good morning. breaking news here and abroad. a massive and dangerous winter storm takes aim at one-third of the u.s. with snow, sleet and ice. we are live in the center of it all. and in egypt, more than 250,000 protesters descent on cairo for a major demonstration. the morning the evacuation of all non-government personnel has been order. extensive coverage of two very big stories today, tuesday, extensive coverage of two very big stories today, tuesday, february 1, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. we'll get the latest on those demonstrations in cairo straight ahead. take a look at another live picture, this one in oklahoma city where a state of emergency is in effect as that potent winter storm that meredith talked about, which could impact 100 million people, revs up. >> more than a foot of snow expected over 2,100 miles from texas to maine. some areas could get more than an inch of ice. hundreds of flights have been canceled nationwide. now it's made its way to chicago where the storm could break a 44-year-old record. al, good morning. >> good morning. i'll tell you, they are bracing for this one. this storm, the swath of it to give you an idea of how big storm is, the swath of it is --

stretches 2,100 miles. over a foot of snow could fall in this system. also, we are talking about nine states now that parts of those states are under blizzard warnings. that's how big this storm is. it is massive. as we look at the radar, you can see it stretches from texas all the way into the northeast. the precipitation from this system all the way in there. as it works itself together and starts to push into the northeast and parts of the midwest, for example, here in chicago, we're under blizzard warnings. this storm could break the record set back in 1967. the snow's back and lots more is on its way. this massive storm began on monday as commuters in denver, colorado, had to fight snowy roads and ice on their wind shields. ice-slicked roads in omaha, nebraska, had vehicles spinning their wheels and a school bus sliding. in minneapolis, minnesota, the snow blowers are out in force again.

nearly half of the country under some kind of weather advisory today because of this massive winter storm. with missouri already in a state of emergency, st. louis residents hit stores monday to stock up. bags of salt and ice scrapers flying off the shelves. >> snow shovels are gone. anything that has to do with winter, we are either low or running out of. >> reporter: it's the same story here in chicago where residents rush to get ready for what could be an historic storm. >> visibility is poor. >> reporter: before it's over the storm could break chicago's 1967 record when almost two feet of snow fell. >> we may be potentially dealing with a storm of historic proportions. we want to assure everyone in this city that we are prepared to handle this storm to the best of our ability. >> the problem is we're looking at snowfall rates. it's starting to snow here now with those winds gusting over 35 miles per hour. we're expecting some snowfall rates up to three inches of snow

per hour. at that point, snow plows kaechcan't keep up. let's show you the path of this storm. it's going to cause severe weather and tornadoes ahead of the system. you can see that pink. that is an icy mix. and then the white to blue, that's the heavy snow. snowfall amounts, this is what we're looking at over the next 48 hours. a swath of one to two feet of snow. you can see stretching over chicago, on into jefferson city. we've got kalamazoo with up to 20 inches of snow. detroit may see about 20 inches. the same in syracuse. we're looking at tulsa, oklahoma, with about 14 inches of snow. not only do we have to worry about snow but ice as well. there is a stretch of ice, about one inch of ice working its way from -- from parts of texas to indiana and ohio, which will be very, very dangerous. matt? >> all right, al. thank you. we'll get the rest of your forecast coming up. jeff morrow is joining us

now from oklahoma city. jeff, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. it's anything but a good morning, i'm afraid, here weatherwise. it is just brutal here in oklahoma city. this is a harbinger, obviously, as al was saying of what's to come through the midwest. here as you mentioned earlier a state of emergency. basically the city of oklahoma city is shut down. all the government offices are closed. the schools are closed. most businesses are closed. most people can't get around. there are a lot of accidents, parts of interstate 35 have been closed in the city because of a massive accident on the interstate there. a lot of people getting stuck. it is really dangerous out here. out-and-out blizzard conditions at times with winds 30 to 40 miles an hour. doesn't get much worse than this. i can tell you, this is some of the worst i've ever stood in. back to you. >> most importantly, be careful. jeff morrow, thank you. we'll have more on this storm in a while. but first, here's meredith.

>> thank you. now to the other major breaking news we're following, that massive rally in cairo. the largest protest since the anti-government uprising began last week. richard engel is in can cairo with the latest. richard, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. it's hard to know exactly how many people are now here on the streetz of cairo. certainly several hundred thousand. the demonstrators say they have reached the million mark. the government closed off the main roads leading into cairo. it stopped train service into the city. but the crowds kept coming and now a curfew is in place, but it is being completely ignored. they were calling for a million to protest. and it looks like they'll make. this is the biggest march of unprecedented demonstrations in egypt. it began early as the curfew was lifted this morning. the crowds have been pouring into tahrir square all morning. many are bringing food and water. they are planning to stay all

day. they are saying, mubarak, this is your final day. >> we want to say to mubarak, we've had enough in the last 30 years. >> reporter: by noon, more than 100,000 were in tahrir square demanding that president mubarak step down. there's wall-to-wall people in downtown cairo. the demonstrations have not yet reached anything of this scale. the protesters are students, islamic groups, the unemployed, government workers, all with different agendas, but united in a call for mubarak to leave although there is no consensus on who should take over. so far the mood has been largely festive. for the first time, families are out. the rest of egypt is shut down. the pyramids are closed. the army set up a perimeter around the demonstrators but said it will not fire on its own people. the protesters are warning that president mubarak has until friday to step down.

matt? >> thank you. brian williams also in cairo. we spoke to him earlier after he spoke to the man who has become the face of the opposition, mohammed elbaradei . >> he's lived for many years overs overseas. in new york for a time, but lately vienna, austria. he's come back and in part put himself out as the candidate to lead the kind of clear-eyed opposition to mubarak. when i talked to him today, i asked him simply how it felt to come in and be greeted, be surrounded by the throngs we've seen here in cairo. >> you have to include everybody. what we need right now is to include everybody, right, left, and center. we have a constitution that guarantees basic human rights values. the rights to speech, religion, freedom, whatever. it was an amazing experience for me, brian. on the one hand i was afraid for my own life. it was a stampede. but on the other hand, i was

