good morning. mystery in the air. one of theiles of a northwest airlines jet that erflew its destination by 150 miles denie thcrew was asleep at the controls. >> nobody was asleep. no argument took place. >> okay. so, what was going on in the cockpit? where's the vaccine? big delays in long-awaited swine flu vaccine mean long lines at clinics and frustrated patients as the virus continues its relentless spread. and caught on tape -- a frustrated grandma fed up with her neighbor takes matters into her own hands. wait till you hear what made her

so angry. today, saturday, october 24th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt. >> i'm amy robach. i think when a grandma goes after you like that, you really can't fight back, right? doing this? >> the lady was whaling. it was one of those neighbor pet peeves wll explain, but i think maybe some conflict resoluon lessons might be in order. >> we can only hope that's in their future. we have a lot to get to this morning including the desperate search for a missing college student. >> 20-year-old morgan harrington, a junior at virginia tech, was last seen a week ago at a metallica concert. the fbi, police,frnds, t counity and the band are getting involved and her parents are hopeful her daughter will

come home safe. we'll talk to them. we'll switch gears and tell you about positive numbers in the housing market. sales of existing homes have been on the rise for a few months, but they took a bigger th expected lea upward in september. barbara corcoran tells us why sales are surging and why this trend is likely to last. and sneakers that maybe sound too good to be true. manufacturers say they can tone your legs and, get this, all you have to do is walk around in them. we'll check them out with the help of some volunteers coming up in just a few minutes. >> i think it's the technique of how you have to walk in them. a little -- >> heel-toe thing? >> i think so. mystery in the skies. a northwest jet misses its destination by 150 miles, its flight crew out of touch for about an hour. what was going on inside that cockpit? nbc's kevin tibbles has the latest. >> reporter: any investigation into what went on in the cockpit of northwest flight 188 may be hampered by this older model

cockpit voice recorder which only records 30 minutes at a time and likely missed the critical moments. one of the pilots in the cockpit, richard cole, denies speculation the crew had fallen asleep. >> nobody was asleep in the cockpit. norguments took place. >> reporter: the airbus a-320 departed san diego late, heading east, following it cross-country flight path. but instead of landing in minneapolis, it flew right past it, 150 miles past it eventually performing a sky-high u-turn at 37,000 feet over eau claire, wisconsin, and headed back to the minneapolis/st. paul airport. >> cleared to land. >> cleared to land. the runway 35. going to gate 14. >> reporter: passenger brett boarland was in row 17 and kept looking out the window. >> why are we still way above the louds? we can't see any city lights, any ground lights. >> reporter: controllers say the pilots stopped responding about an hour before flight 188 was supposed to land, calls that

were becoming increasingly anxious. >> so there was a high level of anxiety, definitely. there were 13 separate attempts by different air-traffic controllers to try to establish communications with northwest 188. >> reporter: sources say armed air national guard fighter jets were on the runway and ready to scramble if needed. >> you just start thinking about the little things that could have happened. you run out of gas. you know, do i look out the wind, see an f-14 flying next to me? >> reporter: once contact was established, controllers asked the crew three separate times if everything was okay. at first the pilots responded, we were distracted, then later added they were discussing a company issue. but before landing, the pilots were put through a series of maneuvers in the air to prove to controllers they had command of the aircraft. >> 6,000 and slow to 190 northwest, 188. >> reporter: whatever the reason, experts say it's cause for alarm.

>> i think flabbergasted is even a better word, that you could have a situation where not only do they fly over the airport but, you know, the fact that they fly 150 miles. that's a pretty big miss. >> reporter: the ntsb says it will interview the two northwest pilots to find out just what happened on flight 188. for "today," kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> and now here's lester. amy, thanks. new figures from the centers for disease control show the swine flu outbreak is still spreading and attacking mostly the young, including 95% of college campuses. but the vaccine that was supposed to help protect the population is taking a lot longer than predicted to get into the hands of the people who want it and need it in some cases. nbc's chief science correspondent robert bazell has more. >> reporter: the children's medical center in dallas. about 150 kids a day arrive at the emergency room with flu-like symptoms. more than 10,000 have come in the past two months. >> we're seeing a higher volume

than normal for this kind of respiratory illness, viral respiratory illness. >> that was awesome. >> reporter: 10-year-old jay kor henderson, one of the very very bad cases spent three weeks in intensive care. >> it was very scary. every time the doctor came out, it was worse and worse. >> reporter: these scenes are being repeated throughout the country. they're becoming more common as the flu spreads. still striking mostly young people. 46 states now have widespread swine flu outbreaks. the number of visits to doctors and hospitals for flu symptoms continues to skyrocket. last week alone, more than 2,500 people were hospitalized in the u.s. and 90 died, 11 o them children. >> to be basically in the peak of flu season in october is extremely unusual. >> reporter: experts agree the best hope of shutting down the pan dem sick vaccines. in july, the federal government predicted there would be 100 million doses of vaccine against

the new virus by now. as of today, 11.6 million have become available. officials apologize to allhe people who want vaccine and n't get it. >> we're nowhere near where we thought we'd be by now. we're not near where the vaccine manufacturers predicted we would be. >> reporter: in a race between a vaccine and the virus, the virus is winning for now. for "today," robert bazell, nbc news, new york. >> we've all got a lot of questions about this. coming up a bit later in the broadcast, we're going to get some answers to some of those questions about swine flu and the vaccine,here it is and when we'll be able to get it. >> right now, tamron hall has a check of the headlines. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. we begin in pakistan where a missile from a suspected u.s. drone killed 14 people. meanwhile, the pakistani army have captured the strategically located hometown of a taliban chief after fierce fighting. it's all part of pakistan's eight-day offensive in the

taliban and al qaeda strongholds. back here in the united states, police in an affluent suburb of new jersey are looking for the killer of a priest. father ed heinz was found murdered friday morning in a rectory of st. patrick's church. police have no suspects. it is the town's first violent death in over 20 years. memorial services will be held late they are morning for the 61-year-old best known for his outreach and working with the needy. and no word yet on what caused that massive explosion at a fuel storage site in puerto rico's capital of san juan. seismologists say the blast was the equivalent of an earthquake. five workers at the plant managed to escape with minor injuries. if you are one of t millions of parents whoought baby sign stein videos, you may be able to get your money back. the refunds come after legal challenges over claims that the videos were educational. buyers can exchange dvds bought between june 2004 and september of this year for another

einstein product or a cash-bk refund. finally, the story we've been talking about. don't get grandma mad. trust me. a 67-year-old grandmother lost her temp we are a neighbor over a long-standing feud on the use of a driveway. the 4'10" british woman you can see right there smacking away the guy's 37 years old. that's a newspaper in her hand, and she's not afraid to use it. the man's business partner caught the whole thing on his phone. grandma is charged with assault and the video a youtube sensation. that is the news. not often do you laugh at an assault, but where was she when bullies were picking on me in second grade? >> how much could that newspaper really hurt? >> we don't want to test it out, amy. >> up the side of your head. tamron, thank you. nbc meteorologist bill karins has a look at the forecast. what is up this weather? it's cold, it's warm.

