good morning. winter's wrath. single-diglt hi single-digit highs and record lows. another major storm on the way. is the worst yet to come? speaking out. for only the second time in history, a woman undergoes a voice box transplant and after more than a decade of silence, she is talking, again. oprah's new bombshell. calling it the miracle of miracles. the queen of talk promises to reveal a family secret, one she says shook her to the core. let the guessing game begin. today is sunday, january 23rd, let the guessing game begin. today is sunday, january 23rd, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good morning, everyone. welcome to today on a sunday. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. she's talked about being abused as a child and she talked about her struggles with eighth over the years but now comes what may be the biggest secret yet and only lester knows what it is. >> she says is a big secret. what is not her secret is to build an audience. >> we're all on the edge of our chair here waiting for it. an update on gabby giffords. the first look at the facility where she is starting her recovery. we'll show you inside and talk about what she's going to face in the coming months. big news regarding the royal wedding. kate middleton's dress and designer and also word that prince william will be wearing a

dress, no, prince william decided on a home for the couple. we will be live from buckingham palwise t wiswis wisace with al the new york jets facing the steelers and the bears, kind of a big deal for me, facing the packers. lots of hype. >> very exciting for the bears and the packers, some of the loudest and funniest trash talk is coming from one town caught in the middle of the rivalry. we'll take you there. i used to do sports for many years and once destroy in the area where the boston and yankee fans meet, it's funny, it's trash talking, it's confusing. a lot of people have identity crisis there. it's really, really interesting. i'm excited to see what this is going to be like. >> someone is going to be very humble at the end. >> and going to the super bowl. temperatures in the single digits and below zero in some spots. the weather channel's mike

seidel joins us from chicago where it is, what else, snowing. mike, good morning. >> hey, good morning, lester. it is snowing and 8 degrees here. the plows this morning up lake shore drive. on friday in international falls it dropped down to 46 below zero. the coldest in several hundred years. take a look at the afternoon highs from the midwest to the northeast. minneapolis, st. paul up to 13. cinci 19 and in boston where you already had 15 or 50 inches of snow, it may get to 20 degrees. this leads us to the coldest morning this winter in the northeast. tomorrow morning, new york city, central park 9. in providence, your first sub engineer zero morning. up in theed adirondacks a face cracking 28 below zero. back here at soldier field, the trash talking comes to an end and the bears take on the packers at 3:00 eastern and 19

degrees and we don't think it will be snowing at that point. light winds and wind chills at 10. at heinz field the steelers take on the jets. kickoff temperature there at heinz, 14 and wind chills during the game dropping down to around zero. i can tell you that the frozen tundra is in green bay, this morning i'm standing on it right this morning i'm standing rights outside of soldier field. back to you. >> that's bear weather, my big friend. sider side, thanks very much. it's not just the cold. another big storm is threatening the east. scott with more on that. >> good morning, lester. good morning, everybody. certainly the cold air is in place, but right now we are waiting on some moisture, and as we move into tuesday night and wednesday, that is when we'll track another potential storm system for the mid-atlantic and also the northeast. right now we're tracking just some snowshowers through the midwest, but as we move into monday, watching an area of low pressure that will develop along the gulf of mexico, that will

move into the mid-atlantic sometime tuesday into wednesday. a couple of scenarios. close to the coast it will be a wintry mix. if it tracks farther out to sea, we could see more snow along the i-95 corridor. right now new york city is on pace with snowfall in comparison to the 95 and 96 snow season. j lester, back to you. >> all right, scott. thanks very much. now here's jenna. all right, lester. thank you.ibby now let's go to gabby giffords. she continues to show remarkable progress at the rehabilitation center in houston where she was flown to from tucson on friday. for the first time we're getting a glimpse inside the rehab facility. janet is live for us from houston. good morning. >> reporter: hi. good morning to you. doctors say gabby gifr orders will stay in intensive care o throughn the end of the week du to a buildup of fluid on her we brain.g the modified rehab will take

