good morning. breaking news. a big stretch of the east coast still being battered by the remnants of ida. torrential rains, high winds, widespread flooding, and now at least five deaths blamed on the storm. we are live up and down the atlant seaboard. "going rogue." former alaska governor sarah palin on the attack and settling old scores. this morning, the startling revelations she makes in her new memoir about life inside john mccain's presidential campaign and why she might ask levi johnston over for thanksgiving dinner. and extortion scheme. supermodel cindy crawford's

family the alleged targets of a $100,000 blackmail plot over a bizarre picture of her young daughter. the latest details today, friday, november 13th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this friday the 13th. i'm meredith vieira. >> and i'm ann curry in for matt this morning. it is friday the 13th and the weather is frightening along the atlantic seaboard. >> a state of emergency for parts of virginia, delaware and new jersey, where high winds and driving rains have led to dangerous coastal flooding. and today's high tides are expected to bring even more flooding. we have got live reports all along the east coast, and of course, al's forecast, in just a moment. also ahead, meredith, a story that will make a lot of people very angry. a mother in texas told her own

husband that she had breast cancer and couldn't afford the treatment, so their town raised money for her. but now police say she was lying and was never sick and used the money to buy breast implants. we're going to get the latest on this story, coming up. plus, new questions about the sex message made by former miss usa carrie prejean and when she made it. on tuesday, she said she was 17 at the time, but now her ex-boyfriend who she sent it to at the time claims she was lying, that prejean was 20 and that she wanted him to lie about it as well. and he says it's not the only one. we'll hear from him, coming up. but let's begin with the historic storm socking the east coast. we have every angle covered this morning, beginning with the weather channel's jeff morrow in ocean city, maryland, for us. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. yeah, this friday the 13th has dawned stormy again. this is the third day in a row maryland's eastern shore has been bat yard by this storm.

and some of the remnants, you're right from ida, have gotten into this system, some of the moisture, some of the energy, and really made it a blockbuster of a storm. there's been rain, as much as four inches, right here, a lot more further south. but that really wasn't the issue. the issue was winds that gusted to near 60 miles per hour and churning the atlantic ocean behind me here into a frothy mess. and particularly at the times of high tide, we've seen some massive beach erosion here. we're just past the latest high tide, and it looks like we have another one to go through this afternoon before things finally start to calm down as we head toward the weekend. and boy, this area could really use it. it's been a rough last three days. meredith? >> yeah, and it will be rougher in some hours as well. jeff morrow, thank you. >> and the weather channel's mike bets is 100iles down the coast at virginia beach. mike, you've been pounded for days. i'm glad to see the rain isn't hitting you too badly. >> good morning to you. it has been unrelenting for days. this morning with the storm surge and high tide, virginia

beach, which is normally a sandy beach, now covered with debris and sea foam. coastal erosion has been significant in this area, especially with the astronomical high tides and the tide last night that peaked and came within two inches of a tide created by category 3 hurricane isabel in 2003. numerous roads around the area are under water, as are neighborhoods. multiple major highways and bridges and tunnels are closed this morning and power outages have been significant. 156,000 people are now without power in this area. last night, dominion virginia workers were actually sent home because the weather conditions were so bad, they couldn't make repairs. they'll be at it again this morning trying to get everyone back online. also this morning, governor tim kaine is expected to tour flooded areas in and around hampn roads, and at that time, it is expected he will declare all of southeast virginia a disaster area. >> mike bet yes this morning, you can see by the wind going by how rough it is. >> absolutely. al is upstairs with more on the storm's forecast. al, good morning to you. >> good morning, guys.

and this is a deadly storm. as you mentioned at the top of the program, at least five deaths, three in virginia due to traffic-related weather accidents. one person was drowned off the rockaway coast trying to surf. then in north carolina, an elderly gentleman was killed when a tree in high winds snapped off, struck him and killed him. and again, the winds the big problem right now. the rain won't be quite as bad in the northeast, maybe one to three inches, but the winds off salisbury, maryland, gusting to 25 miles per hour, 31 atlantic city. new york is seeing winds of 35 miles per hour. winds will gust up to 55 miles per hour. we have beach erosion. we've got flood warnings, coastal flood warnings up and down from the carolinas all the way to new jersey. and we're looking for offshore waves anywhere from 16 to 20 feet. rainfall amounts, again, not quite as bad as they've been, from new jersey up into new england. over the next 24 hours we're basically looking at one to two inches of rain. some localized areas could see up to three inches of rain. but again, the coastal flooding and the winds are going to be

the big story today. ann and meredith? >> all right, al, thank you so much. we'll get the rest of your forecast in a few moments. but first, let's get a check of the top stories from natalie morales in for ann at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, meredith and ann. good morning, everyone. nbc news confirmed that the 9/11 mastermind khalid shaikh mohammed and four other guantanamo bay detainees will be sent to new york city to stand trial in a civilian court. he's been held at guantanamo for more than three years. today, president obama is in japan beginning a four-nation tour of asia. he's still considering more troops for afghanistan but says a decision will come soon. and now he is losing a top adviser on guantanamo bay. nbc's white house director chuck todd is traveling with the president. chuck, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie, or should i say good evening out here in japan. let's start that with the architect of shutting down guantanamo bay, that prison, was greg craig, the white house counsel. well, it's been a politically troublesome thing to get done,

even as they're slowly trying to figure out where to send some of these detainees, as the earlier report about khalid shaikh mohammed. well, he is now resigning, largely becoming the fall guy for what is becoming very difficult. they're trying to shut this down by the end of next january. it's unlikely that's going to happen. craig is going to be replaced by the president's longtime campaign attorney, bob bauer. interestingly enough, bauer is the husband of anita dunn. dunn announced this week that she'll be leaving her white house post as communications director. the president right now is wrapping up a press conference with the japanese prime minister, the new prime minister out here. they talked about a lot of their areas of agreement, including nuclear non-proliferation, how to deal with this global economic recession, and most importantly on the agenda, surprisingly, is afghanistan. not just for the president, but japan is going to bring $5 billion to the table in order to help pay for some civilian funds there in afghanistan. natalie? >> nbc's chuck todd in tokyo with the president. thank you, chuck. army psychiatrist major

nidal hasan stands formally charged this morning with 13 counts of premeditated murder stemming from last week's massacre at ft. hood. he will be tried in a military court and could face the death penalty if convicted. hasan was charged in the hospital without his lawyer present. this morning i spoke with his lawyer about that. >> he still remains hospitalized in icu. i was gravely concerned about his medical condition the last time i was with him, and i really didn't think it was right to just kind of drop a charge sheet on him under those circumstances. >> president obama, meanwhile, has ordered a review to see if warning signs of contact between the shooting suspect and a radical islamic cleric were mishandled by army intelligence before the ft. hood massacre. attacks in northwestern pakistan this morning killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 80. one of the attacks, a bombing, hit a headquarters of pakistan's spy agency. and some horrifying moments thursday in rwanda where a passenger jet crashed into a

lounge at the airport in kigali. one passenger was killed. nine others were hurt. and a michigan police officer was suspended for two weeks thursday for using a taser on a man already handcuffed, sending the man falling to the ground. police say the man, though, had ad-butted the officer moments earlier. of course, we don't see that on the tape there, though. 7:09 right now. you're up to date right now. let's turn it over to meredith, ann and al. >> alarming footage. >> very much so. very disturbing. >> okay. >>l, tough weather along the east coast. what blt rest of the country some. >> well, rest of the country, things a little calmer, but we have amazing pictures from long branch, new jersey, to show you just what's going on. we're talking about waves anywhere from 16 to 20 feet. so, we're going to be looking at a lot of significant beach erosion. and as meredith alluded to, the rest of the country shows you we are watching another storm coming into the pacific northwest and bringing rain there. sunshine throughout the gulf coast into texas, on into the mid-mississippi river

. good morning. this november nor'easter is gradually winding down. we don't have as much rain. still getting passing showers out of the northeast and southeast. we are in the upper 40s to near 50. the latest wind gusts, around 20 to 40 miles an hour. might have a passing shower. highs in the mid-50s. drying out on >> that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you. and now to the new revelations former alaska governor sarah palin is making in her new memoir "going rogue." nbc's andrea mitchell has details. good morning, andrea. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. barely four months after sarah palin's emotional farewell, she's launching a book tour with all the trappings of the presidential campaign. starting with an "oprah" taping

for next week's show, john mccain's running mate is now running for revenge against what she sees as her tormenters in the campaign and the media. >> let's talk about the interview with katie couric. >> must we? >> yeah. >> okay. >> what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read? >> did you think that was a seminole defining moment f you, that interview? >> i did not, and neither did the campaign. >> all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years. the campaign said right on, good, you're showing your independence, this is what america needs to see. i'll try to find you some and i'll bring them to ya. of course, i'm thinking, if you thought that was a good interview, i don't what a bad interview was, because i knew it wasn't a good interview. >> reporter: but in her book obtained by the "associated press," palin described the interview as badgering and biased. at the same time, she writes the campaign kept her bottled up from reporters. written at breakneck speed with a collaborator, palin titles her book "going rogue," adopting the

mccain campaign's anonymous spike. they called her a diva for demanding a chance to deliver her own concession speech. mccain vetoed that. >> ok, listen up, everybody, isles going rogue right now. >> reporter: now it's payback time and payoff time for palin. she writes that she wondered at the time who was paying for those fancy clothes, but family members were told it's part of the convention, that the mccain campaign initially tried to glamorize her daughter bristol's pregnancy. >> there was a lot that went on in terms of the name-calling, the clothes, the diva remarks, those types of things, that of course she would express frustration with. >> reporter: now palin is expected to earn millions from book sales as she launches a bus tour through battleground states. >> the book tour, you know, the appearances on television are all designed to sort of rehabilitate that image in a way that would help her reconnect with the grassroots that loved her so much. >> reporter: but not going away, the palin family's soap opera. remember levi johnston, the disgruntled father of her

grandchild, who has been spilling palin family secrets. >> she's an incredible lady, but there are times, you know, she's not up front with everybody. >> reporter: palin's spokeswoman accused levi of lying, but now palin told oprah that would invite him to thanks giving dinner. >> he is a part of the family and you want to bring him in the fold and under your wing. >> reporter: but as palin was taping that interview, levi was preparing for a pornography awards ceremony at a new york club wednesday night, and thursday began nude photo shoots for "playgirl." on that subject of levi, palin also told oprah, "we don't have to keep going down the road of controversy and drama all the time. we're not really into the drama." by the way, "going rogue" is unusual for a political book in that it has no index. that does save the publisher money, especially for a book that was rushed into print, but it also means that all those people who have crossed sarah palin now have to actually read her book to find out what she says about them, not just look themselves up in the index, and

that could be palin's final revenge. meredith? >> it's a smart move. >> reporter: you bet. >> thank you very much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." david, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. >> so, a busy week for sarah palin next week. first an interview with oprah, then the book is released, then the book tour, 13 cities. is this all part of a very calculated political comeback? >> well, it could be, but it's still very difficult to know, and there's still one glaring fact, that 60% of those who were polled in exit surveys after the election last year found, 60% found that she was not qualified to be vice president. that's still a huge hurdle for her to clear, and a lot of republicans that i talk to think she's not doing the prep work in order to overcome that huge liability. whether she has a high profile, whether she has influence, both of those are true within the republican party right now, but it doesn't appear that that clear is being hurdled in terms of some things she's doing. just because she's popular, just because she has best-selling

book may not help her overcome that issue. >> but she certainly will have a platform on that tour. she's going to 13 different cities, a lot of those in key battleground states. if she is ambitious in terms of 2012, then how important is that tour for her the next few weeks? >> it is very important, and i think you're exactly right. the reality is, she's acting as if she's an incumbent rig now. she releases statements or posts things to her facebook account all the time in terms of policy, in terms of endorsing candidates as she did in that contested race in upstate new york, that house seat that was up. she is making her presence felt as an important voice within the republican party. some republicans who are actually responsible for getting republicans elected next year in the midterm race think that that influence might be overstated, but make no mistake, in the grassroots, among the base elements of the republican party, she's very popular. >> a if you talk to people like bill kristol within the republican party, he thinks she is a very viable candidate for 2012.

others say it would be disastrous if she's the nominee. the party is trying to redefine itself to find out what exactly it is, what it stands for. what role will she play? is she good news for the party or bad news? >> well, she is seen as good news in terms of energizing the base. it's still, it's what john mccain still talks about as a strength of hers in 2008. that can be debated. certainly, she did energiz the base. i think the preponderance of opinion right now is that she's energi energizing, but not really a top contender for the presidency among some of the other people that are out there right now. that can change. she has the ability to raise money. she has the ability to get a great deal of attention and we're still so early on. so, she's a name that's frequently mentioned, but there's a lot of work to be done among those republins i've spoken to before she becomes a leading contender to be a nominee. >> you know, david, she's going after the media in her book, which a lot of conservatives would applaud her for, but she's also going after former advisers in the mccain camp. is that good politics for her? >> well, it's not clear,

honestly. it's not clear how that plays out. clearly, there some very strong feelings about what went on in the campaign, how she was treated, and i think she wants to create as much distance as she can, try to rehabilitate her image as much as she can, lay blame at the feet of the mccain advisers for putting her in that position. i think she feels that's an important part of sorting all this out and working on her future, and it's also intriguing. it's what sells books. >> all right, david, what's coming up this sunday on "meet the press"? >> we'll be talking with secretary of state hillary clinton and also education reform. we'll have the secretary of education as well as newt gingrich and al sharpton on how to make schools better. >> david gregory, thank you, as always. see you on "meet the press." it is 7:17 and now here's ann. >> meredith, thanks. now to developments in the so-called balloon boy how in colorado. this morning the couple accused of being behind it all will plead guilty to charges related to the case, and nbc's lee cowan is outside the courthouse in ft. collins, colorado, with more on this. hey, lee, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. yeah, it was either this deal or deportation. at least that's what richard

heene's attorney says. he said had this couple not pled guilty to faking their son's balloon ride, he says there was a very good chance that richard heene's wife would end up being deported back to her native japan, breaking up the family. for colorado prosecutors, richard heene's balloon stunt went over like a lead balloon, and unlike this soft landing, richard heene is going down hard. >> is obvious that the larimer county district attorney's office was not cutting the heenes any slack. >> reporter: the flying saucer's architect, richard heene, is expected to plead guilty to a felony, attempting to influence a public servant. that's the stiffest charge recommended by the larimer county sheriff. >> it was an experimental plane? >> yeah. it's a flying saucer. >> it's a flying saucer? >> reporter: his wife, mayumi, who made those disturbing 911 calls, is expected to plead guilty to false reporting. that's a misdemeanor. prosecutors say the heenes not

only convinced authorities that their 6-year-old son had stowed away on that runaway balloon, but they also convinced their three children to lie about it, which didn't turn out too well. >> we did this for a show. >> reporter: first came that admission, and then, police say, mayumi confessed, admitting that it was all a hoax to generate publicity for a possible reality show, even while her husband continued to deny it. >> absolutely no hoax. >> reporter: but because mayumi is a japanese citizen, her confession gave prosecutors all the leverage they needed. >> if mayumi heene had been convicted of a felo, she almost certainly would have been deported. >> reporter: still, for some, a guilty plea may not be enough. >> there's a lot of people, especially their neighbors in ft. collins who were saying they should just lock these people up. >> reporter: at the very least, many hope the judge will make it impossible for the heenes to capitalize on their newfound infamy, but with the reality of reality tv being what it is,

well, all bets are off. >> the fact that he's going to be a felon may, in fact, help richard heene get the reality career that he's always wanted. there's plenty of people starring on reality shows who have had a criminal past. and so, he wouldn't be the first. >> reporter: ann, there's no guarantee that either one of them will actually get any jail time, although richard heene's attorney says there is the possibility that he might do about 90 days, she could do 60 days. and then, of course, the sheriff is still insisting that this couple pay back what this hoax cost this community. ann? >> all right. lee cowan, thank you so much this morning. and still ahead, supermodel cindy crawford is the target o a disturbing extortion plot involving a strange photo of her then 7-year-old daughter. we're going to get the latest on this story.