i don't know what to dress for the morning. >> transition, right? transition from summer to ll. today will feel like sumner a lot of areas. the most important thing is it won't be an all-day rain. a summerlike day for boston, new york, some areas with the sun breaking ou warm, humid, but when it rains it'll come down hard with thunderstorms and downpours. so, the heaviest steady rains will be new york north wards up to northern new england. the rest of the country looking pretty good today. the middle of theation cool but sunny, very much like fall. the northern rockies, that's where we have the good saturday morning. i'm meteorologist chuck bell. off to a cloudy but ver mild start in the washington area. temperatures right now honing in on 70 degrees in a lot of spots. 67 downtown and 72 in fairfax county. 69 in montgomery county. 68 in prince george's county, maryland. there are a couple of showers coming our way. and expect rain possibly heavy at times later on this afternoon. rumble or two of thunder can't

be ruled out. highs today mid 07s. that's a look at your saturday forecast. amy? >> already, bill. thank you. the fbi has joined the search for missing virginia tech junior morgan harrington, who disappeared during a rock continuer is one week ago. tips have been pouring in, but so far there is no solution to this mystery. >> we have a purse, and we have a cell phone. we have a missing girl. >> reporter: police and family are still searching for clues after the disappearance of 20-year-old virginia tech student morgan harrington. >> we do not know whether she is alive or has met some kind of l te. rorter: the mystery started last saturday night when harrington and her friends went to a metallica concert in charlottesville, virginia. before the concert ended, harrington left her friends to use the restroom. later, she called her friends from outside the concert venue

to say she had left the arena and couldn't get back in. >> there has been no contact with morgan or from morgan. >> reporter: her parents notified police the very next day, saying their daughter didn't come home as expected. her fatr gave an emotional plea. >> i'd like to say if morgan is out there, please come home. if someone has morgan, please let her come home safely. >> reporter: now in its seventh day, the massive search continues with police and volunteers. metallica even posted a plea of their own on their website saying one of our fans is missing and asking for help. her friends created a facebook page. harrington's friends gathered for a vigil as her mother, jill, recalled the last time she had spoken to her daughter. >> saturday as she left, morgan's last words to me were 241, mama, i love you too much,

forever, one more time. >> and joining us now are morgan's parents, dan and jill harrinon. good morning to bo of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> and thank you for being with us. this has to be a tremendously difficult time, and i know you all are doing your best to get the awareness out there and trying to find your daughter. john, i want to start with you and take you back to saturday. when you heard what happened that night, that your daughter had used the restroom, she couldn't get backnto that venue, into the concert, so she just called her friends and said, hey, i'm going to find my own way home, does that sound like something your dghter would do? >> you know, it doesn't most of the time, but kids are impulsive, especially in that exci excitement, or perhaps she knew who she could get a ride with. you know, we don't know. we wish we did know. >> and, jill, i know she had been looking forward to this concert for a very long time. you helped her pick out an

outfit that day. take us back to that day. was there anything out of the ordinary with your daughter? >> no. it was a regular day for us. you know, got up, made tea, had coffee, chatted some, you know, showed the outfits, showed me -- how she was going to do her makeup. you know, just we spen time together. >> and, dan, i understand that you and your daughter have a uniquely close relationship. she's given you her computer pass words. she was never trying to hide anything from you, probably not very typical for a 20-year-old. talk about your daughter and what her personality is like. >> morgan's sort of a copy of me in many ways. she's really a very sweet person, i think kind of an innocent individual who probably is quite trusting. she is quite artistic, loves to read, and really over the last six months i think jill and

morgan and i have had just a phenomenal relationship and experience. you know, she goes to school only 35 miles from here, and we've been able to have daily contact with her. and, you know, of course she's close enough she can come in and out. she's a wonderful person. >> she was a daughter who had lots of contact, and you said in one word you wanted to describe her? >> one word that comes to mind when you think of morgan is shiny. she was beautiful, and sheas betifuinside, too. she radiated light. her brother said yesterday when he came in, which was chilling for us, but at the same time some hope, he said, morgan has a purpose in this world, and morgan is so special that whoever took her is going to keep her around for a while. so, please let morgan go, no questions asked. let her come home to us. morgan, we are trying to shine our heart to you as a beacon to

come through wherever you are. come back home. please keep sending your tips and information to morgan. we need her home. >> we will absolutely get that number out to those who are watching. and dan and jill harrington, our hearts go out to you. and certainly we are hoping and praying for the best for you and your family and of cose for morgan. thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and if p you have any information about this case, please call the virginia state police 24-hour tip line. the number on your screen, 434-352-3467. here's lester. a familiar face returns to "weekend tu" this morning. jack ford, award-winning journalist and former trial lawyer. he anchored "today" for four years and covered high-profile legal cases for the network including the o.j. sison trial. now he's adding novelist to his resume, a thriller called "the

osiris alliance." welcome back. >> nice to come back. >> nice to get up early on the weekend. >> i'd forgotten that special joy of your alarm clock going off at 4:00 in the morning. >> i love the idea for this book was born in the studio, which we'll talk about. since you are covering all things legal, i want to pick your brain about a couple stories including the casey anthony case and the death penalty. you've been covering that. what are your thoughts on that? >> that's unusual. as a lawyer, i tried a half a dozen death penalty cases and you always look at them carefully. here, one of the things that happened recently, her lawyers were in court arguing the judge should throw out the murder counand throw out the idea of the death penalty being on the table. they've argued that because no one has net been able to say how this child died -- medical examiners have characterized it as a homicide, but no one has been able to say what was exactly the cause of death. so, her lawyers argue, well, how

can you then go forward and make this a death penalty case when you can't even point to how it was that it's happened? >> the prosecution's entire case, but it looks like it's not far from an open and shut. >> no. they're going to say, look, if you see the remains here and remember the remains had duct tape across the mouth and other things, prosecutors say that by itself has to indicate to you that this was some type of horrendous death, so the prosecution is going to try to put together bits and pieces here to suggest to a jury that there's enough here for them to say this was a particularly atrocious or heinous type of death and they're going to say that's enough for them to consider the death penalty. >> let's turn to your book. this is a story -- first of al characters you're familiar with. >> prosecutor -- >> former special operations -- >> former special forces soldier and a woman, tv investigative reporter. >> didn't have to go far for material here. >> it's interesting. people have asked me, she is essentially an amalgam of a the marvelous women i've had a chce to work with over the

years. i have bits and pieces of all of them as part of her. a fun character. >> a lot of people y, is that me? >> and i say, yes, it is. >> good answer. >> yes, it is. >> good answer. the idea was born in the studio. explain the connection. >> years ago when i was hosting the show and also working as a chief legal correspondent for nbc news, during the midst of the o.j. simpson trial, we decided to do a piece comparing the lindbergh kidnapping trial with the o.j. simpson trial. the idea was people were saying the o.j. simpson trial was the trial of the century. ultimately, it became the conclusion it was the lindbergh trial that was the trial of the century. i had also, when i was a young lawyer, had handled the case inside of the courtroom. they preserved the little, small courtroom in flemington, new jersey so, i had an interest in it. but i spent a lot of time putting the piece together for the "today" show that we did, and i thought ultimately that would make a real good springboard for the story. >> really good to have you here. you have a lot of friends here. you walked in and i thought

uh-oh. you are the man. >> nice to see a lot of friends. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> jack ford. all right. still to come, an unsolved mystery. last flight of amelia err hart.

