good morning. fast-moving mess -- another powerful winter storm hammering parts of the northeast with up to a foot of snow this morning. and coming in right behind it, brutal cold. gabby's next chapter -- the office of congresswoman gabrielle giffords releases a new photo of her first trip outside since she was shot. this as she prepares to leave the hospital and head to a texas rehabilitation center today. and too much skin? a new teen drama on mtv blasted by the critics for being too risque for television. now at least one advertiser is pulling commercials "today," now at least one advertiser is pulling commercials "today," friday, january 21, 2011.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning and welcome to a very snowy rockefeller plaza. i'm ann curry. >> i'm lester holt. matt and meredith have the day off. this is getting to be a habit. last time we did the show was the blizzard morning. here we are again in the snow. al said this would be a big mess for the morning commute in the east coast and that's what's happened. >> at least we don't have a mound behind us. you make it look stylish. i'm going straight for comfort. we're expected to get six inches of snow when all is said and done. it looks very pretty all over the city. in central park it is a stunner. in boston, kids are happy again because they have cancelled school for a second time in two weeks. when the storm moves out, the

cold will move in and overnight it will plunge, we are told, to 44 below in international falls -- actually it plunged to 44 below in international falls, minnesota. bitter cold is heading east now. we'll get al's forecast coming up. >> it's still only january. fun, fun, fun. also ahead, we're going to get more on the case of the 23-year-old woman kidnapped as a baby. this morning we get the latest on the emotional reunion with her family. more on the investigation as they are trying to figure out who was behind this kidnapping. plus, an exclusive interview with that young woman's aunt coming up. >> we are both examples of the snow sticking. also coming up we'll talk about an interview with an san sue chi, speaking about her fight to freedom in her first u.s. television interview since her release last november.

let's begin with the winter storm and what's coming up next. we have nbc's ron allen up the road in central park with more on this. hey, ron. how are you faring? >> i'm great, ann. it ooh ace beautiful and stunning morning out here. look at this huge, fluffy white flakes of snow falling. it's moist snow. you said six inches and i think we are there. it's getting deep here. it's moist snow, so it's good for snowballs, snowmen. we have been getting practice at that this year so far. out on the roads you can see the plows have been through. we have a unique look through the live view camera, a live picture of the commute over the rfk commuter bridge in manhattan. you can see the road's been plowed but it's slow going and slippery. there are going to be accidents. it's going to take a while to get where you're going. take it easy, of course. in this area, a lot of schools are opening late so that the buses can get through without rushing.

the problem is it's only 6 inches, but it's piling on top of snow. we have had so many snowstorms so. many happened overnight and affected the morning commute as well. we are way ahead of the average snowfall for the season. it's usually 22 inches and my friends at the weather channel say we are already at 31 inches plus and more to come. after this, of course, we are getting a big blast of arctic air with temperatures in the 20s. wind chills into the single digits and below zero. today a day to dig out, tomorrow a day to bundle up. >> same old song playing over and over again. guess who's smart enough to stay inside? al roker and he'll tell us where the storm is headed. >> i love the reversal of fortune. we are at almost 32 inches of snow. our average snowfall is 23 in new york city. philadelphia has exceeded its average. boston, over 42 inches of snow.

the back end of the snow now in eastern new jersey, right along the new york throughway, through connecticut into massachusetts. winter storm warnings from eastern maine to new england. here's what we expect for the next 24 hours. three to five inch total. albany six inches. hartford, seven. boston between four and seven inches and we have the big chill coming. look at the air temperatures. minneapolis, 14 below. it's 11 below in green bay. 21 degrees below zero in waterloo, iowa. 2 below in waterloo. the wind chills, it feels like 19 below in chicago. 5 below in detroit. temperature for the afternoon only get to 2 below in green bay. 16 in cincinnati. this is all moving east.

we've got another big storm in the pacific northwest. we may be looking at this kind of situation or worse next tuesday, wednesday in the east. ann? >> all right, al. this story's got to change at some point. the rest of the forecast coming up. now here's lester. this is a big day for congresswoman gabrielle giffords. she will be discharged from the hospital and head to a rehabilitation center in houston, texas. miguel almaguer is outside tucson's university medical center for us this morning. miguel, good morning. >> reporter: lester, good morning. at 9:15 a.m. local time the congresswoman, her doctors and her husband will motorcade from the hospital and start their trip to texas. posted on her facebook page, a picture showing gabby giffords taking one last look, for now, at tucson's catalina mountains. husband mark kelly, always by her side. >> the last 12 days have been

extraordinarily difficult for myself, my family, but not only us. i think it's been very difficult for the city of tucson, southern arizona and our country. >> reporter: difficult but full of progress. less than two weeks ago, giffords was shot in the head, but with help she's now been able to stand. kelly says she's trying to speak. >> she'll smile at me. she'll do a couple things that she'll only do around me like pat me on the face. i can just look in her eyes and tell. she's well aware of who's around her. >> reporter: this morning giffords leaves here headed to an air force base in an ambulance. a medacac flight will take her to houston where she'll be taken to hermann hospital. >> her rehabilitation will focus on getting functionality back and doing activities of daily

living. >> reporter: giffords will be the final survivor to leave the hospital. police say she was the target of suspected gunman jared lee loughner, a rampage at a suburban safeway that left six dead, 13 others shot. among the stories of survival, acts of heroism. ron barber was shot. judge john roll pushed him to the ground and used his body to shield barber. judge roll was killed. back at university medical center, doctors say giffords is lucky to be alive. today, she'll be released but her husband says she will be back. >> i have been telling the hospital staff that she should expect to see her walking through these halls and into the icu within a couple of months. i'm sure of that. >> reporter: giffords' family said they looked at rehab centers across the country but that houston was the best fit. her husband, mark kelly, is an astronaut and from houston he says he'll be able to see his wife every day.

>> miguel, thank you. gabrielle giffords' district director ron barber was standing next to the congresswoman when she was shot twice, once in the face and once in the thigh. barber was released from the hospital. he's with us this morning along with his wife nancy. good to see you both. thanks for joining us. >> good morning. >> good morning. nice to be here. >> ron, a two-part dwquestion. your recovery -- how is it going physically and emotionally for you? >> my physical progress is going quite well. i still have some work to do on my foot from the ankle down. i don't have any sensation at all. my wounds are healing quite well. emotionally, i think i've still got a lot of work to do. i'm very fortunate. i have the support of my wife and my daughters and my family, my grandchildren and an incredible outpouring of support from our community. we are so blessed to have a

community like tucson to surround us at a time like this. >> i understand you have very clear memories of what happened at the supermarket that day. that's probably a blessing and a curse. what are your most vivid memories of that morning? >> well, it comes through my head over and over again, i have to say. my first recollection or memory is of the shooter pulling his weapon and shooting congresswoman giffords in the head and then turning it on the rest of us. >> and as you know the surveillance video shows judge john roll trying to protect you, i guess shield you as he went down. do you recall that? >> not that specifically. i haven't seen the video. i don't know that i ever will, but i was standing right next to judge roll. he was standing about a foot behind me. we had been talking before the gunman came into our area and

started shooting. but knowing who john is and the kind of man that we all knew him to be, both a judge and as a family man, i'm not surprised that he tried to protect me and i think anyone else in the area would have been protected the same way by him. he's a beautiful man and we're just deeply saddened by his loss. >> i was there and talked to folks and what struck me is how ordinary people did so many extraordinary things. there is a woman, anna ballas who applied critical pressure to your thigh. >> right. >> your femoral artery had been hit. when did you discover who had done that? tell me about your first meeting. >> i wanted to find anna. i didn't know who she was. i just remember her coming to my aid after i was down and applying pressure to the wound in my groin. i believe the doctors told me, at least, that had she not been

there i probably would have bled to death on the ground. i saw a photograph in the local newspaper the next morning, sunday morning, and i looked at the front page and there, i thought, was the person who had helped me. i remember their hair, what she was wearing. i saw her pants were covered with blood. so i asked the newspaper to help me if they could identify her and they did with help from readers. she came to my hospital room a week ago yesterday. it was an incredible meeting and reunion. she stayed with me for four, five hours, held my hand and i held hers tightly throughout. i really think she was my angel and who really allowed me to be here today. >> you bet she was. before i let you go, i want to get your comments on the headline that congresswoman gifgif giffords is going to move out of the hospital into rehab. what are your thoughts?

>> well, first of all, i'm not surprised. congresswoman giffords is a woman of great determination. it's been my honor, all of our honor to work before her, with her. she is a very strong person. she will come through this and we will have her back. i'm sure of that. i don't know how long it will take, but this step toward rehab is an indication of the will and strength that she brings to her work as a member of congress. and now to her rehabilitation. >> and, nancy, how are you handling all of the attention and certainly the fact that your husband became a victim in this? >> well, i'm just so grateful i have my husband. there are a lot of people suffering, still in pain and don't have their family members with them. we have had such incredible support from the loving care at the hospital, the care of my

daughters and sons-in-law and my sisters, everyone who's reached out to keep me strong and help me keep ron strong. i'm grateful for ttucson. we are a wonderful community, wonderful small town within a big town. we are now being able to show the world who we really are and they have a lot of love here. >> the whole country has certainly witnessed that over the past week or so. great strou. thanks for spending the time with us. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> hope and gratitude, constant theme in this story. thanks so much, lester. let's get a check of the other top stories of the morning, natalie in for me at the news desk. good morning. all 21 crew members of a hijacked south korean boat are now safe after that country's navy storm shipping freight their had been taken hostage by somali pirates in the arabian sea. successful and bold operation several of the pirates were

taken hostage and eight others were killed. 127 suspected mafiosos are in police custody after one of the largest mob roundups in fbi history. thursday's arrest spans new york, new jersey, new england for alleged crimes committed over the course of several decades. charges include murder, loansharking and gambling. federal regulators failed to shut down an abortion clinic despite numerous red flags. this according to grand jury report. the doctor who ran the clinic was arraigned thursday on eight counts of murder and nine other employees were also charged. president obama's creating a new jobs panel aimed at spurring economic growth and global competitiveness. jeffrey imald will hold the company. the new panel replace it is president's economic recovery advisory board chaired by former federal reserve chairman volcker who is stepping down. google's ceo eric schmidt is

also stepping down and will be replaced by insome one that knows the internet giant very well, larry page. page started the company with brynn as computer science doctoral students at stanford university in 1996. for the latest on how the stories are impacting wall stshgs let's turn to trish regan at the new york stock exchange. what's going on there? >> lots of news. happy friday, natalie. traders are saying they are hoping that this shows the president's commitment and to creating more job growth and that appointment. the other thing i want to mention is ge news, other ge news, the company reported earnings this morning and beat both the revenue and earnings front. technology, you mentioned, google very much in focus as a result of that news. also, hp had major shake-up of its board. that's one to watch today. finally, bank of america just reported earnings and actually had a net loss of more than a

billion dollars. that's one to focus on as well. >> have a great weekend. >> you, too. thanks so much. the u.s. air force made history. launching the largest rocket ever from the west coast. 235-foot tall deltata 4 lifted f thursday from california carrying a classified payload. not quite sure what was in there. 7:17. let's turn it back over to ann, lester and al. don't tell anyone. >> they are following starbucks trend. >> we have a guy that has a big storm he is dealing with. >> that's right. the same storm caused big problems in the midwest. take a look. oklahoma city, this is yesterday. imagine this. you are driving backwards because of the ice. and finally, he gets righted and -- fortunately doesn't hit anybody but that has to be a bad feeling when you are driving backwards. wow. that's frightening.

all right. let's -- he was moving in the right way. we have rain coming into the pacific northwest. guess what. that storm that's coming in, it will be affecting us sometime tuesday, wednesday here in the mid atlantic of the northeast. sunshine down to the southeast. 82 in miami today. thunderstorms later on. anotherbeautiful day in the bay shaping up. we do have a little bit of haze here. you can see that from the golden gate bridge camera shot, but the good news is traffic is flowing up to speed on a friday morning, the last day of the workweek. we are starting out cooler this morning in the north bay. and that's going to mean daytime highs won't get quite as warm as yesterday. by noon we'll see the 50s. look forward to another gorgeous day with beautiful weather as well. interview with aung san suu kyi. since her release from defense last november she has been

compared to nelson mandela in her fight for freedom and democracy in myanmar. as military regime forced her to spend 15 of the last 22 years in detention. we should mention we conducted the interview over the telephone after i was denied a visa. we were able to get a camera into the country which was risky because she is still under surveillance and journalists are followed and questioned. after the euphoria upon her release, aung san suu kyi, who calls gandhi an inspiration, is refocusing her nonviolent movement for democracy. in your effort to free your people from oppression, you say you are willing to engage in a dialogue with the military regime which has been condemned for ongoing systematic violations of human rights. including rain, arbitrary decisions, disappearances, and torture. what makes you now willing to negotiate with a regime accused

of such crimes? >> you have to talk to people if you want to bring about peace for change. even if you 2340e whknow what t done is very, very bad. >> you indicated you are willing to reconsider your position on international sanctions. >> we want to review the position of sanctions. we want to see what the political and social effects are. >> are you saying international sanctions are on the table. >> it depends what the outcome of the dialogue. >> what's allowed you to cling to your dreams for freedom and democracy from burma for all these years? >> freedom and democracy are goals you never give up. >> not even in her case when her husband was dying of cancer. and the regime refused him a visa. he died in 1999 in london. she was also separated from her two sons. seeing her youngest in december for the first time in ten years.

but still she consider considers herself lucky. >> lovely to see my son and i was grateful to see he's still live and well. many of my colleagues whose children are no longer live. >> reporter: >> president balm called one of his heroes. >> i do appreciate his words very much. but i have to say that if i was a blushing kind, i would blush to be called a hero. >> it is unacceptable to steal elections. as the regime in burma has done again for all the world to see. >> what do you want from america? >> we want the people of america to be aware of what's going on in burma now that's writing to their members of congress and they must call for this possible necessary burma. >> have you ever doubted your course of nonviolence? >> no, not at all. because violence brings about change quickly. but they leave such wounds. >> where do you see the opportunity that allows you to

believe that change will happen? >> i have seen great changes. and in the first place, the people were much more open, they were much braver, shall we say. and there were many more young people among our supporters. and the number of -- we are moving forward and open era not because of any policies but because of the revolution and the whole change in communications all over the globe. >> you are called lady by your people. >> well, i suppose i was named for the lady. i would like them to see me as a worker. >> people take great inspiration from you. they carry your picture in taxi cabs, towns all over your country. i wonder how will you want the world to have remembered you when you are gone. >> i want them to remember me as

somebody who has performed what you should have performed. done a dewitty and there is nothing more satisfactory than the knowledge you have done your duty. >> the regime has now approved giving her internet access and said in our interview she she would like to use twitter and other media to reach young people all over the world. the latest on the remarkable story of a woman who found her real family 23 years after she was kidnapped as a baby. we will hear from her and her parents. [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box, from chex... to cheerios... to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste you love.