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still ahead this morning, there's been an arrest made in a case where a 5-year-old was

snatched from her home. but that little girl has not been found. is this surveillance video -- we'll show you that in a second -- the key to finding her? plus, the ex-boyfriend of former miss california, usa, carrie prejean, claims she's been lying about being 17 in that sex message she sent him.

good morning, everyone. our time right now is 7:26. it's friday, november 13th, 2009. i'm barbara harrison. an important heads up for parents in st. mary's county. the weather has forced the school district to delay opening this morning by two hours. employees, you should know that you are operating on a code one this morning. on the beltway in virginia, not weather but a water main breakage causing delays. the main has been fixed. that ten-in water main break that you may remember broke yesterday near 495. today, crews are out there repaving the road near route 129. that's causing some problems on

the roads. we will have a look

not as much rain around. a passing shower with a blustery wind. maybe a little lingering drizzle tonight and drying out over the weekend. how is the traffic? the capital beltway continues to run slowly because of the continuing repairs of the water main break from yesterday.

the right lane is closed. elsewhere, top side of the beltway, not bad getting into silver springs. barbar thank you. monday on news 4, salty or sweet, no

7:30 now on this friday morning, november 13th, 2009. and take a look at this. these are live conditions this morning in ocean city, maryland, where the slow-moving remnants of ida are churning up the waves and we are feeling the effects here in new york as well, but that didn't stop these brave folks from starting their day with us on the plaza. nothing stops them. i'm meredith -- >> i'm very glad. >> i'm very glad. i'm meredith vieira alongside ann curry, in for matt this morning. just ahead, the latest on that sext message featuring former miss california, usa, carrie prejean.

on tuesday, she claimed she was 17 at the time that she sent it to her ex-boyfriend, but now that boyfriend claims prejean is lying and even called him to get him to lie as well. we're going to hear from him in a moment and also show you some of the pictures he says prejean sent her during their time together. also ahead this morning, we've got supermodel cindy crawford and her family the apparent targets of blackmail, and police say that it's all over an unual picture taken of crawford's daughter when she was just 7 years old. we're going to get the latest on that story. first, a programming note. charla nash, the victim of that horrific chimp attack, will visit with her daughter over the weekend and we will be there as well to talk to them both. we're going to have that for you monday on "today." all right, but we begin with the desperate search for a missing 5-year-old girl in north carolina. police have now arrested a man and charged him with kidnapping, but so far, they can't find the little girl. nbc's ron mott is in fayetteville with the latest on this story. ron, good morning. >> reporter: hey, ann, good morning to you. the man in custody told a judge

he is not guilty of kidnapping. meanwhile, the search is on for another man who may now have the girl, a search growing more desperate by the hour. a father's emotional appe. >> whoever has my daughter shania, i just ask that they let her go and bring her home safe. we all miss her and love her very much. i thank the police department, anybody who has any information. >> reporter: late thursday, police announced the first sighting of shaniya davis before she went missing, appearing in a videotape in the arms of a man identified as mario andretti mcneil. >> all we're doing is pleading for mr. mcneil to please take her to the closest local hospital or law enforcement agency. he can simply drop her off. we'd just like to be able to return her safely to her home. >> reporter: looking overhead, sniffing for clues on the

ground, going door to door, policeearched all over for davis, the 5-year-old who vanished tuesday from her home at this mobile park. her mother told authorities the girl was on a couch at 5:30 that morning and nowhere to be seen 90 minutes later. >> all indications a normal 5-year-old's not going to wander away from home, especially at that time. >> reporter: clarence coe was charged with first-degree kidnapping, though denies involvement. >> do you understand why you're here today? >> no, but i'm not guilty, sir. >> reporter: it's unclear whether coend mcneil know each other, but witnesses say they spotted coe with the girl. >> he's charged with the kidnapping because he was driving the vehicle she was taken away, she was in. >> reporter: a neighr reportedly heard an argument monday night and then banging noises outside the place early the next morning. police say they found a blanket that might belong to her in the trash can. >> the idea that this baby is missing is bad enough in itself, but actually feeling like they

may think that, you know, i had something to do with it, that's pretty hard to deal with. >> reporter: andrea moore has not been charged. police will not comment on whether coe and shaniya's mother were in a relationship, but say "there were major issues with the family and social service agencies." police say she was spotted at the hotel 35 miles from her home more than a half hour before her mother reported her missing. they believe the child has not been harmed, small comfort to her heartbroken father. >> whoever has children out there knows how much their child means to them. bring her home safely to us. shaniya, if you're listening to daddy, i miss you so much, honey, and i'm waiting for you. i'm not going to give up and you don't give up, either, honey. >> reporter: a search of state records shows that clarence coe has had numerous scrapes with the law, including a four-month stint in prison this year for assaulting a female.

has bail is set at $100,000. >> ron mott this morning, thanks. clint van zandt is a former fbi profiler. clint, good morning. >> hi, ann. >> let's piece this together based on what we know. perhaps the best hints come from the fayetteville police spokeswoman who says "i think it is safe to say this is not a random occurrence," and also from the mobile home property manager who says "the man under arrest" was dating shaniya's mother. what do you make of that based on your experience? >> ann, this is all interconnected. we look at the time line, as ron mott described the argument or the fight the morning of, the disappearance of the little girl. she's seen with the mother's boyfriend and then she's seen at the hotel. of course, the challenging thing, ann, is that the timeline doesn't fit. the timeline that the mother's giving from when she saw the child to when the child disappeared to when she was reported missing doesn't fit right now. so, the mother has questions to answer, too. >> meantime, let's talk about the man under arrest, clarence coe, accused not only of

kidnapping, but he's also accused of terrorizing. now, why would a person kidnap a child to terrorize a mother, terrorize a family? >> well, you know, this is, unfortunately in these strained relationships, sometimes boyfriend-girlfriend -- if you want to find a way to really terrorize a parent, the mother, you either threaten their child or you take the child away. so, she may have felt her own life was threatened by her boyfriend or in an even worst-case scenario that her child was threatened. and of course, this is every parent's worst nightmare that your child is missing. >> we saw this footage and heard shaniya's father, which is very heartbreaking. >> sure is. >> you know, pleading for his daughter's release. but what you seem tbe indicating is that the mother is the key. so, if that is true, clint, what would you ask her? what would be the questions? >> yeah, i would have to go over this timeline again. that's one of the first things investigators want to do, ann, is lock a person into a ti timeline. and then when you find there are mistakes in that timeline, you

bring that back to her again and continue to hammer this home. i'm not suggesting she's necessarily a suspect, but i'm saying she does have the timeline confused. and if the child was seen in a hotel before the mother even reported her missing, that's too tight a time frame for the mother not to have known something about what was going on, ann. >> and shaniya in that videotape which we showed earlier, it's from a hotel camera, i understand, about 35 miles away from the mobile home. and so, what does this indicate? based on what we know, clint, what does this indicate about whether shaniya was harmed, whether she was harmed, whether she's still alive? >> well, it sounds like she's been passed off, almost, ann. if, in fact, the witness is right, that sees the boyfriend, mr. coe, driving away from that mobile home park with the little girl in his car and then in less than an hour, she's seen with yet another man almost a half an hour drive away, it sounds like it was an immediate pass-off, where the person who took her

turned her over to somebody else, this person took her northwest to a hotel, stayed there for a brief period of time. but what it does give me hope for, ann, is that the child's alive. that if this was some terrible way to punish the mother for something, there is no reason to kill this child, and we would hope that mr. mcneil, the last person seen with her realizes that and realizes his best thing he could do right now is to call the police and turn that child back over to police and to her mother. >> all right. your lips to god's ears. clint van zandt, thank you so much. if you have any information about the whereabouts of shaniya davis, contact the fayetteville police department at 910-433-1856. all right, now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> all righty. as we take a look at ocean city, maryland, live. again, the surf still churning up there. we've got reports of waves anywhere from 15 to 20 feet from ocean city, maryland, all the way up to the new jersey shoreline. and temperatures around much of the country still warmer than

usual. in fact, we're talking about temperatures from 5 to 25 degrees above normal from the plains all the way up into minneapolis and down into el paso. temperatures today in the 80s down throughout parts of central texas, 50s in the northern plains, 40s, 30s and 2 20s and of course, it's friday. that means we need to tell you about sunday night "football night in america."

this one is a rivalry of the ages. the patriots taking on the colts in indianapolis. cloudy, chance of a few showers, temps in the 50s. will they close the retractible dome and pump up the volume as they've been accused? you tune in! lucas oil stadium. this is the big one! sunday night "football night in america"! meredith. >> al, thank you very much. okay. now to an alleged extortion plot targeting supermodel cindy crawford and her family. beverly whitef knbc, our nbc station in los angeles, has details. >> reporter: as one of the world's most photographed women, former supermodel cindy crawford is accustomed to being the center of attention, but today, after an extortion attempt allegedly staged by an acquaintance to their former nanny, crawford and her entrepreneur husband randy gerber are in close contact with federal and international law enforcement. extortion crges and an arrest

warrant just filed in u.s. district court against a man named edis kayalar, who according to the affidavit, sought $100,000 from crawford and gerber in exchange for not releasing a photo of they are 7-year-old daughter to the tabloids. according to the affidavit, it depicts the unnamed child wearing shorts and a t-shirt and bound and gagged. the former nanny admits the photo was taken as a prank and apologized. last july kayalar first contacted crawford and gerber about the photo, claiming he took it from the nanny while she was sleeping. the l.a. sheriff's department was contacted. kayalar gave gerber a copy of the photo and gerber gave him $1,000. kayalar was found to be in the country illy and was deported in january. from there, the extortion attempts continued via phone calls and e-mails, kayalar claiming to still have the photo and in need of a lot more money, preferably euros. the e-mails were traced to

germany. their spokes says "randy gerber and cindy crawford intend to pursue any and all available legal action against anyone who aids the perpetrator in the distinction or sale of the photograph of their daughter." and still ahead, a woman accused of having breast cancer so she could raise money to afford breast implants. we will get the very latest. but up next, the 2012 dooms day theory. could the world come to an end in three short years? we're going to get the bottom of a much talked about calendar, right after this.

back now at 7:44. now to a new movie premiering today that predicts the end of the world is just three years away. the movie is called "2012," and it's all based on the ancient mayan calendar. here's tom costello. >> reporter: you've got to hand it to hollywood. if they waited until 2012 to release a movie about the world ending in 12, there wouldn't be much time to cash in on the

dvd sales. >> when they tell you not to panic, that's when you run! >> reporter: so, instead, "2012" is premiering in 2009, tonight, loaded with jaw-dropping special effects, lots of media strikes, cascading highways, tidal waves, cities sliding into the ocean, bad stuff. >> it's not just california. it's the whole world. >> the victims adhere to the mayan calendar, which predicts that the end of time will coincide with a planetary alignment on the 21st of december of 2012. >> reporter: well, kind of. under the mayan calendar, today's date, november 13th, 2009, is written as 12, 19, 15, 6. and on december 21st, 2012, the mayan date will be 13, 000. that's the end of the mayan calendar, and that means we're all in trouble. except it doesn't really. >> the normal thing in the mayan calendar after the end of cycle

is another cycle begins. and if you were going to talk to the ancient maya, that's what they'd say. this isn't the end of time. we're just starting a different cycle. >> reporter: yeah but there aren't many ancient mayans around anymore. still, one of nasa's chief scientists says don't worry, the earth's get a pretty good track record. >> the last colossal event that affected the earth was 65 million years ago. >> this is a feeling all over the park. >> reporter: although that didn't end so well for the dinosaurs, and they took their revenge in "jurassic park," which just goes to show this stuff never gets old. tom costello, washington. >> and we've been through this before, "war of the worlds." >> y2k. and other than big brother, we're fine. >> i think the computers have become big brother. facebook i think is becoming big brother. >> jim bell is becoming big

brother. watching us all the time in the ntrol room. >> anyway, i'm going to go see the movie. coming up next, the controversy over former usa carrie prejean has gotten messier, because we'll be talking about this message she sent her boyfriend. she's being accused by her boyfriend about lying about how old she was about the video she sent. the stunning, new claims, coming up after this

back now at 7:49, and now to the sext message featuring

former miss california, usa, carrie prejean, and new questions about exactly how old she was when she made it. nbc's jeff rossen has the latest. >> hi, meredith. good to see you. normally, it's a slam dunk. you're a celebrity, you write a book and make the media rounds to promote it. carrie prejean did all that this week, including an appearance here on "today." but now, it's her so-called solo sex tape sending this book tour on a detour. >> before we get to the book, obviously, everybody wants to know about they sex tape that surfaced last week. >> reporter: carrie prejean started the week unable to escape the tape. >> it was for, you know, private use. >> reporter: and now ends the week with private photos going public. tmz has obtained these images of prejean and her ex-boyfriend on a romantic trip. he claims along with these pictures, prejean shot 15 to 20 sex videos for him. >> it was the biggest mistake of my life. and did i think it would come out now and haunt me? no. >> so, you made this tape when you were 17 years old.

