. let's see it. >> the wiretap besides me, my husband and the attorneys. >> a few people. >> here we go again. alesha doesn't get the [ bleep ] that i live by which is i'm not giving anybody up, ever. besides it is all over staten island. there is other co-defendants on her case and everybody is talking. >> it is so good. if you're ever bored, put on mob wives. it is so juicy. would you watch it? i mean, they really go at it. >> the juice is crazy. you like those type of shows, the shows that make you feel bad about yourself afterwards? good about yourself afterwards? >> there is something about these women and i'm totally into it. they're like, did she cook the books and start talking about me? i'm into it. >> i'm scared, kind of. that's good. i'm going to watch it. >> did you ever -- never. >> no. >> did you watch football yesterday? >> i watched football. my husband has a fear of missing football, whatever that is -- which is great, and like it too, and i cooked nacho. i've been on a january detox and then meade a huge batch of nachos. >> what do you put on it? >> beans. mainly beans. and didn't feel so great yesterday morning, but that's a different story. maybe too much information. but i watched it and we stayed up for this crazy rant. >> this is weird. so you watched the seahawks play the 49ers yesterday, there was a play at the end of the game, this guy named richard sherman tipped the ball and it caused an interception and locked up the game for the seahawks. this game made a great play. you're like, good for him. look at him. then he does the choke signal for the quarterback, like he choked. then he wasn't finished, he decided to give an interview to erin andrews after the -- >> scared the socks off of anybody. >> let's listen. >> thank you so much. richard, let me ask you the final play, take me through it. >> i'm best one in the game. when you put me against a star receiver like crabtree, that's what you're going to get. don't you ever talk about me. >> who was talking about me? >> crabtree. don't open your mouth about the best. >> then he showered after all the ranting and he came back to the microphone again and again. like what is wrong with this guy? >> no, no. okay. i do have to say i love to follow up on who was talking about you. because they were playing football, right? they were in the middle of the game. even if crabtree was like, oh no, i lost, i didn't catch it, whatever he would have said. >> yeah, something. >> he didn't have to -- the man was running and playing. >> that also tells you, when you live in your own bubble, and you know you think people know when you're talking about, we don't know what you're talking about. this guy did later apologize and said -- >> he went to stanford. >> he has a communications degree. >> so clearly, here is what his apology said. i apologize for attacking an individual and taking the attention away from the fantastic game my -- by my teammates. that was not my intent. >> i can imagine him yelling like that had he lost. >> right. >> but sportsmanship, the man is going to the super bowl. >> he blew it. now you don't know who to root for. you know who you're rooting against. him. what is his name? sherman. richard sherman. that is his name. okay. let's talk about something more interesting to us. >> yes. >> katy perry. >> she talked to "gq". >> she said this one very interesting thing about when she was a little girl, she would lay down and look at her chest and wish and pray to god for a larger rack. for larger breasts. that's not what i was praying for when i was a small child, but we're all different. so -- >> she didn't want to see her feet. >> i'm like, please, see your feet. when i was pregnant, i was like, where are my feet? i saw her, i worked with unicef and saw her last year at the unicef ball and we have mutual friends and she came up to say hi. i was four months pregnant. squeezed into this dress, like you can't believe. like they were pulling me like i wasn't human. and i -- nobody knew i was pregnant and she came up and said, we have a mutual friend, nice to neat memeet you, and shd down and she goes boobs. and my sister said what did she say to you? she said boobs. later she saw my sister after i was pregnant and she said now i know why your sister had those boobs. i was pregnant. i felt so insecure. i'm like i'm going home. where is your blazer? >> speaking of squeezing into things, there is a new thing out that says if you wear shape wear, any of the brands you're familiar with, if you squeeze your body into those, you're actually doing real damage to your internal organs. they say shape wear compresses your stomach, can give you acid reflux, gas, bloating and heartburn and on your thighs, it can mess up one of your nerves and -- >> tingling in your legs. causes other things that aren't that pleasant. >> the grossest thing, it traps moisture which can lead to yeast infections. >> i hope nobody is having breakfast. that's really gross. >> and it only really -- i can't imagine it causes those kind of issues unless you -- >> are you wearing spanx right now? >> i'm wearing shape wear, like kleenex -- i'm wearing shape wear. >> me too. we wear this and we did nothing about it. >> didn't matter. >> what do you have going on there? what do you have going on? >> the truth is i'm doubling it up. i have the underwear and the stockings on top. i just had a baby. mm-hmm. i just had had a baby. i had to. >> a lot of you guys were on our facebook page asking us who was performing and singing the other day on friday. it was jennifer nettles from sugarland, richard marx singing the song "know you want to know." ♪ know you want to know >> this is her debut solo album. >> that was a lot of fun, too. >> she is so adorable. >> she is so cute. >> you know what today is? >> no. >> one of the best days to go grocery shopping. >> not in this weather. one of the secrets that supermarkets won't tell you, but we will. >> and we have the star from the show chuck and dexter, the very lovely yvonne stravosky. 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[ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your progress-oh! story on progresso.com. what does that first spoonful taste likok. honey bunches of oats. ching! mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal. if you're like a lot of people, you probably make a run to the grocery stores at least a kim of times a week. >> what if we told you the produce you're buying is older than you think? or some of the bulk discounts aren't really deals at all? >> this month's readers digest reveals the 50 secrets your grocer won't tell you. here to share a few of them is the editor in chief liz bacarello and grocery store consultant dan glickburg. how are you? >> get to the smell first. i remember being a little kid, loving the smell of the bakery and begging my mom for a doughnut. >> you smell the fresh baked bread or rotisserie chicken. they do this to get your senses going. the link between marketing and senses. if you're salivating you're more likely to buy more. why we don't go grocery shopping when we're hungry. >> there was a rumor going around the industry, believe it or not, there is a person taking the different scents from around the store and pumping them into the aisles. >> is that true? >> i don't know. maybe it is. maybe it isn't. >> some hotel chains use a chocolate chip cookie scent, you can buy those scents. >> makes you feel good. when you're happier -- >> order room service. >> just to make you hungry, to make you feel like you're in -- >> yeah, yeah. >> those are delicious. >> i was in publix the other day on saturday and i was getting a grocery cart and i swear to you, i had my hands here and you were trucking it down the aisle. it wasn't even at costco. >> so it is not your imagination, they are getting bigger. a chain a couple of years ago did a study and doubled the size of the grocery carts and found that people bought 19% more. so now, you know, they're in the business of making you buy more. >> you do. >> beawa aware. >> make a list. when you make a list and stick to your list, you'll buy what you want and won't come home with a shopping cart of things you had no intention of buying. >> and the promotions are huge, right? it is like, buy one, get ten. but you have to say, we have to be weary of those, right? >> this is one of those most efficient promotions, ten for ten. it really moves volume. but even when people aren't necessarily in the market for that kind of food, or they're used to paying less. 89 cent can of tuna fish, by ten for ten, you're paying more at the end of the day. >> that's the big thing. if you end up following these promotions, right, and you end up wasting food, you are doling out more money. so not like you're really saving. >> this is a weird thing. i go to the produce aisle, this was the one stat on the whole thing that grossed me out. >> gross. >> you said some of those apples have been sitting there for more than a year. >> 14 months old. >> yeah, one study showed that the average age of an apple was 14 months. >> wow. >> how is that possible? >> well -- >> you know what, here's the thing, if you're looking at apples there is two different growing seasons, the northern hemisphere growing season, now it is fall and winter, and southern hemisphere growing season, in the spring and summer. make sure that your apple is coming from the proper hemisphere, that way you know it was just picked. >> how do you know that? you have to do research on where it is from. >> the sticker will say, you know, argentina, new zealand. >> buy in season or buy organic. >> what about all the stuff they have on the counters, especially in whole foods is good at this, as you're getting close, like, oh, i need -- >> and then you buy. >> all the stuff you don't need. >> the end caps at the end of the aisles, a lot of people think those are specials and they're not. consumer packaged good companies have paid for that positioning. you're not getting a bargain if you buy it. and then we have the seafood. >> i like to cook fish. you say that some of that seafood you buy at the seafood aisle is actually previously frozen. >> yeah, absolutely. you always want to shop with your eyes. look at the sign, it will say in fine print, previously frozen, yes. one item is shrimp. you can rarely find shrimp that is actually fresh. shrimp, no problem going to the frozen case and buying it from there. >> we learned a lot. that's what we like about you. thank you. all right. when your temperatures drop, your heaters crank up. >> what you should know before you put that fireplace or wood stove to use. plus, an aussie beauty heating up the big screen. she was trying to do a dance. she was discouraged. it is yvonne strahovski. first, these messages. [ john sarrouf ] it's our mission at the family dinner project to support families in getting back to the table. one day we get this incredible call from cheerios saying "what about breakfast?" together we've created the family breakfast project to help families begin their day together over breakfast. chose prego homestyle alfredo over ragu classic alfredo. prego alfredo?! [ thinking ] why can't all new things be this great? ha ha! whoa! [ monkey squeals ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. cover the country in a dip called queso. made with creamy velveeta and rotel, a zesty blend of tomatoes and green chilies. hi there! we brought queso. ♪ they brought what? oh, wow! [ gasps ] [ laughs ] [ queen 1 ] just cube the velveeta. [ queen 2 ] and pour the rotel. look at that miracle. i love it! no. that's called a double! that's good luck. [ giggling ] it's so good. no. you discover an exciting thcombination of tastes. rich, dark chocolate covering soft centers flavored with exotic fruit juices like pomegranate, goji with raspberry, and acai with blueberry. it's chocolate like you've never experienced it before. discover brookside. what does that first spoonful taste likok. honey bunches of oats. ching! mmmm! mmmm! mmmm! wow! it's the oats. honey. yeah. honey bunches of oats. this is a great cereal. all right, most people in hollywood spent countless years knocking on doors hope for a big break, but not the australian born beauty yvonne strahovski. >> three days after arriving in l.a., she landed the role of sarah walker on nbc's spy series "chuck" which led her to play then on "dexter". >> now she's electric figfying audiences on the big screen in "i frankenstein." first of all, talk about the midas touch you have, i'm sorry. you move to l.a., get the gig on "chuck." got "dexter," get this great movie. you must sort of feel like, wow, something is going on here. >> it is very good. i kind of call it my little fairy tale story. i didn't anticipate living here so soon, but i sort of walked off the plane. it was -- i got very lucky, very lucky. >> three days. >> yeah. >> afterwards. could you believe it? >> it sort of hasn't hit me until all those years later because everything happened so fast. and i just thank god i was so naive and didn't know what anything meant about the industry. >> you've done tv. this is -- "i, frankenstein," you play an interesting character but we don't really know what you are. >> well, i felt the same way when i read the script. i didn't really know what an electrophysiologist was. it has to do with the heart and how the heart works in the human body. went in one ear for the duration of the movie and it exited out the other ear. >> gone. >> but i did know what i was doing while i was doing it. >> that's good. that's always very important. >> that's all that matters. >> a cool cast and a lost stunts and stuff in the trailer. how about for you? did you have to do anything? >> not too much. it was a nice departure from having wrapped up the series "chuck," very action-based and lots of stunts, coming into something more mellower for me. i did a couple of things. a bit of wire work, but wasn't anything i wasn't used to. >> and fans of "24," which there is some very -- >> diehards. >> diehards out there, will be excited because you're in "24" reboot. >> all happening very fast. i'm moving -- well, moving to london to shoot it this week. and i'm really excited. with kiefer, met him last week. he's great. judy davis will be on the show as well. it is really great. limited season and -- >> what will you have to take on in "24". >> i'm going back to american. i almost said british, but -- >> you're american in "dexter," american in "chuck". >> what you do an american accent who do you think about? >> i think it comes naturally, most australians grow up with american television. >> can you copy hoda? >> by the way, we got you a -- she ordered these. go ahead, we're ready. >> i'm just going to start talking in my american accent from now on and we'll do the interview like this. >> oh, my gosh, you really can do it perfectly. now, let's hear your australian. australian. >> god, no. >> thank you so much for joining us. cheers. "i, frankenstein" in theaters on friday. >> and hoda and i get ready to drink lots of wine. >> we'll [ female announcer ] how do you eat your eggo? ♪ you can start with the syrup, pour it on top, maybe not ♪ ♪ apple chunks and cinnamon and honey if you got ♪ ♪ bring on the chocolate spread ♪ ♪ somethin' green, somethin' blue, somethin' orange, somethin' red ♪ ♪ ham and egg, tomato sandwich ♪ cut it nice and do some damage ♪ ♪ cream cheese, pomegranate ♪ make it look like jack or janet ♪ ♪ x's and o's and a tic tac toe ♪ ♪ you can fill in the holes, let the syrup flow, yeah ♪ ♪ stack it, snack it, maybe you can bend it ♪ ♪ you can slice it up and dice it up ♪ ♪ and big it up and friend it [ female announcer ] there are millions of ways to eggo! try one of our fun recipes on facebook... and eggo your way! ♪ just l'eggo my eggo and eggo your way! we really you know? take a relaxingjust to unwind.a. but we can only afford one trip this year, and his high school reunion is coming up in seattle. everyone's going. then we heard about hotwire... and realized we could actually afford to take both trips. [woman] see, when really nice hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so we got our 4-star hotels for half price. i should have been voted "most likely to travel." ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com book with our app for an additional... $25.00 off your next hotel. good morning, breaking news in shoes. the shoes s.w.a.t. team in a stand off with a suspect. this is near san jose city college. officers are trying to coax the suspect out with a loud speaker, we will bring you the latest in our 11:00 newscast. also, a man taken into custody after an early morning break in in a strip mall. he broke into a medical marijuana store early this morning. they were able to talk the suspect down from on sop of an elevator inside the shaft. more weather and traffic coming up. welcome back, now temperatures today are going to end up in the 70s, 69 in san francisco. you'll notice it's kind of choppy out there on the bay. we're seeing more of an onshore flow. great news for air quality. we're headed towards a bit of a cool down. getting into the next couple days a few changes i want to tell you about. by enz, a cloudy start to the day. we're targeting two opportunities for rain, next tuesday and the first full week of february. we'll watch for those developments, we have lanes all of the way off to the right, and those are the ones stacked up. the metering lights are still on. as we look at the happens we have a big slow downright now. the earlier car carrier had a fire, one of the tires on that truck had a problem. and then i think it cleared from the roadway and it looks like the fire is out. a smooth drive overall, not a big deal. . we're back with more of "today" on this booze day, tuesday, with me is jenna bush hager filling in while kathie lee is taking a few days in the sun. >> she's the smart one. even though it is one of those days where we just wish we could cuddle up with a log on the fire and wrap up in a cozy blanket. you could use a blanket. >> since fireplaces and electric heaters are getting their fair share of uses, we brought in home improvement expert and home of "home wizard" eric stromuhr, here to tell you the best ways to keep warm and safe without overspending. >> it is freezing in here. my goodness! >> talk to us. when you have a fire, you think to yourself, let's heat up the house, throw a few logs on. is this a great way to warm it up? >> you have to be careful. understand how the flue works. the flue is the device in the chimney that opens and closes and allows the smoke to come out. the way to check if it is working, put a flashlight up, if you see daylight, it is open. you know that position, so you could have it open to start a fire. >> don't you light a piece of paper and see if the smoke goes up? >> you can do that. and check with fireplace maintenance once a year, make sure there isn't creosote buildup. >> and the logs, there are these kinds of logs that hoda goes for, that are easy. >> all made of organic materials. they produce less tommexins int the atmosphere. and hard and seasoned wood, things like walnut, oak, hard woods burn much better, more dr in season. >> i've seen the glass ones and the netting ones, the covers. >> the fire screen keeps the embers from bursting out and setting fire to the floor or the carpeting. also about the glass doors, you leave those open when the fire is on and had it is dying down, close them, keeps the heat in the house. otherwise the fireplace is inefficient, sucks the heat out of the house. this is a great example of a fire. newspaper underneath and dry seasoned hard wood on top and kindling below. and it gives you the ability to start quickly and start the fire to make it look like the one we have behind us. >> okay. >> and then also when lighting fires, i want you to always consider using longer lighters, longer fireplace matches to get away from the fire. so you're not so close and setting your eyebrows on fire. you can do that, but it is risky. >> is that the way you want to do it? okay. maybe we shouldn't light a fire with hoda. >> and gas fireplaces, they usually come with a pipe that comes from the wall and provides utility and gas from the company. it shoots out these little holes. and then a lot of people just light these -- this open exposed gas and that's when it goes -- and that's when the eyebrows go. >> not a good idea. >> have a device that sparks and then lights that way, rather than you manually lighting it. >> nobody wants their eyebrows burned off. >> no, we like our eyebrows. this is a beautiful example of a wood burning stove, an old pot bellied stove but modernized. and this company makes a great design. fashion forward, fits and radiates like crazy. this is another example of a way to -- to heat. it is called pellets. pellets are compressed hard woods that are just like this, exactly. and then there is a system inside one of the fireplaces that deposits when it needs it and burns really efficiently and cleanly. >> are those popular, by the way? >> really popular, especially here in the northeast. because it radiates heat. >> first i've seen it right now. this is important for jenna. >> i had an apartment and we have a lot of space heaters because it is very cold and including one in my baby's room. so i got the note last night and i had to take a lot of deep breaths, because i'm afraid that -- these are very dangerous. >> they're very dangerous if they're close to combustible materials. now, if they tumble over, they definitely stop and they won't be heating anymore. >> all of them do? >> get a ceiling fan and move that heated air around the apartment because that will just take it from one location to another, especially up, heat rises, get that heat coming back down again. >> so i need to put a fan in my frozen apartment. >> that was great. all right. >> you like these types? >> infrared heater and ceramic heater, both fantastic, remotes on them. >> thank you very much. sweet and handsome man. we lit the fire, time to uncork the wine. >> wile spill the secret to getting the perfect sip. 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[ male announcer ] new deliciously simple from i can't believe it's not butter! with 100% taste and zero artificial preservatives. it's time to...believe. with 100% taste and zero artificial preservatives. in a perfec wow!ld every man would look wow!john stamos and in a perfect world, what's delicious would be healthy too. wish granted. dannon oikos greek nonfat yogurt sounds too good to be true... it's thick, creamy but 0% fat and twice the protein this is really is too good to be true! dannon oikos greek nonfat yogurt. and now a new greek lowfat yogurt made just for kids. danimals superstars. your kids will love it! mmmm ♪ dannon. when you just know.ne... new almay smart shade makeup made it easy with just three skintone-adjusting shades to choose from... not hundreds. new almay tonemimic technology intuitively transforms to your skintone. almay smartshade. it's my one...and only. ♪ [ male announcer ] old el paso frozen entrées. now in freezers. we love our wine around here. we apparently have been drinking it all wrong. according to the wall street journal, which recently ran a story about oddly shaped stem we ware, please pay attention. >> you can't appreciate the true taste of the bouquet, the wine, if it is not in the right glass. >> we're going to test our pallets with the help of alyssa rap, the ceo of bottle notes incorporated. before we get started, the whole idea of this thing is wine and champagne and everything tastes different depending on the glass it is in? >> it matters. if the wine matters, so does the glass. a great stem will enhance the taste of the experience for a $10 of wine or $100 bottle of wine. >> we have our stations. what are we doing? >> we start with the champagne, right? >> starting with the sparkling wine will awaken your pallet and get your taste buds going. look at this long, beautiful stem. flutes like this are great for two reasons. you can watch the bubbles dance and taste it. see what happens. >> they are dancing. that's for sure. >> and they continue to dance on your pallet that's why a long beautiful stem -- >> delicious. so what's this? >> this is a blanco glass -- >> i thought we were supposed to see if -- >> is this the same champagne? >> it is. >> the long one is better. >> shape matters. >> you're saying it matters. >> it does. all three of these stems have different shapes as you'll see. so this glass -- >> this is a white wine. >> this is a white wine and you want to hold it by the stem. that's the beauty of the stem. it will help avoid heating the wine. >> if i hold it by the stem, i'm always afraid i'm going to drop it. >> you're not. >> okay. >> but this glass is versatile for lots of types of white wine. and this red wine glass -- >> hold on. i thought we want to taste the bad one. >> we just enjoy drinking. >> i taste a difference. >> i didn't as much on that one. okay. >> but the red -- the red is unmistakable, hoda. look at this glass. gorgeous. >> you can hold this one -- >> prefer not to. >> prefer not to. >> the beauty of the rim, the fluted lip -- >> this is as big as hoda's head. look at it. >> not as big. i have a head as big as willard scott's. >> it makes it easy for your mouth and nose to be in the glass. it is gorgeous. now compare that to the much smaller stem, much different tasting experience. >> let's see. >> the big one is much better. >> it really is better. >> i'll carry the big. >> you've been saying you've been drinking wine out of the wrong glass. i do too. i've been drinking out of wine tumbl tumblers. that's the worst, right? >> how expensive is this kind of glass? >> a great stem is often about $50 a stem. just because it is for one glass, but though it is an investment up front, it is still dishwasher safe, unleaded, still practical to have. >> you can put an inexpensive wine in an expensive glass. >> like the best version of itse itself. >> the other thing we're talking about -- >> you want to talk about stem ware -- >> i love this kind of glass. they don't break as easily. >> it can be helpful. the problem with stemless, as we're talking about, if you hold the glass like that, it is heating up the glass of wine. >> can't just put an ice cube in there. >> not recommended. >> you can. >> my grandma used to do that. >> we have to scoot. we can't get to the very end. by the way, all great ideas, great article in "the wall street journal." thank you for coming. >> thanks so much. >> we have our wine. how about a little mach? >> find new instruments easy enough for anyone to play. >> which includes us, which is frightening, after this. ♪ and you said no phones. the vacation you've been looking for is here. come and take it, universal orlando. ladies, we need to talk... ... about haircolor. it's garnier nutrisse nourishing color creme. rich, radiant... ravishing color! nutrisse nourishes while it colors. plus it has avocado, olive, and shea oils. garnier nutrisse. nourished hair, better color ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] with five perfectly sweetened whole grains... you can't help but see the good. leave a billion dollars behind. we'd love to shower it down on you from a big ol' blimp, but maybe just... ...come into block. get your billion back,america. spice is the spice at hillsof life.m that's why our craftsmen seasoned every sausage perfectly. so you can coax out great flavor effortlessly. hillshire farm beacuse it's worth doing right. there's a reason our slow roasted turkey taste so fresh. seconds after carving, we not only seal every slice, we double seal it. the results are something to savor. hillshire farm beacuse it's worth doing right. all right, if you've ever thought of taking up an instrument, but you have no musical ability -- >> like me. or you're looking for new family fun, now is your chance. >> the big music show called nam is being held in anaheim, california. here with a preview of the hottest new instruments that are easy to use is antoinette fole. is it as easy as it seems? >> anyone can start playing music at any age. >> any age? i love that. >> a variety of instruments. this week at the nam show in anaheim. >> these are the hottest ones, right? >> easy to play, hot new instruments. >> talk to us about this first one. >> this is the air board. very popular internationally with musicians on the jazz scene. blow into it and play the key. ♪ >> that's beautiful. >> it takes a little practice. >> you got some notes. >> very lightweight and easy for children to pick up and start playing. >> cute. ukuleles, i can't believe they're still around. >> ukulele sales have doubled in the last five years. artists like taylor swift, jason mraz, pick it up and play. watch a couple of you tube videos and you'll be started. a social instrument. >> my sister gave my daughter one of these, a little baby guitar and she tried to play the stone temple pilots song she learned in the eighth grade on it. >> they stand up. they can be an accessory in your living room. >> okay. what's this? >> this is the most unique percussion instrument. you have to pick it up. it has an internal -- >> what do you do with it? >> you just tap it. the sound is made by converting the percussion to sound waves. >> are you supposed to dance with it? >> do whatever you want. >> and it is -- >> you can take it anywhere, it is so light. >> i think we should start a noodle band. >> you got to play more. >> what do you do with it? >> touch it. >> everybody is like -- >> rhythm. >> everybody at home is -- >> this is very simple. this is a star trek vulcan harp. >> we have been so bad at the last one. we did so bad at the last one, they turned the sound down on this one. >> i thought they would be miked up. you can strum or pluck. >> plucking different instrument sounds, dreamy sounds to, you know, realistic -- >> they turned it off. they turned it off. >> one of the best things is -- whoops. >> okay. >> maybe we should move on to the deejay. >> do they have candy crush on here? >> keep walking. keep walking. you're an addict. >> i love candy crush. >> this is the atmosphere nexus this is a deejay controller. and a keyboard. >> what do you do? >> you touch it. it has the notes -- >> do we have music? >> rhythm, hold it down. you'll hear the sound. you can do some sampling. >> can we put in a song? >> it looks like a soccer ball but sounds like a dance studio. >> no, it is all here. you just play, holding the sound. >> is that me or you? >> that's you. let's do a beatoff. you first. three, two, one. >> now, ready for me? >> go with me, go with me. with me. >> i am with you. ♪ >> did you turn mine off? >> yes, yours is off. >> that is so unfair. the new girl gets hers turned off. >> you get the sound -- >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> all right, we have the music, we had the wine. all that is left is dinner. >> yes, comfort food for our perfect night like tonight. the cold night. >> but first, this is "today" on nbc. >> mine didn't work. it is time to take you into today's kitchen for a delicious way to stay warm inside when it is bitter cold outside. >> that's right. and today we're makininining br brisket. >> this is what you want to eat when it is cold outside this will warm you up on the inside. i have a beautiful brisket here. keep the fat on it now. we'll take it off later. this will make it nice and juicy. >> anything special you should tell the butcher or give me a chunk. >> a chunk of brisket. three pound piece. a little paprika. pepper. we'll put a little -- we'll put the whole thing on. we'll go like that. >> you don't put all the salt on there. >> no, no, no. we want to let that sit. if you have 30 minutes before cooking, let it sit. it will season it and be beautiful. over here, i'll make you a bouquet garnier, a fancy word for a little herb bundle. >> what's in there? >> rosemary, thyme and fresh bay leaves. >> got it. >> double knot for me. >> put it right on top of there? >> put it right in the pot. >> in the pot. >> i have onion. we're making a mess here. that's okay. we're going to make a little mess but it will taste good in the end. this is how it goes in my kitchen for real. >> you got a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of the pan. >> and more important, i brown that meat in this pan, i have the drippings which give it incredible flavor. >> it smells amazing. >> and a little bit of salt. and when you're done, you let this cook for five minutes and you get this. >> look. >> that's it. >> all done. magic. we did it earlier. this is important. i'll add the garlic right now. >> slivers. >> slivers. >> and to maft mato paste. this gives the sauce body, gives it a little bit of sweetness and want to brown that tomato paste like you're doing. that's perfect. >> okay. >> and then we're going to add the meat back into the pan. >> add the meat. >> barely -- >> yes. thank you, jenna. >> i did not witness that. >> lucky for you. okay. >> what we want to do, you want to put the wine in first. see where it comes up to the meat. and then just add enough water so that the liquid comes halfway up the meat. too much water and the sauce won't be strong enough. so that's perfect. and then we put this in the oven, cover it, put it in the oven and it will take three hours. turn it every 30 minutes so it cooks evenly and then this is what you get. >> can we taste it? >> yes. jenna, will you carry this back for me? >> you knew i would spill it, didn't you? >> put it right here. i'll show you guys how to make the perfect accompaniment for brisket. fresh, bright with flavor. not yet. let me show you one thing. i'll show you how to clean it. >> have you ever seen kale before? >> kale before, but never cleaned it. >> so -- >> i've seen it in the bags. >> you can buy it. but if you want to get the fresh stuff, the cool thing, take the kale, take the rip like this and then it pulls right off. >> 30 seconds, so -- >> you can see it is already done. you just saute it, i've got anchovy garlic, red pepper, hoda start serving up that meat. >> okay. >> you tell me what you think. you can see how the sauce cooked down. delicious, right? >> you did it again. >> that's what you get if you saute this for a few seconds. >> i wish everybody could be in here. >> this is the perfect thing to eat. >> so delicious. >> thank you so much. if you want the recipe, it is on our website, klgandhoda.com. tomorrow, home improvement ideas from a celebrity couple. >> we'll get you ready -- excuse me. i choked on t right now at 11:00, breaking news. a standoff with a man accused of trying to steal on officer's gun. >> plus information on a deadly shooting in oakland, why officers open fired on the suspect. >> and a suspect caught in an awkward place, where officers found him after three hours of hiding. nbc bay area news starts now. good morning, everyone, i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm peggy bunker. we begin with breaking news this morning. a san jose s.w.a.t. team was in a stand off with a man accused of attacking an officer. th