get started on the whole grain you're missing with your favorite big g cereals. make sure to look for the white check. [ female announcer ] wake up to great value this week at safeway. big g cereals only $1.49. shop now!

ai the next, you start one feeling bit off.fine. the moment you feel run down or achy, nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. just ahead diana's wedding gown on a tour of america. >> after your local news. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] visit aveeno.com to save on nourish plus.

good morning, everybody. 7:26. i'm brent can thon on a friday morning. we are looking toward forward to the weekend forecast. loving this january. beautiful weather. we are about 10 to 15 degrees above average this time of the year. normally we see daytime highs registering in the upper 50s near 57 degrees. this morning we are starting out cooler than where we were at this time yesterday. so it is going to be a little bit more of a struggle for places like santa rosa to hit the upper 60s by like yesterday. nevertheless, we are expecting the 60s. high temperatures come in near 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. this time of

the year. 64 in san francisco. a beautiful day in the city today. 63 for fremont. 66 degrees in the south bay for san jose. now, if you do have weekend plans, we want to talk about a great golf weekend shaping up in san martin. a light breeze is looking good there. how are we looking on the roadways, mike? we have a lighter volume of traffic, but we have an ongoing investigation with a deadly accident at may road. the investigation is going to continue another hour. traffic is getting by. heading to the east shore freeway, you are okay heading north on san pablo road. folks are slowing approaching the area. there could be signage indicating a problem with san pablo dan road, but k get by. the east shore free down to the bay bridge is slowing suddenly. closer to the maze and the san mateo bridge, it is slowing. the his and the mist are kicking in there as well.

the search continues this morning for a 4-year-old boy who vanished earlier this week triggering a statewide amber alert. police will continue to search the canal south of paterson this morning. they will also bring in experts to exam tire tracks found near the canal. they are looking for 4-year-old juliana cardenas. and they are looking for his kidnapper, jose rodriguez. they did find a car in the canal, but it was not the toyota corolla that rodriguez owns. the "today"ew m.utes sst a few minutes.

7:30 now on this friday morning, january 21, 2011. once again, guess what. it's snowing in the northeast. broken record? maybe. it's coming down hard in boston right now. you're looking at downtown boston. we can show you what it looks like in new york city, central park. it's tapered off and we may see a little blue sky right about now. inside studio 1-a, snug and warm, lester holt alongside ann curry. matt and meredith are off. ahead the woman who discovered she was kidnapped as a baby and has been reunited with her family 23 years later. we'll talk to her aunt coming

up. >> that's right and does the new mtv drama "skins" amount to child pornography? critics are calling for a federal investigation of the show. >> plus one of the most talked about wedding gowns of all time? princess diana's famous dress is on display in america. we'll get a close-up look coming up. first, more on the emotional reunion on a woman snatched 23 years ago onld her parents. wnbc has the latest now. tom, good morning. >> good morning. we are talking about someone starting a new life, getting familiar with her birth name and biological family. as carlina white and her parents begin to put their life back together the fbi is starting the investigation to find the person responsible for tearing the family apart. this family meal could not be any suitor. joy white and carl tyson finally back with her daughter carlina

after 23 painful years apart. >> when i lost my daughter, oh, my god that was a big part of my heart ripped apart. >> she always believed she would find her. >> reporter: the family calls it a miracle. in 1987 their 3-week-old carlina was running a high fever. they brought her to car lem hospital and never saw her again. police said carlina was kidnapped by a woman posing as a nurse. >> i want my baby back. they didn't have to do that to me. i had her. i was carrying her for 9 months. they didn't have to take her from me. >> we received over 50 calls from the public. we are thoroughly investigating all of theses information we have received. >> reporter: the leads went nowhere and the case went cold, that is until nejdra nance, a new mother herself, started having doubts. >> the baby picture struck me.

i didn't see my picture when i was that young but it looked like my daughter. >> dna tests showed she was the infant snatched from the hospital 23 years ago. >> this is what i wanted ever since i found out that that lady wasn't my biological mother. >> as the family puts their life back together, investigators are trying to figure out who kidnapped carlina white. no suspect named, no one charged but carlina say it is woman who raised her is ann petway. >> my family believed ann was nejdra's mother. it was typical to hear nejdra call ann mom. >> petway's cousin said he knew carlina as nejdra growing up together in bridgeport, connecticut. >> ann wasn't the warmest of mothers and you could tell it affected nejdra. >> reporter: the family doesn't know what to believe about ann. >> we are in a state of disbelief praying it isn't ann who abducted this child. >> reporter: carlina white says

she want it is truth to a life filled with lies. >> i just hope -- ever get in their hands. they get to hear her side of the story now. >> reporter: ann petway was seen in raleigh, north carolina, this week and told the new york post she was headed to connecticut to, quote, straighten this out. the nypd is investigating the fbi and as long as the child was under 18 at the time and is found alive there is no statute of limitations in federal cases which may be a reason the fbi has take tn lead in this case. >> tom, thank you. carlina white's aunts lisa white heatley and regina tyson join us. good morning. >> good morning. >> what an experience. what a stoimplt lisa, you are carlina's mother's sister. you were at the reunion at the airport? >> yes. >> what was that experience? what do you want to say about that? >> it was a beautiful

experience. just to see your niece after so many years. when i seen her face, she looked just like herself. you know, i seen the big eyes and said, oh, my god. i just grabbed her. i was so happy. i was so happy to see her. then my sister seen her and started to cry, so carlina said, mommy, don't cry. my sister couldn't hold back the tears. carlina said, you're going to make me cry, mommy. so i cried. my little niece said, hi, auntie! like she knew me already. >> this is carlina's daughter? >> yes. i just hugged and kissed her. we had met in the car rental place because she was getting a rental car. she had left the airport and went to get the car. >> that's right. regina, you are carlina's father's sister.

you got to see carlina yesterday. >> yes. we spent the day with her yesterday. >> what are your emotions and your brother's emotions going through all this? >> well, when i saw her yesterday i was speechless. i didn't know what to say to her. but she did say, auntie, come here. so my brother -- they were together when it happened. they were a family at that time. carl's taking it really hard right now. but you can't make up time. you have to just -- you know, you have to pick up from where you left off at. >> is there a sense of having to work at a relationship or a sense of immediate closeness? >> oh, it's immediate closeness. >> yeah. >> right away, somebody you have

not seen for that many years and, oh, hi auntie. she felt the connection. >> that's the first thing she said to me. even when i first spoke to her. before it aired her first thing, auntie, don't cry. i'm about to hang up. >> how do you explain carlina coping so well with it? >> so strong. >> where does it come from? do you understand it? >> i guess life goes on. you know? you can't -- i can't explain that one. it's difficult. >> it is. you have to say, well, i found my family. i guess she's being strong. >> we don't have a lot of time, but before i let you go i want to ask you about the investigators and what they are trying to do. what kind of justice does your family want if you can say it

quickly. >> well, i want her to go to jail. i want them to give the time that they are supposed to give her for what she did to my family. she destroyed my family. my niece has been gone so long and i think she deserves to be punished for that. >> obviously a suspect has not been named but investigators are on this. >> yeah. but i believe it's her. >> lisa, thank you so much and regina, thank you. >> you're more than welcome. >> celebrate this time together. now let's turn to the weather. we have al standing by. >> hey, ann, the snow's ended. in fact, hey, jimmy, look at that. blue sky! we have blue skies up here. very nice. speaking of blue, we've got a little blue bundle here. who's this? >> carson. >> how old? >> he'll be 1 on february 5th. >> where are you from? >> from canada. >> o canada. we have a nice group from tucson. let's check your weather here as

well. we will show you the weekend. sunshine in the pacific northwest. good news for them. mild in the southwest. snowshowers around the eastern great lakes. lake effect snows around the great lakes. sunday, the frigid air from the plains, great lakes into the northeast down into the midatlantic states. we are looking at brutally cold temperatures, even back through the rockies. rain back in the pacific northwest. good morning to you. it is a little hazy as you can see from the sunol camera, but we are not calling it foggy. in fact, we are looking good with most of the low clouds above the roadway. so they will not prevent you from getting to work on time. right now heading throughout this afternoon, we are talking about temperatures ending up in the 60s. 67 degrees is your forecasted high for today with sunshine. a few more clouds come in on sunday, but overall looking good in the 60s with sunshine all the way through next thursday. weather. ann? >> al, thanks.

just ahead we get up close to princess diana's wedding dress and, next, the controversy over mtv's new teen drama being slammed by critics for showing too much skin. that's right after this. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm.

but the nicoderm cq patch gradually steps you down off of nicotine in just three steps, doubling your chances for success. nicoderm cq. 3 steps, 10 weeks and you're free. [ giggles ] cq. hey, max. [ announcer ] you can help significantly extend your dog's healthy years. a groundbreaking 14-year study by purina... proves that puppy chow, then dog chow nutrition, fed properly over a lifetime, can help extend his lovable antics up to 1.8 healthy years. long live your buddy. [ laughs ] oh, max. long live your dog. purina dog chow. double dog dare you to try better-tasting than ever purina dog chow. we know your dog will love it. [ male announcer ] there are snacks. and there are better snacks. quaker chewy, 25% less sugar than the leading sweet snacks, no high fructose corn syrup and the goodness of whole grains.

♪ ooh! ow. [ male announcer ] at ragu, our mission is to pack two servings of vegetables into every half-cup of healthy, delicious sauce.

new ragu has the taste your family will love, so, it's even easier to make every bite count. ♪ ragu. feed our kids well. we're back at 7:43. now to the controversy over a new show on mtv, a racy teen drama that critics say is too explicit for television. jeff rossen has the details. >> the show is called "skins" and they show a lot of it. most of the actors are under age, some as young as 15. they are half naked, doing drugs and now one of the parents' groups in the country is calling for a federal investigation saying it may be child pornography. the numbers are in. and mtv's "skins" is an instant hit. this week's premiere watched by 3.3 million people, many of them

young children. the premise is simple. a group of high school friends talking sex -- >> you promised to help stanley today. >> with what? >> the virgin thing. >> reporter: drinking and doing drugs. >> purchase the narcotics and get here. >> reporter: usually the racy reality shows are stirring things up. not here. this is a scripted series based on a british hit show. >> do you have to do that? >> what? >> suck his face off in public all the time. >> the actors here are real teenagered, aged 15 to 19 doing things like this. and this. ♪ >> you have a major conglomerate, mtv and viacom marketing directly to children, sex, drug use. >> reporter: this letter was sent to the house and senate

judiciary committees saying mtv may be violating federal law including sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. >> their defense is likely to be, oh, come on, this is just a television show. that's not the defense because that's not the issue. the issue is are there kids involved under the age of 18. that's it. that's enough. that's child pornography. >> reporter: there is a warning at the top of the show, but critics say it's not enough. >> viewer discretion is advised. >> reporter: mtv says "skins" addresses issues in a frank way. we are confident the episodes of "skins" will comply with all applicable legal requirements and our responsibilities to our viewers. some parents say it's not just the content they find outrajs but the marketing. >> this is marketed to teens. >> are you still a virgin?

>> yep. >> now advertisers are getting nervous, too. thursday, taco bell pulled out of the show and the parents' group is calling on others to follow. if you didn't think episode one was bad, critics say episode three gets worse and the parents group is trying to get mtv to reedit future episodes. >> jeff, thank you very much. up next, the traveling tribute to princess diana that's drawing big krauds crowds here in the u. right after this.

wabout readingl and put it here. introducing nookcolor. experience books, magazines, newspapers and children's books like never before. nookcolor by barnes & noble. and i wondered what it was. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can do more with the ones i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness,

weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. then i found lyrica. ["stir it up" playing] stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. >> man: getting across town to a job interview is stressful enough without being late. i want guidance that takes me where i need to be, without any problems along the way. i feel the same way when i do taxes. turbotax has a unique gps feature that guides me step-by-step. and calculations are guaranteed 100% accurate, so i know it's done right. they even offer representation in case of an audit. which helps me reach my maximum refund, guaranteed. >> try turbotax online now. you don't pay unless you're satisfied with the results. ♪

professional driver on a closed course. ♪ do not attempt at home. always wear your seat belt. ♪ and please drive responsibly. [ male announcer ] it's the most fun you can legally have. the powerful mercedes-benz c-class. and now, join us on facebook and take part in the world's first twitter-fueled race. there you go. back now at 7:49 with a live look at a welcome sight here in new york city -- the sun peeking through the treeings in central park. i think that's mozart playing so happily. speaking of welcome sights there is a traveling exhibit in the united states drawing all sorts of crowds as prince william and kate's wedding approaches. it's a tribute to princess diana. we have peter alexander in grand

rapids, michigan, where people are flocking to get a look at royal history. hey, peter. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. a pretty good get for grand rapids. this is one of the most famous pieces of royal history, princess diana's wedding dress. at the time she was married, hard to believe it was 30 years ago. more than a billion people were watching worldwide. can you imagine walking out of the carriage with that many people watching you with a 25-foot-long train? now after her death, her life still inspires. ♪ ♪ pretty woman >> reporter: she was a unique phenomenon and in the words of her brother, a glamorous humanitarian. ♪ >> reporter: princess diana, the people's princess captivated the world with a rare blend of sophistication and her sincere common touch. >> she came across very warm and she was so caring. i just loved watching her and i loved watching what she wore.

>> reporter: already drawing tens of thousands of visitors, the diana exhibit is a celebration show casing lady di's striking sense of fashion, like this navy suit she wore to pavarotti's concert in the park in 1991. it was drenched by rain. the evening gown from her last public engagement. even the unforgettable vest and visor worn to highlight the issue of land mines. the exhibits on a cross country tour. pamela ro land helped bring it to michigan. >> you are seeing history of a woman loved by so many people around the world. undoubtedly the dress that defined diana and mesmerizes her fans is this one -- the hand-sewn wedding gown complete with a 25-foot-long train. sissy greenspan and her daughter carrie, drove three hours from

chicago to see it. >> seeing all these ing prin se princess things makes you think of dressing up as a young girl. >> reporter: those things include diana's childhood photos and school uniform. visitors are struck by the magnitude of her loss. across grand rapids the cure i do not ti for all things royal has become contagious with the women's club hosting a royal luncheon. >> for a generation, this is a new special time with a nuprin sesz on the way. >> absolutely. >> reporter: as the world prepares to welcome kate middleton as a newprincess, memories of diana never fade. these day, everybody wants to know what kate middleton will wear in the wedding, now 98 days away. but to keep this dress secret this dress was hidden in a metal cabinet. they threw fake fabric and lace in the garbage to throw paparazzi off the case.