is it basically an example of sexting, something you sent? >> yeah, i think now they call it sexting. >> reporter: but now prejean's ex-boyfriend says she's lying, that she wasn't 17 like she claims, but instead 20 years old when she made the sex tape. in a phone interview with tmz, the anonymous ex-boyfriend says prejean asked him to lie about her age, too. >> it was very simple. i said, "hell no, i won't." she's not the girl she's portraying herself to be. >> california, carrie prejean. >> reporter: this former miss california rose to fame while competing in a miss usa pageant. >> i believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. no offense to anybody out there. >> reporter: carrie prejean lost her crown and sued the miss california usa organization for libel, slander and religious discrimination. she later settled the case, which leads us to another bizarre moment this week. >> larry, you're being inappropriate. you really are, so, i'm not going to talk about -- >> what? i'm asking a question. >> reporter: wednesday night she was a guest on "larry king

live." he pressed carrie prejean about the settlement. >> it's confidential and you're being inappropriate, okay? >> okay, all right. "inappropriate king live" continues. >> yes. >> reporter: then in a rare move, prejean whispers to someone off camera and takes off her microphone. >> i she leaving because i asked what motivated the settlement? >> yeah, i think that you are being extremely inappropriate right now and i'm about to leave your show. >> reporter: awkward moments, embarrassing moments, ending a week-long blitz for a book called "still standing." >> she's going to get a lot of attention -- the sex tape, walking off "larry king." there's a lot of buzz about her right now. i say she sells some books in the short-term. long-term doesn't look good for her because i can't figure out what she does after this for an encore. >> repter: interesting week, for sure. in the end, prejean only threatened to leave larry king's set. she never actually did. her publisher tells nbc news -- "due to the confidentiality agreement which carrie signed, she must decline to comment on any and all questions regarding

a so-called "sex tape." her legal counsel has now advised her to severely limit all her public statements and appearances." so, following that late thursday, prejean canceled the speaking engagement to a group of republicans in washington. meredith? >> all right, jeff, thank you. we asked the same thing here, what's the motive behind the settlement? and she won't answer that question, which is interesting. she says i can't discuss the particulars of the settlement, but those are two separate things. i'd love to have her back here just to talk about that. so, we'll see. >> all right, carrie, i hope you're listening. just ahead, a woman accused of lying about breast cancer to get money for breast implants.

washington, d.c. on a friday morning, a wet friday again. 50 degrees, the current temperature. time right now, 7:55. i'm barbara harrison. a water main break is still causing delays on the beltway in virginia. a ten-inch water main broke under i-495 near route 29. the break has been fixed. crews are still working to repave the roadway. d.c. police are getting ready to be out in full force. kicking off another round of all hands on deck designed to cut back on crime by flooding the streets with police working overtime. we want to remind you that st. mary's county schools will be opening two hours late because of the weather. employees are on code one today there. we will be back with weather and traffic for you in a moment. stay with us.

the big northeast ter

plaguing us the past couple of days is winding down. we still have light showers, winds gusting from 20 to 40 miles an hour. temperatures near 50 degrees. a passing sprinkle or shower with blustery winds. finally, drying out tomorrow morning and dry the rest of the weekend. how is the traffic, jerry? we'll start on the capital belt weigh-in ner loo in virginia. they will have the right lane closed while they continue to work on the road service with the water main break, it is pretty close. elsewhere, check-infor downtown, 395, loaded up to the 14th street bridge. barbara? monday, on "news 4 today," salty or sweet, no matter what your snack of

8:00 now on this friday morning, the 13th of november, 2009. the rockefeller center christmas tree is in place. nice to see you. they've got that 76-foot-tall norway spruce just in time, because it is windy here in midtown manhattan. luckily, most everyone on the plaza appears to have dressed for the occasion. hi, guys. i'm meredith vieira alongside ann curry and al roker. matt lauer off on assignment all week. >> he is. >> yes. >> he's back on monday, though,

everybody. >> mm-hmm. just ahead, an outrageous story out of texas, a mother accused of lying about having breast cancer. a lot of people believed here. there were fliers, a big fund-raiser in her honor. now police say it was all a lie, that she admitted that she was lying because she needed money to buy breast implants. >> oh, my god. >> we're going to have details in just a moment. really disturbing. it's a story about kind of what's the worst in people and also the best in people. >> exactly. hopefully, people won't lose faith in each other. >> right. >> just based on something like this. also coming up, we got to et meredith's sweet dog yesterday, again, adorable. and there are a lot of owners of pets, cats and dogs who really think their kids -- their kids! >> well, we think of them as kids. >> their pets are stars. so, we're going to talk to a professional this morning to help us figure out if you might be able to make your pet a star, a professional performer. >> we see a little one there. we're going to introduce you very shortly to the world's tallest dog. >> really? >> i mean, this thing is almost

like as big as a horse. >> it's like a guinness book of world records thing? >> the tallest on two legs, or -- >> i think on all fours. >> on all fours. >> wow. >> oh, my goodness. >> so, it's a big dog. >> he's here in the studio? >> yes. >> he fits in the building. >> no. he couldn't fit in a plane. we didn't have a c-17 big enough to get him here. >> but let's check on the important things, which is the news this morning. >> natalie morales in for you. >> good morning to you. at least five deaths are blamed on a nor'easter that is now lashing the eastern seaboard. the storm reached new jersey overnight, triggering floods, high wind and rough sea warnings. earlier, it caused flooding and power outages in virginia and knocked a north carolina beach house into the ocean. the self-proclaimed mastermind of the september 11th attacks will be tried in federal court in new york, not in a military court. in japan this morning, president obama said he is confident khalid shaikh mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice.

the president also said he will make a decision soon on whether to send more u.s. troops to afghanistan and that it will be "transparent to the american public." at a joint news conference this morning, japan's new prime minister pledged $5 billion in humanitarian aid for afghanistan. the convicted killer of a popular newswoman in little rock, arkansas, was sentenced last night. it took the jury less than three hours to sentence 29-year-old curtis vance to life in prison without parole for the rape, robbery and murder of the young rising reporter anne pressly. >> i'm here to say that the criminal justice system works. >> reporter: guy kennedy was calm and steady thursday night as he told reporters that justice had been served in the murder of his daughter, anne pressly. >> when provided the facts and told the truth, 12 people, men, women, black and white, found curtis lavelle vance guilty. >> reporter: 29-year-old curtis

vance was sentenced to life without parole for the murder of the 26-year-old anchorwoman from little rock. vance was spared the death penalty after his mother testified in court that she had been abusive and a doctor said vance showed signs of paranoia. inside the courtroom after the verdict was read, anne's mother, patty, told prosecutors it's okay. outside the courtroom, pressly's father said vance's real punishment will come when his life sentence is over. >> but it's not until he's carried out in a pine box will he really meet his true judgment. >> reporter: the murder happened last october during what prosecutors called a random home invasion. when pressly didn't answer her mother's early-morning wake-up call, patty kennedy drove to her daughter's home and discovered a horrifying scene. >> i was running. i ran around the corner back toward her bedroom, and i was screaming, "anne, anne!" >> reporter: patty found her

daughter bloody and severely beaten. >> oh. >> reporter: she had been raped and robbed, and five days after the attack, pressly died. now their year-long saga is over, but with no consolation for the loss of their beloved daughter. >> nothing that's been done here will ever bring anne back. we'll never see her smile, we'll never hear her laugh, we'll never know the joy of her presence with us until we see her again in heaven. >> and shortly after the verdict, pressly's mother approached the lawyers for her daughter's killer and was overheard telling them "you protected someone who should have never been protected." and now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on nbc "nightly news." brian? >> hey, natalie, good morning. thanks. adding to our usual series called "making a difference," as you know, this week we're doing some prominent americans and what they're doing for others. tonight, tim mcgraw and who he's helping on a daily basis. that and more tonight on "nightly news." natalie, for now, back to you.

>> thanks, brian. it's 8:05 right now. let's go back outside for another check of the weather from mr. roker. well, thank you very much, natalie. this young lady, you're skipping school? >> skipping school! >> what's your name? >> emily smith. >> emily, where are you from? >> virginia. >> i guess you can't say hi to all your friends because they're at school. my gosh! well, i hope you're enjoying this and your teacher doesn't see this. okay, let's check your weather, see what's happening. it's windy here. la crosse, wisconsin, pick city of the day, nbc 13. cloudy, breezy, 57 degrees. and as we look ahead to the weekend, for tomorrow, rain and remnants of ida move up through new england. mountain snows through the mid-rockies into the intermountain regions, rain across the pacific northwest. then sunday, sunday, morning rain in northern new england, rain through the mid-mississippi river va good morning. this november nor'easter is slowly drifting away from the coast. as a result, we are just getting a few passing light sprinkles

this morning. temperatures are in the low 50s to near 50 degrees. now, 53 in washington. later on today, we will have our high right near mid-50s. winds will be still gusty, gusting to 24 to 40 miles an hour. >> and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up, a very serious story about a woman who allegedly faked having breast cancer, even shaved her head to raise money to buy breast implants. we'll get the disturbing details, coming up right after this. and you just can't find it? the cell phone's always right inside your pocket. it's a smart phone. it can do it all... 5 megapixel camera. you know, facebook...email... twitter...update. click. record things in high definition. this holiday season, come into best buy. you're giving the gift of communication. [ female announcer ] come to best buy for the three hottest phones from sprint: the htc hero, the samsung instinct, and the instinct hd. we do cell phones

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back at 8:10. and now to texas, where a believable story about breast cancer and a lack of insurance coverage has now turned some soft hearts into hardened souls. nbc's kerry sanders is in waco with details. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, meredith. hundreds of folks in this community gathered here at this restaurant to raise money for a young woman who they believed had breast cancer, but as you'll see, cops say she didn't have breast cancer. instead, she used the money raised to get breast implants. 25-year-old trista fabianke with her husband and children, the photo part of a flier explaining the young mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and has lost her insurance coverage.

turns out, police believe it was all a lie. cops say trista really used the money for breast implants. >> she went as far as to shave her head and to do other things to have the scheme or the scam seem very believable, that she was going through some form of chemotherapy. >> reporter: the fund-raiser in august was a huge success. hundreds of people paid $10 apiece. dell meirhan says when he saw trista with a do rag on her head, it reminded him of his wife when she had cancer. >> i said, hey, this looks like it's a real thing. and then have a breast augmentation with the money that you took from these people that opened up their heart? >> reporter: diana tackleman says she gave from her heart. a full-time housecleaner, she still dug deep. >> my sister had breast cancer twice. >> reporter: her grandmother died from the disease. >> i think it's very sad. i think she needs to pay back the money she took and give it to somebody who does have

cancer. >> reporter: detectives say they believe trista's husband was also duped. the day she was arrested, he filed to have their marriage annulled. those with breast cancer, like 60-year-old jane allen, are appalled. do you think this hurts people who legitimately have breast cancer who are trying to raise money? >> i think it does. i think it diminishes their possibilities and efforts to raise their own money. >> reporter: we did attempt to get a comment from trista, who is out on bail and her lawyer, but neither returned our calls. it's unclear this morning that, if convicted, could a judge order the surgical removal of her breast implants, but at the very least, he could order restitution. meredith? >> kerry sanders, thank you. local radio stations apparently dupeby the scheme now say that they're going to take a closer look before hosting future events. diana tackleman is with us now

along with randy plemens, chief deputy with the county sheriff's office in texas. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> diane, if i can start with you. you are a widow. you clean homes and offices to earn a living, but you were moved by trista's story. as you said in kerry's piece, you had a sister who battled cancer twice, a grandmother who died from breast cancer. when did you learn that you had been scammed? >> a week ago wednesday when i was back out here. >> how did you find out? >> well, there was a newscaster from channel 10 out there and i just went up to him to ask him why he was out here, and when he told me, i felt like somebody socked me in the gut, because my sister, like i said before, had breast cancer. >> and when you found out that she had taken the money because she wanted breast implants, what was your reaction to that? >> it just -- i couldn't believe that anybody could do such a thing, you know? my sister was lucky enough to have insurance, and there's so

many people that don't and that need help, and the ripple effect of this is going to be terrible. it's already showing. >> what do you mean by the ripple effect? you mean distrust of people in the future? >> well, i've heard already people don't want to donate to the benefits because they're not certain that they're real. >> chief, if i could bring you in here. a couple of your own officers were duped as well. at this point, this woman has been charged with theft by deception. what is the next step in the legal process for her? >> well, the next step, she'll obviously be in a hearing where she will be seen by a judge to determine, you know, what her plea will be. and at that point in time, she will make a determination what she will do and then the courts at that point in time will basically set a date to determine what that plea will be. >> do you expect that the people victimized here will get their money back? >> well, that's our hope. obviously, we're still trying to

collect information on what ctims were involved in this event so that we can get a complete restitution list so that at some point in time, if that does go to court, we'll have that list complete of victims that were involved. >> diana, i know that among other things, you would like trista to actually sit down with some people who have breast cancer to understand exactly what she did and how harmful it is. i don't know how much money you lost -- i think it was around $20, is that right? >> oh, it could have been anywhere from $20 to $80 that i spent. i don't keep track of what i give to the benefits. >>right. but i know that's not the point for you. the point for you is that she realized her mistake and also you are worried about other hearts hardening. are you now in a position, diana, where if somebody came to you with a hard luck story, you would be less inclined to help them out? >> no. i'm not going to go that way. i'm just going to go ahead and help them out and have faith that they're telling the truth. you just can't letne bad apple change your faith in human life and help people out. >> glad to hear that, diana

teichlem, chief deputy randy plemons, thank you both. >> thank you. and up next, the new way to protect your children from traumatic injuries on the sports field. that's right after this. from when i was a kid.s this is from mommy's first ballet recital. oh, and this is when i got a two-wheeler. pretty awesome. i used to have one of these. there's a new one. "for lucy, to get her started. love, grandma." look lucy, this one's for you. ( gasps ) hallmark keepsake ornaments. at your hallmark gold crown store. one of many ways to find meaning inside.

