Richard Adams, a producer in TODAY's Los Angeles bureau, visited California's San Quentin State Prison as part of this week's Access Granted: TODAY segment. Here, he offers observations from the trip.
It’s a view that people would pay millions for, but for now, it's reserved for those who would rather be almost anywhere else: the view from San Quentin State Prison. California’s only Death Row happens to be located in one of the country’s most expensive real estate markets. Tucked into a cove of San Francisco Bay, the prison offers panoramic views across the water, and of Marin County’s Mt. Tamalpais to the north.
In Larkspur, the next town over, the average two-bedroom home costs more than a million dollars. One can only imagine the frustration and envy that real estate developers have felt over the years, looking over this 432-acre site that houses a prison complex. But there’s little chance this place will change hands anytime soon. CONTINUED >>
(From Janet Shamlian, NBC News Correspondent)
I'm a writer by training, but I'm no match for these women when it comes to tales from the home front. Call it the new coffee clutch, moms are sharing everything from parenting advice to details of their marriage on the World Wide Web. I sat down with three of them to talk about the trend for a report on Wednesday's Today Show. WATCH VIDEO
What they write about used to be the stuff of diaries or a mid-morning phone call between the best of friends, and maybe that's why they've become so popular.
Being a mom can be isolating, but with a connection to the Internet we can peek behind the curtain of our contemporaries who blog about their lives, whether it be a tense morning moment with a hubby over who's driving carpool to feeling guilty about taking little Tommy to our hair appointment instead of taking him to the park.
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Day three of TODAY's special series on siblings was devoted to discussing twins, and here, Tiki Barber reflects on the nuances of his twinship between him and his brother Ronde.
Ronde and I have always done everything together. Some [things were] intentional, like playing football, and reaching the highest peaks in our respective positions, or collaborating to write five children's books, using our celebrity as athletes and our uniqueness as twins to promote reading and literacy for boys, in particular.
But some things were unintentional – like the fact that we used to gravitate to each other when we slept, or that we both suffered from febrile seizures, and my mom told tells us that we would always seize at the same time. Also, even though Ronde dated blondes for most of his life, he married an Asian women, like me. (Even though technically, Claudia is from the South Pacific. He gets his briefs in a wad about that one … LOL). Also we had our first children, unplanned, one month apart, and our second [kids] six months apart. And two Christmases ago, we both got our wives the same watch without knowing.
Two others: We decided at the same time that UVA was our school choice. And we both switched from PCs to Macs at the same time.
However, even though we are identical, we are also very different. This is the evidence for "nurture" in the debate. After we left school, our interest divided. I got into fashion, he got into golf. He loves hip-hop, I prefer jazz and blues. I have two boys, and he has two girls. WATCH VIDEO
Related links: Slideshow: Celebrity siblings
Say this for Annie Liebovitz: she knows how to cause a stir. A month ago, we had a lively discussion here on allDAY about the racial implications of Liebovitz's Vogue cover featuring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen.
Now, she's got the "racy" Miley Cyrus photo in Vanity Fair, which CNBC's Donny Deutsch and humorist/TV commentator Nancy Giles discussed with Meredith this morning. WATCH VIDEO
Photo by Annie Liebovitz, excusively for Vanity Fair
What's your take on the photo? And why do you think Annie Liebovitz's photos tend to court so much controversy?
You can check out more photos and read the Vanity Fair profile of Miley Cyrus HERE.
With the NFL draft coming up on Saturday here in New York, four of the top prospects and their mothers stopped by the plaza this morning to chat with Meredith and Ann.
Before the segment, I talked to Jake Long and his mother, Denise (they're in the top left in this screenshot).
Jake, who is 6-foot-7 and weighs 315 pounds, was an All-American offensive lineman at the University of Michigan. On Tuesday, he signed a $57 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, who intend to select him with the first overall pick on Saturday.
So what does the mother of a $57 million man want for Mother's Day? Here's our conversation (after the jump):
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What would you do if you heard a noise in your house, went to find out what it was, and discovered that there was an 8-foot alligator walking around in your kitchen?
That's the question recently faced by Sandie Frosti of Oldsmar, Florida. Her response?
She said, "Oh my God," ran the other way and called 911.
She discussed the experience this morning with Meredith. WATCH VIDEO
We've all had animals in and around our homes at some point. When I was 12, we had a rabid raccoon outside our house. Animal control and a policeman came, and after the animal control officer subdued the raccoon, the cop (after jokingly offering his gun to me) shot and killed the raccoon right in front of us.
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With the Pennsylvania primary looming on Tuesday, Monday offered a rare opportunity for TODAY to interview Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in person on the same day. Ann Curry spoke to both of them, and our piece aired Tuesday morning. WATCH VIDEO
It was a long day that took us from New York to Scranton to Blue Bell (outside Philadelphia) and back to New York, but our one day paled in comparison to the tireless efforts of the candidates and their campaign teams, who have been doing this now for 15 months.
Photo by Noah Oppenheim
I honestly don't know how they do it.
And while this race is serious business (and I believe we treat it as such), when you're following the candidates around the Keystone State, it's also important to note the following (after the jump):
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From Kathie Lee Gifford, TODAY host
Hoda and I started our third week together today and it’s amazing how natural it feels already. I really credit the crew for welcoming me so beautifully and helping me feel so much at home. And Hoda, of course.
I’m trying to learn to pace myself again, knowing that I need to conserve whatever energy I’ve got for our 10 o’clock hour. The old gray—GREY—mare just ain’t what she used to be!
Congrats to my friend, Steven Paletta, for winning Oprah’s Big Give. If only every one of us could embrace the concept!
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From Hoda Kotb, TODAY host
It still hurts. A year has passed and it still hurts. I keep paging through the newspapers and reading bits and pieces, stories of survivors a year later. My heart aches. I am a 1986 Virginia Tech graduate. It may have been 22 years since I graduated, but I feel so close to that campus. It’s my school.
I will never forget one year ago, those images, those frantic kids running across my campus, through my drill field, becoming my memories. I searched for people I knew — some teachers, Tri-Delta sorority sisters. I realized that even though I didn’t personally know the people who were killed, I did know them. They were brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, they wore maroon and orange and cheered for the Hokies. They were family.
Everyone said this experience would define that campus, but I don’t think so. I really don’t. I think people are defined by what they do after a tragedy, and the wonderful people of Virginia Tech rose up.
They held hands, helped each other, and they are getting stronger every day. I’ll be honest with you: I am sitting in my apartment right now, working on the commencement speech for Virginia Tech. They deserve so much. I hope I am worthy of this honor.
The students of Virginia Tech have overcome so much. They are scarred, but they don’t want you to give them “the look.” You know the one. When you ask them where they go to school and they proudly say “Virginia Tech.” You give them the look of pity. We are strong. We are Virginia Tech.
Click here to watch the video of Hoda's recollection.
Michael Johns was famously voted off "American Idol," much to the chagrin of, well, everyone, it seems.
The Australian-turned-Atlantan was a fan favorite and seemingly a frontrunner until his untimely demise last Thursday.
He stopped by the plaza today to chat with Matt, Meredith and Natalie. WATCH VIDEO
We'll have a vlog post here on allDAY soon, but in case you can't get enough of Michael Johns, I had a quick chat with him after his appearance on the plaza. He spent about 15 minutes talking to our crowd outside, posing for photos and signing autographs, and as we stepped inside, he said, "This is surreal."
Here's the conversation that followed (after the jump):
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