>> peter, good job. we should have him follow the dress around the country. >> there we go. >> he may kill me for that. >> look at him. yr cou to ke your new year's resolutions. >> after your local news. ♪

[ male announcer ] from jet engines that have fewer emissions, to new ways to charge electric cars, to renewable sources of clean energy, ecomagination from ge is advanced technology

that's good for both the economy and the environment. ♪ it's technology that makes the world work. [ squawking ] ♪ tough being the only girl. aw, there's the man of the house. who's this ? this is rufus. hey, rufus. he's actually pretty talented. you wanna see him do a trick ? ok. hey rufus. who do we love ? we love our bank. we love our bank. we love our bank. we love our bank. yes, yes. you really love your bank don't you. ally bank customers love our 24/7 customer care that allows you to talk to a real person anytime. ally. do you love your bank ?

good friday morning once again. 7:56. i'm brent cannon checking your forecast with christina. pretty nice out there. not too bad today. there is nothing in terms of anything bad out there. the fog is gone. we have a little haze in santa rosa and novato. 49 degrees in san francisco right now. 43 degrees in lovely san mateo. we'll warm up into the 60s later on today. this morning will be the warmest day of the week. a little bit warmer heading into saturday. 67 degrees is the forecasted high for places like fairfield, los gatos, 67 degrees. 66 in san jose. it is a getaway weekend. we want to give you a little ski report. this is what you can expect heading to lake tahoe this

weekend. a 7.5 foot basin, heavenly. looking good all the way through the interior right here at home. we'll find out how your traffic is looking with mike. we are looking at the bay bridge toll plaza. we have a backup at the toll plaz withplaza. fog is blowing through with low clouds, but not a big deal with visibility okay here. the toll plaza approaching the east shore freeway, through 880 is slowing with speeds in the 40s. that's the only major slowing through oakland approaching the bridge. the southbound is looking good but we have two accidents. one is causing a considerable backup. one is in the downtown area. 280 is starting to slow down. highway 17 could see more traffic starting late in the morning heading over to santa cruz. back to you. thank you, mike.

barry bonds' perjury trial will move forward in san francisco today. the federal judge will hear arguments to exclude crucial evidence and witnesses in the case. bonds' legal team wants the judge to disallow the use of drug calendars and other materials seized in raids during the balko investigation. the 46-year-old bonds is accused of lying to a federal grand jury in 2003 after the use of performance enhancing drugs. his trial is expected to start on march 21st. more local news coming up in a half hour and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. see you back here in a bit. h

8:00 now on a friday morning, january 21, 2011. al said it would be a fast-moving storm and al was right. the storm has already stopped here in new york city. good news for these people who gathered in rockefeller plaza to join us. i'm ann curry along with al roker and lester holt filling in this morning. did you guys make a new year's resolution and have you kept it? >> i did and trying to keep it. >> it's a struggle, isn't it? >> i don't give myself a hard and fast rule, but i try to stick with it. >> guidelines.

>> it's just guide. three weeks into 2011 and many people, of course, are struggling, especially with how to lose weight and get organized. we'll be talking about how to get you back on track. we have tips from a number of experts this morning. >> also, we're going to give you an extraordinary look into the decision to go to war with iraq the first time, 20 years ago. brian williams sat down with president h.w. bush and his inner circle to talk about the decision to go to war. >> on a much different note, actress and fitness guru suzanne somers will be here revealing her plan for staying fit and sexy after 40. >> she's done it. >> what's the sign? >> i spend hours with -- >> oh, she's a knitter. >> there you go. >> you look very dapper.

i feel like nanook of the north. in the warm studios, natalie has the news. >> good morning, everyone. today's storm is closing schools and snarling traffic in the northeast. boston declared a snow emergency and parking restrictions. and several inches of snow fell on winter-weary new york. the same storm system left eight inches of snow and is blamed for six traffic deaths in the midwest. as she prepares to leave a tucson hospital arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords enjoyed a breath of fresh air with her husband thursday. she's moving to a houston rehabilitation center today, less than two weeks after she was shot in the head. a scare this morning for the french foreign minister whose car was mobbed by a crowd of palestinian protest in gaza. the protesters rather. the minister was not hurt. under pressure from the united states and china, north korea and south korea agreed to hold high level military talks.

tensions on the korean peninsula have been high since the sinking of a ship and an artillery attack on a south korean island. two veteran miami police officers were killed as they attempted to serve an arrest warrant to a murder suspect. johnny simms was wanted for his role in an october homicide. and was released from prison six months ago. he was also killed in the shootout. actor and humanitarian activist george clooney is recovering from malaria. according to "people" magazine he caught the disease after a recent trip to sudan. three lion cubs born on new year's eve are being hand raised humans at a zoo in germany while the mother recovers from her c-section. zookeepers took turns feeding the cubs every three hours. the cutest video. you had to see it today. let's go outside to al with the weather. always love the cute animals. >> can't go wrong. this poor lady, the snowstorm cancelled your 60th birthday?

>> yes. >> that's terrible. >> thanks, al. >> all right. hey, let's go live to the sawmill parkway in westchester. roads are wet, looking pretty good. that's not bad. our stage manager says if you could swing by his house and walk the dog, that would be great. man, they're doing 60. they're moving. the pick city today, news channel 8 nbc 8 in tampa, florida. scattered showers and 67 degrees. as you look you can see the storm that moved out of new york. long island, connecticut, still in boston. they have a winter storm warning from north connecticut to new england. totals, three to five in new york city. three to six in albany. hartford, four to seven. maybe ten on the outside in portland, maine. that's the good news. our neck of the woods is

looking good this morning. good morning to you in the bay area. we do have some haze, but we don't have any fog to report right now. all of this cloud cover is going to break apart as we head through the next couple of hours. and that's going to make for a mostly sunny, beautiful day in the city. we're talking about 37 degrees right now in concord, turning over to the upper 60s before all is said and done in the morning. we're already peeling off the layers with temperatures in the lower 60s. and that is a good-looking chapeau. now over to ann. >> by the way, you're not going to believe this. she's 72 years old. look at her. see? there's hope. i don't know what you're -- okay. we have much more coming up including dieting, your money, how to restart your r's re year's resolutions, coming up next. that's been lying around? d fr let's tear it up. and take it on. let's get a lot of style... for a lot less.

get everything we need -- and everything we need to know then get to work making more rooms work for us. with guaranteed low prices on every square foot, the home depot is lowering the cost of a fresh new look. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we've made a special buy on porcelain tile. get this tile now for just 98 cents per square foot. [ male announcer ] there are snacks. and there are better snacks.

quaker chewy, 25% less sugar than the leading sweet snacks, no high fructose corn syrup and the goodness of whole grains. quaker chewy, 25% less sugar than the leading sweet snacks, discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus on travel. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. [ slap! slap! slap! slap! slap! ]

[ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums including your skin. [ female announcer ] now aveeno reinvents positively ageless. with shiitake complex, it's shown to visibly transform skin, helping repair the look of past damage and prevent future damage. positively ageless. only from aveeno. and prevent future damage. [ shark 1 ] uh, steve. [ shark 2 ] yeah, the guy. with steve i tasted peanut butter and uh snickers.

[shark 3] yeah, that's it! steve had just eaten snickers peanut butter squared. ohhhhh! steve was delicious. [ male announcer ] if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try new snickers peanut butter squared. hebrew national hot dogs are the best part you'll love peanut butter and snickers. of watching the greatest game ever invented. give your mouth the end zone celebration it deserves. go, kosher, go. with no fillers, by-products, artificial flavors or colors. hebrew national. the better than a hot dog hot dog. back now at 8:09. this morning on "today's friday whip," jump starting your new year's resolutions. more than half of all americans

made one from diet, to money, to getting organized. >> we have experts to help you stick with it. first up making the most of your money. car men ulrich, the offer of the real cost of living. making the best choices for you, your life and your money. good morning. >> good morning, lester. >> big resolution. i need to save money this year. how do you start putting it away every month, every week? >> you may have heard it before, automate your savings. be sure it's automatically taken out. have it at a different bank so it's harder to have access to it through your checking account. remember the old-fashioned method of putting cash into different envelopes for the budget? you can do it online now at envelopes.com. it's a fun way to keep you on track. >> how do you set up an automated savings account? >> go online, set it up at a different bank so you can't link the two. or if you can, it's harder to get access to that money. >> credit card spending gets people in trouble. people said this year i will cut it down. give us some advice. >> do not carry that credit card with you.

i will one up that, too. we do so much shopping online, erase your credit card data from your online shopping sites. make sure it's not there so you can't easily spend money. >> big sales in the store saw 95% the other day. how do you resist the temptation to spend a lot? >> think of it this way. it's not just the interest rate on the credit card. you're losing on income because that money isn't going into a retirement investment account and growing. you're losing on security if the emergency fund isn't fully funded. it costs you more than the interest. >> people say where was that 95% sale? >> me, too. where is that? >> carmen, thank you very much. here's ann. >> diet and exercise resolutions are often the first ones abandoned. we have ellie krieger with us. good morning. great to have you here. you say for the rest of us who find this resolution the hardest

to keep, you say you've got three basic suggestions. >> right. first of all, make sure they are specific and attainable. don't say, i'm going to eat they will think or exercise. say, i will switch to whole grain bread and pasta. do specific things. also, monitor yourself weekly. not just weight but waist so you have something tangible and not just one indicator. >> one strategy you say is eat breakfast. something small even. >> absolutely. within 90 minutes of waking up. it's one of the key habits of people who have lost weight and kept it off. it's really important. >> one of the worst things is you get cravings and want to snack. you say have them ready to eat. >> everyone has a vulnerable time of the day. have a strategy.eat. >> everyone has a vulnerable time of the day. have a strategy. portions are important, so i love to have trail mix in a bag so you have the right portion. have this great popcorn in a lunch bag, fold it over, pop it and you have a perfect portion. >> fruits, vegetables.

>> everything at your fingertips. >> and this is the new big thing. >> my daughter can't get enough. >> i can't. >> you just put a little oil in there, rub it around, bake it 350 for a few minutes and you have great crunchy chips. >> great advice. by the way, you can get a daily tip at todayshow.com. here's natalie. >> every year couples vow to improve their relationship. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you came up with three goals for men and women. let's start with you. three goals for women to put their relationship first. >> one big thing we have to stop nagging. when you nag there are two responses you'll get. either the person will become resentful, defensive or stop listening to you. so that has to be a new year's resolution. >> you say don't rely on your partner to complete you. >> no. you complete you.

men are told a happy wife is a happy life. it's up to us to be the happy wife. reconnect with your fashions this year. you can't be passionate in a relationship if you are not connected to what you're passionate about. >> exactly. you say make your relationship a top priority which makes it very important. so to the men quickly. >> guys, if you can do only one thing, hug your wife for 30 seconds. studies show that if you -- >> do you have a countdown clock going? >> don't be staring at the watch, but hug your wife for 30 seconds and oxytocin levels, the cuddle hormone get raised. everybody has time for 30 seconds no matter how busy you are. the other thing is you have to get positive. studies show the difference between couples who succeed and fail is the ability to be positive more than negative. it's actually a five to one rat ratio. for every negative interaction you have to have five positive ones. >> and positive interactions

lead to intimacy in the bedroom. >> absolutely. >> put it as a priority. thank you so much. now here's al. >> a resolution to get organized can be easier said than done. elizabeth mayhue joins us. >> good morning. >> first of all, you have to deal with the stuff. >> one drawer at a time. you cannot conquer everything at once. it will be too overwhelming. sort, edit and get rid of. purge. >> donate, toss, keep. >> exactly right. one of the hardest things is what do you do with the stuff. go to 800-recycling.com. punch in your zip code and they will tell you where to get rid of everything. it's unbelievable. >> all right. >> you want things to look good. you will be more apt to organize if things are pretty. these are brand new from office depot from see jane work. you have to see your stuff. get the compartments. you want things visible. we love the drop front boxes from container store. >> you see the back of every

door should have one. >> you can use it in the coup board, pantry, bathroom. see it, get what you need. that's what organizing is about. it makes your life a billion times better. >> you could put the kids in. >> we can put you in it if you keep shrinking. >> we'll be right back after these messages. oatmeal at mcdonald's.s made with 100% natural whole-grain oats and loaded with real fruit. crisp, fresh red and green apples, sweet cranberries and golden raisins. be honest now -- when has good for you made you feel this good and been this delicious? introducing mcdonald's new fruit & maple oatmeal. freshly made for you. the simple joy of loving what's good for you. that's what we're made of. ♪

♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ oh, do it ♪ oh, do it ♪ express yourself ♪ hey [ female announcer ] coffee is like life. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate, from nestle. with aveeno nourish plus moisturize. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... ir with life.

