morning. i'm matt lauer here at the new york stock exchange. ann curry is uptown in studio 1-a. good morning. >> good morning. we can see it's quiet right now but there was a lot of emotion there on thursday as stocks were taking a nose dive. look at these images. >> yeah, there was a lot of emotion. including thursday's 512-point plunge. the dow has now fallen eight out of the last nine trading sessions. that wipes out all the gains for the entire year. and there are some real fears this morning that we're slipping into another recession. so how much did that nasty debt ceiling debate in washington contribute to these latest declines and is there any silver lining here? we'll talk to two of the best people on the business on subjects like this, maria and jim cramer. redman o'neal, the son of ryan o'neal, was arraigned last week. coming up, what ryan o'neal had to say. also ahead this morning, remarkable couple we've been following more than a year now. rachelle friedman was paralyzed when she was pushed into a pool by one of her bridesmaids at her bachelorette party. now she's finally married the man of her dreams. they are just back from their honeymoon and they will be in our studio this morning. also this morning, one of the most beloved stars of the 20th century, actress and comedian, lucille ball would have turned 100 years old tomorrow. coming up we're going to show you these never before seen photographs of the tv star, and we're also going to have a huge crowd this morning out on the plaza because it's friday and we have a concert from one of the most popular bands around, maroon 5. matt, back to you. >> ann, thank you very much. we look forward to that. let us begin on this friday morning with wall street's worst sell-off since the financial meltdown in 2008. we have r. joined by cnbc's marmar maria and jim cramer. >> it's based on real fundamentals. the economy is softening. that's the worry here. >> the definition, jim, of a nano second is the time between a market plunging and the blame game starting. so where does the blame belong in this situation? >> this one is squarely not our fault. i think this is very much based on europe and the actual government in europe, not banks in the united states. it's hard for people to understand. >> we're hearing another term, double-dip recession. you talked about this on our show just the other day. the white house says they don't think that's what we're seeing right now. let me read you what paul krugman writes in this morning's "new york times." it's not just a threat of a double-dip recession has become very real. it's now impossible to deny the obvious, which is that we are not now and have never been on the road to recovery. i'd like your reaction to that. >> i read that piece and i've got to tell you that's about as gloomy as you get. >> too gloomy? >> i thought too gloomy. as well as people down here, it's usually closer to the bottom than the top. things are not good. it's just that i do believe that the possibility of a recession has increased. i do think it could even happen. but the idea that everything is falling apart like 2008, got to be taken off the table. >> back in 2008 the banks were misbehaving, companies were doing badly. here in 2011 the banks are doing pretty well, companies are doing pretty well, although they're not hiring. bampgs a banks are sitting on a mountain of money. >> yes. the banks in particular has been able to raise an enormous amount of capital. it doesn't matter what you call it, recession, depression, dip, double dip. the bottom line is we all feel it. there's nervousness and fear out there. at the end of the day we're still in a fragile situation. >> when you say there's nervousness. consumers are scared. consumers drive 70% of the u.s. economy. that's a very bad thing. >> it is. that's why retailers are one of the areas that people are sell right now. watch for more data points to find out where we are in this recovery. the unemployment situation, retail situation is fragile, weak right now. >> retail market is very much hinging on two things. consumer confidence but also gasoline prices. i'm no pollyanna and you know that but i do see oil plummeting. that is going to be a relief of a tax on every american. >> you are no pollyanna. i want to remind you what you said on our show in 2008 as the marketing were plunging back then. you said if you need your money, you said this to the consumer and investor out there, if you need your money near term get out of the markets. you don't feel we're there again? >> buyer was raising in a theater. sometimes you want to save as many people as you can. this time the fire is not raging. i think things are better than people realize. i do believe the market can go down more. this is a different time. our corporations are just in the best shape they've been. our banks are better than any other banks in the country, in the world. >> longer term, that's definitely the case, very much