place there. meanwhile, we are getting a first look inside this very sophisticated rehab facility where doctors and therapists are going to help her build her life back. this is a first look inside thed facility where gabrielle giffords will take the next step on her road to recovery. just like these patients, therapists will guide her a to through exercises to regain basic skills.t&on saturdayr an new doctors as they evaluated her condition. >> she surprised us. she did not need as much n to assistance as we had anticipated. there were still people holding on to her, as was described tici previously, but she is lu activating her muscles even more than what i had anticipated.ck v >> good luck! we love you! >> reporter: giffords arriveed in houston friday after a heart felt sendoff from tucson. t >> feelso like we're letting goh of a family member, but she's going to come back.er >> reporter: they lined her de route cheering as her ambulance passed. a doctor beside herb said gabrielle responded. >> when i drove with her cs, inn ambulance and saw herow reactio

to the cheering in the streets, it just confirmed to me that she knows what's going on. w >> reporter: when giffords arriveed in houston, she was taken to the hospital's trauma unit where she'll stay for the next few days. it's going well so far, according to her husband, astronaut mark kelly, who said that gabrielle was all settled s in, doing great in her new room and would have lotsduri of reha with the staff, and he couraging news from her nurse. during the flight to houston when this photo was taken tracy culbert said she played with her ring. she took it in her hand and was turning it and looking at it to see all sides of the ring, and c then sheto put it on her fingers hold on to it. >> reporter: it is, doctors say yet another sign of progress. f of gabby's resilience and strength. traits she'll draw from every day as a new chapter of her recovery begins. flu doctors say giffords was alert and responsive yesterday, but they do have to get this fluid issue resolved, which will

involve either taking out the catheter or putting in a shunt,> which is a permanent > fix. back to you. >>e janet, thank you. once again, here's lester. sdmrirchlgs we're just two daysa away from the state of the union address. it comes as president obama unveils a new push to create y. jump-start the economy. joining us with more is david gregory, moderator of "meet they press." good morning. good to see you. >> the president is goingnur to outline a whole job recovery plan during this tpeach.ha how much of this speech, thoughr is going to be framed by the reality that he is speaking to the house of representatives now controlled by republicans. >> i think that's the major theme of theica' speech. i think you're going to hear thj president talk about jobs in tht context of america's competitiveness, having to deal also not just with jobs, but with dealing with the deficit as well, but it will be a more et centrist course here. he knows that he has a divided republican caucus between the us house and the senate, and he wants to try to expose those fissures and do business with republicans as he marks this two

inform year mark intopo his fir term. >> congressman paul ryan is p going to have the republican >> response. will he be in in sync with the t president on a sense of bipartisanship? >> i think in theory. what's ironic about paul ryan id he is the budget chief now of the budget committee, and, yet, he is much more çdraconian in terms ofad government spending cuts than fellow republicans. he might be inut t osync with th partiers, but he has big ideas on how to curb entitlements and very few republicans have been willing to stand with him.ch who will he be speaking for exactly will be the question. >> congressman michelle bachman will air another rebuttal.epub this will be on the web on behalf of the tea party. how does the party establishment, republican party establishment, feel about this? >> well, you know, i have eric cantor on this morning, and i'm going to ask him that question m because that is a great example of the cross currents in the i republican partyn right now. these new tea party members that have come in with very definite expectations with promises made on a campaign trail. where do they butt heads with s theee leadership of the republin party in the house.

sn. ea see democrats and republicans sitting re together. a break with o ttradition. this is a direct response to the shooting of congresswoman gabby giffords. how widespread is this now?ke is the whole chamber going to be integrated, if you will?ubli >> you know, i spoke to a in senator yesterday who was k indicating, you know, he was looking for a republican who would be willing to sit with s him, so i thinkym there's a lotd shopping going around, and i think it is an important symbolic message to send even as people -- some people dismiss tucson as a moment to really get involved with the discussion about political discourse. i think it will be that, and i think the message from the president will be we've got somt divisive issues to deal with, w but it'swe how we do it that's e key. that's the legacy of tucson. >> like findingou a date here a few days before the prom. >> right.es >> david, thanks very much. our coverage of president obama's state of the union t address begins tuesday night at 9:00, 8:00 central time. willy has more of today's headlines. good morning, willy. >> good morning, every. we begin in australia where a ad potential tropical storm now a,