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head injuries. it's a growing concern among parents of younger players. well, "today's" tiki barber has spent his share of time on the field. he's got more for us. good morning. >> good morning, ann. concussions go dstically unreported in high schools, in part because many believe you have to be knocked unconscious to have one. i recentl went to a school outside of boston where a new, specialized helmet is being used to minimize the risk. for the more than 1 million kids playing high school football -- >> man, this is not a weapon right here. we do not tackle with what? >> helmets. >> reporter: helmet safety is one of the most important concerns. according to the "journal of athletic training," approximately 55,000 high school football players suffer concussions each year. >> the brain has the consistency of jell-o in its natural state and really doesn't take a whole lot to injure it. >> reporter: although concussions can happen to any athlete in any sport, in 2008, football had the second highest number of sports-related head

injuries. >> let's go, boys, bring it in here! >> reporter: john pappas is the head coach of buckingham, brown and nichols in cambridge, massachusetts. last year at bb&n there were 25 concussio concussions, and about a quarter of them were on his football team. >> football's a wonderful, woerful game. it's a collision sport, though, and the boys need to know that. they know it and they know they have to play it safe. >> reporter: but many kids would rather play through the pain than come off the field. if you had a real concussion and you knew it, would you lie about it? >> last thing you want to do is come out when the game's on the line. >> obviously, it's not that smart of a decision, but i mean, being a kid, you just want to go in there and help the team out. >> reporter: coach pappas is an advocate of playing it safe, recently mandating the use of specially designed helmets aimed at protecting the athlete from traumatic brain injury. the school didn't buy the helmets. the parents bought the helmets. >> we didn't have it in the budget. we decided to approach our parents and say, do you want your son in what we feel is the safest helmet on the market?

and 100% of our parents bought into the program. >> reporter: at $350 a helmet, it's a significant cost for parents. >> even in times today, you know, where everybody's scraping a little bit, i think that anything we can do to put the kids in a position where they may not get that concussion, i think it makes a lot of sense. >> when that player gets hit, you really need to think about what's happening to the brain inside the skull. >> reporter: the helmets, equipped with compressible shock absorbers cushion much like a shock in a car. >> this system is designed not only to prevent your skull from cracking, but minimize how suddenly your head moves upon impact. >> reporter: a step in the right direction to minimize head injuries. does this type of technology help? >> well, i think anything that's going to decrease the blunt force that the head sustains is likely going to help, but just like it is with car accidents and airbags, we're not going to eliminate concussion with technology. >> the helmet is one part of the strategy. technique, rule enforcement and

proper management of the injuries when they do occur are absolutely critical to addressing the epidemic. >> reporter: for some, adding piece of mind in a sport of hard hits. >> i'm not sure it will be completely concussion-proof, but it's a step in the right direction. >> dr. joseph congini is medical director of the sports medicine center at akron children's hospital. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> thanks for joining us with tiki here. let's first talk about this epidemic, as we just heard it described. you know, you don't have to fall unconscious to have suffered a concussion. >> right. people know it as the silent epidemic right now because it's very hard to pick up on, and where we need to be better is on recognizing and educating parents and athletes about what concussion is, and that's why a segment like this is so helpful. >> how do we recognize a concussion? >> obviously, people think loss of consciousness, that happens obviously. but only less than 20% of concussions have loss of consciousness. over 80% don't have loss of

consciousness, so there's other symptoms that kids have that show us the brain isn't working normally. >> and you have a list of these things. >> there's a long list, yeah. and you can see that there's a card we give parents, because it's a long list. because the fact is, the brain has a lot of different jobs or functions, and when the brain is bruised and not working right, you can have visual problems, you can have balance problems, you can hav memory problems, sleep problems. >> headaches. >> a lot of different things. one simple way to think about it is the brain doesn't work normally. it's like if you work and you're used to working on a high-speed computer and all of a sudden, you have to go to one of the old dial-up computers that take forever. have you ever had that experience? >> yeah, the brain works like that when it's concussed. >> you've worked on this. >> i was on capitol hill for the concussion discussion they had in the house, and one of the things that kept coming up and one of the things i really wanted to express -- and i just talked to you about this off air. your son is playing football right now. he's 14 years old. and i asked you, does your team have a doctor there? >> and i don't know. >> 58% of hsiigh schools do not

have access to an athletic trainer, and especially someone who is trained to recognize concussions, and that's where the danger comes in, because high school kids wanting to emulate the pros they see on 8:26. we have 50 degrees in the nation's capital. cloudy skies and rain. we will get the forecast coming up on this friday, the 13th of november. good morning. we have a school delay to tell you about. st. mary's called. the schools will be open two hours late. the employees are being told to operate under a code one. this is the reason. there is flooding across the county in st. mary's county. take a look at this picture now. this is route 243, just off of route 5 in leonard town. it is covered about water. even though the rain has

stopped, flooding remains a big concern. the national weather service has issued a coastal flood warning for st. mary's county until 5:00 tomorrow. let's take a break and come back and look at our weather forecas

this november nor'easter is winding down. still, passing and highs in the

mid-50s. the sun returns on sunday. high near 70. how is the traffic, jerry? an accident, 395 southbound. the northbound flow lanes are open. one more stop, i will let you no here's to discovering that the little things in life are often big things and the time well spent doesn't always mean money must be spent people everywhere are building their lives on more solid ground

through sound choices and a smart approach to their finances and they're turning to suntrust for easy ways to save money and take more control over it live solid, bank solid. suntrust. 8:30 now on this friday the 13th, november 13th, 2009. weather's a little scary here for the 13th on the east coast. plenty of wind and some rain expected, but our friends on the plaza don't seem to mind a bit. just ahead this half hour, turning your pet into a star.

[ laughter ] oh, my gosh! on thursday, we showed you that's my doggie jasper posing for a print ad. today an animal agent shares the secrets to getting your pet into show biz. so cute. we'll also meet an animal that clearly has star quality. that's titan, and the folks at guinness world records have declared him -- take a look at him -- the world's tallest dog. >> not right now. >> no, not at this moment. >> when he stands up, you're going to be very impressed. >> he'd wipe the floor with marmaduke. plus, it's easy to bundle up when it comes time for the weather -- >> nice hat. >> but how do you do it without looking like the michelin man? well, we'll show you how. >> got to look like meredith with the hat. >> this is al's hat. he let me wear it so i could get my hair out of my mouth. also coming up, i had a chance to sit down with oscar winner halle berry. she's speakingut about a very personal reason that she's committed now to helping victims of domestic violence and help

putting their lives back together again. >> she's a beautiful woman. before we get to the weather, you know, we taped "millionai "millionaire." we did it yesterday, and al roker was our celebrity -- >> oh, al! >> all i have to say is i'm with al every day and i could not answer your question. it had to do with something on the weather map. that's all i have to say. which shows i do not pay attention, but from now on, i will. i'm going to watch you when you deliver the weather. >> watch carefully. >> i'm watching you. >> all right. let's check your weather, see what's happening. is she watching? she's watching me. for today, wet weather in the pacific northwest as another system comes by. you're not looking at me. we've got rain along the east coast because of the remnants of ida. then for tomorrow, that rain moves up into new england. rain in the pacific noic no good morning. the rain and winds from this november nor'easter are now beginning to diminish. as we take a look at the radar, we can see that we do have some areas of rain on radar.

now moving from the west to the east. as we have this few areas of scattered showers coming through, we will have temperatures holding steady in the low to mid-50s throughout the rest of the day with winds gusting 20 to 40 miles an hour. tomorrow morning, maybe a little lingering drizzle. otherwise, mostly cloudy on saturday with a high n >> that's your latest weather. and for meredith, you can find out more about the weather 24/7 by watching the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> thank you. >> thank goodness! anyway, coming up next, how you can get your pet into show business. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ you ought to be in pictures this morning on our special series "lights, camera, woof!" how to get your pet into show

business. where do you start and how do you know if your pet really has what it takes? for the answers, we turn to some experts in the animal acting world. i met a wanna be stage mom with big dreams for her prize d persia. >> lassie! >> reporte >> reporter: from the loveable lassie to that sassy talker, mr. ed. >> just because you're not children, doesn't mean you can't be a movie star. >> reporter: to the precocious big on the tv show "greenacres," animal actors have always made a splash. whether flipper, beethoven or the furry friends in "meet the foers." and with more and more scene-stealing pooches in movies, it looks like hollywood has literally gone to the dogs. no wonder everyone wants in on the act. >> hi, it's cat with all creatures great and small.

>> reporter: catherine long is an animal agent, running an animal modeling business along with her mother ruth, an experienced zoologist, who provided all the animals on "captain kangaroo." together, they work to provide professional animal talent and handlers for on-set tv, film and print in the los angeles area. >> the vast majority of the animals that we're asked for and we work with are definitely dogs but we see a lot of cats, and then it goes from there. it might be farm animals, birds, snakes. it's great to have a cute, you know, dog or cat, but really, they need to be very, very well trained. >> reporter: gidget gormley knows how to behave and follow commands, a working yorkie for years. >> she was first cast in "mad about you" as a dog in an agility contest. that was an amazing gig. >> reporter: today, gidget's claim to fame, a role as frisky

in "sex and the city." >> i have actually found that i've raised more money for charity with gidget since she's done the "sex and the city" movie than she's made being a doggie actor. >> the reality is, is you're not going to be sending your kids to college based on a couple of jobs a year. >> i think some people are so enamored with their animals that that's where the whole stage mother joke comes in. >> reporter: meet brooke nevilles, "today" employee and stage mother in training. >> look how cute he is. >> reporter: who produced this youtube video of her beloved cass, oscar. >> oscar has star quality. he's exotic. i mean, he's captivating. i've taken oscar out. i take him to the vet and he rides the bus. i see oscar, i think, cat food, fancy feast. he would have been a great role in "meet the parents." he had have played the cat in "harry potter." he could do just about anything. >> reporter: could oscar be the next it cat? we asked our animal agent to

size up this animal. >> he looks like oscar the grouch. i see he dances, too, that's good. and he even wears outfits. that's actually good. t too. what strikes me about oscar is he's extremely tolerant, so that's a good sign. any dog, any cat has the potential to be good and do this type of work with the right disposition and the right training. i would definitely take her call. >> i love you, oscar. >> yeah, that was laid in. catherine long from the all creatures great and small animal agency is with us to meet oscar and brooke in person, along with another "today" show staffer, susan tassler and her fiance, michael bowser. and they have big dreams for their 10-year-old dog. first, let's talk about oscar cat. the good news is you took a liking to oscar. >> yeah. he definitely has potential. cats are one of the hardest animals to train. they don't like traveling, they don't like being in unfamiliar environments and they don't like being handled by strangers, and

he seems to overcome all those obstacles. >> what are the obstacles he does face, though? >> um, actually, black is a very hard color to photograph. >> really? >> there isn't a lot of contrast. >> okay. >> but withis bright gold eyes, you have the contrast, which makes it very appealing. >> so, you see potential? you see a future? >> oh, he does have potential. >> okay, good. what about henry now? susan, i know you and mike have taught henry some tricks. can you show cat a little bit of what henry can do? >> yeah, sure. >> a malte-poo, a maltese and a poodle. >> henry, sit. henry, sit. good boy. >> eat, henry, eat. >> hey. >> sit. >> go ahead. >> lay down. roll over. roll over, henry. all right, high five. good boy. >> yeah! >> what do you think of hry's prospects? >> well, this is actually a perfect example of a pet. they've done a good job with his training, but he does need more training. his focus needs to be a little

bit better. and also, you know, we're in a different environment around strangers and distractions. he is very cute. he has a cute black eyes -- >> he is very cute. >> and nice black nose. so it's nice contrast. but you know, it's more than just sit and stay. >> well, if you want to get your pet into show business, there are certain basics. you just said the first one is training, right? that's the name of the game. >> absolutely. at all creatures, we really focus on what we call the four ds. the first one is discipline, which is basically consistent training. the second element is distance. you need to be able -- he needs to be able to work off leash from 10, 20 feet away, possibly even with hand signals. the other one is distctions. he may be on a set having to wear antlers or a hat like jasper did. >> like jasper did, yes. brilliant jasper. >> or there could be kids playing in a tv kmshl. so there's a distraction. >> okay. >> and the last is duration, which is both being able to stay for long periods of time as well as doing it repetitively. so, those are the four ds we

really focus on. >> i'm asking you -- you're an agent, so maybe you would say this anyway, but do you need an agent? >> you really do. the production companies who do the ads and the television commercials and the films come to professionals like us. >> and for pictures, i mean, usually you think that's going to cost a lot of money, but you have to have some kind of picture, right? >> that's a good point. you do not need to go to the expense of professional pictures. you can take them yourself. we like a head shot, a seated shot and a standing shot so we can see the body. and that's really all that you need. you do not need to go to -- >> what about the video, like brooke had the youtube video. is that a good idea? >> it is, but that's very specialized. sometimes people come to me and say i want a persian sitting. i want it in a bag. i want it walking across set. so, i would ask her if she did a video for that specific action that they are requesting. >> now, mike and susan are getting married. could henry make enough dough for them that they could buy a house, and you know, a convertible and all that stuff? >> the reality is, no. >> no. >> i tell people, you know,

you're not going to send your future children to college. but it is -- there's no union for animals as there are for humans with s.a.g. and aftra. it's basically a one-time session fee and each job is negotiated separately. >> so, you do it because the animal loves to do it, essentially. >> yeah. you want them to have fun. i would never have anybody do this if it were stressing out the animal. you want to have fun, you want him to have fun. >> and the owners have to be pretty dedicated. >> it is. it takes a lot of commitment on the owner's part as well for consistent training. as you know with jasper, you have to, like a good parent, repeat the training. >> and oscar's pure-bred, i guess, and henry's a mix. so, does it matter? are some dogs better, or people -- >> absolutely not. we love mixed breeds. there's a reason they're called all-american. so, pure-breds or mixed breeds are fantastic. a retired show cat, which i believe oscar is, is fabulous because he has that type of experience. >> i just think the cameras

should go back to brooke. this is a stage mother not in the making already. >> thank you very much for pointing that out to everyone. >> and oscar and henry, the best behaved of the group. thank you so much. thanks to all of you guys. still ahead, another animal star. we're going to introduce you to the great dane. would you get up already? just declared the world's tallest dog. but up next, dressing for cold weather without being bulky. we're goin

this morning on "today's style," dressing for winter without the bulk. stacy london, our resident fashion expert and co-host of tlc's "what not to wear" is here to show off how to pull off these trendy looks without looking like the michelin man. stacy, good morning. >> good morning, ann. >> we don't want to look like that. but there's a lot of fur and leather in the looks today. >> yeah. >> what does that say about

where we are, what we're doing? >> i think for fall we did see a lot of fur, a lot of leather, things that are very luxurious, even in this economy. the first thing is there are ways to translate those trends into faux fur and faux leather that are, you know, still bulky, so we have to learn how to wear them, but they're much more price-friendly and animal-friendly. >> that's right. >> we just came after the anima segment, clearly. >> let's be animal-friendly. >> let's be and-friendly. >> you're wearing something that looks like leather. >> i wear the leather dress last time, so i thought i'd going for the faux leather pant. >> what are these made of? >> these are with pleather, which means you could probably spray them with windex and wipe them with a paper towel, which is a little weird, i'm not going to lie. but the great thing about them is they are animal friendly. they are a lot less expensive than actual leather, and for a trendy item, this is a good price point for something you may not have in your closet forever, but you have right now. >> and that is not adding bulk. >> it is not adding bulk.