thrilled to see for the first time -- and i told the young people this -- you looked into their eyes. these are new egyptians. the first time they have confidence, hope, dignity. they feel they have been reborn from being slaves. >> and, brian, you'll have more with elbaradei tonight on "nightly news." let me ask you a couple of questions about what you're seeing on the streets this morning. we know the government has shut down trains, roads. they are making it difficult for people to move around and communicate with the internet shut down. when you talk to people, how are they keeping abreast of the ever-changing developments? >> they are finding a way. first of all, a lot of them, despite efforts to block news channels, are getting television news. they are getting radio and word of mouth is so powerful. when richard spoke about the train lines and highways being shut done, remember, metropolitan area of 18.5

million people. a lot of them are finding ways to get down here, in vehicles or on foot. they are streaming along the nile to get to the demonstration. as richard said, they are in it for the duration, all night long. >> we heard reporters from al jazeera were detained or arrested. in terms of the ability to cover the story as a western journalist, what's the response been so far? >> we have been completely unbothered, unfettered, matt. it's so different here today, as richard pointed out, in the gathering. there is a much more upbeat feeling. it won't last forever. remember, there is no commerce taking place. schools are closed this whole time. no tourism money coming in. the consensus is they're giving mubarak until about the end of this week when the mood could turn decidedly sour. a lot of people in cairo hate

the image that's being sent around the world of the looting, the pictures. because the crime rate is relatively nil normally in this city that considers itself religious and a peaceful place. it's been turned upside down this week. >> nbc's brian williams in cairo this morning. he'll have much more tonight on "nbc nightly news." thank you very much, brian. i appreciate it. >> thanks, matt. >> now back to meredith. >> matt, thank you. the washington bureau chief for the elaladira television network joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> an ambassador has been sent in to egypt to adopt the kinds of changes that will lead to a free and fair election. but will the people settle for anything less than the removal of mubarak? >> absolutely not. i think we can say with some certainty that the era of hosni mubarak is over. the particulars of his exit, the shape of the transition to come,

who will own this moment of enthusiasm in modern egyptian history and who will articulate the vision for the future l , a of these things remain to be seen. but mubarak, his era is over and i think the united states in the last few days began to understand this and began to prepare the grounds for the post mubarak political order. part of the job of frank wisner, who is a seasoned diplomat, is to convey the message that it is good for you and for egypt and for the middle east if you leave quietly. >> the government has said only that it is calling for an orderly transition in egypt. do you believe it needs to break with mubarak? >> who will break with mubarak? >> yes. >> i think they will reach the point. it is difficult for the president to balance cooperation with the egyptians against terrorism and other issues of interest for the united states. and also with american values

with the tenets and promise of egypt that barack obama himself articulated brilliantly in his cairo speech in june, 2009. the egyptians, arabs, the international community is waiting for the president of the united states to be faithful to that promise of that speech. so i think the administration is trying not to scare its other allies in the region. i was there last week. i spoke with diplomats from the gulf state and other arab states. they were extremely concerned. some of them were in a state of fright. what would happen to them in case of the regime in the arab world, our allies in the united states are swept away from enthusiasm in the streets. so the administration needs to be cognizant of what they will do in egypt and how it will reverberate throughout the middle east. >> you talk about these other nations in the region. who has the most to fear? >> well, the syrian regime which

is more oppressive than mubarak. it has been ruled for 40 years. jordan should be concerned. the main concern of the gulf states is yemen. yemen is not egypt. it is not homogeneous. there are many tribal, ethnic, sectarian cleavages that they could exploit to prevent people. egypt is luckily is homogeneous state. tunisia is also. it is easier for people in egypt to drive a political vision. even libya should be concerned. syria, jordan, yemen are the potential dominoes to fall. although we shouldn't simplify this. each arab state has its own peculiar condition. >> finally, given the fact that the egyptian military said it will not use force against the people of egypt does that suggest to you that mubarak has lost control of the military?

>> that is huge. the egyptian military -- i mean, look. i have a jaundiced view of militaries. they are usually good at protecting people but not good at defending the homeland. the egyptian army is not as ruthless as the syrians or iraqis under saddam but they understand there cannot be a tiananmen square moment in today's world given the communication of today. china could afford it. egypt cannot afford it. the egyptian army knows it depends on the united states. they get their training and money from us as taxpayers. they have to be cognizant of this. i understand that the obama administration is making it clear for the egyptian senior officer corps that it will not tolerate the egyptian army shooting people in the streets of cairo. the message is getting through. this army is not going to shoot

at unarmed civilians in the streets of cairo to save an 82-year-old tyrant who has been rejected almost universally by his own people. >> thank you so much for your perspective this morning. >> thank you. let's go over to the news desk now. ann has the other headlines of the morning. good morning to you. >> good morning. we have a significant story. a federal judge in florida has ruled the obama administration's new health care law is unconstitutional and should be invalidated. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams joins us with more from washington. hey, pete. good morning. >> the judge ruled the part of the law requiring all americans to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. he said congress has no power to regulate economic inactivity such as declining to buy insurance. if it did, judge vinson said congress could do almost anything it wanted and we would have a constitution in name only. supporters of the law say there

is no true inactivity because nobody entirely stays out of the health care economy. the judge said everybody eats, but that doesn't mean the congress can order us to eat broccoli for our health. the ruling came in a lawsuit filed by 26 states, all but two with republican governors. the obama administration said it will appeal. this is the second time the judge found the law unconstitutional. two other judges upheld it. that tees up the issue for the supreme court, ann. >> thank you, pete. also, the u.s. ambassador to china plans to leave his post in april. it is believed he will be a republican contender for president in 2012. american hiker sarah shourd is being summoned to return to iran for trial next week. she was arrested with her fiance and friend while hiking the border with iraq. she was released on bail. the others are being held still. already ravaged by floods, northern australia is bracing for what could be the most severe cyclone the country has

ever seen. preparations are under way for the storm which is the size of texas and expected to reach north queensland at category four strength by thursday morning. a volcano in southern japan is erupting with its biggest explosion yet, forcing more than 1,000 people to evacuate and shattering windows more than five miles away. a dome of lava is expanding inside the volcano, but they are not sure yet if it will overflow. and most of the rescued chilean miners put their hard hats back on, this time with mickey mouse ears attached for a parade in their honor in disney world in florida. their friends and several rescuers came along for the trip. it is now 7:18. let's go back to matt. they really did have their mickey mouse ears. >> they did. did you see that? >> nice to see them having a good time. >> it is. >> let's go to chicago for the rest of al's forecast. hey, al. >> thanks a lot. coming to you like from the