in place. that doesn't mean short term we won't see more volatility. >> in 2008 the government jumped in with a new plan. we know that's not going to happen right now. there's no money for that. >> but the federal reserve will be there, whether it's low interest rates, in terms of their language, guidance, the will be there. the stock market is important because it makes feel peel poor ore richer. it feeds off each other. >> if i thought we were going to plummet, we dropped 33% after i made that call. i think we can do go down but don't see the systemic risk in this country like i do in europe. >> an hour away from jobs numbers coming out for the month of july. how are they going to impact the market? what are you expecting? >> people are expecting 85,000 new jobs created in the month of july. anything that's much weaker for that i think will be problematic for this market. the good news is we already have low standards here. the bar has been lowered. we're expecting a tough month. >> stronger than 2008 in this country. weaker over there. keep in mind, stronger. doom and gloom, not correct right now. >> jim cramer, maria bartimoro. back to studio 1-a and ann. now to the brutal heat wave covering the entire southern portion of the united states. more records were shattered on thursday. it will be another scorcher today. nbc jenna chablis is in houston, texas. >> the demand on the power grid in texas is so great. there is fear of why spread outages today at a time when fans and air conditioners are not just necessities, they are necessities. they are not just creature comforts. right now people are hoping that it cools off. it doesn't look like it for much of the south. >> do not take these temperatures lightly. there is is nothing -- there's nothing trivial about this at all. >> reporter: in memphis where the heat is being blamed for the deaths of a police officer and public works employee. city leaders are pleading with residents to look after their neighbo neighbors. >> please, just check on somebody. >> reporter: a gardner in santa fe, texas, did just that and saved an elderly man when he spotted him on the floor passed out from 100-degree temperatures inside this mobile home. carla allen is one of thousands left without power in arkansas after a malfunction at the area's utility plant. with no air conditioning to keep cool, she worries for her pets. >> they can't stand the heat. so i don't know what we're going to do. >> reporter: nightfall provided little relief for firefighters rescuing a communications tower worker who fainted from heat exhaustion. >> the heat is tremendous right now, even at night. the guys had to climb up 700 feet to get to the patient. >> reporter: it's so hot this lake in central texas has turned blood red. the result of bacteria that thrive in water starved of oxygen. the lack of rainfall is also contributing to the spiking temperatures. >> this heat wave is actually hotter if it would have been if we had a doubt under way. >> reporter: residents aren't allowed to tend to their yards. >> you've invested all this money in the trees and there's nothing we can do to water them to keep them alive so we're probably going have to replace several of them. >> reporter: soaring temperatures are taking a financial toll on those who make a living in the heat of summer. in phoenix, wranglers who offer horseback rides to tourists have to restrict their hours. not only for the safety of riders but for the horses as well. >> what are you going to do? you can't endanger the stock, you can't endanger the guests. what are you going to do? >> reporter: for temperatures below 100 degrees nowhere to be seen and the school year fast approaching, these students at a supply fair in dallas learn plenty of lessons on how to stay cool. >> we gave out a lot of water today. >> reporter: in the south three high school football players and coach have died just within the last week. some are calling for an end to those two a day practice which are sending young people out in the heat of the day suited up in heavy pads and helmets. >> all right. thank you. so just how much longer will this extreme heat last? al roker is upstairs with more on this. hey, al, good morning. >> good morning, ann. first off, we want to tell you tropical storm emily no longer just a surface trop. a lot of rain over haitis, santa domingo and parts of the dominican republic. these are cities that have had 100 degree days. 41 of them in dallas. 45 in midland. tulsa, 42 of them. heat advisories and warnings extend well across the southern part of the country. it will be 107 in san angelo. 107 in shreveport. add the humidity, it's going to feel like it's 113 in tulsa. 