[ female announcer ] visit aveeno.com to save on nourish plus. for softer, stronger... ... ir with life. breaks the grindstone, and ♪ call 1-800-steemer read. this is my band from the 80's, looker. hair and mascara, a lethal combo. i'm jon haber of alto music. my business is all about getting music into people's hands. and the plum card from american express open helps me do that. you name it, i can buy it. and the savings that we get from the early pay discount has given us money to reinvest back into our business and help quadruple our floor space. how can the plum card's trade terms get your business booming? booming is putting more music in more people's hands. i've never tasted anything so delicious. richard, why are you wearing grandpa's jacket? i'm not richard. i'm grandpa smucker. male announcer: tim and richard smucker

always looked up to their father and grandfather knowing that one day they too would make the world's best jam. grandpa says it like, i've never tasted anything so delicious! i've never tasted anything so delicious! tim: [ laughing ] you got it! male announcer: for five generations, with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. ♪ hey mike, what's up? they've been singing the same song for the last three hours. ♪ just call me angel ♪ of the morning ♪ angel ♪ just touch my cheek before... ♪ [ nathan ] that was painful to watch. he needs a highlander. one that comes with a sweet rear-seat entertainment system. [ male announcer ] see the stylish new highlander at youtube.com/highlander. 20 years ago america led a coalition of 34 nations to force saddam hussein out of kuwait.

it was known as desert storm. brian williams had the unique opportunity to reflect on the war with then president george h.w. bush and his inner circle. >> take us back, sir. where were you? do you remember physically the moment you learned t eed that id gone into kuwait? >> i think brent told me that. >> he was lying on a massage table. >> you better explain that. >> he was getting his evening massage in the white house when i came in and told him. it was about 8:00, something like that. >> we were surprised because all our friends over there predicted that they wouldn't do it. i mean, they would not go on into the country. >> what about saddam? you also chose, your call, to personalize the war and the

media, of course, picked right up on that. bush versus saddam. he's dead now, been executed. how often do you think about him? >> not so much anymore. i mean, he was a bad guy. we have seen that in a lot of other ways since then. it wasn't as personal with me. it was just the whole idea that they went in there and took over this other country. >> i think it would be appropriate to use all the arguments because we were doing the right thing. and so there's nothing wrong with using an economic argument or using an argument about how venal this guy was, how he brutalized his own people and the people of kuwait using morality arguments. you use them all because we were doing the right thing. >> mr. president, the decision to end the war where you did, when you did, tell us about that. >> well, we had an objective. the objective was to kick this

guy out of kuwait. we did it. and we formed a coalition to help achieve that. and so it didn't enter my mind that we ought to do more, that we ought to go further, now we're in charge and we ought to kill him. that wasn't our objective. that wasn't the way we formed an unprecedented coalition. so when people came to me and said, it's over, we won, that was fine. that was enough. >> did any of the gentlemen at this table advocate going further to baghdad, to saddam? were you present when anyone of senior rank did? >> no. >> no. >> no one did. >> mr. vice president, on the subject of disagreements, they go all across this table. they are all throughout this room and in the air. gentlemen at this table have said that's not the dick cheney i knew. he's unrecognizable to me. it was the transition between gulf one and gulf two.

and all the changes, the nature of gulf two that was seen as an elective war in the wake of 9/11. have you made peace -- if not with some of the men at this table with whom you haven't enjoyed casual conversation before today for years, and do you feel the need to? >> i prefer to think of it as a truce, brian. [ laughter ] >> we have agreements on that from everyone? >> yes. >> we're going hunting, jim and i are. we haven't invited anybody else. clearly, we had differences on subsequent policy issues. from my perspective -- and i looked at saddam hussein differently after 9/11 than before 9/11. but i reached a point and where a lot of the controversy concerns me is that i was in the

bunker in the white house on 9/11, watched as the world trade center was destroyed, the pentagon was hit, 3,000 americans were killed. never before had i seen an attack like that on the united states. i was bound and determined, as was the president i then worked for that that was never going to happen again on our watch. >> mr. president, tell me, these troubles must have troubled you. here you have this incredible, indelible role of the bush family in u.s. history. you're right up there with the adamses, yet on your son's watch some of the relationships broke down including some involving your best friends. >> such as? >> forgive me. general showcroft was in disagreement with the policies of your son? >> everyone has their own opinion. didn't bother me. i was out of it by then.

i just support our son as president and the fact that others disagree with him on different policy issues goes with the territory. i didn't make a big federal case out of any of that. >> you just sat in houston, kennebunkport. >> let the president do his job. >> watched on cable until you had to turn it off. >> that's right. that became easy at times. but, no, you can't worry about that. you can't worry about differences. they're bound to take place. >> i guess you guys are off to go hunting. >> next week. >> okay. >> and i'm told your heart pump can also take a joke. do you have any reservations when you get a hunting invitation from vice president cheney? >> i extended the invitation to him. i have good body armor. >> thank you very much. >> you can see more of brian's interview online at

nightly.msnbc.com. sunday at noon eastern on msnbc and sunday night on "dateline" here on nbc. ah good morning, everybody, the time is 8:26, take a look at your friday, the weekend forecast. >> the weekend has arrived and beer going to see a lot of sunshine this weekend. it's not so common for the bay area, but that's what we're going to experience for the next seven, maybe eight, nine days. high pressure holding strong, it is creating clear skies, though, so we are starting out very cold this morning in places like santa rosa, just three degrees above freezing now, but as that sun comes up, it's going to warm us up rapidly. rounding the day out, in the upper 60s across the bay area.

we're looking good right now in the weather department, looks like we have an accident to talk to mike about. >> we'll take you down to san jose, very unusual, especially for a friday. good note folks, use're coming southbound 101, out of santa clara, very slow, an accident's just been cleared to the shoulder. and that's the slowdown actually heading out of sunny value. also an accident lawrence at benton in santa clara. more news after this.

there could be a head to head showdown. oakland's current sheaf and santa fe's acting chief are the two finalists. there were more than 30 people applying for that job. more local news coming up in half an hour, "today" show in two minutes.

it is 8:30 now on a friday morning, january 21, 2011. if these folks didn't get their fill of winter with the morning snow they should come back tomorrow when it will be in the low teens and feel closer to zero. joy, joy, joy. by the way, that music you hear, that's the classic aero smith

hit "walk this way." we'll hear more of his blend of rock and classic. >> so cool. >> that's coming up. >> he's fiddling. >> that's special. also coming up we have been talking about a lot of things including we'll hear from suzanne somers, a great example of someone focused on fitness and health. she's been in the spotlight for more than three decades and she has advice on staying sexy and fighting the fat after 40. >> also the stars shine on the red carpet at the golden globes. coming up we have dresses that look like the dresses the stars wore for a fraction of the price. >> speaking of stars, lester and i -- any time you can get the word cavalcade in. it's a cavalcade of skating stars over on the rockefeller

center ice rink. >> we'll have a live performance coming up. >> it's cavalcade of leather! let's show you what's happening for saturday. we have sunshine and i think i have kale in my teeth from ellie krieger. can you go in there and get it for me, ann? we have snowshowers around the great lakes. also around the rockies. then on sunday, the frigid weather from the great lakes to the northeast back into the rockies. showers in the pacific northwest. sleet and snow in the mid mississippi river valley. sunny and mild in the southwest. good morning to you. take a look at the beautiful day that is shaping up over san

jose, the shark tank never looked so good. we're also looking really good right now all across the board. we have got 63 degrees in fremont, 64 degrees to look forward to in oakland today. a lot of sunshine stays with us throughout your weekend, temperatures maxing out in the 60s, all the way throughout the next eight days. have a fantastic weekend, enjoy that sunshine. don't forget, you can check your weather any time you need it on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> all right. thanks, al. coming up, actress suzanne somers talks about fighting fat and staying sexy after 40.

back at 8:35. suzanne somers has built an

empire on health, beauty and fitness products. she was first the mysterious blond on "american grafitti" and then on "three's company." she's a far cry from that character. she's written books including "sexy forever, how to fight fat after 40." great to have you here. >> thank you. i want your shoes. >> i like yours. >> this is your fifth book? >> fifth best seller in a row. i think out of 20, 12 are best sellers. i'm irish. you know, we write. >> why write this book? you said you didn't want to write another health and fitness book. >> the most asked question on the internet is how do i lose fat after 40. i thought, that's true. that's when i started gaining weight, when the hormones are fluctuating and the science turned me on because by the time

you're 40 you have accumulated such a toxic burden from this great environmental assault we are under. it's like a closet that has too many clothes in it but you still buy more clothes. they don't fit, so all you can do is enlarge the closet. your body work it is same way. the brain, in order to keep the toxins away from bones and/or gan -- bones and the organs says i will store it in the fat. the more toxins you take in the more fat you need. women go out for lunch and eat salads. it's not what they are eating. and they're exercising. >> they're bloated. >> everybody has gut problems. >> what is this leaky gut syndrome? is this something you came up with? it's not medical terminology. >> actually, it is. it's prevalent now and it's from the antibiotics in the meats. it's important to eat grass-fed beef. they don't inject them the way they do those that were fed

corn. >> you will get a lot of people from the meat industry. the critics say -- the fda says there is no scientific proof that it may be better. >> my opinion is eat american grass-fed beef. it does exist here. the reason is when you inject meat with antibiotics they get in your gut, eat the happy bacteria which leaves all the bad stuff. the bad stuff likes to feast on the lining inside the gut eventually eats little holes in the gut. the toxins which should be neutralized in the stomach leak out now and that's how people are getting auto immune diseasediseases like m.s., fibromyalgia, lupus. >> there is a big leak because there is not a lot of scientific proof to say it's causing these diseases necessarily. >> okay. >> you don't necessarily have, you know, doctors or experts. you have a lot of alternative medicine gurus.

>> yeah. but alternative doctors are western-trained doctors. the doctors that i interview are harvard and columbia and stanford and qualified doctors who have stepped outside the standard of care box. the way i operate is it's just a choice. you know? you can choose alternative or integrated which i think is the best of both worlds which exists in many countries around the world there is a choice. but how this relates to fat is if you clean up your gut and get rid of candida, leaky gut and get your gut working right, get rid of bloating, constipation. women have a lot of trouble with constipation. i hear it on the website. you detox your life as best you can, bit by bit and find your food intolerances. that's one of the most interesting things in the book. >> you say women suffer from

food allergies and they develop over time. >> and men like gluten intolerance, low thyroid which is a fat-burning hormone. so i'm writing about my husband who's severely gluten intolerant. i pulled back from the desk and i thought, that's me. i'm thin but bloated like i'm nine months pregnant. i had an egg, onion and salad. it had to be the egg. it took two weeks for the test to come back. in that two weeks i lost ten pounds not eating eggs. they are not a fattening food, but i'm allergic. if you read this you may find that maybe it's a food you're eating that's holding onto the fat. maybe it's the toxicity in your life. the food, nonorganic food and what you clean your house with. maybe it's gut problems. you have to get all of that out

of the way before you can get on the program and start losing weight and you will lose weight and keep it off and be thin forever. >> and be back in the '80s short-shorts which chrissy wore. >> they fit. but it's desperate. i'm 64. >> we should all look so good. the book is "sexy forever." thank you very much. a live performance coming up from one of the most popular violinists on the planet. first, this is "today" on nbc.

the moment you feel run down or achy nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud.

the toyota concert series on "today" brought to you by toyota. >> we are back. violinist david garrett stormed onto the classical music scene with his self-titled debut album and became the best selling new classical artist of the year. he's back with his sophomore

album. it's great to see you here. >> great to be here in new york. >> this is so fun what you do. everything from led zeppelin and aerosmith to vivaldi. where did you get the idea to mix classic and rock? >> they are my favorite music. i grew up with grass caclassica enjoyed the rock shows going on here. at some point i realized that i've got to mend the two. >> if i flipped through your ipod would i find more rock or classical? >> it's not even only classical and rock. i'm diverse. >> eclectic. i know you hope to bring in a younger audience and you have done it. are these classical fans or rock fans? >> i don't care. i'm a music fan. i want my audience to love music. >> when you hear the classical tunes do you start hearing the

rock riffs and rearranging them in your mind? >> sometimes. there is the famous vivaldi four seasons which has the same harmonic progression as a u2 song. you can mix them. it's fun to make people realize that music hasn't changed in the harmonies in 400 years. >> we'll hear an example now as you do beethoven's 5th. >> take it away. ♪

♪ [ applause ]

>> the album "rock symphonies." david garrett, thank you very much. up next, we'll catch up with the stars on ice tour. but first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today at

the rink," the cast of smuk cke stars on ice. good morning to all of you. are you ready to tour the country with the 25th anniversary of stars on ice? it's interesting. the 25th anniversary. evan, this thing is as old as you have been alive. you're 25 years old. that's not the first time somebody has said that to you. >> it is the first time, but it's true. i'm honored to be a part of this special celebration and smuckers has hand-picked stars to bring back for this anniversary tour. >> the point is for you to be skating as a group. it's such a treat for us this morning to see you all skate together. but there are specific challenges skating in a group, i imagine. what could they be rather than skating along?

>> it's fun but it's a learning process. we always have a lot of rehearsal. it's more fun because we entertain each other. >> you seem to have so much fun out here. what can we expect from the 25th anniversary show? who wants that one? >> i think stars on ice has reinvented itself but also kept to the core of what it was meant to be when scott hamilton con saccept -- conceptualized it. we can create a real family atmosphere with each other and the audience. >> you knew each other from the olympics and other competitions. this is about you joining together and doing it together. >> you definitely get to know each other on the road together for a period of time. we spent a lot of time together and it's probably the greatest cast i have been a part of. >> there is a benefit part of

this because there is a way for people online to donate for a very good cause. is that right? >> yes, there is. smuckers is a proud sponsor of the boys and girls clubs of america. we do a lot of appearances to talk to the kids and encourage them to start to learn at a young age and we donate a portion of ticket sales to the boys and girls clubs of america as well. >> that's terrific. people can go online and buy things and the money goes to a great cause. i know you have to give me your coats. i'm really sorry to ask you to do that. okay. so they're going to get ready. [ cheers and applause ] >> i know. we are cheering that as well. i'm so sorry. go get in position. great. thank you so much. ladies and gentlemen, this is it. the performance we have been waiting for this morning. here we go!