balcony of the shed aquarium here in chicago, overlooking beautiful lake michigan and, of course, it's snowing now to make it just a little more miserable. this is just the shape of things to come. the other part of this storm is some severe weather. take a look. we'll show you what's happening ahead of this system. orst,or risk of s,ong storms out of this system. could be isolated rnads.oe on the radar, you see we're already seeing showers and thunderstorms firings. up and wh those showers and thunderstorms, again, we may see an isolated tornado. north of the system we are looking at snow and a lot of it with a lot of winds. south of the system, we're going to see maybe about an inch of rain or so. again, as we mentioned, an isolated tornado is possible. but, again, as we continue the big story, the good morning to you. we are seeing the polar opposite of what they are experiencing on the east coast. we'll see temperatures at record levels once again this week. the weather headlines show dense

fog and a cold start for your tuesday morning. afternoon sunshine will be plentiful but the breeze will pick up in the east bay hills. and then a gradual warm up kicks into high gear as of thursday. temperatures are back up into the 70s as high pressure creates a really beautiful atmosphere for us the next few days. watch out for the greezs breezes. it could get gusty on your way home from work. we'l at that in the next half hour. >> thank you very much. no >> we'll have more live coverage coming up. back to you, matt. now to a disturbing case of bullying in philadelphia. a group of teenagers arrested for tormenting another teen. police say the suspect videotaped the entire incident. nbc's peter alexander has the story. good morning. >> matt, good morning to you. this video can be hard to watch. the veteran police chief calls it one of the worst attacks he has seen. the victim is a 13-year-old boy terrorized as he was walking home from school. he was taunted, dragged, even tortured. the police chief called the attackers a wolf pack and said

just as upsetting is the fact that no one stepped up to help. the attack is as disturbing as it is vicious. police say the 13-year-old was ambushed on the way home from school by a group of teenagers. >> when this happens, it's shocking. >> reporter: the brutal assault lasted more than 20 minutes with one of the teens recording the entire thing on his cell phone. you can hear the attackers laughing at times. as cory was slapped in the head, kicked in the chest, even tossed into a tree before falling to the ground. >> when i got down they chased me again, started punching me in my stomach and stomping me. >> reporter: cory said he tried to get away but couldn't escape seven attackers. his screams for help going unanswered. the cruel beating took place three weeks ago but police have now released this graphic tape. >> it's bullying in america at

its worst. it's caught on video. >> reporter: authorities arrested six of the suspects monday parading them out in handcuffs to send a strong message. >> when bums and thugs intimidate their fellow students and make the streets unsafe, it's unconscionable. we won't tolerate it. they're going out in handcuffs. >> reporter: sadly, cory has had run-ins with them before and investigators say they are infuriated no one stepped in, pointing to this moment when a woman walks through the frame as the young boy is crying for help. >> i find it offensive when members of the community stand up and talk about the cops not doing nothing when not one person called 9-1-1. >> reporter: finally the attack ends after the teenagers ranging in age from 13 to 17 hanged cory from a sharp, metal fence by his coat. >> don't be afraid to speak out.

tell somebody what's going on. if you tell them, maybe this will happen and somebody will take action. >> as you just saw, the good news is that he was not seriously injured in that attack. the six teenagers have been taken to a juvenile detention center. the charges range from kidnapping to assault. why they allegedly did this is unclear. authorities are looking for a seventh suspect who is said to be 15. >> peter, as a parent it makes you ill to watch that. we'll follow the story. thank you very much. still ahead, more on the massive and menacing winter storm gripping a large portion of the country. we'll get to that. first, this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] why settle for plain bread

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making kate middleton's wedding dress. after your local news. and absolutely no space for added sugar, water or preservatives. tropicana -- we put the good in morning. good morning, everybody. it is 7:26. i'm brent cannon. it is a great day to be here. one of the few places in the country not freezing today. we'll go to christina. i guess we can't rub that in enough. high pressure is keeping things nice and mild for today, but as it does set up shop right over the bay area, we'll see the offshore flow once again meaning breezy conditions tonight through the east bay hills, in particular. 60 in napa and oakland. 61 in redwood city. the high pressure system is carrying some cold, dry air in from the gulf of alaska. so that means we'll only see 60s today and tomorrow. but by thursday the cold air mixes out. 69 degrees thursday. up to 70 by saturday.

we'll find out if the foggy conditions are interrupting the commute. definitely. we have to get through the fog in the north bay showing a slowdown for 101 south from highway 12 down to 580. the richmond/san rafael bridge is getting slower as the morning progresses. more traffic and less visibility. the richmond/san rafael bridge has a fog advisory as well as the cartinas bridge from there to the bay bridge with a low drive. almost a half hour down the east shore freeway. the clouds are descending upon the roadways throughout the east bay. it will be an issue. the south bay also seeing low clouds floating through the area, but a much improved situation. 101 all lanes are cleared near tulle. we see the highway slowing past the airport in to santa clara. 280 getting bogged down near 880. 885 is taking extra traffic as folks get out of the backup. back to you. in a few more minutes a couple san jose police officers will be recognized for their service in the line of duty.

officer frank hagg and nicholas brante will be honored by the police officers association getting started at 7:30, so in a couple of minutes. they arrested several gang members in december police believe were moments away from carrying out a drive-by shooting. the officers also arrested a murder suspect in east san jose last month. again supposedly within minutes of another local shooting. more local news in a half hour, and the "today" show returns in less than two minutes. have a great morning. see you back here in a bit.