to keep recenting for gun safety. this as he prepares to console the families of yet another mass shooting. nra is calling for layers of security around our military bases. >> new calls from the nra following the navy yard shooting. is it time for a different approach to mental health care? and maylessons learned. we begin in kenya where a teps military operation is currently under way. at this hour, several of the gurn men that stormed the westgate shopping mall appear to still be inside the building along with a number of hostages. the kenyan government says 59 people are dead and 175 injured. and that number could still rise. al shabaab is claiming responsibility. joining me by phone, rohit. what is happening on the ground where you are? >> reporter: well, mara, it's around 10:00 p.m. here, so it's late. it's raining heavily and there has certainly been fresh activity through the evening, fresh eruptions of gunfire. explosions were heard after a relatively peaceful day. reporters move far away, so difficult to get a vantage point. but certainly in the last few hours, there has been increased activity. presidential officials have been speaking about a plan to successfully neutralize a terrorist. what's not clear is that's what we've been listening to. and officials have also been saying that an operation is under way to end the siege tonight, what's not clear is whether that is bravado from the authorities here. or whether there is something more to that. certainly it has been another bloody day. the death toll has risen official figures saying 59 dead and hundreds of injured. and the make shift hospitals right around nairobi, the kenyan capital, make shift wards have been set up, people called on to donate blood. very tense and worry across the city. but there is a sense of unity. people coming together in the face of this threat of al shabaab terrorism. >> and as you mentioned, al shabab is claiming responsibility. do we know why? >> what we're piecing together in part, apparently said to belong to al shabaab says that they are blaming the kenyan government for its encroachment into somalia for flushing out or attempting to flush out, using its own army, militants over the border in neighboring somalia which tar geskgeted specificall shabaab. they say this is revenge. many people in the expay the tr and ngo community. and i was there a few months ago and there was certainly heightened security there, but clearly no real fears of this level of terrorism. >> all right. rohit, thanks so much for that report and please be careful there. the white house and state department have said they are closely monitoring the situation. joining me for the latest, democratic new york congressman elliott engel, ranking member of the house committee on foreign affairs. what do we know right now about the motivation for this attack? >> well, it's only what we assume. kenya has been very helpful in the war on terrorism and a lot of kenyan soldiers are next door in somalia's african union force. and this could be retribution for that. we don't know. but it's quite possible that it is. >> and was there any intelligence prior suggesting that an attack was imminent? >> i'm not a waiver any if there was. others might know better. but we were not aware of any specific attack. i met with the president of somalia the day before yesterday and he's trying very hard, also, to clean up his country. of course al qaeda has been known for its brutally all throughout somalia. and kenya as i mentioned has been very active with other countries in the affarican unio and the new leadership in somalia obviously wants to move ahead with democracy and somalia for all intents and purposes has essentially been a failed state due to the al shabab movement and al qaeda forces. >> so abc this morning, congressman peter king of the homeland security committee compared this attack to the 2008 bombings in will mumbai. let's take a listen. >> really in a well coordinated, well planned horrific massacre, they attacked at the busiest time of the week, busiest time of the day, they knew what they were doing. so this is again very similar to mumbai and showing al qaeda and its affiliates are still extremely powerful and still able to really strike terror into the hearts of people. >> like mumbai, this was a coordinated attack on a soft target. are you concerned that we might see more attacks like this globally and even here at home? >> i'm always concerned. terrorism rears its ugly head. al qaeda is trying to recover. we've obviously got them on the run. but there are other organizations like al shabab and others who have common ground with al qaeda. it's almost like the wac-a-mole game. they rear their ugly heads and you have on-tto smack them down. we always have to keep one step ahead and it's difficult to do obviously. i do agree with pete king about that. >> congressman, thank you so much for your time. later today, the president will be attending a memorial service for the victims killed in monday's navy yard shooting. on nbc's "meet the press" this morning, nra chief wayne lapierre said the massacre could have been prevented if there had been more armed personnel at the base and if the gun man's mental health had been taken more seriously. >> the whole country knows the problem is there weren't enough good guys with guns. when the good guys got there, it stopped. what really happened here, the mental health will situation in the country is in complete breakdown. >> joining me now is democratic arizona congressman ron barber who was an aide to gabrielle giffords and was shot alongside her in tucson. he now holds her seat. thank you so much for being here, sir. >> very nice to be with you. >> i want to address some of lapierre's comments. we know that alexis the shooter in this case actually got an additional firearm by taking it from a security officer that he had just shot. so what's your reaction to the lapierre assertion that this shooting and others could be prevented if more people had guns? >> well, i will respond to your question, but let me, first of all, if i may say how much -- how heartsick i am about what happened a week ago. my family have been through this, the families of the people that lost loved ones in tucson have been through this, we know the pain and grief that's going on and i want to stepped stepp my condition dole lenses. as to the question about good guys with govern, i don't know if that's the answer. i'm focused on two parts. on the mental health piece and then on the background check.'m. on the mental health piece and then on the background check.f . i'm focused on two parts. on the mental health piece and then on the background check.th. i'm focused on two parts. on the mental health piece and then on the background check. i think we can move forward on both of those and i have a bill in play in the house, it has a companion piece in the senate called mental health first aid act which really is an attempt to increase public knowledge and awareness of mental health issue so is we can get people into treatment before something terrible happens because they're melting dupe own or going over edge. we can treat people well and we just needed to make sure we identify them and get to them earlier than we have in the past. >> in politico this week, rich lowry wrote no gun reform bill proposed so far could have prevent the navy yard shooting. the toomey/manchin bill could have passed unanimously. gun control could have achieved the goal of barring the private purchase of happened governd gu step would have been unimpeded. what do you make of that? >> i think we can't just say that there is nothing to be can done. i think we have to take action. we have now had several shootings since the one that i was involved in when myself and congresswoman giffords and several other people were wounded and six died in tucson, we he have to look at every part of this problem and try to tackle it. for me, i think getting a good handle on how we help people with mental health problems is one step. i do believe we need to make sure that anyone within that gro groups people that are not supposed to have guns don't get guns through a background check that works. because of what i saw aw in tuc and since then, virtually every one of these shootings, there has been a person who should have gotten treatment, and either didn't or wasn't properly treated. and that led them on doing something that was very violent and tragic. and i would just point out that 95% of people in this country who will have a mental illness never will commit a violent act. they're much more likely to be victims. but for that small group that is potentially going in that direction, to becoming a danger to themselves or others, that's the group we need to help. the mental health first aid bill that i have introduced in the congress with significant bipartisan support, now up to 52 co-signers on the bill, it will begin to educate first responders, educators and others who come into contact with people who are displaying mental health symptoms and know what they're seeing and know how to get services and deescalate a crisis. it's just one important step in the right direction in the area of mental health. and we have to restore the funding that has been cut. we've almost cut $2 billion out of mental health services over the last few years. we have to put it back if we're going to get treatment to people who need it. >> congressman, thank you for your time and sharing your feelings. up next, we'll bring you the latest on the ongoing stand over in kenya. also ahead, back here at home, eight days left to avoid a government shutdown. how the president took republicans to task last night. >> it is more streamlined and more user friendly. >> just the library of today. and from paper to pixels. the new library with 10,000 titles, but not a single book. it's today's big idea. 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[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. i will do everything necessary and anything possible to defund obamacare. >> he has everybody worked up. >> top letting ted cruz set our agenda. >> this law is not worth causing a shutdown over. >> we're not going to let anyone especially flikt economic pain on millions of our own people just to make an ideological point. >> i can't win this fight. >> people like ted cruz who as far as i'm concerned carrying out a fraud with the people. >> only you can win this fight. public battle over government shutdown and obamacare continues today. and let's get right to our brain trust for more on that. esther is a political commentator. victoria is a professor. and peter is a senior editor at reason magazine. thank you all for being here. so peter, i want to start with you. at last night's congressional black caucus dinner, the president lit into republicans for their actions. let's take a listen. >> we have come too far. we've overcome far darker. well not negotiate over whether or not america can keep its word and meet its obligations. >> peter, has the president engaged in enough of this kind of rhetoric, countering the republican narrative that all of his initiatives are bad for the country and at this point is it too little too late? >> well, i don't know that the president has to do a whole lot here to prevent republicans from prevailing in their quest to defund obamacare. it's a really odd kind of situation in which republicans are pushing this. but there really isn't an end game. even if you're a critic of obamacare, it's hard to figure out what the end strategy is here. there is an element of the fantastic in which republicans say let's defund obamacare even though we don't have the vote, even though the senate is not going to agree to this. the white house is not going to agree to this. president obama has been very clear on this. and so the question here is not so much i think whether obama could or should be doing more, but what in the world are republicans doing, what are they thinking here. >> and victoria, the bill to fund the government and defund obamacare is in the hands of the senate thousand where it's expected to fail. but texas republican senator ted cruz had a message for his senate colleagues and house republicans. take a listen. >> senate republicans, it's now our turn to uhe a unify and sta together. this may end up going to the house and i fully believe the house will tip the fight. >> will cruz own this if it turns into a disaster? >> he will absolutely own it. i think he already has put his stamp on it. but i think when we're talking about the in-accept difference he incentive here, it's a longer term incentive. so i disagree that the end game isn't necessarily defunding obamacare. they know that won't happen. i think they have the eye on the 2014 midterm election because there are a couple of very tight senate races especially with four moderate democrats who know that if they vote to support obamacare, that they may lose their seat because of that. mary landrieu in louisiana so i think they know this is just rhetoric, but they're pumping up the base so they come out in force in 2014. >> and esther, is this really all about individual political survival? >> i think it's a combination of that, but i also think we're at the point where president obama's rhetoric needs to be matched with a strategy by the democrats to inform the american people about the ways in which obama care is going to serve them. because i agree with francesca the end game is actually keeping an eye on the election. 2014 in the short run, 2016 in the longer term. and the trouble is with cruz and his fellow crazies racking up that cacophony of nonsense, what you don't have is the equivalent of the american people even understanding what obamacare is. so what you need is not president obama's continued rhetoric. we have heard that. it's the strategy on the ground so people can understand how obama care can serve them so that come 2014, they have something real and tangible that they can hang on to to to say, hang on, this serves me. so this political strategy didn't just fail, this is a political rhetoric that wanted me, my family, my community to not have access to health care which they already have. >> so peter, when it comes to the communication strategy, is that what needs to happen, do we need to have more voices expressing the opposing point of view when we hear so much from the right about why obamacare they think will destroy the country? >> i think conservatives are not doing themselves any favors here and you can see that even within the conservative anti-obama care activists, within the republican party, there are a lot of conservatives who are concerned that the cruz defund strategy will hurt republicans in 2014, that an extended shutdown which is in fact what a number of the activists pushing this strategy are hoping to get to will actually backfire and cost them seats. >> and i want to switch gears. you produced a documentary in cane i can't. as kenya. what are your thoughts about the crisis in nairobi? >> my heart goes out to all the peoplewhat are your thoughts abe crisis in nairobi? >> my heart goes out to all the people still in the standoff. westgate, which is the mall where the gunmen are holding people hostage is in a district which is a moneyed space. so you're talking about a population that is part of the tourism economy and the tourism economy is the second biggest economy in kenya. had this happened for example in the biggest slum, there would not be these national global headlines and this kind of sense of unity around nairobi. so we're watching global terrorism understand that the targets are about the hierarchy of life. and so you're looking at american lives, british lives. british have a very important relationship with kenya. of course we know president obama's roots are in kenya, although he's a different tribe. and so i think it's important to understand the geopolitical reality and the way in which the hierarchy of life is being measured. >> and we will certainly of course to follow the developing story. thanks so much. and our brain trust will be back with us later in the show. don't go far. we'll talk to you more later in the hour. take a look at this. earlier today, a small plane made an emergency landing in the middle of downtown chicago. the single begin plane touched down on the lake shore drive. pilot had discovered a problem with the tail. >> i said this is it, but i still had control of the aircraft, so i called o'hare tower and told them i'm putting it on lake shore drive just north of buckingham fountain. >> according to police, the plane may have hit a car on the roadway, but amazingly and thankfully nobody was hurt. and. accomplishing even little things can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. 