>> let's kick this party into high gear. ♪ . ♪ ♪

♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> the stars of smuckers stars on ice. just ahead, the lt o he storms battering the northeast.

that's after your local news. good morning, everybody, time now 8:56. checking your friday forecast. >> good morning to you. the sunshine continues across the bay area. making for a beautiful weekend where if you have been wanting to get outside, this is going to

be your weekend. temperatures that are right now still in the upper 30s up in the north bay, we will see these temperatures climb into the 60s before we hit noon today. we're talking about 62 degrees in sunnyvale, by 3:00, 4:00 p.m., 63 degrees in san francisco. just a beautiful day. we're back after the break. [ female announcer ] back to school means back to busy mornings.

that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm flaky pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two boxtops fotheir school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. and these are the ones you'll love on a friday. pillsbury crescent pizza pockets. with just a few ingredients, you have an easy to make dinner. they're crescents for the other 364. try them tonight. >> the jichblt team president larry bare with the trophy on a flight to new york city. the jazz will take that trophy

to a public school in manhattan. willie mays who played there at the start of his career is going to help the giants show off that trophy to students today. "today" show is coming up in just a couple of minutes.

back now with more of "today" on a friday morning, the 21st day of january, 2011. this is the scene in boston where it's coming down right now at a pretty good pace. it was a snowy start to our weekend in new york city but it got out pretty fast. we have a warm crowd spending the morning with us. we'll see them or maybe they all left. because it is cold outside. i'm ann curry along with lester holt and al roker. it's nice to have both of you hire. >> we have a little ann sandwich. >> and i'm enjoying it. coming up, we'll be talking about this winter storm some more and how it's moved across the midwest and through the northeast and new england today.

it's a fast-moving storm, but enough to cause major traffic and air traffic problems. so we'll get a look at this. >> i love this video. >> aye-yi-yi. stay safe out there. >> look over there, now look over here. we're going to switch gears to talk about an emotional family reunion between the woman who was kidnapped as an infant and her family who has been worrying and waiting for her return for 23 years. now the fbi is leading the effort to track down her kidnapper. we're going to get the latest on that story coming up. if you are thinking about house hunting anytime soon, you may want to go outside the box to find some great deals on some homes. barbara corcoran has empg from a new england farmhouse to a classic cottage and a wine country bungalow all for under $400,000. and the golden globes is known as much for the awards inside as the celebrity fashion outside on the red carpet. this year did not disappoint. yowza. if you want to look like a star

but you don't want to pay rock star prices, we'll show you how to get celebrity-inspired dresses at bargain prices. jill martin will show us that. >> yowza. >> two words, halle berry. >> first a check of the top stories from natalie at the news desk this morning. good morning. >> good morning. more now on the wintry blast that's slamming the northeast again today. we go to the weather channel's mike seidel braving the snow in boston. mike, good morning. >> another week, another storm. the third big one in boston since christmas. we are looking at four to six inches. it will wrap up in a few hours. they have had more snow already than they see in an entire season. traffic is slow today, spinouts, accidents. schools, boston public schools were closed yesterday. many other districts closed this morning. state employees don't have to come in until 11:00. roadways snow-packed and snow covered. the afternoon and evening rush hour will be better, but then a deep freeze this weekend. 46 below this morning in international falls, the coldest they have seen in 100 years.

that's a record. some of the cold air heading east. below zero on monday morning. and another storm is in the pipeline for next wednesday. >> say it ain't so, mike. they are keeping you very busy. good for you. job security. >> yeah. >> mike seidel in boston. wounded arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords enjoyed a breath of fresh air on the deck of a tucson hospital. she's being transferred to a rehabilitation center in houston less than two weeks after she was shot in the head. 127 suspected mafiasos are in police custody this morning after one of the largest mob roundups in fbi history. thursdays assesses spanned new york, new jersey, and new england. charges include murder, racketeering, loan sharking and gambling. more on the remarkable reunion of a mother and daughter separated for more than two decades.

we have the story of how one woman cracked her own old case. good morning, tom. >> good morning. as carlina white and her parents put their lives back together, the fbi is leading the investigation to find the person responsible for tearing the family apart and kidnapping carlina so many years ago. this family meal could not be any sweeter. joy white and carl tyson finally back with their daughter carlina after 23 painful years apart. >> when i lost my daughter, oh, my god that was like a big part of my heart was just ripped apart. >> she always believed she would find her. >> reporter: the family calls this happy ending a miracle. in 1987 their 3-week-old carlina was running a high fever. they brought her to harlem hospital and never saw her again. police said carlina was kidnapped by a woman posing as a nurse. >> i want my baby back. they didn't have to do that to me. i had her. i was carrying her for nine months. they didn't have to take her from me. >> reporter: the leads went

nowhere and the case went cold, that is until 23-year-old nejdra nance, a new mother herself, started having doubts about her own identity. with online detective work, she found a baby picture of the kidnapped carlina. >> the baby picture just struck me because even though i didn't see my baby picture when i was that young, looking at it, it looked like my daughter. >> reporter: police say dna tests showed she was the infant snatched from the hospital 23 years ago. >> this is always what i wanted ever since i found out that, you know, that lady wasn't my biological mother. >> reporter: as the family puts their life back together, investigators are now trying to figure out who kidnapped carlina white. so far no suspect named, no one charged, but carlina says the woman who raised her is ann petway. >> my whole family believed ann was nejdra's mother. it was typical to hear nejdra call ann mom. >> reporter: her cousin, who asked not to be identified by name, said he knewknew carlina p

together. >> you could tell it affected nedra. >> reporter: all she wants is the truth to a life filled with lies. >> i just hope officials, if they ever get her in their hands so they can hear her side of the story now. >> reporter: anne petway told the "new york post" she was headed to connecticut to straighten all this out. one of the reasons the fbi has taken over this case, as long as the child was 18 at the time of the kidnapping, there is no statute of limitations. >> tom llamas, thank you for the update. great story there you heard of rock stars who trash hotel rooms. what about a hotel room that comes pretrashed? s we'll take a look at this hotel in madrid. it's made entirely of garbage collected from beaches in spain, italy and france. it's to draw attention to how much litter is left on the beach every day. that will get your attention, that's for sure.

it's 6 past the hour. let's go to al. not going to check onto that hotel soon. >> the roches check in, but don't check out. let's show you what's happening for today. these are the seasonal to-date snowfalls. in boston 42 for the season. that's above their season average for the entire winter. hartford almost double. new york city, we normally have 23 inches for a whole season. a re almost 32 inches. philadelphia at 22. you can see theweystem making its way out up into new england. that's the good news. it's already ended in new york. about eastern long island. before it's all over we are talking about four to seven inches in hartford. same in boston. portland, maine, may end up with ten inches of snow. this is what's coming, friends. international falls, air temperature 28 below. 19 below in waterloo. factor in the wind chill in chicago it feels like 21 below zero.

29 below zero in minneapolis. current air temperatures will only get up to 14 in detroit, 7 in chicago. 10 in omaha. that cold air is headed east. when that second system comes in next week, we good morning to you. take a look at the day that's shaping up over the golden gate bridge, we're going to see highs in the city today, towards that 65-degree mark, we're talking about temperatures at 67 degrees today in los gattos, and 64 degrees in san francisco under lots and lots of sunshine as we head through the remainder of the weekend, temperatures aren't budging, we're going to hold on to those 60s and a lot of sunshine as well. have a great day. this morning on "today's >> this morning, today's real estate homes under $400,000.

good morning, barbara. >> thanks. >> these are great-looking houses. let's start off, we are going to go to newport, rhode island. this is a traffic shingled cottage. it's priced at $362,500, three bedrooms. >> everybody thinks of providence, rhode island, as the place with all the famous old mansions. this is not one of them. it is the kind of cottage that sells well because everybody pictures new england this way. it has those box hedges we saw outside. inside, look at that beautiful pristine white trim. white floors. how imparactiable, but how delicious. it's new and tiny, but totally workable. there is out back in a minute, a tiny deck big enough for two

people to have a cup of coffee. there is a shed in the backyard that comes free with the house. >> something like this, you have to be really looking for something like this. >> everybody when they think of new england thinks i want a shingled cottage. this is a cream puff of a house. >> we'll go to a new england-style farmhouse. this is in portsmouth, new hampshire, three beds rooms, $374,000. >> portsmouth is a great town. it's 50 miles from boston, the third oldest city. look at that house. i wouldn't call this mellow yellow. this is a courageous owner. look at the pretty front porch, the white picket fence. they love color. somehow in this house it works. that little white trim helps a big deal. look at the floors. they are gleaming. the whole house on the outside looks like a cottage. inside it's blown open and beautiful. it's gracious. all the rooms connect. there is a tiny extra dining area outside the kitchen.

you see that half wall on the side. there is the kitchen. those appliances would be better white or stainless steel versus black. the cabinets are expensive. that is another shot of the house. one pretty house. >> it's got radiant heating in the floors which i've got in a couple of bathrooms. >> we are seeing more of it. you've got it in your bathrooms. once people like it in their bathrooms, they put it in the hole house. >> key west, florida. this is a two-bedroom home at $399,000. >> $399,900. key west is at the southern most tip of the island. that is a typical house. you get a sense of the lushness from that front shot. inside, ceilings are high. all the rooms are large. again, i think it's very deceiving on the outside. there is a kitchen again. i don't know about the choice of appliances. >> you like stainless steel.

>> in southern florida i don't think about black. each to their own. then we have a charming bedroom. there is a lot of little extras you probably don't notice at first. a lot of wood trims. little shutters everywhere. this is a spot i would get naked and hang out in. >> we could have gone all day without hearing that. >> that is so beautiful. who wouldn't live in that backyard? i would buy the backyard and forget about the house. >> the wine country. i think you've already gotten to the wine country. sonoma, california. two bedrooms. >> this is an incredible two-bedroom bungalow. that is the front yard. the house is 858 square feet for $399,000. you might say that is a big price. it's sonoma, the heart of the wine country and houses sell for a lot. inside, these are very neat impeachment it almost looks like a stage house, though it isn't. everything is meticulous. a tiny kitchen, but a double

window, which is nice. i like those yellow cabinets that go there. that looks like a backyard. it's a private front yard. it's totally private out front. you see a fire pit and oversized deck. it's one pretty house. >> finally, a little resort town. myrtle beach, south carolina. a gated community called bluffs on the waterway. three bedrooms, priced $399,900. >> everyone loves myrtle beach. this is a different feel in this house. it's big, spacious, looks modern. it's a custom home. once you go inside you see they spent a lot of money on this house. i like that caddy corner fireplace. there is the dining room. nice, simple and clean. lots of windows and light. that is one expensive kitchen. they must have spent a ton of money putting that in. it's a beautiful gourmet kitchen. couldn't sleep on that bed, it would make me itchy with those

li

. good morning to you. it's 9:26 right now. should be a beautiful day on tap. want to check in with christina. >> it's already shaping up that way. good morning to you, a lot of sunshine now that it's out over the bay area, we're going to see our daytime highs rise into the lower 60s and upper 60s in some places across the bay area. 65 degrees in san rafael today. we're not going to see a whole lot of change, if you have been waiting to get outside and do some gulfing, this is -- really

light breezes, that could make for a great day of golf. you'll probably want to make those afternoon tee times. the sunshine 64 degrees by saturday and the entire bay area, warming up to 67 degrees as we head through this friday, 65 by saturday and we're keeping the sunshine in the mix all the way through next thursday, you're hopping in your ford right now, let's see how the roads are looking. >> the fords and the rest of the cars heading north on lawrence expressway are moving a little slow right now because there's an accident still clearing at benton avenue.'re heading north. another accident just cleared from the roadway, southbound 101 starting to clear. and here at the bay bridge, we have no problems, we do have the metering lights on. so that's greet news folks as you're heading across the bay into san francisco. a little haz withisibility is just fine. we have got more news right after this.

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me and asking me how they could help. you meet the most wonderful, inspiring people. when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.

a 4-year-old boy is recovering from dog bites after his father fought off four pit bulls in a neighbor's backyard. the father says the three pit bulls attacked the boy after he climbed a fence to retrieve a ball. one of the dogs bit the little boy under his eye where the doctors had to glue it shut. the dogs owners wasn't home at the time. the boy's family want the dogs to be put down. "today" show returns in less than a minute, have a great morning. fornia should be proud. we were the first to ban smoking on airplanes. the first to have smoke-free bars and restaurants. all while saving over $86 billion in health care costs... and over a million lives. we've done a good job. but even if you were born today,

you'd still grow up in a world where tobacco kills more people... than aids, drugs, alcohol, murder and car crashes... combined. we have a lot more work to do. >> did we? >> what? >> the letter says we could face legal action. >> it says i could. >> it's from a lawyer. >> the lawyer is their father's house counsel. >> do they have grounds? >> the harvard connection is lame. >> "the social network" made a lot of friends at the golden globes. walking away with best picture it will have royal competition next week when the oscar picks are announced when "the king's speech," "black swan" and "the kids are all right" to name just a few. we'll have them live on tuesday on "today." i don't think there will be big surprises with the nominations.

>> i think we got a preview. >> great movies this year. meantime in this half hour we have credit card offer promises free airline miles to hotel points and cash back. what do they come with in terms of strings attached? we'll get into it. >> and clearing electronic clutter from cell phones to computers. what you should be doing with your old gadgets to help those in need and the environment. >> i need this segment. i have so many old ipods. and the chargers. >> why can't you have one charger for everything? >> shh, don't tell anybody. that would safe money. >> meanwhile, you two are here with a look at what's coming up on the weekend "today" show. >> we'll look at why there isn't one charger -- oh, no. we're looking at the iran hostage crisis. now 30 years after their release we'll talk to the former captives about the ordeal that changed their lives.

>> plus, changing gears, back in the spotlight, mat leblanc and matthew perry return to prime time. can they shake off the "friends" curse some say has plagued them for years? making moon shine the legal way. home made whiskey has come a long way since bootlegging. >> only you would be there. >> this is the story i signed up for this year. we signed up and went to tennessee. we'll tell you about thit weekend. so i guess regular whiskey is 60 or 80 proof. this was 120 proof. >> you're auditioning for the fourth hour now? >> maybe. >> you don't want that. >> we have to make a quick turn to al in weather. hey, al. >> thank you very much. we have marmaduke over there. the snow ended, the sun is out and life is good. let's show you what we're looking at for the weekend. sunshine in the pacific northwest. nice an mild through the southwest.

cool through the gulf coast. along the midatlantic coastline and lake effect snow. then sunday, we're looking at frigid conditions from new england right on through the great lakes into the northern rockies. wet weather in the pacific northwest. showers in the lower gulf and we also will be looking at snow, sleet and icy conditions in the mid mississippi river valley. good morning to you in the bay, we're seeing a beautiful day already shaping up and we're going to warm up into the 60s this afternoon. temperatures holding strong in the 60s as we enjoyed the weekend. finally it has arrived. sunny conditions, mild and comfortable afternoons will make for great golf days if you want to get outside. we're talking about highs 67 degrees, 65 for your saturday and keeping temperatures nice and mild all the way through this thursday. and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> thank you, al. coming up next, the bottom line when it comes to the tempting credit card rewards after this. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch

just got more powerful. introducing precise pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast for relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers tylenol.

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. talk to your doctor about your risk your favorites, in pieces.

we always make time for just us cousins. like the other night at olive garden. hey susan, you gotta tell the aunt jessie story again. ok, ok. joe: love that story. come into olive garden for our two new scaloppini dishes. pan-seared chicken breasts in a lemon-herb glaze. or sauteed pork in a creamy white wine sauce. both served with asiago filled tortelloni. along with our unlimited fresh salad and warm breadsticks. this is like being back at the kids' table. [ laughter ] olive garden. when you're here, you're family. this morning on "today's money" credit card rewards programs. from airline miles to cold hard cash some offers can be tempting but with steep annual fees and high interest rates they usually come with strings attached. we have the founder of fini finishrich.com and the author of "debt free for life."

david, welcome. >> good to be sheer. >> remind us what reward programs are. >> originally you get frequent flyer points and people said, what about hotels? then you get points for hotels. then cash rebates. today you can use points for everything. you can use them on amazon.com. we have gotten used to getting rewards for spending. what's happening now is the credit card companies are offering even bigger rewards because they want us to spend money again because we have been paying down debt. >> right now they sound like a good idea, but there is something. >> there is no free lunch. the new study came out from the federal reserve bank in chicago that shows people who use reward cards spend more money. i will give you a simple example. people go to dinner and they have a meal together and they say, i'll take your cash and put it on my credit card for the points. we have all experienced that. but then the person doesn't pay off the bill. they end up having 20%

financing. that's what the credit card company wants. they want people to use credit cards again and they are sending out offers now offering all kinds of -- well, example. i was talking to a cameraman here. jim got an offer from citibank. offers are coming out saying, if you spend $4,000 in the next six months we'll give you 50,000 points. that's a free plane ticket but the person may have paid their debt down and they are finally free of credit card debt and, hey, we have a reward to encourage people to spend money again. that's what i want people to be careful about. >> some cards like american express and basic cards come with reward programs. you may be signed up for that anyway. so let's look at the dos and don'ts. you say when eyeing an offer look at the cost of the card. that makes smart sense. you say there are catch-you clauses in the fine print.