7:30 now on a tuesday morning. welcome to february 2011. a live look at new york's central park. a little dusting of snow there overnight, but there is more to come. perhaps not in the form of snow, but at least in the form of freezing rain, sleet, accumulations of ice. we've got major winter storms making their way through the entire mid-section of the country. we'll get the latest on that from al in chicago in a moment. meanwhile, inside studio 1-a, i'm matt lauer alongside meredith vieira. >> ice is often worse than snow. that pulls down the power lines and trees and all of that. a detailed account of the case

against former "survivor" producer bruce beresford-redman, accused of killing his wife while they vacationed in cancun. months before her death she said she planned to leave him. details coming up. >> and it's being called the new cocaine and it is legal. we are talking about bath salts sold in stores that can be used to get a dangerous high. we'll have more ahead. >> and the big day is fast approaching. who will design kate middleton's wedding dress? we'll talk to the man rumored to be the one. >> all right. before we get to that let's go back to chicago. al is standing by in wind chills of 7 degrees with the latest on the storm. al? >> hey, guys. nine states are under blizzard warnings. parts of nine states. there is a swath of about 2,100 miles out of the system that will get a foot or more of snow. the weather channel has upped

the snowfall amount here in chicago. we could be looking at two feet of snow which would break the record -- excuse me. the winds are really strong. would break the record set back in 1967. so this is a monster storm. of course the other story, the cold air. i mean, it is brutally cold here. as you get to the plains it's awfully cold. look at these temperatures. single digits and below for afternoon highs inhe plains. and then as we move into tomorrow you can see the cold air is starting to make its way south and east. teens and 20s into new england, also into the western great lakes. teens into the northern parts of texas. as we move into iwednesday, yo can see how much colder it gets further east and south, all the way down into the deep south. we are talking below freezing temperatures. it's going to hang this way for at least the next 72 hours. good morning to you, bay

area. high pressure is going to bring about some breezy conditions, but the biggest component to our weather forecast courtesy of high pressure is clear skies, lots of sunshine this afternoon. we do have some dense fog to get through this morning in the east bay and north bay, in particular. you'll find it over the bridges this morning and along the peninsula. 61 in redwood city. 62 degrees in almaden valley. heading throughout this weekend, 70s are back. lots of sunshine. looking really good. meredith, more than 110 million people could be affected by this storm over the next 72 hours. it's a monster. >> sure is, al. thank you so much. a federal judge in los angeles has been asked to extradite a one-time producer of "survivor" back to mexico to stand trial for allegedly murdering his wife in cancun. it is the most detailed account yet of the mexican government's case. here's nbc's lee cowan. >> reporter: for bruce beresford-redman, former

producer of "survivor," the 438 pages the mexican government delivered to the u.s. state department hardly paint a flattering picture. they reveal his wife monica's discovery of bills for phone sex hotlines months before the couple's ill-fated trip to mexico. affidavits indicate she learned of an affair, in part by putting recording devices in his car. her family said she had threatened to leave him, even taking money out of their joint account, just in case. >> you take these things together and add them up and it points the finger of suspicion at mr. beresford-redman. >> reporter: bruce's attorneys insist he's innocent and have vowed to fight extradition. some legal experts say that will be a tough prospect. >> there is no doubt he's going back to mexico. >> reporter: the nude body of bruce's 41-year-old wife monica was found dumped in a wastewater

treatment pump in cancun in april. back then the arrest warrant described a marriage unraveling with witnesses detailing a fight outside a restaurant and complaints of another fight at the hotel. but there's more. the documents describe the physical evidence in graphic detail. autopsy records indicate that there were bruises two to three days old on monica's body, including injuries to her face compatible with a punch. there was a chop wound to her right temple likely from a metal tube, bat or stick. and hair belonging to the frontal part of her skull was pulled out. the former reality tv producer waits for a federal judge to decide if mexico will decide his fate. for "today," lee cowan, nbc news, los angeles. >> it is 7:35. now here's matt.

>> thank you. now the latest drug to hit the streets. it's not what you might expect. it can be used to get a quick high but it is legal in most states because it is marketed as bath salts. nbc's kerry sanders has details on this one. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. if you think about how illegal drugs are sold you macy conjure up a dirty back alley, but in the case of the so-called bath salts they are sold out in the open, over the counter. in most cases, experts say anti-drug laws are yet to catch up. they are marketed as bath salts, but they are anything but. with names like white china and euphoria, drug experts say these crystals are designer drugs. even if the pacts say they are concentrated bath salts and include directions like, run a hot bath, drop the salts in, wait and enjoy a stimulating

bath. in almost all cases, users ignore the warnings and instead snort, smoke, eat the crystals. experts say it is a new synthetic cocaine. after 21-year-old dickie sanders admitted to snorting it. >> it's undetectable. it was impossible to show up. we drug tested him. >> reporter: his father, dr. richard sanders said dickie, with a long history of abusing drugs, became paranoid, then suicidal. >> he immediately grabbed a butcher knife with us three feet away from him, went from ear to ear and cut a quarter inch laceration through his neck ear to ear. >> reporter: the family rushed him to a hospital in louisiana. doctors had never heard of the bath salts and eventually dickie was released, but four days after he snorted them -- >> he got blood all over the floor. he's not breathing.

no heart rate. nothing. >> reporter: dickie shot himself. >> what's going on? >> 21-year-old. we found him in his bedroom, he's not breathing. no heart rate. >> reporter: the poison control center says in january there have been 246 emergency calls about overdoses on so-called bath salts. ten more than all of last year. symptoms are usually the same, say experts at miami's jackson memorial hospital. >> feeling agitated, hallucinations, sweating, dry mouth, suicidal thoughts, not a good high. >> reporter: the so-called bath salts are for sale on the internet and in stores. it took an nbc producer 30 minutes to find this vile of infinity for sale legally in atlanta. cost, $26.99. three states outlawed the sale or use of the chemicals. >> you think you're seeing

monsters and you think you can fly. >> reporter: because the law is less than a week old, deputies in hillsboro county ant arresting those who sell it -- yet. >> if you sell them or possess them, you will be charged with a felony. >> reporter: by the end of this week, florida police say they will arrest anyone who possesses or sells this so-called bath salts. senator chuck schumer plans to introduce federal legislation to outlaw the bath salts which are anything but. the chemical name methylene dio xs ine pylovalero. >> thank you very much. coming up, is it tough love discipline or child abuse? the controversy over a mom charged with abuse for punishing her young son by feeding him hot sauce. up next, why do you always spend more than you plan to when you go shopping. we'll explain after this.

