1. Amanda Knox told Matt this morning that there’s no possibility she’ll return to Italy for her retrial. The 26-year-old sat down for her first TV interview about the upcoming trial, and explained why she won’t go back to defend herself in person.
"I was already imprisoned as an innocent person in Italy, and I can't reconcile the choice to go back with that experience," she said. "It's not a possibility, as I was imprisoned as an innocent person and I just can't relive that.”
After her interview with Matt, she joined her sister Deanna in the Orange Room to talk with Carson about her transition back to normalcy after four years in prison. For starters, she revealed she didn’t have a clue who Justin Bieber was.
2. The morning after Pope Francis made headlines by saying the Catholic Church should stop focusing solely on abortion, contraception and gay marriage, Cardinal Dolan praised the pontiff’s remarks.
"I think he's on to something,” Dolan told Savannah. He's a good teacher."
3. Jenna Bush Hager is back from maternity leave — and with her return comes great stories from the expanding Bush family!
She showed the anchors a cute video of her baby, Mila, laughing for the first time. And, lo and behold, it was the baby’s granddaddy – President George W. Bush – who inspired the giggles: “She laughed at him and that’s it, they’re in love.”
4. In her first report since coming back, Jenna visited “Camp Broaderway,”a camp that helps young girls find their voices through performing.
Broadway stars and real-life couple Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs started the camp to show girls how to “use the arts to help them express themselves and find their creative souls.”
5. Hang ten, Matt. The TODAY anchor put on his (most insulated) wetsuit to test the surf in Montauk with up-and-comer surf champ Quincy Davis. Check out the 18-year-old's surf skills (and Matt's lack thereof!).
And that's TODAY's Takeaway!