♪ happy landings to you, amelia ♪ she was the record-setti pilot who dared to take on challenges many men of her time wouldn't dream of. for decades, american have wondered what happened to amelia errhart. now a major hollywood film takes a look at her life. nbc's manuel almaguer has a report from the airstrip she called home. >> another national heroine. >> reporter: it's been years since she vanish preponderance of the evidence we may never know what happened inside the cockpit. the mystery still captivates a nation, and amelia earhart still

challenges millions to fly. earhart crossed borders and broke barriers. her story is what movies are made of. amelia, released today, chronicles her record-setting flights across the atlantic, her solo journey over the pacific, and her final flight in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. >> for a quarter century, the world has wondered -- >> when she never returned, the fascination with earhart only grew. mary level wrote one of the books that inspired the movie. >> suppose she finished the flight. she'd certainly be a record holder. but i don't know that she'd be remembered now. >> reporter: today she isn't just remembered. she's adored. >> she was always kind of a childhood idol. >> jeannie learned to fly at earhart's hangar, and every time she fires up her plane, she thinks of the trail blazer that came before her. earhart may have inspired generations of pilots, and she may be best knownor what she's

accomplished in the air, but it's here on the ground in los angeles where her legacy has deep roots. she called the burnk area home. >> she made all her records, 99% ofthem, right here. >> reporter: the airport she fl in and out of holds a tribute. earhart is immortalized in statues. even the library is named after her. but she was america's heroine when aviation met adveure. >> she was the first. that's what makes it special. >> reporter: the first but not the last. she pushed generations of women to reach for the sky. miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. >> even to this date, there are still those trying to look for the records. she had a male navigator, and i always thought that was the problem because they never ask for directions. >> i was going to say, do you want me to comment on that? >> next i loond to the left. i got it. >> still to come on "today," jay leno asked the first lady to dish on what the president does

to annoy her. she takes the bait. and who murdered somer thompson? an intensive search for a child killer.

7:26 is your time. 67 degrees. cloudy skies over the nation's capital. chuck says we are in for rain. we will have the forecast after the news. good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. saturday, october 24th, 2009. here is a look at what's making news this morning. police are investigating a shooting in northwest washington. two men were shot near howard university campus. police say thatne of the victims was hit in the back and the side. while on second and w streets northwest. the other victim was shot in the arm. both are expected to survive. this is home come weekend at howard. but it isn't clear whether the shooting was connected to the festivities.

people are traveling from as far away as new york and rhode island. to our area to get their children vaccinated from the swine flu. today a mass vac insation decline sick planned at the fairfax county government center. the lines started forming at 8:00 last night. will are four vaccination clinics in the district today as well. tomorrow thousands of runners will be pounding the pavement in our area. they will be in town for the marine corps marathon. organizers expect 30,000 runners and as well as thousands of supporstaff and spectators. this is the largest marathon that does not offer prize money earning the nickname the people's marathon. runners will be offered electronic tracking devices so race officials and friends can keep track of their progress throughout the race. will we have nice weather for the race? chuck will join us with a look at the weekend forecast.

good saturday morning. mild and muggy outside this morning. couple of showers now moving into portions of southern maryland. nothing on the capital beltway just yet. heavier showers, imbedded thunderstorms in west virginia mountains. temperatures are near 70 degrees already out there. we will be in the mid to high 70sor high temperature this afternoon. good chance you are bogey to get wet today. but the sunshine returns for the marine corps marathon and every other outdoor activity tomorrow. it will be sunny and dry for sunday and monday and tuesday. that's good news. >> certainly is.

thank you very much, chuck. coming up at 9:00 a.m., a live report from a local swine flu vaccination clinic. full hour of your news, weather and sports. more local news in 25 minutes. we are back on this saturday morning, the 24th of october, 2009, a great group on the plaza. despite nasty, wet weather this morning it's a little warmer outside. amy robach with lester holt. coming up in this half hour, actress and author suzanne somers joins us live on her controversial new book. there she is. >> she's been making the rounds with the media this week with her new book, "knockout," challenging the conventional wisdom about cancer and the way it's treated. she's got an lot of pushback for her thoughts. she'll respond this morning. and a surge in popularity

for first lady michelle obama. nearly a year after her husband was elected, a new poll shows her favorable rating is on the rise. the first lady appeared last night in prime time with jay leno. what did she say is the president's most annoying habit? we'll find out coming up in just a few minutes. >> never ask a wife that question about her husband. she'll go on and on and on. is there a mini housing boom going on? home sales got a big boost in september. those are words we don't hear much. coming up, real estate contributor barbara corcoran tells us if this is signaling the end of the real estate free first ofll and if this buyer's market will last. first, a race against time for the killer of 7-year-old somer thompson. she vanished monday while walking home from school, and her body was found two days later in a landfill. here's nbc's mark potter with the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: in the sense search for somer thompson's killer, police say they still have not

yet identified any suspects. scores of registered sex offenders in the area have been cleared. >> all 90 sex offenders and predators in that fi-mile dius he been contacted in person. their homes have been searched. their properties have been searched. their families have been spoken to. and we feel certain at this time that we do not have any suspects that are members of that group. >> reporter: sheriff's investigators say they have now identified the garbage truck which carried the girl's body to the georgia landfill where it was covere wednesday. officials would not say, though, whether they have developed enough leads from that to determine where somer's body was initially hidden by her killer. crime scene investigators have been concentrating on a va can house here near somer thompson's school. policeay this sidewalk in front of the house was the last place where somer was seen fore she disappeared walking home from school. >> we're going to be looking for anything that may have dna

material. we'll be looking for prints. wel be looking for, you know, pieces of evidence. >> reporter: police say theyow know how somer thompson was killed but will not release the information publicly. >> our focus is on preserving the integrity of this investigation and not releasing any information that in the long run would prevent us from prosecuting and convicting the person who did this to somer. >> i tried with somer. i feel like i failed, obviously. >> reporter: after receiving more than 900 phone tips, police say they are working around the clock, still looking for a big break. for "today," mark potter, nbc news, orange park, florida. >> and clint van zandt is an nbc criminal analyst as well as a former fbi profiler. clint, good morning. >> hi, amy. >> you know, police were able to find somer's body two days after she was reported missing, and i imagine that's going to give police a lot of evidence that in many other cases they don't

have. how much of an advantage is this in terms of finding who's out, who did this? >> yeah, i think it's a big advantage, amy. number one, of course, any forensic evidence on the victim's body -- hairs, fibers, fluids, anything like that are still going to be tact. r fingernails may have her assailant's skin underneath. the other challenge, too, is authorities believe she had been disposed of in some type of dumpster, if they're able to identify that dumpster perhaps by letters, mail, newspapers, other things that were there, they may find the exact location where the victim was disposed of in their attempt to identify every crime scene associated with her murder. >> and speaking to that, in mark potter's report, we saw the police are closely looking at a vacant home on the block where somer sappeared from. does that area specifically say anything about who this suspect may be? >> well, i think it's somebody close by, amy. there are going to be four crime scenes. we've got one where the victim was recovered. then we'll have one where she

was kidnapped, where she was assaulted, and the means used to transport her to a dumpster. unfortunately, that house, authorities may well believe could have been a point of surveillance for some type of predator, and realize, too, at least one or more witnesses say that was the last spot she was seen as she was by that house until everybody lost sight of her. so, there's a number of reasons why authorities are there. but, again, they're looking for somebody more than likely from the local area with some type of tie in that area who may well have been out surveilling, out looking for his perfect victim. >> it is interesting, clint, because there are about 90 registered sexual predators in the orange count area, but police say they have no reason to believe that they were involved, any of them would be involved in somer's abduction. the fact that they could say that this early on, does that point to something to you that they may know who their man is? >> well, at least they feel they've eliminated these indivials. like you and i, amy, if we're working this case, we go out, find each of these 90 guys and

say, where were you at the critical hour, between 2:30 and 3:30 on monday afternoon? if they can show us, you know, that they were at work, th they were out of town, something else, we can, in fact, eliminate them. and it sounds like they've eliminated these guys. but amy, every time you look at a map -- and there are some wonderful maps on the internet that show where is predators live, i mean, it looks like a shotgun blast all across the united states with every location where a predator lives. as you indicate, between 90 and some estimates upwards of 150 within a five-mile radius of just this victim's home alone, then you take the entire united ates, we doave aational problem. >> all right. clint van zandt, as always, thanks so much. >> thank you, amy. >> and we want to switch gears now and get another check of the weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins out on the plaza. bill? good morning on this saturday. wild, windy start in new york. all these lovely ladies in the feather boas are fro n orleans and they're here to celebrate susie's birthday.

