good morning. good morning. a new day in washington. a live look at the nation's capitol where everything is about to change. how will things be different? what will get done and will republicand democrats be able to work together? we'll ask two prominent members of the gop. breaking news out of london. knew details just released about william and kate's wedding. the time, the route, the reception. we'll have the latest from buckingham palace. and golden voice, the homeless pan handler claims to

have an incredible talent and he's not lying. >> tomorrow morning is your chance to win a pair of tickets to see this man, live in concert. >> he's become a big hit on the internet, now he's hoping to find a job today, wednesday, internet, now he's hoping to find a job today, wednesday, january 5, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith viera. let the battles begin in the nation's capitol as congress gets back to business today. >> gop leadership is prepared to fight president obama and his fellow democrats every step of the way on spending and health care and there appear to be some big changes coming to the obama administration as well. we'll get the latest from washington straight ahead. also ahead, august busch iv

breaks his silence about the woman who died in his bed. and there are millions checking the megamillions tickets after the jackpot went over $350 million. we hold in our hands a lot of meaningless paper. we bet the house and came up unlucky. >> change your phone number and learn how to say no. you need to say no occasionally. >> but first a new day is dawning on capitol hill where a new congress, the 112th is sworn in today. kelly o'donnell is there with the pomp and the politics of the moment. good morning to you, kelly. >> reporter: there will be plenty of symbolism and ritual packed into this day. the next speaker will be

attending a bipartisan prayer service. the first session will be streamed live. newcomers getting settled into their official digs. pennsylvania republican mike kelly is trading in his role as a car dealer. >> i'll don't sleep here, but i got to get back to my district, i got to get back to the people that i work with. >> reporter: bobby schilling who left behind his pizza restaurant is awestruck. >> i still have to pinch myself when i'm up here. >> reporter: there is a very different adjustment period underway for house democrats like speaker unanimously pelosi. today's big transition puts that

scene from 2006 in reverse, this time the gavel passes from hep lows pelosi to john boehner. on spending and debt, boehner will say no longer can we kick the can down the road. the people voted to end business as usual and today we begin carrying out their instructions. plans to cut the budget for capitol hill operations by 5% and roll back the federal budget to 2008 levels which would trim billions. but as republicans promote a new austerity, just blocks from the capitol, many celebrated at a posh fund-raiser tuesday night, with lobbyist and power brokers. tick >> obviously this isn't just about raising money, this is about having a good time. >> reporter: and the next

speaker john boehner did not attend that event and there will be change here as well for the administration. the vice president will be here today to administer the oath of office. he will have a change in his own office a chief of staff will be named. the president will be lying low today with no public events scheduled. >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill this morning. john mccain begins his fifth term in the senate today. senator mccain, good morning to you. the fifth term, that's a lot of years. as you get set to go to the office today, how have your views of the job changed over the year. >> i hope that i have learned a lot and learned ways of how to get things done here in the senate and also i have the great honor of running for president, so i think i understand the

issues and i understand after going through a tough campaign, the hopes and dreams and aspirations and frustrations of the people i represent in arizona. >> hopes and dreams, a lot of people want to get done, and yet we're already hearing from the republicans and democrats are going to be butting heads over the next couple of weeks and months. how contentious do you expect these next few week to be? >> i think republicans can't forget that the -- i think we can find areas to work together on, cutting spending, getting our economy going again, job creation. but i also think that there are clearly philosophical differences between the way we have been doing business in the last couple of years to the way we should be doing business at least in the opinion of the majority of the american people. but i think we can work with the president. i'll be introducing again along

with senator coats an enhanced rescission, a version of the line item veto to help the president. i think it's very important that we get rid of a lot of the waste and pork barrel spending that's associated with the defense. that's got to be part of reducing and eliminating some of the excess spending. >> a lot of republicans -- go ahead. >> let me just mention one more. once we get the border secured and we can get the border secured, i would look forward to working on comprehensive immigration reform but we got to get the border secured first. >> a lot of people are saying the new health care bill, republicans are saying they want to repeal it and they want to bring a vote next week and they're saying it's their priority. senator mccain, is that your priority? >> obviously one of them. obviously spending and jobs is spomp important. but the obama care bill is a massive increase in the size and

reach of the federal government and the cost to taxpayers. so i think the house vote is a good one. it's not going to pass here in the senate. but we need to continue the fight but over 60% of the american people do not like the health care bill and i think we're going to continue to work to bring about quality preservation and cost restraint in the health care in america. >> when the health care bill became law or passed last year, you said there would be no more cooperation for the rest of the year. you also voiced some strong opposition to some of the legislation the democrats were pushing through congress in the lame duck session, the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. so are you in the mood for cooperation right now, senator? i mean is that where your mindset is? >> absolutely. on the issue of the health care bill, i think we fought the good fight and i think we at least won a moral victory on it, at least in the view of the american people. as far as some of the other issues are concerned, lame duck

sessions are to keep the congress and the government in operation. i'm pleased we defeated the omnibus appropriations bill and for the first time passed a bill without earmarks in it. but overall, i think we should have kept the government from extending the tax cuts and going home. >> let me end this in a similar way to where i started. members of congress will be taking the oath of office on both sides of the aisle. if you could give those new senators one piece of advice, what would it be? >> go home as much as you k don't become a washington person. when i met john rhodes many years ago who had been in the house for 38 years. first six months you're there you're going to wonder how you got there, the next six months, you're going to wonder how all the others got there.

wisconsin republican congressman pule raul ryan is o the young guns of the gop. congressman ryan good morning to you. as of today republicans control the house and as matt just brought up, one of the key points on your agenda will be attempting to repeal the health care plan. but given the fact that you do not have the votes in the senate as senator mccain just pointed out and the senate has veto power and also given the fact that the american voters in the midterm elections made it clear that what they care about most are jobs and the economy. why go down the road that almost feels like an act of revenge on the part of the republican party. >> don't think that this doesn't relate to jobs. the second point is we made a pledge to the american people in our pledge to america that we would bring up and repeal this health care bill. we're simply keeping our word to the people that we gave before

the election. thirdly, we think this health care bill is really a house of cards. it's going to raise health care costs, it's going to involve the government in taking over health care and i think it's going to lead to medicare rationing. what are we doing today? today we're going to start cutting our own budgets. we're going to focus on cutting spending and growing jobs in the economy. that is our priority. cut spending, grow jobs in the economy and yes, we will repeal this health care bill because we think in the interest of the economy, it is important to repeal. >> let's talk about cutting spending because the republicans made a vow, a pledge to the american people back in the fall that you would cut spending by $100 billion this year. but the "new york times" says you're already backtracking on that and all we have really heard about is trimming your own congressional budget by about $35 million which is really a drop in the bucket. are you reniging on that

promise. >> we're not reniging. the problem with the $100 billion point is we said we were going to bring spending down to 2008 levels. we're halfway through the fiscal year right now, so the problem is half the spending caps are already out of the bag. that is why that number has become compromised. we're still going to bring spending down to the level we said we were. >> the republicans made it very clear that way won't cut spending for the military, veterans or domestic security. those are three areas where they will not cut spending. tell me three areas where you would be comfortable cutting spending. >> if you want to get a sense of where we're headed with this. look at where spending was in 2008 at the government agencies. what we said in the pledge for america, we're going to take

spending to prestimulus, prebailout spending. we do have a war on terror and troops in afghanistan and iraq. we don't want to pull the money out of those operations, but all of the spending that's occurred over there. domestic spending went up with t -- the spending spree is over. >> you say discretionary spending, give me specifics, where are you going to cut? education? transportation? what are you going to cut? >> that is what's going to happen in the appropriations process down the road. as a budget committee person, we simply lower the cap and those things go down. we're going to be reducing all domestic discretionary spesndin. i can't tell you which programs, but all of them will be back to 2008 levels before the spending binge occurred.

>> it is 7:13 and once again here's matt. we're going to go to london where the royal family has just released kn released new details about the royal wedding . >> reporter: what we have learned is that kate is going to be traveling by car that morning. she's going to be on a route that includes the mall which extends here off of buckingham palace. the horse's guard as well as white hall and eventually into westminster abbey. the service is going to be conducted by the dean of westminster and the couple will be married by the archbishop of kach canter bury. but the address, the longest part of the ceremony will be delivered -- the palace also told us today that there will be two receptions here at

buckingham palace. the queen's queen's going to be given first. >> i know we're dying to know more about the dress that kate will be wearing. can you tell me when we might learn some more details about that? >> you're not alone. this is probably the single most anticipated detail of the wedding. we do hear that it's probably going to be a british designer, phillip leslie's name has been thrown out there as well as bruce oldfeld. diana was dressed in this incredible billowi ining taffet affair. westminster abbey is a more understated venue.

and kate's fashion sense now is a bit different than diana's. >> stephanie gosk, thank you very much. >> now we'll get the morning's top stories from ann. >> good morning, everybody. we begin with new developments in the fallout over that video that has shaken up the u.s. navy. jim miklaszewski joins us with details on this story. >> reporter: only three days after those racy videos went public, the officer responsible, captain owen honors was relieved of his command. captain honors was unceremoniously dumped as commander of the "enterprise."

john harvey said he had lost confidence in honors. >> calls into question his character and undermines his credibility to continue to serve effectively in command. >> reporter: this infamous series of raunchy videos is what brought him down. on facebook, honor's supporters say it's these kinds of videos that offer a much needed break from the war. but navy officers past and present say the issue here is all about judgment and leadership. >> this xo has a sense of humor. >> investigators now want to know why honors senior commanders who knew about these videos four years ago did not take formal disciplinary action against him at the time. instead, honors was eventually promoted to the ship's commander.

captain honors has been assigned to a desk job for the time being. the navy officials predict this will permanently end his career. >> jim miklaszewski thanks so much this morning. last night president obama signed the most significant overhaul of food safety regulations in more than a century, it is meant to prevent outbreaks of food born illness. federal prosecutors are now investigating reports that new york city's sanitation workers may have deliberately slowed down the city's cleanup efforts after a deadly post christmas blizzard to protest recent layoffs. it was a green christmas for retailers as americans spent more in december as they did last year. there are at least two new multimillionaires this morning, two winning tickets were sold in last night's megamillions drawing, one in idaho and the

other in washington state. the $355 million jackpot is the fourth largest lottery prize in u.s. history. and good news this morning for the virginia boy who has a severe form of epilepsy, andrew stevens who had been barred from bringing his service dog to school. but now school officials are allowing the boy to bring his dog to school on a trial basis beginning next week. let's now go back to matt, meredith and al. >> hello, al. >> good morning, everybody, let's show you what's happening, first of all the gulf, we have a system that's moving through there that's bringing some rain. some areas picking up one to two inches of rain. to the north, a clipper coming across the great lakes, that's bringing snow from northern minnesota on into parts of western new york with lake-effect snow.

another chilly, foggy start in some spots, but the peninsula right now looking pretty clear this morning. just chilly. grab a jacket on your way out. something that you can take off later because we'll warm up under a full sunshiny day. we have less than a quarter mile visibility right now in livermore, perfect visibility along the peninsula. this morning it is chilly. you might find frost on your wind shield in livermore and gilroy but today we'll end up in the upper 50s. lots of sunshine. andrew cuomo was sworn in as the governor of new york over the weekend, and his girlfriend sandra lee was by his size. here's more on the empire state's new first family. >> usually when a candidate is elected to higher office, you know their name but not the first lady. not the case in this place. it may be the other way around here in new york city.

sandra lee is herself a household name. >> now for that great honey dip. >> reporter: she's perhaps most at home in the kitchen. >> those herbs smell so good. >> sandra lee is one of the food network's stars, the glamorous celebrity chef with simple solutions around the house. she has taken her home making skills to new york's governor's mansion. the state's first girlfriend held the bible for her newly inaugurated boyfriend andrew cuomo when he was sworn into office last week. while an unmarried first couple would surely have raised eyebrows when his father was the top state executive, it doesn't anymore and not here in new york. >> like most first ladies, lee has already adopted a cause, helping new yorkers fight hunger. lee grew up in poverty, the

daughter of an abusive drug addicted mother, even raising her four younger brothers and sisters herself. >> if it wasn't for food banks and if it wasn't for food stamps and the welfare system, that's how i grew up. >> reporter: it's a second shot of love for them both, cuomo recently named one of "people" magazine's sexiest men alive. cuomo's kids are incredibly important to her. the two teenaged girls come first, even featuring them on her cooking show. the modern family went to church together on sunday, still lee admits the governor's parents first told the girls about their dad's love affair. they are all one happy family, complete with a new pet, a cockatoo. because sandra lee and andrew cuomo are not married, lee says she will have no staff, no security detail, but having

authored 23 cookbooks, you don't have to worry, she's doing just fine. she says she'll hire a private security company if it's needed. coming up the mysterious death of brewing heir august busch's girlfriend in his mansion.

think like a fashionista. shop like a maxxinista. fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you. just ahead, michael jackson's inner circle reveals new details about his death. plus a homeless man with a golden voice after your local news. fidelity helped us get to this point, and now we're talking about what comes next. man: we worked together to create a plan to help our money last. woman: so we can have the kind of retirement we want. now, you know how this works. just stay on the line. oh, yeah. fidelity investments. turn here.