threatening the flood battered northeast part of the country. further south in victoria they're now bracing for anothe week of flooding. a these new aerial shots show ca towns completely under llwater. the flooding has already killed 30 people there. officials call it one of the most>> costly natural disastersn australia's history. çta now to london with new detail about the royal wedding and which controversial guest may get a coveted invitation. nbc's kier williams is live at buckingham palace. >> reporter: you know, weddingsy can be tense occasions, even im royal esweddings, and sarah ferguson and the royal family ap have had tensepa times in the pt to say the very least, but ns william apparently wants her there on the wedding day, ending 15 years of divisions within thq family. then there'sf the big question d the wedding dress. bets are already being taken one who the designer will be, but we may not find out until the big t day. apparently buckingham palace wants to keep it a secret until the very last minute.d

one secret that is outka there, though, william and kate reportedly want to live at kensington palace, princess diana's old home. this is a couple who want to w break withed the past but at th same time remember those who loved themhs as they plan for their future. >> all right. the wedding about three months away. nbc's kier simmons thanks very much. sergeant who shriver was bu last night next to his late g pr wife. it was a inwho's who attending e shriver's funeral, including president clinton, first lady michelle obama, and vice president joe biden. singing tributes came from bono and stevie wonder. shriver washe remembered for hia life of public ceservice. he, of course, started the peace corps in 1961.ts finally, apple's dominationo continues. the company says its app store passed the 10 billion downloads mark on saturday.ed only two and a half years after it openedow for business. that number expected to grow even faster now that the iphone will be carried by verizon. apple says a british woman who

downloaded the 10 billionth app is getting a $10,000 i tunes gift certificate. now back to lester000 and jenna. some 350,000 apps to choose from this n that store, guys. >> i misread the story. i thought it was she downloaded 10 billion apps and as a thank you she got a $10,000 gift certificate. who is the dumb one now? it was me. i know. >> thanks. >> thank you. doesn't know what i'm talking we about. scott williams joins us on the plaza with another check of the weather. hey, scott. >> well, good morning, lester e and i jenna. temperatures right now here on s the plaza.e 16 degrees. it feels like it's in the sijz. we have som

upper 60s in south florida. ç that's your sunday weather. jenna. it is one of the oldest and the fiercest rivalries in professional sports, and later today the green bay packers will visit the chicago bears where it is 10 degrees without the wind chill right now. to battle it out one more time. this time for a spot in the super bowl. the heartland showdown is splitting one town in two. >> reporter: i'll tell you what's wrong with this picture. the barbers in this suburban chicago shop are all green bay packers fans, lots of green bay packers. >> have you threatened to cut om off any eyebrows. >> i frihave. i do remind them i have sharp scizzors in my hands. >> and some friendly wagers

should the win. >> get my haircut for free. >> reporter: all of them? >> football fever on the bone-chilling midwestern tundra has folks doing the strangest things. ♪ chicago bears ♪ >> 103.1. >> reporter: this green bay radio station has even banned ty the band. >> no songs by chicago. >> reporter: genoa city, c wisconsin wishgs a stone's throw from the border where the 2,500d residents wear their colors with pride. it's the american way. dwhat >> it's a free country. you do what you want and vote for who you want.ho you root for who you want. the bears are going to win, i think. i hope. >> no. >> reporter: does she sound convinced to you? do you have any message for those bear fans >>nv yeah, get ready because wee on our way.pa >> reporter: you would never believe it but ken and larry parker are brothers. are you going to be>> on speaki terms? >> owoh, yeah. >> we'll see how the game goes first. >> reporter: you with pull up on your snow machine to this watering hole.onda inside it's quite heated.

rhonda, is this a town divided? >> it is. it is. >> reporter: even outrs. on the frozen lake, opinions are mixedr >> bears.. >> bears. >> bears. >> bears. >> packers. o >> reporter: and the fishermen are talking football. bears or packers? >> oh, i'm bears all the way. go bears. >> reporter: butúdéring today's game -- >> turn it up.co >> reporter: these fans will have one thing in common. they'll all be in front of a tv. >> that's fun stuff. my bigi fear is that the bears and the jets go to the super bowl. i like them both. >> that's your big fear.ll >> that's your bigy fear. >> well -- >> i could see how that would nc reetetly g u e.the. >> up next on "today" ending the silence.cr a rare transplant gets a woman her voice again. right after this.th a kiss of g. delicious. kiss of g. and the same calories per serving as special k original. so, try honey roasted, honey bunches of oats! heck try 'em all.

