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At the age of 90, “Star Trek” actor William Shatner made history Wednesday when he and three others were launched into space on a Blue Origin rocket. “I was overwhelmed with the experience of looking at death and looking at life,” he tells TODAY. “The whole thing was indescribable.”
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One of our very favorite actors, Dennis Qauid, has been tapped to play Ronald Reagan in the widely anticipated biopic Reagan. Quaid is absolutely perfect for the role and we can't wait to see this movie which is expected to begin production soon. Above, Megyn Kelly joins Dennis Quaid at the former home of Ronald Reagan, known as The Reagan Ranch, in California. Quaid tells Kelly why Raegan was his favorite president, and about the research he’ll be conducting in order to bring the role to life.
Below, some of our photos from when we visited the Reagan Ranch -- one of our favoritejourneys of all time!
Our day at the Reagan Ranch was something we will never forget. And we'll always remember as well the good friends we made on this trip - those who came up to the ranch with us along a 40-minute, crisscrossing journey from Santa Barbara to the top of the San Ynez Mountains. If you cringe at the thought of narrow winding roads with little margin for error or you dread heights, this is not the trip for you. But if neither of those factors are a problem, the payoff is beyond belief. Rancho del Cielo, or "Sky's Ranch" or "Heaven's Ranch," is a 688-acre (1.075 sq mi) ranch located atop the mountain range just northwest of Santa Barbara. It served as a retreat and Western White House for President Ronald Reagan and beloved First Lady Nancy Reagan. The ranch was originally named Rancho de los Picos after José Jesús Pico—a descendant of Santiago de la Cruz Pico who arrived with the Anza expedition in 1776—who homesteaded it and built the original adobe house in 1871. The Pico family owned the ranch until 1941, when Joe, one of Jose Pico's sons, sold it to Frank Flournoy, a Santa Barbara County surveyor, for $6,000 (equal to $96,204 today). In turn, he sold the ranch to Roy and Rosalie Cornelius, who then purchased additional land for the property which came to be known as the Tip Top Ranch. The Reagans bought the ranch from the Corneliuses for about $527,000 in 1974 (equal to approximately $2,520,000 today) when his second term as Governor of California was nearing an end. The ranch contains a pond called Lake Lucky, stables, a barn for horses, and a 1,500 ft² (139 m²) house decorated with 1970s-style western and Spanish influenced furnishings. The ranch is located on the crest of the Santa Ynez Mountains adjacent to Refugio Pass. It can be reached from the ocean side of the mountains by the one-lane, paved Refugio Road from U.S. Route 101, and from the other side of the mountains by an unpaved, one-lane road from Solvang, California. At times, the dirt road is not passable during the rainy season. Reagan spent breaks from his presidency at the ranch, which became known as the Western White House. He signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 at the ranch and at various times hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth II, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. After leaving the presidency in 1989, the Reagans moved to a home in Bel-Air, California but kept the ranch as a getaway.
Mrs. Reagan's personal touches can be found throughout the ranch and the small ranch house that the Reagan's called home. Though she could have never been characterized as a "ranch gal," Nancy Reagan recognized the importance of this celestial retreat to Ronnie and she made it comfortable in the rugged, natural style that he preferred. Over the year she came to love the ranch as a place of solitude and tranquility. Because of his Alzheimer's disease, Reagan last visited the ranch in 1995. Mrs. Reagan last visited in 1998, before selling the property to the Young America's Foundation, a conservative group which preserves it today as a living monument to Reagan's ideas, values, and lasting accomplishments. Although the ranch is officially closed to the public, Young America's Foundation offers students and supporters the opportunity to visit the property Reagan called "heaven."
NBC News Chairman Andy Lack released a statement Wednesday morning about the firing of long-time Today Show anchor Matt Lauer. Below is Lack's full statement: Dear Colleagues, On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment. While it is the first
complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.
Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender. We are deeply saddened by this turn of events. But we will face it together as a news organization -- and do it in as transparent a manner as we can. To that end, Noah and I will be meeting with as many of you as possible throughout the day today to answer your questions. Andy
Well-known for his impressions on “Saturday Night Live,” Dana Carvey joins TODAY’s Matt Lauer for a new segment called “Lasting Impressions,” in which he imitates Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and even Michael Caine – as a 2-year-old!
You've heard about that Justin Bieber paternity suit?
About the woman who says Bieber had "quickie" sex with her after one of his shows and then she became pregnant.
Bieber says it's not true. Promoting his Christmas album on the Today show Bieber told Matt Lauer that he's "never met the woman." He also says (in what sounds canned) "I know that I'm gonna be a target but I'm never gonna be a victim."
Anyway, it all goes along with celebrity. And Bieber remains in the spotlight as his handlers and PR people work to keep his image bright and shiny on the eve of the holiday season.
From the Associated Press and My Way News: Sarah Palin says David Letterman owes an apology to young women across the country for his joke about her daughter. The Alaska governor appeared on NBC's "Today" show Friday, continuing a feud with Letterman over his joke that Palin's daughter got "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez during their recent trip to New York. Palin says the late-night funnyman has contributed to a thread throughout culture that says it's acceptable and funny to talk about statutory rape. Letterman has said his joke was about Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, who is a single mother. But it was her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, who'd been at the baseball game. Palin said it took Letterman time to think of the "convenient excuse" that he was talking about Bristol instead of Willow.