nothing starts your day like honey roasted, honey bunches of oats. the perfect balance of crunchy flakes and clusters, with a kiss of golden honey. delicious. and the same calories per serving as special k original. so, try honey roasted, honey bunches of oats! good morning. it's 7:26. wee developing news out of washington. white house press secretary robert gibbs is stepping down from his post. he will become an outside political adviser to the president in his re-election campaign. gibbs says he will leave his post early next month and his successor has not yet been decided. gibbs began working for the president in 2004. time to check the morning commute with mike inouye. >> we had a big backup early on in the commute about 6:30 we started to build. you're holding pretty steady, about mid-parking lot so that's

good news. things are moving smoothly across the upper deck as a result of the metering lights. but no major slowing in the east day. sunol, we have slowing because of fog. >> yeah, the peninsula getting a break from the fog this morning but we have dense patches of fog in the east bay and particularly in the north bay this morning where temperatures are at freezing right now so the possibility of black ice on the bridges and overpasses in the frth bay d y a thris this morning. 57 degrees today. back with more news after the break.

stanford police are asking students to walk in pairs and pay extra attention to their surroundings as officers investigate appen assault on a student. a graduate student was walking when a man came up from behind and placed his hand over her mouth. the man took off when she tried to bite him. she ran to a nearby emergency phone and called for help. more local news in half an hour and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, january 5, 2011. i'm meredith viera alongside matt lauer. coming up, testimony on day one of a hearing to decide if michael jackson's personal physician should be tried on involuntary manslaughter charges. the head of his security detail opened up in court for the first time. just ahead what you haven't heard before about the morning of the pop star's death. also ahead, one father's fight to get his son back after he was kidnapped and taken to

italy by his ex-wife. michael mccarty is still fighting. plus the golden voiced homeless man who's hoping to turn his newfound fame on the internet into a job. let's begin this half hour with a mysterious death inside the mansion of august busch iv. the former ceo of anheiser busch is speaking out for the first time. >> reporter: it really is a candid interview with one of the biggest names in american business. busch now admits he suffers from depression, and his girlfriend's sudden death in his home and in his bed has -- what is his theory of the insomnia -- inside this sprawling estate, august busch iv says he made an awful discovery in bed. his 25-year-old girlfriend

adrian martin was dead. he says he loved this girl with every ounce of my heart. adrian was a divorced mother, raising her 8-year-old boy. busch says i was falling in love with the kid. this is the last photo ever taken of adrian, the day before her death on her first ever helicopter ride with busch. >> mr. busch said he got up, went to make adrian breakfast, a health shake that she likes and brought it back and couldn't wake her and then tried to find a pulse and couldn't find a pulse. >> reporter: a worker in the mansion called 911. >> okay what's the problem? >> this girl is not waking up. >> is she breathing? >> we don't know. >> reporter: according to the police report there were no apparent signs of trauma. relatives say adrian was on the drug trazedon used to treat anxiety and insomnia. busch says she may have overdosed but rules out suicide.

no way he says, things were going good. >> he sounded like a man who was very saddened and shocked by the death of a person to whom he felt very close and in many ways it sounded like he felt that she was his lifeline. >> reporter: the former ceo of anheiser busch and the great great grandson august busch had his own problems and he was treated for depression and what he calls other issues last year. he has a troubleded past too. in 1983, busch crashed a corvette killing his passenger, a 23-year-old woman. no charges were ever filed. in 1985, he was accused of trying to run down two detectives during a police chase. he was acquitted. and to end 2010, his girlfriend adrian martin found dead in his 16-room mansion. >> this sounds mysterious so far. on the one hand you now have the

ex-husband coming out and saying she has a heart condition. but we can't rule out foul play. we don't know what happened. >> reporter: that toxicology report could still be weeks away. bush's lawy busch's lawyer says there's no foul play here. >> a former writer for the "new york times" and covered the busch family extensively. julie, good morning. he sits down and he does this interview and he really opens up. he wasn't guarded, it doesn't at least appear to me. what jumped out at you from the interview? >> i thought it was actually most surprising that he said he's now talking to his father. this is something i studied a lot when i was researching the book. >> what's the source of that tension? >> his parents were divorced when he was a child. his father is a workaholic and always has been. so the only time they were really able to interact was at

the office. >> so the death of his girlfriend, iv seems to have rekindled some kind of relationship with the father. is that something that anybody expects to continue? or is that a temporary thing? >> it could be because his dad knows what it's like to go through hardship. this family has had a history of tragedy. >> august busch is 46. tell me a little bit more about their relationship. did it raise any eyebrows? >> he has been a notorious playboy, admittedly so. people had encouraged him to ease off on that a little bit. and he really hadn't that much. so it didn't really raise eyebrows i wouldn't say. >> he says her death is the hardest thing he ever had to deal with. do you think she provided a little bit of a port in the storm for this man? >> after the company was taken over in 2008, he was absolutely devastated and spiraled into a really deep, dark, emotional

well. and she helped him in that regard. >> he talks about being treated for depression in the past and also other issues. has he admitted substance abuse as well? >> it's something that his colleagues have been worried about. especially in the wake of the deep. they thought he was going to catapult off the deep end. >> you said you think this is one of the most unlucky guys. he has in some ways made his own bed, hasn't he? >> if you run with a certain crowd, you live a fast life, you have a greater propensity to run into situations like this. >> is that a cautionary tale in your view? we talk about vast wealth and money and this family empire, and yet, money can't buy you happiness and emotional security? >> in this case it couldn't buy

him love from his father, at least in the way he wanted it. now another person he has loved has passed away. >> julie macintosh, appreciate your ensight into this. it's 7:36. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by chevy, every model is backed by a 100,000-mile, five-year limited power train warranty. >> you people are from mankato, minnesota? >> yes. >> and what is this thing? >> that's a maverick. >> oh, okay. didn't know that's what a maverick was. let's show you what's going on. we have got another snow threat along the east coast. one area of low pressure over the great lakes friday morning, another developing along the carol coast, spreading a little light snow friday morning. friday night, we have got three different lows developing and we could be seeing some significant

snow from new york to boston. it depends on the track, still too early to call this a blizzard or anything like that. but we have the potential. and then saturday morning, the system moves offshore and we still have energy over the great lakes, a coastal system as well. we do know it's going to be windy, we do know there's going to be snow. just how much and where still remains to be determined. good morning to you, bay area. take a look at the beautiful day shaping up over the peninsula. we have clear skies, great visibility here, but unfortunately the east bay and the north bay seeing a lot of fog. this is fremont right now where you have less than a quarter of a mile of visibility. the same goes for many cities in the north bay. coupled with freezing conditions, you might even run into places of black ice, so take it easy out there. once the fog breaks apart, we'll enjoy lots of sunshine, 57 degrees.

>> andrew, all right, drew. mommy scares me. don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night. >> now there's a hearing underway in los angeles to determine if there's enough evidence to put michael jackson's physician on trial for involuntary manslaughter and day one featured some dramatic testimony. george lewis was inside the courtroom. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. yes, those witnesses described a chaotic scene as dr. conrad murray who admits giving a powerful anesthetic to jackson desperately tried to revive the popfrantically called out for help saying does anybody know how to do cpr? >> conrad murray has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter. in testimony, he described being summoned to jackson's rented

mansion where murray was frantically trying to revive the singer. jackson was lying motionless in bed, his eyes and mouth open. the prosecutor, at that point did he appear alive? mohammad, no. earlier in his opening statement, prosecutor david wallgren said the doctor acted outside of normal standards, in giving the singer propofol, and an anestheticed administered mostly in hospital setting. kenny ortega testified that at one point he was worried about the singer's health when he was pale and looked weak. he testified that he was scolded

by dr. murray for interfering. other witnesses testified that the singer's final rehearsals were full of energy and that jackson was, quote, fantastic. >> michael jackson was in good spirits in the couple of days before he died so to dedunk the notion that he was a hopeless drug addict who would have voluntarily injected unknown quantities of drugs into his system because he was so depressed and so down that he had to do something to get out of it. >> reporter: jackson's mother katherine, brother jackie and sister latoya sat through tuesday's testimony. today's first witness is expected to be alberto alvarez, the jackson's security guard who called 911. the other witnesses have said that murray seemed preoccupied

with the idea of the medical supplies left behind at jackson's estate. police later did recover containers of cream used for skin whitening. and up next, trashing out. why some banks are taking personal possessions from people's homes without t liel ng's them. right after this. okay. [ cellphone rings ] hey. you haven't left yet. no. i'm boarding now. what's up? um, would you mind doing it again? last time. [ engine turns over ] ooh. sweet. [ male announcer ] the all-new chevy cruze with the mychevrolet app. the remote-control car is finally here. well, now she's just playing with us. oh. [ horn honks ] oh. discover customersl are getting five percent

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7:44 now. thousands of foreclosed properties are expected into the market in the next couple of weeks and industry experts fear some of the nation's big este n estebaniesteba banks may be trashing out the homes before actually being foreclosed. >> she lost her husband twice. her first husband was stabbed in a road rage incident. then he lost him again. she says his ashes were taken not by a burglar, but by a bank. a few years after her husband's death, bank of america began foreclosure proceedings on that house. the bank tells nbc news, mimi was more than 18 months delinquent on her mortgage. she filed a lawsuit against bank

of america charges they illegally locked her out and then cleaned her out. >> these were filled with all the little things we collected from our travels. >> all her personal possessions, now gone, according to the suit. without warning. >> i feel violated. i feel violated in 22 years of my history. >> bank of america tells nbc news that it did post a notice on mimi's front door providing her notice. but in most cases a court order is required to physically evict a previous order or tennant. >> it's a shoot first, ask questions later attitude. >> reporter: bank of america says it's researching mimi's complaint. an investigator says he has more than 40 cases around the country. it's usually a mix up in paper work, the bank's right hand not

knowing what the left hand is doing. >> it's large national banks, that's where we're seeing this problem occur most recently. >> reporter: in industry terms, trashout, readying a home for resale. some banks aren't taking the time to follow the rules. >> some banks have called and said you have to be out in 24 hours or we're changing the locks. >> reporter: some banks may repo session more than 100,000 homes this month alone, many fear the problem may only get worse. >> everything that made it a home is gone. >> reporter: for mimi, she says an empty house is hardly worth fighting for anymore. for "today," lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. coming up next, the amazing voice that has turned this homeless man into a viral video sensation. we'll explain that right after this. thank you so much, god bless you. thank you.

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what was i thinking? but i was still skating on thin ice with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol, stop. lipitor is a cholesterol-lowering medication, fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. lipitor is backed by over 18 years of research.

[ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. let's go! [ laughs ] if you have high cholesterol you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. we're back at 7:51 with the latest viral video sensation. a homeless man with a remarkable voice discovered on the side of the road in ohio. >> work for your dollar. say something with that great video voice. >> you're listening to magic 98.9. >> thank you so much, god bless you. we'll be back with more right after these words. >> at 14, i kind of listened to

one of our area radio announcers and i went as a field trip to go meet the guy and he looked nothing like what he sounded like. so i asked him about that and he said to me, listen, radio is defined theater of mind. so when he said theater of mind, i said, hey, i can't be an actor, i can't been an on air personality. but the voice just became something of a development over the years and i went to school for it and then alcohol and drugs and a few other things became a part of my life and i have two years clean and i'm trying hard to get back and hopefully somebody from one of these television or radio stations will say hey i need a voice over or i need something. >> what a voice he has. >> i mean that is so cool. he's got a beautiful voice and i like the story. you know, a guy in need of a second chance, no question about it. >> absolutely. >> so we're going to fly mr. williams in here tomorrow and talk to him here in studio and maybe see if we can help out a

little bit. >> get him some voice over work which would be nice. he's certainly deserving of it. and just ahead the grocery store items being downsized just not the price. >> after your local news and weather. this weight-loss counselor. and she looks like... a matchstick. and she's obviously never dieted, or ever eaten anything. [ laughs ] and she says to me, "where would you like to be in six months?" six months? i need to be in a pink bridesmaid's dress in one month. i just want to be able to zip it up! [ female announcer ] sound familiar? then try the slim-fast 3-2-1 plan. 3 snacks, 2 shakes or meal bars, and 1 balanced meal. clinically proven. ridiculously simple. slim-fast. who has time to slim slowly?

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good morning, everybody. the time is 7:56. i'm brent cannon. we were talking about that guy they just showed on the "today" show. the guy's name is ted williams and he's just gotten an offer from the nfl network. >> so the voice and the youtube, that's outstanding. >> i hope he doesn't take my job. you guys, we'll look at southbound 680 coming through walnut creek. that's where we're slow through the walnut creek interchange. 24 also slowing. likely some fog through the area. things clear up by the time you get to the dublin interchange. 880 slow southbound through fremont. north coming out of fremont as well. look over at the south bay where northbound routes are also slowing. the commute is returning to the

area. >> oh, yes. in fremont you have less than a quarter of a mile of visibility right now so you really want to take it easy, especially in the north bay as well. we've been seeing retuduced visibilities in this area all morning long. temperatures pretty close to freezing across the board will gradually rise up into the 50s. right now you're at 30 degrees in gilroy. later on today 57 degrees. brent has more news right after this. in my wedding dress with the help of your amazing light soups. you know they're the only ones endorsed by weight watchers. they taste so good. now we're adding even bigger pieces of white meat chicken. oh, so when's the big day? oh, we got married years ago. but the point is, i fit in it! are you wearing it... right now? yes! well, good for you. [ shopper ] excuse me. oh, so sorry. you look nice. oh, thank you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

san francisco taxicabs may increase meter rates for the first time in eight years. the san francisco municipal transportation agency agreed to consider an increase after hearing cab driver testimony during yesterday's meeting. cab drivers pay $104 to rent their car each shift. any money they make beyond that goes into their own pocket, but many drivers claim they can't make enough. san francisco cabs charge $2.25 per mile and 45 cents for every minute stuck in traffic. the average cost for a cab ride in the city is about $16. more local news coming up in half an hour and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. we'll see you back in a bit.