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. >> a woman whose natural voice could have been silenced forever because of vocal cord damage is able to talk again after undergoing a rare voice box transplant. brenda jensen damaged her vocal cords more than a decade ago after repeatedly pulling out her breathing tube while you should sedation at the hospital. in october the transplant was conducted and now she's able to talk. brenda jensen joins us from modesto, california, and one of her surgeons, dr. gregory farwell joins us from sacramento. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning, brenda. i want to start with you. it's been three months since

your operation. i got to ask you, how are you feeling this morning? >> i'm feeling really good. >> you seem really happy. i know that for 12 years you put up with a lot of taunting and teasing because, as you say, your voice sounded a lot like a robot. what's it like to hear your own voice again? >> it's simply amazing. i'm still in shock that this ever happened to me. >> do you remember what you sounded like before, or has it been a long time since you heard your voice? >> well, it's been -- it's been about 12 years since i heard myself, and you always sound different than what you expect you hear, but when i heard myself on my answering machine the other day, i was shocked at how good it sounded. >> of course. i think a lot of people take that for granted. the other thing i found interesting was you weren't able to smell when you had the breathing tube in. when it came out and you were able to smell again, do you remember that first sensation or the first thing that you

remember smelling? >> yes. i was walking through the grocery store, and i went by the bakery, and i smelled some fresh baked bread, and, boy, i wanted to eat it, but i'm not able to eat right now because i have a feeding tube. >> but at least you got that smelling sensation, which wasç wonderful, and i have to ask you this, how appreciative are you of the person who signed the back of their license to be a donor that was able to give you the voice box you have today? >> i can't thank the family enough and the person that donated the organs. i just -- it's unbelievable, and i believe more people should sign the donor card and be a donor because it helps a lot of people. >> i know that you think your voice is a little raspy now. is this how it is usually in the morning? does it get better through the course of the day? >> yes, it does. yes. in the mornings i'm a little congested, but it's doing pretty good, actually, compared to other days. >> that's great to hear.

dr. farwell, when we think of voice box, and we think how we sound. why is it that brenda sounds like brenda and not like the person that donated that voice box? >> the voice is made from a lot of sounds that come from the back of the throat, the tongues, the lips, and the sinuses, so the voice box gets the sound started, but the majority of her voice is from her. >> i know, brenda, that earlier in the week you were reunited with the team of doctors that performed year surgery. can you tell us a little bit about what you said to them when you did finally meet up with them again? >> oh, i just can't thank them enough. i mean, they did a miracle job. i'm just so amazed that this could ever happen to me. >> well, it's great to see you smile and we're so happy and we wish you all the best as you begin to get your voice completely back. brenda jensen and dr. gregory farwell, thank you both so very much. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> thank you. >> and we will be back after

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good sunday morning to you. take a live look from our san bruno mountain camera, bouncing around this morning because we are off to a breezy start. it's going to be a nice day otherwise, though. meteorologist rob mayeda, you say still warm but not as warm as yesterday. >> not quite as warm but for a january heat wave, you'd need 70 degrees to break records today. we'll get close tho to that around san jose. cool start to the morning, around 44. as you saw from the san bruno mountain camera, still 50s on some of the hilltops. 36 in gilroy, 37 in santa rosa.