this is a skinny pant, for sure. >> you look good in it. lois is going to be showing us about faux fur, the other major thing we talked about. >> yes. yes. one of the amazing things about faux fur, you'll see a lot of it this season, but in ways that are trendy and very young, very '70s. lois, again, is a lovely, gorgeous, mature woman, and we wanted to make sure if we were doing faux fur on her, especially in evening, we did it in a rich, luxurious color that looks real, but guys, this is $50, and it's from target. >> you're kidding me! >> check this out. >> i've got to check this out, lois. you've got to be kidding me! my goodness. it feels good. >> we're doing it with a kick to an evening look, but we're also doing it in a more '40s, '50s inspiration rather than something that looks like a rocker chick or a teen sort of rock star. we don't want to go there. we want to go much more sophisticated. >> i like the feathers, by the way, on her shoes. >> we added a little animal theme. >> there is something going on here with the leather and the

faux fur. it's kind of a hey, i'm coming out. take a look at me. >> exactly exactly. it's a strong influence. >> yeah. >> and also, one of the things is that these are statements. even in a difficult economy, looking for pieces with a little personality, that pack a little punch. >> okay, all right. lois, thank you so much for being our model. we've also got sidney, showing us how to wear a knit. knit, oftentimes, adds bulk. i love to wear them, but they do add bulk. >> but ann, you'r doing it exactly the right way. the first thing when you have a bulkier knit is to belt it, create shape on the body. if you lethese shapeless, you know, sort of tops take over, then y lose all your body line altogether. so, it is so, so important to create a waistline. belting is the best way to do it. with sidney, she's tall, she's got a larger frame. we want to go longer, but look at knit itself. it's still got texture to it with the cable without being so bulky. what you're doing is also great. you're doing a maux hair, which is a thinner knit, but still the

luxury of the knit. >> sidney, i love how your sweater matches the shoes and i think you're eoying this modeling thing. i think you are. >> sidney is one of my favorites. the other thing here is to do a fitted top underneath a bigger knit so we don't lose the body line, again. >> thank you so much, sidney. and now we have christina showing us the faux leather look this morning. >> yes. the faux leather look is similar to my leggings. first of all, this skirt is so great. it's $29.50 and it's from uniglo. and the great thing about this is it is absolutely appropriate for the office. if you pair it with an opaque or a textured tight and a great textured jacket. >> i like how it's above the knee. just above that. >> just above the knee. also, stick with matte when you're doing faux leather. it looks a lot more expensive than super shiny or patent. that can look fake and it can look a little tacky in the workplace. >> how does faux leather measure up with time? do you have to worry about it falling apart? >> absolutely not.

the plaeeathers we see will sta the test of time. by the way, leather is appropriate for the office. >> yes, it is appropriate when you pair it with a blazer and it's paired up. that's what people have to remember. you can do almost every trend well as long as you pair it with classics. >> you've accomplished your mission. you've given us the top looks of the season without adding bulk. thank you very much, ms. london. >> thank you, ms. ann. >> by the way, if you logon to todayshow.com, you can find more information about these looks. still ahead, we'll go house hunting across the country with barbara corcoran.

it's called pirate radio, and o genshalitay hop aboard, matie! arrr. >> good morning, welcome to the "critic's corner." it's 1966. itroinan almtop music, so a rebe sas a speyhe line where they don't rule the waves. fr there, they beamt rk music.

>> rock on! >> we've got the wrong damn boat! >> spectacular mistake. >> the music is hot. so is everybody else. they cravemoone after a couple weeks, girls they have known arrive for lusty blends of music and mating. the shipas a screw loo -- its crew loose. the movie "sex" is played for laugh. it's full of surprises until the film is flooded with peril. ahead lie waves of celebration. >> l's roc >> this movie, like the ocean, is uneven. even so, "pirate radio" can be

diverting, even if you don't know the righteous broths from the blues brothers. >> i'm the count! you're listening to radio robbers as we count down to ecstasy! >> and when the mieclicks, it is a wild bit of both. and that's in the north sea for "today." >> and you had the chance to see it, right? >> i did. it is fantastic. and the idea that this music might not have been able to really be embraced by the british isles had it not been for this ship, and where would the beatles have been? where would we be without the rolling stones? >> exactly. >> i mean, thank goodness! you really get -- it's fun. >> can't wait to see it. >> me too. just ahead, a side of halle berry never seen before. plus, the tallest dog in the world.

our time is 8:55 under cloudy skies at ronald reagan national airport. 53 degrees on this friday, the 13th of november. good morning. i'm joe krebs. in the "news 4 today," federal authorities are trying to seize a mosque in a building rented by the islamic ecation center in rockville. part of a national seizure by several properties that the government claims has ties to the iranian government and is funneling money to a bank invo

gray skies still out there. how about the rain? it has diminished quite a bit. this november nor'easter is winding down. we still have a few passing light showers moving in from the northeast heading southwest. we are into the low 50s around washington, now 53. we will peek at the mid-50s later today. a passing sprinkle. winds gusting 20 to 40 miles an

hour will gradually diminish by tomorrow night. otherwise, dry saturday, mostly cloudy. high near 60. how is the traffic, jerry? >> beltway rolling very slowly. good morning, everyone. the inner loop as you travel north. it is very, very slow up to the point where the right lane is closed just before i-66 while v dot continues to work on the water main break. elsewhere, no hangs ups, just volume to the 14th street bridge. coming up on news 4 "today," salty or sweet. no matter what your s premeditated

murder and investigators say major nidal malik hasan could face more charges. hasan is still hospitalized after being shot several times during the attack.

he could face the death penalty, if convicted. today, in northwest pakistan, suicide attacks he left at least 16 people dead and more than 80 wounded. in one attack, a suicide bomber in a pickup truck targeted the offices of the country's main spy agency. and a scary scene at an airport in rwanda thursday. a passenger jet that was reportedly having problems, was taxiing when it then slammed into a vip lounge, killing one passenger. airline officials say the plane autoaccelerated. and today a police officer in michigan begins serving out a two-week, unpaid suspension after police dash cam video showed him tasering a suspect who was already restrained in handcuffs. the incident happened back in august. authorities say the officer, though, will not face criminal charges. today in colorado, expected guilty pleas from richard and mayumi heene, charged in connection with that balloon hoax last month. their attorney says the couple made a deal because of concerns that mayumi would be deported back to japan if convicted of

more serious charges. it is now three minutes past the hour. you're up to date right now. let's get another check of the weather from mr. roker right across the way. al? all right, thanks a lot, natalie. let's take a look at ocean city, maryland, see what the ocean is looking like right there. you can see the waves have really started to subside since we first showed you this at 7:00 a.m. this morning, and that's good news, but they're still going to continue to pound the beaches and look for some erosion. and in fact, as we look right now, seeing what's happening, the winds are still kicking up. new york, we've got wind gusts of 36 miles per hour. providence, 28 miles or 33-mile-per-hour winds, and those wind gusts are going to continue. right now, coastal flood watches stretching from virginia beach all the way up to montauk. gusts to 45 miles per hour. two to four-foot water levels above normal, and we're looking for up to 22-foot waves. rainfall amounts generally anywhere fhere f well, the storm is really winding down for us. the rainfall totals today may

only be an additional quarter of an inch at the most. as we look at the ray door now, we are still getting a few passing areas of light rain coming in bands out of the northeast an passing into maryland and virginia, the district of columbia. that will be the story here throughout the rest of the day. temperatures now in the low 50s. we will peak in the mid-50s this afternoon. blustery winds, ♪ ow, she's a brick house this morning on "today's real estate," what can you get for under $500,000? well, our brick house, real estate expert barbara corcoran has been searching the country for great properties to show you. she is here for the open house. hi, barbara. >> good morning, al. >> good to see you. so, a week ago, the president signs the legislation extending the homebuyer tax credit. is that going to help keep the prices and folks' interest up

there for buying homes? >> i think it's going to kick people off the fence, people who have been thinking about it. because now, not only are they extended, but they've extended beyond first-time home buyers to seven out of eight people in america who are willing to buy a home right now. >> that's good news, so let's get started. first home is a lafront property in minnesota. >> good one. >> just under $300,000. you like this one. >> i like this. i like all my houses. >> of course, you do. >> but i like this one. it's ten minutes from downtown minneapolis. it's famous for its marching band, the oldest in the country. and there's that cream puff of a house. it's a custom-built contemporary, if you like contemporary built houses. lots of stairs, 3,500 square feettwo stories, and the beauty of this is it overlooks crystal lake and a park. >> ooh. >> so it's a pretty setting for a pretty house. >> will all those stairs cause a problem for some buyers? >> it does, it limits the number of buyers. people with young kids or old people don't want a house like this, but people smack in the middle dream for a house like this because it's meticulous. you walk in with your toothbrush

and move right in. it almost looks like a fake house, it's perfect. what can you do to make this house better? probably nothing at all. >> it's beautiful. furnished. complete privacy downstairs. >> now we're going to go to upstate new york, a listing you found in scipio center, new york. it's a special house. >> it's a special house because it has a special history as well as beautiful ground surrounding the house. this house was part of the harriet tubman's underground railroad. >> wow. >> and when we see the inside, you'll see the clapboard floor where they used to hide the slaves under the floor. this particular house processed more slaves making an escape than most of the other houses in america. that's a barn, just a little extra that comes with the house. it's a two-car garage, tons of storage upstairs and behind. there's the old house, and they retained all of the charm. look at the ceilings. i just love those ceilings. >> yeah. >> underneath that dining room floor pops right up. you can see the storage spaces where everyone used to hide. >> living history.

>> it's beautiful. but also, doesn't it look loveable? livable and modern. and that's what's great about this historic house. >> and there's a price reduction on this house. >> price reduction from $1.5 million. now it's at $429,000. please, if that's not a price reduction, what is? >> tell you what. now let's go to carson city, nevada, a house that would certainly appeal to horse lovers. >> horse lovers, definitely. this is an equestrian climate because everyone in this particular area really loves horses or owns horses, and it's an old ranch-type style. it's a sprawling ranch with 2 1/2 acres. that's your backyard. what's wrong -- that's also your front yard, your side yard. those are the horse paddocks. that's your own place to keep your horses in the back. it's got mature trees. it is also very convenient to lots of skiing, hiking, golf courses. so, it's not just about horses. >> so, even if you're not a rider, this is a place that will appeal to you. >> half of the people who live here don't even ride. but the thing is, when you're surrounded by horses, beautiful views, old trees, what's wrong with that? you don't have to love horses.

there's that beautiful den, wood-burning fireplace, a real one. the stone wall, master bedroom. everything in this house is spacious. it's a little deceiving from the outside, but inside it's as sprawling as its name. >> and omaha, nebraska, a house for $225,000. it includes a conversation pit. >> oh, yeah. well, when you see the conversation pi i'd be curious what you think about it here. i think that's the only shortfall in this house, but look at the front of this house. it's charming. it's nestled. it feels cozy before you even step inside. it's two stories and it's really built as a retreat. there's that back deck that's surrounded by trees. and not only does it have trees, but it has beautiful, beautiful two -- that's only one of the two big waterfalls. so, think of the sound of that, living with that house. there's the kitchen, customized, previously owned by a chef. a lot of extras. you see that really chef oven on the left side. it's got two wine storage units, all custom cabinetry. there's nothing you could do in this house. it's already done. and remember the price, $225,000.