8:00 now on a wednesday morning. 8:00 now on a wednesday morning. it's the fifth d > 8:00 now on a wednesday morning, it's the fifth day of january, 2011. a little brisk out here on the plaza, 34 degrees, but you know what? mr. roker says despite the blue skies of today, we could be in for a little snow later in the week. it's possible. it depends on the formation of the system friday morning into the weekend. i don't want to get people

worked up yet. >> the aforementioned al roker. >> we have a story that is a father's desperate fight. michael mccarty was in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife when she kidnapped their son and took him to italy. even though mccarty has been awarded full custody of his son, he's still fighting to bring liam back to the united states. he's going to share his story in just a little while. it's remarkable. you notice some of the prices of your favorite items like o.j. or ice cream or toilet paper, paper goods, they haven't changed, prices are the same. but the product is smaller now. when you look inside, there is less of it. coming up, we're going to explain why that's happening with all that shrinkage and what you can do about it. >> okay. and is your kid sharing too much information online? this can be a big problem, not only are there safety issues, but could what they share online cost them a job later on in

life? we'll have the details. >> a lot to get to. you tried to get me, you didn't. let's go inside, ann curry is standing by at the news desk. >> as the new congress is sworn in this afternoon, john boehner will take over as speaker of the house. house republicans are vowing to slash federal spending and dismantle health care reforms. the senate is still led by democrats but by a smaller margin. >> press secretary, robert gibbs is leaving the white house. his tdetar t departure takes pl the state of the union address. there are more signs the economy may be improving. erin burnett has details for us. >> i'm just rejoycing about the three-day reprieve we're getting on taxes. gm, ford, chrysler, all double figure increases.

gm, the stock is up 13%. there's optimism there. the fed also came out with minutes from its latest meeting and said guess what, the economy is still improving, that added to optimism, we did get that one little gain. one worry on wall street. gold had its biggest drop in six months. so a lot of people are worried about that. gold was up 30% last year. but the silver lining, gold was up 30%. >> isn't a drop in gold a probable sign that people have more confidence in the economy? >> when you put money in gold, it's sort of like putting it in the proverbial mattress. when they decide they believe in the market, they may take money out of gold and put it into the market. bad news could be good news there. police are on high alert in pakistan after today's funeral for a provintial governor was

assassinated by one of his own body guards. he was targeted because he was a moderate opposed to islamic extremism. >> case may be on its way to the u.s. supreme court. the worst of australia's record flooding may be over. rivers peaked today without causing anymore major damage. a week of heavy rain flooded an area larger than france and germany combined and caused billions of dollars in losses. a january tradition in northern columbia is living up to its dangerous reputation. at least 48 people have been injured in week during amateur bullfights. on average, 20 people are killed in the amateur fights each year. and talk about taking the wrong turn, with just 200 meters to go at this weekend's tokyo marathon, matsuki turned right instead of going straight and so lost the first place standing he had been holding for most of the 26.2 miles of the race. heart breaking. it is now 8:04.

let's now go back to al who's got a check of the weather. >> that's a tough one, ann. we have got some guys from minnesota. msu. and so this is like a heat wave for you guys? >> we're used to like negative 6, negative 20, come on. >> this is nothing. >> you guys on spring break? >> yeah, take those shirts off. yeah. come on yeah! get ready, ladies. wow, suddenly our senior producer don nash is pretty excited. let's show you what what's going on as far as your forecast is concerned. san francisco, the bay area, nbc, sunny and cool, 53 degrees. look at some of the afternoon temperatures. teens in minnesota. stop that. we're looking at 30s in the

pacific northwest, 60s and 70s through the gulf. you can see heavy rain in the pacific northwest. wet weather down through the gulf, where it's -- we just took a poll around the newsroom, put it back on, buddy. good morning. a foggy start for some locations. our san bruno cam. look at the golden gate bridge. absolute clarity here. perfect visibility and as we head throughout the morning, i think that's going to become more of the case. we still have patchy, dense fog in the north bay and in the east bay, as well as very chilly temperatures. you're at 32 degrees right now in livermore. 57 is your high. lots of sunshine this afternoon. have a great day. >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al. thanks, have you noticed that the size of certain products at the grocery store is getting smaller? while you're paying the same amount. att e going to tabalf thouk ri af teal . to new orleans twice as !

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♪ take the special k challenge, with so many ways to lose up to six pounds in two weeks. what will you gain when you lose? get started at specialk.com. back at 8:10, a growing trend at your local grocery store. according to consumer reports, manufacturers downsizing popular products by as much as 20%. yet the prices, they remain the same. >> reporter: lana didn't notice anything unusual, but some of her basic products, things like toilet paper were a bit off.

the labels and packages on her favorite items look the same, the prices hadn't changed, but what's inside had. there's less. >> i was very shocked that it's been that way for six months or, you know, and so they are going to feel like it was a sneak attack on them. >> according to consumer reports, manufacturers have kept prices of many brand names steady by reducing the size of the package. tropicana squeezed a small glass of orange juice out of their container. enough for a grilled cheese sand wish. a pint used to be 16 ounces, now it's 14. >> i think it's terrible. . >> reporter: manufacturers have given a variety of reasons for

their slimming packages, among them the highers cost of food and shipping. hebrew national says their hot dogs cost more to make than regular frank. kraft had their smaller packages. >> your money's not going as far as you need it to. >> todd morning to you. we joke a lot about shrink an here, but this is a common problem for consumers. >> consumer reports have pointed out since the 1960s. it came to a crescendo, the one

pound pack that's now barely over 10 ounces, now it's a broad spectrum of products not just food, but every day household products as well. >> the 64 ounce container is down to 59 ounces. basically they have taken out a small glass of orange juice for the same price. >> the company said because of the big freeze in florida last year and their customers prefer that they keep the price the same and give you less. the reality is other companies haven't done that. you're paying more for the same product and people -- it's a staple. people buy it every day. >> if they don't have a freeze, will they go back to the 64 ounces? >> that's the funny thing. we hear over and over again, hey, look, our hands are tied, prices are going up, commodity prices, but how come when

commodity prices tumbled a year ago, prices didn't go down or the sizes didn't go up. so it seems like a one-way argument. >> haagen-dazs used to be a pint but now it's 14 ounces so the consumer lost the size of a small bowl of ice cream. by downsizing we're balancing our need to cover our increased costs with the realizization that our country is in recession. >> haagen-dazs is a product that typically weighs more than any other product out there. they're saying if you want it you're going to have pay for it. when products like orange juice or ice cream are in clearly recognizable prices, people know it's been shrunk. oreos come in 12 different size package

packages, but when they shrink these legacy sizes, people notice. >> and the low fat version? >> the same thing with kraft macaroni and cheese spirals, we charge more for them because we sell less and it's harder to make. but you have to question if it really is just making a little bit extra back on the profits. >> you talk about the ivory and the toilet paper, but there are some prubs that have not changed. >> there are some good guys out there. >> usually a lot of companies follow in lock step, when the big guy reduces its size, they follow suit. but a half a gallon is still a half gallon at ben and jerry's. >> stock and save and buy in bulk. >> that's right, warehouse clubs

are a good source of everyday low prices. and up next, a father who's desperate to get his son back after he was kidnapped and taken to italy by his yrsur fo aea y.rs ago .thatht y os loue? y i would consider the scale my frenemy. ♪ [ woman ] i don't like scales. i've been avoiding this. pride? courage! i like this. [ woman ] that's what it should say! [ female announcer ] take the special k challenge. lose up to six pounds in two weeks, and see what you gain. h th itecwe spial k challenge, you can have the cereal you love and so much more. design your free, personalized plan at specialk.com. no pills, no pain. how can you get pain relief

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we'll talk to michael in a moment, but hoda kotb has his story. >> reporter: this a heart breaking battle that no parent should have to endure. they look like any father and son playing in the park. from the pictures, it's hard to tell all they have gone through or just how much it means to michael mccarty to simply have his little boy at his side. even for a few hours. >> it's sad that i am going back once again without my son. >> reporter: it all began over four years ago after michael a photographer and print maker in new york learned his ex-wife had kidnapped his 5-year-old son liam and taken him to rome. did you freak out? >> i freaked out. my head exploded. >> reporter: michael and his ex-wife were in a bitter custody battle. an italian native manuela had

been forbidden by court order from taking liam, that didn't stop her. she was put on the fbi's most wanted list. >> i did not see him for two years after that. >> reporter: with liam in italy, mile was cleared of abuse charges and won full custody of liam in the u.s. meanwhile italian authorities diagnosed manuela with psychiatric problems, and took liam away from him, and placed him not with his father but at this italian orphanage. and at a custody hearing manuela reabducted liam and disappeared. months passed, then one day liam turned up at this police station alone. manuela was arrested an charged with criminal abduction. her trial is expected to begin this month in rome. as for liam, he's in foster care

with his mother's sister. >> he and i were inseparable from the minute i arrived until i left. >> reporter: ambassador susan jacobs says the u.s. state department has spent hundreds of hours on liam's case. >> we visit liam, we talked to italian social services and we have done what we can. we want a resolution and actually the resolution that we want for liam is that he be returned to the united states with his father. >> reporter: but for now, liam remains in italy and in new york, his father has little more than videotapes of his now 9-year-old little boy. >> i'm parenting in the only way that i'm being allowed and that's by fighting for him every stay. >> reporter: we asked ambassador jacobs when this case may be resolved and she said with any luck by the beginning of the summer.

>> michael mccarty is with us now, michael, good morning to you. i don't get it. i'm shaking my head. i started reading this last night. i can't think of any reason why you're not with your son. you have won every legal battle. the italian courts says your ex-wife has psychiatric problems. why in the world would liam be with a foster family right now. >> that's a question nobody can answer and it's very frustrating because there's been several points in this journey where i thought it was going to come into an end and i was told this is going to be resolved very shortly. >> have you asked why is my son better off living in a foster situation after having lived in an orphanage and not with his biological father. >> there's been excuses, you haven't been together because

you've been separated, you live too far away, he's stable now, he seems to be doing well, he's been through so many changes. it's one excuse after another and it gets very, very frustrating. >> you had no contact with liam for two years and then you had more regular contact. i understand you got to go on a short vacation with liam not long ago. so you have now seen changes in this young man, in your son? >> yes. >> how is all this impacting him. >> outwardly, he's doing much better, but you have to remember that during the course of this, he has at times been physically ill, i mean he was really in bad shape for a period. he's doing better now, obviously than when he was in an orphanage. but he lives with a high level of anxiety and that's what i'm fighting to bring this to an end and pleading with them. >> what's it like to have to say goodbye on these visits? >> it's horrible for me. >> and for liam i would imagine. >> yeah, his father was torn

from him once and then i come back into his life and then i go away and it's confusing for him. he doesn't know who to trust. >> does he have any contact with your ex-wife, his mother. >> yes, he does, but very restricted and supervised what they call protected visitation, she's not allowed to be alone with him and it's very limited. >> i don't mean to ask you a question that's going to get you angry again. how long can this go on? hoda said perhaps a few more months, but you've been told that before. >> i have been told that many times, but we are in a case that's pending. this is technically an emergency hearing, a proceeding. i hoped it would end by christmas time. i thought that he might come home by christmas. and we may get a resolution now by the end of the school year. there's talk -- but, you know, i have to remain hopeful and remain positive and do everything i need to do but i have been burned a lot of times here. so it's a tough situation. >> it's one of these things controlling or managing

expectations because you don't want to get your hopes up too high and have them dashed again. michael, we will follow this story as we have some others in the past and hopefully be there and share in good morning, time now is 8:26. i'm brent cannon. mike, keeping track of those tracks. ten-minute delay. >> minor delay out of san len leandro, equipment problems. keep that in mind, overall, tracks moving pret i can't smoothly and roadways, speeds tipping down below 50 in many spots, bay bridge toll plaza, east shore freeway and through oakland, closer to 45 and in spots through downtown oakland slow approaching the embarcadero.

680 and 580, foggy east bay hills, speeds in 40s and that's an issue. fog for the morning commute. >> for the next couple of hours and a lot of sunshine. best news i can bring you, we hit our lows and all uphill in terms of temperatures from here. less than a quarter of mile visibility in livermore, take it easy wherever your headed, keep low beams handy. temperature-wise, lows checked in, 38 in hayward. brent is back with more news after this. mary! hey!

wo you look great! thanks! it's this new wish yourself thin pgram. i just wish it and it happens. it's probably those fiber one bars you're eating. i know they help me stick to my diet. the bars are 90 calories and the fiber helps you feel full. 90 calories and high fiber. so that's why this diet thing is working. but it's weird because my wish for lorenzo came true. [ male announcer ] fiber one 90 calorie bars. hungry no. results yes.

police are reporting an unusual spike in baby formula thefts. tracy police say four case have been reported recently. officer say formula can be used to mix in and cut with cocaine. it is also possible that thieves could be stealing the formula because they can resell it later on. more local news in half an hour, "today" returns in less than a minute.

