good morning. heart-wrenching. >> and i just want to say i love him so much. >> michael jackson's 11-year-old daughter paris speaks publicly for the first time ever. embraced byjackson's sisters at the end of a star-filled memorial. what's next for the three grieving children. we'll ask one of michael's closest friends in a live interview. ciao. president obama arrives in italy overnight to attend a high-stakes summit, as the entire first family prepares to meet with the pope. will their italian welcome be warmer than the one they received in russia? and deadly hazard, an unexpected danger emerging from the housing crisis.

abandoned swimming pools behind all those foreclosed homes. a mother who lost her 5-year-old daughter speaks out today, a mother who lost her 5-year-old daughter speaks out today, wednesday, july 8th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer in studio 1a. meredith is out in los angeles, where she attended the memorial service for michael jackson yesterday. and meredith, i know people are talking about the musical tributes and the speeches, but the words of paris jackson, his 12-year-old daughter, really have people talking this morning. >> they sure do, matt. i don't think that anybody that was in the arena thought that she would speak at all, that any of the kids would speak, so when paris stood there and talked about her daddy being the best daddy in the world, it was truly

heart-breaking. i don't think there was a dry eye in the entire space. it was the first time the world has heard from one of jackson's children. all three were in attendance, sitting in the front row for much of the two-hour service, before taking the stage during the tribute's final performance with the rest of the jackson family. we're going to have much more on that in a moment. we'll also hear from some of the performers who took part in the memorial. and matt, also this morning, we are getting our first look at jackson's death certificate. right now it lists the cause of death as deferred as the coroner's office awaits the results of toxicology tests. and it does not say where michael jackson will be buried, matt. >> also, meredith, we're getting reports that tuesday's service may not be the last. apparently the jackson family is considering another memorial. this one held in london. it would be on august 29th. would have been jackson's 51st birthday. also ahead a man who some say was the closest person to michael jackson during the final years of his life. he has been described as

jackson's friend, financial adviser, also a mystery man. he sat down with us for his first television interview. that conversation is coming up. and a little later a story that can feat the safety and security of 95% of the people watching this show this morning. it's the technique that crooks could use to unlock almost any door in your house, meredith. >> but first let's get right to the emotional and poignant tribute to the king of pop. hours after the memorial, as the family returned home to the jackson compound in encino, the fans still kept coming to show support for the family on this day of mourning. >> michael, when you left us, a part of me went with you. >> the day gone with a somber motorcade escorted by police as the jackson family wound its way to forest lawn cemetery for a private cemetery. then on to the staples center for the public memorial. ticket holders waited respectfully for the doors to open, while just a few hundred

onlookers lingered outside the perimeter. inside, a gospel choir raised its voice as michael's golden casket was escorted in, flanked by his brothers, each with a single gve and sunglasses to honor their sibling. >> i loved him all my life. >> reporter: the star-studded salute began with mariah carey singing a classic jackson song, she herself covered in 2002. ♪ where there is love >> reporter: one by one, a roster of stars paid tribute to jackson with poignant versions his songs. ♪ i never dreamed >> reporter: singer usher broke down as he finished the michael song "gone too soon."

12-year-old shaheen, a finalist on brian's got talent who had been singled out by jackson to sing in his concert reminded many of a young michael. >> he's had a huge impact on my life, and i think he's had a huge impact on everything and every individual. >> reporter: jennifer hudson melded her powerful voice -- ♪ you were my prayer >> reporter: with jackson's own words. >> for you're always in my heart. >> reporter: among those remembering their friend, laker stars kobe bryant and magic johnson who recalled a very non-king of pop moment. >> michael, wait a minute, you eat kentucky fried chicken? >> that was the greatest moment of my life. >> reporter: brooke shields, fighting tears, gave a glimpse into the private life of these two very public child stars. >> there would be a picture taken the caption usually said something like an odd couple. to us, it was the most natural

and easiest of friendships. >> reporter: and then jermaine jackson took the stage to sing a vintage song his brother helped make possible. ♪ though your heart is aching smile even though it's breaking ♪ >> reporter: and a passionate al sharpton delivered a fiery defense of michael jackson. >> every time he got knocked down he got back up. >> reporter: and addressing michael's three children in the front row, he told them -- >> wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. it was strange what your daddy had to deal with. but he dealt with it. >> reporter: millions watched around the world, from london, to berlin, from moscow to dancing in the streets of harlem. as the two-hour celebration ended with friends and family flooding the stage, came the most heart-wrenching moment from

michael's 11-year-old daughter paris. >> daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. and i just want to say i love him as much -- >> brian michael skylar was a longtime friend of michael jackson's and attended the memorial. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> that moment that paris stood on the stage and talked about her dad being the best dad ever, since the time she was born, first of all, you know these children. most of the rest of us, in fact, i'd say the majority, never knew them when michael was alive. he kept them hidden, literally. >> he did. >> and veiled. and didn't expect her to talk and then she did. were you surprised that paris talked? >> i was surprised, but, it was

very much in character for her. she's a very courageous little girl, and very smart, very -- yeah, it surprised me, but it was very much inharacter for her. >> you had talked to me in the past about what a great dad michael jackson was, that nobody really knew that side of him. that was the private side. was this sor of that moment of confirmation? >> absolutely. i was very proud of her. because i think it just showed the world, you know, she was brought up, how wonderfully she was brought up. >> what about the kids and what happens next? when i watch them on the stage, there was a very strong connection to the jackson family. they were holding tight to them and it seems very genuine, very real. >> that's why i think the kids need to be with, you know, with katherine. because it's not justkatherine. it's the whole jackson family. and there's so many -- so many of them, you know, there. it would be, i think, ridiculous to take the kids anywhere else. >> there may be actually a custody battle, we don't know at this point what's going to happen.

moments yesterday that stood out for you. i know there was a moment when gordy, berry gordy the founder of motown talked about michael jackson said, king of pop isn't enough for him. >> right, right. ll, when it was said that he was the greatest entertainer in the world, the standing ovation lasted, it felt like an eternity, and he deserved it. and my heart just welled up at that point. he really was and still is the greatest entertainer in the world. >> and it seems to me that some of the speakers, including reverend al sharpton, they took on the critics yesterday, they used this as a moment to criticize the critics who have gone after michael jackson for more controversial issues in his own life. when al sharpton said to the kids your daddy wasn't strange. what was strange was what he had to deal with. what was your reaction to that? >> i think he was exactly, exactly right. i mean, michael was a victim, you know. and he was just a perfect target. and everybody wanted to pick on him.

>> you never felt that any of it was justified? >> i knew michael much differently than i think, you know, the world, and the critics knew him. he was very normal to me. >> and the last song, "we are the world," that also for you was a very moving moment because it reminded you of something that happened at neverland. >> yes. michael and i used to meet a lot in his library up at neverland, and he had a little glass globe of the world that was about the size of a baseball, and one d he picked it up and he held it in his hand and he smiled and he said he liked holding the world in his hands. and yesterday during the ceremony, i just thought to myself, he had the whole world in his hands yesterday. >> did it bring you peace, the ceremony? >> a little bit. a little bit. but it's still -- still very surreal, and just still going to take some time to let it sink in. >> brian, thank you so much for joining us this morning. greatly appreciate it. >> thank you very much. >> now let's go back to matt. >> all right, meredith, thank you very much.

much has been made of the mounting financial debt michael jackson faced at the time of his death. by some estimates as much as $500 million. and in the final years of his life, a man by the name of thome thome served as jackson's financial adviser. we spoke with him on tuesday. his first television interview since michael jackson died. >> in the early days when i met with michael, i was taking care of everything. i was taking care of his personal affair, h business, his day-to-day life. when i came to michael's life, i was the only one there. >> and how did you get such a trusted position? how did that come about? >> well, i think from day one, me and michael hit it, and it was a mutual trust between me and michael. >> it was your job to try to minimize his debt, and make the most out of his assets. so can you tell me a little bit more about the state of his affairs, his financial affairs

at the time of his death? >> you know, he owes money, we all owe money, but i think his assets overweighed the debts. and we had an agreement, him and i, when we first start talking in las vegas, when he was living there at that time, he actually came to me and said listen, i will not overrule any decision you make on the business side, and you cannot overrule any decision i make on the creative side. i said it's a deal. >> is it true in an attempt to lower his expenses you actually fired several members of his staff just to cut back? >> yeah, i did. i mean, i have a green light from him, and i thought that there's a lot of money being wasted and a lot of people taking advantage of the situation. really actually michael never cared about money or cared about assets. he just doesn't know the value of money. >> did you ever say to him, michael, look, you're in severe trouble here, your debt has gotten out of hand? >> i told him on different

occasion, and he said to me, it's your department, not mine. >> as someone who spent so much time with him in the final months and years can you just tell me what you will remember most about michael jackson? >> i remember that michael jackson has the biggest heart of any person i ever met. he's full of love. and passion. i love michael jackson and i'm going to miss him. and days, months and hours i spent with him, i'll carry with me to my grave. >> that was our conversation with jackson adviser thome thome. it's now 13 after the hour. now the latest stop on president obama's trip overseas. he flew from russia to italy overnight, where he's already met with his italian counterpart. and will attend the g-8 summy in l'aquila, a region devastated by an earthquake back in april. nbc's white house is correspondent savannah guthrie is travelling with the president. savannah, good morning to you.

does this summit have clearly defined goals for success or will there be clear marks if it's a failure? >> reporter: well, it's interesting. a lot of times, as you know with these world leader summits it's hard to point to real, concrete achievements. the u.s. is expecting that there will be a declaration from these world leaders, the g-8, about iran. and there will be a lot of discussion, as you might expect, about the world economic crisis. you know, there's some division between the u.s. and the brits on the one hand, and some of the europeans about whether there should be morestimulus. the emphasis that there should be an financial regulatory reform. so we expect that to be a robust debate. so we may hear a little bit more about the world economy. as you mentioned, the setting is a little unusual. it was moved from a resort town to this hard-hit earthquake area of l'aquila, still experiencing aftershocks, matt. >> and what kind of reception will the president receive from the italian people? we all know that it was a rather chilly reception when he went to russia the other day.

>> reporter: it was a real contrast. because when he comes to europe, we usually thee cease throngs of crowds really swooning europeans who are very excited about mr. obama. he's personally very popular here. in russia there was a real contrast. it's not that russians don't like mr. obama. they're just more indifferent. a little more skeptical. so we'll see if he gets the same reaction we've seen in europe as we've seen during past trips. on the other hand, security is very tight here. so there's not a lot of opportunity here in l'aquila for interaction with the public. >> all right, savannah guthrie, who's traveling with the president in italy this morning. savannah, thank you very much. let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from natalie morales who is filling in while ann is away. natalie, good morning to you. >> and good morning to you, matt. good morning, everyone. officials are trying to find out who is behind a massive outage on government websites in recent days. the cyber attack hit several government agencies, including some responsible for fighting cyber crime. a similar attack hit government websites in south korea. and some officials there think

north korean hackers may be to blame. and the rare appearance today for north korean leader kim jong-il, who paid tribute to his father, the country's late founder, on the 15th anniversary of his death. today, the senate holds a hearing on lapses in security at government buildings. a general accountability office reports that investigators were able to carry bombmaking materials past security at ten federal buildings. suspected u.s. missiles hit a taliban training camp this morning in pakistan, killing at least 10 people. it was the second missile strike in that area in two days. overseas markets are mostly lower after tuesday's 161-point drop in the dow. cnbc's trish regan is at the new york stock exchange. what are you watching there today? >> good morning, natalie. today kicks off what you could call the moment of truth. 33 for investors. it is the start of the second quarter earnings season. this afternoon, alcoa will begin things. the aluminum giant is expected to have a rather weak result, in

that there's been weak demand for aluminum and other goods. now hopefully these numbers will start to shed some light on the economy. natalie, in recent days, we've seen a growing chorus of people, including some in the administration, who have said we need to consider a second stimulus plan. so hopefully these numbers will dissuade them or push them in that direction. but they should be somewhat definitive. >> trish regan at the new york stock exchange. thank you, trish. and it may not feel like it, but americans are spending less time stuck in rush hour traffic. the texas transportation institute study finds the average u.s. driver spent just over 36 hours stuck in traffic going nowhere in 2007. but that is down half an hour from the year before. the average, though, is the highest in los angeles, where they spend about 70 hours stuck in traffic. it is now 7:17. back over to matt and alexandra. >> all right. natalie, thank you very much. alexandra steele is here from the weather channel because al has taken i little time off. you've got the forecast? >> i do. i haven't been here for two

seconds and i'm already having a blast. >> that's good. it gets better as the show goes on. >> oh, good. looking out at the crowd. this is just wonderful. and the weather in the northeast could not be nicer. >> good. >> here's a look at your forecast, as we take a look at the the big picture. some of the top stories around the country, of course, the northeast enjoying some of the nicest weather we've seen in quite some time. the heat just blazing from texas to oklahoma. a front moving into the pacific northwest, some rain showers from seattle and portland. and in the sout good morning. we've got a perfect summer morning around the washington area a blue sky over washington now, it's 68 in washington, afternoon highs will climb out of the 60s where they are now into the 80s. low humidity, lots of sunshine. tomorrow, partly cloudy, a bit cooler. and turning more humid on friday. over the weekend, saturday a steamy day, highs in the 80s. greater chance of a passing shower or thundershower on sunday.

all right, matt, back to you. >> all right, alexandra, thanks. good to have you here. let's check in with meredith now out in los angeles. >> thank you, matt. you know, the tone of tuesday's memorial was one of a celebration of michael jackson's life and music with moments reserved for laughter, and also for tears. here's a look at the most memorable images of the past 24 hours, set to a poem read by michael jackson himself in his song, "will you be there"? ♪ >> in my darkest hour, in my deepest despair, will you still care, will you be there? when my trials and my tribulations draw doubt and

frustration, in my anguish, and my pain, through my joy, and my sorr sorrow, in the performance of another tomorrow, i'll never let you part, for you're always in my heart. >> back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc.

still to come, the obama girls second trip overseas and why michelle obama wanted to get them out of the white house.

plus, the elephant in the room during tuesday's public memorial for michael jackson. the superstar's troubles, and much more about michael jackson and his legacy after your local news and weather.

good morning. welcome everyone. i'm barbara harrison. it's wednesday, july 8, 2009. 7:26. in the news, drivers are getting free gas in alexandra as we speak. this is a live picture. shirley duke shell, 4670 duke street, all state hosting a gas give away. drivers get up to 10 gallons. it's a reward because alexandra topped the list of the most improved cities for safe driving. no one w injured when a plane ran into a flock of birds yesterday afternoon. at least one of the birds hit an engine on the southwest flight. the pilot declared an emergency

and circled back to land at bwi.

a beautiful summer morning under way. good morning. temperatures in the 60s, we'll hit the 80s, lots of sun with low humidity and tomorrow partly cloudy, low 80s for highs. more of the same on friday. getting hot and humid over the weekend. could get an afternoon thundershower saturday, greater chance on sunday. how's the traffic, jerry? >> police headed for an accident outer loop of the beltway before the american legion bridge. heads up from river road. we'll see 95, heavy but steady from newington up to 395.

>> tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" kids making a difference in a t zone throuif t g aheof te y bear.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, july 8th, 2009. bright, sunny morning in rockefeller plaza. just what these fine folks needed to put smiles on their faces to start another day. i'm meredith vieira in los angeles. matt is back in new york, and coming up in this half hour, a tragic danger tied to the housing crisis. >> that's right, meredith. here'sed problem, many homes in foreclosure are left abandoned without being cared for properly, and that includes not caring properly for the pools in the backyard. one family's tragic story just ahead. also, when you lock your

doors at night, do you feel safe? well, a "today" investigation has uncovered a technique that allows crooks to pick the locks in some 95% of all homes in the united states. this is information you're going to want to hear. we'll tell you about that in just a little while, meredith. >> yeah, that's a disturbing statistic, all right. all right, matt, also ahead the obama family's not so typical summer vacation. president obama has brought along the kids on his week-long overseas trip. we're going to take a closer look at their globe-trotting adventure. first let's begin withichael jackson. in both life and death, he has garnered the kind of media attention afforded only the rarest of figures. both for his unparalleled talent, and his personal behavior. nbc's mike taibbi is here with more on that. mike, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. you know, there was no one in the staples center yesterday who was unaware of the other part of the michael jackson story. that's why the celebration of his life and his artistry was only most of what the memorial about and why two oblique references to that other part of

the story sparked such heartfelt response. one reference, texas congresswoman sheila jackson lee, reminding anyone who believes the worst about michael jackson of a bulwark of american law. >> people are innocent until proven otherwise. that is what the constitution stands for. >> reporter: and the reverend al sharpton addressed jackson's critics by speaking to jackson's three children. >> wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. it was strange what your daddy had to deal with. but he dealt with it. >> reporter: it was the elephant in the room. and for many in the staples center, too. that a number of young boys starting in 1993 had accused michael jackson of molesting them. he settled millions on the first accuser, admitting no guilt. >> i am totally innocent of any wrongdoing. >> reporter: and kept denying it was true, including a last accusation by a 13-year-old boy in 2003, that landed jackson in a california criminal trial. he was found not guilty across

the board, cleared by the jury. but so damaged in the court of pub yin that until this spring and summer when he announced his high-risk comeback concert series he had almost become what seemed impossible for him, a nonstory. jackson's lead attorney in the criminal trial, tom mesereau said his client was an innocent man who will never shed the label his own eccentric behavior put on him. admitting that he had shared his bed with adolescents many times, innocently he always insisted. >> he was so tortured by this, so hurt by it, so constantly on the defensive about this kind of allegation, that i wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it contributed to his destruction. >> reporter: but that's the man's lawyer talking, and it wouldn't sway another lawyer, new york congressman peter king, from the harsh views shared by other jackson critics. >> this guy is a pervert, he was a child molester. would you let your child or grandchild be in the same room with michael jackson? >> reporter: but what if he was

totally innocent and never molested a single child? and what if his own child knew the real michael jackson better than anyone? >> daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. >> reporter: in the time since jackson's death he's been the biggest story, again. bigger than a philandering governor sanford, a resigning governor palin, a continuing insurrection in iran, north korean missile tests, the sentencing of history's biggest scam artist, and on and on. it's because of his musical genius, of course, but also because except for a few young boys who are all young men now, no one knows the truth about the elephant in the room in michael jackson's life. meredith? >> mike, it was interesting. as i was leaving the ceremony yesterday this young woman came up to me with tears in her eyes, because she was so moved by what happened and she took my hand and she said now will you stop? and i said stop what? and she said stop saying bad things about michael jackson. he dead now. now will you all leave him alone.

i didn't quite know what to say. as a journalist you have to ask questions but i understood what she meant. he's gone. >> yeah, people have said the same sort of thingo me in the past week and a half since he died. and the problem is that his fame and his infamy are such that people are invested in one side of the story or the other are going to keep telling that story. i've heard from so many lawyers and people who knew him are saying we've got videotapes of depositions of michael jackson. my client has videotapes of an encounter for deborah rowe, they're all for sale. it's going to become another story. >> that's the problem. everybody you talk to in the story offer the past few days since his death, everybody claims they know him so well. everybody has a story. every story contradicts the other one. so you have no sense of getting at the truth, which is frustrating. because you're trying to believe in this great man, you're going to believe that. if you're primed to believe something else, you're going to believe that. >> there has been lots of stuff on the blogosphere about that. i think the mythology and the debate about the legend continues. >> mike taibbi, thank you so much. now let's get a check of the

weather from the weather channel's alexandra steele who is in for al. >> hi, thank you very much, meredith. i come out here to the plaza and the first thing i see is this, i left my husband in south carolina on my anniversary to see al. and now i just feel bad because he's not here. so what's your name? >> nikki barber. >> and how long have you been married? >> 18 years. >> you get to see alexandra, instead. >> that's great. >> what's your husband's name? >> tony. >> happy anniversaryo you. there's no al, but there's alexandra. all right let's talk about the forecast and show you what's happening around the country, not only here in beautiful new york, but in the northeast it would not be nicer. t buu could see in the southeast, showers and storms firing up in an area of the country that has seen such a great amount of rain. and the rain continues to come on in. and jacksonville to orlando, more rain for you today. the big cture, a slight risk of storms in the northern plains, and again in the southeast. and, of course, t perfect summer morning around washington.

temperatures around the region in the 60s. it's 68 in washington now, right near the bay it's near 70. highs today reaching the 80s all around the region with lots of sunshine, low humidity. tomorrow partly cloudy, low 80s. more of the same on friday although a little more humid. pretty steamy over the weekend. saturday sweltering humidity, could have an afternoon thundershower. small chance. looks like a greater chance of showers and thundershowers on sunday. drying out a bit on monday and tuesday. and a wedding today. where are you getting married? >> on the brooklyn bridge. >> really? and someone's going to be up there with you? >> this is our minister right here. he's going to perform the service. >> well, have fun. congratulations. i hope you're not going to stop traffic up there. all right now if you were going 20 get weather information anywhere on the planet, where would you get it? of course the weather channel or weather.com. >> all right, alexandra, thank you very much. now to an unexpected danger involving the financial

meltdown. sadly in some cases, it can lead to the worst main a parent can experience, the loss of a child. nbc's kerry sanders is in fort lauderdale to explain. kerry, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. in some parts of the country, it's common to have a swimming pool in the backyard. but increasingly, behind homes that are in foreclosure, this is what they look like. they're dark, they're dirty, and sadly, for some children, intriguing, as they follow their curiosity into the deep end. >> 911, what is your emergency? >> my child fell in a pool. >> reporter: her grand parents thought cheyenne jenkins was playing out back. >> she fell in the pool. >> okay you have a child who is not breathing. >> reporter: instead the 5-year-old had wandered into the backyard of a foreclosed home. >> please hurry. she's turning blue. >> reporter: despite efforts to revive her, cheyenne died. >> i'm angry. i'm angry that nothing was done. i'mngry that my daughter was

taken away. because nothing was done. >> reporter: cheyenne's tragedy is a worst-case example of unintended consequences of foreclosure. an estimated 4 million americans today live next door to a home that's in foreclosure. conventional wisdom suggests the bank would want to protect its asset. but that rarely happens. why? >> if lenders do go in, and they try to make repairs or they try to do things to improve the situation, they could be sued. so why go down that path? >> reporter: cheyenne's mother. >> her pajamas are still on the floor, stuffed animals she throws out of the bed. >> reporter: she wants to blame someone, but who? the bank? the homeowner? the city? even her lawyer's not sure. >> the problem here is that we were in limbo. >> reporter: in california, those far-away faceless bachers are now, by law, on the hook. citibank recently paid a stack

of fines after letting pools and homes go into disrepair. citi says it takes prompt action when it's notified. still, the message to bankers is clear -- >> if you continue that, you know what? we will fine you and we will also get an arrest warrant for the ceo of the bank. >> reporter: in pinellas county, florid meet the foreclosure fish. here it's not just the drowning danger in a scummy pool. these bodies of water are also mosquito breeding grounds. >> mosquitoes are capable of carrying virus and it could be a health issue. >> reporter: so in this pool, the neighbor actually has put goldfish to control the mosquitoes. now one obvious question is, why not just empty the pool? but structurally that can cause problems. you take all the water out of the pool, then it actually weighs it down and if the water is out in some cases the pool can pop up out of the ground and break. it's a tragic situation, and really people need to keep their eyes open on it.

>> kerry, thank you very much for shedding light on it. coming up next, another safety alert. why that lock on your front door may not ke yout r family as secure as you think. a "today" investigation right after this.

we're back now at 7:43nd this morning on "today" investigates, home security. with burglaries on the rise, how well is your family protected? consumer reporter and reader's

digest contributor janice lieberman is here with an easy way, way too easy way, for a thief to break into your home. janice, this is scary stuff. >> very frightening. this is a simple tool, we are purposely not revealing the name of the tool and are leaving out the details in this report on how it actually works. but it is a threat that we feel is crucial to expose so that you can better protect your home and your family. it's the first thing you think about to secure your home and family. your lock. much to my surprise, mark to be aous, attorney and world renowned security expert, showed me how very quickly my house could be broken into by a special master key. >> this is what's standard, five-pin lock. there you go. >> reporter: oh, my gosh. you got into my house. this quick and easy lock-picking technique is used when opening a pin tum blur lock. a threat, because 95% of us have those locks on our doors. >> by balancing the pins for an

instant you create a condition where the lock is really unlocked if you turn it. this is a specially cut key. we're going to stick it in the lock again. we're going to take our lillehammer -- >> reporter: with the tap of a special tool, the key transmits force or energy to the bottom pin tumblers in the lock. they then make the top pin tumblers move, and for an instant they move apart, allowing the key to turn and open the lock. >> that lock is open. >> reporter: that took you a second. >> less than a second. >> reporter: as seen in this actual burglary caught on tape, an estimated 2.1 million burglaries occur nationwide yearly. and that number is rising. but there's real way to tell if this special master key was used. >> generally, you don't leave any trace. there's no indication of entry. >> reporter: so why alert the public to this vulnerability? tobias decided it was crucial to exposes danger. >> if you don't talk about it, it doesn't make the security threat go away.

it just means that you, as the consumer, don't know about it, but the bad guys do. >> reporter: but are these special master keys illegal? >> yes and no. the post office is making trafficking illegal. they can be considered a a burglary tool. are they inherently illegal? not really. i mean, they're just like any other key. >> reporter: jamie fife, mother of four, felt her house was secure. she agreed to let our security expert try to brk in. he got in. >> i can't believe it. i'm shocked. i thought it was very secure. my locksmith told me they were the best ones i could have. >> reporter: didn't take you very long and this was a hart one. >> no. that's why we thought everybody out to know about this. otherwise you would have had no idea about your vulnerability. >> reporter: security experts advise not relying on one means of protection, you need a good lock, an alarm system, good lighting and concerned neighbors who will help you out and watch your house. >> if 95% of the locks out there

are vulnerable to this technique. talk to me about some of the 5% that are not vulnerable. >> reporter: so when you go shopping for a lock, this is what our security expert likes, this quikset under $100, but there's also high security locks like that one which is more expensive. what i advise is talking to a locksmith. ask them for a way to buy a lock that is not susceptible to this type o burglary, which we're not saying what the type of name of it is. >> reporter: what about auto locks? >> they don't use a pin and tim uner lock. >> but this is very scary stuff because it's available for just a couple bucks. >> thank you for passing along the administration. coming up next the obama daughters see the world. whve ty'he b dny'ngnoiir the o overseas trip with the president and the first lady. we'll talk about that right after this.

talk about a summer vacation to remember. after a whirlwind trip to russia, president obama has landed in italy this morning on his week-long trip overseas. and along for the ride, his wife and daughters. nbc's norah o'donnell has the latest. norah, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. the obamas are going to travel to russia, italy and africa on this trip. and today they're going to meet with pope benedict. this after the family missed some in moscow last night by dining by themselves at a super chic club atop the ritz hotel. call it from russia with love.

the first family clearly enjoying the trip. in moscow, mrs. obama and the girls spent time at a national folk dance, on a tour of the kremlin, and the first lady visited an orphanage. >> my olders daughter is malia. and she just turned 11. >> reporter: it's a dream vacation for first daughters malia andsasha, already jet-setters, and now drawing attention for being pint-sized fashionistas. the 'tweens arrived in russia in matching trenchcoats and ballet flats designed by j. crew. the preppy clothing line is already an obama favorite. but after reports surfaced j. crew might be trying to capitalize on it all, the first lady's office said, we do not believe the girls should be used for marketing purposes. it's the obama girls' second trip overseas and comes on the heels of their last european vacation, when they went

sightseeing in paris and london. could it mean we will see more of the obama girls while they are out of school for the summer? >> michelle, for one, has told the staf that she wants to get the girls out of the white house more. and she wants to travel with them so that they could be together as a family. and that the girls c take advantage of all that the parents are experiencing. >> and you know, meredith, it kind of seems like the first lady hasn't received the same kind of frenzied attention like she did in england and france. it's true. because the russian people and the press weren't that interested in the obamas' star power. all of that is likely to change today as the obamas are in italy, where the president there is much more western, and, of course, very interested in fashion. meredith? >> what a summer vacation for those girls. norah o'donnell, thank you very much. and still ahead, much more on michael jackson's memorial and the stars who took part. us where the jackson family goes from here. >> but first, a look at your local news and your local weather forecast.

a live look outside at rosslyn. we have a beautiful day, 66 degrees right now with sunshine. we'll find out if it's going to warm up when we talk to tom kierein. wednesday, july 8, 2009. i'm barbara harrison. in the news, drivers in alexandria will be able to fill up for free. all state is hosting a gas give away at the shirley duke shell station on duke street until 9:00 today. that's 9:00 this morning. the giveaway is a reward because alexandria topped all state's list of america's most improved cities for safe driving. the cost of grocery shopping is going up. the mayor signed a bill that puts a 5 cent tax on every

disposable bag. it takes effect january 1. it's to encourage reusable bags. c

>>. >> good morning. bright sunshine and a blue sky and low humidity. temperatures near 70. highs today mid 80s and low humidity. still not too humid tomorrow. a little cooler, partly cloudy, partly cloudy friday, getting more humid, though. highs low 80s. looks like we'll have sweltering humidity on saturday afternoon highs in the 80s. and a small chance of a passing

afternoon thundershower. then on sunday looks like mostly cloudy, highs in the 80s. it will be humid. and there is a greater chance of showers and thundershowers. jerry, good morning. how's traffic? >> good morning. over to the american legion bridge we go, where traffic is moving, had a report of an accident. couldn't find anything so that is a hopeful sign. elsewhere, the drive along interstate 270 incident-free. north slow, college park to silver spring on the outer loop. barbara. >> thank you. >> tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" kids making a difference in a war zone through the gift of a teddy bear. that tonight at 5:00.