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i'm joined by evan coleman. what may have made westgate a target for a terrorist attack? >> premly becau primarily becau doesn't have that many targets to go after. they're fighting a military with much more advanced weaponry. and their response was to say, listen, we won't try to fight you on an uneven battlefield, we'll try to go after soft target thas that you can't defe. and there were concerns about grenade and other machine govern attacks at soft targets. there was a fire at the airport and it wasn't clear at first whether that was terrorism related. so that illustrates the issue. kenyan infrastructure is not well guarded. al shabaab knows that, they made a i want above saying they would go after it and now it appears they have. >> and these things often feel very far away until they show up on our shores. do we have any concerns about al shabab activity here in the u.s.? >> 100% yes. it's probably arguably the most effective at recruiting u.s. nationals even more so than al qaeda. we've seen cells pop up in a variety of places. places like minneapolis, san diego, seattle, washington. these are not locations that are generally associated with high levels of terrorist activity, but it these are the hubs for al sha possible activity inside the united states and it extends here to the east coast. wherever there is somali ex-patriot community, there is a handful involved. it's not representative of somalis in general. most are opposed to this. but there are some people heerks we've seen americans go over and fight in so he mal kra. an american national from alabama who was not even of somali origin was just killed in somali last week after getting in a fight with his former al a sha b al shabab allies. so there are even rumors and its he unconfirmed, but rumors that u.s. nationals might have been involved in taking part in the nairobi attack. so we'll have to watch closely to see whether that pans out. >> evan coleman, thanks so much for your perspective. switching gears, new yorkers will soon have a new mayor for the first time in 12 years. michael bloomberg of course stepping down after three terms. there have been four mayors in the city's history that have served that long. new york, though, has only had one african-american mayor and that is david contindinkins. his memoir has just been released. mayor, thank you so much for being here. >> i'm dlelighted to be with yo. >> your career started in the military, you joined the marines in the last days of world war ii. what made you want to write this book now? >> others have written of me and i don't always agree with their perspective. and i recognize that history will record things a little differently than contemporary reporters. and i thought that i ought to make my contribution. so friends have been after me for some time and so i agreeded finally that i would write a book. >> and one of the standout moments of your career and a great moment in the book is when you brought nelson mandela yankee stadium. you can tell me about that? >> well, bill lynch, who died tragically very recently, was a dear friend and he was one of my deputy mayors. and he was insistent that we get nelson mandela to come here and this is the first place he came here once he was released from prison out side of the republican of south africa. and so we did a lot of things. we had a ticker tape parade, he stayed with my wife and me in gracie mansion. i'm fond of recounting the story of how i thought he was too tall for this bed in some small suite. and my wife said, no, he'll fit. and i said, no, i don't think so. and i realize later why i had this fear. he did fit, but i looked at a photograph of him and bill clinton. and clinton is slightly taller. then i realized that in my mind, nelson mandela was 10 feet tall. he was a bull mawonderful man. >> if we could turn to the mayoral race today. we saw an odd in some terms democratic primary. what do you make of what you've seen over the last few months? >> well, i assusupported bill thompson last time against mike bloomberg as well as this time. but the ultimate winner, bill de blasio, is a friend, also. worked with us in gracie, in city hall. and his wife was one of my speech writers and worked in the press office. she made me sound intelligent. so i'm delighted. and i think he'll be a fine mayor. >> and one of the issues that a lot of the democratic candidates for mayor in new york talked about during the primary season was the fact that new york city is now slowly becoming a city exclusively for the ultra rich. it's an issue of helping the middle class survive and that's really an issue we're seeing nation we'd. what are your thoughts on that, in helping the middle class to be able to make wages that they can live on so they can survive in this city and across the country? >> i think it's imperative that we do. we can't long survive as a nation if we don't care about the least among us. this is an observation dr. king made a long timinge ago. so it is important. and it can be done. moreover, the failure to take care of people who are poor, who need our help, really costs us more in the long run. we have today more homeless than we've ever had sense they started keeping records. and i'm sure you know that of all the people in-cacarcerateind keeping records. and i'm sure you know that of all the people incarcerated,ins started keeping records. and i'm sure you know that of all the people incarcerated,nse started keeping records. and i'm sure you know that of all the people incarcerated,se started keeping records. and i'm sure you know that of all the people incarcerated,cse started keeping records. and i'm sure you know that of all the people incarcerated,e t started keeping records. and i'm sure you know that of all the people incarcerated, a fourth are here in the united states. >> and of course you were the first african-american mayor of new york city and still the only one. how have you seen the political landscape for african-american politicians or aspiring politicians change since your time in office? >> well, i think things are for the better. i'd like to point out that one of the reasons i've written this book is to make the observation that i didn't do it alone, everybody stands on somebody's shoulders. and i had an awful lot of help. a lot of good bright young women and men who assisted me. and a lot of people like that are still out there. and i think that de blasio is going to have the wisdom to collect around him some of these people. they exist and they are there in every ethnicity. this is why i referred to new york as a gorgeous mosaic. it's not a melting pot as we were taught in harlem many years ago. >> a beautiful imagery. former new york city david dinkins, thank you for your time. >> so nice to see you live. >> you, too, sir. it's time to flashback to this day in 1975 when president gerald ford survived a second ass is nation attempt just 17 days after the first one. >> president ford left the st. francis hotel at 3:32. there were cheer, a few boos and then another sound. it was the sharp crack of a .38 pistol. president ford ducks down. the car sped away across the street, a wave of blue had already moved in on the pistol fired. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] every thought... every movement... ♪ ...carefully planned, coordinated and synchronized. ♪ performing together with a single, united purpose. ♪ that's what makes the world's leading airline... flyer friendly. ♪ [ female announcer ] at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant to severe plaque psoriasis... the frustration... covering up. so i talked with my doctor. he prescribed enbrel. enbrel is clinically proven to provide clearer skin. many people saw 75% clearance in 3 months. and enbrel helped keep skin clearer at 6 months. 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[ woman ] finally, clearer skin for more than a few days, weeks, or months. enbrel works for me. ask your dermatologist if you can have clearer skin with enbrel. one library in it texas is taking the digital age to another level. it's gone completely bookless and it's our big idea this afternoon. it's a $2.4 million facility with 4,000 square feet of space. the facility opened up just last week. and joining me now from san antonio is the man who spearhead willed t spearheaded the proper correct. what inspired to you to this? >> well, i got caught up when i readcorrect. what inspired to you to this? >> well, i got caught up when i read the book on steve jobs. not only about his inspiring life, but what hit me was the short period of time i had read it in the summer of 2012. the iphone came in in only 2007. a very short compressed world which was changing dramatically in the ability of people to use a different way to read. and that would be with ebooks and ebook readers and various other platforms such as tablets. >> isn't the point of having the internet on your phone and living in the digital space that the library is everywhere, it's all rn us? why do people need to go to a specific building for that? >> two things we wanted to accomplish. one is just what you said, the virtual world. where anybody can go to our site, download a book on to whatever reading instrument that they may have. we've already had in the first week 1200 books downloaded. we also give out ebook rearlea s readers where people don't have the the technology. but you also want to gather in place. where they can come and learn about technology. how to use the internet. we guide them to the digital public library of america. 4 million items. we guide them to gutenburg's site. we guide them to the research library here in san antonio. so we want them to learn about the internet, we want interactive learning games for children. we have three interactive screens. we have four interactive table, ipads in there with books. we have 100 children's books downloaded on nooks that they can take home. so you want a gathering place where people can share things with each other and where they can learn more about the world that's right at their fingertips. >> an amazing resource for the community. thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. after seven decades, a world war ii soldier's letter has finally reached the daughter he never met. private first class john eddington wrote to his new born daughter before he was killed in action and it never arrived. but 14 years ago, a sabt. louis woman found the let are whiter cleaning out a relative's home. she handed the letter to head yesterday in an emotional ceremony if reno. 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[ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more sinus symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh, what a relief it is. a memorial service for the 12 people killed in monday's mass shooting at the washington naval yard will begin in about an hour. right now we're back with our brain trust. esther arma, political commentator and play wright. peter sudoman, senior writer at -- victoria, i want to start with you. president obama will address today's gathering later this afternoon. last night while speaking at the congressional black caucus dinner the president again made an impassioned plea for reforming the nation's gun laws. let's take a listen. >> as long as there are those who fight to make it as easy as possible for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun, then we've got to work as hard as possible for the sake of our children. we've got to be ones who are willing to do more work to make it harder. >> victoria, why is it still so difficult to sell gun reform legislation in this country? >> i think the scope is at issue here. i think at the federal level we just have too much divisiveness between republicans and democrats. i think the real movement if you want to see gun reform needs to start at the state level. we know states have such different gun laws. ranging from california that's the most restrictive in terms of gun laws to arizona being the most liberal where a 17-year-old can carry an open weapon. so what i think we need to do is like what we saw in colorado and in connecticut, is the state legislatures taking action. obviously in colorado, there was a response to that with the legislators being recalled. at the same time, we see the legislation sticking. all politics is local. the same holds for gun laws. i think we need to start small and eventually go up to the federal level. >> peter, the national rifle association says we don't need new gun laws to fight crime. wayne la pierre, the n.r.a.'s executive vice president said tougher enforcement is the key. let's take a listen. >> i'll tell you what the nra is for. interdict incarcerated violent criminals, get them off the street. enforce federal gun laws. >> does he have a point, peter? is this really an issue of creating new laws or are the existing laws good enough as long as they're enforced adequately? >> well, when it comes to future gun control legislation and thinking about that and movement on that, it's really hard to figure out any particular gun control proposal that's gotten any traction so far that would have made a difference here. and so, you know, you've got somebody who not only passed the background check, he used a shotgun. and he also had passed a security clearance check with the u.s. government. this is a guy who had secret clearance and had passed that background check. in terms of thinking about what sort of -- what sort of gun restrictions, what sort of gun control legislation could move right now, it's really difficult to use this as a jumping off point. i think that's a big part of the reason why harry reid has said that he doesn't have the votes and is not going to be moving gun control legislation any time soon. >> esther, chicago has one of the hardest hit cities when it comes to gun violence. at least 20 people have been shot in that city since friday. today is sunday. let's take a quick listen to what mayor rahm emanuel had to say about that. >> we cannot allow children in the city of chicago, and we will not allow children in the city of chicago, to have their youthfulness, their optimism, their hope, taken from them. >> now, we tend to look to legislation to solve problems like this. like indemmendemmic gun violenc. should we be focusing on root issues that tend to breed more violent neighborhoods? >> i think it's actually a combination of things. i think the cancer is always this idea that the mass shooting, the response is always, well, there's no single piece of legislation that would have prevented that. but what we know statistically is the majority of gun violence is not from that individual mass shootings. because rahm emanuel's words, we will not allow chicago's children to have their youth taken from them, to be subject to this kind of violence, we are allowing that. that's exactly what we are allowing. there's no question. -- passed s-4 gun violence to become a public health issue. so there are a range of strategic measures that could be thought about, could be employed in order to stem the tide of violence. i don't think it's about any one kind of mythic response to end all gun violence. i think that creates a paralysis that is dangerous. i agree with francesca. all politics is local. a range of local strategies can help deal with this. that's not the say the paralysis from our politicians is acceptable. that's what we've seen. so there's this idea that we can keep having the merry-go-round of the same conversation about what would or would not have worked. children are dying while politicians are prever kating and -- >> victoria, quickly, last word on this. a lot of political action groups against guns such as mayors against illegal guns. they've had very little success in turns public opinion towards new gun laws. why do you think that is? >> well, again, i keep coming back to all politics is local. let's take folks here in texas. they don't like seeing a movement led by michael bloomberg. what is a new yorker telling texans what to do? where you need the action is at the grass roots level. you can't have outside forces. people will just shut off and not listen. >> all right. you're going to have the last word on that. thanks so much for joining us. that does it for us. thanks for watching this sunday afternoon. i'll be right back here at 5:00 p.m. eastern time for coverage of the u.s. navy yard memorial. craig melvin, my friend, back in this chair next saturday 2:00 p.m. eastern time. first "disrupt with karen finney" is up next. don't go anywhere. have a great evening. my asthma's under control. i get out a lot... except when it's too cold. like the last three weekends. asthma doesn't affect my job... you missed the meeting again last week! it doesn't affect my family. your coughing woke me up again. i wish you'd take me to the park. i don't use my rescue inhaler a lot... depends on what you mean by a lot. coping with asthma isn't controlling it. test your level of control at asthma.com, then talk to your doctor. there may be more you could do for your asthma. and struggle to sleep comfortably together, now there's a solution. sleep number dual temp, the revolutionary temperature-balancing layer with active air technology that works on any mattress brand, including yours. whether you sleep hot or cool, sleep number dual temp allows each of you to select your ideal temperature. and it's only at one of our 425 sleep number stores nationwide. sleep number. comfort individualized.