8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the fifth of january, 2011. we have a small but energetic crowd soaking up the sunshine in rockefeller plaza. it's cold out there so we're happy to see them as always. on sites like facebook and twitter, you can easily share

all aspects of your life if you want to. but what should you do if you think your teenager is revealing tmi, too much information online. also some research that's going to raise some eyebrows that says that babies as young as nine months old are obese. can a child that young actually be obese and if so, what's a parent supposed to do about it? we're going to be talking about that in just a moment. and mark bittman will be here, he has three recipes that he says will change the world. >> i used his book all the time, his book about how do you cook everything. also coming up, talking about changing your world, we have got some anti-aging products, apparently some really good ones

coming up for 2011. but first, we'll have a look at the weather. >> this forecast will change your live. let's take a look and see what's happening for today. gulf coast, you're going to have some rain, some sleet in rtis miprnsssi mpisissippi and alabama, heavy rain in the pacific northwest, light snow around the great lakes. then for tomorrow, we have got some snow showers again in the eastern great lakes, into the ohio valley. frigid weather in the plains, mild through the southwest. going to be wet down in central and southern florida. good morning to you. well, we still have some fog hanging around but the good news is for the most part it's lifted above the highway, so visibility has improved much better visibility in the east and north bay in particular. and temperatures right now are mostly in the upper 30s. if you're headed out right not golden gate bridge, take a look, a beautiful clear sky that you get to drive through. 57 today. have a fantastic wednesday.

>> that's your latest weather, don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. it will change your life. >> a lot of good information, no question. coming up, how to tell if your kids are oversharing information online and what that could do to their lives down the road. but first this is "today" on nbc.

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it was a big statement for me of... (voice breaks) i'm alive. we can do this. we can do this. we can rid the world of this terrible disease... so that no mother... granddaughter... sister... daughter... mother... go through what my wife had to go through. this is more than just three days. this is a lifetime. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. back now at 8:35. this morning on "today's" family. if your teen is revealing too much information online in this age of constant communication, social net working sites have become the norm for sharing details about your life. for teenagers, knowing when enough is enough can be tough to figure out. if you spend any time at all around teenagers, you know the drill. you may not know much about who

they're with or what they're doing, but it's usually there for the world to see online. >> it's kind of embarrassing not knowing what's going on with your daughter, but the rest of the world does. >> patty mckenna found out here then 17-year-old daughter meredith had a new boyfriend from somebody who read about it on facebook. >> i posted it just to tell all my friends at once, just to get it out there and not tell one person individually. >> while it's a convenient way for meredith to let friends know about her new relationship, mom didn't like it one bit. >> when you only use technology as your form of communication, you aren't engaged to the computer screen that you're using. it is a wall. >> while posting on a social net working site is the preferred mode of communication among teens, there are lasting repercussions. >> i think a lot of people

they'll just post whatever they can. >> you need to be vigilant of how you're representing yourself. >> even with privacy settings, there are still big questions about where all those pictures and posts might end up. >> if you're thinking about your future and you're thinking about the fact that someday you may get a job, you may not want to put out every single thing. >> i don't want something to haunt me ten years, 15 years down the road. >> she checks her daughter's facebook page daily. >> the new rule is that if you don't post anything on facebook that's a status change or a life change without informing your family first. >> dr. jenna taylor is a psychiatrist here in new york city. good morning to you both. let me start with you, we have spent a long time on the show talking about sexting and online bullying. but you want to draw attention to oversharing online. exactly what it is.

>> oversharing is exactly that, it's putting too much information out there with no filter and it's even more common than bullying affecting some of these more dramatic issues that we hear about, which are certainly important issues, but oversharing is something we're all guilty of and kids especially live in that bubble. >> there are greater repercussions when it comes to college recruitment or to getting a job for a teenager. >> certainly embarrassment is one factor, but what we have seen and we reported on it in teen vogue is that kids have lost scholarship offers at school when schools have checked into their sort of social profile, they have lost job offers, internship offers, even baby sitting gigs. you know, a mom can go and see what her babysitter's up to and say i don't know if i like this person's judgment. >> the problem is that they feel what's the worst thing that can happen. that's their mindset so you have

to change their mindset. >> they think everybody's doing it so what is the problem? and teens underestimate the importance of what they're sharing. for parents the message is you need to monitor, you need to talk -- this is part of the new parenting is understanding what they're online behavior is. >> so what meredith's mother is doing the right thing? she's checking on the facebook page. >> privacy for your teen goes tout window and it's about open communication and understanding the rules and parents understanding social media, not to be afraid of it but to help their teens understand that it's not okay to share personal information about what you're doing all the time, you know, sexting, describing yourself because there are people who take advantage of that. >> a lot of kids are going to say that privacy does matter and trust does as well. and why aren't you trusting me? >> the parent has to grapple with this line between privacy and helping them to learn coping behaviors for social media because it's not going away and

kids need to learn how they can participate in it. it's not realistic to tell kids to not get involved. >> when you talk about teens and drinking, you talk about teens and premarital sex, most people think that's a private matter, but as a parent, it really is about sharing expectations and being able to talk to your teen and online behavior. >> you have some tips for parents to help teens maintain their privacy online and keep what shouldn't be on that off of there. first you say assume that kids are in fact oversharing. >> absolutely, 70% of teenagers regularly update their status during the day, that means at school and at home. they're also accessing social media without being at home. >> what does that mean updating your status? >> just think what are you doing now. >> right now i'm on the "today" show with meredith and amy.

it's just that coup that's a normal part of being a teen and a kid nowadays. >> privacy settings shift, which is something i didn't realize. >> they do, and people sometimes think they have privacy when they don't. i think the important thing for people to understand is that once you put it out there into the internet, on to a computer, it's out there, it's very hard to take things back. it's always out there in one way or another. >> even with the privacy settings? >> even with the privacy settings. it's safer for kids to understand that they need to really think about what they put out there. we say stop and think before you post. >> you say look, you should take control of your online persona. >> definitely. >> and a good rule of thumb for parents to say is to teach their kids, would you walk up to a stranger and say i did this or show them that or say -- if the answer is no, don't post it. >> isn't that the grandma test? if you can't tell your grandma,

then don't put it online. >> just like as a mom you want your daughters or sons to talk to you first, but you should also inquire what are you sharing with your friends face to face versus what do you want the whole world to know and emphasize the importance of face to face communication and really having an emotional bond which at the end of the day is going to mean much more than social media. could babies as young as nine months old be obese? surprising new research. but first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:44. this morning on "today's" health, we're talking about baby fat. one-third of babies in this country are either obese or at

risk for obesity. so how do you know when those adorable chubby cheeks are actually something to worry about. the assistant professor of u-mass medical school. good morning to you. i think a lot of people are going to worry that that is an alarmist piece of research. how do you feel about it? >> it's important for parents to develop sort of a good attitude toward something, when to worry and when not to worry. we don't want to alarm them very much, but what this study shows is that when kids are over the 95th percentile when they're only nine months old they are at higher risk of being overweight as they get older and older so it's nice for parents to know that their risk is a little bit higher. >> are we talking about something that is a genetic predisposition or are we talking about something that the parents

are doing wrong, are they feeding this baby too much? >> we like to not take a judgmental approach at that point. and we also don't think it's genetic. it really has changed quite a bit in the past few years. what many people think is happening is that perhaps it's the mothers because americans in general are more overweight, you tend to have more overweight babies as well. >> studies show that children who were obese at nine months of age had a greater chance of being obese by the age of two. and then it continues down the road after that? do they have a greater chance of being obese at 5, 10 and adult? >> that's exactly what the concern is. when you're overweight, it's hard to move out of that category. there's good news, because you can actually change as well. about half of babies that are considered obese can then become normal weighted as well. >> people are going to look at their babies and they my baby is

overweight, i'm going to put my baby on a diet. here you've got 9-month-olds who are at the age of development, it's a crucial time in their life and are you then putting them at risk by cutting back on certain foods. what do they eat at this page by the way? >> most babies at that age will just have formula or breast milk and some sort of mushed baby food. we don't want to put kids on diets. what we do want to do is educate parents about how do you know when your baby is hungry, what are the signs? when a baby's upset, do you just soothe them by feeding them more or are there other things you can do? and perhaps we can educate people to better respond to their kids rather than just feeding them. >> it's about knowing the signs of hunger as opposed to stopping one feeding a day or cutting back on portions. >> particularly overnight when kids get up and they're fussey, as a parent, you kind of want to feed them, maybe they'll go back to sleep.

that might not be the best thing to do. same goes in the daytime as well. >> people who have been fighting the battle of the bulge if you will for their entire lives. we had a couple the other day that said their eating habits were ingrained at a very young age. >> as parents we can't change everything about how our kids are going to grow up. but if he set them on the right path in infant si, and early childhood. let's go from that to three meals that will change your life. mark bittman shares the recipe with us, but first this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] when your child's coughing, can't breathe, new icy hot no-mess vapor gel for kids soothes airways with cherry-scented vapors. new icy hot no-mess vapor gel. [ sighs ]

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back now at 8:50, on how to cook everything "today." mark bittman is a "new york times" columnist. people are making resolutions in the new year, one for many people are to go on a diet. >> it's not so much a diet as a way to eat. the way to eat is to cook and the way to cook is to cook simply. these three recipes are recipes

that really can change people's lives. cooking, you're using real ingredie ingredients, you know what's going into it, you can control the amount of fat, you can control the amount of fiber, you can control all this stuff and the result is that you're eating a much better diet and save ain ton of money also. >> three things you say will change your life and change the world, first off is a stir fry. >> any stir fry can use any vegetable or intense protein food like chicken. you brown the chicken and then you put in some broccoli. >> like you said, it could be any veggie you want. >> mushrooms, we use some garlic and ginger, a little bit of celery. i mean the idea is you're not going to cook things in a big wok, you cook things in stages.

>> but you took everything together, which is great. >> you cook in two stages, first the chicken and then everything else. the chicken you would like to brown a little bit. the point is any vegetable, any protein, garlic, ginger, a little bit of soy and you wind up with something kind of like this. ten or 15 minutes later. and this is, again, it's about a half a pound of chicken for four people. a lot of broccoli and mushrooms, you serve this over rice. >> and you've got a good meal. >> and you've got a really nice meal. we'll get to eating it at the end. >> let's move on from this. the second recipe that you recommend is lentils and rice? >> this is your classic beans and rice combination and this has been east eaten by people

all over the world. you can use any beans you want, any grain you want and you can shove in some sausage, as they say in the godfather, right? little bit of garlic. we were getting these ready before. >> people are sometimes intimidated by beans, the whole notion of cooking beans. >> lentils cook in 40 minutes, you don't really have to pay much attention to them. you've got this basic vegetable combination here, some lentils, we're using brown rice which also takes about 40 minutes, that's pretty much it. but again, any grain, any legume, any combination of vegetables. >> and you can turn this into a soup if you want to? >> more water and it's a soup.

like i said, if you want sausage, bacon, chicken, you've got that and make this look a little bit nicer. >> let's move on to the chopped salad. why is chopped salad a meal that will change your life, mark? >> well, here you're looking at, again, any vegetable that you want. and the only preparation is to slice the radishes, we have chopped red and yellow pepper, the string beans we cook for two minutes before so that they're tender. and, again, this can have lettuce, this can have any other vegetables you want, precooked vegetables, leftovers, again you can add meet. >> pigs to the trough. >> you want some dressing? >> yes, dressing. >> a tiny bit of lemon use and olive oil. >> you could put mustard in this. >> here's what it looks like.