congratulations. >> thank you. >> what are you doing tonight? >> t pub roll. >> anditthe mother here, too? everybody will be out late night. take it easy, all right? have fun, too. let's take a look at the forecast out there today. today is a big day. with halloween coming up, people are grabbing their pumpkins, going out and looking a the beautiful leaves. we are still at the peak in many areas, especially through minnesota, wisconsin, the appalachians, a beautiful day today to look at the leaves. the problem is with the east with the rain moving through and also the thunderstorms. we've got to watch out, chance of severe storms in the carolinas, up through the chesapeake. an good sat kay morning. meteorologist chuck bell. it is a mild and cloudy start on your weekend. 67 downtown. lot of low 70s already on the map. average high this time of the year only 65 degrees. it is going to be a mild day today. temperatures will climb up into the mid 70s today. there is a risk for showers and thunderstorms. some of those thunderstorms could be a little on the strong

side. we will keep you posted on that. other than that for tomorrow, sunshine and breezey weather continues. and it is the weekend, it is football season, and that means nbc "sunday night football." and we're going to be talking about the giants and the cardinals. kurt warner coming into town against eli manning. and the weather, not playing today, but the weather looks perfect for the football game tomorrow night. temperatures will be in the 50s. weather not an issue at all for that game. if you want your hour-by-hour forecast, you can always get that at weather.com. amy? >> bill, thanks so much. coming up next, new signs of strength in the housing market. sales are up, but is this just a temporary rebound? barbara corcoran tells us if it is a good time to buy. but i didn't know why. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia. and then he recommended lyrica...

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this morning, is it a buyer's market? the lest numbers out show home sales at their highest point in two years, but with the first-time home buyer's tax credit ending next month, how long will the good times last? barbara corcoran, good morning. >> good morning, lester. >> impressive number, existing home sales up 9.4% last month. that's a real number. >> don't confuse that with price. that's just volume. >> but they're moving houses. too soon to calm it a boom? >> boom is a pretty strong word.

housing markets recover in bumpy stages. they go up with a lot of steam, then they drop back a little and go up again. so, it is a great beginning. >> you said don't compare wit prices. prices are up a little bit, not at that same level certainly, but again, that's a very encouraging sign, not only to markets uh-byiers. in the u.s. right now, 80% of them have home prices going up, some just by an inch, but some are having like a macy's day sale with some of the markets. >> this tax credit that we talked about is going away next month. how much has that really driven this? and is this a short-term thing tied to that credit? >> mm-hmm. well, you know, it's give an great jump-start to the markets, exactly what was intended for it, and almost 50% of all the houses in america in the last year were bought by first-time buyers with the help of the tax credit. so, it's been phenomenal for the real estate market. >> ifou qualify, how do you take advantage of it?

>> you have to have an income of less than $75,000r $150,000 if you're a couple. u have to, of course, qualify in terms of it being your first-time home is how it's labeled. but it's really not just the first-time home buyers. it is anyone who has not owned a home for the last three years. >> give us a snapshot of where the market is right now. is this the best time to buy? if it is, is that window quickly narrowing? >> can i tell you, think of the market as the muscle changg in the market. heretofo heretofore, the buyer had all the muscle. the seller is about tget it back. cup this will with cheap mortgage money and it's the best time to buy, a window that could easily be missed. >> barbara corcoran, thanks very much. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. up next, what are president obama's worst habits? first lady michelle obama gives jaly leno the scoop. okay, time's up. here ya' go ! that's a nice one, i de that.

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it's been a high-profile week for first lady michelle obama, from championing her favorite causes to appearing in prime time with jay leno. nbc's mike vi kwar ra has more from the white house. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. in the last few days, michelle obama has been speaking out and opening up, promoting both her favorite causes and her husband's health care plan in some unusua ways. riding a tide of popularity to a prime time guest spot. >> would he rather have world peace or have the white sox win the world series? >> reporter: first lady michelle obama capped a week of unusual public events to visit jay leno. >> that's a tough one. and i think if you would ask him he'd say he'd probably prefer world peace but he wouldn't mind world series bid, too.

>> the most annoying habit the president has. >> oooooo. we don't have enough time. you know, when he beats me at tennis, that gets to be pretty annoying. and he beats me quite often. >> reporter: and i that didn't break the traditional first ly mold, how about this? hula hoops wednesday on the white house lawn. 142 swivels for michelle obama before her hoop hit the ground. and a round of double dutch jump rope. the first lady not bashful when it comes to her favorite issues, demonstrating her commitment to good health to 200 young guests. >> she's weighing in on the way e kws how, weighing in as a mother, weighing in on a young woman, weighing in on as a really active woman. >> reporter: active and increasingly well liked. a new "usa today"/gallup poll revealed for the third time she's more popular than her husband, ahead of her husband by six points.

as her profile rises, mrs. obama is opening up about her role as a spouse and mother for her two children as she stumps for her president's health care proposal. >> we knew something was wrong but we didn't know what. >> reporter: in a video released on ivillage.com, she makes it personal. >> our daughter could have lost r hring or possibly even her life. >> reporter: describing how her own family coped with illness as she pushes her husband's health care plan. and making another emotional appeal yesterday. >> it's about the future. that is what we're fighting for. that's what we have to remember. that's what this fight is about. >> reporter: a fight that this active first lady is taking to the playground and to prime time. jay leno asked michelle obama last night what does she tell the presidentfter he makes a major speech and he comes back home? she said, did you take out the garbage? >> mike viqueira, thanks so much. i think that's why so many americans like her because she's

so relatable to everybody. that's what women say when they come home. >> argument, just say, i'more populathan you. remember that. >> we'll be right back.

still to come on "today," a shortage of swine flu vaccine has people scrambling to get the shot. why is there so little vaccine and when will it get distributed? we'll get some answers coming up. and actress and writer suzanne somerss spaing controversy with her new book about cancer. how she responds. (announcer) we call it the american renewal. because we believe in creating cleaner energy that creates new jobs. being the number one manufacturer of wind turbines in america. and developing lower emission, fuel-efficient aircraft engines. ecomagination means growing the green economy by harnessing

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7:56 is your time. 67 degrees. lovely look at the changing colors as the fall season is here. will we get rain today? that's the question. chuck will have the answer coming up. good morning. i'm eun yang. saturday, october 24th, 2009. a look at what's making news this morning. in the race for governor in virginia, democrat creigh deeds is talking jobs. he wants to raise unemployment benefits for areas that are devastated from layoffs. people would get an extra $100 in their unemployment checks if they live in an area where jobless jumped 2% in one month. republican bob mcdon sell pushing a plan of his own. today he will wrap up what he

calls the new jobs/new you virginia tour. yesterday he visited a florist shop in northern virginia. northern arlington. he wants to share his ideas on creating new jobs. runners are gearing up for the marine corps marathon. organizers say that take public transportation but prepare for a slower ride on metro. metro is performing track maintenance this weekend. trains traveling to red line between the friendship heights and van ness stops are sharing one track tlup sunday and trains traveling the orange line between east falls church and ballston and u stops are sharing one track as well. expect 20 to 30-minute delays as a result of these maintenance work. we are going to take a break. chuck will be back with your forecast when we come back.

good saturday morning. chuck bell. off to a very nonoctober-like start this morning. temperatures above our average high temperature for this time of the year. we will zoom up into the mid to even a few spots into the upper 70s today. cloudy, mild, and breezy. a chance for rain which could be heavy at times. chance also of a potentially strong thunderstorm.