we're back now 8:00 on a wednesday morning, the 8th day of july, 2009. we have got a beautiful morning here in the northeast. little showers overnight. but these people are very happy they've cleared out and they're saying hi to the people back home. good to have you all here. i'm matt lauer outside studio 1a in rockefeller center. meredith is out in los angeles. al's on vacation. and meredith, these people are feeling very ripped off. they want their money back for these tickets because you're not here. >> i can't help it, the boss sends me, i gotta go. you know, you have a big crowd there, matt. but the massive crowds expected

by police here in l.a., they never fully materialized. t that didn't take away from tuesday's memorial for michael jackson. from 20,000 folks gathered inside the staples center, for a ceremony that was filled with a sense of both sadness, but also much celebration. of course, nothing tops the heart-wrenching pain of jackson's children, laid bare for the world to see for the first time. we're going to have more on the memorial and hear from one of the stars who took part just ahead. and matt, by the way, we want to give a special thanks to the grammy museum located near the staples center for their hospitality during our time here in l.a. matt? >> all right, meredith, thanks very much. also ahead, making sure your family eats a little bit healthier. mark bittman our friend is here to continue his family food makeover. trying to get the miller family to eat more beans and grains and things like that. we'll find out how mark is doing. then here's a good question for you. is it a good idea to keep a secret stash of cash? when i say secret, i mean from your spouse. good idea?

yes? >> yeah. >> okay. we've answered our question. but we're going to have more on that subject a little later on. first let's go inside, natalie's filling in while ann is taking some time off. natalie, take it away. >> all right, thank you, matt. good morning to you, everyone. president obama is at the g-8 summit in italy today, tackling global issues such as climate change, iran's nuclear ambitions, and the sluggish world economy. this morning he met with italy's president and prime minister. a white house economic adviser says the talks will focus on ways to boost struggling economies worldwide, without pouring in more government stimulus money. still no word this morning on when and where michael jackson will be buried. but officials in los angeles have released his death certificate. however it does not list a calls of death yet. it just says deferred. millions of people around the world, meanwhile, watched the memorial service held for the king of pop at the staples center on tuesday. in melbourne, australia, fans huddled in the chilly weather to catch a glimpse. others were brought to tears. and hundreds gathered for a

candlelight vigil last night outside the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. u.s. officials are trying to find out who's behind a series of cyber attacks on government agencies over the past few days. the websites at the treasury department, secret service, federal trade commission and transportation department were all affected. it's unclear if these attacks are linked to a similar attack on 12,000 government websites in south korea. some officials there think north korean hackers may be to blame. google's announcing today that it's developing an operating system for personal come suitors based on its chrome brouszer. it's a direct challenge to microsoft whose windows operating system controls the vast majority of pcs. a southwest airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing tuesday at baltimore-washington international airport, after striking about 40 birds during takeoff. the plane immediately returned to the airport, and no one was injured. and stormy weather couldn't dampen the spirits of screaming fans at the london premiere of

"harry potter and the half-blood prince." the more very's stars also braved the drenching dopours, hail and strong winds that blew down the barricades. the film hits theaters in the u.s. one week from today. the highly-anticipated summer blockbuster i'm sure. 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to matt. >> this is a group called cast, cousins annual summer trip. they make sweatshirts up. and this year, new york city. >> nice. >> good to have you guys here. enjoy your trip. thanks very much. al is taking a trip. we've got alexandra steele from the ather clan with the forecast. >> thanks a lot, matt. it's my birthday, tell me about it. >> i'm from atlanta and it's my 13th birthday. and i want to meet kathie lee and code. >> i met them in the dressing room so i'll see what i can do. i'm new here, though. for my 13th birthday my mom allowed me to get my ears pierced. you want the iphone?

>> yeah. >> what do you think mom? >> well -- >> all right, let's talk about some atlanta forast and the southeast, as well. and first, columbia, south carolina. anyone from south carolina? oh, okay! oh, well, a little bit of thunder and 91 degrees. and there's the big picture. you can see in the southeast, scattered showers and storms, a slight risk there from atlanta to charlotte if you'r it's a beautiful summer morning under way on the washington region. good morning. temperatures around 70. it's 69 in washington, a little cooler to the west and north near 70 near the bay, highs mid 80s around the region with low humidity and lots of sunshine. tomorrow partly cloudy, cooler but not very humid. on friday, turning more humid, afternoon highs low 80s. partly cloudy. humid over the weekend, saturday might have an isolated afternoon thundershower. small chance. a greater chance of maybe showers and thundershowers on sunday.

all right, in new york, brittany give me your checklist. >> statue of liberty, times square, and empire state building. >> what's been most fun? >> so far the "today" show. >> all right. there you go. all right, enjoy your day. matt, back to you. >> all right, alexandra, thank you very much. when we come back, insides michael jackson memorial. the celebrities who paid tribute to the kin rofop a pightfter these messages. g big

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back now at 8:08. celebrities don't always allow people in to see their true feelings. but during tuesday's memorial for michael jackson, some of the biggest names in entertainment did exactly that. nbc's lee cowan was inside the staples center for the tribute. lee, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. you know, it was really extraordinary, i think, about yesterday's memorial, is this sort of unguarded, raw emotions that were onstage. and as much of a performance as this really was, in the end it ended up being as personal as a public memorial could be. it's rare that a memorial leaves you tapping your feet one minute, and reaching for kleenex the next. but so it went. that michael jackson's star-studded farewell. there was jennifer hudson's rendition of jackson's "will you be there," that brought mourners to their feet.

♪ >> reporter: then there was stevie wonder, who tweaked the words of a classic to make an already emotional song even more personal. ♪ michael why didn't you stay >> reporter: but it was michael's brother jermaine, struggling his way through a charlie chaplain tune, one of michael's favorites, that summed up the memorial's message the best. ♪ you'll find the life >> reporter: in between the music were the words that connected it all. childhood friend brooke shields faced her grf ad-on. >> although our hearts are aching, we need to look up, and we need to smile. >> reporter: queen latifah resorted to poetry, sent to her from maya angelou. >> we are missing michael jackson, but we do know we had

him, and we are the world. >> reporter: and magic johnson used humor, recalling a dinner with jackson that revealed just how down-to-earth the king of pop really was. >> wait a minute. michael, you eat kentucky fried chicken? >> that was the greatest moment of my life. >> reporter: kicking his all over was mariah carey, unrehearsed, walking onstage, cold. ♪ you and i will make a pact >> reporter: her voice cracked at the first sight of jackson's casket. >> i feel a little bit like a let everybody down. but i really did try and, it's just -- it was difficult. but you know what? i think it was a true and honest emotional moment. >> reporter: but the emotional scale tipped out of balance when michael jackson's 11-year-old daughter, paris, found the mike. and the courage to speak. >> daddy has been the best

father you could ever imagine. and i just want to say i love him so much. >> reporter: although the family had certainly been working on this for days, meredith, as you saw, very little of it actually looked very rehearsed. it certainly fulfilled the need for fans and a promise for jackson's family to keep michael jackson's memory alive. meredith? >> lee cowan, thank you. toure is an nbc news contributor and writer for "rolling stone." good morning to you, toure. >> thanks. >> very few days they had to rehearse this, to get this ready. your take on it? how would you describe what you witnessed yesterday? >> i mean, i thought the tone was right. i thought that the whole thing just worked right. it was kind of like a black baptist church service. one of these big l.a. churches where you have the doctor and the sanitation worker, but everybody is in suits and praising god, and you know, sort of dancing a little bit, singing

a little bit. you know, some of the grittier moments of michael jackson's life were alluded to. some real moments came out. you know, we talked about magic, talking about kentucky fried chicken. >> which was great. >> i mean, who knew that. but then also likeort of news was made with paris, literally and figuratively, coming from behind the veil, to speak, you know, from her heart. i mean, that was so real. >> i don't think anybody expected any of the children to speak at all. i wonder if that was a spontaneous moment for her. >> i feel like it was spontaneous. i feel like she was kind of fighting her emotions. because she wanted to speak. but she was afraid to speak. and you know, sort of a great moment, too, when she goes to speak and like, you know, eight hands grab for the microphone. let's fix the mike for you. we know how to do that. but clearly, all you see is a deep relationship between paris and janet. you know, and this great sort of hug among all of them. this is a modern, blended family. you know, like different strokes but much different.

much more money. but they're going to support each other and work through the emotional times together. >> i felt it also was a moment that humanized michael jackson and his family more than any i've ever seen. >> that's right. he's been telling us these things about him, his eccentricities to keep the mystery going. he wanted that. kenley riley told me that he knew how to work the media, and to keep us guessing about him. a person who is mysterious is much more interesting than a person who seems normal. but here, we were normalizing michael jackson, and humanizing him, talking about him as a more regular person. >> so many top-notch performers, musicians, performed yesterday, singers. who stands out in your mind? >> i mean, you know, stevie wonder. any time he performs, he's the star. and you know, of course, i never dreamed in summer, you know i mean, that was a heart breaker. if that didn't get you or mariah didn't get you, clearly, surely paris got you. or you're just a grinch and you have no heart.

john maher was fantastic. and he's always fantastic. an acoustic version of human nature. that was fantastic. gave me a lot of great performances. jennifer hudson, you know. eight months pregnant, you know, with break dancers doing their thing. i love that. >> and shaheen, the 12-year-old boy that michael jackson had seen from youtube and picked for his tour in london. he was going to have that little boy sing with him. >> yes. >> a duet every night that he was on the stage in london. 50 performances. and you've got a sense of, i mean, that's comparing michael jackson, but also a sense of, you know, passing the torch from generation to generation. >> it was nice to see a child performer. but also nice to see berry gordie, you know, perhaps the greatest a&r man of all time, talking about the greatest entertainer and telling those stories about baseball or softball together. for anybody else to say greatest entertainer of all time, that's nice. for berry gordy to say that, after marvin gay, smoky

robinson, mary wells, so many people, stevie wonder, for him to put that crown on michael jackson, that really means something. >> do you think the family accomplished what it set out to do in this tribute? >> i think they did. i mean, they gave the world a place to look and put their grief, and their mourning. i mean, look, if michael jackson, if you can believe michael jackson is looking down and watching this, he was so pleased. because it's a global phenomenon. it's a big event. the whole world, the staples center. i mean, people don't have memorials at the staples center. but michael jackson did. >> he sure did, toure. thank you very much. >> thank you. . tomorrow on "today" is brought to you by palm pre. thinking ahead. it's a beautiful thing. >> and now, a special look at what's coming up tomorrow on "today." we're going to have much more on the investigation into michael jackson's death, and where he may be laid to rest. plus, bruno takes on global

fame. and we'll have a burger showdown live on the plaza. that is all tomorrow on "today." and just ahead this morning, mark bittman helps make over your family's menu. that's right after this. thursday, finally! dinner with the girls tonight. mmm... mexican, or italian? i really want dessert tonight. i better skip breakfast. yep, this is all i need. ( stomach growls ) skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women that eat breakfast, like the special k® breakfast, actually weigh less.

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- savory rice and lamb stew. - [ barks ] you're right. tonight is a beef stew kind of night. [ announcer ] beneful prepared meals. another healthful, flavorful beneful. we're back now at 8:20. and this morning on "how to cook everything today," more of our special family food makeover. mark bittman, "new york times" columnist and author of "food matters" is working with the miller family to improve their eating habits and hopefully help your family out in the process. >> look. a cantaloupe. ♪ >> beans, greens and grains. once a week, cook some beans, cook some greens, and cook some whole grains. so let's go shopping.

going to be a purist. i tell you you have to buy dried beans. but, i know you're always saying what could make things easier? so let's start with canned. i definitely think you should try chic peas. these you can roast or briel until they get a little crispy. >> oh, all right. that would work. >> we want to start with things people like. >> things that are recognizable. lettuce we eat. >> lettuce is great. >> okay. >>hether it's dark green leafy greens or light green leafy greens, iceberg, romaine, it doesn't matter that much. so how about american? i don't buy bottled dressing. i make dressing by pouring olive oil and lemon juice over the salad. two things i would love for you to try. one is cornmeal, like polenta or grits. the other is bulger, cooks

really, really quickly. great for breakfast. it's also this fluffy consistency. >> and you would have it as a side dish? >> these are the fastest and easiest to cook. these are really, really good things to eat. you can almost never go wrong eating them. >> all right. let's go. >> and mark bittman joins us here in the studio. hmm, bulgur and cornmeal. >> let's go. >> how is this family doing in your pinion? >> i think they're doing great? we got this e-mail from marcy, they're eating salads, the fruit thing is getting much better. they're really liking the whole grains, especially polenta and bulgur. which you're going to make fun of. >> i'll try it in a second. these are the roasted chick peas you use this as a side dish, a salad topping? >> i would use them by putting a little lehman juice on them, sa and pepper and eating them as a snack. >> basically put a little olive oil in a baking pan and throw them in the oven for how long? >> 20 minutes until they shrivel

up, dry up and become crunchy and snacky. >> you think this is a good snack? it's a healthy snack i know. but this is your idea of a good snack? it's not too bad. all right let's move on to the summer greens, and they use lots of different vegetables in their salad. but is the bag the way to go if you don't have a lot of time? >> i think the bag is no problem at all. the thing is that you can also, you know, people buy hearts of romaine and then you just take them apart. they're already washed. and romaine to me is still the lettuce that most people like most. but if you like the mixes, great. >> put it in the sincer there. make the summer salad dressing for the simple summer salad dressing. >> i taught them how to make real vinaigrette with shallot and mustard and all that. but to me you want to dress a salad. you put some olive oil on it, salt and pepper on it, lemon or vinegar and you're in business. >> nothing could be healthier for you than that. >> or faster. >> okay. >> quick question, how long is that one chick pea going to stay in my mouth? >> until you enjoy it. >> okay, good.

let's move on to the grains. your suggestion is you make a batch of grains at the beginning of the week and see how long you can make it last? >> to me you make a batch of grains that's big and use it in as many ways as you can. so bulgur is a fantastic side dish with meat or anything else. and takes to gravy very well. however, i just have it for breakfast. you are not going to make fun of me on this one. >> it's not bad. >> not bad? >> are those raisins? >> currants. i know that if it had chopped bacon on it, you'd be a local lot happier. >> a little scrambled egg over the top, too. and this has got to be incredibly inexpensive. >> incredibly inexpensive and really healthy. >> this is what it looks like raw? >> yeah. >> cooks in five minutes. >> i know we're going to check in with the miller family later in the month. what are you going to have them do between now and then? >> more fruit, more greens. get them to try and enjoy their beans. and you, too. >> pass the chick peas. when we come back, pick the rings for "today throws a wedding" after your local news.