>> it took very pretty. >> the thing is that each of these can be made in literally thousands of different ways. >> change the world. >> and actually the next -- >> change your life and change the world. >> you're also working on a book about how to turn back time, as well? >> yes. >> and again every recipe is 30 minutes or less which is great. >> this one's even faster. the lentils and rice. >> and again, mark, if you just learn to cook, you can make a better meal, a cheaper meal and a healthier meal. >> if you're eating stuff like this, you're obviously in great shape. >> and you have in great shape. thank you veokuc coh., buti don start. after your local news and weather. i

good morning, everybody. time is 8:56. i'm brent cannon, checking in with mike, getting the latest on the morning commute. >> some delays in walnut creek, the accident at sycamore valley road, and around 24 interchange, and not major surprise for folks

but a lot heavier than last couple of weeks. northbound 880, slow past the coliseum south, southbound slows down at highway 92 and over the water you see some haze still hanging a round. more news after this.

drivers in the south bay might be in for some bumps in the roo dad today. lots of potholes along major roadways. monterey road in san jose for example looks like minefield these days. crews are expected to start repairs today. cal trans says the day after the storms are often the busiest for road workers. could also be some of the slowest for drivers because then there are lots of closures and

detours. another update in half an hour. "today" returns in about a minute. see you in a bit. shift your weight forward onto the left foot. take the right leg up, holding the inner arch of the foot... introducing instant action alerts, only from chase. left arm up... manage your account and help avoid overdrafts with a click of a button. just reply to the alert with how much you want to transfer. inhale, all the way up... so you always stay in balance. ...to crescent pose. chase what matters. just four more times. ♪

we're back with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, it's the fifth day of january, 2011. say hi to the people who stuck it out this morning here at rockefeller plaza despite the temperatures that have actually decreased by a degreer two since we went on the air. it's 33, going up into the mid 30s and then al says maybe some snow. >> friday into saturday. >> we look forward to that. not too bad. i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales and al roker. coming up in this half hour if you are waiting with baited breath for the big wedding of william and kate coming up at

the end of april, we have got some more information from london this morning, things like the arrival, the route of the arrival, the route of the parade, the receptions. >> what she is going to use for transportation. >> come right. we'll talk more about that as we get a live report from buckingham palace later on. >> okay. and then also, you know, of course, it's cold and flu season. so a lot of questions about whether or not vitamin c, washing your hands, all of that, certainly can help you. but what you should be doing as well after you start feeling that scratchy throat and itchy nose. we've got a 24-hour plan to hopefully help you fight off a cold. >> is there really something you can do once you feel it or are you just basically done for a week? >> a lot of people think they can shorten the duration of the cold. >> at least make it feel less. all right. and then in today's money 911, if you happen to inherit some money, what should you do, invest it, pay off your mortgage, save it for emergencies? and we'll talk about commercial paper. what is it, is it a good investment for you?

our money 911 panel of experts will be here to answer that and so many other questions. >> let's go inside, ann is standing inside with the headlines. we begin this morning with news that as the new congress is sworn in this afternoon, ohio republican john boehner takes over as speaker of the house, and house republicans are vowing to slash federal spending and dismantle the health care reform. last night, president obama signed the most significant overhaul of food safety regulations in nearly a century. it is meant to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness. the house republicans are planning to fight the new law and its 1.4 billion price tag. here's some good news. taxpayers getting extra time to file their federal tax returns this year. the usual april 15th deadline has been extended by three days because of a district of columbia holiday. it was a green christmas for retailers as americans spent more in december than they did at the same time last year. auto sales also jumped 11% from the year before. that's another positive sign for the economy.

a spill of liquified animal fat has closed part of the houston shipping channel. gateway to the nation's busiest oil port. the coast guard says 15,000 gallons of beef fat surged into the channel on tuesday, when a storage tank rup at youred. officials say the spill is not likely to have an impact on oil refinery operations. the worst of australia's record flooding may be over. rivers paek peaked without causing major damage. an area larger than france and germany combined and caused billions of dollars in losses. new details on the royal wedding. we've got nbc's stephanie gosk out in front of buckingham palace with the latest on this major story. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. you know, the wedding day starting to take shape with these new details. we learned that kate middleton will be traveling by car with her father to westminster abby. the ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m., a bit of a departure from

the charles and diana wedding in '81. diana took a glass carriage. some are saying it's part of their effort understated to be tough economic times. she will travel along the mall. the horse-guard parade, as well as parliament the square on the route. and then once the couple is married, they will return by horse drawn carriage together along that same route back here to buckingham palace, where there will be two receptions. the first will be held by the queen, and shell invite dignitaries, family and friends and it will be more of an official and grander reception. and then afterwards, it will be a more intimate affair that's being thrown by prince charles with dancing and some -- and dinner. it will be more family and friends. we've heard also that prince william has said he wants more contemporary music for that event. so i don't know, maybe we'll get a little lady gaga or something. ann? >> get your groove on. all right, thanks a lot, stephanie gosk this morning. and the united airlines

flight with 255 passengers and crew on board was forced to land in toronto on monday night. the emergency, spilled coffee. according to transportation officials, the pilot tipped a cu cup of java on the plane's communication equipment, triggering emergency codes, including a signal that usually is used in the event of a hijacking. and in antarcticantarctica,r klutzy penguin pounced on a giant sleeping seal that he apparently mistook for a rock. while he did ruin the seal's nap, it seems the seal might just have overreacted just a little bit. those are some of the top stories at five minutes past the hour. now let's get a check of the weather from al. that was great. anyway. let's take a look and show you what's going on for all your penguin weather. we've got some wet weather through the gulf. that's bringing some frozen precipitation in parts of

northern alabama into northern georgia. 1 to 2 inches of rain right along the gulf. and then as we move to the north, we've got some snow coming across the great lakes with a clipper system that's going to bring some light snow, generally about 1 to 3 inches, although there could be some heavier amounts between buffalo, syracuse, watertown, lake effect action. there's what' back at you. good morning to you bay area. looking good and clear along the peninsula. still have patchy, dense fog to con tend within the north and east bay. if you're waking up in the east bay heading north, give yourself more time and take it easy. temperatures rebounded into the upper 30s, low 40s and later today, full sunshine, 57 degrees in your forecasted, warmer into thursday, 60. back with more news after this. ♪ money, money money now it's time for today's money 191.

our crack team this morning, "today" financial editor gene shats key, david backe, and the author of "debt free for life" and sharon epperson's personal correspondent. good morning, everybody. happy new year. let's get started. first up, we've got an e-mail from lydia from indiana. lydia writes, i just came into some money, talked to financial planners about what to do. one recommendation, put some in a roth i.r.a. another interesting idea, commercial paper. can you let me know? what is commercial paper? >> commercial paper is a very, very short-term corporate loan. but individuals don't really buy commercial paper very often for their portfolios. what they buy are very, very ultra short-term bond funds, and they also buy money market funds. and what you need to do is exactly what you're doing. talk to those financial advisers and figure out a comprehensive plan. the worst thing that you could

do is just go out and buy something willy nilly. instead, you really have an opportunity to do some planning for your life, figure out how much of that money you can tax shelter. for example, in that roth i.r.a., in a 401(k) at work. and then develop a real asset allocation strategy, the right amount in stocks, in bonds, in cash, to get you from here to where you want to be tomorrow. >> so take some time. >> take some time. whenever you get a windfall, the worst thing you can do is anything for the next six months to a year. instead, sit on the money and think about it. >> alrighty. good advice. now let's go to a video. this is mary lou from kentucky. let's get her thoughts. >> i'm going to retire in two years and i need help restructuring my retirement finances. my biggest question is about the ppgc. i've worked for 25 years for a large well-run company and i have a 401(k) that i contributed 16% to for 25 years with a 6% company match. i'll invest the 401(k) when i retire. i also have a pension benefit.

the pension fund is insured by the ppgc. i'll either take the lump sum or take the level income with life annuity option. is the pension fund safe for the annuity option? and to what extend does the ppgc protect a pension plan? >> what's a ppgc. >> okay. so the ppgc.gov, the pension guarantee corporation. that's who insures pension funds across america. there are 44 million people right now that are in pension plans, and those pension plans are again insured by the federal government, the ppgc. i would recommend you go to the ppgc.gov website. because when i tell that they're backed by the ppgc, that doesn't mean all of your benefits are insured. here's what i would suggest. nine years as a financial adviser. in nine years, i only had one client take a fixed annuity payment from their pension plan. they all did a lump sum

rollover. so my suggestion to you, and, again, you should meet with a financial planner on this. my suggestion to you is that you do an i.r.a. rollover that will basically give you a lump sum. that money can be rolled over into i.r.a. account, you'll have no taxes, no penalties. then if you really want to have a guaranteed investment like an annuity, if it financial adviser or yourself can always buy that annuity for you, but then you don't have to worry about the issue of the pension and whether or not the insurance plan of the american government is going to be safe enough to cover default pensions. our biggest challenge right now with the pension guarantee benefit corporation is pensions in america are under23u7bd funded. so the amount of money cannot cover the deficit. and that is a issue and something people need to know about. >> you may not be covered for as much as that lump sum. you're probably only covered for $54,000 for the year. so if you're getting more than that, then it doesn't necessarily make sense to take that fixed amount. you want that lump sum, you want

control. thanks, guys. let's go to the phone now. this is al from mountain home, arkansas. good morning, al. what's your question? >> caller: good morning. my question is, i'm going to receive some money in the near future, and i'm retired on social security disability. and my question is, should we pay off the mortgage of the house which we owe 12 more years at 6 and a quarter percent or should we look into a reverse mortgage? but by paying off the mortgage, won't leave me very much money left in case we need an emergency. >> all right. so sharon, what do you think? >> well, al, i have a couple questions for you. first of all, how old are you? >> caller: i'm 63. >> and how old is your wife? >> caller: 55. >> and so listen, let me ask you also how much money you're getting and how much mortgage balance is. >> caller: okay. probably getting about a half of what the payoff is on the

mortgage. i have about half of that. >> okay. so listen, at the age of 63 or 64 and 55, one of the things that you are looking into, the reverse mortgage really won't make sense, because you're both on that mortgage and you both have to be 62 or older to get a reverse mortgage. so it doesn't really make sense. ask it's usually a last resort, i think, for most people. you need to look at several other options. one of the things is, you're getting this money, and you still have some time that you could spend to pay off that mortgage. you may be able to pay off that mortgage and still have some money left over for an emergency fund. you're worried about that, but it seems to me you may have enough to be able to do that. if you have enough to cover six months worth of emergency, it makes sense to pay off this loan, because refinancing at the point that you are right now may increase your monthly payments so much that even though the rate is lower, the amount that you're paying every month is going to be too much for you to handle. so i say take a look again at whether or not you can pay off the balance, if you have enough left over, then for six months of the emergency fund, then you're in good shape. but if you have that money,

first of all, congratulations on getting that money, because a lot of people, that's what they need. they need some help. >> good luck, al. guys, thanks so much. and still ahead, how to stop a cold before it stops you cold. and later, just two days out of rehab, and maybe another setback for lindsay lohan? we'll tell you about new allegations. but first, these messages. t ew allegations, but first these messages. the whole family gets together, we always make time for just us cousins. like the other night at olive garden.

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"today's" health is brought to you by kellogg's special k products. this morning on "today's" health, how to stop a cold in its tracks. a lot of us have heard about how we can try to prevent a cold from coming on. here with a 24-hour plan is dr. rashini raj. this is the age old question. you have come up with a 24-hour plan that says immediately after your symptoms appear you should start drinking -- water and juice. let me clarify, water and juice. how much and what exactly should you be drink ing. what's happening when you have a cold, especially when you have a fever, but with a lot of mucus production you're losing a lot of fluid. you want to drink several glasses a day at least.

you should avoid alcohol and caffeine. >> vitamin c juice is important? >> vitamin c is a little bit controversial. it definitely have not been shown to prevent a cold, it may shorten the duration. >> it can make you feel better. two, you say gargle with salt water. >> the salt can draw out some of the mucous that's in the back of your throat, and it can soothe the pain as well. >> what about clearing out your nasal passages. you actually have a plan for that and that involves going to the drugstore? >> getting the saline nasal drops or the nasal spray that can really flush out the virus that's in there already, but also the mucous, it can help clear your nasal passages so you can breathe a little bit better. >> you're not stopping the cold, but you're just able to get

through it easier if you can breathing you your nose? >> right. >> let's talk about over the counter medicines for a minute, they don't actually stop a cold, they really just make things easier to deal with? a lot of us have been taught that we maybe should not do a lot of drugs when we're sick so that we can develop our immune system. >> it's true that there is no cure for the common cold but there are ways to ease the symptoms and there's really no harm in using some of these over the counter remedies, they're not going to stop your immune system from fighting the cold, they're just going to get you through the next couple of days. a decongestant can really clear out your sinus passages and your nasal passages. >> the ones advertised, the zicams and the airbornes. >> those haven't been prove on

to work, that's where i say those are probably not worth it. but the tried and true anti-histamines and decongestants are going to help. >> you say stay home and rest if possible, continue to drink plenty of fluids and exercise. >> exercise is an interesting one. if you're feeling wiped out, if you have some energy, light exercise may actually help boost your immune system. keeping your heart rate under 100, nothing very vigorous. but getting your heart going will make your feel better and also help you fight the cold. you want to make sure that whatever you're eating is really packed with protein and a anti-oxidants and something as simple as a warm shower or steam really will clear out the nasal passages. it really can help you get a better night's sleep because you're not as congested.

>> and if you still feel bad the next morning? >> if you're having a fever and body aches, that may be the flu rather than a cold. >> thank you so much for some good advice. boy are we in that season now. coming up from getting rid of those stray grays, why not keep them, i think. out ten out the myths to keeping your hair in great condition after your local news. [ bells jingling ] [ snorting ] [ gasps ] ♪ [ female announcer ] too many holiday treats? [ snorting ] ♪ take the special k challenge, with so many ways to lose up to six pounds in two weeks. what will you gain when you lose? get started at specialk.com.