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even in this shaky economy you have probably walked into a store and come out with more than you wanted to buy. the question is -- why'd you do it? here to join us is martin lindstrom. he's the author of "buy-ology." i create a list. you say wrong idea. >> you would be surprised that shopping lists make you buy more. >> why? >> it's simple. now retailers learned that you have one. so they are moving around with the products in the retail store so you're confused. you spend more time in the retail store and what we know now is you're spending 30% more just by trying to find what you are looking for. >> so it's impulse buying? >> absolutely. >> now we are in the store faced with what you call the kids' trap. what is that? >> have you noticed the mini shopping carts? that's not for fun. retailers know today if you bring the kids with you inside the store you spend another 30%.

why? because they place the products at the high level of the eyes so it means they would zeus you to buy all this good stuff. >> just keep the kids at home? >> not only that, but a study shows if you bring your partner with you, you spend 38% more. now you have a good excuse to make your husband stay home. >> with the children. >> exactly. >> let's go to the checkout counter where you find all the goodies. what's the problem with that? >> we all hate to break down a $100 note. studies show it's 48% harder to spend big notes. retailers put all the lower priced items in front of the cash register so you are just spending a little bit more money just before you check out. >> how do you avoid it? >> have lots of bills with you. secondly, make sure you are staying cool for the last five minutes. that is the zone of seduction.

>> just avoid. don't even look at it. when it comes to ticket items like furniture and electronics, what techniques are used? >> i don't know if you have tried but the retailer tries to bring in the manager when you want a discount and he tries to persuade you to go with it. they are rarely offering you a great discount. what they are trying to do is blind you saying, oh, the manager is here, make a decision. >> you feel puffed up that the manager came. >> we know that an area called the broadman area-10 is activated. it says, hey, i have to do the deal now and you lose out. >> you have gone to the cashier and they say a classic line. >> yeah, would you like to have a store credit card? you say, why? well, you will get another 15%. well, meredith, don't. because the reality is when you buy or get a card like that you spend, again, another 30%.

we know now people are trapped into a system where they can't get out and they are starting to monitor all the behaviors you do from the day you sign up. >> why spend the extra 30%? >> the first reason is when you are signing up you get a lot of discounts all the time in the e-mail in-box. hey, i should buy that and that. also, you are more present in your wallet. you see the card and go to that store more frequently. >> up next, who will design kate middleton's wedding dress? we'll catch up with one of the front runners right after this. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow

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it's going to provide protection against sensitivity. and it's going to help restore teeth to their natural whiteness. it's your fault. naturally, blame the mucus. well, i can't breathe. did you try blowing your nose? of course. [ both ] and nothing came out. instead of blaming me, try new advil congestion relief. what you probably have is swelling due to nasal inflammation, not mucus. and this can help? it treats the real problem of your sinus symptoms, reducing swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. [ mucus ] new advil congestion relief. the right sinus medicine for the real problem. back now at 7:49 as we count down to the royal wedding just 87 days from now. who will design kate's dress? the field is down to a handful including bruce oldfield, one of

diana's favorites. kate's mom and sister paid him a visit and so did nbc's michelle kosinski. >> reporter: the fashion heart of london, you will find bruce oldfield quietly sketching for queens and first ladies. silk and pearls become magic. flowers, crystals and 600 feet of lace. that's what royal wedding dreams are built out of. >> you have to have glamour. it has to have gravitas. >> reporter: what does everyone want? he cannot breathe a word whether he's the one chosen to wrap kate middlet middleton. her mom and sister did pay a visit touching off rumors. >> everyone wants to do it.

>> reporter: bruce transformed decades of celebrities and princess diana. >> i remember, you know, going to kensington palace doing the fittings on the princess of wales and harry and william would come running in and out. >> reporter: when you look back at the photos? >> there are one or two you think, uh-oh. >> reporter: but he said every great gown must be an icon of its time. for kate he sees kate, arms covered, sensual but regal with structure. >> reporter: can she do sparkly? >> she can. but i think this is too old for her. >> reporter: do you have a vision of what you would like to see them in? >> tragt awoh, straight away. i'm good. >> reporter: of course. imagine the pressure designing for history seen by possibly billions. >> and the dress has to make people cry. >> exactly. >> reporter: bruce holds a cinderella story of his own. raised in orphanages and state

care his forther mother was a sea seamstress. after graduation, doors opened -- palace doors. did you think you would possibly design the wedding gown of a future queen? >> no, no. >> reporter: did you see yourself as being that? >> no. >> reporter: bruce did drop a surprise. we may be talking two heart-stopping gowns here. one for the wedding and another for the ball. >> somebody has to design that, too? is it the same designer or two different? >> well, who knows? >> reporter: just stop right there. it's too much. could kate's vision of beauty be taking shape right now in the hands and heart of bruce oldfield? he'll never tell. >> just ahead, former "full house" star candice cameron talks about her struggle with bulimia.

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good morning once again, everybody. the time is 7:56. i'm brent cannon. checking the forecast with christina, i just got a facebook from a friend, it is minus 13 in hi my hometown today. almost 80-degree difference for us. we'll take the difference by most stretches of the imagination. you can imagine how warmer with in contrast to most of the country right now. very, very bitter cold conditions are going to plague the rest of the country for the nest week or so. meanwhile, we'll enjoy temperatures in the 70s. high pressure is firmly in control. taking the storm track well to our north is going to kick off breezes this afternoon. watch out for gusty breezes throughout the mountain passes. 61 in san rafael. 61 in redwood city. and i saved the best for last. take a look at where the numbers are headed as we head through

the next few days. they are climbing to 69 by thursday. 70 degrees by saturday. staying nice and warm all the way through the beginning of next week. so, yes, when you put it into perspective, it looks better on the west coast than the east coast. how are we looking on the roads? not much better, but it will improve a little bit. a live shot of 880 coming up past the coliseum, you see all the headlights that start to back up approaching 98 at the bottom of your screen. it is jammed to downtown. here's the mess we are talking about with an earlier accident involving a motorcycle. it just cleared through fifth coming through down up to downtown. 580 westbound is your alternate for the morning. very foggy through the area as we just saw in that shot. that's an issue for you driving through the east bay. on the peninsula as the sun develops and the fog develops,

there's going to be some sunshine glare. be careful with that. ten oakland police officers will get their jobs back. mayor jean quan will make the police department more of a top priority. that move comes a few days after chief police anthony batts questioned the city's destination to fighting crime. she'll also assign computer technicians to the police department and make sure patrol cars get repaired more quickly. 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.