>> there's that pit. >> i'd say it needs pillows or something. >> or fill it with water and you've got a pool. >> you're losing your rocker here, al. >> thank you very much. now let's move to sacramento, california. a lot of light in this house for $439,900. >> this is a pretty house. this is in an area where prices have been diving by the tune of 50% over the four years, and only in the last quarter have prices come up by 10%. what does that mean? it means you're buying at the bottom. if you're bung right now, we're just inches off the bottom. there's that big, beautiful concrete, which most people don't like, but it's nice and clean, easy to maintain backyard. all the windows are doubled, filled with light. that stairway goes up to the master bedroom, so you have privacy. might not be your choice of color, al, bright yellow, but it's bouncing the sunshine. lots of light, lots of living space. nothing to complain about. >> and our last house is in nicholasville, kentucky, $187,500. >> yeah. this is a pretty house as well. and nicholasville, there's plenty of jobs to be had. if you pay for this house, you

can liveell and also get a job. you don't have to move to the boondocks to get a house like this. >> that's pretty. >> the french porch is darling. that's like a secret garden in the back, a cottage-type style, a sitting area, fully planted. the person loves this garden and it shows and people are willing to pay for that. that's the dining room that enters into your big, white, open kitchen. this has all the bells and whistles for under $200,000. how could you say no? >> i couldn't, but i have to say bye because we're out of time. >> thank you, al. in "today's garden," planting now for beautiful blooms when the spring comes. but up next, a visit with oscar-winner halle berry and a look at her work on an issue very personal to her. in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers... and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol

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halle berry may be known as a successful, beautiful, oscar-winning actress, but what you may not know is she's also working with a center that helps women in crisis. she's beautiful, talented and putting a face on a problem many women hide. >> so many families are involved in domestic violence. >> reporter:or ten years, halle berry has raised awareness and funds for the jenesse center, a domestic violence shelter in los angeles that helps more than 8,000 women a year. halle, why is this cause so important to you? >> my mother was a battered woman, so that was my childhood, or a good chunk of it, and i really, i care. i really care about these women and these children. >> reporter: have you ever asked your mother, why did you put up with that? >> she's still trying to discover that for hersel answer those tough questions. why did she put up with that and subject her children to growing in that environment? because we're still dealing with

the effects of it. my sister and i, too. >> reporter: berry is a familiar difference at the jenesse center, where women in crisis find everything they need to heal -- counseling, a safe haven, classes in computers and money management and someone to listen. >> they really don't care about celebrity. they're trying to live day to day. so, i get to come here and be just a woman, be a person who cares, someone that they can talk to, confide in. hi, gail! >> hi, how are you? >> reporter: berry was among those who listened when abigail, who prefers her last name not be used, made a critical decision. >> i felt guilty as a mother taking my kids to a shelter. so, just starting to love myself for who i was and for the choice that i had made. that helped me start turning around. >> i certainly have been a woman who has struggled with my self worth and my value and choosing the wrong partners in life, and luckily, i've always been smart enough to hit the door the

minute violence became slightly an issue. that's something i will not tolerate. >> reporter: turning around years of low self-esteem is part of the healing process. >> this is the boutique. >> reporter: ooh! >> this is one of my favorite parts of the jenesse center, because this is where the women get to come and get clothes. they get to shop for free. >> reporter: besides quietly volunteering and giving money herself -- >> thank goodness for this tape because this would be a hot mess. >> reporter: -- berry makes the donations multiply. >> our goal is to bring jenesse to the forefront. >> so much of the stuff she does no one knows. she has revolutionized our world. >> reporter: and many women who find their way here finally see a way forward. >> they need to feel that they're valued, that they're worth it, that what they need to do isn't insurmountable, that it can be done. >> reporter: today, abigail, who left her abuser, works as a property manager and is thriving in her new life. >> i get to see my kids happy

and healthy. there's no screaming, fighting and yelling in this house. >> reporter: thanks in part to halle berry. >> thank you. thank you all so very much. my heart is full. thank you. >> reporter: helping families to heal one woman at a time. and since halle has been involved, the center has grown from two shelters to six shelters in south los angeles. it really is truly such an incredible center, and her involvement has been unbelievable, and they're so appreciative. >> obviously so much a part of her that she gives a lot of herself. >> that's very much why she wanted to put aublic face on a problem a lot of women tend to be embarrassed about and hide from. >> good for her. coming up next, we're going to meet titan, on a much lighter note. he's the world's tallest dog. you'll see him after these messages. vement. to give a burst of fresh glade fragrance... only when you need it. but it's not wasteful, because it won't go off again for another 30 minutes. unless of course you press the boost button. very smart.

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the guinness book of world records certified that there is a new record holder for the world's tallest dog, and at the fifth annual guinness world records day, a white great dane from san diego was certified as the winner and will appear in the next edition of the record book. and titan is at home this morning in san diego along with his owner, diana taylor. good morning, diana. >> good morning! >> so, now, i'm reading here that the average great dane is about 35 inches tall and 150 pounds, but your titan is 42 1/2 inches tall. that's basically about 3 1/2 feet tall. and he weighs about 190 pounds. >> wow! >> what are you feeding him? [ laughter ] >> i feed him -- he doesn't actually eat that much, though. >> really? >> really? >> well, how do you explain how big he is? >> no, he doesn't eat that much.

>> did you expect him to be that big? >> well, he was about 55 pounds when he was 3 months old. >> ooh. >> wow, that's going to be a big dog. >> so, i kind of knew that he was going to be a big dog. i didn't know he was going to be as tall as he is. >> aww, look at him. he's cute. >> diana, when you've got a dog that big,s it tough getting him around? >> it kind of is, actually. i actually have two great danes and a german shepherd. so, people do sometimes see them pulling me down the streets, but that's a rarity. they're normally pretty well-behaved. >> i've got to ask, you must have a jumbo-sized pooper scooper. >> oh, natalie went there! >> i had to go there. >> the bigger the dog, the bigger the poop, is that how that works? >> i actually have a waste management crew that follows me around. >> you need that. >> you probably have a dump truck. >> well said. i think she prepared her self for that one. >> where does titan sleep? >> where does he sleep?

>> where. where does he sleep? >> actually, i have a couple of beds and he picks one and then i have to pick the other that's left over. [ laughter ] >>so, diana, sometimes dogs like to jump up on people. have you had to train titan not to do that? because, man, i guess he could do some damage. >> definitely trained him not to jump, and i didn't want him jumping up on people. he's too big for that, you know. so, he does give the great dane lean, though. >> uh huh. >> so, he will lean up against people, and like he's doing, this is what you see here is a free lap dance, so -- >> okay! thank you, diana. >> so, not only is he a record holder, but a star charge in for these. >> we were looking forward to meeting you and titan a few weeks ago, but we're going to have to have a chat first. >> this is a morning program. a lot of kids like to watch us. >> i don't know. we've messed up before, diana.

diana, thank so much. diana and titan, thank you, congratulations. we'll see you on the plaza coming up soon. coming up later, stuffing options, but first, your local news and weather. more? oh, you'll love "more." you also get concierge claims service, 24/7 live support, and pet injury coverage. that's totally awesome! brother jeffrey hasn't spoken in 12 years! i once went 12 whole minutes! saving more while getting more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. millions of people who suffer fromrequent heartburn... can enjoy mealtime with family and friends. ♪ because now, for the first time, walgreens offers a new treatment option. prevacid 24 hour. the number one-prescribed acid reducer brand... over the last decade is available over the counter... to treat frequent heartburn a full 24 hours. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. ♪

looks like we've got a drying up day out there. doesn't look like it is still raining. we will check in with tom to find out for sure. 9:26. i'm barbara harrison. d.c. lis are getting ready to be out in full force. kicking off another round of "all hands on deck" an initiative designed to cut back on crime by flooding the streets with police working overtime. a water main break from yesterday still causing some delays on the beltway. the break has been fixed.

they are still trying to repave the roadway. lanes are expected to reopen in a couple of hours. we'll be back with weather and traffic in a moment. stay with us.

is it clearing up out there? >> not clearing. the storm is winding down. we still have rather blustery winds. we will have our temperatures gradually climb into the mid-50s. right now, around 50 degree maybe a passing light sprinkle from time to time into saturday morning. dry after that. how is the traffic, jerry? take a live look. still crawling on the capital beltway. it continues on the inner loop before i-66. american legion bridge, right

sowed, outer loop. left side, inner loop we are in great shape. monday on "news 4 today," salty or sweet, no matter what your snack of choice,

♪ ♪ you're fighting for your life ♪ if you're a fan of the king of pop, well, now you can own one of michael jackson's cars, and then you'll be able to "beat it." that's just one of the items -- sorry -- from a new auction featuring unique possessions of rock and roll royalty, including madonna, prince, and the king himself, thank you very much, elvis presley. that's next week on "today." but meantime, check out who stopped by toill us in on what's coming up this weekend on "today." >> yeah. >> amy robach and lester holt.

>> hello, guys. >> you always separate us. >> they must know. >> like the back-and-forth. let me tell you what's coming up this weekend. sarah palin's new book "going rogue" is coming out in a few days. we'll have a sneak peek. plus, the five things to know if you're planning to fly over the holidays. what to watch out for before you buy the tickets, if you haven't already. and take a tour of a special school. what's bringing tony bennett back to the halls of high school? find out this weekend on "today." >> thank you, guys. >> thank you very much. >> have a great weekend. >> thank you. you, too. >> you, too. > and still to come here on "today," we'll help you get your garden ready for spring. yes, that's right, spring, because fall is now actually the time to start planting bulbs. we'll tell you all you need to know. also in "today's kitchen," thanksgiving as you know is less than two weeks away. boy, oh, boy. so, it's time to talk about turkey and stuffing. we have delicious ideas coming up. also, an interview with a new

book called "the jazz loft project." i know you'd be interested, because you're a musician. it's basically a discovery of 40,000 images by the photographer eugene smith. >> can i take a peek? >> yes. up lester's alley. >> jazz, including a monk who used to hang out in a loft here in new york city. very cool. first, a check of the weather with you. all right, let's see what's going on for the weekend. for tomorrow, looking at rain in new england, sunny skies and mild through the southeast. getting a chance to dry out. snow back through the rockies. then on sunday, sunday, we're looking at rain in northern new england, more wet weather in the pacific northwest, windy through this november nor'easter is beginning to wind down and slowly pull away from the coast. we still have a few bands of light rain moving in from the east and heading to the west. that will be with us from time to time for the rest of the day. 53 in washington. winds gusting 25 to as high as 45 miles an hour. the higher gusts around the bay

and the eastern shore, northern neck. that will be the story the rest of the day. highs, mid-50s. maybe >> and that's your latest weather. and of course, it's friday, and you know what we're all about on friday. we're about sunday night "football night in america," and this one is the one for the ages. that's right. the patriots come into the colts stadium, lucas oil stadium. grease them up, boys! mostly cloudy, 20% chance of showers, temperatures in the 50s. that's on "sunday night football night in america"! bob costas all greasy. can't wait! yeah! ann. >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up, talking about bulbs in "today's garden."

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this morning we are working in "today'sgarden," and the leaves may still be clinging to the trees, but fall is actually the time of year to start planting your bulbs for bright blossoms all spring long. garden expert p. allen smith is here to show us how to do it. author of "bring the garden indoors." p. allen, good to have you here. >> good morning, natalie. >> i knew it was you when i smelled the flowers and erything along with it. not exactly soil. now, bulbs, this is the time, right? fall. >> it is. if you want to have spring flowers in your garden with tulips and daffodils, all the

favorite things we love, you need to plant them now. >> how do you choose or pick the bulbs? >> you want good, fresh, firm bulbs. the garden centers are full of them now. you can buy them prepackaged like this. the key is to keep them in a cool, dark place until you plant them. do not put them in the refrigerator with produce such as apples. the ethylene gas will kill the little flower embryo on the inside. >> oh, okay. >> sobe careful of that. >> so keep them in a cooler, dark place until you're ready to plant. >> and there's so many to choose from now and they're so affordable. >> tulips, narcosis here. >> the whole bit. if you're planting in the bed, natalie, what i like to do from a design standpoint is plant in big groups. >> mm-hmm. >> here, what i've done is taken some bone meal to fertilize with them. >> oh, okay. >> here you can see i've planted some daffodil bulbs. >> and daffodils definitely are key tospring. when you think of spring. >> well, they're a wonderful flower and deer-resistant. deer will not eat them. >> that's good. >> so, we're covering these bulbs. you say, well, how deep should they be buried? >> yeah. >> well, a rule of thumb is you

cover it three times the width of the bulb. >> okay. >> so very simple. >> and as you said, scatter them loosely, because you don't want them standing in rows, right? >> right. if you want to naturalize them, dump them out like that, spread them around, and wherever they land, you plant them and you'll get this natural drift. >> oh, beautiful. >> and with that, you can have this in spring. >> these beautiful groupings. >> don't be stingy with bulbs, really pack them in. >> okay, and you don't have to worry about having the bulbs taking over the other ones? >> no. let them come up together. and i like to plant with companion plants like snap dragons, pansies and violas there. >> and no worry about frost or anything? they'll come up when they're ready. >> no. they have an antifreeze built into them. if you don't have a bed, you can grow them in containers. >> because your big thing is indoor gardens, too. >> now you would keep them thi outside, but you could grow this outdoors. if the cameraman will show the inside here, this has three

layers of bulbs. what we've done is we've planted 75 of these apple tulips, three layers, soil, bulb, soil, bulb. here they're layered on top and then you pour the soil on top and water them in. all you need is a container, 75 bulbs, a bag of potting soil and water. >> then look how gorgeous. >> this is what you'll get in the spring. >> how long did it go from bulbs to being a pot like this? >> these will be dormant, continue to grow through the winter and in spring they'll emerge and bloom like this. i like to plant them a little bit away from the edge so you get a little insulation. >> beautiful. okay. >> now, if you don't have a place to have them outside, you can grow bulbs inside. >> and the paper whites are the perfect, especially during the holidays. i always love that smell. >> i buy tons of these and keep them in a cool, dark place. all you have to do is just place the bulbs in -- i mean, they'll grow literally in water, but you may want to use something to hold them down like we've done here. you've got gravel with bulbs -- i mean marble. >> that looks so pretty,

natural. >> so, keep plenty of water in there and those bulbs will grow up through this and bloom. >> beautiful. >> all through the holidays and into the year. >> and they smell amazing. gorgeous, gorgeous. >>ren't they fantastic? i like to buy plenty of them now and store them, because the stores will be sold out and then you can have them throughout january and february. >> good. get planting now. p. allen smith, thanks so much. >> absolutely. coming up, a musical photographer who's captured some musical greats is remembered. for what matters to you. introducing blueprint. blueprint is free and only for chase customers. it lets you choose what purchases you want to pay and those you split... interest...with full pay. you decide how to pay over time. if having a plan matters. chase what matters. eate your own blueprint at chase.com/blueprint. no additives. no artificial ingredients. select harvest from campbell's

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jazz loft project," writer and duke university professor sam stephenson has comprised the moments from that time smith spent with those artists. good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> this is like a treasure hunt. you basically discovered a treasure trove of some 4,000 hours of audio tapes of some of the great jazz musicians of the late '50s and '60s. and also, these 40,000 images made by this celebrated photographer, eugene smith. when you realized what you had discovered -- you probably didn't realize at first what you had -- but what went through your mind? >> well, the first time i came across these tapes, there were 740 reels of tape in a photo archive, and they hadn't been touched in 30 years. and we couldn't hear them because the university of arizona had a policy, a rightful policy, that the tapes had to be properly preserved before we could play them. so, all i could do was look at e tapes, read the names that were chicken scratched by eugene smith on the labels of the

tapes, and then imagine using the labels and the photographers what might be heard on these tapes. >> and what was on these tapes were recordings created by the celebrated photographer, "life" magazine photographer, back between 1957 and 1965, and they basically were recorded here in new york city atn address which is 821 sixth avenue, which was basically a late-night place for charles mingis, bill evans, filonias monk. it's crazy, but eugene smith, known for his images, he left his job at "life" magazine. he had a wife and four children and he devoted himself to this work. what made him do that? >> well, i've been studying him for 13 years, and he was a feverish, passionate, obsessive workaholic. there's no evidence that he did anything besides work. and he left life. he left a very large salary and a very large expense account, moved into this dilapidated building and proceeded to wire the building from the sidewalk to the fifth floor and made all these tapes and all these photographs, and there was no

logical outlet for it. there was no way you could do anything with these tapes, no way you could publish 40,000 photographs. >> and these photographs and these audio tapes are a major part of america's musical history, because jazz is, of course, quintessentially american. you haven't even gone through all of the tapes, there's so many of them, but we have a clip right now of something that was recorded, it was rehearsals with saxophonist suit sims. let's take a listen. ♪ ♪ >> you know, the thing about it is that these people oftentimes didn't even realize they were being recorded. not only was their music recorded, but conversations were picked up. >> that's right. >> so, what did we learn? by the way, did that cross the line, you know, recording people without even letting them know that they were being recorded?