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we want a healthier lifestyle... so we can have more energy to do more stuff. healthy lifestyle? well, you should also start enjoying activia or activia light. activia, for us? sure, it's for people who want to feel good inside. when you feel good, you're more likely to get out there and enjoy life! mmm! mmm! i like this resolution. mm-hmm! here is the activia promise-- love how you feel or your money back! ♪ activia vmplts you ever is brought to you by carnival cruise line. what do you want to do in 2011.

we want to let you in on a brand-new series that's starting here, called have you ever, no, not the drinking game. where al, ann and i are going to try things we have never had the guts to do before. i went to the trapeze school here in new york and learned to do -- i actually have some pictures of it. >> can we see it? >> climbing up the ladder is actually the scariest part. it's about 30 feet when you do this jump. it's really scary, i must say. >> i have done that, the bar, the trapeze bar weighs almost 30 pounds. >> you're underneath, you're roped in and then there's a -- there's a net. >> al, what did you do? >> i actually did it yesterday, i climbed up on the cabling that holds up the george washington bridge roadway and i went to the top of the tower to change a

light bulb. >> look at how high you went. not that she'll describe it that way to her book club. she'll probably say something like, "everyone had a wonderful time. the food was great. it was good to get away." but let's be honest... mom just caught air! now, there's a first. tell us what you've always wanted to do, on facebook. [ ship horn blows ] my old contacts would sometimes move and blur my vision. then my eye doctor told me about acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink so now, i'm seeing more clearly. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. the best in nutrition... just got better. now with even more of the vitamins your body needs.

like vitamin d. plus omega 3's. there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. [ female announcer ] eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. the better egg. good morning to you. 9:26, i'm laura garcia-cannon with mike, with our morning commute. >> walnut creek, a new accident on northbound. southbound looks nice off the interchange. northbound reports of minor accident. moving to the shoulder but it was in lanes for a few minutes causing this backup for 680, moving over to the east bay, the only real delay downtown oakland for 880 northbound. you should be clear by the embarcedero. 680, smoothing out, clearing out as far as those clouds go. >> oh, yes, drivers in that

area, much better this time, dense fog in the east bay early this morning and north bay but overall the situation is improving. looking towards cool sunshine today. a high around 57 degrees. lots of sunshine, just a few high clouds, a few more than yesterday. by tomorrow, we'll warm up to 60 degrees. 57 for friday, clouds increasing towards the weekend but staying dry all the way through tuesday. mostly cloudy conditions then. laura is back with more news afthis.

training to take down criminals but family said their pet dog was killed by a police canine. san leandro and police dog are understood vaergs after the dog attacked a dog walking along the trail in brend wood the day after christmas. the dog was off-duty, walking with the officer and other family members.

>> i can't control him, i can't control him, next thing i know the dog is pretty much on top of cloe. >> the own are of the off duty close duty paid close to $2,000 in medical bills. a police lieutenant says there are rules for caring for police dogs in their home environment but didn't elaborate. the dog and his owner are both working during the investigation. have a great morning.

that is a man with the velvet touch who has a self-described god given voice who's quickly become a viral video sensation. he's actually homeless and he actually pan handles and he's actually hoping to get a job. he's going to stop by here live tomorrow morning. >> he really has a silver tongue. >> i'm sure he's going to get a job out of this. meantime coming up in this half hour, we're talking about more possible trouble with lindsay

lohan, she's been spotteded for the first time on tuesday since leaving rehab and officials a s claiming that those alleged battery charges violated her probation. also ahead, taking years perhaps off your face, if you have been looking for just the right thing to give yourself a fresh young look, we're going to go check out some of the top anti-aging products you may just want to add to your brute butt routine. >> i'm going to show you two hearty winter dishes that are satisfying and delicious. >> you grow a lot of sorghum in the heartland and because it's used overseas they have to ship it overseas. but we ought to be using it around here. anyway, what about the weather? >> our american weather. let's show you what's happening. this is what we're looking for this weekend, the possibility on friday morning, low pressure over the great lakes, storm

system over the carolinas, as these systems make their way to the east, most of the energy from that one system over the great lakes transfers to the east coast. this organizes, depending on how close it is to the coast, we could be looking at a significant amount of snow between new york city and boston. if it stays to the east, maybe not so much, if it stays further to the west, maybe we'll get thunderstorms. again, the amount of snow is the thing that we have to keep an eye on. it's still uncertain, so we don't want to get you all worked up about it, but we want to let you know that the potential is we are going to see a beautiful day. take a look at your live picture, facing alcatraz this morning, the peninsula nice and clear. fog lingering in the north and east bay this morning, through the next couple of hours that's not going to be a factor any

longer. temperatures are slowly climbing, we're in the 40s in hayward, and 50s before all is said and done. 57 is the high. cool sunshine. back after this. we'll be talking about potential problems for lichbd s lindsay lohan after this. where kids not only eat their vegetables, they can't get enough. ♪ hidden valley ranch, makes vegetables delectable. and now make lettuce a real salad with hidden valley salad kits! everything you need all in one bag, like garlic croutons, lemon pita bites, parmesan cheese, and caesar dressing. turn plain lettuce into a hidden valley salad. go to hotwire.com. when four-star hotels have unsold rooms

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healthy lifestyle? well, you should also start enjoying activia or activia light. activia, for us? sure, it's for people who want to feel good inside. when you feel good, you're more likely to get out there and enjoy life! mmm! mmm! i like this resolution. mm-hmm! here is the activia promise-- love how you feel or your money back! ♪ activia this is norma. who knows how important it is to have her medicine in one place. so norma brings all of her prescriptions to walgreens where her pharmacist can watch out for interactions with her over-the-counter medicine. now norma thinks less about her medicine and more about her vacation. tell us what you take just once and we'll check for interactions every time. expertise -- find it everywhere there's a walgreens.

lindsay lohan enjoyed her first court ordered day out of rehab. nbc's kristen welker with the latest. >> i'm just going to the gym. >> reporter: lindsay lohan starting the new year with a workout. tmz caught the actress's first outing since leaving the betty ford clinic monday. now a possible blow to her freedom. >> the fact that his allegations are going to be brought up by the police could be a real problem for ms. lohan. >> reporter: it started on december 12 when then betty ford employee dawn holland claimed lohan got physical her. >> she seemed very angry and out of control. >> reporter: at the time holland shared her story with tmz.com saying on the night in question, lohan went drinking, missed

curfew and refused a breathalyzer test. >> she grabbed my wrist and twisted it down. >> reporter: the palm desert police department continued their investigation and determined ms. lohan violated several aspects of her probation, including battery. holland's attorney told nbc news the whole incident is much adieu about nothing, but legal experts say that doesn't matter. >> if the victim then changes her mind, what we call a recanting witness, that really doesn't change anything. they continue with the investigation regardless of a change of heart on the part of the victim. >> reporter: lohan's attorney had harsh words for police saying their only role is to collect evidence and the fact that the palm desert police department went outside this limited role expressing its opinion about what should happen in ms. lohan's case is deeply troubling. police wouldn't comment about the statement by lohan's

attorney but say the case is out of their hands an up to prosecutors to determine whether to bring formal charges against lohan. if convicted out in palm desert, it will be up to the judge here in l.a. to decide what to do about lohan's probation. >> he may leave the punishment up to riverside county or he can step in again and maybe put her back in jail and maybe give her some community service. >> reporter: but for now, lohan is moving on from 2010. she is even getting a new address. >> lindsay is moving out of her west hollywood place into a spot in venice. >> reporter: this is her new home and according to a real estate website, the price tag is $7,100 a month. this weekend lohan tweeted, today is the first day of the rest of my life, optimism that could now be tempered by this latest legal snarl. for "today," kristen welker, nbc

news, los angeles. we're going to talk about a new face for the new year, some things you might want to gier-aanti ng ianti-aging products in 2011. but yoplait wants to change that. only yoplait original has twice the calcium of the leading yogurt. that's 50% of the daily value ♪ so pass on the news and we can help close this calcium gap together. to get you started, we're giving away a million free cups at yoplait dot com. the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] got a cold?

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♪ j-e-l-l-o ♪ j-e-l-l-o ♪ j-e-l-l-o [ child giggles ] in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove has nutriummoisture, which can nourish deep down. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. smoky eyes look amazing, but creating them? that's a whole different story. introducing new almay intense i-color smoky-i kit. first, sweep the smoky eye color across your lid. then add the crease- accentuating shade, and a highlight under your brow. only from almay. only for me. why do women like you love activia light? sometimes i have no choice but to eat the kinds of foods that are hard on my diet... and my digestive system. so i eat activia light every day. it helps me feel good and look good too! ♪ activia ♪ and look good too! looks like it's time to stock up.

so, save big at the petsmart stock up and save sale. right now, save up to 25% on over a thousand essentials! only at petsmart. this morning on "today's" beauty, turning back the clock in 2011. more than half of all women aged 25 to 34 say they use anti-aging products on their face. so which ones are really worth the money? linda wells is editor-in-chief of "allure" magazine. welcome. i think the great thing for the consumer is that you're finding a lot of these treatments at home that only before you had to

go to the dermatologist to get. >> a lot of them originated in the dermatologists, they're milder forms so you don't have to have medical supervision to use. but it's this idea of being able to use these products at home and benefiting over time. >> let's talk first about what you have from ole lay and this is a cleansing system. this is sort of the exfoliating brush? >> it's olay pro ex. you can use it morning and night and you can use it in the shower and it cleans and exfoliates the skin, it actually stretches the pores not too much and when you put on the serum to go into the skin. this is $29.99 which is another way of saying $30.

>> great point. >> it's similar to a product that's over $200. it's great, you get it in the drugstore and it's a terrific thing. >> i love the sound of this next one. it's a sunscreen that actually takes the uv rays and makes them into something that's actually good for you. >> this is derma dr. photo di dynamic therapy. when you're in the sun it converts the sun rays into visible uv light. if you have ever been into the dermatologi dermatologist, they put you under uv light to stimulate the skin. >> this one i know has also been proven by doctors to work too and it's this microneedle therapy system. which you can't see these fine needles on the roller ball. >> there are 200 little needless

on this which sounds like medieval torture, you use it on your clean skin when it's dry. it causes tiny injuries. injury in this case is not bad, it stimulates the production of collagen and elastin to get into the skin. >> this is a little more expensive. >> it's $200. >> but it may be worth the investment. >> it's from two dermatologists who came up with proactive. so they really have proven history. >> let's move over to makeup powder that actually protects the collagen in your skin. >> this is preore. it has kof fee berry. and coffee berry is one of the most potent anti-oxidants.

it has spf-25 and it covers your skin and it's actually doing something while its covers your skin. >> and over here, this anti-aging serum that fights wrinkles but without the harsh side effects that you can get from some of the other products. >> the goal for sunscreen is retinoids are great. but they can cause irritation and redness. so people stop using them and once you stop using them you're not going to get any benefits at all. it has various ingredients that duplicate prescription retinoids but it doesn't have any of the irritation. natural products tend not to be studied medically and this one has scientific studies to back it up. >> we like that. a lot of people as they get older, especially women, your hair starts to thin, it starts losing its luster. >> this is a thickening mews, it

was invented by an m.i.t. scientist so already that sounds better. and it puts these little microdots on your hair and it separates one hair from the next so it gives the impression of fullness. no stickiness, no crunchiness, none of that awful unpleasant stuff. >> you get that '80s look sometimes. >> laura wells, from "allure" magazine, thank you for some great products to try. coming up next, lamb shanks to short ribs, we're going to ♪ let's go out to the dmv

♪ it's ok that we're number four hundred and three ♪ ♪ we'll find ourselves a comfy seat ♪

♪ and watch some shows and stuff ♪ ♪ ♪ let's follow that lady with the laptop ♪ ♪ and watch day-time dramas at the bus stop ♪ [ male announcer ] now you can watch hit tv shows on your laptop and smartphone with at&t u-verse tv. now get up to $300 back in promotion cards. at&t. rethink possible. this morning in "today's" kitchen, a new year and a new ingredient. it's new around the world but.

joe, good morning. this is a really popular grain around the world? >> around the world, it actually -- it feeds 500 million people in 100 countries. >> what is sorghum? >> sorghum is in the grass family and it grows anywhere from two to six feet across the united states. we get a mail order sorghum. >> it's a sweet like syrup? >> it's somewhat like molasses but it's got a little bit more herbacity to it. >> we're making short ribs. so it's kind of a sweet savory kind of thing? >> we're actually going to make a glaze for it. we have got some ginger and some carrots and onions here in the

pop. we have also got a bunch of curry and bay leaves. chuck that all in there. mix it up, you're going to let that toast for two or three minutes in the fat. after that we have chicken juice. throw that in there. we can also toss coconut milk, wine and tomatoes in there as well. all in at once and this is going to cook for probably three or four hours in the oven. >> you have already browned the short ribs? >> already browned the short ribs and used that fat to brown your vegetables as well. so we're going to go ahead and place those nice in there. you can put this in your oven for 2 1/2 to four hours. >> can you also do that in a crock pot. >> absolutely. >> we're going to go over here and make our glaze. we have got curried mustard seeds. we're going to toast the seeds up a little bit. we have the sorghum here. chuck that in there as well. we're going to let that cook for maybe about a minute or two. and when you're finished, we're

going to use a little bit of lime juice, and acidity here is going to counter act any of the sweetness. >> or the herbacity. >> it's going to help that. what we have here is our finished lovely pot of sorghum. we put it over carolina gold rice. take your glaze right on over to this. >> that looks okay. >> good stuff. >> and if you want, you can take some of the sauce from there and spoon it over the top. and you're good to go. that's your entire dish. >> nice. >> and we have got some stuff back here. >> we have also got a braised lamb shank stew. we have got on this plate, apples, a little bit of diced ginger and a whole bunch of sugar which we are then going to -- >> carefully. >> ideally it's all going to make it into the pot. >> most of it. >> it's going to cook up fine. we're also going to have apple

cider vinegar here and you can toss the rest of that sorghum in there as well. there you go. and this is going to need to cook down, it's going to cook down to what you would consider a jam consistency, an hour or so. >> and you have already braised your lamb shanks? >> we're actually going to take a little bit of torn basil that's going to pop it out just a little bit. >> i'm going to bring that here. >> sure. a little spoonful of that on there. then the third accompaniment we have the biscuits. powdered sugar is not going to be granular on the palate. a little bit of butter to go with the biscuits and you've got your stew. >> we want some sorghum too. >> i want to look at the biscuits. >> biscuits and sorghum butter.

we have a whole feast for the family here. >> chef joe parma, thank you so much. coming up, we have the top toys and fashion trends for 2011. >> and some popular hair care myths. >> after your local news. well, i love a deal on a designer bag as much as the next girl! love! i love love love! as a buyer for t.j.maxx, i'm always on the hunt. i check out the shows. i see what's happening on the street. and i work deals directly with the designers. so when i score... you score. gimme a fashionista... i'll make her a maxxinista. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you!