very dry air over the bay area, right now, even with clouds from the north. no worries about rain today and we'll see those breezy conditions as you saw in the hills around san bruno mountain continuing at least through about midmorning. we'll see temperatures eventually towards lunchtime climbing into the 60s. as we head toward the afternoon, san jose south may get close to 70 today, 64 san francisco, and as we head through the week, we'll see some cooling as the fog gets a little more thick, especially north and east bay valleys, but staying dry into next weekend, as well. this morning a woman is clinging to wife after being shot by a city police officer in san francisco. investigators say the officer pulled the woman's car over near daly city and the san francisco border around 7:00 last night. that officer reportedly shot the woman after she backed the car into a building. her male passenger was not injured but was arrested. a 9-year-old boy is recovering from a gunshot wound this morning, and police are

still trying to figure out who pulled the trigger and why. people in the western edition called 911 around noon yesterday to report the shooting on turk street near laguna. when police arrived, they found the boy. he was shot in the stomach. he was rushed to the hospital and is expected to survive. now, police say they're not sure whether that boy was targeted or whether he was hit by a stay bullet. this morning for the first time in days, crews will not let the car in stanislaw county. dives have found five cars in the canal but not the silver toyota corolla they had been looking for. this began on tuesday when an amber alert was issued for a boy allegedly kidnapped by his mother's ex-boyfriend. a few hours after the abduction, a farm worker says he saw a car matching that description go into the canal, but now the search is called off while crews let water into the canal again so they can keep using sonar.

authorities say the search will continue early this week. >> we're going to continue to look. we're going to continue to search. we're going to continue to follow up on every lead and tip that we get in this case. again, we continue to hold out hope that we're going to find juliana alive and be able to reunite him with his family. that's our goal. >> they pulled out another vehicle, a pickup truck matching the one stolen in 2009. the truck, found yesterday, i should say, was about a mile and half from where the witness reported seeing the suspect vehicle plunge in. we have all the day's top stories plus that beautiful weather forecast coming up for you in a half hour. right now here's more of the "today" show. it's easier than you think, actually, 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! we're back on this sunday morning, january 23rd, 2011. it's a balmy 17 degrees on the plaza, but the wind chill, from what i understand, 140 below zero. that's what scott said. it feels warmer than that. look on the bright side, only two more months of winter left. the folks here don't seem to mind the freeze. do you guys? no. we thank you so much for spending time with us on this sunday morning. >> this nice lady. that's a great sign, thank you. what's your name? you know what, look what i did? i saw you out the window and i made a sign for you. thanks for being here.

>> he didn't even use red marker. he didn't put that much effort into it. >> we only had purple. short notice kind of thing. thanks for all of you being here. we'll talk about oprah's big secret coming up. the queen of daytime will reveal something very personal on her show tomorrow. she has a lot of people guessing and the speculation is growing and she's helping to fuel it. she calls it a miracle of miracles. wow, that's quite a build up. >> what do i think it is? i'm not even going there. it could be anything. plus, what would winter be without the common cold? we all seem to catch them around this time of year. do lemon and honey really work? how about gargling with salt water. i know -- >> i never heard that one. >> we'll talk about all the myths and remedies for the common cold. then we'll talk about moon shine forget that you even have

a cold. what is old is new again. moon shine is making a comeback these days. we'll take you to a place where they make it, legally. >> i was like, do i really have to go on this story? we're really encouraging you to go down and drink some alcohol on television. we want you, i said, fine, i'll do it. it was a good time. let's get another check of the weather because it's freezing out here. scott williams is here. good morning, scott. >> good morning, jenna and lester. it is cold here on the plaza. troopers out here braving the cold and it's your birthday, happy birthday. what is your name? >> caitlin. >> where are you from? >> columbus, ohio. >> let's get a check of the weather because we are dealing with an arctic blast. high temperatures for you in chicago today, 19 degrees. temperaturewise its washington, d.c., 27. a little bit of snow moving through parts of the midwest, including kansas city and st. louis. that's a look at the national ma and it's a relatively balmy 55 degrees in san francisco

right now. a little breezy, especially around the hilltops this morning. we're seeing some of that, and also partly cloudy skies this afternoon as high clouds drift in out of the north, we will see temperatures as warm as near 70 i think today around san jose. yesterday a high of 72. so a little bit cooler. 64, san francisco, mid-60s inland, and the hilltops still close to 70 today. the trend will be cooler heading through the middle part of the week as we see more fog especially in those north and east bay valleys over the next few mornings. for your weather 24 hours a day, you can logon always to weather.com. lester? all right, scott, thanks very much. now, to amanda knox and her attempt to clear her name and overturn her murder conviction. sentenced to 26 years in prison for stabbing her british roommate to death. the 23-year-old american is back and in an italian courtroom and signs that the case may be going her way. michelle kaczynski joins us from