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get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. 8:00 now on this tuesday morning, february 1, 2011. you are looking at foristell, missouri, as the massive winter storm slams into the midwest. we want to go from missouri to chicago. the storm has not hit yet, as you can see, but it is headed for chicago. they are expecting a record-breaking amount of snow before it is over and moves further east. al is in chicago for us. 7 degrees out there. he will have the latest on this storm. 100 million people, a third of the nation's population will be impacted by the time it is through. i am meredith vieira along with matt lauer.

as i said, al will give us the latest on that. >> as people come to us they say, it doesn't look that bad, but look at the ground. this is sheer ice. it is a coating of ice on the ground. we are getting sleet. it's slippery here. >> dangerous. >> it's going to get worse over the next 24 hours or so. >> i'm getting my lawyer on speed dial. if i fall here, there's going to be trouble. >> we'll call it the meredith vieira broadcast center. >> exactly. >> we're going to talk about another story. a mother charged with child abuse after she fed her 7-year-old son hot sauce as a form of punishment. she went on the dr. phil show. not only talked about it, but she videotaped it. it's created a firestorm. a lot of parents weighing in over what's acceptable and unacceptable in terms of punishment. she also gave him a cold shower. we'll be talking about that in a few minutes. >> also, you remember her as d.j. tanner from "full house." now candace cameron is the mom

of three, married to a hockey player. she's opening up about her struggles with food in her new book. this is not a diet book or a memory. it is a book for inspiration and motivation. >> one of our favorites is back on "today." we'll be joined by the one and only ricky martin. i will never forget that concert he put on as he years ago. he's back this morning and will play music inside. >> suddenly it's hotter out here. first the latest on the massive storm packing snow, ice and rain. the weather channel's jeff morrow is in oklahoma city. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. wow. it is a nasty morning in oklahoma city. as you can see behind me, snow swirling around. the winds gusting 30, 40 miles per hour. wind chills below zero. just about anybody's definition, we are in a blizzard. we have blizzard warnings here through much of the day although

the snow will taper off, the wind will continue to howl. the city of oklahoma city is virtually shut down now. all the offices closed. government offices, schools closed. they want people off the streets. as you guys have been saying, this is just the beginning here. this is going to be moving up to the north and northeast affecting millions before all is said and done. matt and meredith, back to you. >> you know what that means. you will really be whining tomorrow morning. you will be in full whine. >> you ain't seen nothing yet. let's go inside to ann to check on the headlines. >> good morning, meredith and matt. we begin with an ultimatum issued to embattled egyptian president hosni mubarak. opposition leaders including the muslim brotherhood and mohammed elbaradei say mubarak must step down by friday. this as thousands gather for the million man march. it is the largest rally in a

week of demonstrations with people gathering to cairo from around the country including families. in a significant development the army said it will not fire on its own people. meantime, another eight planeloads of americans are slated to leave egypt today. in a breaking development, the king of jordan, a key ally for the united states in the middle east sacked his government this morning according to the royal palace after thousands protested calling for the resignation of the prime minister. the king has also asked an ex-army general to form a new cabinet. the compensation fund for victims of the gulf oil spill has issued one final settlement payment out of 91,000 ongoing claims. that check went to a bp business partner. in washington state a female corrections officer was murdered as she worked alone and unarmed in a prison chapel. nbc's george lewis joins us with more on the story. hey, george.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. this is a growing memorial for corrections officer jamie bindel who expressed concern about her assignment. patrolling the prison chapel alone. co-workers say jamie had told them she didn't feel safe working alone in the prison chapel. saturday night her body was found there, strangled with a microphone cord from the chapel's public address system. she shared her concerns with neighbor and fellow corrections officer brian hassenyager. >> she complained to me about the fact that she's on a single post by herself. >> reporter: before they discovered the body, prison guards noticed inmate byron sherf missing at a role call. they found him in the chapel lobby. he's serving life without the possibility of parole because he was convicted of raping two women and assaulting a third. one of the victims doused in gasoline and set afire. >> it's just a sad, tragic time

we are going through. >> reporter: now as the community grieves for jamie, a lot of questions are being raised about why the prison system would leave her alone and unarmed at her post. >> you're not armed. there is no pepper spray. there's nothing. there's just you and that offender. there's nothing you can do. >> reporter: so far, byron scherf has not been charged. he's been placed in solitary confinement as the prison remains on lockdown. the governor of washington state called for an independent, outside investigation to get to the bottom of all of this. ann? >> all right, george. thanks so much. an insurance group said cameras at red lights reduced accidents by 24%. but a drivers' rights group disputes that and says cameras lead to more rear-end collisions. it is now 8:06.

now a check of the weather with al. >> reporter: we're here live in chicago on the balcony of the shedd aquarium, one of the great aquariums of the country overlooking lake michigan and the chicago skyline. we have parts of nine states under blizzard warnings including chicago where the blizzards are supposed to start this afternoon. you can see the wide swath. to the south we've got severe weather possibilities of tornadoes throughout the southeast and then as you move north, getting into the cold air, we have a lot of snow coming down. there is a 2,100-mile swath of a foot or more of snow expected. look at the snow totals. 24 inches in chicago which could break the old record set back in 1967. kirksville, missouri, 22 inches. kalamazoo may see 20.

albany, 20 inches of snow. buffalo, 20 inches. concord, new hampshire, 14 to 20 inches and the wind is the big problem. wind gusts over 30 miles per hour. ice will be a problem as well. we are talking about accumulations anywhere from a quarter inch to an inch of ice stretching from parts of missouri all the way into parts of the northeast which could be crippling, bringing down trees, power lines and really wreaking havoc at the airports. good morning to you. we're talking about records this week as well. but the opposite kind of records. record high temperatures. we're going to approach that 70-degree mark by thursday. today looks more like a 60-degree day. a little bit warmer in the southern-most portions of the south bay. gilroy will hit about 65 degrees. as we head throughout the afternoon, temperatures are going to climb, but it will be breezy. keep that in mind especially through the mountain passes tonight.

>> meredith, you won't believe it. we just saw people jogging along lakeshore boulevard here. unbelievable stuff. >> joggers are their own species, i think. thank you so much, al. coming up next, is it tough love or child abuse? the mom in trouble with the law for making her son drink hot sauce for misbehaving. that's right after this. - you know, these things are never wrong. "you're an amazing, beautiful woman." "i love you." - that's not on there.