the roadblocks may prove to be too great but i firmly believe the diplomatic path must be tested. >> in the next few hours, rowhani will address the general assembly and though he's held out some olive branches recently, some say it would be risky for president obama to reach out to him before hearing the content of his speech. joining me now, chuck todd and host of "the daily rundown." in town to cover the u.n. here we are at the luncheon period. you reported that many did not believe rowhani would attend the luncheon, not because he was shuning it but other reasons. >> the traditional religious reasons, they serve alcohol and that is something that happened before with these leaders and it is pretty clear he is not attending this luncheon. that has been the challenge here. there is every -- i'd say modest effort by the united states to try to make an encounter happen, but they need some cooperation from the other side. and i think that's what's been missing. some of this -- a lot of this is logistics, president speaks in the morning, rowhani speaks this afternoon. president has to go to the clinton global initiative after rowhani speaks. there has been big movements here. kerry is going -- the president announced today that's a big deal, giving kerry that. in many ways the handshake would be a nice photo but in a weird way who cares? the substance is what the president announced today with john kerry. >> it's interesting chuck, israel has already said that their representatives will walk out of rowhani's speech without knowing exactly -- >> something they've done before. >> something they've done before but as noted by you and others, "time" magazine, things are a bit different today without jumping the gun here, things are certainly different. it's because of i think our reporters on the ground in tehran now the masses are affected by those sanctions, seeing prices increase 60 to 70% on items and those sanctions are perhaps hurting. >> i always remind people about this. it's not just about the economy in american politics but the economy everywhere, our bureau chief over there talks about they've had inflation rates of 40%, so there is -- and the other leadership, the regime there realized that all of this movement towards rowhani, the reason he won because there is exhaustion from the public over the sanctions. they want this new tone, the question is how long will they give them and is there more substance to the tone. >> and we know that the wording is there could be a carefully choreographied encounter here. we have not heard a lot from the president's critics, those on the right. is it just people are waiting to see how this plays out? >> part of it -- i can tell you this in my reporting, the administration has been very carefully reaching out to those that are very passionate on the issue, the most pro-israel, everybody in the united states congress is pro-israel but silly to say it that way, but the ones that are this is a important issue to them and in advance sort of put out feelers, what would you think of this? and they've gotten plenty of advice. if you notice, as you say, some of these previous critics have kept quiet because they realize rowhani deserves a symbolic. if he's going to do this, even the toughest critics believe he deserves a symbolic gesture in return so that you can keep moving forward and seeing something is there. but they have laid the groundwork here, the administration behind the scenes. this is not going to be some willy nilly thing on the -- >> before we let you go. i have to talk about brazil's president, she canceled a prior meeting with the president. here's what rousseff said. let's listen in. >> meddling in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a brief of international law and as such an affrontment to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations. >> chuck, if we didn't have the possible breakthrough with iran and continued negotiations with syria, that might have been the head line there. >> what's interesting about this, the administration thought last week just simply the brazilian canceling the state dinner, a hot place to invest, a lot of people excited about rousseff coming. i think this one -- they can't chalk this up to she was simply placating domestic politics. this is a snub on the world stage, right before he went to speak, just proves this nsa thing has been a big, by complicating factor for the president, not justal domesticay but internationally. developing in the past hour, kenya's president declared victory over the terrorists in the deadly mall attack saying quote, we have shamed and defeated our attackers. explosions and gunfire heard throughout the day, president kenyatta said five terrorists have been killed and 11 of the attackers are in custody. forensic evidence will now determine who they are and if any of the terrorists are americans. during a news conference today, kenya's foreign minister said several americans and this british woman samantha, known as the quote, white widow, helped carry out the attacks. she's the mother of four and wife of one of suicide bombers who attacked the london transit system back in 2005. >> from the information that we have, two or three americans and i think so far i've heard of one brit. >> and the brit was a british foreign woman. >> woman, woman. she's i think done this many times before. >> we're also learning more about some of the victims, including a 33-year-old pregnant staffer from the clinton global initiative and her boyfriend ross langdon. president clinton spoke about them today. >> they went to nairobi because they thought it was the safest, best place for her to give birth. they were just walking in the mall that day. and they were both killed along with the child. >> nbc's atia abawi joins us. is this in fact over? >> reporter: hi, tamron. that's the number one question. we thought it was over late last night. around 2:00 around security forces began dismantling the operation. they have to come back around three and a half hours later because gunfire was heard again at the westgate shopping center and it has been heard throughout the day including explosions, at least eight explosions throughout the day and helicopters flying overhead. as you mentioned the president did speak and addressed the nation a little over an hour ago and said they have gained victory over the terrorists, didn't necessarily say it's over but implying that it is in fact over. he also mentioned that there's still bodies, dead bodies within that shopping center three floors have collapsed and bodies remain in the rubble. there are at least 60 people unaccounted for from saturday's attack. we should also mention that the details are very murky when it's coming from the government and the terrorists. most of the information is coming from twitter al shabaab a couple of hours ago said they are still in contact with their fighters within the shopping center. it remains to be seen if it's really over but most -- all kenyans for that matter are hoping that it actually is. >> atia, back to the floors collapsing in the mall. we understand that at least in reporting there that some of the bodies or if there are or were survivors were crushed in that. do we know if that was a result of the explosion, something set off by the military or by the terrorists? do we know any more information about that? >> that's a very good question, tamron. people are speculating here was it caused from the fighting and caused from the explosions sfr the fighters of al shabaab or security forces? people don't have the answer. we don't have the answer to that right now. i'm not sure how that answer will be given to us in the next couple of days. it's not clear if those bodies were killed on saturday, on sunday, or if it happened because of the collapse. i'm sorry, we don't have the information for that and i don't think we will for the next few days at least. >> all right, great reporting, thank you very much. joining me now, nbc news analyst evan coleman and middle east region editor christopher. you heard her say we won't know for a while. what is interesting, christopher, this whole information highway on twitter, in the opening and closing of accounts from the alleged terrorists here to even the president of kenya releasing this latest information via twitter but all over -- this is about what the world is watching here. >> the whole point is to make the world pay attention as long as as possible. you can do that on twitter, it helps and what makes people pay attention in the first place is the violence and the obscenity of the act itself taking over a shopping mall and killing these people. it's what the mumbai terrorists did in 2008 and what every terrorist tries to do and unfortunately the methodology of global terror is well known to a lot of different people these days. >> and knowing the terrorists inside are outmanned and outnumbered but even if one of them stays alive and firing a couple of bullets here and there, given the presence that there's someone in there, this story stays on forefront of international news, which is their point. >> if they take hostages as well, which they did. the question is not just is it a stand-off with a bunch of gunmen bill but the hostagwill the hos survive exactly as in mumbai and i'm afraid many more times in the future. >> evan, the president of kenya said a short time ago that it would take forensic evidence to identify some of these terrorists who were not captured. they believe they have 11 in custody. as you well know, the major headline in addition to the tragedy of this all is that americans could be involved in this, at least two or three and a brit. >> we have to be careful because there's been a lot of contradictory flows -- >> the fbi has not confirmed anything. >> we've seen the twitter accounts pop up and down. it's like a twitter shell game. there are reports there are americans there. there are some kenyan officials that suggested this and kenyan army officer said he heard reports or saw reports of a woman carrying an ak-47. whether or not any of this is accurate, we don't know. it is true, however, that al shabab does have a number of foreign operatives in the group and there are reports that the group that carried this out might be a dissident group from al shabaab associated with the american killed last week, a former al shabaab winner who went off the farm. >> he's from alabama. >> mobile alabama and with a group of foreign fighters including guys from britain and united states and egypt. in other words, it sounds similar to the group we saw here. >> why is it so important? the initial report there were americans amongst them came from one of the twitter accounts, why is it so important to have an american, if you will, in their midst? >> because the american media are the most powerful media in the world. i mean, there's a sort of a confusion about social media that people get their message out, communicate with others on twitter. that isn't exactly what happens. they get their message out on twitter then the media pick it up. if there are americans among the terrorists, the american media pick it up a lot faster than if it's just say bunch of africans over there. >> as this plays out and we wait to get more information, we know that likely to follow is a crush on al shabaab, this will not go unnoticed. forceses from other nations have targeted them before and to take it teeven further. people thought they were all but destroyed. >> the question is, what do you do more than we've already done. the u.s. government launched drone strikes an we've launched aircraft. the kenyan army invaded southern somalia and took it over. just this morning they had eight kmun okayeds. and the question is what more do we do than we've already done. >> we've not talked a lot about somalia and we know for obvious reasons why it's a tense conversation in the united states. i was watching a documentary not long ago this is this forgotten nation that is sessentially the next time bomb. we talked about the somali pirates than the terrorist group that's exist. >> it's the definition of a failed state. it is the absolute definition, broken apart long ago. we're talking did a government in mogadishu, not the government of somalia, in fact. it's every clan for itself. >> all right. thank you gentlemen. we'll have another report coming up. thank you very much. the 4-year-old girl known as baby veronica is back with her adoptive parents after a court order forced her biological father to hand her over last night. this bitter emotional heartbreaking custody battle over this child is not over yet. plus -- reserving the right to object. i'm happy to discuss it with the majority leader -- >> is there an objection? >> i object. >> senator ted cruz battling with majority leader harry reid on senate floor but it's the republican leadership now leaving cruz out on a limb by rejecting his tactic to de-fund obama care. plus, bill clinton set to appear with president obama later this afternoon to kick off the obama care rollout. we'll talk about it in the first read. you can join our conversation on any topics we address this hour. huh...fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. mmmhmmm...everybody knows that. well, did you know that old macdonald was a really bad speller? your word is...cow. cow. cow. c...o...w... ...e...i...e...i...o. 