9:56. >> if you're leaving now you don't have to worry about dense, patchy fog in the north day any longer. things are looking good. ten miles of visibility in santa rosa, 32 still freezing and warms up into the low 40s across the board. that will turn over to the upper oohs later on today, the upper 50s. extended lookout shows you the warm trend continuing tomorrow.

>> thank you. looks like gavin newsom will be mayor of san francisco for the foreseeable future. he wants to know who will take over the city before he goes to sacramento. the board of supervisors can't figure it out. this djtñu)u$ a majority to elect mayor. they'll meet again on friday to try. there is a mayor in mind and they're waiting until that youç person is back in town. the city administrator ed lee has enough votes to be picked but he's in hong kong and someo until talking to him first. he said he didn't want the job but would serve if asked. he would be the first chinese-american mayor in san francisco history in elected. "today" returns in about a minute. have a great wednesday morning.

switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

from nbc news this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hey, everybody. welcome. it's wines day, wednesday, it's january 5th. i was all excited it was wines day, and i brought these from new year's eve, because i thought it would be fun. >> those are hideous. >> i didn't have any complaints on new year's eve. >> we want to point out that we're still here. these are the megamillions tickets, and we were part of a huge pool. everyone kicked in five bucks.

but the point is someone won in idaho. >> he wanted it back really early this morning. >> idaho and washington. so there's two winning tickets. >> no one has come forward yet. >> would you come forward? >> so fast. >> you have to be careful because everyone will call you. >> they call me anyway. have you met my family? >> you might want a couple of bucks, howie says, once you check them all out. >> we're going to make this a regular weekly thing. >> i love the idea of the whole thing. my sister is a people who is genuinely astonished when she doesn't win. she's like, oh, my god. she really thinks deep down it's going to be here. >> she's the opposite of everybody at the publisher's clearinghouse. >> it is wines day, but we're getting ready for our big friday dry day when we get on treadmills and ellipticals and stuff. >> from the beginning we're be at our post here.

you guys watch us from the gym, so we'll put in the corner a little calorie counter. we'll show you from the top of the show to the end of the show how much calories you burn, and our guests we think are going to do it, too. you think? >> we're still hoping. >> you'll be out of breath. think about it. >> it depends on how fast we're going. >> we have to burn calories. that's the point of the whole thing. >> all right, hoda. we're in training. this is -- this is an alcohol-free day. they call it alcohol-removed wine. what's the point of that. under 0.5% alcohol. it has characteristic aromas and flavors of premium wine. >> 70 calories per serving. >> it's $5 a bottle. it's cheaper, that's for sure. >> well, there's nothing in it. why would you drink it? why would you drink it? it's like grape juice. >> it's a little like grape

juice. it tastes good but doesn't have any rickick. no kick. we're in training. >> i was grossed out by what we did. >> joe and jerry did. we were talking about ways to help with the flu and cold, and there's something called a netti-pot. it looks like a tea pot you put warm water in. >> i thought you were supposed to steam with it, but apparently not. >> you have to tilt your nose over, pour it one nostril and it comes out the other. >> i am so jazzed by this. >> it made me gag thinking about it. i think i would inhale and freak out. that's not what happened in the show. we want to reenact it. put water in one nost tril -- nostril. >> i want to try it. >> it's drowning.

that's gross. >> i know his nose was in it, or i would. they're brave, brave guys. i've never heard of it before. apparently dr. oz is always talking about it, and i asked friends visiting from grand rapids, michigan here toe, they're like, oh, yeah, neti pot. this is the members of the devaluate family and their beautiful daughters alyssa, ant ya and misty. >> do you the neti pot? they don't look like neti potters. do they? >> they don't at all. >> they're here because my friend emily has a family. her sister was her with her daughter and she's here with her daughter today because they literally bought up -- hoda and i were auctioned off for my friend emily, she has a fabulous place called evergreen in michigan and does great work for

the elderly. it starts at 50. i wasn't so thrilled to cover that elderly starts at 50. it's a fantastic place, and we're all going to lunch again today. dick's father was the co-founder of amway. this is an unbelievable family na does incredible good. >> we're going to have lunch. we'll make it worth every penny. >> hoda's picking up the tab. >> so we offended some people. >> you did. >> january 17th we said was the worst day of the year because that's what it says in the "new york times." >> we didn't say it. a survey said it. >> on the 17th you have blown all your new year's resolutions and the bills come in and nothing coming up. >> vacations are a long way. >> terrible. >> a lot of facebook fans disagree because it's their birthday. >> that's a good thing. they were born.

we want you to know that we don't make this stuff up. >> we just read it out of the newspaper. >> blame everything on on jerry. >> we have a question for you. we have a question for you. would you -- would you kiss a guy who has a cold? would you kiss a guy who has a cold? >> i don't know. how are you feeling, jerry? >> look at him. >> so "redbook" magazine did this survey. this is what their survey said. their survey said that the majority of the people, 59%, said, yes, they would kiss a guy with a cold. would you? >> how hot's the guy? you know what i'm saying? how much is it worth the cold you're going to get. >> i don't think i would approximate if i were married for a long time. >> you would. >> i would. i have no problems saying yes, but later on when you're in a long relationship -- i don't

think so. in a long relationship. >> how long is long? >> long is probably -- i don't know. six months. six months after you've been dating someone, then you say, you know what? you don't want to make out with someone when they're all -- >> they didn't say makeout. it's kiss. >> jerry, you have a little cold? >> jerry is married. leave everybody alone. >> i'd get arrested if i kissed you. so this is -- this is one of those stories that i found difficult to believe but it's true. a guy calls his wife on the phone. he hangs up because he decides not to talk to her. >> it's been more than six months for them. >> he puts the phone in the back pocket and cranks up gangster music and butt dimes his wife accidentally. we've all done it. so as he's driving, she's

hearing the music and cursing and she thinks her husband has been taken hostage. she freaks out and calls the cops. she said my husband is on the other line and this is what i'm hearing and repeats the language and what's happening on the phone. it's the song. the s.w.a.t. team comes out. >> how many of them? 30. >> choppers. >> he finally walks in the house hey. the wife -- he was embarrassed. >> the police found him at home after all that. i would love to know what that cost that municipality. what do you think? >> probably -- >> 100 grand? >> we've all done the butt dialing. >> sop making generalizations like that. i've never butt dialed anybody. i don't have back pockets. >> you don't put your phone back there? >> no. >> it's a good place to keep it. >> with everything you have in your purse, you don't put your phone in there?

you have your kitchen sink in there. >> you know how my purse s. i can't find anything. >> yeah, your mother's in there. it's unbelievable. >> here's my one -- i'll do one confession about that. i still feel terribly about this. >> this is a confession. nobody knows this. >> so on my phone i have a number for one of my doctors who i adore, and i didn't realize she was the number on top of my blackberry. so i keep -- over the days and weeks i kept hitting the number, and it would ring through, i guess. there was no answer because it would be me walking or whatever. she's a surgeon, so she has to get up early and do surgery. i was doing this to her in the middle of the night and up and down. she sent me a text message that said if you don't stop, i'm calling the cops. i never told her, though, because when you call that phone it doesn't have the voice mail so no one knows it's me. i felt terribly.

i woke her up in the middle of the night. i can't sleep in all caps. >> she's the best doctor. she saved my life. >> you don't want to mention her name? >> her initials are doctor -- i'm so sorry. i love her so much. >> you crank call more than anybody. >> christine my dear friend insisted -- tr for a while three times a day. it's hoda crank-calling. maybe if you up kept your phone where it's supposed to be tucked away in your purse with your bowling ball and shoes. >> you have to put it on lock, which that's complicated. >> hey, wait a minute. jer jerry, you know what i didn't get? today is the day i got an ipad. >> we know where it is. >> step on up here. this is one of those -- you never know where to put things. s in kyle by the way on.

he fit his ipad -- first of all, that shocks me that you have an ipad. >> trying to drag me and frank into the new technological world, and this millennium hopefully it will happen. they wanted an iphone on our birthday and christine put the key bosh on that. i'm so excited. >> oh, no. ♪ to follow their path >> it's not thursday, okay? that actually is cool. >> it's close to my heart. don't you love the way that woman sings? let me ask you something else. does it have even bigger font than that? can you do that? >> not on the cd cover. >> this is on on a cd. >> this is on itunes where all

of our friends can download it right now. >> are you kidding me? are you kidding me? what do you think i'm giving away for two years at the experience cafe. hoda. >> this is "everyone has a story." >> it's a cd we made two and a half years ago. >> you did? i didn't know. >> which one? oh, my god. >> you got na one -- i love that one, but where's the other one. >> that's it. >> they're all on itunes. >> great. thank you very much. >> very cool suit. how much is it? >> it's $500. you can get your -- >> on dot com somewhere. >> you can get the next four for free. >> the song is only 99 cents. >> there is a homeless guy who was discovered by a reporter in ohio somewhere. this guy was soliciting

donations with his radio voice. listen to this guy. take a look. >> we're going to make you work for your dollar. say something with that great radio voice. >> when you listen to magic 98.9. thank you so much. god bless you. thank you. we'll be back with more right after these words. don't forget tomorrow morning is your chance to win a pair of tickets to see this man live in co concert. >> he does look beautiful. he's coming here tomorrow to "the today show" and show off his pipes. >> he's going to be on all four hours. >> by his own admission by drugs and alcohol and ruining his life. clean for two years now. >> it's a great story. >> that's exciting. up next, what's happening, hoda? >> 1,000 guys confess what they really, really think about you. you.r ove tow's changed over the years. that's right after this. people love clean sheets.muh

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well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. if you wonder what goes on in your man he's mind, the folks at "glamour" took out the guesswork. >> they have the 16th annual 1,000 men confess survey. wendy is here and here to weigh in with comedian chuck knight. >> you must be so proud. >> really, it's a great thing. >> the 1,000 guys, first of all,

were they anonymous? do you think they were telling the truth? >> they were anonymous. 1,000 guys under 40 across the country. we let them be anonymous and tell us the dirty, honest truth. >> we ask them questions that we all want to know but are too embarrassed to ask in person. >> we can't talk about all of them this morning. >> let's talk about some, and chuck will weigh in, too. have you ever cheated? the answer is yes and she never knew, 189%, yes and i got caught 7% and question and confess rare 8% and no never was 66%. >> the profession that cheating is everywhere, tiger woods, and i can't say it's not happening. clearly 34% of men are doing it, but the good news is most guys aren't. it there are good guys out there that you want to find. >> we think the opposite. >> 70% of all guys cheat. >> lie, why must you lie?

it's anonymous and they're stimuliing becaustil stilllstill lying. i read that question in the car with my wife, and i said did you set this up? >> you wouldn't cheat because you're terrified of your wife. >> you know it's the truth. >> let's move on to body parts. this is the question on what body parts guys liked most. most guys said they were boob gits and 33% were butt guys. >> i'm glad you're reading it. >> and 10% were leg men. >> the point of this is in a guy's mind there's no one perfect body type for a woman. what you have, there is a guy who totally loves that. >> there's somebody for everybody. >> i'm an equal opportunity appreciator. i like it all. my wife has three out of four. >> we're going to ask you about the fourth.

>> she doesn't even have to ask what the fourth is. all she has to do is sit down, and she will know what's missing. >> it's the truth. >> three out of four is not bad. great face and boobs and legs. you missed out on the butt. >> can't you take fat from someplace and stick it there? >> like fat from a turkey. >> here's an interesting one. the majority of guys were asked if they're a pretty good catch. here's the question. if you were a woman, would you date you? >> what do you think the answer is of this? >> you're asking me? that would be my dream! >> 79% of men said yeah. >> i'm surprised it wasn't higher. >> this is a good question that we should all ask ourselves. how do you treat your partner, the guy you're with? would you want to be with you? that's a good gauge of being in a relationship. >> 80% of men were like i'd be great.

>> not 99%. pu guys seem to have an awfully good opinion of yourselves. >> i would totally date me. i would marry me. i just know that the relationship would end up with me killing me. >> you want to spend the rest of your life with you? >> exactly. >> do we have time? all right. one more. do you secretly want to sleep with most of your female friends? 66% say they do. >> as one man told me, it's not why we have female friends. when that you have close bond and a friendship, it's a real incident macy so it's not surprised it spills over into something sexual. >> which is why i have no female friends. >> what are we? >> you guys are. you're very close acquaintances. are you kidding me? four lunches and i'm having

dreams about me and kathie lee and hoda has tea sandwiches. >> why am i kaerg the sandwiches. >> you'll know why, baby. you'll know why. >> there are a lot more provocative questions. up next, sarah is here with the photos you have to see to believe. >> the top trends this year for the little members of your family. first, these messages.