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with over three pounds of your favorite pasta, like meaty marinara or chicken alfredo, plus an order of breadsticks, you get enough for the whole family. only on tuesdays, and only at your pizza hut. back now at 8:12. is it abuse or strict parenting? a mother from alaska is being charged with child abuse after an appearance on dr. phil where she showed a videotape of her forcing her son to drink hot sauce as punishment. here's nbc's kristen welker. >> open. close your mouth. do you lie to me? >> reporter: the images that left dr. phil's audience in tears. the tape which aired in november shows mom of six jessica biegley putting hot son in her 7-year-old son's mouth, his punishment for misbehaving. other parents use hot saucing to discipline. lisa welchel wrote a book

promoting the method as a successful way to keep kids in line. she also used a cold shower. >> you made bad choices. turn the water off [ crying ] >> reporter: the video because taken by her 10-year-old daughter. >> we tried timeouts with christoff. it's a joke. >> it was horrible. it was abusive. >> reporter: local authorities agreed on friday and she was charged with child abuse, a misdemeanor. >> that is physically injuring, cruelly punishing, torturing or cruelly confining a child. >> reporter: beagley didn't appear in court but her lawyer entered a plea of not guilty. the defense attorney said his client regrets sending the tape to a national tv outlet. >> she has six children. there are times you want help and you see something on tv and say if you are having trouble with your kids, write to us.

i think that was the original intention. >> reporter: the case is also making headlines in russia because the 7-year-old boy was adopted from that country along with his twin brother when they were both 5. russian adoptions came under scrutiny in april when a mother sent her adopted son to russia alone with a note saying she no longer wanted him. since then adoptions from russia to the u.s. have been halted with russia demanding more oversight. >> i spent two and a half hours at the russian consulate. >> reporter: the director of russian adoptions in alaska said none of the children have been removed from the home. neither the russian consulate nor dr. phil's show would comment. if convicted she could face up to a year in jail. the anchorage mom may now learn her own lesson about crime and punishment. for "today," kristen welker, nbc

news, los angeles. >> dr. janet taylor is a psychiatrist. dr. alana le vine is from the american academy of pediatrics. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i don't want to say what i think about this. go ahead. what do you think? >> i think it is clearly abuse. abuse is not just leaving a mark. it is emotional abuse, neglect and that all counts. the fact is we have to distinguish between discipline and punishment. this is torture. >> is there a gray area or is it black and white in your opinion? >> in this instance this is black and white. this is completely inappropriate. it is terrible for the child who is being punished and for the other children in the home witnessing it. >> there is a 10-year-old girl videotaping this, watching it going on. i want to tell you. we ran a poll on this yesterday on our program on "today" show mom's blog and a third said hot saucing is acceptable

discipline. >> we have seen it in some studies as well. there is a recent study in may in the journal of pediatrics where they looked at corporal punishing like spanking. a lot of parents think it's okay. >> that's why i ask if there is a gray area. with spanking some parents may give a swat and say that's okay as opposed to traditional belt spanking. but in this case, i'm not sure i see the gray area. this can make a child sick. it causes physical -- >> long-term in terms of anxiety, depression. the fact is how your kids parent is how they were parented. clearly, these are not practices you want to pass on to your children. >> that's right. it goes from generation to generation. a child who is spanked at 3 is more likely to be aggressive at 5. >> this is before our time, but wasn't there a thing where parents used to give their kids castor oil or something as a form of discipline?

could this be compared to that? >> there is no comparison. if you know what's right you do what's right. there is nothing that says discipline has to be punishment and torture teaches a child what to teach them. that's to behave, not lie. as parents we are teachers, role models. >> in no way could this be seen as a deterrent to bad behavior or lying on the part of the child. >> absolutely not. you don't want to scare your children into listening to you. you want them to listen to you because they respect you. they will respect you if you mean what you say. you have to be consistent with small, repeatable consequences. take away television, cancel a play date. things that don't enforce harm on a child. >> this is abuse and control. >> you feel the same way about the cold shower? >> absolutely. the child isn't learning a lesson. they are terrified. >> this mother needs help. she needs to learn how to appropriately parent her child. >> they are all exposed to the

same level of violence. that's an issue. >> you know what else i was surprised by. she was charged with child abuse, a misdemeanor. a misdemeanor? >> and her husband is a police officer. >> this isn't the last we'll hear on this subject. still ahead, former "full house" star ecandace cameron. we'll talk to her. first, these messages. ♪

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[ male announcer ] how would you use toyota technology to make a better world? learn how to share your ideas at toyota.com/ideasforgood. we are back now with emmy-winning actress lisa kudrow, executive producer of "who do you think you are" which features celebrities tracing their roots. season 2, which is great news and vanessa williams traces her roots back to the civil war. you did it yourself in the first season. it gets emotional. >> it certainly can. it does for vanessa at one point. she's really strong. she's also, you know, very intellectual, so she's interested in the information. she didn't care what she was going to find. it didn't have to be good news. but it actually got to her at one point. >> because so many stories are so powerful and compelling and you have other great

celebrities, gwyneth paltrow, kim cattrall, steve buscemi. are people contacting you? >> it is happening. we have a list. depending how long the research takes and what a person's schedule is, because it takes about ten days to shoot. so that's a commitment. >> last season we asked if you had any celebrities that you looked into the past and went, not much there. and you hadn't. this season? >> we have now. >> what do you -- >> how do you handle that? >> what do you say? >> well, here is the issue. the issue bhans not that there is not much there but the amount of time it takes for us to unearth documents if it's possible makes it -- >> they are harder to trace. >> yeah. ireland is tough. poor people are really tough because there weren't records kept. then eastern european jews,

poland, you're done before the second world war. >> clearly, everyday people can't call and say i would like to be on your show. what would you suggest to someone who's been through the process? what would you suggest is a good way for average people to start learning more about their family history? >> well, honestly, i would start at ancestry.com. they have a huge amount of records. they've got a huge collection of different archives. and they are linked to different sites that are more specific. that's a great place to start. >> lisa, congratulations. >> thank you. >> second season of "who do you think you are" premieres right here on nbc. >> we are available if you want to trace our roots. >> i know. >> just ahead, a live performance from ricky himartin of the week.

that's after your local news and weather. good morning once again everybody. time is 8:26. checking your forecast with christina. >> good morning to you, brant. we're looking really good in terms of our forecast, especially later on this week, as high pressure regains control of our weather pattern here in the bay area. for today, as it kind of makes its way inland, we'll see breezy conditions that will set up shop right over the bay area and push our winds from land to sea. we're going to see a warming trend. it's really going to kick into high gear as we head into next thursday. as we head into this afternoon, still not too shabby. 60 in oakland. 61 in redwood city. by thursday we're up to 70

degrees. that trend lasts all weekend long. >> a lot of fog and a lot of traffic, and they've combined, we have a sig alert going on in the city. southbound 101 at silver avenue, a disabled big rig. has been for about 20 minutes. a lot of folks already know. the off-ramp should be open soon. slow for 101 there. and accident at 280 and edgewood causing a slowdown on that side of the bay. look at that, through oakland, the through the ar

patients and nursing will march in front of the blue shield headquarters in san francisco to protest new rate hikes. they plan a 59% rate hike that will go into effect at the end of the month. the insurance giant has already raised rates twice since october. nurses are calling for greater transparency and accountability from blue shield. and today's protest starts at 11:00 this morning in san francisco. more local news in half an hour.