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[ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. it is now, quote, texas senator ted cruz versus the world. that is the assessment from our own chuck todd after the top two republicans made it clear they will not join senator cruz's call for a filibuster to block the bill that funds the federal government by de-funding obama care. cruz's strategy to prevent harry reid from stripping out the provision that de-funds the health care law. mcconnell's spokesperson says senator mcconnell supports the house republican bill and will not vote to block it. john cornyn tweeted, i intend to support the house bill that defunds obama care and will vote against a bill that funds it. all this left cruz alone battling with harry reid. the possibility of a government shutdown looming next tuesday. >> we will not bow to tea party an arists who ignore the fact president obama was overwhelmingly re-elected several months ago. >> i wish he had not said he would continue to use the threat of a default to engage in brinksmanship to try to force obama care on the american people. >> joining me now live, senior political editor mark murray is senator cruz the next sarah palin where he seemingly implodes from the inside-out. this is the only place you can find ted cruz t-shirts readily available, he's got support there. but even with his own party, you have this head scratching moment after moment here. >> tamron, i want to draw the sarah palin just yet but there's no doubt he has gotten a lot more attention and traffic and conversation from people like us and a lot of likes on facebook but in this current debate, he doesn't have the votes to be able to have the 41 to be able to stop debate. that's what he needs. so the more that the john cornyns of the world and mitch mcconnells say i'm not going to participate in the filibuster, you end up having the prospect of a bipartisan defeat by ted cruz by the end of the week. >> if it's not the sarah palin comparison, who would you compare it to as of late. the kind of criticism he's getting from within his own party is not a simple disagreement. he's being called names and snarky remarks directed at him. >> there's no doubt he has become a lightning rod both with democrats and republicans. i wouldn't draw the sarah palin analogy just yet. what ted cruz has done, he has really shaken up probably the most decorous branch of the federal government, which is the united states senate. this is one that honors seniority and tradition and honors procedure and ted cruz has tried to shake everything up and i do think that exchange with harry reid, senate majority leader sparring one of the junior ranking senators in the chamber. >> president obama giving his kickoff speech, if you will on this huge push to educate people on obama care and he will be there with former president bill clinton. >> we've heard remarks from both barack obama, president obama and bill clinton on this subject before. tamron, we're one week away from the exchanges and enrollment in the health care exchanges beginning. time is of tessence. it's to push people and make sure they become insured. that is what will define success in the months ahead for the obama administration and we'll see what he has to say. >> despite the importance of the u.n. speech earlier, you and the team believe this speech coming up in a few hours, this is truly the big one of the day? >> it is central to his domestic legacy. of course, it would be a very big diplomatic legacy if he gets a deal with iran. health care more than any other issue will define president obama's legacy when he exists office. >> mark murray, thanks, we'll talk with you tomorrow. >> we continue to follow developing news from the united nations general assembly where iran's new president is expected to speak in a little more than an hour. we'll get a report from tehran where the sanctions are crippling the economy. marco rubio withdraws his support for a florida judge who would have been the first openly gay black man on the federal bench. it is just one of the things we thought you should know. actual. new kellogg's raisin bran® with omega 3 from flax seeds. plus plump juicy raisins. flax seed? who are you? i still got it. [ male announcer ] invest in your heart health with kellogg's raisin bran® cereals. then you'll love lactose-free lactaid® it's 100% real milk that's easy to digest so you can fully enjoy the dairy you love. lactaid®. for 25 years, easy to digest. easy to love. welcome back, benjamin netanyahu is speaking out about iran's new president's upcoming speech at the united nations an hour from now. netanyahu zrukted diplomats to leave the assembly law ahead of rowhani's address which is to begin in just a few hours and warned the world should not be fooled by iran's smile offensive. president rowhani will deliver his speech hours after president obama told the assembly he has instructed secretary of state john kerry too pursue face to face negotiations with iran over its nuclear program. i was struck by your earlier reporting where you discussed the sanctions and overall feeling from the masses there in iran who want to see some progress here. >> reporter: tamron, i'm getting a very bad sound here but i think you were talking about the sanctions and they have had a dramatic effect on iran over the last few years. inflation has gone up to 40%, youth unemployment is running at 29%. although the government says it's not entirely the fault of sanctions, the fact is that it's has had a huge effect on the country and it's worried the leadership here of t leadership here and that's why we're seeing the offerings of a deal trying to be made. they are worried about bread and butter issues. when there was the fallout after the disputed elections in 2009, that was politically motivated. if there was to be a fallout again, it would be about an economic issue, it would be about putting bread on the dinner table and that's much harder to control and that's why i think we're seeing a charm offensive by the iranians, a readiness to talk and engage. the john kerry meeting with iranian foreign minister is the highest level meeting between an iranian and u.s. official in over 30 years. that in itself is hugely significant, even if they don't have much to talk about, just the fact they are sitting around the table together is really big news in itself. also, the fact that these two are going to be negotiating the nuclear deal shows that both sides want this done at a very high level. these are both very seasoned and high up diplomats that can make a deal together. they don't have to report home initially like the last delegation did. these initial signs are good for some sort, but as everybody has been saying before, this is all talk. we have to see substantive changes between the two of them and the problem is there's a deep seated mistrust between the united states and iran. i don't think either side wants to take the first step and get fooled by the other side. this is the great concern for the iranians, that they take the first step then the americans will reneg or change they are mind. we've seen this happen in the past. they have tried to come to some sort of deal with rowhani was chief nuclear negotiator, he us spended uranian enrichment and then the situation has not been good between the united states and iran and the nuclear issue. >> all right, live in tehran, thank you very much, ali. military officials say there will no longer be -- they will no longer be releasing daily updates on the hunger strike at guantanamo bay, a signal that the months long protest may be winding down. the strike which ramped up in march initially stemmed from larger scale protests over long-term detention of terror suspects and anger over guards searching inmates korans. now at its peak in july, 106 of the detainees of the 166 were participating in the hunger strike. by monday prison officials said that number dropped to 19 inmates, a number that stayed unchanged for two weeks now. the statement by prison spokesperson, as always our medical professionals will continue to monitor an evaluate the detainees while providing them with the appropriate level of care. 18 of those inmates are still on the force feeding list, an issue that's drawn widespread controversy and renewed calls for the administration to close the prison. not everyone is convinced the new tally is accurate and some are wondering if this means the strike was successful. vince warren, executive director for the center for constitutional rights. i know you've been vocal about the detainees and represented some as well. here we are with now about 19 inmates still on this hunger strike, still being force fed. how is this seen as a victory for these men who were not eating, who were taking a stand there? >> we have to remember why this thing happened to begin with. it happened because of the egregious searches happening on korans, genital searches and all sorts of dehumanizing treatment. these are men largely who had been cleared for release. if you think about the effect of their hunger strike, it turned the national attention back to guantanamo, got the attention of the president to recommit himself to closing the base. >> speaking of the president today at the u.n. he addressed the issue of guantanamo bay. let's play a little of what he said. >> we're transferring detainees to other countries and trying terrorists in courts of law while working diligently to close the prison at guantanamo bay. >> that's a bit of what the president said. there's really no conclusion to this. we know there are people there who could be innocent. >> there are a number of people who the government has said actually can be released. so the question is why is congress holding back and keeping -- making it more difficult for president obama to do it. i will say he released two people in the last several months, which is great, but at this rate release it will take a decade to close the prison that way. >> in april there was an op-ed from one of the detainees who talked about the conditions of guantanamo bay and wrote in part, i will never forget first time they passed the feeding tube up my nose. i can't describe how painful it is to be force fed this way. i hope that because of the pain we are suffering the eyes of the world will look at guantanamo bay before it is too late. >> absolutely. that's the goal here, we have a client who is of yemen and is cleared for release for years and he has been on hunger strike since the last person in guantanamo died in 2012. the eyes of the country need to stay focused on this problem. the problem does not go away even though the hunger strike is largely done and it is up to president obama to move forward to close the prison, repatriate the men to countries they can go. so they can be released and live in peace. >> i greatly appreciate you coming on to discuss the ongoing situation with guantanamo bay. thank you. >> a live look at closing arguments under way in the billion dollar michael jackson wrongful death lawsuit. attorneys representing katherine jackson started by discussing her son's health leading up to his death. we'll talk with john burris about where things stand now. hey linda! what are you guys doing? 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because of course, for harry reid, one of the things that could benefit him if the clock gets so pushed to the 11th hour at the end of this month then john boehner and republicans on the house side might have less leverage to kick something back. think of it like the old kid's game we played where it was musical chairs and the music stops, do you have a chair? one of things he have to do is strat guys how to control these moves, who could gain the best advantage? one of the things we're finding, a lot of pressure on ted cruz from fellow republicans and outside conservative groups putting a lot of pressure on other established republicans. it's playing out right now and we don't have a clear path but this has been a hot lunch for both trying to see what they can do to keep the government open and how to handle the issue of obama care. >> it appears or rin hatch is breaking with ted cruz, is that the latest? >> reporter: that is significant. he's the most senior of the republicans and we're beginning to see bit by bit those kind of establishment republicans with long ties saying, that the strategy for their party is not sort of the cruz missile approach of ted cruz trying to say slow this down and the tactics that he's trying to argue for. there's a lot of dissension within republicans about the role ted cruz has taken compared to what the leaders of the party are trying to do. there aren't easy options and it's become quite messy. >> kelly o'donnell. thank you very much. after five months of testimony, closing arguments are now under way in the civil death trial over michael jackson's death. we have a live look inside the courtroom with the late pop star's mother, katherine jackson, suing aeg more than a billion dollars claiming the company negligently hired dr. conrad murray to take care of her son without properly investigating him. as he began his closing arguments, jackson's attorney discussed jackson's struggles leading up to his death. >> even though we accomplished more than many other musicians before him, he also endured more physical and mental and emotional pain than any of us could ever have imagined. >> aeg claims the doctor had been one of the many who treated him in his past. he was set to perform 50 concerts and possible footage for the concert could be used during the closing arguments. john, from everything i learn and understand, aeg maintains that listen, it was michael jackson who hired conrad murray and it was their relationship that was set, had nothing to do with aeg. what do you make of where we stand now? >> certainly that's the central issue as to who hired conrad murray. certainly from the defense point of view dare i say the relationship with michael that he had this prior relationship with michael and michael is responsible for what happened, on the other hand, there's clear evidence that a contract was prepared by the company and that even though it was only signed by mr. murray, there's a lot of discussion with him that would suggest that he was being hired for the express purpose of making sure michael jackson is prepared to go through with this. there was a lot of money on the line. the jurors will have to find whether or not there was a relationship that existed with aeg that basic -- that basically said that we need -- that there was a contractual relationship and that relationship is such that he was supposed to take care of michael. on other hand, if that's true, then the question is was he competent to do it and whether or not the company even looked into his background. this guy was a cardologist and not someone who specializes in sleep deprivation. >> i have to ask, john, if michael jackson ultimately hired conrad murray here, how does that fall on aeg? i know the argument is aeg provided the paycheck. but if this is your doctor from the beginning, how are they libel? i'm trying to understand this part. >> i think it's a tough stretch for them for michael jackson's lawyers because even if they would find he hired him, you have a real question of comparative negligence because michael jackson is the one who voluntarily took this drug and given to him by a doctor he knew. even if they found he hired the person, you still have the whole question is michael jackson comparatively negligent in his own manner and that could reduce all of the damages down to a very small amount. so it's going to be tough getting liability here, i think. but on the other hand, even if they did find it, you'll find that michael jackson has some culpability and that's called comparative negligence which would reduce the verdict. >> still ahead, two pennsylvania school officials under investigation accused of using their work phones to sends text messages. prosecutors call shockingly racist. hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn? 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[ baby fussing ] ♪ final product will be. and that -- that -- i want to take you developing news, senator ted cruz is -- this is not a filibuster but he is giving a rather long speech addressing the procedural vote on the budget resolution, which will take place tomorrow, no matter how long he talks -- let's listen in a bit. >> nancy pelosi once observed, quote, pass it to find out what's in it. that's how washington does business. let me tell you how this is likely to unfold. harry reid has said he intends to offer an amendment to determine the future of our health care system. and based on public press reports and i would note you have to rely on the public press reports because this body doesn't know. based on the public press reports, that amendment is going to fully fund obama care. it's going to strip the language the house of representatives passed to de-fund obama care to listen to the american people. the central vote -- >> again, we're listening to senator ted cruz of texas. there's a procedural vote that will take place tomorrow. he has until approximately noon tomorrow to keep speaking. the vote will occur midday on wednesday. this is not a filibuster, michael, but we know the attention rand paul got when he had his famous filibuster and here we are witnessing senator ted cruz of texas standing alone and it is essentially him against even his own party, him against the world as someone put it today. >> well, i think i get it. it's so telling because power in washington used to come from length of service, which translated into seniority. and the longer you were in town, the higher you rose in terms of committee assignments and the stronger you became as a political force. those days are over, now the methodology is say something incendia incendiary. i assume you, it is worthy of a huge haul in terms of campaign fundraising for ted cruz and others who mimic him. there's a lot of that going on in washington. i've got an e-mail inbin that proves it. >> this lingers around a government shutdown. when you look at the latest polling here, people do not want to see a government shutdown and don't want it tied into defunding obama care and we still have a republican party that even if they would like to see obama care disappear don't have something to replace it with here. there are so many agendas but this speaks to the frustration that you have with every day people you talk to on the radio. >> no doubt about it. when you make reference to people you're talking about the general mass of people. he is playing to a very narrow, loyal demographic, a very passionate demographic. his objective here is not to reach coast to coast. he's not trying to reach all communities with the sort of things he's saying. he's cast his lot with a very narrow band. for them, it's exactly what they want to hear. >> michael, thank you very much for reacting to the breaking news. senator ted cruz of texas speaking on the senate floor about defunding obama care despite opposition from those within his own party. thanks and thanks for watching "news nation." car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ohhh...oh boy! i'm falling. everybody look out! ahhhhh...ugh. little help here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. anybody? at humana, our medicare agents sit down with you and ask. hanging out with this guy. he's just the love of my life. 