perugia, italy, with the latest. >> from the time amanda knox was on trial to now, but there may be more at stake because at the same time she is appealing her conviction, prosecutors are starting to lengtheni her priso term. if amanda knox looks tired, upset, returning to court, she melt under to smiles seeing her supporters. for the first time in more than three years since her british roommate meredith kurcher was found murdered, the court is tackling the case with fresh eyes leaving amanda and her family guardingly elated. >> we always said if these bits of evidence are reexamined that things will, that the truth will be found out. >> reporter: now, the judge has not only allowed the evidence, minuscule traces of dna on this knife prosecutors claim was the murder weapon and the victim's

bra to be examined by independent experts, they're going to retest it, may even dismantle the knife in case other evidence is hiding. the defense believes it's not the murder weapon. it was found in amanda's then boyfriend's kitchen drawer. he was also convicted of sexual assault and murder and this is his appeal, too. prosecutors say a trace of his dna was on meredith's bra clasp, but no where else on it or. the experts don't think it is his dna at all. >> no match. no match. the results by the police and i'm sure that there are two exclusion. >> reporter: could new analysis support their insistence that these two were not even there that night? >> it has been so long. it's cold in there right now and it's gray. she doesn't deserve to be in there.

so, she's not doing the best. >> reporter: now, these small victories carry enormous weight. all that is standing between decades, even life in prison and freedom. >> amanda's stepfather talked about how the time has been wearing on her and trying to occupy her time. the prison just got a much welcome ping-pong table and she listens to music and has a new roommate from eastern europe and they're able to communicate in english and amanda helps other inmates with her italian. while continuing her studies remotely through the university of washington. >> michelle, thank you. now, let's go inside to jenna. >> lester, thank you. tomorrow is shaping up to be a very intriguing day for oprah winfrey and her legions of followers. the queen of talk, who now runs her own network, will reveal a family secret that she claims shook her to the core. nbc jeff rosen reports. >> i was given some news that

literally shook me to my core. >> reporter: oprah winfrey has shared some of her most intimate secrets sexual abuse, drug use and now a new bombshell from oprah herself. >> in the past 25 years oprah show reunited people but this time i'm the one being reunited. i have been keeping a family secret for months and you'll hear it straight from me on monday. >> reporter: the secret so intense oprah calls it a miracle. only a few people know what it is. what is it? who is involved? let the feeding frenzy begin. >> i think people will be so intrigued on what kind of news would actually shock oprah to her core and call it a miracle. >> reporter: she shocked her audience before with startling revelations that she was molested as a child by relatives, that she gave birth to a child who died when she was a teenager, and she's answered candid questions here with

barbara walters recently about rumors she's gay and her relationship with best friend gayle king. >> she is the friend that everybody deserves. i'm not even kind of lesbian. >> reporter: in a highly publicized but unauthorized biographer author kitty kelley wrote about her family history. she appeared here on "today." >> the hardest thing getting drawn into the secrets myself. >> reporter: with a life so exposed, what secret could possibly be left? >> oprah winfrey is a master of what she does. queen of all media and most powerful celebrity in the world. she knows what she's doing. >> reporter: emotional reunions have become a cornerstone of her show with this new tease seems different. >> i thought i'd seen it all, but this, my friends, is the miracle of all miracles. >> reporter: for "today" jeff rosen, nbc news, new york. >> now, oprah's last show airs in september, she may have a few

more surprises. but right now we're just focused on this one. >> more surprises. you think? >> exactly. up next, cures for the common cold. there are a few of them. what really works and what doesn't really work. all that and more right after these messages. and blur my vision. my eye doctor said there's great news for people with astigmatism. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink and created with hydraclear® plus. i'm seeing more clearly, crisply, comfortably, all day long. now life doesn't have to be a blur. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism.