112 in loreda. as we get into the early part of the week, that area shrinks. we get cooler air along the plains and so, again, our friends in texas, oklahoma, and parts of arkansas, no relief for them going into next week. a good part of the southeast does get a break. ann? >> we can't say enough, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. we're going to get the rest of your forecast in a moment. but first now, a check of the other top stories. natalie morales is at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. about 4,000 furloughed federal aviation employees could return to work as soon as monday as the senate votes today to end the two-week partial shutdown of the agency. some 70,000 workers on construction related projects could also be back on the job soon. the bill extends the faa operating authority through september and eliminates more than 16 million in service subsidies to some rural airports. ubsidies to with the stalling economy president obama is urging congress to help america's 1 million unemployed veterans get back into the civilian workforce. the president will outline his proposal today that would give tax incentives to companies who hire out of work veterans. warren jeffs heads to a sentencing hearing today after convicted thursday on two child sexual assault convictions. heed a 79 wives and 24 of them under the age of 18, according to prosecutors. he faces life in prison. former beatle paul mccartney, may be the victim of another british phone hacking scandal. heather mills told the bbc she had been confronted by a journalist with details of a phone message left by mccartney in 2001. mccartney called the scandal a horrendous invasion of friday. virginia tech, brought back memories in 2007 when the school was the site of the worst mass school shooting in history. three teenage girls reported that they saw a man possibly carrying a gun. students and staff were ordered to stay indoors agreement ending a nearly five-month lockout. the new contract will eventually make the nfl the first major u.s. sports league to use blood testing for human growth hormones. is shuttle program may be over but nasa is still setting its sights sky high, "juno" explorer will be the farthest reaching solar powered craft ever. it is now 7:13. let's go back to ann and al. >> all right, natalie. thank you so mu tajupiter. >> and al's back with his forecast. we need sunglasses for a couple of reasons this morning. >> that's right. thank you. >> nicely done. >> we try. we try to show you where the severe weather's going to be in the plains mostly. could be strong storms. heat will continue through the southwest. beautiful day here in the northeast, 88 in d.c. 83 new york city. clouds in the pacific northwest, 73 in seattle. darn nice day in los angeles, plenty of sunshine and a high of 71. 81. that's what's go on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. we have temperatures in the 60s and 70s. the seven day outlook. highs today climbing into the mid and upper 80s. moderate humidity, partly cloudy. over the weekend, more humid saturday and sunday. saturday cloudy, afternoon and evening storms. maybe a shower sunday, partly sunny, hot and humid. hot and humid monday, maybe a storm. lower humidity for tuesday, wednesday, thursday. and it sho >> and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thank you. now to the humanitarian crisis in somalia a famine affecting millions of people, one brave woman has made it her mission to help, even though she was held prisoner there for 460 agonizing days. kate snow is in kenya this morning with that woman's story. kate, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, ann. when amanda was released a year and a half ago she made it a point of founding an organization to bring schools to the so mmali refugee camps. then the fam lyine hit and she decided to do more, a convoy into somalia. >> i want to go in five minutes. this has been going on too long already. >> reporter: organizing a food convoy into southern somalia is a logistical nightmare. not many aid organizations are attempting it. these are your two trucks? >> yeah, yeah, i'm so excited to bring these trucks. >> reporter: the 30-year-old amanda lynnhouse devotion to the challenge is even more impressive when you consider the last time she spoke to the world from inside somalia. perhaps the most dangerous country on earth. >> i don't know how much longer i can -- i can bear this. >> reporter: she had been working as a freelance journalist when she was kidnapped, held for 15 1/2 months. >> there's no one to take care of me here. i don't want to die here. >> they didn't treat you well at all? >> no. it was about as bad as you can imagine. i was kidnapped by a handful of teenage boys. so you can only begin to imagine the types of abuse that i endured. and it probably surpasses even where your imagination can go. daily. daily. >> reporter: chained, alone in a pitch-black room, she began to dream about what she would do if she ever made it out alive. >> i found that the most positive way to spend the time was really to think about programs that i could create that would one day transform somalia into a better place. >> reporter: after amanda's family paid