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we're back with "what the what?" >> every week we ask you to send in photos with everything that makes you stop and go what? >> we have a doozy this week. the first one is sent by wainzs about boro, this is at a local gettysburg, pa. when she asked for the toy in

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good morning to you. 10:26, i'm laura garcia-cannon with mike, a look at the morning commute. >> or what's left of it. look at the bay bridge. no hiccups in the commute here, smooth flow. things have calmed down quite bit. the metering light should be turned off any second. south bay, a little slowing past highway 85. and things clear up smoothly up toward 84 and rest of the peninsula and then a nice look at the grade where 680 hampered by fog all morning, know we call it low clouds, it's not touching the ground anymore. still on the hill but not so bad for driving. >> not so bad for anyone on the

peninsula right now, clear all of the way across the board. still chilly out there, some 30s on the temperature map, likely the case until we hit noon, then things will start to warm up but temperature-wise as we head throughout today, it will warm up nicely to 57. 35 right now in livermore, 36 in santa rosa. turning over to mostly sunny skies, high around 59 today in oakland. we're back with more news right after the break.

continues this morning, jim harbaugh back in the bay area after his orange bowl glory. a source with in the stanford athletic department tells nbc bay area sports director that harbaugh is leaving. stanford head coach is believed to be the 49ers' first choice and also believed to be talking to the miami dolphins. a move by the 49ers to secure a head coach could happen any time. a change in gm office, he worked for the 49ers as players personnel director. first order of business is to find a head coach. holden to your money longer until handing it over to uncle sam this year. taxes on monday april 18, three days later than traditional april 15 tax deadline. bonus dates come thanks to emancipation day, the holiday that celebrating the freeing of slaves.

tax day filings cannot fall on saturday, sunday or hole days last time an extension was granted for a holiday was in 2007. enjoy the extra time, procrastinators. thks fanni jors.ngoi haveatreanor m. g we're back with more of "today" on this wines day, and we're ready to play "who knew?" the topic is the big chill today. she's ready to hand out $100 to those who answer correctly and to those who don't, apparently kathie lee has a cd out. >> who knew? >> exactly. stephanie abrams the weather channel meteorologist is here with me to share fun facts. >> did i miss the wine? where's the wine? >> that's at the top of the show. >> let's have the first question. >> we don't want a weather lady on wine. this family is from louisiana.

according to guinness world records the greatest depths of snow on the ground was 451 inches. where? california, texas, utah, or kansas. >> utah. >> i know, but that's what i would have guessed. it's going to surprise you. >> the answer surprised me, too. california. >> i did translation because who thinks in inches. it's 37.5 feet. this is back march 11th, 1911, tamarac on the western slopes of the sierra south of south lake tahoe. >> i cannot believe that much snow fell. that's at that sto that's astonishing. >> south of saratoga. truth or false. sleet and hail are the same thing? >> false. >> good for you. spend it wisely. >> these two are different. >> they are. sleet is basically a frozen rain

drop that falls from the sky. the hail is the big balls of ice that are made of thunderstorms and the updraft keeping them up and growing and building so they form differently. >> back across to kathie lee. >> he's from pennsylvania, but for some reason he's living in moscow. don't ask. which of the following flowers bloom best in february? sun flowers, panzys, daisies or tulips? >> don't you love them. >> we have -- >> they make it through the whole winter. >> we have smart people across the street. >> i have the brownest thumb ever, so i had to do some research. apparently they're quite hearty, and of course they're not totally i am mooj. they grow in the snow there. the favorite thing about them, edible. >> no. that is nasty. no one wants to eat those. >> you can't knock it before you try it. >> they're delicious, hoda.

>> i'm sure they are. >> you're from kansas -- >> virginia. >> no, virginia. north dakota holds the record for how many people making snow angels simultaneously? 162, 562, 8,962, or 30,962? >> i'm going with the easiest which would be the the best for the world record. >> how's that working for you? you're going to love the cd. >> the correct answer is 8,962 people laid down and made snow angels. >> in bismarck february 16, 2007. there's snow in central park. we should get people to go to central park and beat that record right now. who is up for it. >> that's a cool picture by the way. 8,962 doesn't sound like that many. >> we can take them, hoda. >> back across the street. >> they're from alberta, canada. they're ken and barbie canadian

style. one inch of rain is always equivalent to ten inches of snow. >> false. >> it was a 50/50 guess, right? >> i was told on my answers this morning it was true, so you have to explain. >> i'll explain it. >> she's going to clear it up. >> the keyword there is "always." it's not always we say on average ten inches of snow melts down to one inch of liquid equivalent or rain. if you have dry snow, the kind not good for making snowmen, it could take 30 inches of snow to melt it down. kind of true or false. they were going to win either way. >> all right. >> a lovely lady from pittsburgh. true or false, you can ice skate on a lake or pond if the ice is at least three inches thick. >> false. >> true. >> you were wrong. >> you were right. >> i'm so glad she stuck to her

guns. what's the safe zone? >> you have to be careful with it, because spots on lakes can be thicker than other spots. if it's less two inches, you want to stay off it. a little ice fishing, four inches. the bigger it is up to 12 inches of ice for a car to drive on. >> how do you know how thick it is? >> that's the question. you have to be really careful. >> we have time for one more. >> she's sfr new hampshire. which of the following is the only u.s. city to host the olympic winter games twice? >> salt lake city? >> that's all right. you're so cute, you'll do well in life. >> the favorite is lake placid. >> in 1932 was when jack shea was the first american to win and 1980 with the miracle on ice. salt lake city, she went for

this because jimmy shea who is the grandson, he won a medal in skeleton and honored his grandfather with that. >> thanks for coming on the show. >> thanks for having me. fun and fashion for the youngest residents of your house. a little something for you, too, right after this.

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take some notes. dana is the editor and chief of "parents" magazine. she brought along friends with her. i love the trend the. we know tweeting is big, but you have a different take on your tweeting, don't you? >> we know moms are tweeting. 1 in 8 do it. this is the concrete bird phenomenon here. we have this cute little baby bunch pajama outfit. it comes in a little birdhouse. bird in the hand there. the whole package is $25. >> it comes in other dollar? >> it's a girl or boy. >> we know about rubber duckies from the bat tub days. these look like a little twist on those. >> these are from kid does. they're very reasonable, $12. they're bath toys, completely contemporary and completely updated. >> we're going over here. this bird trend is actually translating into clothing.

we have little outfits. hi, honey. >> he's showing us the oragami bird shirt we have on here. >> that's so pretty. >> and those jeggings. >> those are jeggings. that's another big trend. >> cute. >> we've seen celebrity babies wearing leggings. >> does suri cruise have though? >> jessica alba's does. >> they range in price. here's another set on the table. they start at $7. you have foo feel them. share so soft. >> oh, my gosh. >> you don't want to be zipping in all that stuff. it has the little waistband that's just darling. >> thank you, astrid. >> so cute. bye. >> good-bye. >> so this is if you want to be ecofriendly. >> green is definitely still a

trend. it's by no means gone. these are diaper bags made from remnants of seat belts. >> you're kidding. >> they're at 155 if you're making that diaper bag investment as many moms are. it's about right. these bibs from urban infant are made from plastic bags, like grocery bags. >> they are from the grocery bags. >> that's great. >> i love to see that. >> hold it down, astrid. thanks, hon. >> we thought kids liked smooth and fuzzy. >> spooky is in. the twilight for tikes phenomenon. these are from mattel with the pink and black hair, the monster high line. this retails for $20. >> they're not afraid of them? >> no. you've seen these, and they read

these incredible spooky, scary things. they want to be excited. this is another line called vamplete that sells for $17. >> it's for halloween, maybe. >> i'll take you to the next one we can put on. this is a different stuffed friend over here. winnie the pooh. >> always adore winnie the pooh. >> he's a classic making a comeback in the theater. there's a winnie the pooh movie in 3d. >> you know what i love about him? all these years he does not know he's not wearing pants, and he's completely comfortable with himself. i love that. >> we should all follow that lead. >> let's not. >> the classics are back? >> the classics are back. there's another movie nomeo and juliet.

>> it's a classic story told with garden gnomes. >> we are hip and cool and trendy. we have 3d glasses on. this is a game. you have to have a 3d television for this work. >> the playstation 3d s. it's quite something. you feel like you're in the living room with these creatures when you battle them. >> it's very cool. >> this is a game called ipet. it sells for $40. the games system, the combination, is $100. >> if you guys could see with these glasses on and you had a 3d tv. >> that's amazing. >> there will be lots of other 3d products. >> we heard the other day in a survey 3d is out which is "the washington post," but it's not. >> thank you so much. up next, does pulling one gray hair out cause three more to grow.

>> i hope not. >> we're going to have a little friendly competition after this. ♪ [ pop ] right now at h&r block, you could get up to $9,999, and you could get it fast. just bring in your tax information... and get a refund anticipation check. you pay nothing out of pocket. h&r block. never settle for less.

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when you think of your all-time favorite hair tips, chances are half of them are probably missed. >> the experts at health magazine combed out the truth to help nurse your hair back to health. molly is the magazine's beauty director, and she's going to put us to the test again. >> all right. we are ready for you. >> okay. >> we'll start right in. question number one, pluck one gray hair and two or three more sprout in its place? >> i would say no. >> that is, in fact, a myth. your gray hairs are not conspireing against you. they're not sending messages. genetic coding is what is to blame, and we can't control that at this is an nbc news special

report. here is brian williams. good day from our washington bureau, we're going to go quickly to the floor of the house of representatives. where on this first day of the nation's 112th congress there is a new speaker of the house. the 53rd speaker of the house, republican congressman john boehner of ohio. he takes over from now-former speaker nancy pelosi. he's just been introduced by the clerk of the house, sergeant-at-arms brought him down the aisle and the applause goes on. interesting sidelight, among the democrats, nancy pelosi rather controversially after being turned away as house speaker decided to stand for election still as the democrats' leader in the house. there were a number of defectors, kind of a protest vote against her, though she will remain the democrats' leader.

what we'll see here and what we'll let you see and hear is the really handing off of the gavel, though it's all ceremonial from here on out between nancy pelosi and john ba boehner, one of 12 children, big irish-catholic family and he now takes the chair. [ applause ]

[ applause ] >> it is a high honor to welcome all members of congress and their families to the house of representatives. to the new members and their families a special congratulations and welcome to you. we all wish you great success. congratulations to you. we all come here to represent our constituents, our respect for each other is founded in our respect for the people that we represent. this month, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the

inauguration of john f. kennedy as president of the united states. as a student, i was there in the freezing cold. for some of you, you read about it in the history books, michael, to us, it was our youth, right, bob? i was there freezing, i heard the stirring address that inspired generations of americans. to public service. and in his 1962 state of the union address from this dais, president kennedy said to the congress the constitution makes us all trustees of the american people. custodians of the american heritage. today, as we take the ought of office to support and defend our constitution we do so as trustees of america's best hope and custodians of america's

highest values. however we may differ, let us never lose sight of our common love for this exceptional nation and our shared obligation to the way forward. started off by acknowledging and welcoming and congratulating the members and their families. our families have always helped light the way forward for all of us. with a full and grateful heart i want to thank my family, my husband of 47 years, paul pelosi. [ applause ] my children, nancy, christine

jacqueline, alexandra and my grandchildren. i'm proud to be from a large family, youngest of seven, i acknowledge my brother, the former mayor of baltimore, maryland. welcome, tommy. let me thank my constituents in san francisco who i am proud to represent in the spirit of the anthem of our city of st. francis, the song of st. francis. i'm so pleased that that was recited by all of us at the interdenominational service this morning. i'm grateful to my colleagues for their commitment to equality which is both our heritage and our hope, giving me the historic honor of being the first woman speaker of the house of representatives.

[ applause ] i'm thankful to be the first italian-american speaker. our heritage is a source of great prayed and greatly ingrained patriotism which sum month summons us to build a stronger nation. the proudest title we'll ever hold is not accorded on this floor, it is the simple dignity of the title american. part our great democracy that continues to be the greatest hope of liberty and progress for

the entire world. when i was first elected speaker i called the house to order on behalf of america's children. and now as i prepare to hand the gavel over to speesaker boehneri know one thing above all else. thanks to you we have stood with those children and for their families, their health, their education, the safety of the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat. thanks to you for those children and their families, we have made the largest-ever commitment to making college more affordable, enacted wall street reform with the greatest consumer reforms in history and passed a strong patient's bill of rights. it means that children with

pre-existing conditions can get care, young people can stay on their parents' mopolicy until their 26, pregnant women, patients can no longer be thrown off insurance, seniors paying less for medical prescriptions, taken together it will save taxpayers $1.3 trillion. thanks to you, thanks to all of us we advanced the defining american cause of equality for all. from the first days of the congress with the passage of the lily ledbetter fair pay act to the last day with the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy. and thanks to you, we achieved more for america's veterans than at any time since the passage of the gi bill of rights in 1944.

because of our courageous troops and our veterans, we will always be the land of the free and the home of the brave, let us now salute our men and women in uniform. [ applause ] to honor them we must build a future worthy of their sacrifice, which includes good paying jobs when they come home. it's not enough that we staved off a depression, much more needs to be done to open up the american dream and lift up the american economy. the only acceptable outcome is to fully and finally restore fair prosperity that