8:26 is our time. 66 degrees out there, beautiful bright sunshine. nice clear blue skies. we'll get the forecast coming up. good morning. i'm joe krebs on this wednesday, the 8th of july, 2009. in the news, questions are raised about a new juvenile detention center in maryland after inmates escaped for the second time. sundayix inmates escaped from the new beginning youth center. they were serious offenders wanted for crimes includi assault with intent to kill. leaders are asking to keep residents safe. a d.c. landmark, the former hotel washington was nearly 90 years old when it closed last year. today it will be reopening as part of the w hotel chain. we'll look at our weather and

traffi stay with

good morning. bright and sunny, temperatures ar 70, afternoon highs mid 80s. low humidity. tomorrow and friday partly cloudy, cooler, more humid on friday. humid over the weekend. could get an afternoon thundershower saturday and greater chance on sunday. jerry, how's traffic? >> let's look along 395 northbound, very heavy and slow. possibly the remnants of an accident along the left side of the roadway. right before the 14th street bridge so a hefty backup from shirlington. prior to that, we're slow to the beltway. a couple of problems along 95.

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8:30 now on this wednesday morning. the 8th of july, 2009. looks like a decent start to the morning back home in rockefeller plaza. waiting for the country's superstars rascal flats. they're going to be there friday for a live concert. we have another concert in just one week, leigh and nick's wedding. get out the kleenex because matt, you know you are a crier. >> i'm a crier.

there's no question about it. i will be weeping openly. we're already knee deep in planning for that wedding. already this week we revealed what our viewers have chosen for leigh to wear as the wedding gown. today we're going to tell them what the bridal party will be wearing for the big ceremony. and then, i think we're going to reveal the choices for wedding band, right? >> that's right. i was trying them all on. they're all gorgeous. >> we've got a lot of things coming up. lots of options, meredith, and we're going to get to thosen just a little while. >> also ahead, something i hope leigh and nick aren't really thinking about. but a thorny issue for some couples young and old. they're talking about money. and specifically secret money. the question is, is it okay, especially in this economy, to hide cash from your partner? we're going to weigh the pros and cons just ahead. what do you think, matt? >> it sounds sneaky, though, doesn't it, meredith? >> yeah, it sounds like a lot of couples are going to be fighting after they see that piece. that's what i think. also ahead -- also ahead from here in l.a., we're going to have much more on tuesday's

star-studded tribute to michael jackson. including what is next for his three kids. was it a good idea for his daughter paris to speak at the tribute. we will get into all of that. but first, a check of the weather from the weather channel's alexandra steele, who is in for big al. >> all rig, thanks, meredith. justin, what do you want to say? >> we want to say hey to our dad in florida. >> what's his name? >> allen. >> i thought maybe you skipped camp or something. >> no, ma'am. >> oh, ma'am. now i feel old. all right, let's faulk about the dweattr anha w we'veve got taroundhahe country. oum,yes,'ama tou'a y m oams ut he,e'k a hoo l a wootha t we've got. in terms of temperatures, it's very warm where your dad is in florida. temperatures in the 90s there. texas, oklahoma, 100. records continue to fall. and again, a slight risk of showers and storms in the northern plains. portland, rain showers, and here in the northeast, temperatures continue to be below bright and sunny summer morning. live picture from the sky watcher camera over washington

in the distance. we have a blue sky and temperatures near 70. low humid. we'll see it climb by mid afternoon. and it will be dry, low humidity and tomorrow. cooler on thursday with clouds around. friday more humid, low 80s and humid over the weekend. might have a passing afternoon thundershower on saturday. greater chance on sunday. and it's lucille's 80th birthday. happy birthday. >> thank you. >> and this is what you wanted to do, come to new york? >> yes. my daughters brought me. >> well, happy birthday to you. >> thank you. >> and many more. all right, matt, back to you. >> alexandra, thanks very much. we've got some friends who are here for a conference from california, california, and texas. and your sign caught my eye. i like that. >> thank you. we're loving new york. >> good to have you here. when we come back we're going to check out the wedding band options for nick and leigh in their big wedding coming up. i think in just a week but first, thi

"today throws a wedding," ten years of i dos, brought to you by purina. your pet, our passion. this morning on "today throws a wedding," we only have one week to go before leigh and nick tie the knot live on our plaza. and today, we need your help to pick the wedding bands. milly martini bratton is the editor in chief of "brides" magazine. she's here along with our lucky couple. good morning to all of you. it's getting exciting. okay, before we get to the business of choosing the wedding bands, let's talk a little bit about our bridal party attire, because, america has voted, and without further ado, they have chosen look number -- drum roll, please. work with me. number -- three.

the collection by priscilla of boston, the dress. and the seersucker suit. so nick, let me ask you, because you haven't had a lot of say so far, do you like the look of the seersucker? >> it's cool. >> it's very elegant. >> i thought it would look cool in my wardrobe. >> and for a plaza wedding, it couldn't be more perft. what do you think, leigh? >> i think it's very vineyard. napa valley feel. very summery. so, i think it's going to be perfect. they're going to look gorgeous in it. >> beautiful. all right let's get to the business, now. thank you to you all, our models and our gorgeous ellie berger modeling in the dress. i'm like, who is that? i know her. oh, yeah. let's talk about the rings, and milly, there's so much to choose from these days and it seems like the choices are endless. when it comes to picking, though, the ring that goes along with this gorgeous engagement ring, this is sort of a

nontraditional. tell me about this wedding ring or this engagement ring, first. why did you pick this, nick? >> i think when we talked about it, a little bit of engagement rings, i love green. >> emeralds. >> she loves green. she loves emeralds, and i'm a little different. so felt like, you know, let's try something out. i'm really different. >> how did you propose again? she was on a stationary bike, is that right? >> that's the story, yes. >> these are athletes. keeping that in mind, milly, lifestyle, i imagine is something to think about, too. >> oh, absolutely. sure. what's great about this is so you 'nique. you can wear this any time you want on the other hand after you're married. an engagement wiring and a weddg ring don't have to match. they can certainly be different. we have ones here that go well together. but some are entirely different. >> you can wear the engagement ring on another hand, as well. that's something that a lot of people have been doing as of late, too. right? >> absolutely. whatever you like. it's really a great option. the most important thing is take time looking for it, because

you're going to wear this every day. this is really a tangible symbol of the rest of your life, of being in love together. >> it's very personal. >> very personal. do you like the style, does it feel comfortable. >> so let's take a look at wha we have. our first set of rings are from david yerman and made of rose gold. i understand this is the new big trend. >> it is the trend. gold comes in white, yellow and rose and rose is very romantic and pretty. gives kind of a pink cast to it. which is very flattering on a lot of skin tones. the lady's ring has diamonds all around, and a signature braided edge to it. >> gorgeous. >> and the groom's ring has two little trends going on here. the rose gold, and a matte and a shiny finish, which is sort of a little tough to see. but matte and shiny is really nice. men's rings are not overly decorative but you can do something interesting with the finish. >> is gold a hard metal? can it scratch where you can see a lot of wear and tear? >> all the metals for all the

rings are hard. platinum is the hardest. gold, of course, is very hard, too, and it will last forever. no question about it. >> they're beautiful. okay, let's take a look at our next set of rings, and this is from the celebrity designer jeweler anna hu and a lot of diamonds as i see in the lady's bands here. >> these are quite different. the men's band is very, very simple 18 karat white gold with two diamonds embedded in it. >> that's a trend, right? >> mm-hmm. >> you're not going to see that. but it's a symbol of their love. >> and it's just for you that you know about. and they're bezel cut which means the diamonds are flush so they're not going to stick up into your hand. that's aomfort factor to keep in mind. this is a little more playful. lots of sparkle. >> can she try? there's no -- you're not with bad karma there? >> not at all. >> see what it looks like. >> and a little more playful,

very, very different here, nick. >> something she probably would wear alone more than with her ring. >> take your emerald, put it on the other hand, and he'd wear this alone. he has some other choices, too, that's a little more modern. >> now martin cass created the wave ring. he's also a celebrity jewelry designer. >> very well known celebrity jewelry designer. these are romantic and these are platinum which give an openwork ring a little more of an edge. here's the groom's ring. nick, right there. >> there you go. >> looks good. >> let's put it on you. >> looks similar, which is nice. these are the two that are most closely alike. lots and lots of diamonds on it. >> and our last look here, probably the most traditional, i think, is the eternity band. >> the darling. >> it is darling, i'll tell you that. >> a classic ring. this is yours, nick, and this is the darling for you. more of a pave diamond. >> and pave diamonds are great.

they're tiny little diamonds. it's a great way to get a lot of sparkle but they're not very expensive. so you can add lots and lots of diamonds, get a big sparkle and get a great value, too. the nice thing about pave. >> boy, they all look nice. >> any top ones? you can't say what your favorite is. >> america will decide. >> but they're all great. >> just when i knew we started this show i knew that all the choices would be amazing and they have been. so we'd be lucky to get any one of these rings. this will be kind of our memory for our lives. for this experience. >> and i know our viewers will take good care of you as they always today. milly martini bratton, thank you. leigh and nick, thank you. let's take a look once again. it's your job at home to help choose the ring for them. ring number one, is david >erman, ring number two by anna hu. n ngriumber three, martin tz. or ring number four byng de bes. you have until 4:00 p.m. eastern time to vote either at our website, todayshow.com or by texting the number of your

favorite ring to 46833. but still ahead, up next the topic that might interest leigh and nick, is it okay to hide money from your partner? we'll get into that. a chinese emperor was so iressed by soy's health benefits... that he declared ita sacred pla. buddhist monks believed eating soy... was healthier for the dy and spirit. and ameran farmers planted soybeans... to help revive the barren soil of the dust bowl. for thousands of years, people all around the world have eaten soy. [ birds chirping ] and today, we take that same historic bean, mix it with fruit and bake it... into soyjoy. learn more at soyjoy.com.

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get back to what really matters switch to suntrust checking today suntrust. live solid, bank solid. we're back now at 8:45 this morning on "today's relationships," money. is it okay to keep a secret stash of cash from your partner? or is that a recipe for disaster? the topic is featured in the july issue of "redbook" magazine. stacy morrison is the editor in chief. she's with us along with psychologist jeff guarder. i did a very unscientific survey on this subject in the last couple of hours and it goes right down the middle. some people think yeah, that's smart, it's a good idea. other people think it's sowing the seeds of mistrust. it's a disaster in a marriage. >> i think there's a big difference between what's

separate money and secret money. separate money, yes, the spouses each need to be able to have money they can spend without telling each other, you know, i want to get a $15 pedicure without having to report it. but stashing away $2,000, $5,000, we have cases of $800,000. >> the woman in your magazine kept $800,000 hidden from her husband. first of all, he's out to lunch if he didn't know that was going on. >> that's amazing. >> i'd like to meet her. >> yeah. >> so we could spend that $800,000. >> do you agree it's okay if it's separate but it's not okay if it's secret? >> i do agree with her. but also i know i keep separate and secret money from my spouse only because i know how to save money a little bit better than she does. so if i'm away from home and she calls and says hey, i need some cash, i'll say listen, go to this stash that i have here -- >> wait a second. how big is your separate account? and how big is your secret account? >> the separate accot is maybe a couple of thousand. secret account is, you know, the secret stash, maybe a couple of

hundred. but what i'll say to her is, go into this particular spot, where the stash is, you could find and take the money. but when i get home, when i get home, i move that stash. >> so it's still secret the next time. >> exactly. >> but i think the larger issue -- >> it's for emergencies. >> what couples really need to have is shared goals. you need to have short-term goals and long-term goals. what are we saving for in a big sense, college education, retirement, a vacation house? and short-term they have to have an agreement. they're using someone who runs the household budget, so they're more in the cash flow of the relationship. what you don't want is either member to feel completely beholden to the other about every single penny that you spend. >> let me go back to another thing. if you have a secret -- sepate account. should you be forthcoming with all information about that account? should i say to my wife, here's my balance at the end of every month? or is that too much information? >> every couple finds their own way. all the research that "redbook" has done has found there's no correlation whether you have all joint accounts, all separate accounts.

it has nothing to do with the health of your marriage. secret money, financial infidelity, consistently pulls the thread of the fabric of america. >> if you have an open and honest relationship, you don't have to present every month, here's what's going on. the person may ask you the question, or you may just leave it out in the open, so that they can have access to looking at it, because in these tough financial times, matt, we really need to know what's going on in our financial houses. >> that forry in your magazine about the woman who stashed away $800,000 probably prompts a lot of our viewers to be thinking, what are the signs, how do i know if my partner is stashing money? what would the signs be? >> i think one of the very earliest signs -- >> if they're running off. >> well, exactly. that's the second sign, i was going to talk about. where you see spending that is out of the norm, outside of the pattern. but the first one, which i think is important, is that there's not enough money to spend for the family, and for the couple, because that money is being siphoned into a separe account. >> tell me real quicklied communication process.

if you suspect it, how do you broach the subject? >> i think the bigger thing is not to think of it as a financial problem. if you feel that there's secret money, it's not a financial problem you have, you have a marriage problem. you have a communication problem. you don't have a shared idea of what your marriage is and how you're achieving life goals together. so i would approach it from that perspective. honey, i wanted to talk to you about where are we going? what are we doing with our money? times are tight right now. i feel nervous. are we on the same page? do we have the same -- so in other words don't confront your partner. just talk to them, because it might be a very innocent thing that they're doing, but if there's something deeper, it is sign of a marriage falling apart, then you want to address what the issues are, not scare them into trying to save or stash even more money. >> we always say, it's about having a shared idea of what your marriage is and have to constantly work on that together >> goodinformation. where's your stash right now? >> i can't tell you, because someone might be watching. >> jeff and stacy, thanks we're going to be right back. this is "today" on nbc.

back now on this special edition of "today" from los angeles and new york. according to yahoo! tuesday's memorial for michael jackson mps the website's single most streamed event in history. matt and natalie, 5 million stro total streams. >> a lot of people who watched it felt it was fitting tribute, kind of the right blend

of speeches and music, you can't argue was one of the greatest entertainers of all time. >> tt was whathey said over and over again. you heard it from berry gordy, he is the greatest entertainer ever. really tried to humanize him, right, meredith? >> oh, they certainly did. between his daughter and brooke shields talking about him, you got a real sense of the man. >> we're back after your local news. >> our hearts are heavy today because this man, this brother, this son, this father, and this friend is gone far too soon. ♪ just call my name and i'll be there ♪ >> it was the most natural and easiest of friendships.