>> look at when the points expire. very important that you know. the points didn't used to expire. now they are expiring. what are you paying for them? a lot of times with cash rebates you say, well, i could get back $5,000 this year. if you look at the fine print it may be limited to $300 or $500. it will tell you if you have to use the card for a certain period of time and if you're late you may lose the points. there is all kinds of small print to pull the point ace way. there can be costs you transferred to the new cards. new cards coming out where you get 75,000 points to transfer money over but the transfer fee is 2% or 3%. it's in the fine print. people see the top number. 50,000 points! they think that's a free plane ticket. >> you're saying these are really made so credit card companies can make money. the odds -- the cards are stacked against you. but the big incentive is the cash back offer. what's wrong with that?

>> it's the most popular offer. people love it. you get a check back. it encourages spending money. the thing for anybody watching to know is this. the credit card companies have this down to a science. the reason they can afford to give you rebates is they know you will make mistakes, have a late fee, an over the limit fee, annual fee. they're not worried about giving you this offer because they know in the long run they will come out ahead. last year americans paid off almost $200 billion in credit card debt. what we don't want is for them to be encouraged to rack back up the credit card debt just for a rewards program. it's silly. >> okay. david, thank you so much this morning. >> good to be here. >> coming up next, don't toss out your old gadgets. we'll tell you how to make money and help the environment right after this. old instead of the same old -- with chili's new $6 lunch break combos. choose from a house salad or hot, tasty soup. then pair it with a massive texas toast half sandwich,

like our delicious classic turkey or our gigantic new southwestern blt, smothered in cilantro lime mayo and jam-packed with three glorious slices of applewood smoked bacon. served with fries, that's big flavor for just 6 bucks! the $6 break for bold, weekdays at chili's. that's why there's lubriderm® daily moisture. it contains the same nutrients naturally found in healthy skin. skin absorbs it better and it lasts for 24 hours. later gator. lubriderm. your moisture matched. okay. whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. i'd stay clear of that cleaner, too, if i were made of wood and granite. why don't you try pledge? ♪ pledge multi surface. [ man ] its formula's safe on all kinds of stuff, like this... and this... and this. so furniture has nothing to fear. good boy. pledge multi surface.

no worries. just clean. also available in wipes. [ female announcer ] s.c. johnson, a family company. activia has delicious news for dessert lovers. often, the best part of a meal is the dessert. but sometimes after a busy day and a big dinner... my system needs some tlc. now there's something that's just right. activia dessert. rich, silky, smooth yogurt with desserty flavors like strawberry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, and peach cobbler. and because it's activia, it helps regulate my digestive system. mmm. works for me. ♪ activia activia dessert. i am a banker with quicken loans. this is kathy, who i helped do her first home loan, and this is her sister tina, who i also helped do her first home loan. it was unbelievable how well it all fell together. kathy said, "well, let me give you rachel's number." easy. easy. easy. the whole loan process was simple and convenient! that's why i love quicken loans! [ male announcer ] and you'll be glad to know j.d. power and associates ranks quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction."

to learn more call 800-quicken or visit us online quickenloans.com. ♪ [ female announcer ] tide with acti-lift technology helps remove many dry stains as if they were fresh. dad may try to ruin your style, but dry stains won't. ♪ tide with acti-lift. style is an option. clean is not. get acti-lift in these tide detergents. [ female announcer ] there's a place called hidden valley 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. 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. this morning on "today's tech" what to do with our old gadgets. most of us toss them out or stash them in a drawer, never to be used again. they just keep piling up. you could be putting them to better use and perhaps make some money along the way. heather cabbot is the web life editor. thanks for being here. >> thank you. >> the options are to recycle, sell or trade them in. >> one person's trash is another person's treasure. a lot of people around the world would appreciate our

hand-me-downs whether it's domestic violence victims, elderly people living alone, u.s. military personnel overseas. this stuff can be put to good use, especially cell phones. >> let's talk about the reasons for recycling. obviously the environment benefits. >> sure. the idea that this stuff can be repurposed and given to people in need whether it's elderly, military personnel or a school. >> right. >> and selling -- >> you can make some money. not a lot. >> not a lot. i think of it as the change you find in your couch cushions. or the tldollar you find in you pocket. you won't make a lot of money unless you like to trade up and get the newest model. it's a few extra bucks and it's fun and you can compare a little bit. >> if you do trade in you can sometimes get a discount? >> a lot of stories offer a discount or a gift card. all kinds of promotions. >> how do we recycle then?

how do we go about taking phones and perhaps giving them to people who need them? >> right now, only about 10% of cell phones in the u.s. are recycled or reused. the easiest thing to do is go to earth911.com, type in your zip code and it will tell you which places in your neighborhood are taking donations. it could be a retailer like best buy, a service provider like verizon. it could be a charity. it's easy to do and they will also list what the various places will take in addition to cell phones. >> you have data though sometimes stored on the chips in the cell phone. >> exactly. the epa recommends you follow this checklist. first, end your service. you don't want to donate a phone with service. clear the data from your phone. go to recellular.com and it tells you how to erase data and take the sim card out.

>> that contains everything. what about laptops? >> they can be put to good use, but before you donate or sell them or trade them in you want to wipe them of personal data. find reputable places to download software. a lot of it is free or take it to a computer store and they will wipe it clean for you. >> there is the option to sell. >> gazelle.com is one to look at. what you do is type in the manufacturer, model number and condition which is key here. >> right. >> they will let you know what it's worth. mail it in. >> maybe worth it for parts. >> exactly. >> if you are trading in or trading up, for example with the ipod nano, i seem to go through one every year. what can you do with those? >> you can go to the apple store, turn it in and they give you 10% off the next one. a lot of retailers offer different trade-in programs. target recently partnered with a

website called nextworth.com. you can go to a target for a trade in or coming soon to a store near you look for the eco-atm where you basically take your technology, put it in the kiosk and it gives you either cash back or a store credit. >> oh, my gosh. that's amazing. >> don't forget accessories. >> they go with it, too, and gaming devices, everything applies. heather, thank you so much. i have a drawer full of this stuff. >> me, too. >> coming up next, seasons eatings. we are using fresh, local ingredients to make delicious recipes. first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in "today's kitchen" using seasonal ingredients. dan kreuger of abc kitchen is here with flavorful residence piece. good morning. >> thanks for having me. >> this is a recipe that uses

belgian endive. i don't think i have had it really cooked before. >> it's a very different use of it which gives you another use for it. everybody uses it for salads. basically we poach it, trim the ends off. if leaves are damaged, pull them off. otherwise just pop them in. >> are endives in season? i know you are into seasonal thing. >> this is a good season for them. we are local, seasonal. this is not something you find a lot of local farmers with, but everything else we use for it is. >> i guess they grow it in the dark so it doesn't get color. >> exactly. >> you will let this poach? >> we cover it, cook it until it's tender. >> it has a little bit of butter in it. >> water, salt, little bit of sugar to help with the bitterness and a touch of butter. we cook it slowly. use a cake tester or skewer. when you can go in and out, that's done. this is great if you can do it six hours in advance and put it

on a rack to dry out. >> this make as good dish to serve at a lunch or dinner. what's the next step? >> take a little bit of butter. use some of the cooking liquid, add it in. >> so that's just what you use to cook that in. >> right. a little flour, milk. >> create the roux. >> the normal cream sauce. the difference is we use a lot of nutmeg. it makes the dish. it really perm nates through the whole thing. we take the endive, a piece of ham. we like a black forest ham. typically from fine pigs farm which is local. >> oh, yeah. >> wrap it. >> i know flying pigs farm. they're great. you're going to top it with the bechamel sauce? >> go all the way across. it should be enough to fill in the gaps. then add gruyeur. >> it's sharp but when you bake

it you get that flavor. >> or you could use parmesan. >> if you don't like the gruyeur flavor. i think it's great. how long did you bake it? >> 20, 30 minutes, 400 degrees. it gets caramelized, crispy. >> delicious. surprising! surprising flavors, not that it's delicious. what else do we have here? >> kabocha squash. >> is that like a butter nut squash? >> it's buttercup. basically a hard winter squash. great time of year for it. >> that's amazing. >> and i love beet salad. >> beets yogurt, balsamic, a mustard vinaigrette. >> amazing. >> do you say on-deev or endive? >> endive. >> would you like some?

on-deev? yo this beet salad looks great. >> dan, you're the best. it smells so good. >> coming up, we have instant ambush makeovers. it is friday after all. that's coming up after your local news and weather. enjoy. >> have a good weekend.

good morning to you, it is friday morning, 9:56 right now. want to check the forecast with christina.

pretty warm four january. >> yes, indeed it is, and take a look at the beautiful day now that the sun is up, we're warming into the 60s. 54 degrees in san francisco for the past three hours. and now we're going to see these temperatures bump up into the 60s as we get closer and closer to your lunch break ending the day with 64 degrees in oakland in january. 64 in livermore, 65 degrees in gilroy, no real change for the weekend, temps changing in the 60s. >> you're talking about the ending up of a great morning here, we do have an accident going on at eastbound i-80, as you're heading up away from the bay bridge in toward vallejo across the bridge. the accident has just cleared to the shoulder, live look another the bay bridge. it will show you why they turned

off those metering lights. those metering lights are going to be turned on closer to midday as more folks gather. >> a meeting gets underway to try to keep caltrans on the right track. caltrans is facing a $30 million deficit. the group says without a funding fix, cal train may have to close up shop all together. drive for dollars, new transportation money, caltrans says it will spend $1 billion in funding for a new project. $33 mill ion of that will go ino expanding the lanes. $39 million will fund h.o.v. lanes in marin county. $23 million for h.o.v. lanes on 101 in petaluma. another local news update for you in about half an hour.

"today" show returns in about a minute, have a great morning. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days-- i can do that. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me. we had an outpouring of-- of support. i wanted to do something bigger than myself. the 60 miles-- it makes a statement. i know i'm stronger than i was before, both mentally and physically. i walk with my sister. our relationship has gone to a whole new level because of training together. when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. it was three days of hope. of love. of empowerment. it was three days the way the world should be.

here i am, second year in a row, and i'm already signed up for next year's. (man) reregister tododay for t. gufe because everyone deserves a lifetime. hello, everybody! we have made it to friday. we call it friday around here, january 21st. my mom isg well into her 82nd year on this planet. she looks so good. god bless you, mom, and everybody else, and everybody else that turned anything that they turned on january 17th, which we forgot to tell everybody because it was the worst day of the year. we forgot to wish them well on their birthday.

>> but today is a good day because after this show airs, later tonight we are going to do the jay leno show. >> we're flying! oh, i shouldn't do that. sometimes on national television you'd like to take it back. >> are you ready for leno? >> you can never be ready for leno. >> why not? >> i've done the show a few times. i'm just glad i'm doing it now with you. >> really? >> there is security in numbers. he can pull some stuff on you. >> can he? >> yeah, you've got to keep it lively and unpredictable. >> okay. >> so we can handle him. >> we can handle him. >> believe me, we can handle him. >> so here's a question for you. are you a makeup agoraphobic? can you leave your house without makeup on? a poll said the majority wouldn't consider doing it when they go to work. a small minority would never let their partner see them without makeup. >> for how long? forever?

>> like the first two and a half months or so of dating and then after a while you start becoming who you are. >> taking each other for granted. >> yeah. >> i don't know. frank doesn't like me wearing makeup. on the kids too, they go, mom, wash -- you know, they like the natural look. i think it depends on where you're going. if i'm in -- let's see, where was i. down in ocean reef in the keys and we're going with the boats going on, i put on a little hat, sunglasses, no -- just put sunscreen on, that's it. >> when we did the show, the no makeup show, that was telling about how you look to others, because i don't notice. i don't have the makeup on when you're walking around. you don't know what you look like, you're just walking around. >> but the truth is, okay, let's not just dwell on it, shall we. the truth is the older you get, the more lines and creases you have, the less makeup you should wear because it just -- it defines, it points out the troubles, you know.

>> i feel like if i could -- if i had to grab one makeup item, if i were running out the door. >> let me think. let me guess. lip gloss. >> yeah, every time. even when i go to the park for runs, i always have lips on. i don't care about the rest of it but if i don't have that on -- >> well, i get really, really dry lips. it should be from dehydration from other problems that i have. anyhoo, i get up in the middle of the night to go put on lip gloss. >> but it's because you need it. >> no, he's out. it's because i'm dry. >> okay. >> needle a little. >> so here's the thing. now, what scent attracts you to a man? i completely disagree with this. here is the latest survey and it talks about from areas of the country. if a man smells a certain way women are attracted to him. in new york, the scent is coffee. >> if it's on your breath -- >> no, it's not, it's not.

where else is coffee going to be, your arm pits? where are you going to smell like coffee unless you work at starbucks. >> you're not. but it puts some women in a good mood. los angeles, the scent is lavender. >> i don't even want to know why. >> chicago the scent is vanilla. >> very surprising. >> houston, the scent is barbecue. now that's good. >> when frank comes in smelling like feeding his family out there, yeah. >> i like fresh scrubbed clean, lever 2000 soap. that scent is -- >> how do you nicely tell the gentleman in your life, not that you have one, how do you tell him you like that smell? if he's using something he's used all his life. >> i think you just say, you know what, i just think you can gently hand the bar of soap -- >> have you? >> not yet, not yet.

