World in Crises: Paris Breaks a Nail

Voiceover: Live from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Center, this is the Today Show with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.

KC: Good morning, everyone. It is Wednesday, April 20th, 2005. I’m Katie Couric along with Matt Lauer in New York City. Our lead story this morning is the condition of Paris Hilton.

ML: That’s right, Katie. Supermodel, actress, and hotel heiress Paris Hilton fell in Beverly Hills yesterday and split a fingernail on her right hand. Correspondent Michelle Abernathy is in California to give us a report. Michelle…

MA: Good morning Matt and Katie. Yesterday afternoon at approximately 3:00 P.M., supermodel and actress Paris Hilton was injured when she tripped and fell on the sidewalk in front of a jewelry store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Ms. Hilton was rushed by ambulance to UCLA Medical Center and treated for a split nail on the ring finger of her right hand.

KC: Michelle, are we sure it was the ring finger? I understand that the Los Angeles Times reported that it was the middle finger.

MA: Katie, I spoke to Dr. Pashtun Madras Rimpali at UCLA and he confirmed that the split nail was on Paris’s right ring finger.

ML: Michelle, is Paris right handed? How will this terrible injury affect her busy career and is there any possibility of permanent damage or disfigurement?

MA: Matt, as far as I know, Paris is right-handed. Two renowned specialists are being rushed to Los Angeles this morning to consult with Dr. Rimpali. For the moment, Paris Hilton is in stable condition, shaken, but reported to be in good spirits.

KC: Thanks, Michelle. For more on the Paris Hilton story we turn to Diane Diaz of affiliate KNBC in Los Angeles.

DD: Yellow caution tape marks the spot where Paris Hilton fell. Investigators are examining the sidewalk for clues as to what caused the hotel heiress and fashion model’s fall. One source close to the investigation told me that while the sidewalk looks perfectly safe and level, there may be minute variations that could cause a supermodel in high heels to trip and fall. A crack or a small hole could catch a stiletto heel -- with devastating consequences. Matt and Katie, back to you.

ML: Thank you, Diane. We will have more on this tragedy in our next half hour, including a statement from Nicole Richie, Paris’s co-star on the Simple Life, but first a quick look at other world and national news.

KC: That’s right, Matt. Though all eyes are riveted on UCLA medical center, there is other news this morning. First from the Vatican in Rome, we have a new Pope, some authoritarian German cardinal who promises to move the church backwards a thousand years…House Majority Leader Tom Delay blames Democrats and Liberals for destroying the moral fabric of the country…and in a move sure to spark controversy among its millions of customers, McDonald’s is downsizing its super-sized beverages from 46 to 40 ounces. Matt.

ML: Thanks, Katie. I’m sure we’ll hear much more about McDonald’s in the coming days. Turning back now to our lead story…Nicole Richie co-stars with Paris Hilton on the Fox show, the Simple Life. Nicole, of course, is the daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie. We wanted to get her reaction to Paris Hilton’s injury and find out what it might mean for the show. Susan Dawson from our affiliate KPHX in Phoenix, Arizona has more.

SD: Nicole Richie was in Sedona for some R&R when she heard the news that her Simple Life co-star had been injured in a fall. Reached by cell phone, Ms Richie would only say that she was concerned enough for Paris to cut her vacation short and fly to Los Angeles immediately. “It’s like, ummm, you know,” Richie said, “we’re not friends exactly, but we do kind of work together, so…” Matt and Katie, back to you.

KC: Susan Dawson reporting from Phoenix. We turn now to one of the truly burning questions in the Paris Hilton accident. When a hot celebrity goes down on a sidewalk in Beverly Hills, people naturally want to know whose shoes she was wearing. For the answer to that question we turn to Today fashion expert Stephen S. Samplestyx. Good morning, Stephen S., What can you tell us?

SSS: Good morning, guys. Everyone knows that Paris Hilton is a big fan of Manolo Blahnik. She wore Manolo’s to the Oscars and the MTV Movie Awards and has said she wouldn’t be caught dead in any other shoe. Well, fashionistas, not so fast! My sources tell me that Paris was wearing Jimmy Choo when she fell in Beverly Hills. Ooh La La, this is going to be juicy.

KC: I think you’re right about that Stephen S. We’re going to take a short commercial break. When we come back, we’ll have an exclusive interview with Paris Hilton’s personal assistant’s assistant. Wow, that’s a mouthful. More, right after this…