>> i love you, my brother. i celebrate your life. i am proud that i had the chance to know you. >> michael jackson, i think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived. >> when he did his iconic moon walk, michael jackson went into orbit and never came down. it was magic. >> this is a celebration of his life. of his legacy. ♪ >> michael's favorite song was called "smile." ♪ if you smile through your fear and sorrow ♪ >> we can't help but love you brother michael.

>> we are missing michael jackson. but we do know we had him. and we are the world. ♪ we are the world we are the children ♪ ♪ we are the ones who make a brighter day ♪ ♪ so let's start giving ♪ there's a choice we're making ♪ ♪ we're saving our own lives ♪ ♪ it's true we make a brighter day ♪ ♪ just you and me >> michael, when you left us, a part of me went with you. >> daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. and i just want to say i love him so much.

♪ hold me like the river of jordan ♪ ♪ and i will say to thee you are my prayer ♪ ♪ carry me like you were my brother ♪ ♪ love me like a mother will you be there ♪ ♪ >> in the promise of another tomorrow, i'll never let you part. 8:55 is our time. 69 degrees, beautiful picture of the kennedy center out there this morning. a lot of bright sunshine. we'll get the forecast coming up. good morning.

i'm joe krebs on this 8th day of july, 2009. no one was injured when a plane taking off from bwi airport ran into a flock of birds. it happened yesterday afternoon. at least one of the birds hit an engine of the southwest airlines flight to providence, rhode island. the pilot circled back to land at bwi. the cost of grocery shopping is going up. mayor fenty signed a bill that puts a 5 cent tax on every disposable bag used. the fee takes effect on january 1st, meant to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags and cut down on litter. is making compromises.

your health shouldn't be one of them. that's why giant has extended its free antibiotic program. just bring your doctor's prescription to our pharmacy, and we'll fill it for free. save more, feel good at giant. the lower your total, the better. at giant, you'll find tresemme, 3 for $10, and real deal savings on over 300 items, all summer long. so don't let a real deal pass you by. come in to giant today.

good morning. a perfect summer morning, a milky blue sky over washington. live picture from our sky watcher camera. temperatures near 70. afternoon high should make it to the mid 80s with low humidity and lots of sunshine. you'll need sun block to avoid a serious sun burn. tonight, should be mostly clear, a moon lit night. then low 60s tomorrow morning. tomorrow partly cloudy, still not very humid, afternoon highs cooler. on friday, turning more humid, afternoon highs low 80s. it should be partly cloudy. over the weekend getting quite

humid on saturday, should be hot, too, in the mid to upper 80s. and there is a small chance of an isolated thundershower in the afternoon. a greater chance on sunday. jerry, good morning. how's traffic? >> we're loaded up in a couple spots, particularly 95 northbound from newington to the beltway to the outer loop. let's see how we are, american legion bridge, two thumbs up. looking pretty good. >> thanks. tonight on "news 4 at 5:00" kids making a difference in a war zone thr ggh oheiftf a ♪ ♪ who's watching? ♪ tell me who's watching. (muffled music) ♪ who's watching... (announcer) it's right here. it's easy.

it's the money you could be saving with geico. r ♪ i a daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. and i just want to say i love him so much. >> his 11-year-old paris jackson talking about the side of michael jackson that really no one else could talk about, other than her two siblings, michael jackson as a father. it was probably the shortest speech at yesterday's memorial service, the one that's getting the most attention today. it is this eighth day of july, 2009. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales and maria celeste from our sister network telemundo.

and it was quite a moment. >> it was. when she got up there and she spoke, and you saw all the jacksons sort of huddle around her. you knew she was kind of struggling whether she wanted to do it or not. almost seemed as i think toure talked about earlier, but when she got up there and sai what she did, i think it really just broke everybody's heart. because if nothing else you could understand the emotion that a child goes through losing a father. >> no question. >> it was so moving. i think it was t most unforgettable moment of the whole day. >> and coming up we're going t explore more about this type of a subject. e plight of children left without the only parent they've ever known. we're going to discuss that in just a bit. >> also ahead, despite his passing, there was a case of that michael magic onstage at his memorial as thousands of people came together for a remembrance, a tribute fit for a king. we're going to take a look back, the pageantry, the laughter, and of course, the tears this morning. and then later switching to a happier occasion, the latest

honeymoon trends from taking the whole wedding on the road to budget getaways after you say your i dos. >> but first ann is enjoying some time off this week and so natalie has a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. >> i do. in the headlines this morning, the world economy, iran and climate change are the big top inks today for president obama as he meets with other world leaders in italy for the g-8 summit. they're also considering ways to help fight hunger around the world. the president meets with pope benedict on friday. officials are trying to find out who is behind a massive outage on government websites in recent days. the cyber attack hit several government agencies, including some responsible for fighting cyber crime. a similar attack hit government websites in south korea. officials there are investigating whether north korean hackers are responsible for it. and a rare public appearance today for north korean leader kim jong-il who paid tribute to his father, the country's late founder, on the 15th anniversary of his death. this morning the senate is holding a hearing on lapses in

security at government buildings. general accouability office report says investigators were able to carry bombmaking materials past security at ten federal buildings. they then constructed explosive devices, and even carried them around inside. security remains tight in western china, where ethnic unrest has claimed more than 150 lives. helicopters are dropping leaflets appealing for calm. communist party leaders say the government will execute those behind the unrest. also in china, flooding triggered by heavy rain has killed at least 15 people and triggered landslides that knocked out rail service. and americans are spending less time stuck in rush hour traffic. a texas transportation institute study finds the average u.s. driver spent just over 36 hours stuck in traffic back in 2007. but that is down half an hour from the year before. the average, though, is highest in los angeles, where they spent about 70 hours stuck behind the wheel. by the way, maria, in miami, you

guys number 11. >> i don't know how many hours but it feels like it's a lot. miami is a lot. new york is number 14 so we do a little bit better. >> long, isn't it? it's no picnic. let's get a check of the weather. al is taking some time off. we've got alexandra steele from the weather charge outside with the nice people out there. hi, alexandra. >> hi, guys. certainly we do. sophie is from the south. a lot of southerners here. so sophie, give me your best hey y'all. >> hey, y'all! >> where are you from? >> alabama. >> where in alabama? >> birmingham, alabama. it's been hot there, huh? >> where are you from? >> florida. >> and matt made your day, didn't he? >> he sure did. >> why did he make your day? >> because he gave me -- h didn't exactly get it, somebody ghiele s avpt tri d oor >>you. let's talk a little weather from alabama to florida. heoo'sr a a lkhat wt' w happening around the country. of course it's the big story from showers and storms in the southeast, also in northern new england, a little bit of rain. but, on the whole, the country's

pretty dry. a few scattered showers, and also a slight risk of some severe weather in the northern it's a beautiful july morning here as we start off this wednesday, the 8th day of july, temperatures around the region are now near 70 degrees, and it will climb into the mid 80s by mid afternoon. lots of sunshine. and low humidity. a high ultraviolet index. tomorrow, partly cloudy, a bit cooler and low humidity. more humid on friday. highs in the low 80s. over the weekend saturday getting rather steamy. partly sunny. maybe an isolated afternoon thundershower. highs in the 80s. greater chance on sunday. all righ what are the green hats about? >> representing nbc with the peacock. >> oh, very smart. what's your name? >> evan. >> and alexandra. >> oh, i love it. all right, natalie, back to you. >> all right, thank you, alexandra. if you didn't see it for yourself, you probably heard by now, but almost 20,000 family,

friends, and fans of michael jackson packed the staples center to pay tribute to the king of pop tuesday. meredith vieira takes us there. >> reporter: hours after the memorial as the family returned home to the jackson compound in encino, the fans still kept coming to show support for the family on this day of mourning. >> michael, when you left us, a part of me went with you. >> reporter: the day began with a somber motorcade escorted by police as the jackson family wound its way to forest lawn cemetery for a private ceremony. then on to the staples center for the public memorial. ticket holders waited respectfully for the doors to open, while just a few hundred onlookers lingered outside the perimeter. inside, a gospel choir raised its voice as michael's golden casket was escorted in, flanked by his brothers, each with a single glove and sunglasses to honor their sibling. >> i loved him all my life.

>> reporter: the star-studded salute began with mariah carey singing a classic jackson song, she herself covered in 2002. ♪ where there is love >> reporter: one by one, a roster of stars paid tribute to jackson with poignant versions of his songs. ♪ i never dreamed >> reporter: singer usher broke down as he finished the michael song "gone too soon." 12-year-old shaheen, a finalist on "britain's got talent" who head been singled out by jackson to appear in his london concert, reminded many of a young michael. what influence would you say he's had on your life? >> he's had a huge impact on my life, and i think he's had a huge impact on everything and every individual. >> reporter: jennifer hudson

melded her powerful voice -- ♪ you were my prayer >> reporter: with jackson's own words. >> for you're always in my heart. >> reporter: among those remembering their friend, laker stars kobe bryant and magic johnson who recalled a very non-king of pop mome. >> michael, wait a minute, you eat kentucky fried chicken? >> that was the greatest moment of my life. >> reporter: brooke shields, fighting tears, gave a glimpse into the private life of these two very public child stars. >> there would be a picture taken the caption usually said something like an odd couple. to us, it was the most natural and easiest of friendships. >> reporter: and then jermaine jackson took the stage to sing a vintage song his brother helped make possible. ♪ smile though your heart is aching ♪ ♪ smile even though

it's breaking ♪ >> reporter: and a passionate al sharpton delivered a fiery defense of michael jackson. >> every time he got knocked down he got back up. >>eporter: and addressing michael's three children in the front row, he told them -- >> wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. it was strange what your daddy had to deal with. but he dealt with it. >> reporter: millions watched around the world, from london, to berlin, from moscow to dancing in the streets of harlem. as the two-hour celebration ended with friends and family flooding the stage, came the most heart-wrenching moment from michael's 11-year-old daughter paris. >> ever since i was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine.

and i just want to say i love him so much. >> the moment that got us all. msnbc columnist and pop culture expert courtney hazlett was inside the staples center yesterday. she's in los angeles this morning with contributor rolling stone writer toure. good morning to you both. good to see you. courtney, let me start with you because i know you were inside the staples center. just as you were watching, i have to say, what i was struck by was how unrehearsed, how emotional, though, everything was, and just the anticipation of wanting to see what surprise would come next. what was it like being there? >> you really have the sense that you were part of the moment that was not going to be repeated again, in your lifetime. really when you think about it, and do the math, for somebody to have an impact like michael jackson did, you're talking about a person who's needed to be relevant since the '70s, let's be honest, a little bit off the wall, and strange enough

to stay in our dialogue since the '70s. not tomention, have the musical reach, the technological reach, to cross all the racial barriers that he did. there's just not going to be another person like him. and then when you start to watch the presentation, it was so real, and so human, this wasn't rehearsed. mariah carey, she didn't hit some of those notes because she didn't rehearse. she was the only artist who didn't get there in time. so, everything, from the production quality, to the people who spoke, it was so real. and you didn't feel like you were watching michael jackson, the icon, being memorialized, as much as you felt like you were watching a man, a husband -- i'm sorry, not a husband, a man, a father, a brother, a son. and that's what really struck me. >> and toure, it seems the theme really was to put a human face on michael jackson, present a side of him that none of us ever go to know, really, right? >> yeah. i mean, you know, when paris came out and spoke from the heart, you knowwith the family surrounding her. i mean, who couldn't cry behind that? and who couldn't think, you

know, this is a real person. like janet talked about, he's an icon to you, but he's a brother to me. and that's real, and you know, this family together, the brothers all in yellow ties. you know, showing a certain unison that perhaps we haven't always seen from the jacksons. you know, we saw a real person who eats kentucky fried chicken, who's trying to teach brooke shields the moon walk in vain. it all goes to the real -- >> -- great. >> yeah, yeah. but i -- also that real moment of when he became a superstar. on the motown 25 special which of course was on nbc, berry gordy alluded to that, and also maya angelou through queen latifah alluded to that. took a pose on his toes. what a great poetic line that only dr. angelou could come up with. >> that's absolutely right. a lot of great performances, as you mentioned toure from mariah carey, stevie wonder, lionel richie, jennifer hudson. what moment stood out for you in terms of the musical

performances we saw? let me ask you, courtney. >> well, i mean -- >> you know, i do, there are two that i really liked. i definitely liked mariah carey for the reason i mentioned before, because it was so raw. she just wanted to be there. the fact that she showed up and did that unrehearsed, goes counterto everything they teach you on how to be a successful singer. you just don't do that no matter how talented you are. so this was just a human thing she wanted to do. i also loved jennifer hudson. we're talking about an american idol honoring america's idol. and it was just such a poetic moment, and it was perfectly, perfectly executed, and it was one of those times in that memorial service where you thought, if michael was standing here, he would have just been thrilled. to me, it was magical, really. >> toure, one of the moments that struck me, i'll tell you, is seeing the children not just there with jennifer hudson, but we are the world, of course, performing one of michael's greatest songs of all time, and

heal the world, too. how much was having the children present here a statement from michael jackson? >> oh, i mean, you know, again, it humanized michael jackson. it showed us, you know, a real person. you know, with real children. i mean, you know, you can talk all you want about, is his dna in these children? we'll never know. but he raised them. every day of their lives. so you know, will you tell adopted children this is not your real father? no. that's their real father. you know, when she call him daddy, like she's still speaking to him, i mean, you know, that sent chills up the spine. >> yeah. well i know we're going to be seeing probably this memorial service will continue to replay. i know it was on b.e.t. later last night. so it's going to continue to be on the airwaves. we appreciate your time with us this morning. courtney hazlett and toure, thank you. great job covering it, by the way. >> thanks a lot. >> coming up next, what's best for all three of jackson's >> coming up next, what's best for all three of jackson's children. h, you're up. hold on, i'm at capitalone.com picking a photo...