>> one thing i want to say about zoot sims is there was no audience in this building. there was no knowledge ty were being recorded. and one of the marvels of the entire project is every time zoot sims played, he played beautifully, and he had no idea he was being recorded. it was really incredible. whether smith crossed the line -- in his photography career, one of the things about him was he was always compassionate, always sensitive toward his subjects. and we know that he would have been the same with these tapes, if he had ever done anything with them. but yes, they're surreptitious recordings, and so, sometimes you capture things that way that are more real and true, but they do cross the line in terms of the morality of it. >> with a few seconds left, with this book, what do you hope now that you're bringing these to light, you're letting these be seen by everyone. what do you want thi to say or teach us about jazz? >> this book gives you a glimpse of the jazz world you rarely ever see. it's behind the scenes, it's private, and you get to hear the things that happened in clubs or studios, but this is what happens outside of the clubs and

studios. you rarely get to see that. >> all right, a glimpse into a different world. >> that's right. >> sam stephenson, thank you so much for bringing it to us. the book is called "the jazz loft project." and coming up next, thanksgiving is just around the

this morning in "today's kitchen," hot chefs amanda hesser and meryl stubs. there seems to be countless turkey recipes to choose from, but we have two that might make your thanksgiving extra special. amanda and meryl are co-founders of the web side food52. good morning, ladies. >> good morning. >> hey. >> stuffing, do you know anybody who doesn't like stuffing? >> no. >> can't think of a single person. >> and if they don't, i don't trust them. these are special stuffings here. >> yep. >> let's start here first, amanda. now, what is this stuffing that we're going to make? >> so, this is a vegetarian

stuffing. it's made with holla and traditional vegetables like onions, celery, mushrooms, rosemary and thyme. >> why holla bread? >> what's great about holla -- >> can we all say it together now? holla! >> this recipe comes from mrs. wheel barrow, an expert on our site. and her husband's vegetarian. i'm going to put this here because we're going to put you to work. challah is great because it's buttery and fluffy and wonderful. >> very much like myself. >> exactly. so, you're going to mix for us. what we do first is saute the vegetables. >> is this stale challah? >> it's stale, and that's the trick. with stuffing, you want your bread to be stale or toasted, because then it object soshs the liquid and doesn't fall apart. >> and challah's great because it has a lot of butter in it, it's very rich. >> we're going to season this a bit. >> okay. >> then we're going to add a vegetable broth, which is over here. >> all right. >> yep.

and some -- and then the secret ingredient, which is, of course, more butter. >> of course! >> a whole stick of butter. >> yes! that's all right. >> there we go. excellent. >> this is when it gets really fun. >> so, what you want to do with this is we use an iron pan and you press it into the pan, cover it and bake it. and the other trick with stuffing is you want to bake it half covered, and then at the end, uncover it so it gets a crisp top and stays nice in the center. >> and what are we making here, sweet potatoes? >> sweet potato and mushroom stuffing. so, the bread's a little different. and you start with these great, homemade garlic croutons. they have sage and rosemary and garlic and olive oil in them. you bake them first. >> this recipe comes from melissa v., who is from fort lauderdale, an attorney. >> her husband owns a wine store. >> oh, nice. so, you've cubed smup sweet

potatoes? >> yep, and first goes in the chorizo, which is a smokey sausage, flavored with paprika. and you can get it spicy or mild. so, that's -- here. >> some onions? >> some onions. >> sauteed onions. >> right. >> and some shiitake mushrooms. i don't want to burn you. which is nice and brown. >> and then -- >> of course -- >> just half. >> just half? why only half? >> because you brush the bread with the remaining. >> or you could use all of this and melt some more butter. >> exactly. >> the thing about stuffing, when you think about it, it's just bread, which is like a comforti food to everyone, that you season with your favorite flavors. >> and what's this we're putting in here? >> chicken stock mixed with an egg. >> put it all together. >> so you're going to bake it. let's head back this way. can you, in fact, do this in the turkey? >> you can, but what we like about both of these recipes is by baking them in the oven, when you uncover them, you get a k s

crispy top, which you don't get in the bird. >> or you could do some in the bird and some in the oven and mix them together. amanda, meryl, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we love stuffing. and coming up still? sglyt we've got ambush makeovers for some lucky women on our plaza this morning. >> first your local news and weather. have a great weekend, everyone.

our time right now, 9:56. good morning. i'm barbara harrison. a water main break is still causing delays on the beltway in virginia. a ten-inch water main broke yesterday under i-495. crews are still working to repave the adway. lanes are expected to reopen in just a couple of hours. let's check on the wet the now. tom? we still have a few passing light showers. looking at the radar, we see waves of showers coming in from the east. these are much light ter. most of them just sprinkles. that will be with us from time to time throughout the rest of the day. temperatures in the low and mid-50s throughout the rest of the afternoon. and into tonight and tomorrow morning. each period, we will have a possibility of a passing sprinkle. the winds we have had this morning 20 to 40 miles an hour will diminish tonight. cloudy, the rest of saturday.

highs near 60. up near 70 sunday. should be great weather for the skins and broncos sunday afternoon. how is the traffic. speaking of the water main break, the work is progressing slowly. they are trying to get it done. the inner loop of the capital beltway in virginia after the route 29 overpass between 50 and i-66. right lane is still blocked. there is a pretty good-sized delay. elsewhere, looking mighty fine both directions. right side, outer loop, left side, american legion bridge. barbara? monday, on "news 4 today," no matter what your snack of choi

captions paid for by nbc-universal television big crowd here today for friday the 13th. >> yes. hello, everybody. >> how are you? >> good to have you with us. >> are you a little superstitious. >> i'm a little more careful than i would be on a normal day. i don't freak out over it, but i don't like this day for some reason. >> so you wouldn't take a plane ride. >> i would. >> would you sit in aisle 13?

>> you know what's weird. i don't know if i would but when i'm in an elevator i think it's a little weird that they don't have a 13th. >> 14 is really 13. we figured it out. we're not that stupid. i know, it continues, we feel bad. >> carrie prejean is back in the news. carby prejean. i don't see the problem with these pictures. these are pictures of her with her boyfriend. >> that's a weird one. >> i ner saw that one. there's a tape of her by herself doing sexual stuff. all right. that tape came out and she says it was when she was 17 years old. meredith asked her when she was 17 ♪ when i was 17 >> well, the boyfriend has -- ♪ it was a very good >> the boyfriend has allegedly come out and said she wasn't 17, she was 20. she asked him to lie about it.

why would she if that were true? >> if she s, indeed, 20, if it's 17, it's child pornography if she's 20, anybody can have it and sell it and release and it's fair game. >> first of all, it's a betrayal. on a boyfriend/girlfriend betray betrayal. then she's asking him allegedly to lie about it. >> which makes it a different thing. >> if she's lying about it. the problem that people have is that it seems hypocritical. now, if you add on to that that she's also a liar and a hypocrite and a liar, i'm not saying it, that's what beepal are saying, mostly you in the dressing room. >> that is terrible. okay, i have a question. is everybody making sex tapes? >> i make lysol commercials. >> i don't get it. >> unless some thing's been made

and i didn't know it. >> what's the deal? you make the sex tape and then you have the tape and then you replay it? what are you doing with your own sex tape? >> all i would be doing is laughing the whole time. and just mortified how horrible i look. >> i would think i wouldn't want to see it. >> i would think the entire time, bad angle, bad angle. turn over. stop it, bad. i don't think that's a smart thing. >> i'm a lights off. >> i'm already depressed, why would i want to be suicidal. >> i'm a lights off, i don't want everything out there. they're not the only ones. >> they're not thinking it through. yes. if you're going to go into the miss usa pageant, make sure you don't have sex tapes around. do like a list of all the things you've done and say, i wonder where that is and if it's more than one, don't do it. >> we should point out that we

showed her yesterday, she didn't walk off larry king but she pulled off her microphone and ear piece and she had an agreement with the folks at larry king that they wouldn't take calls and then a call came in and right when the call came in, you saw the tape on cue she said, oh, we're leaving. she never officially walked off, she sat there. why are we continuing to talk about it? >> because the story continues now with the potential misrepresentation of her age. that's why, hoda. >> it just sounds like sometimes -- i don't know. >> i don't know what the story is. but from the perception that the public has now, she's not doing herself any fors. i don't think she's surrounded with people giving her good advice. that's critical right now. >> she needs good advice. even if everything she's saying is true, she's coming off the other way. very spoiled and very rude and -- >> bad manners. >> i met her the time she was here originally and she wasn't like that at all.

i met downstairs with her mother and her pastor and exchanged nice words and she seemed like a lovely young lady. what i'm seeing now in sound bites and all of that, you don't -- >> not nice, not good manners. >> there's another woman we have to talk about, she's from texas. this is what someone apparently did. this woman told her friends, family, other people that she had breast cancer so she could raise money so that she could buy breast implants. the reason her hair is that short, she shaved it, according to the authorities, as part of the scheme. what kind of punishment does she deserve? >> well, what is that girl from new mexico doing right now? the soccer player, is she around? >> yes! we decided that if there is ever -- that, that. this soccer player should be our first line of defense on everybody who messes up.

>> just called soccer justice. whatever, you know, i think this is obscene. >> horrible. >> i mean, you are a breast cancer survivor, can you imagine having put your family through all of that and it was phony to begin with so you can get $10,000 breast implants. >> the woman has probably got so many other isss that we don't even know about it. >> i don't know if something like that is legal. >> theft for deception. i guess it goes in increments in money. what about the balloon boy? >> well, balloon boy is going to be okay, but the balloon boy's mom and dad are in trouble. they made some sort of a deal. they did plead guilty. he pled to a felony and she pleaded to a misdemeanor basically to keep her in the country on immigration charges. i didn't realize that she wasn't an american citizen.

>> he'll probably do a little jailtime, he could face six years in prison, $500,000 fine. >> how is he going to make $500,000 fine, pay that while he's in jail. i guess he can write a book but you're not allowed to profit from your crimes. >> you know what you just did right there? you thought it through! >> it's so important. >> speaking of books and someone who is writing one and getting paid. >> i'm taught the best selling author in the world. "fashion for dummies" and she had a book party. that's her mom right there, jill her mother and her dad is blocked. i'm in every picture. i can't even take myself. >> by the time i arrived -- >> jill's mom and dad. >> lovely people. really, it was so crowded. >> look, am i in every picture. >> dr. ruth. >> someone kept rubbing against my knees and i looked down and it was dr. ruth. i'm not kidding. i had never seen. she is adorable.

>> that is not a good picture. >> you look good. you look good. you know what that face is saying, if i can't get to the bar, i'm out of here. >> that is what it is saying. sara, what are they saying? a few minutes later frank arrived and i was out of there. >> what is this? >> yesterday we had the amazing michael feinstein and cheyenne jackson on. >> that song they sang yesterday, home run. ♪ me and my shadow >> speaking of you and your shadow, we're going to give away ten of these if you write "fashion from dummies" and where you're from. in regard to the sex tapes. i'm a single grandmother and they're fun to make those videos. >> thanks, alonzo. what do you do with them after you make them? >> get them off your computer. >> once they're alive, they're alive everywhere. >> what about people tape you

now unsusptingly from satellites. coming up, it's friday! >> i want you to think things through all weend long. >> some lucky women are plucked from the crowd and we'll see them transformed right after these messages.

we're back with the results of today's ambush makeover. today stylist of the stars

louis. licari and jill martin plucked another two ladies from the plaza for makeovers. >> now it's time to reveal the results. hi, everybody. >> it was rainy, it wass icky bt there were tons of people. >> there were. and today we found mothers of beauty contestants and so much fun to give themotors a chance to be pretty just like the daughters do all the time. >> all in for the miss preteen national sweetheart. >> so, our very first woman is vivian hoffman and she has two daughters and their ages are 18 and 26 years old and she spent the last 30 yrs working as a registered nurse and has since added nurse recruiter to her resume and focuses all her time on her 18-year-old who is the national high school organization champion.

>> let's listen to her story. >> you're stunning and know you think your mother is beautiful, but you want her to have a makeover. tell me why. >> i want her to drop her old school ways and get a whole new style. >> are you red a frea whole new look? >> i am ready. i am so ready. >> we have melissa and all the other queens. keep your blindfolds on, you guys, until i tell you to take them off. here is vivian before. all right, vivian, let's see the new you. >> yes, wow. wow, wow, wow. don't turn around. all right, come here. you guys ready? one, two, three, take off your blindfolds. oh, that looks like,old on. they like. let's see if you like. turn around right there.

>> you look beautil. >> oh, you look lovely. >> tell us about the hair. >> believe it or not, she had a weave in her hair for fullness. we took the weave out and gave her more fullness with this layered hair cut. i softenpftened the color a lit bit and, of course, cosmetics made it all. >> melissa, what do you think of mom? >> i think she looks really beautiful. i'm so happy for her. >> i think you should take that crown off and put it where it belongs. >> yes, well, she's a recruiter now she will really be recruiting but needed staples for her wardrobe and the pearls will go with everything with this to jeans. >> all right, good work. >> we'll have you step right over there. >> to make room for our second lady, she's 42 from oaktown, virginia. she has been married to david 17 years this january and their

daughter is the national preteen teenager. she has been a government consultant and recently asked to represent the u.s. government at the geneva convention. typical pageant mom and when we asked her if she did anything for herself she laughed out loud. she's here with her daughter, maddy, and the girls from the organization. >> all right, maddy, why do you want your mom to have a makeover? >> she has a unique style. she has these snowboots that i had to hide fro her, she's not wearing them thank goodness. but i tried to get her to leave them at home so they're hiding in our hotel room somewhere. >> we're getting rid of the sweatshirt, the jeans the jacket. are you ready to go? >> i'm ready to go. >> maddy is here with her friends and we'll take one look at delta. there she was and now bring delta out.