>> buy a bunch. i agree with you. i don't like that affect. >> cologne. >> a light cologne. and i don't like what's happening with kids today. they think that it's cool to stink. they do! they don't wash their hair. it says it makes your hair look puffy. that's why god made hair products. >> guys are getting grimy. >> and you know what, it's insulting to women. take a bath, cody. all right? all right. given that it is -- >> i meant a shower. >> let's talk about people who are cheap. >> cheap or cheating? >> cheap. now, okay. so how do you know if you're cheap? >> people don't know? >> they don't know. i like people who tip the max. >> especially if you're really blessed in life. a person who ate dog food when they were poor, and he always tips. >> if you're in the back of a

new york city cab, they tell you the options you can tip, 10%, 15%, 20%. given your ride is okay, i think you should tip. i like that. >> absolutely. these people depend on it. it's not as if they're making an hourly wage so much, they depend on. >> it this is how you know if you're cheap, and you know who you are. >> unfortunately, they don't. >> if you walk around with coupons in your bag. >> i don't think that's cheap. i think in today's world that's smart. >> taking shoampoo? >> no, coupons. you know, if you start to look at how much money you can save, and money is tight, times are very hard for people and i think that's just smart. okay, go ahead. >> if you play how long can i go without turning the heat on in my house game. >> that again, it depends -- >> here's the thing, it depends on if you can afford it. >> it depends which economic situation you're in. >> i get weird about buying things. there are certain things i don't

care how much they cost, i need them. there's a place called ricky's where you buy hair products. i had to buy all those things and it's so expensive, but who cares, you have to have it. so i put this pile of stuff down and the guy said that's going to be, whatever, $250. i'm like i don't care. >> it's worth it. >> when it was done. they did the credit card and i said, oh, you know what, i need this pack of gum. i preached in my pocket, i had $2. >> you mean that wallet of yours. >> i had $2. it's plenty. that's one pack of gum. the guy said it was $2.19. i go are you kidding? are you serious? >> she goes ballistic over the pack of gum. >> no. it's weird, don't you think? >> that's ridiculous. was it -- >> the guy you like. >> when you can get one of those things at costco or sam's club for two bucks that has 20 packs? i think it's just smart. i don't care how much money you have, it's smart to watch every dollar. >> i think you have to be careful, but not cheap. there's a difference between careful and cheap. cheap is when you figure out how

much money you can take away from somebody else and walk out with it. you didn't share. when you're not sharing from your own blessing and your own good fortune, you're cheap. >> so if you watch our program, and we know you do, you know there's a commercial for pajama jeans. sarah has got them on. >> oh, i've seen them advertised. >> we named that, remember? >> look at cici all grown up. >> you know what that is, she's wearing her little tiffany. >> would you expect anything less from bobbie thomas's dog? she's more fashionable an i am. >> we've got to get bambino and cici together. even though bambino prefers louie, if you know what i mean. >> they're $39.95. my friend sam swears by these. >> can i feel these? >> they feel like pajamas but they are so comfortable. >> and they have a little give to them. >> you feel like you don't -- you know, jeans, that's the

worst when you feel fat in a pair of jeans. >> can you show what the -- okay. >> see, i like that. you which have to zip them up, you pull them up. next up, with the big ole forever -- this is a onesie, it's like a snuggie that's a suit. it's like a onesie snuggie with a zipper. >> but there's also a zipper in the back just in case. >> and it does come with little footies. >> and a hood. >> i got something like that. it's called pajama hoody or foot hoody but it was a greater fabric, like a soft chenille. >> let's bring bobby up. >> i love that. >> that's adorable. >> this is zara. >> do you like women without makeup or with?

you do? >> i actually like women who wore it. >> and did you shower this morning? >> yep. and i like soap. >> can we smell you? >> i like soap. soapy soap. >> that smells good. >> there's a little something. >> a little gel in the hair. >> i like it. >> thank you. >> speaking of the makeup, you're right, less makeup is better as you mature. but i actually know somebody in tennessee that has never let her husband see her without makeup. >> remember tammy fay baker. she didn't. that's not good for your skin. >> for bobbie's buzz. advice for your wallets. i know you have a brand new wallet that's nice. we're going to keep it nice because i have some great items. a gift card log. you don't have to stuff those gift cards in your wallet, you can get this log and this allows you to keep them all organized and write how much you have and

when you use it, keep track. this little card buddy is great for your frequent flier cards or frequent buyer cards. it's alpha ba tiesed. >> this is for you, hoda woman. look at this. >> it's a clutch where you keep your receipts organized in each compartment. >> there's a compartment for everything. imagine your life. >> $25. everything here i$25 or under. and then last but not least, your errands, your money or just your crap. it's literally an organizer for that. >> she needs a much bigger one for her crap. >> bobbie, thank you. >> we love you, you're adorable. >> up next, two lucky ladies were plucked from our plaza. again, it's time for our plaza ambush makeover. >> we'll see the amazing results. - excuse me, which sock is whiter? - oh, that one.

- definitely the one on the right. - yeah, are y-- - seriously, the clorox one. - oh, okay. the difference is obvious. for the whitest whites, use detergent, plus the advanced whitening formula of clorox bleach. ♪ [ sniffing ] [ all sniffing ] [ female announcer ] ever notice after a while you stop smelling your pluggable air freshener? there's a better way to get long lasting freshness.

pull the plug on your old one and trade up to a free febreze noticeables. it's long lasting freshness in the febreze you plug right in. for freshness you'll notice week after week. find out how to get your free febreze noticeables at febrezetradeup.com. find out how to get your free febreze noticeables 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. curtis: welcome back to geico gecko: kate from mill valley, it's all yours. kate: well, i'm shopping for my first car. gecko: nice! i do hope you'll choose geico and save a good bit of cash... curtis: what color is the car? i bet you'd look great in a blue car.

kate: no...actually, i'm torn between a fuel-injected inline-6 and a higher torque turbo diesel. gecko: yeah...now that's quite a quandary! umm, i mean of course you could save either way. curtis: yeah but is one of them blue? cause i'd go with the blue one. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. time for today's plaza ambush makeovers. you know what that means. >> stylist to the stars, louis and they are here after braving the cold and plucking two lucky ladies from the crowd early today. hi, guys. you got some eager ladies? >> we did. actually it was cold but there's always a group of ladies and everyone is so excited to be made over. >> because it's free. >> i have to be honest with you. >> let's start with miss beth

schaefer, 27 years old from new york, new york. she has never colored her hair before. despite being a little nervous, she was really excited to change up that. let's take a listen. >> all right. well, this is sort of an early valentine's day makeover, because your boyfriend, ryan, lives far away. so surprise, you're going to have a whole new girlfriend. tell me why you want this. >> i've never dyed my hair before, never straightened it, never anything. figure why the heck not. i work long hours and let's give it a go, shake it up a little. >> what do you think ryan will think? >> i don't know. he likes it pretty long and curcur curly, so we'll see what happens. >> are you ready to do it? >> i'm ready. >> she is joined by her co-workers, jeremy, luke and athena. keep your blind folds on befory give you the green light. here is beth before. all right, beth, let's see the new you. >> hold the phone. >> are you ready, kids?

all right, take off your blind folds. >> hey! >> beth, you want to see yourself? >> all right. right here. >> oh, my god! i've never had red hair before. >> look at that. that is hot! >> you know what, that's the biggest compliment in a world when a woman starts putting her fingers in her hair. >> she feels like a sex machine. >> it feels really good. >> what did you do to her hair, tell us? >> what she did was she gave it enough layers just to give it movement, keep it young, keep it sexy. slightly lightened the color, added subtle highlights around the face. the tip here today is to make hair color a little brighter around the face, a little deeper in the back. just to give it that little bit -- >> what did you think of her? >> i thought she was beautiful before. >> beautiful before, gorgeous now. >> the outfit is hot too. >> this is an early valentine's day makeover for her boyfriend who lives in arizona.

so we gave her pieces she could mix and match. these are from ann taylor and look at this great bracelet from kohl's. >> i love it. >> do you love the outfit too? >> yes. >> you are working it. >> applause for beth. >> wow, beth. our second lady is jennifer bacon, she's 35 from st. louis, missouri. her friend, patty, was so excited for jennifer to get a brand new look that she ambushed jill and louis on the plaza. let's take a look. >> well, we kind of bullied jennifer into this one. patty, i think you're more excited at this point. >> yeah! >> why do you want this for jennifer. >> she's been such a good friend to me. i had cancer. she would come over and take care of me. she's a really good friend. she deserves it. it's all about her, not about me, and i love that. >> and i know you want this. >> yes, i do. i want it badly. i need it. >> well, are you ready? you're already a good friend, but are you ready to be glam?

>> i am ready to be glam, please. >> she's here with her friend, patty. let's take one last look at jennifer. and bring out the new, gorgeous, jennifer. >> all right! >> don't look, don't you dare. patty, you're allowed right now. don't you dare. >> you're gorgeous! oh, my gosh! >> all right. do you want to turn around, jennifer? >> oh, my god. i love it! >> put your fingers through the hair, go for it. >> i love it! >> turn around, sweetie. >> let's see the before and after. >> hot is the key word for today. what we did is, first of all, she had that long hair on the sides. it just gave her sort of -- it just was not flattering to her face shape. so they gave her this bob, a layered bob. then what i did is i gave her two sets of highlights. first i highlighted the hair all

over and then i gave her extra highlights around the face to add the additional brightness. >> i love that color. i love that color. >> i call that just there hair. it doesn't help, it doesn't add or detract, it's just there. and, jill, that outfit? >> this is dressing up the little black dress both from ann taylor. if there's no structure, look how i just put the belt on and that accentuates her waist. >> congratulations, ladies. great job, guys. you look so great. >> all right, thank you guys so much. next hoda and i will get ready to answer your questions, thanks to miss sarah, thanks to these messages. at purina one, we want your cat to be as healthy as possible. so we set out to discover the nutritional science in some of nature's best ingredients. that's how we created purina one with smartblend. nutritionally optimized with real salmon, wholesome grains,

and essential antioxidants for strong muscles, vital energy, a healthy immune system, and a real difference in your cat. purina one with smartblend. discover what one can do. by giving me ginormous discounts with these: how can expedia save me even more on my hotel? unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. where you book matters. expedia. you don't get 100% daily value of any vitamins. unless you do this. but total is the cereal that gives you 100% daily value of 11 essential vitamins and minerals and crunchy oat clusters. total. are you getting 100%?

[ female announcer ] now get baby-smooth perfection with new dream smooth mousse from maybelline new york. some makeups leave skin rough, dry. ours is cream whipped, so it hydrates. skin looks flawless, baby-smooth. new dream smooth only from maybelline. sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache,

dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com. sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. we're back with our special series, 3, 2, 1, live with sarah haines. >> our very own sarah gathers up fans who want to ask us their most pressing, intimate questions live on air. what have you get for us, sarah? >> reporter: i'm here with gabrielle from astoria and she has a question about the winter blues. >> hi. this question is for both of you. i want to know how do you beat the winter blues? >> i beat it with music. yes. okay, music is one of those weird things that it can literally change your mood like that. just like that. so i crank up something in the morning right when i wake up or

when i'm working out. >> you don't listen to my music. >> occasionally i do. >> it's slow rider usually. >> you know what, i have that condition, a chemical condition, that many, many people have called s.a.d., which is seasonal affective disorder. it's basically we don't get enough sunshine or light. i go into a big ole funk. what i've done is anywhere i can, i put an indoor window box in my house and put color in. it puts -- put ivy and throw some beautiful orchids or something in. >> brighten it up. >> yeah, and then there are those lamps that you can use as well. then i do a lot of praying that spring will come early. >> reporter: okay. next up we've got paul from gainesville. he actually has a question about regis. >> oh, okay. >> this is a question for kathie lee. in light of his recent retirement announcement, i was just curious what your favorite regis moment was. >> after 15 years and during 15 years, there are so many, that you really -- they all just meld

together. one i particularly remember, and it's been done so many times since that you can't really appreciate what it was like. it was the first time those sumo -- those sumo suits came out, the very first time. and regis and i put them on and had a smackdown. and i could not stop -- i laugh today thinking about it. it's been overdone now, but it was great. thanks, you guys. >> thanks, sarah. >> still to come, what does your man really think about love? guess who's going to tell us. donny deutsch. also get ready for some laughs from "saturday night live." we'll hear about the new p l plus the healthwatch. after your local news. hi, i'm judy, from h&r block. we are in town to take a relook at your taxes... and see if we can get you some more money back. maybe you'll find something that we've missed. i own a quilt store. not everyone gets money back, but we will try to find extra money... for those that are entitled to it. are you ready?

1,426. whoo! 2,195. it's-- it's five thousand, three hundred-- [ cheering ] [ judy ] hey. it's their money. we're just here to get it back. h&r block. never settle for less. two incredible lash looks, one genius brush. twist to one, for length and drama... or two, for length and definition. it's mascara, with a twist. new revlon, customeyes mascara.

good morning to you, it is 10:26 right now. let's check the great looking forecast with christina. >> the sun is out, temperatures are already climbing, we have some hazy conditions, 50 in novato, and 55 degrees in the city. we're going to get to the 55-degree mark in places like san rafael, 59 degrees in santa cruz. a great weekend to get outdoors, if you have that luxury, great

weekend for golf with light winds and comfortable afternoons. showing you temperatures staying in the 60s. a little hazy in sonora right now, right, mike? >> we have a clear view of skies, 680 southbound, but no problems. that's about the only issue for the drive, not really a problem as far as visibility is concerned. let's take you to the maps, very slow to oakland. 80 southbound really hit hard. the accident that was there cleared about a half an hour ago. traffic getting a little lighter heading through oakland, also slow eastbound to the tunnel, typical for this time until they switched to two lanes headed out of the area. that's the beginning of the midday flow of traffic into the city. a beautiful start to the weekend, a smooth drive, we'll have more news after this.

the uc board of regents is moving to change the way it processes applications. in the past, many schools assigned different scores to different parts of the application and then they tally them up. uc berkeley already uses the new system. well, the giants are already putting up some big stats before spring training begins. the giants should spend about $115 million on players in 2011.