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michael jackson's three young children came out into the open for the most public and heart-wrenching debut. 12-year-old michael joseph jr., known as prince michael, 11-year-old paris michael, and 7-year-old prince michael ii, also known as blanket, were front row with their grandmother, katherine jackson. so, how are they coping with this enormous loss? "today" contributing sigh chi strist gail saltz has some insight. do you think this was a healthy thing to bring them there? they went from being completely out of the public eye to being center stage in front of a billion people. can this be a little bit traumatizing? >> i think because the funeral was a celebration of their father's life, that it wasn't a gory, grisly kind of thing, it was a happy event, i think it was very healthy for them to be there. they want to, need to, idealize their father in a certain level and i think in terms of the publics is expect, they've been around. i mean, while they've been

covered with a veil, they've been around this kind of thing for their entire lives. so i don't think this is such a big thing for them. i think it was healthy for them to be uncovered, quite honestly, and claim their identity. especially at this time when they lost their father. >> no doubt the most emotional part of the ceremony was hearing paris speak. let's listen to it one more time so we can make a comment about it. >> ever since i was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. and i just want to say i love him so much. >> gail, were you surprised that she spoke? and why did she, and not prince michael, who is the oldest child? >> well, hopefully they gave each of them the option to say something if they felt comfortable doing so. you wouldn't want to force a child to stand up in front of a group like that or to express

their feelings if they weren't ready to. but she obviously was the one who did feel comfortable and able to do so, and it probably was a very good thing for her. probably cathartic and brought people together and probably in retrospect, she'll be happy that she did. >> another moving moment was, we have it in a photograph, captured in a photograph, when the two older children were around little blanket, kind of protecting him. do you think they're going to have that tendency to always be like protective around him? >> you know, older siblings often are protective of younger siblings, even under normal, healthy, nontraumatic circumstances. certainly with the trauma going on, they're more likely to be even more sort of maternal, paternal. let me say that their relationship with each other, the three of them, that's probably the most important relationship they've got going right now. because these kids were home-schooled. so they really were a tightly knit, they've lost their only pare. whatever happens, they need to stay together. that's a very important relationship psychologically.

>> we know that they're under the care of their grandmother, katherine jackson. 79 years old. we hope she has a long, long life because we would hate to see another loss happen to them. >> this is something everyone's hopefuinyak tg into consideration. when you have children you have to plan for guardianship. even if you are healthy and you are young. like if you're driving in a car, you put on your seat belt. not because you're expecting to have an accident. but because that's the prudent thing to do. but when you think about guardianship you do have to take into consideration the i age and longevity of the guardian. so lif expectancy being what it is, you don't want these kids to have another traumatic loss. and that is something that we simply have to be thought about when thinking about where these kids end up. >> there's a big lesson for everybody here. thank you very much, dr. gail saltz, and we'll be right back with more of "today" right after this. - hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper? oh! tada! fantastically tasty, huh? ummm, it's good. what would y guys like? hamburger helper.

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"today" we're busy, busy planning a wedding one week from "today," live on the plaza, leigh and nick will say i do. so all week long we're testing your newlywed knowledge with a little help from our friends at iq. >> and since today we've been asking you to vote on the wedding bling, we're going to test your iq about a famous celebrity ring. so when elvis presley tied the knot with priscilla, his ring had how many diamonds? now remember i said, his ring. not hers. your choices are "a," 12, "b," 24, or "c," 36. we'll be back in a few minutes with your answer. and you can get more wedding trivia, by the way, todayshow.com. >> plus if you're planning to get married, and want to save a little money on your honeymoon, we've got some good news. >> first though your local news anather. dinner with the girls tonight. mmm... mexican, or italian? i really want dessert tonight. i better skip breakfast. yep, this is all i need. ( stomach growls ) skipping breakfast to get ahead?

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security breaches at federal office buildings. the government accountability office says investigators were able to carry bomb-making materials past security at ten federal buildings. the report was obtained by the associated press in advance of a hearing scheduled for today on capitol hill. more than 350,000 people work in federal buildings in the washington area. we'll come back with weather and traffic in a moment.

good morning. we've got bright sunshine, temperatures climbing into the low 70s. we'll have afternoon highs in the mid 80s, lots of sun and low humidity. low humidity tomorrow, more humid into the weekend. >> a live look, top side of the capitol beltway, a couple of problems but everything is settling down so that's good news. still below the speed limit but improving on 95 to the beltway.

>> tonight, kids making a difference in a war zone throu the gift of a teddy bear. that s táb1

♪ what hurts the most was being so close ♪ ♪ and having so much to say and watching you walk away ♪ >> that's rascal flatts getting ready to take a break from their summer concert tour for a stop right here in rockefeller plaza this friday on "today." if you're in the mood for good, family fun. pack your bags, come on down for a live could be sert. again, that's this friday, right here on our plaza. they always bring in a good crowd and they're such good guys. >> i love the music. >> they're really great. i'm natalie morales along with maria celeste.

earlier we quiz you on some famous wedding ring history. >> the question was, elvis presley's ring had how many diamonds, 12, 24 or 36? >> so if you guessed "b," 24, you were right. i was thinking more like 12. the perfect dozen. i was wrong once again. and at his 1967 wedding to priscilla presley, elvis wore a platinum wedding band encrusted with 24 diamonds. speaking of diamonds, we do need your help picking the wedding band for our lucky coup, leigh and nick, who are getting married one week from today right here on our plaza. >> monday you voted on the dress, tuesday the bridal party's wear, and today your turn to vote on the rings. >> take a look there, and for your very favorite to vote, logon to todayshow.com or text your vote to 46833. and as we are sticking with the wedding theme in this half hour, we're going to start talking about the honeymoon. because everybody wants to know where to go, and a lot of people, of course, saving some bucks these days with the economy the way it is. and some people even taking trips to give back.

the options are plenty to consider if you're planning to tie the knot soon. >> and when it comes to giving back, "people" magazine is highlighting some ordinary folks who have gone above and beyond. we'll hear about them some more. >> all right, first, after a nearly disastrous visit to tinseltown on last night's "america's got talent" the audience was finally treated to a passionate, moving performance by single lawrence beaman. tonight, the judges head to houston on the coast-to-coast search for the next talent. >> and you can catch an all n "america's got talent," right here on nbc. let's get another check of the weather for us. alexandra steele from the weather channel filling in for al. >> hi, guys. we've got some talented people outside. i've been meeting them all morning. >> absolutely. >> let's talk about the forecast and show you what's happening around the country. again, in the northeast, pretty cool mpteeratures. but we will see dry skies. the southeast from atlanta to charlotte. a chance for a few isolated storms.

the heat blazing from oklahoma to texas and seattle to portland, expect a little bit of rain. tomorrow, again, the country's pretty dry. but typical late-day showers and th it is a perfect summer morning. good morning. low humidity again this morning. our temperatures are climbing into the 70s. we'll hit the mid 80s by mid afternoon. lots of sunshine. you need sun block to avoid a serious sun burn. tomorrow partly cloudy in the low 80s. more humid on friday, highs in the low 80s. partly cloudy. saturday, partly sunny, warm and humid, highs in the upper 80s. a small chance of an isolated thundershower. a greater chance of passing showers and thundershowers on sunday. it's going to be a beautiful week for a wedding here in new york city. could not be nicer. no rain on the brides. hopefully that holds until wednesday. >> it will, i promise you. >> okay. >> thanks alexandra. up next, the latest in honeymoon getaways. that's right after this.

got tr♪ ♪ but not today ♪ 'cause they're gonna wash away ♪ ♪ they're gonna wash away ♪ ♪ ♪ they're gonna wash away ♪ this old heart ♪ gonna take them away [ quacks ] on tuesday i go in even earlier than usual. thank goodness for eggo, a nutri-grain waffle... with a quick smudge of cream cheese. at least that part's easy. there's only one way to eat an eggo... your way. l'eggo my eggo. one pound of ground beef, a packet of hidden valley ranch. ranch burgers! my family is so much more loveable when they're not hungry. announcer: hidden valley ranch. mix it up.

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"today throws a wedding," ten years of i dos, brought to you by purina. your pet, our passion. this morning on "today throws a wedding," honeymoon travel trends. as you know, one week from today we are throwing a wedding livg on the plaza for leigh and nick. and if you're getting married and looking for a money mood destination, missy ewing from virtuoso travel has some great ideas. good morning. >> good morning. >> so given the economy this year, are couples cutting back when it comes to planning for their honeymoons? >> actually no. our honeymoon travel specialists tell us honeymoons remain one of the most recession resistant segments of tral. that's because couples may be wiing to make conceptions on other parts of their wedding, less expensive dress or opting for a deejay versus a band. but they are not willing to skimp on their honeymoons. the memories are just too important to them. >> we have some good and some

value options, as well. i'll mention. first, looking at the travel trends we're starting with the destination wedding. this is a great idea for those who are trying to save a little money. the jamaica, the ritz-carlton. this combines the wedding and the honeymoon. >> it is. you will get your wedding ceremony, your flowers, the minister, your accommodations, all for $259 a night. and i'll tell you the best part of this, is that you also get a complimentary three-night stay a year later to celebrate your first anniversary. >> perfect. >> fantastic value. it's a wedding, honeymoon and first anniversary. >> take a look at the property there. you can't beat that. that's amazing. our next travel trend is all about giving back. and this is something that i think a lot of couples are thinking about, trend we're happy to hear about, as well. why the sudden interest? >> you know, this is really a trend in travel in general. but honeymooners are really embracing this, because it's sort of the first thing they can do together as a couple. as a family. >> and the first property you

have selected here i punta cana dominican republic, the tortuga bay hotel. >> the tortuga bay has this wonderful ecological program. and couples can get really involved and hands-on with it. you can work with marine biologists to help repair some of the reefs. you can work with wildlife biologist biologists. and right now when you say there you're going to get a fourth night for free. so the rate then goes to $435 a night. when it would typically be $580. >> oh, tt's great. good. it's a bargain. more of a bargain anyway. next trend that we want to highlight is the extended honeymoon. and you say couples are now opting for much longer stays. right? >> they are. the norm used to be five to seven days. but now we're looking at 10 to 12 days. and the philosophy, if you're going to do it once, do it right. make it count. >> and here's a way to do it right. you selected a south american cruise. sounds perfect. >> oceana cruises has one from

rio deej they're ra to buenos aires. you'll have 12 days there and the rate is really fantastic. two for one fares. $1,000 reduction. free airfare round trip. and all of this is going to be less than $200 per person per day. >> what are the travel dates, though, because isn't this something to keep in mind when you're talking about a cruise? >> it is. this particular one leaves december 10th through the 22nd. which if you're planning your honeymoon, this is a great option for you. >> all right. you're going to see a lot of beautiful places. and okay, another travel plan for honeymooners is finding the ultimate value. and regardless of whether or not everybody's back on a budget, everyone always looking for more value. more bang for the buck. and you have a couple of properties that you've selected here. the first one is in mexico. the tides, the riviera maya, it's okay to go to mexico right now after the whole swine flu scare, right? >> it is. tightening your belt does not mean giving up your dream honeymoon and mexico is a perfect example of just how much value there is right now.

tides riff lair yeah in maya, gorgeous property. i was just there in february. one of the most romantic places i've seen. but the value is fantastic. you're going to stay one night. you'll get the next night free. so for less than $300. you're staying there. $300 a night. staying there. you're also getting breakfast. and typically this room would go for $585 a night. >> okay. important to think about, when you are booking, is what the weather is going to be like, as well. and so weather year round is going to be beautiful there? >> weather yea round is gorgeous. this is valid through september 30th. so, you don't even have to go immediately. you've got a couple of months. >> okay. and then final option a little bit closer to home is a property in florida. >> mm-hmm. >> for less than $75 per night. and it is a waldorf-astoria property, the naples grand beach resort. >> it is a beautiful property. waldorf service as you would expect. right on the beaches of the gulf of mexico. and again, that rate is going to absolutely knock your socks off

$99 a night. >> and $75 for the smaller rooms. >> or because of the fourth night free it goes down to $75 a night. >> oh, that's great. and you're right there by the beach. >> right on the water. fantastic views. great swimming pools. >> misty ewing what else could you ask for? i know our wedding couple would love to go to any of those destinations. thank you. coming up next, ordinary americans who will make you want to be a better pen. okay, savory rice and lamb stew. [ barks ] you're right. tonight is a beef stew kind of night. you've made another fine choice. look at those beefy chunks all packed with protein, the real vitamin-rich vegetables, the wholesome grains. and you think you're getting spoiled. it's so good for you too. [ announcer ] beneful prepared meals. three new entrees. healthful. flavorful. beneful. new sunnyd smoothies. as much calcium and vitamin d as milk... and a taste so creamy, smooth and bold,

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announcer: hidden valley ranch. mix it up. new sunnyd smoothies. as much calcium and vitamin d as milk... and a taste so creamy, smooth and bold, they'll love getting calcium and vitamin d... to help bones grow. new sunnyd smoothies. this is america. we help each other out. and when you open a checking account, bank of america helps you with $100 when you use your new debit card and online bill pay. plus you get free services and products you can only get from bank of america. this offer's for a limited time so visit a banking center or log on soon. we'll give you a hand -- and $100. it all starts with a checking account at bank of america. when president obama put out a call for americans to help

rebuild our communities through public service, "people" magazine and major league baseball stepped up to the plate. through a campaign called the all-stars anonymous, they recognized and honor 30 people who are leaders in community service. "people" magazine's senior editor is here, good morning. >> good morning. >> so the big day is july 14th. president obama will be there for the ceremony. >> it's really going to be this historic event. on july 14th, not only will we have president obama out there throwing the first pitch, but we're going to have a video featuring the five living former u.s. presidents and obama, and they're going to be talking about the importance of community service, and spotlighting some of the honorees who have been selected as part of this initiative between "people" magazine and major league baseball. >> how were they selected? >> we had a grassroots campaign. we took nominations from across the country, we selected 90 finalists, and then fans could go to people.com and choose the stories that spoke to them the most. and out of that america picked the 30 most inspiring stories.