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tonight president obama will be taking questions at the organizing for action health care summit which is founded by folks who ran his campaign and he'll meet with dallas volunteers helping americans sign up for the program. obama care and online exchanges are playing a big role in tomorrow's gubernatorial race in virginia. you can bet we'll be talking about obama care in next year's midterms and 2016 presidential race and maybe even in 2028 when we're doing the show from outer pace. from that we start with perry bac bacon, who will be with us when we're doing the show from outer space. i got a nice e-mail breaking down how chris christie doing so very well with blacks in new jersey, suggests how he may do in 2016 nationally, we're talking about his getting 30% among blacks in new jersey. this is supposed to be a great number for the gop, but it is largely blacks -- because of decades of problem. ari will dig into that. i want to dig into how latinos will fare and how they'll fare with white voters. they've been doing really badly with latinos for several years now and partly the immigration thing will chase more away further. but with white folks, they've been doing extremely well. when he have a white candidate, like, say, hillary, it will be different than barack. >> let me say, first of all, it's great that christie is campaigning for black votes. it would be great for our system, if we republicans campaign and we were so divided by race and culture as opposed no ideology. i'm glad he's doing that. that said, important factor to remember here, tour'e, barbara bono is not hillary clinton -- >> let me write that down. >> i don't know we should say because christie is doing well, not very strong democrat, that he'll do that well in 2016 against hillary clinton who is much stronger and has much higher approval ratings. we shouldn't read too much from christie's look into tomorrow into three years down the road when he's facing much stronger competition. >> it's hard to project but there's a lot of discussion also about the black electorate being loyal to president obama, snl had fun with that this weekend. >> it's been a difficult month for the president. the most recent gal up poll puts his approval rating and perhaps the most troubling number, his approval rating with black voters has dropped to a startling 93.6%. >> they go on to talk about things that would still leave black voters backing this president, even if he put christian on his dream team and that kind of stuff. it's funny, also great to see kerrie washington hosting on a show that had trouble hiring black women. a lot of issues aired out that night. they got the numbers a little wrong. speak to the fact when you compare this president's support among black voters, it's actually not different from where clinton was in the same point in his term in '97, both in the low 80s, 81% this week from gallup. and 85% from him recently. perry, is there a desire to jump to the idea of racial solid dart when it has to do with the long term relationship with the republican party? >> we're looking at 2016 or 2013, any election, african-americans are overwhelmingly democratic. it's not they are overwhelmin y overwhelmingly -- they are pro obama too. john kerry, michael dukakis, all did above 85% beloto black vote well. things will have really changed by then. >> a gubernatorial race is happening tomorrow, i think best represent the two wings of the republican party today. you have chris christie, obviously the more pragmatic conservative in new jersey and cuccinelli, a bit more extreme conservative tea partyier and support among women could not be further apart. you have cuccinelli down by 24 points among women. you have christie, who is leading with women by 23 points. perry, is this the moment when the republican party maybe learned something in terms of their messaging? i know that's what chris christie is hoping for. >> i think it is. i think that we should be clear to say, even most republican candidates are not as bad as ken cuccinelli is. i don't want to read too much into this particular race -- >> does have a special way with the lady folks. >> exactly, a little bit unique. one thing to note, we talked about health care as well. chris christie is one of the few republican governors who embraced obama care, he's taken up the medicaid funding there. obama care doing pred pretty badly overall but tomorrow will be a victory because i assume terry mcauliffe, the promedicaid expansion and chris christie to the left of republicans also wins, something to think about as we move forward. the question for christie, he's hugged the questi eged the pres didn't hug him. >> he touched him. >> we want to be clear about that. >> it was unacceptable. too much hugging. >> the point i was going to make, i think chris christie has thoen he's moderate. the next race he may be running in is the republican presidential primary, not a place in which touching the president and being nice to him is rewarded verywoman. he should think about that. >> we have new reporting over the weekend about where the problems in the rollout may have come from. there was a memo arguing for a different person to head up implementation. there was some allegations that people were too afraid of upsetting the president to bring him the reality of the situation, sort of bureaucratic problems about being able to consolidate everything under one roof. where are we in terms of understanding what actually happened to have led to this rollout going so poorly thus far? >> i think we know the government is not particularly well at running websites. we also learned the second thing, most important here, the politics and the administration were not along the same line. sounds like by some point in september, people knew the website was probably not going to work very well. they set up this deadline on october 1st and really couldn't move it or shift it. you have a reality where it also appears they start building up the website only after the 2012 election in part because they are wary of republicans attacking part of it. almost a fear of what would be said on fox news, i think really drove a lot of this. they seem to be very nervous about starting really set up after 2012. then you have a very short time period, less than a year to basically set up a website for the entire country to look at. they seem to like waited too late to solve these basic problems. >> do you see that as sort of a one off problem, like something that was just a problem with this implementation, or is that a broader statement about problems in this white house being overly concerned with what's being said on fox news as you put it, rather than the reality of their policies? >> i do think that often as a problem. one example i would give you. i think you will not hear the president talk about there are lots of americans signing up for health insurance. most signing up for medicaid. there's a weariness in this administration, talking about plans that benefit poor people, food stamps or medicaid, they want to talk about people who get insurance plans. but a majority getting insurance under the law are the kind of low income people who probably get food stamps too and not going to be the best people to talk about it at an event, the kind of people republicans criticize and you do see that weariness often here. that's one thing i would point out. >> perry bacon, you've unwittingly unveiled something about the cycle, we are pro hugging. the book that's got washington talking for better or worse, abby has thoughts on this thing called "double down" we'll spin on that as "the cycle" rolls back on this first monday in november. my employer matches my charitable giving. really. i get bonuses even working part-time. where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. healthcare starting under $40 a month. i got education benefits. i work at walmart. i'm a pharmacist. sales associate. i manage produce. i work in logistics. there's more to walmart than you think. vo: opportunity. that's the real walmart. shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. 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[ female announcer ] feed a man a cookie and he eats a cookie. ♪ feed him a fresh baked cookie and he eats a much, much better cookie. bake the world a better place with nestle toll house. oh, hey, sorry, i didn't notice you. i just been leafing through this book "double down" from the writers behind "game change." and i've got to be honest, not my faf. this book says more about the washington consulting class than really anything else. from the vetting report on governor chris christie to president o bam am's debate prep, it's clear as long as they are beltway consultants around there's no confidentiality. with every failed campaign you expect a fair share of criticism. but everyone walked out of their headquarters and turned on the fire hose. filled with leaks about other leaks and reminds me more of high school gossip. and my family expected to be picked apart but as someone who is actually there every step of the way, there was very little even worth responding to, very little based in reality. most based in conjecture and self-promotion. take, for example, the leaks of romney's taxes. all they could do is find an unnamed third party source to claim it was my grandfather who was responsible. that's the bar they set for the level and quality of reporting. for the beltway audience, this is like candy, this is a drug. but what's left now? well, a bunch of soured relationships at a time when we actually should be finding common ground. mitt romney's taxes let alone who leaked them will never solve our nation's greatest problems. this written by political consultants for political consultants and only good for a week of georgetown cocktail spatter. to know what really went on, i know some of this isn't actually true. keep that in mind as we now spin. i would love your take on the book as i'm sure you read the excer excerpts. >> the thing that jumps out is how much and how hard he tried to vet chris christie and went through the process twice and rejected christie and then said, you got to look at this guy again, this is how we'll win the day to day war of media and chris christie will get you in the media all the time. there's things that he leaves off that he won't answer and in the case of new jersey, in a national situation you can't get away with that. a reporter will fill out the lines for you. when he's looking at video of chris christie yelling at people and temper, if he can't get through the romney test, which is not the most string ent test in america, it makes me wonder, how is he going to do in 2016 when he gets into the presidential fish bowl. i'm curious. >> this part of the book you're talking about seemed relatively credible. they seem to have line by line the opposition research on chris christie. and what i would say actually, i disagree a little bit with your take. the things they were pointing out, they were all real scandals and real questions he would certainly have to answer to and respond to in a national campaign, that he hasn't really had to deal with because his opponent hasn't been a real threat this time around. i didn't see any of them as being like disqualifying. they all seemed like things he would be able to manage and handle in a national campaign and according to what was said in the book, romney campaign was apparently pretty cautious, worrying about repeating the mistakes of having a sarah palin type vice president with lots of surprises in the closet who is not fully vetted. i have to tell you, the part if it's accurate, i found sort of the most shocking and most appalling, was mitt romney's comments about people who were overweight, including governor christie. there's this line in the book where he would say to male members of his traveling crew, oh, there's your date for tonight. when they spied a quote, chunky lady on the street. obviously, my opinion of mitt romney was not particularly high to start with. i didn't think he was mean spirited person like that though. that part was actually surprising to me and out of character with who i thought he is from watching him on the campaign trail. >> that's right. that's really gross and low and not what i thought he would dozen a person who is very religious and spiritual. to go back to christie and perry, this e-mail this morning talked about that chris christie will -- >> perry bacon. >> he's going to have to tattoo the right to win the republican primary and perhaps the things in his vet that he won't want to talk to are not the major problems. it's what he's going to have to do to win the primary and find his way back from that. we saw mitt romney was changed for the worse by the republican primary. why you're open to him because he's a moderate. but will he be a moderate after the republican primary. >> i'm not open to him. let's be clear. he would be a strong general election candidate could he get through the primary. one thing i will say about chris christie, i was speaking with a reporter from new jersey, who was telling me that a lot of the reporters in new jersey are intimidated by christie because he will aggressively attack them and make it more about them and the questions they are asking than trying to respond to questions themself and he told me that a lot of folks aren't prepared for that. they are very nervous around him and uncomfortable pushing him on the sort of things that would have been in the campaign vet. >> all i can say campaigns are dirty and chris christie seems he's the kind of guy that can handle it. i was shocked how many folks were womening to throw others under the bus. now you have a number of angry people, including the white house with the stories in the book. moving on -- what we are learning today about the alleged gunman in friday's lax shooting rampage. a follow-up to something controversial that was said right here as the news was breaking up next. dad! dad! katy perry is coming to town. can we get tickets, pleeeeease??? 