we will keep you posted on that. good news is that for all the marathon runners, tomorrow the sunshine is back. >> that's what we like to hear. coming up, news, weather and sports at good morning. cockpit questions after a northwest airlines plane overflew its destination by more than 100 miles. one of the pilots is speaking out. >> nobody was asleep in the cockpit. no arguments took place. >> so, what was going on? where's the vaccine? long lines and short supplies across the country as people are anxious for protection against swine flu get turned away. now what are they supposed to do? and stunning admission. the mother of the so-called balloon boy opens up to authorities about what really happened the day that balloon got loose. we'll hear her side of the story

today, saturday, object 24th, 2009. welcome back to "today." i'm lester holt. >> i'm amy robach. coming up this hour, growing concerns and long lines as the shortage of the swine flu vaccine has people worried about whether they can get shot or their children can get the shot before they actually get the virus. >> we keep hearing how important this shot is. to try to get it, a familiar sight, people lining up only to be turned away as clinics run out of the vaccine. so far, the cdc has delivered only a fraction of the vaccine doses it had originally promised. much more on that coming up. also, outspoken actress and author suzanne somers has written a controversial health book about cancer, and she's taking a lot of heat for the questions she's raising about widely accepted cancer treatments like chemotherapy. so she's here live to answer her critics. and those shoes, these shoes

were made for walking. they claim to give you a workout with each step. is it too good to be true? we'll give them a try. >> all right. i have given them a try. >> and? >> it gives you a workout. you have to do the heel to toe method so you have to concentrate when you're walking, which -- i don't know. >> sounds like a great idea. we'll get some other volunteers. first, a mystery in the skies. one of those two piles of a northwest airlines jet missed their destination. why couldn't anyone get a hold of them for ant an hour? nbc's kevin tibbles has the latest. >> reporter: any investigate into what went on in the cockpit of northwest flight 188 may be hampered by this older model cockpit voice recorder which only records 30 minutes at a time and likely missed the critical moments. one of the pilots in the cockpit, richard cole, denies

speculation the crew had fallen asleep. >> nobody was asleep in the cockpit. no arguments took place. >> reporter: the airbus a-320 departed san diego late, heading east, following it cross-country flight path. but instead of landing in minneapolis, it flew right past it, 150 miles pastt, evtual performing a sky-high u-turn at 37,000 feet over eau claire, wisconsin, and headed back to the minneapolis/st. paul airport. >> cleared to land. >> cleared to land. the runway 35. going to gate 14. >> reporter: passenger brett borland was in row 17 and kept looking out the window. >> why are we still way above the clouds? we can't see any city lights, any ground lights. >> reporter: controllers say the pilots stopped responding about an hour before flight 188 was supposed to land, calls that were becoming increasingly anxious. >> so there was a high level of anxiety, definitely. there were 13 separate attempts different air-traffic controllers to try to establish communications with northwest 188. >> reporter: sources say armed air national guard fighter jets were on the runway and ready to scramble if needed.

>> you just start thinking about the little things that could have happened. you run out of gas. you know, do i look out the window, see an f-14 flying next to me? >> reporter: once contact was finally established, controllers asked the crew three separate times if everything was okay. at first the pilots responded, we were distracted, then later added they were discussing a company issue. but before landing, the pilots were put through a series of maneuvers in the air to prove to controllers they had command of the aircraft. >> reporter: whatever the reason, experts say it's cause for alarm. >> i think flabbergasted is even a better word, that you could have a situation where not only do they fly over the airport but, you know, the fact that they fly 150 miles. that's a pretty big miss. >> reporter: the ntsb says it will interview the two northwest pilots to find out just what happened on flight 188. for "today," kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago.

a former air safety investigator with the national transportation safety board, greg, good morning. it's good to see you. >> good morning, lester. >> we're talking about whether they were asleep, whether they were arguing, whether it was a distraction. did any explanation make any sense or is reasonable? >> i think right now we don't have all of the facts. there's been a lot of speculation about the crew sleeping, because people can't really understand how you could be so distracted and miss an airport by 150 miles. but i think that the ntsb, when they intervw the crew tomorrow, are going to be able to ferret a lot of this infoation out and give us some hard answers, probably the beginning of the week. >> greg, every time i get on an airplane, the first time i hear from the cockpit, our flying time today is 2:28, whatever it is. clearly if nothing else, they should be looking at their watch and know it's about time to be making an approach. isn't that a reasonable asummings? >> oh, absolutely, lester.

you know, one of the things the ntsb is going to have to look at in lieu of the fact they don't have a valid cvr -- the information was overwritten because of the 30-minute cvr -- >> cockpit voice recorder. >> i'm sorry. yes. the cockpit voice recorder. so there probably is still some good information because the crew is still most likely going to be talking about the event, so they can capture some information there. but the crew should have been looking a time, monitoring their flight progress, not necessarily looking out the window but looking at their flight instruments to see what points they'd hit along their route and prepare for the arrival int minneapolis. >> i know one of the things you have noted is northwest airline's pilots about how piles monitor air traffic control. what is it you're specifically keying on? >> one of the things is that the airlines allow pilots to take off eir headset. normally they'll be wearing a headset or an earpiece like i have right now, listening to air traffic control. they'll be responding to them.

but at cruise altitude, you know, there is a policy they can take off their headset, turn on the overhead speaker in the cockpit itself. you've been in cockpits. you know there's a lot of ambient noise. there's the air noise, the fan noise for the avionics and then they're talking. so if they don't have the speaker up loud and their ear isn't tuned to their specific flight number, there's a high probability, this is the human factors issues that the ntsb will have to develop, but those are the kinds of thing where is a pilot can become distracted and miss the call sign for that particular flight. >> i want to talk about the sleep issue. anybody who's been on a long night flight has to wonder what's it like in the cockpit. the plane is largely automated. do these guys nod off? is this opening up a hidden secret in the industry that it's not uncommon to rest your eyes or lean your head back? >> great question, lester, and the thing is fatigue has been an

issue in aviation incidents and accidents for about 30-plus years. we started looking at it in a hard way with a lot of the accidents. we had american 1420 back in 1999 with crew fatigue issue, guam, boeing 747. the issue haseen around. it's been addressed. it's been studied. mark rosekind from nasa studi it. there's a lot of data. it's now time to really grab this issue and put some, you know, rl me to reviewhe rules or regulations so that these crews are getting the rest. and i don't think that's the case. >> bottom line, before i let you go, do you think they'll get to the bottom of this particular case? >> oh, absolutely, lester. i think that through the interview process -- and there's other recording meth thotsods o airplane so, there is other data they can use to validate the crew, if they were actually asleep or not. but the crew has a lot to lose if they don't tell the truth. it's their careers. so i think they're going to fess

up, they're going to talk about what they were talng about and provide the board with a lot of the issues that cause them a great deal of distraction to miss minneapolis. >> i think the public deserves answers as well. greg feith thanks for joining us. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. the centers for disease control is reporting that the swine flu is now widespread in 46 states and that vis to doctors and honts for flu symptoms are skyrocketing. last week alone, 2,500 people were hospitalized and 90 of them died, including 11 children.sob people across the country clamoring for the h1n1 vaccine, but so far it's in short supply. nbc's lee cowan has the latest. >> reporter: across the country, thousands are taking part in what's become sort of a scavenger hunt. >> they nt us toett as soon as possible. >> reporter: health officials say it's the largest vaccination effort since the days of polio in the 1950s.