>> still me about some of them. the first one is richard from san diego, california. >> he has an incredibly moving story that's going to be featured in "people" magazine. after his young son emilio died of cancer he started a program the emal yo nares foundation that provides transportation to sick children. basically kids who couldn't get to their treatment otherwise. such a simple yesterday, and yet with really powerful results. >> makes a big difference. rob dixon from boston, massachusetts. >> through his program project rise he's targeting at-risk youth and giving them the skills they need to succeed in school. heas a tremendous track record. 90% of the kids in his program go on to graduate from high school. >> and the next one is a guy with a unique cause. brad from cherry hill, new jersey. >> what i love about brad is that he has down's syndrome. so he's someone you would think of needing the help but he's helping others. he was on the high school varsity golfeam and he started a group called golf for life foundation that's drowsing other individuals with down syndrome

to the game of golf. >> we have shelly friedman from cincinnati, ohio. >> here again another simple idea. there are all these cultural events, sporting events where there are unused tickets. she collects those tickets and distributes them to underserved kids and exposes them to these things they otherwise wouldn't get to experience. >> and then we have tommy timber lake from tampa, florida. he's taking sailing to definitely another level. >> yeah, it's pretty funny. he himself is a sailing enthusiast. and he is now sharing that with people who have physical and mental disabilities and helping them to broaden their horizons through this love of sailing. >> i'm sure you had a hard time picking out of all those people that probably submitted other people? >> you're absolutely right. the stories are so inspiring. we're hoping that people will hear them, see how simple they are, and how accessible, and be motivated to get out there and start changing the world. >> and you can make a big difference doing simple things, as you said. >> just one small step. >> congratulations to all the

winners and to you for the beginishive. thank you very much. up next, gone too soon. saying good-bye to michael jackson. but first, this is "today" on nbc.m

still to come this morning, hoda and kathie lee will have much more on the star-studded and moving michael jackson farewell. >> but first, a look back at the memorial's most moving moments, and the star's final tribute from his friends, his family and his friends. something unforgettable. >> and several celebrities as well. ♪ >> in our darkest hour, in my deepest despair, will you still care, you'll be there. in my trials and my tribulations, through my doubt

and frustrations. in my sorrow, in my anguish, and my pain, through my joy, and my sorrow, in the promise of another tomorrow. i'll never let you part for you're always in my heart. ♪ i think, for the most part,

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perfectly priced. 9:55 is our time. actually, 9:56. 71 degrees. beautiful sunshine off the jefferson memorial and the national cathedral in the distance. this is wednesday, the 8th day of july. good morning. i'm joe krebs. questions are raised about a new juvenile detention center in maryland this morning after inmates escaped for the second time recently. on sunday six inmates escaped from the new beginnings youth center in anne arundel county. they were wanted for crimes that include assault with intent to kill. county leaders are asking for action to keep residents of the area safe. no one was injured when a plane taking off from bwi ran into a large flock of birds yesterday afternoon. at least one of the birds hit an engine of the southwest airlines

flight to providence. the pilot circled back to land. drivers in alexandria were able to fill up for free this morning. allstate insurance posted a gas giveaway at the shirley duke shell station. it's a reward because alexandria topped allstate's list of america's most improved cities for safe driving. a d.c. landmark has completed a facelift. the hotel washington was nearly 90 years old when it closed for renovations last year. it will be reopening. it features a rooftop bar. we'll take a break and -- we won't take a break. right up to tom to find out about a forecast. >> we've had a break from the humidity, it continues today. it's a beautiful summer morning, now 72 in prince george's county. high today in the mid 80s with lots of sunshine, low humidity. partly cloudy.

a bit cooler tomorrow and friday. steamy over the weekend. perhaps an afternoon thundershower on saturday and maybe some on sunday. how's traffic? >> things looking a lot better. good morning. along the 95 corridor, the jam-up which was with us most of the morning has eased so that's good news. southbound, don't see road work as of yet. check out the key bridge, no big deals, headed that direction toward rosslyn, okay. >> thanks. tonight kids making a difference in a war zone through the gift of a teddy bear.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hi, everybody, hoda and i are so happy to see you toay. it's july 8th, 2009. to make it easier, it is 7-8-9 today. >> 7-8-9. yes, it is. yes, it is. >> 7-8-9. >> and then at 10:00, at 10:11, it will be 7--9 10:11. >> so will you mark it at 10:11? >> what is that on the mayan calendar? we've got three years left. >> we've got plenty of time. >> let's just party then.

yesterday was an interesting day, as well. because, apparently tmz reported that it was exactly seven years to the day that michael jackson signed his will, to the day of his memorial. >> mm-hmm. >> i don't know if you put stock in anything like that. >> those kind of things are interesting. i don't know why, but they are. i cried, i know a lot of people did watch the memorial. >> i watched the whole thing. >> i caught it, i came in right when jennifer hudson was singing and i got to see brooke shields and some of the other performers. >> then you saw some of the best stuff. >> i thought it was incredibly, incredibly moving. i really did. i thought -- >> magic was aadorable. >> yes, the humor. i like that he injected humor during it. >> so did smoky. >> what did you think when he spoke? >> smoky's got nothing to prove. sometimes you think at these events some people are using it as an opportunity to truly grieve a friend, other people are saying things, younow what, career opportunity. maybe a billion people might be

seeing this. i'm not naming names. but you can sometimes sense who is truly sincere, who is really in pain because they've lost someone. and somebody else, who might not. >> yeah. it was interesting to see some of them. i mean when you saw when jermaine sang that song. >> yeah. >> i think we have a clip of it. his favorite song. let's take a listen to a little bit of that. ♪ smile though your heart is breaking ♪ ♪ smile even though it's breaking ♪ ♪ when there are clouds to the sky yeah you'll get by ♪ ♪ if you smile with your spirit ♪ ♪ smile and maybe tomorrow ♪

>> something so beautiful about the familial sound of the timbre of a family voice. you could almost close your eyes, at times it could have been michael. unless you're an impressionist, that can't be - it was beautiful. >> it was nice to see the family all together. because quite frankly we haven't really seen them as a cohesive group to the. >> and yet interesting to see that joe jackson, by i don't know by design or by just the way they shot it, was very -- was not much a part of it. >> yeah, he was not. he didn't get up and speak. i guess a lot of family members didn't get up and speak. but one who did came up at the end and that was paris, michael's daughter. i have to tell you, i was watching, you could sort of see it organically happen, and all the jackson family, the brothers and sisters were onstage and suddenly this little girl emerged and i was sitting on my couch and i was leaning up and i was just thinking like please, someone protect this kid. like you just wanted to scoop

her away from it all. but i was watching an interview today and there was someone who knew the family well and he said that is in line with paris. like it makes -- >> with her personality? >> she's not shy. she's not the kind of person who was holding back. >> like lyle blanket who was hiding. >> a blanket, yeah. >> beautiful. >> beautiful kids. i don't know if everyone -- >> i'm sure they've seen it by now. >> may have. >> daddy was the best father you could ever imagine. and i just want to say i love him so much. >> meredith was in the staples center and she was saying that there was not -- you couldn't find a dry after that young child spoke. >> well, we've never seen them, really. we've never heard them speak. he went to such lengths to protect them. you do wonder how he might have felt about that. >> yeah. >> having them exposedhat way.

but at the same time, what moved me was hearing him not called michael jackson, not called the king of pop, when she said daddy. >> mm-hmm, mm-hmm. >> everybody can relate to that. >> absolutely. >> that just humanizes it. and that's the problem at a memorial. we tend to -- to expand somebody's greatness, and decrease somebody's -- that's just the nature of it. >> mm-hmm. >> but the one humanizing moment was that for me. the rest was moving. i could not -- i was crying, and i, you know, for the loss. for what could have been. >> right. >> young n, born into pretty much poverty in a working-class family in gary, indiana. you live in a country where this kind of thing can happen to an african-american family, with a dream, and nothing but talent. >> mm-hmm. >> and then you see the price of the cost of the fame and fortune. and that everybody on that stage paid a price in their own way. >> sure. >> this isthe ultimate price. >> i thought it was interesting,

too. a discussion we were listening to with meredith and one of the reporters out there mike taibbi and they were saying people were coming up to reporters and saying like, enough beating up on michael basically. >> yeah. >> is the gist of it. and you know, can we stop now? is what they were asking. and meredith and mike were both saying that you feel a little uncomfortable with that statement. but -- >> because as a journalist you have to report. >> you have to. >> and it is part of his life. >> yeah. >> i mean part of part of life is you have to cover the good with the bad. and though it's painful, because a lot of people see michael jackson through prism "a" or prism "b." there's not a lot of in between. >> i see him through both. it's heartbreaking. because, you know, i think you try to -- one thing does not define a person's entire life. howeve it does color it. gives it -- >> i also think a couple of people stood up and said stuff like, he was not proven guilty. they wanted -- they wanted that

over and over again. and i thought it was an interesting place to bring that. like i wasn't sure if that was going to come up as part of the memorial service. but it did with a number of people. like almost sort of a preemptive strike. like let's get out there and remind people that he wasn't convicted. >> when you love someone it's your nature to want to protect them. and to get -- if you think the record has not been set straight, oh, my gosh, you live for that day. >> it's time. >> because you feel like you are on a -- in this sea of lies, and you are hanging onto a life preserver and all you want to do is scream out the truth. because all you have is your own truth. >> and that moment to tell it. >> whatever the truth is. and the thing is, yes, we would like to love stop talking about it. however now there's more talk. but there's going to be a london memorial service on the -- >> excuse me. >> -- on his birthday which would have been his 51st birthday, august 29th. >> so there will be more. can we first switch gears? >> you know what? >> because this is another

story. >> this has never happened to us in the history off our television show, out in the crowd today there was a young girl who didn't come to see matt or meredith. didn't come to see ann or al. >> or even al. which is surprising. >> this girl came to see hoda. >> and we're thrilled and we're so thrilled that if you say -- you come out and say we want to see kathie lee and hoda you get to come on the show. >> on the show. >> whatever. >> come on in. >> we need to see exactly who this wonderful woman is. >> her name is natalie pitman. >> and it's my 13th birthday and i want to meet kathie lee and code today. >> coda? >> come on in. meet my best friend coda. >> happy birthday. >> happy birthday to you. >> we have to pay if you sing it. >> wait. i want you to explain why you wanted to come and see us. >> because i watch you every morning. >> aren't new school? >> in the summer. >> in the summertime.

>> and i love your show. and i would just like to me them. >> what do you love the most about our show? >> it's funny, it makes me laugh. >> how old are you, darling? >> 13. >> today? >> no, july 31st. >> there's your mom, smile. >> okay. >> she's adorable. >> happy birthday. >> that's for coming to see us. >> have a great day. >> gorgeous days ever, ever, ever. kath and i were out last night. >> yes, we were. >> we have to go to sara. >> univers pictures coming out. >> we need to talk abouthe very important -- >> hayden panettiere is the star of a new movie called -- what is it called? >> look at how caught. >> i love you beth cooper. so kath and i were at the bigish-we thought it was a screening or i would not have worn my nightgown. would have put on a little powder. 17 magazine sponsored it. it was fun. they all wanted to know where you were.

so anyway. let's go to sara. >> sara, what's happening? >> people wondered how i got the job. i started on the plaza, come on, i came to see kathie lee and hoda, and they picked me. >> could be you. >> it's a great country. >> no, but people are writing in about the memorial. judith wrote in sad that it took him dying to show the world what a humanitarian michael really was. and then linda wrote, it's in very good taste but the people who spoke made him more human than iconic. >> very, good, interesting. >> thank you, sara. >> what do we have coming up next? >> more highlights from the memorial. >> after these messages.

almost 20,000 people packed the star-studded staples center to pay contributeite to a man berry gordy called, and many agree with him, the greatest entertainer that ever lived. >> as you know that man was michael jackson. and one of the people who managed to make his way inside for a firsthand look at the memorial is our own lee cowan and lee is joining us now. give us a little bit of a perspective of what it was like to actually be inside. >> you know, it was -- it was amazing. it was really an extraordinary experience for me, not only some 20,000 people, who at times were completely silent, you couldn't -- you didn't hear anything from that crowd at all. they were completely respectful.

as many of them as there were. but i think the biggest thing that struck me was this gist sort of roller coaster that everybody was on. to be up and singing and clapping with jennifer hudson or anybody else that was singing and then five minutes later, they'd be back in their seats wiping tears away. then they'd be laughing at something that say, magic johnson said when he was referring to michael jackson loving kentucky fried chicken. and then be back up singing again. and it just kept going that way over and over and over again. it was really something for everybody. >> especially when -- >> when it all ended, of course -- go ahead. >> we're talking about when the little daughter paris -- >> that's probably what you were getting to. that really was moving even on television. what was it like inside. >> well, it was, i think it came as such a shock. we sort of saw the family gathering, i think a lot of people expected perhaps to hear something from janet jackson. and suddenly paris got up, and i think it just hit everybody right in the gut. and i think one of the things that really struck me is talking to my colleagues that were

outside the stapiles consistentr when people wked out, they were all stunned. they were quiet as they filed out. this wasn't -- there were times that were filled with such exuberance, i think inside. but the way it ended, really, i think, left people with a last being impression and you saw that on their faces when they walked back out after it was all over again. >> thank you. thank you. >> we're going to take now a look at the legal issues surrounding michael jackson's death. >> they remain. >> we'll turn to nbc's chief legal analyst dan abrams. dan, so many issues. legal issues. the estate, the children. >> yeah. >> what about the estate? >> the body. >> yeah, well, first all with regards to the estate, for now, jackson's lawyer and entertainment executive, who he named in his will, are going to be the economic executors until there's another hearing on august 3rd. jackson's mother had fought that. you were asking before what he said in his will. >> why doesn't a will stand up? if you make a will, what's the point of making it if it can always be contested? >> contesting it and winning the

contesting it are two different things. you can always make an argument that says that someone said, you know, this will shouldn't stand because the person wasn't mentally stable. or because the person wasn't -- >> then you have to prove it. >> or because the person was coerced or under rest or there was another statement later. those are all arguments you can make and they tend to be losing arguments. a will as you put it tends to be a will. when you say something in the will and it was executed validly, and there's nothing to suggest that there's a new will to supersede that, then it generally stands as is. and in this case, that would mean that it wouldn't be katherine jackson who would be the executor, it would be this lawyer and -- >> but it 0 would be katherine jackson who would get the kids if you believe what the will says. >> except -- >> except that when it comes to children, you cannot necessarily give your children to someone to take care o meaning, in your will you can say this is what i want.

>> oh, okay. >> but when it comes to children -- >> they're not commodities. >> exact. exactly. >> who decides ultimately? >> the court will ultimately decide what's in the best interest of those children. now it's not to say that it doesn't matter what michael jackson wanted. but, the number one question when it comes to children is, what's best for those kids? >> mm-hmm. >> and so, even if, in 2002, let's say, jackson said i want katherine jackson to have custody, let's say she was even older than she is now, let's say she wasn't even in as good health as she is, a court might say things have changed. the situion is changed, and it wouldn't be in the best interest of these children. so she's going to say that she wants those children. the big "x" factor is going to be does debbie rowe go out and fight for those kids. >> she's the least empathetic person -- sympathetic, i mean. i don't think anybody's pulling for that. >> the question is there's not an obvious choice here. right? i mean you've got debbie rowe, who seems to be the biological mother of two of three.

>> that would have to be determined, though. >> that's right. that's right. so you have to determine that. but let's presume for a moment that she is. she's going to have a good legal argument there. the question is going to be, does she necessarily want that? she may be trying to work out a financial arrangement, too. >> she may? that would be interesting. >> she already worked one out with michael jackson. >> that would be unusual, wouldn't it? >> thank you, dan. thanks so much. >> up next, actress mini driver sits down with us, and a couple of guys in tuxedos. erv cute.

in 1995, minnie driver broke onto the big screen in "circle of friends" with colin firth. >> and she hasn't stopped since, except now she can add to her acting credits mother. she's mom to a little boy named henry and she's a spokesperson for everyday wildlife champions. she's here with two of her little champions. >> i love that you showed up with penguins. >> doesn't everybody? >> yes, who doesn't. >> you have to show up with marine wildlife whenever you can. it's the best accessory. >> i didn't even know that you were interested in this. >> i'm a big animal conservat n conservation -- i love animals. and i'm a surfer so the marine wildlife is obviously particularly close to my heart. it goes to all of our hearts. we need to do everything we can. >> they're not endangered? >> these aren't yet. but they are soon to be. their population is down 50%? >> correct.