>> oh, yeah. all right, kids, you ready? maddy and your friends, take a look. >> all right. they like it. you want to look at yourself? delta, turn right around. there you are. she likes both sides. she likes what she sees. all right, louis, you got your favorite color red going. >> you know, color just makes the story. just look at how beautiful the hair color looks with the skin color. and the cut. when you have fine hair, if you cut it shorter and make it layer you'll make it look more full. >> yes. >> and flirty. >> and flirty and sexy. you don't have to look like a soccer mom, you can look like a hot babe and you look great. >> jill, what do you think of that outfit? >> she had a company black tie affair coming up, this is from a

ann taylor. >> dress it up or dress it down. >> maddy, you like? >> i love it. it looks a lot better. >> do you miss the sn boots? >> no, no, i don't. >> come on out, vivian. you have been officially been ambushed by "today" show. thank you, xt week louis and jio on their ambush on the road start surprising lucky viewers rights in their own home. when we come back, we'll take you for a walk on the wild side. >> alligator wrestling.

it's no secret here i'm a fan of a good animal segment. >> you can't beat a good gator. today we'll meet some good slithery experts. welcome to "today." >> how you doing? >> doing great. got great friends here for you. >> remember we had the albino gator up here. this is izzy. i thought you were an expert at this? >> i don't want to stand on the other side of his chops.

>> she'll put me there. >> has he already had breakfast today? >> he's looking at the kitchen where there is tons of good food. >> this is 1 of about 1,500 gators we have at gator land. giant gators and this one here -- hold on to this. someone has to hold on to this for me. get right there because we've got gators all the way up into the 14 feet -- >> why are you letting her hold it, she doesn't know what she's doing. she doesn't know what she's doing. i'm not kidding. tim. >> they start out like this >> kathie, that is not funny. >> you hang on to that one. hold on to that one real gently. >> look at the one hoda gets. >> we want folks to understand. >> you want to eat a little one. >> she did this the last time we were up here. >> she's the devil, it's freaky. >> this guy just hatched out the end of september. >> he's kind of sweet.

>> you squeeze him you get gatorade on you. this guy started out of an egg and this one is 3 years old. >> how big will this one get? -- she doesn't know where to point the beak. >> the beak? >> she seems docile. >> really. >> a big problem we have with them and that pple think they're really cute when they're little and that's a bad, bad problem, we teach people all the time don't feed them because they lose their fear of people. >> once you're an expert like me you can. >> let's bring out something else. >> i can do my exercises today because this guy is heavy. >> well, you haven't seen heavy yet. >> gatorade. >> brandon is up here helping us out because we're going to need help. we had a big problem in florida >> folks are getting snakes for pets and when they're tiny fellows and they're cute and all

that and then they're like kids, they grow up an the cuteness goes away real quick and they eat you out of house and home. this one is a ball python. this is maybe a year old and it will get maybe six feet long. it starts out small. >> pythons are the ones that squeeze you. >> look, he's been doing pilates or something. >> you do. >> why do i have to do everybody's dirty work? >> this fellow right here, though, is one of the african pythons. >> he's actually beautiful. >> makes a pretty neat little pet. folks are getting some of the larger ones, reptiles of concern down in florida. the anacondas and one of the monitor lizards and they're making residence in florida and competing with our native animals and we're having a big problem because they don't start out small eating little mice -- matter of fact, we have a snake

here th we want you to see. this came in through the amnesty program that we did at gator land. >> for your sake, the snake, no questions asked. >> like guns here in new york. >> oh, no, indeed. this is called -- now, i'm gng to need help here, hoda. you're going to have to help. >> i wish i could help. >> just support her, don't squeeze her. pick up and see how heavy she is. >> she's sensing you don't like her. >> i don't like her. >> this is 18 feet, 250 pounds. >> tim, why is she not attacking? >> she just had -- it's one of those things. they don't really eat people, but this animal is large enough -- >> it's all right. i'm right here with you. this one is fully large enough to kill an adult human being. >> we had a tragic incident and

that brought the awareness of these animals out. people get them for pets and they turn them loose or escape and when we had our pet amnesty, we received over 46 animals. >> we have five seconds. we have to run. love you.

theovember nor'easter rain is tapering off. flooding is still a problem in some places, southern maryland rhodes are closed. schools are delayed. good morning everyone. i'm barbara harrison. coming up on "news 4 midday," making lifts. what the practice says about your personality. "news 4 midday" begins in a few

more than 2,000 americans die of cardiovascular disease every day and some people develop coronary heart disease as they age but one woman with a congenital heart defect struggled with it her whole life. at 26 weeks pregnant she had a heart surgery that put both her life and her daughter's life at risk. >> my name is melanie baldwi and i'm 45 years old and i have

what is called aortic. >> congenital heart defects affects 650,000 americans. it is the most common birth defect among children. >> i grew up like the other kids and i was in college before i had my first heart surgery. >> reporter: she needed three surgeries by the time she turned 25. she took a blood thinner which octors warned could cause potential birth deferkts. >> the desire to have a child and carry on with my family was just important to me. i discovered at my normal checkup at six months pregnant that i had a blood clot and they tried to convince me to terminate the pregnancy and i destded to stand my ground. at 26 weeks of preg nens i had open heart surgery. if my heart stopped beating during my surgery and if the clot had gone into my heart or my brain, it would have been

over for both of us. >> my mom calls me her miracle child, which is really cute. i'm lucky to be here, which a lot of people can't say. >> reporter: after surviving five surgeries, melanie is lucky to be alive, as well. she now has a titanium valve that is supposed to last her 60 years. >> i go in once a year to have an ecco done and my blood, i check it once a week. the most important thing for people to remember, there are thousands of people like me hiding in plain sight. i'm not unique, i had a unique surgery, but i'm not unique. every year we participate in the heart walk and wsurvivors. i am just like any other mother and i didn't want to be any different. >> even if you weren't born with a heart defect you could be at risk for coronary heart disease. dr. lori is a preventive cardiologist. i guess emphasis is on the word

preventative heart surgery. so nice to have you here today. >> why do you think heart disease is so prevalent in the united states and around the world? what is it? >> poor life style choices. melanie had a congenital heart problems. >> nothing she did ctributed to that. >> right. but most coronary heart disease, the kind that we're most familiar with with the plaque build up and hardening of the arteries is really due to being overweight and not getting physical activity and smoking. >> and smoking, huge one, right. >> a lot of people thought there was a genetic component to it. my father died at age 50 something and i'm worry that the same thing will happen to me. >> hoda, you're right. you can be born with a predisposition to developing heart disease but the good news is you can offset that by making healthy lifestyle choices. >> we just found out recently if you cut out 100 calories a day every day for a year, you would lose ten pounds.

that's something anybody can do. >> i love what you just said because i try to emphasize that to my patients. it's small changes applied consistently that add up to living healthy. >> take stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, if you can. >> weight control is so important beuse that predisposes to high cholesterol and diabetes. >> what about stress? a lot of peoplere under -- >> sleep is a big problem, too. >> a lot of stress. what can people do to try to manage that? >> i think you're right, lack of sleep is important and that contributes to stress because when we're not rested it is harder to handle all the demands on us during the day. actually, hoda, exercise is a great way to combat stress and find something that you enjoy that gives you time with yourself away from sort of the pressures of work and all the demands that we have during the day. >> the notes said just 30 minutes a day, something. it sounds so simple that people will think i'll never get better

and they have statons today. i had a bad neck a few years ago and my cholesterol test went through the roof and they put me on lipitor and we don't know if it was the medications on i was on for the neck but my doctor said, let's keep you on it because there is history of heart disease in my family. my mom recently had a stroke. >> cutting cholesterol food wise or with a pill, how important is that? >> cholesterol control is really important in preventing heart disease and you can do that through diet and sometimes people need medications. >> instead of butter, everybody loves their butter. olive oil is equal in calories but so much better for you. >> certain kind of oils that raise the good cholesterol. >> what are they? >> olive oil, as you pointed out, is a good type of oil to have. >> okay, great. >> but calories, you have to watch that. >> the same calories. >> you're tough, but you're nice. >> very nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. coming up, we have a great song coming up from a terrific group called train.

>> my son loves them! >> a new hit. you must listen.

this morning on today's kitchen. stuffing with a taste of italy. thanksgiving is just a couple weeks away, time to think about what you will serve with your turkey. >> author of "cafe verensa"

cookbook. this is going to be your second thanksgiving, right? >> how exciting. >> it's great, i'm getting used to thanksgiving, i love it. >> it's a great holiday. >> you have a restaurant in l.a.? >> great restaurant -- >> say that again, it sounded good. >> do you mind? just move over here. >> he loves to share. >> of course, of course. so, what i was saying, i just start thanksgiving two years ago and i'm getting used to it, great holiday. love, gratitude and family and, yeah, it's great. so, we go with some italian flavor toy. the turkey, if you think about it, just a big chicken. so, you got to make -- >> i like that statement. >> turkeys you've insulted all over the world. >> that's all right. >> they don't watch our show. >> when you ladies get together and you talk about turkey and you just start to see how to cook the turkey and make the dressing. today, we'll flavor them. we'll flavor them. >> he's cute, let him talk,

whatever. >> we have to add some italian flavor. >> sausage, celery, bellpepper. >> you lost me here, but other people love the green peppers. all right, slop them. let me have that, please. okay. yeah, sizzle, baby. we have the celery. . everything. all right. >> perfect. >> celery, green pepper. >> you get the flavor out of it. the sausage will caramelize. you're the guest, i'll be nice. >> that's a lot of vegriegiesve. >> what is this? >> minced garlic. >> what about your herbs? >> yes, absolutely. everything together. >> rosemary. >> and basil. >> basil, basil, absolutely. >> we got them all in there. >> is this it after? this is the after? >> beautiful. >> yes, lookt a that. you're a pro. look at that.

that's when i cook, baby. >> pretty much we let these carameli caramelize altogether and then we have a mixture that goes with some bread that has been soaked in cream with a little eggs. >> soaked in cream, yes. >> you know why, the good things about it. creamer will never evaporate in the oven. >> that's smart. >> your stuffing will be nice and moist and your chicken, your turkey -- >> your turkey. >> your big chicken. >> your big chicken will be nice and moist. i will also add a little butter here. >> that looks good. >> okay. >> we pour that all in here? look at this. that looks beautiful. >> look at hoda pretending like she's having fun. look at that hoda. >> she's having a blast. >> no, it's because of you. it has nothing to do with the cooking, trust me. trust me. nothing to do with the cooking. >> holiday is about fun. good fun, good glass of wine.

>> what would you like? >> we have one minute. should we get in the back. >> you get in there. >> i'll leave this. >> this is what it has become. ladies, please. >> thank you. >> glass of chardonnay for you and glass of red -- >> it is 10:40. late start today. >> yes, tell us about this. >> we have the stuffing and brusal sprouts. >> love them. >> and mac and cheese. >> italian mac and cheese. parmesan. >> oh, my gosh. >> thank you so much. >> happy thanksgiving to you. coming up next, train is going to perform downstairs. a brand-new song, you don't want to miss.

grammy award winning train is here with their fifth studio album called "save me, san francisco." it has been three years. >> the members otrain are here with me. patrick monhawn and drummer scott underwood. >> who was very concerned about his hair. >> we have jerry becker, our friend jerry and hector. they're helping us out. they do our live performance with us. >> it has been a while, three years. what took so long for you guys to come back and give us a new album? >> we toured for so long and made records one after another and we just really needed a break from it all. >> you need a life, too. >> we needed time away from each other to really kind of understand the importance of one another. >> who was the biggst problem? >> i think it's him. i'm on drums. what are you going it sing for us? >> did you say you are the biggest problem? >> probably. i would like to negotiate maybe

being the third party here. >> we want you it host with us. >> what are you singing for us today? >> "hey, soul sister." ♪ hey, hey, hey your lipstick stains on the front lobe ♪ ♪ of my left side brains i knew i wouldn't forget you ♪ ♪ so i went and let you blow my mind ♪ ♪ your sweet ming the smell of you in every single dream i dream ♪ ♪ i knew when we collided you are the one i have decided ♪ ♪ who's one of my kind

hey, soul sister ♪ ♪ n't that mister, mister on the radio, steero ♪ ♪ the way you move ain't fair, you know ♪ ♪ hey, soul sister i don't wanna miss ♪ ♪ a single thing you do tonight ♪ ♪ hey, h, hey hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ just in time i'm so glad you have a one track mind like me ♪ ♪ you gave my life direction a game show love connection ♪ ♪ we can't deny i'm so obsessed ♪ ♪ my heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest ♪

♪ i believe in you like a virgin you're madonna ♪ ♪ and i'm always gonna wanna blow your mind ♪ ♪ hey, soul sister ain't that mister, mister ♪ ♪ on the radio, stereo the way you move ain't fair ♪ ♪ hey, soul sister i don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight ♪ ♪ well, you can cut a rug watching you is the only drug i need ♪ ♪ so gangster, i'm so thug you're the only one i'm dreaming of ♪ ♪ hey, soul sister, ain't that

mister, mister on the radio, stereo ♪ ♪ the way you move ain't fair you know ♪ ♪ hey, so sister, i don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight ♪ ♪ hey, hey, hey hey, hey, hey tonight ♪ >> yes! >> yes, yes! >> that's train! >> called "hey, soul sister." the cd is called "save me san francisco." >> we'll be back in a moment.

there he goes again. >> it's a real headache for clinton. >> we're off to see hunter the punter >> on the next "redskins showtime."

all right, that's it for us. they signed two of their cds.

>> go on our facebook page and you can get these. >> have a great weekend, everybody. >> this is for your newborn baby. >> look back at the week it was. ♪ >> there's a glimpse, baby. >> that is so good. >> you're hungry this morning. >> people have sex tapes i have lysol commercials. >> if you love your co-hosts. >> freaky. >> cute. ♪

♪ me and my shadow we're closer than pages you read in a book ♪