>> we've never had an effort to try and get so many with it as quickly as possible. >> reporter: angela is seven months pregnant and isn't taking any chances. >> you look at the number of women infected with h1n1 and the disproportionate number of them that have died, that's the statistic that's moved me. >> reporter: it's moved a lot of people. >> i can't make anyguarantees. >> reporter: in rockville, maryland, 1,500 people lined up this week, and soon the nurses' cupboards were cleared. in cincinnati, 13,000 doses were available, but officials still had to cut the line short. in milwaukee, the hopeful braved the rain. in las vegas, they braved the sun. >> i have only two more left. >> reporter: and in portland, they braved the border, only to find out that they, too, were out of luck. >> it's frustrating, but it is what it is. >> reporter: despite all that frtration that's out there, it's hardly panic. controlled concern might be a better way to describe it, and in some places plenty

opportunities for simple acts. like this man, who forfeited his vaccine for the woman standing behind him. >> she's pregnant, so let her have the ticket. i can get a shot when guy to my doctor. >> reporter: in the meantime, patients are being asked for their patience, that they wait for the vaccine supply to catch up with demand. for "today," lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. coming up in our next half hour, answers to your questions about the swine flu. and i know i think even all of us here are experiencing the same frustration. >> you have little kids. have you tried to get the shots? >> we've been calling the doctor ofce. they don't have it yet. my oldest is asthmatic, so it's a concern. everyone is trying to find out how to get the vaccine. >> 14 million doses have been ordered. >> not enough. >> a much larger population. we want to get a check of the headlines with tamron hall at the news desk. >> hey, lester and amy. good morning, everyone. seven more banks have been shuttered by the fdic. the total number of bank

closings this year is now over 100, in fact, 106 to be exact. regulators say dozens of other banks are on the edge. and the mother of that 6-year-old boy feared missing inside a runaway balloon confessed to police the whole thing was a hoax. mayumi heene admitted she and her husband knew all along that their son faln was hiding in the family's garage. heene says the family came up with the idea and told their three children to lie to police. and one of france's highest civil courts is blaming the country for delays into the investigation into princess diana's death. the court ruled that the father of dodi al fayed be compensated $8,000 for the delay but said the judgment does not affect his overall conclusion that the deaths were the result of an accident. and finally, a big birth at the miami zoo. i mean big. this eagle chick is the first to hatch in the o's 30-year

history. its on the second zoo to reproduce this rare bird. he looks tiny now, but they grow to be twice as large as a bald eagle. pretty big. something if you play trivial pursuit over the weekend -- >> normally when we show is the baby, we go aww. that thing lood angry. that thing crashed into the ugly tree. >> lester! man! don't mince your words there. nbc meteorologist bill karins is outside with the forecast. >> leave lester alone. poor lester. >> poor bird. >> starting to drizzle out her a little bit, and that's going to be the story of the day through the east, t new england area. we'll have heavy rains later on today and a chance of severe storms in jersey through the carolinas. wondering about that yankee game tonight against the angels, there will be some thunderstorms in the area.

a flip of the coin if they get that game in or not. texas through the southeast, showers all the way up through the northern plains, and alsoo n good saturday morning. meteorologist chuck bell. here is a check of doppler. you can see a couple of light sprinkles moving off the lower parts of maryland. headed out over the chesapeake bay. steadier rain showers, though, across the mountains of west virginia. that's all part of a weather front that will be crossing into the area later this afternoon. may spark off one or would strong thunderstorms later today as well. keep a weather eye to the sky. it will be a mild day today. temperatures up into the mid and upper 70s with thunderstorms today. sun smin returns for tomorrow all right. she asked for it. we'll give it to her. happy birthday. back inside to amy. >> already, bill. thank you. coming up next, actress and author suzanne somers joins us to talk about her new book about cancer. it's generating a lot of

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television star turned author suzanne somers has sparked controversy in the past with her books on health. now she is taking on cancer. her new book is a collection o interviews with doctors who use alternative methods to treat cancer patients, and she says writing cured her fear of cancer. suzanne somers is back in the

studio y us this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is your 19th book. >> yes. >> an author 19 times over now. >> i guess i'm an author. >> definitely affirmed now. you've written about health topics before. >> right. >> but this one in particular is sparking more controversy than the others. you talk about alternative methods treating cancer. why do you think you've gotten such strong reaction? >> because i don't think anybody's ever said anything negative about the present protocol to cancer. so i was horribly misdiagnosed in november of this year with a cancer that has metastasized thughout my entire body by six doctors over a six-day period in the hospital. they would have started me on a full-body chemotherapy had i been another kindf patient. but what i said when they offed the chemotherapy, i said, first of all, i would rather die because that's my personal -- i would rather live out my life with quality of life. but other than three kinds of cancer -- testicular like lance armstrong, childhood leukemia,

lymphomas and some nonhodgkins disease -- cancer really -- the protocol has been a dismal failure. they can't use the word "cure." and i keep thinking with all the billions of dollars that's been put into this, why can't they find a cure? so i interviewed doctors who are doing tremendous work, western doctor, oncologists -- >> but alternative practis. they're not using chemo or radiation. >> some of them are. i interviewed doctors who are using chemo. how do you make it more effective. integrative doctor, alternative doctors a that only use nutritional support. then the incredible dr. in houston, stanislaw berzinski, who has developed a peptide. but i talk to the patients. >> in your book, you call chemotherapy a big business, a $200 billion a year industry and say it's not effective for all cancers. >> right. >> we have a quote from the associated press in an article that was published earlier this

week. the chief medical officer for the american cancer society, dr. otis brawley, had this in response to your book. >> you call yourself a layperson, say you're not a medical expert in your book. >> right. >> what do you say to those who question your credibility because you have a platform and are a celebrity? >> because i get all my information from docts. dr. brawley keeps saying this, but is his treatment -- where is the success? we all know people who are dying of this horrible treatment. we're most afrd of the treatmt. can't they come up with anything better? i look at the treatment for pancreatic cancer. there's a drug that extend life by a few months. that's no big deal. he keeps saying we have proven methods. i don't think they're doing such a good job. i think -- all i want you to

do -- i don't give any advice -- is read "knockout" and listen to what other doctors who are having success and their patients are dog. maybe, maybe we've been barking up the wrong tree. at least you'll have all the information and be able to make an informed decision for yourself. >> what do you want people to get out of this book? how do you want it to change their lives? >> i know if i had cancer i wouldn't be afraid of it anymore. cancer kills. depending on wha kindf cancer i have, i would know what docr to go to and what protocol to access. i would not use chemotherapy for anything other than the three cancers that i listed. it's a protocol that is degrading bodies, emaciating people, and in the end it's just a very expensive death. can't they find a better way? >> and you are cancer free, we should mention, for ten years. breast cancer survivor. >> yes. and i turned down chemotherapy ten years ago. i think this was one of the best decisions i ever made. >> suzanne somers, we appreciate

your time. >> thank you. çóçóçóçñçñçó

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8:26 is your time. 67 degrees. looks like a mild start to your morning. but could we get rain? chuck bell will have the forecast after the news. good morning. i'm eun yang. saturday, october 24th, 2009. here is a look at what's making news this morning. police are investigating an overnight shooting in northwest washington. two men were shot near the howard university campus around 1:30. police say one of the victims was hit in the back and the side while on 2nd and w streets northwest. the other victim was shot in the arm. both are expected to survive. this is homecoming weekend in howard. it is not clear whether the shooting was connected to the festivities.

people are traveling from as far away as new york and rhode island avenue or rhode island, rather, traveling to get to our area to get your children vaccinated for the swine flu. today mass vaccination decline sick planned at the fairfax county government center. the line started forming at 8:00 last night. four vaccination clinics taking place in the district as well. tomorrow thousands of runners will be pounding the pavement in our area. they will be in town for the marine corps marathon. organizers expect 30,000 runners as well as thousands of support staff and spectators. largest marathon that does not offer prize money earning the nickname the people's marathon. runners will be offered electronic devices so friends and family can keep track of their progress. chuck will be back with your forecast.