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[ 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. nah. we have something else. but if you're hurt and miss work does it pay cash like aflac does? nah. or let you spend it in any way you want like for gas and groceries? nah. or help with everyday bills like aflac does? nah nah nah. [ male announcer ] there's aflac and there's everything else. visit aflac.com for an agent or quote. aflac! this morning on today's truth about colds. the symptoms and solutions

everyone has their own way of coping with them. >> what actually works and what doesn't work this morning our experts will weigh in on the facts that you need to know. >> colds 101 and whether that sneeze is a sign of something else. medical editor joins us now. dr. raj, good to have you here. >> good morning, lester. >> a cold and serious respiratory illness like the flu. >> not always easy to tell, but some signs. when you have a cold, this is caused by a virus and usually from droplets in the air when someone coughs or sneezes or if you touch a substance that a sick person has touched and you touch your hands, your nose or your eyes. low-grade fever and you might be a little bit tired, but the flu has that real exhaustion and the full-body aches and a higher fever and persistent fever and that's one way to differentiate between the two. >> a lot of folks don't suffer allergies in the wintertime, but how do you differentiate?

>> it could definitely happen. a cold is usually gone by two weeks. if it's persisting longer than that, that,. a fever is much more likely to be a cold. you really should not get a fever with an allergy. >> sometimes we get these winter colds and they just linger on and on and on. typically, how long does a cold run its course? >> one to two weeks. on average a week, but definitely not longer than two weeks. in terms of when to see your doctor, high fever above 103 and it's persistent and a severe cough that is bringing up phlegm, that's a sign to see the doctor. >> finally, one of the reasons we bundle up because we don't want to catch a cold. is that a myth? does the temperature outside have anything to do with our susceptibility to a cold? >> for years we are saying that is a myth being out in the cold has nuthing to do with it, the

reason you get colds in the winter is because you're in close contact with people. recently when our core body temperature is colder, our body's immune system does not work as hard to fight a cold. there may be something to that bundling up and staying warm. >> dr. raj, thank you very much. good advice. >> lester, thank you. taking a closer look at those home remedies. dr. david cats. good morning, doctor. i am feeling good. you have a bunch of remedies here and let's knock them out one by one. green tea with a little lemon and honey. >> not proven to prevent or shorten a cold, but antioxidants in the green tea, good for your immune system and good for you in general. lemon is a sialogogue -- >> what happened? >> makes saliva flow. it has been shown in studies to help fight wounds and could help a little bit with a cold, as well. i like that one.

>> next up garlic, garlic tablets and garlic with water and you'll have no friends. >> you'll have no friends, but chase the cold virus away. garlic has antimicrobial but what makes it popular is using it in stuff like chicken soup. garlic comes along for the ride. no proof it really helps. >> lester did not like this one. putting vicks vapor rub, but on your feet. >> i'm not sure what the feet are. if your feet warm up and cool down, it may help you fall asleep. feeling something in a different part of your body may distract you from the symptoms that are driving you crazy. on the chest and the throat, it may help the sinuses drain. a role there for some symptom relief. >> our favorite one around these parts, a little brandy. is it good, bad or just ugly sph. >> i think it depends on what your grandmother drank. but, you know, a little of this does dilate blood vesals and may

help you feel like your airways are opening up a little bit. it will not help you get over a cold, but help you care a little bit less. i wouldn't over do it. >> or even forget that you had a cold. >> again, we're advising not to overdo it. >> gargling with salt water, vinegar? >> it relieves the symptoms of the scratchy throat. zinc can shorten the cold and my two favorites. regular moderate exercise and adequate sleep. those really work. >> you're such a doctor, of course you would say that. i'll try the bourbon and then try everything else. thank you so much. good information. and now back to lester. >> jenna, thanks. finally, treating common colds, does anything work? here with tips is women's day health director amy brighten. good to see you. >> nice to see you. >> you can't cure a cold, but can you do something to avoid getting one? >> getting exercise. a recent study showed exercisers