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the tsa did tons of tests to the security people. we know the results. >> what would you have american airports do differently? that somebody shouldn't be able to enter at all until they've been checked? >> no, no this is not a jail that people are coming to the airport. they should not suffer. we can train people to be able to identify suspicious people that are coming to the terminal. >> let's turn to terrorism analyst evan coleman. did sh though us that the system worked? >> it showed us there were vulnerabilities we knew existed. we knew airports were vulnerable to this kind of attack. the concern before this was about suicide bombers getting in. the question is what do we do to address that? do we want to lockdown airports like in european airports that you can't go in the building without going through a metal detector. the civil aviation industry is far larger than that of israel and any other country. i'm not sure that there's any practical way of dealing with this threat other than going for what the threat actually is. in this case you have someone who believed the tsa was out to coil people and he was going to kill them in response. the more direct way of approaching that is to stop having people out there saying the tsa are traitors trying to murder people or are terrorists. >> right, whenever something like this happens, the question quickly becomes, what could have been done to prevent this? what is the reality? how many people are carrying guns up to security checkpoint? to put it in perspective, the ap reported on this, they showed last year they found 1500 firearms on passengers that attempted to go through screening, up 17% from the year before and more than doubled in the past eight years. naturally people are saying maybe the tsa officers should be armed. you have the tsa union now asking for guards at every checkpoint. tsa and homeland security have come out saying that's not an option, not the purpose of tsa officials. what is your response? is the answer more guns? >> first of all, this is like assuming that u.s. airports don't already have plenty of -- >> there are plenty of airport security people who are armed. let's get aside from that and get more to the question, why is it every time there's an incident at the school or hospital or military base or airport and it involves a gun, the answer is we should have more guns? it doesn't make any sense at all. the answer here is that we should be trying to make sure that if there are people out there who are unstable, we're watching for them and trying to make sure they don't feed themselves on propaganda that makes them believe that the tsa is out to get them. we need to make sure we're not demonizing people for very minor and selfish political and financial points and there are foolish people who believe it and take these ideas and murder somebody. that's a much more serious concern and something we can remedy immediately. i'm not sure we'll ever be able to stop anyone who wants to get in an airport from doing that. that will be almost inevitable. >> i don't think wei want to lie in that world either. >> look how israelis deal with these things. i do not believe they are ready for the scrutiny that most israelis get when they reach the airport. we're not ready to get to the airport for four or five hours before a flight and be subject to interrogations when we get on an airplane. these are not reasonable steps for this country to take. i think there are much easier solutions and direct solutions for this problem. >> you get the feeling the israel analogy is offered by people who have never been to israel where you have a weapons and metal detectors outside of every movie theater and where you have a society where everyone just about is a veteran. you're dealing with mill tarrized society, not really relevant to the american experience. walk us through why some people at our u.s. airports are armed in the screening process and some are not? >> look, there are people who have specific responsibilities. in the case of the tsa agent who was murdered last week, he was a behavioral pattern recognition specialist. his job was to try to pick out people acting strangely. it was not to shoot people. and we've seen what happens when too many people have too many weapons. we've seen this even here in new york whereby standers have gotten shot in exchanges of gunfire between new york police officers and perpetrators and individuals carrying out crimes. the question always afterwards is, was the police department right for opening fire in a crowded area? i can guarantee you had tsa agents been armed and had they been back from shooting back at this individual, right now we would be asking that exact question, why are tsa agents shooting into a crowdful of innocent people. it's an inevitable question you have to ask. >> i want to go to the point about the radical ideology that this guy subscribed to, the southern poverty law center which tracks hate groups and radical ideology, has seen a huge increase in the number of patriot groups which he seems in his ideology to align with. they have skyrocketed from 131 in 2007 to 1360 now. how do we combat the type of radical fringe conspiracy ideology that was apparently fueling this guy? >> it's very simple. it's to make sure that anybody who is a politician or a radio shock jock who goes out there and starts encouraging people to harm tsa agents or harm civil serve ants or demonize these people, we have to hold these people accountable as a society. people like alex jones that say the fbi was behind the boston massacre. they should not be allowed to hide. their views should be exposed and the fact they are lying and profiting off of this should be exposed because this is the same thing as people in the middle east who encourage individuals who carry out suicide bombings. not everyone is dumb enough to follow that ideology, obviously enough. but there are a small handful of foolish people out there who unfortunately are willing to follow through with this. they don't understand this is all rhetoric and they are willing to put their actions where their mouth is. and i think it's time that those who spread these ideas are responsible for them. we hold people that spread al qaeda ideologies responsible for that and if you encourage someone to murder a federal employee, you should be held responsible. >> amen, thank you for that and thank you for pointing out more guns is not the answer. reporters standing on chairs and smoking and taking shoes off. this is justice egypt style. richard engel joins us live from cairo next. you really love, what would you do?" ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. 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>> reporter: well, i've been to quite a few trials over the years and norpally they are quite boring pro seed do you recall durl affairs, he started to say he was a victim of a show trial and victim of a coup. he wasn't the only person yelling. as he was screaming at the judge say this was all nonsense and the court was illegitimate. several journalists in the room, egyptian journalists who are pro hill military and support the coup against morsi, they started yelling at well and trying to shout him down. the journalists who were smoking and standing on chairs, some of them took off shoes. i thought one was going to throw his show at morsi and chanting, death, death, death, saying that he should get the death penalty. as you had the defendant, mohamed morsi yelling at the judge calling the trial illegitimate and you have journalists yelling death at the defendant. >> richard, that's an extraordinary scene that you've witnessed. what do you make of that in light of john kerry in egypt maintaining that this was not a coup, while as you're reporting we're seeing a democratically elected president in a cage there. >> he was a democratically elected president but a lot of egyptians are quite happy today to see him on trial. many egyptians, maybe even most egyptians were quite pleased when the military intervened and kicked morsi out of office. they thought he was a bad manager and bad administrator and pursuing his own muslim brotherhood agenda. this country is very divided. then you have the u.s. position on this. what is the u.s. going to do? stick on principle and alienate the generals in power here or try -- which secretary kerry was trying to do yesterday, nudge of generals along and encourage them to eventually get the country back on the path of democracy but not insult them and break relations. >> richard engel, thachkz for your reporting and stay safe. for more on diplomatic challenges we want to turn to ambassador mark ginsburg. how are you? >> nice to see you. >> i want to turn to syria where a lot of the united states political class and media has really turned away after a serious set of escalation and now what we're seeing last week, the appearance of some sort of diplomatic achievement here if we are to believe the statements and international inspections that suggest some parts of syria's chemical weapons stockpile is being located and eventually disarmed. what do you make of this? did the obama administration eventually stumble into a breakthrough here? >> yes, they stumbled into a breakthrough of sorts, ari. the fact of the matter is that the syrian government did comply with international united nations requirements and did it diligently. but i'm not going to give them great credit. after all, they are the ones who used chemical weapons against their people, number one. number two, let's also understand the killing is going on and al qaeda is running ram pant throughout syria and while we may be giving ourselves a pat on the back for stumbling into a -- some sort of victory here, the bottom line is syria is still a mess. john kerry is heading to the region, already there, he's trying to cobble together an agreement. prime minister maliki was just in washington and left empty handed because he's instigating a lot of problems in syria by sewing sectarian divisions and, which he was held accountable for by congress and poor john kerry having to make sure that the situation in the middle east where these fostering negotiations between israel and palestine continue. then guess what, he has to go to saudi arabia and jipegypt and t to repair negotiations. >> nothing in this region happens in a vacuum. the syrian civil war led to a spike in violence in iraq where we're now back to levels from 2008 in terms of violence. what is the connection there? >> the connection is awful. bottom line is prime minister maliki, a shiite, instead of sewing sectarian reconciliation, he's exacerbated a tax on sunnis and arrested and roundup prominent sunni politicians and as a result basically pushed most of the prominent sunnis into the hands of more extremist elements in western iraq. that's given al qaeda a base once again which to launch attacks into syria as well into iraq. moreover, maliki is facilitating iranian arms transfers into syria, which he shouldn't be doing in violation of the security council resolutions. here's maliki coming to washington and he's the guy pouring oil on the fire then wanting credit from the white house for being -- for wanting to be taking the fire hose and put the fire out. >> this escalated violence is becoming more and more of a concern for the white house. what do we do about this? given the fact the majority of americans don't want to be anywhere near iraq. if you expect the same outcome as we talk about afghanistan as we're now beginning to pull out. >> indeed. in 2014 there's supposed to be elections in iraq. and mr. maliki who has been responsible for the escalation of the sectarian violence is still going to be running for re-election. he has to be begin a process of democratization. he has to in effect be prepared to stop this roundup of sunni prominent sunnis and percent cuting the iranian disdissidents that need to be rea patiated or brought into the united states. more importantly, it will spill into syria, by giving al qaeda more reasons to establish the safe haven that we tried to stop al qaeda from developing in iraq and when general petraeus launched his surge there. >> yeah, those are important stories to keep an eye on. ambassad ambassador g ins berg, thanks. we have a neuroscientist who spent decades studying human brain and now turning to the dog brain. what he found and this is true, gra tu tous use of adorable puppy videos. up ahead. 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>> it's not easy. people don't like them because they are loud and in closed spaces. but when we set out on this project, we decided we were not going to force any dogs to do this. we treat them like family members that they are. with a lot of hot dogs and a lot of playing and a lot of patience, we got them used to the environment and built simulators and practiced and practiced. >> quick question, who let the dogs out? is my first question. >> clever. >> he makes jokes. i always wanted to know -- second question. you don't have to answer that. >> oh, good. >> my second is more serious, you document how there's an emotional response from dogs when they see certain humans they recognize. is there any link there to why we as human beings feel so close to dogs? >> well, that's a great question. i've been studying humans for a very long time. there are certain parts of the brain that humans respond to when we interact with each other. so really the reason we're doing this is to try to figure out if dog's brains respond like humans in similar really do. growing up, my dog always knew when i was sick. it was fascinating. but here in new york city, i cannot tell you how often i'm on a run or even at a restaurant and dogs are treated like human beings, whether they're being strolled around in a stroller, whether they're being fed caviar or they're dressed in designer gear. it's unbelievable. and in some ways i'm like this is absurd. >> i can't wait -- it's so weird. >> so weird. >> but is it really absurd? you talk about dogs having the same rights as human beings. what would that world actually look like? would it be different than what we just showed you? i think it would be a little different. when you look in the dog's brain and see processes that are pretty much the same as what we humans have, you really begin to wonder, you know, maybe they should be treated as more than property. because that's what they're legally recognized as, as a piece of property. and so like you said, i mean, if so many people are treating them as family members, maybe they deserve to be recognized as more than a toaster. >> well, and doctor, extend that argument to its logical conclusion. are other animals also -- do they also have similar thought processes to humans and deserve that sort of treatment? >> yeah. that's a great question. and i mean, it's caused me to reevaluate what i think of other animals, and the answer is i don't know where to draw the line. i know that dogs are special. because they were the first animals that we took in. and they have been with humans for 20, 30,000 years. and so i think they have a special place in our society. but i don't know kind of where it stops. >> all right. dr. gregory burns, good stuff to think about. good luck with the book. thank you. >> now that it is november, you might have noticed a lot of guys have been leaving the razor in the medicine cabinet. that is because november is also mo-vember when men grow facial hair to raise money and awareness for health. seems like guys are looking for random excuses to grow facial hair. and why not if it's for a good cause. some facebook fans are taking part, both the men and ladies. diana notaro says she is willing to stop shaving her legs, which i say it's tight season so go for it. like us on facebook to take the interactive poll and head over to thecycle.msnbc.com, where you can learn more about the cause. dr. gregory burns was terrific. up next, toure on the prospect that's at ghoul progressives hopped up for 2014. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. lately dems have been getting high on a particular drug, ie, the idea that the house will turn democrat in 2014, we will look at the house and say in the immortal words of jesse pinkman -- >> 'cuz it's blue, bitch. we have been getting high on this dream as the fictional junkies did on highsen berg's meth. let's explore the formula behind the powerful drug, the chemical reaction. the formula must begin with the right climate. pollsters see angry voters as the house gop as the center of our problems in washington. the toxic element poisoning government. the weakened gop brand is attracting a second element, quality candidates. good people are seeing a chance at finding the courage to run and they are energized by a narrative around the shutdown, and gop extremism, attracting money. a recent roll call story notes dems are so far winning the 2014 money race but there are other factor that is should temper any and all excitement regarding climate. what will be the impact of voter amnesia as the shutdown fades from memory and will the obama care rollout stay bad, damaging the brand? will the economy turn voters against dems? will the president's approval number stay in the 40s? history shows, midterm house elections are almost always bad for the party in power. partly because of who shows up for midterms. diehards. the 2012 electoral turnout was 58% for 2010 it was 41%. retirements are often a key to gains, but all nine retirements for 2014 are in ruby red districts seven points more republican than the national average. as for money, the rnc has outraised the dnc 61 million to $49 million and conservative million airs are going to funnel enough money to make sure incumbent republicans have all they need. dems play that game too. but republicans so far are far better at it. the mountain for dems is everest high. dems would have to hold all lean seats and win all vulnerable lean republican races. the odds of a dem house are slim, people. and it's that extraordinary difficulty of turning the house blue in a world where 80% are in safe districts. that's why we get extreme tactics that threaten to undermine the activity of the democratic process. republicans know the risk of punishment is low. in 2012, house dems got 500,000 more votes than republicans, but the gop kept their 30-plus seat advantage, because republicans have a massive structural advantage in the house, because of gerrymandering done after 2010. as the economists wrote, in a normal democracy, voters choose their representatives, but in america, it's rapidly becoming the other way around. gerrymandering has significantly damaged the integrity of our democracy, and made our house so predictable that the likelihood of turning blue in 2014 is equal to a school teacher becoming a drug king pin, only in your dreams. hey, did i explain that well? >> yeah, mr. white! yes, science! >> all right, that does it for "the cycle." now for someone who i'm sure agrees with all that, joy reid in for martin bashir today. >> 110%. love the "breaking