good saturday morning. here is a check much doppler radar. few light sprinkles in prince george's and anne arundel county and calvert county, maryland. eastern shore. there's more rain, though, across parts of the mountains of west virginia just now moving in on interstate 81. it will be a cloudy day today. mild and breezy. temperatures are near 70 degrees. almost every neighborhood. forecasted highs today up into the mid 70s. it will be breezy today and we have a chance for thunderstorms rolling in later this afternoon as well. keep a weather eye on the sky. no concerns for the marathon tomorrow or anything you want to do outside of tomorrow. it will be sunny and cooler. >> very nice. thank you, chuck.

stay with us for "news4 today" at 9:00 a.m. more on the aftermath of the shooting at howard university. more on that. stay with us. oh, i'm sorry. i'm supposed to talk now. >> you're supposed to talk. >> saturday morning,ctober 24th, 2009. no bad for a late october saturday. it's a little humid out here. supposed to be rainy later on. >> a real roller coaster in the northeast. very cold yesterday and very warm today and rain. but that's october. that's fall. >> that's why we need meteorologists. thank goodness we have a few in the house. i'm amy robach along with lester holt. still to come in this half hour, we have a lot more to talk about, speaking specifically

about swine flu. >> everybody hears s about it,e risks to young people. but we're all like, where is is the vaccine, when can i get it, do i go to my doctor, stand in line? we have a couple of experts. we'll put those questions to them. >> okay. we're also going to be talking about a new trend in fitness. could toning your legs be as simple as a walk in the park? some manufacturers claim you can work your muscles just by walking in their special sneakers. they're now out on the market, lots of diffent designs. we'll check them out and see if they really do work. and a high-stakes medical drama that premiered a few weeks ago, "mercy." it takes you into the e.r., but it shows us the life of a nurse, both inside the hospital and outside. a young newcomer is the star of the show. we'll meet her and spend time on the set of "mercy" right here in new york. >> looking to that. but as i mentioned, we need our meteorologists these days and bill kars has what to expect.

>> we've got blue skies and the clouds are flying all over the place. it's easy to get a round of applause. we love before and after, too. high school the cutest little picture. your baby is 40. you're 40. don't even look close to 40. >> thank you. >> you have great genes. look how beautiful your mom is here. >> thank you. >> looks good for the day today. as far as the forecast goes, areas of the east, your may see some sun in new york, philly, d.c. but later on this afternoon, that sunshine is going to mean big thunderstorms rolling through. just be prepared for that. middle of the country looks fine, northern rockies good saturday morning. news4 meteorologist chuck bell the cloudy and mild start this morning. temperatures all across the region are in the upper 60s to low 70s already. our average high for this time of the year only 65 degrees. a very mild a humid day by october standards out there. cloudy skies and mild and breezy

today. rain could be briefly heavy at times this afternoon. could have one or two stronger thunderstorms to keep an eye on as well. highs today in the 70s. my football voice is a little pathetic earlier, so i'm going to do this again. suay night football. arizona cardinals, new york giants. eli manning, kurt warner. clear, cool temperatures, 56 to 60 degrees. we've had a lot of great weather in some of these games so far, and it looks like the weather will be perfect in new york tomorrow night. inside tolester. bill, thanks. as the h1n1 swine flu outbreak continues to den, delays in delivering the promised vaccine are causing confusion, worry, and lots of questions. dr. anthony fauci, director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases and dr. steven lamb from nyu

medical center are here to take your questions. we appreciate you being here. we have a lot of questions. dr. fauci, we've seen an increase in this influenza activity. 46 states now reporting widespread activity. as people begin to get the vaccine, would you expect a leveling off at some point where the lines meet and just demonstrate a peak, if you will? >> well, certainly there will be a peak. we don't know when it will be. we hope when the vaccine becomes more widely available and people get vaccine administered that we will see a blunting of the acceleration, because right now, as you just mentioned correctly, there's widespread activity through the vast majority of states in the united states and there is a lot of infection going an, particularly among young people who congregate in schools and place where people get together, making it easy to spread. s is one of the most important ways to prevent the virus from spreading. we will see a blunting of the

effect as people develop immunity related to the vaccine. >> well, let's talk about getting more of the vaccine available. the original prediction was 100 million doses of swine flu. as of october 21st, i think 11.3 million doses were shipped. >> right. >> 14 million have been ordered. so, when do we expect to see this vaccine widely available to americans? >> it's going to happen probably within the next week or so. we expect that as we get to the very end of october, the beginning of november, we'll start seeing about 8 million to 10 million doses per week coming in so you'll get an accumulation to the point where the discordance between supply and demand will start to nerio, because right now it clearly is much more of a demand than there's a supply for it. but within the next week or so, we should start to see a big kick-up in the rollout, as we call it, of vaccine. >> and dr. land, this particular h1n1 has been remarkable in that it has primarily been affecting younger people. would we expect that to continue, or could this thing

mutate? >> well, the influenza virus, as dr. fauci will confirm, is a very strange virus and it can really change, it can mutate. with the mutation, it can certainly affect all the people. we know traditional influenza affect older pele. mono virus affects younger people and we have to try to understand why this only or seems to have edeolympics for the young. i'm concerned when seasonal influenza virus starts to mix with h1n1 and what that can do to the virus. that's disconcerting to me. >> there have been anecdotal reports of people's ob/gynsnd pediatricians suggest they not get that. what do you think of that? >> i think this is a mistake. these vaccines are very safe and they're primary intervention. certainly with pregnant women and young kids who appear to have a greater ris frk the complications of this virus, i think it's a mistake.

i would try to find a source to get both the h1n1 and the seasonal. now, we haven't talked about the shortages in the seasonal vaccine. it's almost impossible for me, for example, to order more vaccine. that disturbs me, as well. >> let me turn to dr. fauci on that. with regard to the seasonal flu, if i come down with flu-like sympto today, can i be pretty assured that it's swine flu? have we' even seen the seasonal flew flu yet? >> it's a good point. there is no seasonal flu that's going on right now, so we're making an assumption, which really is a correct assumption when you do sentinel testing, that the flu that we're seeing right now, if it's flu, is an h1n1. there are respiratory illnesses that go around that may not be influenza at all, but when you're talking about influenza, we have not yet seen seasonal flu yet. we'll almost certainly see it as we get into the late fall and winter, as we see it produce every year, and that's the point dr. lamm made. when those two come together, we'll have a situation that

we're telling people right now, particularly elderly individual, if you have seasonal flu vaccine available, you should get it. >> i can't assume that i'm immune because if i get flu-like symptoms, i don't know for sure whether it's swine flu. correct? >> that's exactly the point. that's a very good question that we often get asked. if you get an influenza like respiratory illness, unless you have definitive diagnosis from a laboratory able to make a specific diagnosis, you shouldn't assume it's h1n1. and when the h1n1 vaccine gets available, if you don't have definitive proof that you've had it, you ouldet vaccinated. >> dr. anthony fauci, dr. steven lamm, appreciate you both being here. coming up next, you've seen them advertised everywhere, sneakers that claim to tone your legs while you walk. i couldn't believe i was actually having a heart attack. i remember being at the hospital, thinking about my wife. i should have done more to take care of myself. now i'm exercising, watching my diet, and i trust my heart to lipitor.