for her release she returned to her native canada, but thursday morning she set off for the very country she once begged to leave. >> i was really tossing and turning. and i think maybe questioning right up until the end if i could actually go through with it. but here i am now, and i feel ready. >> permission from the transitional government now. >> yes, i was welcomed in. welcome to somalia, he said. >> you just stepped into somalia. >> i know. >> reporter: they unloaded enough food for 14,000 people, rice, sugar, flour, and oil. >> the last time that i was here it was not so good. at the moment i'm feeling better. there's a lot of security around. and you look at the little kids here, and that's the whole reason. >> reporter: feeding the hungry was what this trip was all about, of course. for aymmanda it was about reclaiming a part of herself, facing her fears and letting them go. she's already making plans for a second food convoy into somalia. you can go to her website, globalenrichmentfoundation.com or our website. >> kate snow, thank you so much. here at home, casey anthony is fighting her court of ordered return to florida to serve probation on a fraud charge. her lawyers are set to make their case before a judge today. we've got nbc's jeff rossen now in orlando with the latest on this story. jeff, good morning. >> hi, ann, good morning to you. obviously casey anthony doesn't want to come back to florida or serve her probation. even prosecutors here in florida aren't asking her to come back. here's the letter, in fact, from the state of florida, department of corrections, back in january saying she completed her probation, saying best wishes for a very successful future. but still it all sits in the hands of the judge here in orlando today who could decide whether casey anthony remains in hiding or not. when casey anthony was released last month, who knew we would be back today, awaiting a new ruling that could send her right back here to orlando. here's the issue. long before her murder trial, casey anthony pled guilty to check fraud. >> i sincerely apologize. >> reporter: admitting she went on shopping sprees at target and winn-dixie using her best friend's account. the sentence, time served and one year probation. at issue now, whether she already served that probation while sitting in jail waiting for her murder trial or does she need to come back. >> if the department of corrections was supervising her that entire year and she was at jeopardy of violating her probation if she did something wrong in jail, that means she was serving that sentence and we can't have her do it twice. >> reporter: the judge in the check fraud case said she intended casey anthony to serve her probation after her release, not in jail. casey's lawyers are fighting that. the original judge has since recused himself. so now this judge, the one who presided over the murder trial, could decide today. casey anthony's lead attorney, jose baez, spoke with matt here on "today." >> i live in the united states of america where someone's accused of a crime, you have your day in court, and if a jury finds you not guilty, that should be the end of it. but unfortunately, in this e-lynching type day that we live in, that's not possible. >> reporter: and don't forget, many in orlando don't want casey anthony to return. some people here screamed when the jury came back with a not guilty in the death of her 2-year-old daughter caylee. now, for some, that shock has morphed into anger with concerns for casey's safety. >> there's a lot of hate. she don't want to be in orlando right now. i would give it a time. give it a year or couple. >> reporter: right now casey an honey remains in hiding. no one is completely sure where she is here in the country. she will not be here at the hearing today. that is for sure. just her lawyers. she will only return to florida, we're told, if the judge orders it. court is set for 9:00 a.m. eastern. just a couple hours from now, ann. >> jeff rossen, thank you so much this morning. still ahead today, two friends convicted of a brutal murder on halloween, but was the only evidence against them based on a dream? coming up, we'll talk to the parents struggling to clear their son's name. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ child's voice ] ooh, that looks good. [ child's voice ] can i have some? [ child's voice ] you guys should rock, paper, scissors for it. ok. [ chuckles ] best of three? sure. one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. [ scoffs ] one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. one-two-three-shoot. i win! oh, man. [ muffled ] congratulations. [ male announcer ] get your own bbq pulled pork sub at subway®. tender, slow-cooked pork with irresistibly bold barbecue sauce. subway. eat fresh®. just ahead, what's behind the record number of deaths this year at yosemite national park? plus, the bride paralyzed in an accident at her bachelorette plus, the bride par