it's the first time payroll will go above the mid 90s. the team wanted to bring back as many members of the world series squad as they could they did except for two. we'll see you bright and early monday morning. and we are back with more of "today" on this friday. if you've ever wondered what your man is thinking, like it or not, we're about to find out. >> we called on donny deutsch for the other view, the evil, dark-side-view. >> no, the truthful, caring paternal view. >> really? >> yes. >> that's what you're known for. that's your m.o. >> all right. let's get some questions. >> this is a question from donna. i'm a stay at home mom of three and my husband feels he has all the decision-making power because i don't contribute financially. how can i make him realize times

have changed. >> first of all, he's a jerk. the women that were full-time workers when they came back to work monday morning, that was a vacation. so you have the harder job raising three kids. maybe you need to teach him a lesson and when he comes home, no dinner on the table. or go out for the day and say you watch the kids. >> can you have a regular conversation about it? >> he's just ignorant. if he doesn't understand it, you need to teach him a lesson. all kidding aside, that's no joke. staying at home raising kids full time is an infinitely harder job than going to work. all of my female partners will tell you the same thing. >> and there have been many, many. >> next up jocelyn says why is it that men think they are owed sex in a relationship. the way i see it, buddy, if you're getting on my nerves, that's the last thing i want. >> oh, did i write that question? >> first of all, the reality is nobody -- don't use sex as a tool either way. your philosophy as a woman at home is like, well, he only gets

sex if. hopefully you're enjoying it also so it's good for both. but you don't know. the love is not -- is not unconditional between two people. if a guy or woman is acting jerky, it's very natural to not want to be -- >> well, there's the entitlement factor. >> well, no. i think what comes in a marriage is sex. >> well, it goes in a marriage as well. >> but it shouldn't be used as a tool, as a hammer. there's something wrong on either end. if you're not getting sex if you don't do this, because that means you're not enjoying it as much. it shouldn't be something that you should so easily be able to hold back so there's something wrong with that equation. >> ally asks my man tells me his sexual fantasies and i'm not comfortable doing all of them. i think he takes my no as an insult but i'm not comfortable doing some thing. how do i compromise? >> we all have the weird continuum. look, you have to be comfortable doing what you're doing. having said that, if he's comfortable enough to share his

fantasies, maybe there is a compromise. whereas, say honey, maybe that doesn't work for this reason but can we try this. so make it a point/counter point. throw out your fantasy at him. >> you never shuffnever have to like you have to. >> but you want your man to feel you're in there with you. but there's a compromise position. having studied this for years and years and years, the factacy continuum. so, yes, and we all do have our fantasies. sara. >> do men love women the way women love men. women are perceived in loving as i can't live without you way. are men the same way? >> obviously we all have the capacity to love. i think as women spend more time focusing on the relationship and i think it has to do with that who works and who doesn't. if a man or woman is at home and doesn't have the 8 or 10 hours filling up with some other

passion, they're more focused on the love and how much they love and what not. >> they're also exhausted. i'm sorry, they're exhausted. >> just by nature just because we're not focused on relationships as much doesn't mean we love less. i think that's one of the differences between men and women, i really do. >> we'll hear more about the differences between men and women on your new show. >> yes. >> when is it again? >> "love calling." i have to think mommy and mommy for giving birth to this. next thursday night on bravo, alive, 11:00 p.m. >> following the housewives. >> yes, giving me a big lead-in here. women will be calling in and i'll be giving love advice live. >> love advice or male advice. >> women calling in, me sharing the wisdom. this is just a great country. >> what do you mean the wisdom? it's your point of view. >> it's wisdom. i'm teaching. i am here, i am giving. i am giving. i am sharing. this is al truism that's

happening here. >> you know we should call in. we should call in. >> now it's personal. coming up next, you guys, "saturday night live's" fred armison shows us portland's love. still to come julie edelman tackles tough winter stains in your home, not ours. so you have five brothers. tough being the only girl. aw, there's the man of the house. who's this ? this is rufus. hey, rufus. he's actually pretty talented. you wanna see him do a trick ? ok. hey rufus. who do we love ? we love our bank. we love our bank. we love our bank. we love our bank. yes, yes. you really love your bank don't you. ally bank customers love our 24/7 customer care that allows you to talk to a real person anytime. ally. do you love your bank ?

give me half an hour. ahhh. ♪ ohh! ♪ [ male announcer ] so simple you could make em yourself. breakfast!! [ male announcer ] so delicious you don't have to. golden crispy outside, warm and fluffy inside. did you make coffee too? yes... i will. [ male announcer ] eggo waffles. simply delicious. we removed the alcohol and made it less intense. ♪ now people everywhere are getting a deep clean and fresher mouth without the intensity that kept them away. it still kills bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. but it's never felt so good. ♪ new listerine® zero™.

deep clean. less intense. the #1 dentist recommended mouthwash brand, listerine®. the #1 dentist recommended whoa! that leaves lots of pieces behind. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. than the ultra rippled brand, it's no wonder charmin ultra strong holds up better for a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. business is looking better. it sure is. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra strong. enjoy the go. and for an extra-clean finish, try charmin freshmates. what i did before gps. >> gps: turn left ahead. >> woman: actually, i got lost a lot. now i just follow the steps,

and i can get anywhere i want to go. turbotax lets me do my taxes the same way. its unique gps feature guides me step-by-step. searching over 350 deductions. so i get everything i deserve which helps me know it's done right. and gets me right to my maximum refund, guaranteed. >> man: try turbotax online now. you don't pay unless you're satisfied with the results. tonight, a year after the earthquake in haiti, rubble is still piled in the street. there's so much garbage, they might rename it new jersey. >> it's my favorite person in the world, high five. >> oh, and former new york governor david paterson once again is a multi-talented fred armisen, enjoying his ninth season on "saturday night live." >> he has created his own tv

sketch comedy called "portlandia" that affectionately pokes fun at the pacific northwest. >> little idiosyncrasies. >> hey, fred. >> hi. >> why did you choose portland of all the cities to invade? >> mostly because it's a very particular -- it's a very pretty city but it has its own personality, which is very sort of green and socially conscious. we just thought it was -- we're not really poking fun at it, more celebrating that kind of a city. >> well, you have a writing partner and a sketch partner as well. kerry brownstein. >> yes. she's from there. she's my friend and i used to visit her all the time in portland and i fell in love with the city. >> so it's affectionate ribbing. >> yeah. >> let's watch just a tiny little clip. here's a clip.

♪ dream of the '90s is alive in portland ♪ ♪ tattoo ink never runs dry >> a lot like seattle. >> a lot of coffee going on. >> a lot of coffee and a lot of glasses, as you say. >> now, this is a six-part series, is that right? >> that's right, yeah. >> so does this mean -- i mean you're doing snl. this doesn't mean you're leaving snl, it's just another project. >> no, it's in conjunction with. >> and you did it during your hiatus. >> lauren michaels is executive producing it. >> oh, ca-ching. >> i don't have a big cast around me, it's just me and carrie. also the live audience factor really changes things. so they're like little short films that we do. >> so you're not sure if they're funny or working with the live audience.

you have to trust your gut on that. >> yeah. and that's tricky. at snl you know right away if something is work organize not. >> is this the worst feeling in the world when you've worked all week long on something so hard and your big moment comes and it's -- >> it's funny but it also bonds you with the writer. >> well, you want to go kill the writer. >> it's like -- it's almost like battle scars. can you believe we went through that. >> do you ever hear from any of the characters that you play, like governor paterson. >> we'll miss him. >> oh, yeah, yeah. we talk once in a while. yeah, we've become friendly. >> some of it was a little mean-spirited. >> i think at first. but we even tried to make his character a likeable character. >> you're a nice guy. >> thanks. >> nice to see you. >>" portlandia" premieres tonight. coming up next, accidental housewife julie edelman has the solution to your winter woes. - excuse me, which sock is whiter? - oh, that one.

- definitely the one on the right. - yeah, are y-- - seriously, the clorox one. - oh, okay. the difference is obvious. for the whitest whites, use detergent, plus the advanced whitening formula of clorox bleach.

plus the advanced whitening formula lose those lines for up to a year! juvéderm® xc is the gel filler your doctor uses to instantly smooth out lines right here. temporary side effects include redness, pain, firmness, swelling, bumps, or risk of infection. ask your doctor about juvéderm® xc.

[ female announcer ] important events can sneak up on you. oh, i am not ready. can i have a couple weeks? [ female announcer ] but with yoplait light's two week tune up, you could be ready. you could lose 5 pounds in 2 weeks when you replace breakfast and lunch with a fruit, grain, and yoplait light. betsy bets. you haven't changed a bit. oh...neither have you... sean.

well, yeah. [ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up. with winter under way, it's

the season of salt stains, stubborn pet stains and more reasons to drink. our accidental housewife is here to show us how to remove all of those stains. >> julia edelman is the author of "the accidental housewife." >> let's get started. >> well, i've got things that are winter pet peeves literally and figuratively. one thing, static electricity, right? >> yeah. >> in harmony. all you need to do is on your doorknob or car handle, just use a good old basic metal key and that will take the shock away. when you're about to enter your house. >> and you get shocked on the door handle. >> hit that first and it will take the shock away. other things you can do are, because it's so dry out is why you get these shocks. so hand cream will also work were just put bowls of water around your home if you don't have a humidifier. >> that's like the movie

"signs," remember that? >> we'll move to this now. we're not having a party. >> yes, we are too. and you're invited. >> i can't wait. that's at the end. well, static electricity in your hair. if you don't want to look like helen -- you've got that lovely static cling -- i hate to mess your hair up. >> thanks a lot. >> fabric drier sheets. it will smooth them right now. >> you put it on your legs when you have a clingy dress. >> that too. >> you're telling me accidental housewife -- >> i can always learn. that's why i love coming here. all right. salt marks on your leather shoes or your stilettos in our case. first you wipe it all off, just so it's clean so you don't have the schmutz. then you miss 50% white vinegar in water and then you just dab, okay, on this lovely little salt mark. just dab. leave it overnight.

>> this is amazing. >> it will get rid of the salt? >> it cleans your intestines too. >> that's another segment sfwh you know how i love things around the house. use some vaseline to tender the leather so it doesn't dry out. also keep things inside like shoe trees so it doesn't have shrinkage. >> what if you have 600 pairs of shoes? >> then you don't have to worry about these. >> all right. >> now, this happens to me a lot. >> whether you have uggs, chugs or whatever. first thing is our handy-dandy nail file. >> yes. >> if it's a small little water mark, just use that on it. i always like testing just in case they're dark. but if that doesn't work, got milk? >> that's where johnny got the cookies from. >> yes. and you just take a little and you put it directly on there. >> really? >> and you just let that set overnight. yes. now, another good trick here is so you don't have shrinkage or

the water will -- >> why do you keep saying shrinkage? >> i thought of donny. >> that's the third time she's used the term. >> there will be one more. then you stuff these -- here we go. shrinkage stuffing. then you stuff the boots with newspaper for two reasons. keep smiling. because it will absorb the water or the moisture that's in here as well and keep the shape of the boot. >> let's move on down. >> yeah. >> cookie? >> yes, please. i thought you'd like it with the milk. now, baby powder. in your floors, and again i'm going to say you get shrinkage. in the wintertime floors contract, wood floors. so all you want to do is you sprinkle it in there. >> regular baby powder. >> regular baby powder. you keep it in to make sure it all gets in. then what you're done, what you want to do so you don't slip and fall, sweep that up, not with a vacuum. >> you have 30 seconds. >> here, our little doggy.

come here, baby. if you have urine. come back, come back, come back. >> urine on the carpet. >> toothpaste, toothbrush. put some warm water -- >> hopefully not your toothbrush. >> not the one you use, maybe your hubby's. just leave it in overnight. lily. baking soda gets rid of these. >> julie, thank you so much. we can celebrate. >> coming up next, crabby cook jessica harper with recipes for those of us who have had enough to do than simmer all day but this is "today" on nbc.

my second diagnosis-- i was told to go home, retire, and enjoy the time i had left. to say it was a shock is just a complete understatement. i mean, i don't think there are words. she had put up a really good fight, but it was her time. you... don't have a choice of getting breast cancer. i had no choice.

i wanted to do something bigger than myself. that 3-day gave me that opportunity. and i can actually do something to help. i think it's a very bold thing to do. 60 miles in 3 days-- i can do that. i'm sure if it was 100 miles, we'd still walk it. 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.

we're back and we're getting saucy in today's kitchen with the one and the only crabby cook. >> she looks nice to me. >> actress, author and cracky cook jessica harper is here with

brunch recipes from her new book titled, what else, but "the crabby cookbook." >> i like the picture of you on the front. >> thank you. >> we're making the perfect food. a pumpkin pancake. why is it perfect? >> it took me years to find something all my family would eat, except froot loops. so these are pumpkin pancakes. do you want me to tell you how to do it? >> yes, do. >> that's the point. >> why are we here? >> she's crabby. don't make us crabby, all right? >> what do we do? >> you want flour, you want whole wheat flour and white flour. there's a can of pumpkin there. >> okay. >> about a cup. you don't want to mess with making your own pureed pumpkin. >> that would make you too crabby. >> so i'm going to put in baking powder here, a little baking soda, half teaspoon of salt and add some spices like allspice,

cinnamon, ginger, just to make it pumpkiny. >> this is not just around the holidays, you're saying any time. >> especially when you have a picky family and that's all they eat. >> do people call you crabby? >> only in the privacy of my home. >> how many kids do you have, jessica? >> i have two kids. so then you're going to mix the wet and the dry. one egg and then just a couple of tablespoons of butter. you don't want to be paula deen, just a little bit of butter. >> you don't want to clog an artery. >> you don't want to overmix and make the pancakes to be rubbery. these are pancakes, not frisbees. so then what you're going to do -- >> you heard her, kath. >> i heard her. >> hop to it. >> so this is the final -- this is it. >> yes. >> i love how prepped this kitchen is. i wish my house was like that. >> we'll come to your house and help you. >> oh, please, then i'll never be crabby. so this much, dump it on a little like that. cook it until you see little

bubbles forming. >> i like them crispy. >> and then you're going to pour out another one. >> i like that. >> i'm just going to pretend i have cooking kills here. then you nflip it and they come out like that. >> thank you. >> and you want to drench them in maple syrup. they taste good with a lot of syrup. >> that's how i like it. >> try it out, hoda woman. >> we've got stuff back here. >> everyone in the house will like this. >> these are bacon rolls. the kids love these. all you do is you heat up these buns in a 200-degree oven about five minutes, make them crispy. then just open a bun like. this you're going to smear on a little -- >> 30 seconds. >> all right. smear. >> is that butter or mayonnaise? >> that's butter. >> and a little bacon. >> a couple of bacon -- >> who's not going to like that. >> we've got to go. coming up on monday, we have

best-selling author wynonna judd. >> she's got a novel. also a preview of all the movies and books coming out this year. thank you very much. >> we're off to do jay leno. >> leno tonight. >> nice talking to you. [ female announcer ] why settle for plain bread

when you can have pillsbury g? e warm, light delicate layer are like nothinglse. add a layer of excitement to younext meal. ♪ la of browe ramel, dipped in chocolate. ready to eat sweet moments. find tm in theefrigerated sect