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this morning, new shoes on the market to make your mcles work harder if you just walk in them. janice leashman is here with the skinny. good morning. >> i hope it's skinny. the maker of the shoes say you'll have tighter cav eer calt hamstrings and even a better butt. we hope it's true. we tried three of the most popular brands on the market. we rounded up three volunteers to try out these fitness sneakers. like most women, they said they'd like to shed a few pounds and get in better shape but don't have time to go to the gym. bela laced up the most expensive pair, mbt. >> when i first stood up in them, i felt really tall.

>> reporter: rachel stepped into reebok's easy tone. >> i was afraid that i was going to fall over when i started to walk, but the more i walk, the more comfortable it became. >> reporter: and amy took the sketchers. >> i can definitely already feel pars of my body muscles that i don't normally use. >> reporter: we asked the ladies to wear the shoes for one week whi. while they did their homework, we did ours. just how do these things work? all three create an uneven platform for the foot, which forces your muscles to work harder to stay balanced while you walk. the sketchers and mbts have a curved wedge on the back that's made to mimic walking on sand. reebok invited us to their secret testing lab to show us the science behind their design. so i'm in a high-security, no one gets admtance kind of an area. >> absolutely. very tight security down here. >> reporter: former nasa

scientist, really, bill maginnis, showed me how a ball like this one was the inspiration for his design. air pockets under the shoe. working already. this is going to tone this, this, this, this. everything. this, this. the whole body, right? >> exactly. >> reporter: just by wearing new sneaker. >> all in one. >> reporter: miracle. how do they really know? i agreed to have electrodes attached to my calves, thigh, and butt to see how i use those muscles with conventional sneakers and if they worked hardener the fitness model. the results a little later. our volunteers weighed their experience with a lot less science. >> one thing i learn is you can't just put on the shoes and start walking and expect to see any results. you really need to view the dvd that it comes with and really pay attention to the instructions they give you and have to learn how to walk again. >> reporter: she plans to keep wearing them. amy awarded the sketchers an 8 out of 10. >> i was a little tired this

week, and i think it's because of the shoe, because i really had to use my muscles more than i normally do. >> reporter: she's going to keep at it, too. and rachel gave the reeboks a 9 out of 10. >> i love them. i'm not taking them off. >> reporter: she praised their comfort and said she could feel her muscles working harder. they all like to have the sneakers but agreed there was one drawback. are they fashionable? >> oh, no. >> so, all of our volunteers thought they could feel a difference with wearing the shoes. you're wondering how i did? i did very well. reebok's study shows on averag their testers wordheir hamstrings and calves 11% harder and their glutes 28% harder than regular running shoes. i worked my glutds a whopping 45% harder. well, that must be my area that needs work. i worked my calves and hamstrings a little less than their averages. time will tell if i really worked my butt off like they say.

>> you have to keep it up, right weather the shoes on. here's the other big catch. how much do these shoes cost? >> they're not top. the mtbs are the most expensive at $245. >> ouch. >> the reebok's the least at $100. and the sketchers at $110. with all of these, we advise you read the information, watch the dvd, because there is a little bit of a trick to getting the most out of it. >> i've worn the mbts before. you haveo go heel to toe to make it work and you have to have the right form to get the right results. >> that's right. otherwise it will feel weird. they were very cushy all day. you can wear them to the supermarket and around town but they don't advise working out with hem. >> much more comfortable than mihi mihials. janice lieberman, thanks so much. coming upxt, life and love in the e.r.

well, this time of year there's always a lot of buzz about the new tv shows. for nbc, a new medical drama about a fictional hospital in drama. as i found on "mercy," the nurses call the shots. >> kerry. hi. my name is veronica. >> taylor schilling is not only the freshest face in prime time, she is also a fresh face to television. >> i got out of school like a year ago. >> reporter: but here on the set of the fictional mercy hospital, schilling is burdened with a deep and complicated experiences of the character she plays. >> please. go with me? >> isle go with you to new york. >> veronica callahan, a former combat army nurse, just back from iraq and trying to adjust to the routine of a stateside civilian hospital. >> i assume you're aware your hearing is in five minutes.

>> i condition right now. i have a patient in a situation. >> she has this energy and desir and instinct that really helped her while she was at war, and it doesn't serve her anymore being home. so, she -- sometimes she ends up breaking the rules a little bit. she's a medic. she does whatever she wants. she operates under her own set of rules. >> you don't even know what my job is. >> reporter: trying to distinguish itself in the crowded world of tv medical drama, "mercy" revolves around the lives of nurses, both insides and outside the e.r. >> you're there for people during the worst part of their live, you finds a way to make them better and then -- and this is the most important part, veronica -- you let it go. >> it's a relationship show between these three women. it highlights the nurse's dynamic with the patients. >> reporter: "mercy's" gritty texture is owing to its location, shot entirely in working-class neighborhoods in northern new jersey, just outside new york. hollywood will have to wait for this native boston girl.

when you got into acting, you're thinking hollywood, you're thinking -- >> hollywood, baby. jersey, no. i'm a jersey girl. it works. i love -- it adds a lot to the show, too, i think. >> don't defend it. it's marginally better. that's the best thing you can say about it. >> that is your snobby opinion. >> reporter: and it fuels the tension between veronica and chris sand, her former battlefield fling who shows up in new jersey to rekind it will flame, only to find she has patched up her marriage. >> would you come back to me? >> it is rude, you just barging in here like this telling a person you love them when that person has jus recommitted to their horrible marriage. >> it's continually awkward. every episode, more gets revealed about what happened in their past and her husband becomes aware of her liaison in the desert and, you know, so there's a lot of drama. >> im your friend. >> stop. every time y talk, it gets more awkward, painful.

>> reporter: you've been described as the heart throb of the show. >> why you got to do go there? i told my dad that. he said, what the heck's that about, jimmy in. >> reporter: in a business not known for showing mercy to newcomers -- >> yeah. i've been talking to a bunch of vets and people who are currently serving right now. >> reporter: helping the star of "mercy" to keep it real. >> i don't even know if i'm a good nurse anymore. >> they built the set over a former pharmaceutical office in secaucus, new jersey, but it look like a hospital. i said, can i get my h1n1 shot here? they said no. >> no dice. don't want an actress administering a shot like that. >> "mercy" airs wednesday evenings here on nbc. walmart checks other stores' prices

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and that does it for us on this saturday morning. our thanks to bill karins and tamron hall. coming up tomorrow on "today," we'll review michael jackson's jt this is it." >> and some of the toughest women wheels.

good morning. i'm yank. here is a look what we are working on for 9:00 this morning. an ounce of prevention. thousands of doses of the swine flu vaccine ready to be given out today. how you can get one. a stolen minivan comes crashing into a house, what police found inside that could be a clue towards solving another crime. rock 'n' roll will take you inside the roller derby. chuck? >> off to a mild and somewhat soggy start. complete check of the weekend forecast is coming up. >> those stories and much more when "news4 today" begins in less than two minutes.

vaccination station. swine flu clinic set for today. thousands of doses will be available. you are looking a at live pictures out of fairfax county. the line is growing. we will tell you where to get the vaccines. a family's minivan stolen and

comes careening to the front of house. the jig is up. new confession in the balloon boy saga. good morning, everyone. i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" at 9:00. saturday, october 24, 2009. the all-important forecast with meteorologist chuck bell in storm center 4. >> or right next to you. >> right next to me. it is habit. i'm so used to saying that. >> now here. >> nice to see you here. >> it is good to be here. welcome to your weekend, everybody. off to a very mild start this morning. if you haven't stepped outside yet, doesn't feel like october at all. it is warm and it is humid. and that usually means it is going to rain around here this time of the year. you can see doppler first patch of sprinkles moving up across northern delaware.