got half as many colds as those who didn't exercise. get your sleep. sleep is when your tissue and body repairs the damage that has been done during the day. if you're exposed to the cold virus or any kind of virus, that it can fight it off sufficiently. >> we all know those tell tale signs when the cold is coming on. it's there and it's going to happen. how can you lessen the effects of it and shorten it? >> one big thing we were talking about, the minute you have symptoms, zinc, which is in coldeez and ziacam. it can reduce it by half. also consider vitamin c and try to get it in its natural sources like citrus fruit. if you take a supplement, take your doctor first because you don't want to get too much because those things boost your immune system. >> talk about once the cold is in full force here, i'm in bad shape, what do i do? >> once it's in full force, you

can treat symptoms and also make sure to, again, get your sleep. don't overexercise. if you're going to exercise at all. make sure that you take single ingredient remedies. don't take the combo products because that's how people overdose. you don't realize that one of those combo remedies has it in it. >> don't go to the drugstore and buy out the shelf. >> claritan for runny nose and try to get single-ingredient remedies. >> amy, thanks, nice to have you here. appreciate it. just ahead, jenna makes moon shine, the legal way. but, first, these messages.

♪ it's the home grown -- after decades of being banned, moonshine is not only becoming legal, but it's gaining in popularity. ♪ >> reporter: some folks in tennessee are still seeing gold in them there hills. >> my dad was a third generation moonshiner. my father was a moonshiner. my great grandfather was a moonshiner. >> reporter: liquid gold. now there's a place where it's actually legal to whip up this white lightning. opened in july, the old smoky distillery in gatlinburg, tennessee, it allows to make moonshine legally. >> we can make a clean product that everybody can enjoy, and it's safe. >> reporter: joe baker owns old smoky and is proud of his

moonshine heritage. >> aim self-proclaimed. from here and proud of that. >> reporter: you say moonshine. >> there's a lot of different things to different people, and i think that it's that idea that it's the hill billies out making a product that could be dangerous. >> reporter: tennessee and the deep south have a long and colorful history with moonshine. prohibition spurred a boom in home distilling and the demand for it kept going long after the act was repealed. even giving birth to a popular sport. ♪ just a good old boy ♪ never meaning no harm >> they had these cars that were specially made and took out the back seat so they could put in all the moonshine. >> reporter: what exactly is moonshine? >> it's good old corn liquor. >> reporter: itç starts here aa local mill. >> they harvest corn, bring it

in, and they mill it. >> reporter: that's when things get cooking. >> once they cook those grains and yooes, we put it in the fermentation tank. >> it looks like oatmeal, and it goes into this container. >> it's mashed and it's going to be cooked until the vapors start to rise. as soon as the water hits those coils, we start getting whiskey. too this is pure whiskey as you'll get? >> this right here is probably 160 proof. we cut it to 100 proof. >> reporter: but it's not just tennessee where moonshine is making a comeback. more than 200 so-called mic micro-distilleries have been popping up from california to new york. >> what are some of the nicknames that people have given to moonshine? >> hooch, white lightning. i call it whiskey. >> joe may call it whiskey. i'm calling it research. >> try that one. see how that goes for you.

[ coughing ] >> reporter: that's good. >> like that one? >> reporter: that was wow. >> moonshine sharing. >> reporter: now, this tastes like apple pie? oh, that's lovely. moonshine for everyone! whoa! >> that was the best of what i had to offer after drinking. that was the most calm i was. she didn't include -- our wonderful producer didn't include any of that -- >> you were singing that. remember the lucy episode. remember the one? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> that's what i was thinking of. >> i tweeted that i was -- i went down there and it was going to air this morning, and we have such wonderful fans. so many people on twitter offered to research with me next time. thanks, guys. >> i got a kick watching that

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let's check let's check in here with david gregory to see what's coming up on "meet the press." david. >> the president rides a new wave of popularity as he prepares for his state of the union address, and the gop is arguing over government spending and health care. joining us the majority leader of the house eric cantor, and then our roundtable examines the obama presidency at the two-year mark and the upcoming battles. it's all coming up this morning on "meet the press." >> david, thanks. >> our thanks to scott williams and willy geist. thanks for being here. nice and warmç out. we're going to take a look inside the world's most expensive apartment and guess

whose it isn't. mine. >> then we'll look at trends for 2011. i'll see you later tonight on nbc nightly news. so long.