>> we're trying to figure out which the boy was a which the girl was. apparently all the business is on the inside. you can't tell who is the boy and who is the girl. >> exactly. that's correct. the way we tell them apart. we do a genetic test, and we test their blood. but visually you can look at their bracelets. we have a pink for girl. and blue for boys. and then their names. >> may i ask a technical question just because i am scientifically interested. how do they mate? >> they -- >> go, carry on. answer the question. >> the male climbs onto the female's back. >> oh, lord. >> and that's quite enough. >> okay. >> and -- >> it's science. oh, my gosh, what a prude. >> okay. >> or is it coda. >> she's a wildlife champion.

you want to know about how they have sex. >> well i think that's interesting. >> your life has changed a lot, too. you had that cute little baby. >> we know how you had the baby. >> i had my beautiful son. he's 10 months. he's amazing. oh, look. he's a beautiful boy. that was when he was literally a week old. >> wow. >> he was a big baby. >> and he will grow up to be just like mommy. >> he is' lover of animals. it's incredible what dawn is doing. for every bottle of dishwashing liquid that you buy, you go to dawnsavewildlife.com on the internet, you logon and you donate $1. a dollar is donated for you having bought the dishwashing liquid. and the money goes to the mar e marine -- >> oh. >> everybody is a critic. >> and it's incredibly important that we all help save these beautiful creatures. >> and these days everybody makes it easy for us, too.

>> they do. >> you can be -- you can be like an everyday champion. we can all do it. it's easy. you're sitting in front of your computer. you have to buy dishwashing liquid anyway. we all do. >> i have hundreds and hundreds of people. >> i have penguins. >> you've got a movie coming out? >> i have a movie coming out on motherhood and the amazing betty ann waters with the great and the good hilary swank. >> and motherhood? >> always busy. always doing good. good for you. so anyway -- >> how to be a glamour do. >> like this one.

a metro train operator caught in the act texting behind the controls of a moving train. we're live with reaction from metro and his passengers. good morning. i'm barbara harrison. also ahead, traffic congestion getting better? not in our area. we'll look at a new report that details why. on the home front, how more dad's are trying to make the best of a bad situation.

it is time for our ngs who knew" quiz show and we thought we'd test your knowledge about none other than the king of pop and his music. kathie lee is right over there across the street at dean & deluca ready to hand out $100 to the winners who answer the quiz questions correctly. and for those who don't, they get the cd. >> available at klgandhoda.com. >> editor of billboard is here to help me fact check. bill, you've been busy this week. are you ready for this? >> i'm ready for this. >> let's go across the street. >> a family visiting from fort lauderdale. finish the lyrics from this 1991 michael jackson smash hit black or white. take a look.

♪ -- in my eye >> what comes next? >> it doesn't matter if you're black or white? >> i think that's right, isn't it, hoda? >> gentlemen! ♪ doesn't matter if you're black or white ♪ >> that was close. she missed a few words. that is one of my favorite songs that he does. >> there's some things about that song that i think are great. one thing, splash, the guitarist for guns and roses is one of the guys on the hook on the guitar hook. the other thing was this was really michael jackson at the pinnacle of his commercial power. when this song came out, a couple things went on. one is it was the first song since 1960 and elvis to go straight into number one on the uk pop charts. within like a day of this song hitting radio it was on 96% of all top 40 radio stations. >> back across to kat. >> visiting from orlando

florida. a performance of this hit was where michael debuted the moon walk. was it bad, blie jean or beat it? >> billie jean? >> yeah. >> we know our michael jackson trivia. >> if you haven't gone back and watched this segment on youtube, for example, it's really amazing. i mean michael when he kicks into that moonwalk and the whole crowd goes crazy, something to watch. what's amazing about this video for the song is it's really the video that integrated mtv. they kind of view themselves as rock centrist and rock purists. >> and they crossed over with this. >> crossed over with billie jean in a huge way. back across. >> all righty they're visiting from williamsport, pennsylvania. let's take a look at the iconic music video from "thriller." can you finish the lyric. take a look. ♪ thriller night your life can save emotion ♪

>> thriller thriller -- i don't know. >> oh. but you know what? everyone has a story. ♪ get up, get up. >> so the lyrics are let me hold you tight and share a thriller. >> i understand why her cd isn't just as big as thriller. thriller is interesting because a couple things. at the time it was the most expensive video ever made. you saw that little segment where they're doing the someby dance. great story there is that michael rehearsed obsessively to get it justight so that the zombie dance wasn't funny. he was very concerned with this. he's like we're going to be zombie made up. >> he wanted to be a scary zombie? >> spent a lot of time working on the zombie dance. >> okay, lady visiting from houston, texas. what was michael jackson's first number one hit as a solo act? thriller, beat it or ben?

>> ben? >> yes. good guess. >> thank you, that song, about a rat, right? >> it's about a rat, michael actually didn't write this song. it was initial written for, of all people, donny osmond. when it went to number one on the bill board charts only donny osmond and stevie wonder were ever younger with a number one song. this was a little bit of a tairs of michael's solo kind of breakout. he was still with the jackson five at this time. but the song was nominated for and won a golden globe. and he performed at the academy awards where he was nominated. >> back across to kath. >> okay. we are visiting with a lady from idaho. let's go to another vide here's another hit. ♪ the way you make me feel ♪ but you're the one the way you make me feel ♪ ♪ the way you make me feel

♪ you really turn me on >> what's next? finish the lines. >> i don't know. that's not it. >> this is so jam packed with great songs. really. ♪ knock me off of my feet knock me off my feet ♪ >> you took me off my feet, my lonely days were gone. >> it's funny people don't know all these words because of the last week and a half. my favorite moment associated th this song, in 2001, michael jackson did his 30th anniversary concert at madison square garden and danced with britney spears for the song. at the time, to have her onstage next to michael jackson, this is no disrespect to britney spears you saw what dancing was. >> bill, thank you so much. kathie lee it's time to come on back. >> okeydoke. >> and coming up next we're going to help you make sure that you are not a glamour don't. very important.

this morning on "today's" don'ts to dos another fashion victim pointed in the right direction. >> just because you're headed out on a quick errand does not mean you should leave your house looking like you rolled out of bed. so we called in the expert suzy yalof schwartz from glamour magazine. she hit the streets to find her latest fashion victim. >> there's so many people walking on the streets looking like complete slobs. and it's so easy to look better. all you have to do is step it up

a little bit. so, we're going to definitely find some dos and don'ts on the streets right here. right now. we're just trying to figure out where you're going in that outfit? you're wearing your bathing suit underneath your dress? >> yeah. >> in manhattan? this is your back pack. >> yes. >> do you like fashion? >> well. >> i like when you take a really fancy, fun top and pair it with something casual. notice that there's a mix of fabrics. you'd never think to put these two things together but it looks so good. comfortable shoes. this is a great alternative to this. >> there's something about a dress that always looks so much more together and chic. and you're comfortable. comfort, fashion, style. you look amazing. ♪ >> i look like i'm out with my

mom. >> my favorite store and you're going to meet my absolute favorite creative director. j. crew's jenna lyons. this is isabelle. >> the one day where she bumped into both of us. and also -- >> perfect. >> -- five years ago. >> i wear mismatched socks, a dress that's not -- i haven't washed my hair in like four days. >> you're not feeling the love. >> for me when i make an effort to look good i can look pretty good. but when i don't make an effort, probably go a little lower than i really think is reasonable. >> see. >> she's here today wearing bright, yellow ban ma republic. >> yes. >> i love that. >> people on the street just one by one, call them out? >> if i did just go across america and fix people. you don't have to dress like a

slob. and that's actually the day that you usually have your meeting with destiny. >> yeah. >> isabelle bumped into her ex-boyfriend's mother. >> oh, she did? >> she went right to the phone and said, oh. has she fallen apart since she left her. >> disaster. >> doesn't take a lot to put a little effort in. bride in yourself. >> in the summer, you're all out there, baby. >> let's take a look at isabelle's before. i want you to tell us at was wrong with isabelle. >> okay. it was see through. so you could see her blue underwear underneath. >> yes. >> the shoes that she was wearing, hiking shoes with mismatched socks. >> that's just called unfortunate. >> but you just didn't have a lot of time. >> and lastly, t-shirt dresses are great for the beach as a cover-up but they're not -- sometimes it just looks like a t-shirt. >>so here's isabelle before. and then we're going to see what suzy did to fix her all up. isabelle, come on out. let's see the new you. >> yay! >> doesn't she look amazing? >> beautiful. >> she can see the

ex-boyfriend's mom now. >> tell us about this outfit. >> first of all, wearing a short skirt is just as easy as throwing on a pair of shorts or a t-shirt. it's very simple. this is all j. crew. we went to the collection, and met jenna lyons who normally dresses michelle obama, she callly came and hooked us up. >> lucky day, isabelle. >> you know, michelle obama is a huge fan. >> also the long cardigan is just a great way to polish it up. >> these are the best, i have to say. >> and it's cool if she takes that off and still looks aadorable. >> and add a little sparkle. see the flat shoes. those go with absolutely everything, but just take everything up a notch. the silver, metallic is really a great thing that works. >> isabelle what do you think of the whole new look? >> it's great. it's really comfortable. i love the sweater. i immediately saw the sweater, walking into the store. >> and the jewelry with it. >> i don't wear necklaces. my new year's resolution this

year among many was to wear necklaces. on a regular basis and i've not fulfilled it at all. maybe this can be a whole new world. >> here's the thing? >> suzy took you, did everything for you. you got it for free. that's not going to happen every day of your life. >> i know >> now it's up to you, my darling. >> the tragedy is i actually knew what i was doing when i put on the disgusting bright blue underpants and i considered staying home until i had done my laundry and made the decision to go outside. i guess that this experience is thought provoking enough that i may never -- i will never do that again. >> isabelle, thank you. you are adorable. >> suzy, we want to have you back. we like how you mob people. >> my one walkaway trick is definitely take a nice necklace, if you're wearing an ugly outfit, throw it on and everybody will say great necklace. they won't even notice your clothes. >> i like that. thank you, suzy. >> all right. >> what's next? >> i don't know. something very important. >> oh, yes, a do-over for unhome. stuff you already own. fios guy! where ya headed?

ah, just installed fios in the whole building. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing. (voice) no i'm not! (sighing) ted has betrayed me. (announcer) unlike cable, fios brings 100% fiber optics straight to your home and when you switch now, yocan get a free compaq mini netbook. just pay shipping, handling and taxes. with fios, you'll get razor-sharp tv,

blazing fast internet and crystal-clear phone service all for just... sign up today. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v, and for a limited time, get an incredible compaq mini, to get the most out of your fios internet. get it all together with a great deal on fios tv, internet andhone plus get a free compaq mini netbook. just pay shipping, handling and taxes. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v before time runs out on this astonishing offer. we're back with "today's" home, and getting a fresh look

with items you already own. >> if spending even $1 to redecorate isn't feasible, don't you fret, interior designer richard michon said it is all about style and not about spending. he is the author of "modern luxury." welcome, welcome. we like this segment because number one, a lot of people don't have money now and they want things to look nice. so what's your overall idea for people at home? >> you know, a lot of people have stuff in closets, put away. too much stuff. and then you ask them about style and they say, i have no style, i have nothing. >> uh-huh. >> so we go through their things and pull them out and group them. >> yeah. >> so that they become more present, and bring them front and forward. and give them -- >> tchotchkes. ? that might on their own look awful but combined and put in a setting they might be just the right thing. >> that's exactly right. >> see, you're short. >> she likes to decorate. tell us what you've done with

this mantel? >> the mantel are three groupings, we call them vignettes. these are from a flea market. they're just different patterns but the color brings it together. that's one little group. you could just lean two photographs, the shapes are smaller and larger. that's a pattern. and it creates an ease. and you put something on the ground so that your eye travels rnd around the whole thing and you get to use more things. these are $4. >> what are they? >> they're just these beautiful porcelain jars. >> tchotchkes. >> and then always stand back from it, right, and see how it looks from lots of different angles. >> that's right. you see what, lay around with these objects it's just like when you get dressed you put something on. >> you can overdo it, can't you? >> you can overdo it. >> what do we have right here? >> this is something interesting. this little guy came from chinatown. he was $36. but he had a great calm, feeling of zen. >> an it looks like a museum piece. >> it does. but what's interesting is that

just go with the feeling you first had. and zen it out. >> uh-huh. >> exactly. >> and you can use real fruit, too? >> and you know what's interesting, all one color makes it a design segment. >> okay. >> so over here. >> here we have -- >> where are we? >> a lot of people have candlesticks. one broke, they put it away forever. mismatch them all in different heights. >> oh, that's krut. >> that looks cute. >> and makes your eye travel around. these are all from cb2 and they're like $3 apiece. you can do different colors for holidays. >> i like what you did here with the little -- >> i like to have a pair or a want to break up in odd numbers things are better. >> it's a trick. >> are we having a contest? >> we are. >> who's where? >> i think i'm over ere. >> i really, really like those candlesticks. >> you can't have them. >> tell us what we're doing. >> okay you brought an object from home and so you're going to make this object look really special and stand out.

the things on your table, you're going to grab them. you have 30 seconds. >> so we have to put all this stuff on there? >> no, just as much as you need. >> and we cannot steal from her. >> what's nund neath. you can't steal. >> okay. >> ready. on your mark, get set, go. all right. hoda, don't hold back. >> kathie certainly not holding back. all right, there you go, hoda. put it on your shelf, on the top shelf. >> all on one shelf. >> and stagger things. >> that's what i was going to do. >> stagger. >> i like this stuff. >> you can't have my stuff. >> kathie, i like it. >> i want the flowers, please. that's good. >> okay. >> i think -- >> am i done? >> done. >> she's trying to steal things from other locations. >> it's important that you have a little splash of color. thank you. >> oh.

>> this is cheating? >> that's what you get. >> come over here mr. judge. we only have a few seconds. tell us, richard, whose do you like better? and be very careful. >> it's not about better. i think this is all really nice. i think that other than this, that really framed what you have here. and it looks important, and it looks special. yours, actually, i like the levels, and i like the color. &i'd actually put the frame here. it's nice. >> but that's just me. >> hmm. >> richard, thank you. thank you so, so much. >> oh, what i could have done with those candle sticks. >> we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc. wú

i need numbers, babe. it's time to send it back over to sara sage. >> we're going to give away, so we want people to post, save a

penguins and where they're from and we'll pick random. >> i-home. that's what we do we give things away for free. >> tomorrow is a very big day. a whole half hour on kids and divorce and also going to have our "ambush makeover." thursdays during the summer. >> have a nice day, everybody. fios guy! where ya headed?

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