♪ 8:30 now 8:30 on a tuesday morning, first day of february, 2011. you're listening to the music of ricky martin. boy, could we use this music to

warm us up on a miserable day here in new york and throughout much of the country. there's ricky inside our studio. he's going to perform some songs for us in just a couple minutes. got a brand new album coming out, going on tour. lots to talk to ricky about. meanwhile, outside on the plaza, not so nice. i'm matt lauer along with meredith viera and ann curry. >> meanwhile, candace cameron standing by, one of the stars of "full house." she'll talk to us about her issues with food. she'll talk to us about her book, a motivational book. have you heard about the pioneer woman? a popular website. it gets more than 20 million hits each month. her transition from big city life to the ranch life, ranch wife. this morning she's here to talk about two recipe that is landed

her a cowboy. >> meredith was revealing a secret about cowboys earlier on. al is standing out in the elements in chicago. how bad is it, al? >> right now, not that bad as far as the snow is concerned, matt. it's really windy. we're on the terrace of the shed aquarium off their cafeteria. you get a great view of chicago and lake michigan. this is kind of the breakwater area. it's going to deteriorate pretty rapidly here. it's hard to talk because the winds are gusting pretty hard. windchills about five degrees right now with temperature of about 20. this system is widespread. it stretches from oklahoma and texas and will eventually all the way into new england. we're talking a swath of about 2100 miles that will see a foot or more of snow. the pacific northwest looks good, plenty of sunshine.

we have rain in the southwest. we'll look for a risk of strong storms in the southeast today. tomorrow the heavy snow continues throughout the northeast and into new england, plenty of sunshine out west. but it is going to be a little on the chilly side. cool poor al. so cold, he can't even talk. that's very contrary to what we're going to see through the next few days. our temperatures are going to climb to record levels by thursday. 70 degrees across the bay area. high pressure is the reason why. it's firmly in control, taking a storm track well north of the pacific are northwest. for us today, a beautiful day ahead. after we lose the fog, 61 degrees in los gatos and 60 in oakland. have a great day. that's your latest weather. don't forget you can check your weather any time of the difficult or night. go to the weather channel,

weather.com online. back to new york. when we come back, we'll talk to candace cameron about her days on "full house," motherhood and her battles with food. it,t, t t

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we are back we are back at 8:36. actress candace cameron grew up playing d.j. tanner on "full house." she became as popular as her brother kirk cameron. since then she got married and became a mother of three and also battled personal issues with food, a journey she chronicles in her new book "reshaping it all." you make it clear this is not a memoir, tell-all, also not a diet book, per se. how would you describe your book and why did you write it? >> it's kind of a mix of a lot of things. i have a lot of personal stories in there about growing up.

really, i talk about the struggles that i had with food and an addiction to that, an abuse of that. but then over the past 10, 15 years of how i've managed to have a very healthy lifestyle and see the goodness in food and health and have a healthy relationship with it. so this book is really a motivational tool. it's me being a cheerleader right alongside of you to say, go pick a diet plan that you think will work for you, but we're going to go and focus a little deeper on the issues of why is it that you maybe use food the way you do or abuse it? what's your relationship? let's talk about self-control and moderation and get really back to the basics of making very wise choices. little decision by little decision to create new habits to live a healthy lifestyle. >> i think one of the reasons readers will relate is because you are honest with a problem you had as a young adult with

bull liam yeah. some of what you write, you say what i did do is bing, something oddly comfortable about food or the thought of food that tricks our mind into believing it can and will fill our void. i listened to the lie hoping it would fill mine. in the beginning i only did it when val was on the road. when i was by myself, me, the tv, the food, i was disgusted with the amount i consumed. hoping to undo my guilt, i would purge. you felt it was important to mention this. why? >> i did, because i think it's what will hopefully connect the reader to understand that so many of us women and men do abuse food and that relationship. it wasn't a pin-thin expectation of hollywood. >> it wasn't about being a hollywood child star. >> not about growing up in front of the camera and needing to

lose weight and had all the pressure on me. i felt it necessary to explain this was after i was on "full house," a wonderful time in my life, being newly married, but it was a different time in my life. my husband was on the road and i was just trying to find myself and found food as the comforter. in reality, i needed to find god as my comforter. >> and you connect food and relationship to god very often in your book. for people who are not christians, what can they take away from this book? you don't have to be. >> you don't have to be a christian to take away so much information from this book and i think enjoy the book. it is based on biblical principles, but they are principles for everyone in daily life. it's really very practical tips just to get you on a healthy track. any one of any faith can read this book. >> your brother, kirk cameron is also devoted to his faith like you are. is that something that brought

you two close together. >> our whole family has always been very close, close to my mom and dad, my sisters and my brother. i don't know that it brought us even closer, but it certainly is the core of our relationship, absolutely. >> we all know you're from "full mouse." you have three children of your own now. the oldest is 13. >> almost. >> and two younger boys. >> it still plays in over 100 countries, i believe. >> it does. they absolutely have watched it and think it's a great show and like to make fun of me and my hair styles. great part of my life. >> you're on a new show "make it or break it," playing a christian woman on that. was important for you? >> it came by surprise to me. they created the character for me. we had a meeting. but it was completely their idea to make this character a christian. i was really excited. they were -- just thought it would add a different dynamic to

some of the other characters. we're excited the back half of the second season is premiering on march 28th. >> which is fantastic. you look great. i hope the book is a great success. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for joining us. the book is "reshaping it all," spiritual and physical, candace cameron. up next, the pioneer woman famous for her blog cooks up a steak dish good enough for a cowboy. first this is "today" on nbc.

this this morning on "today's kitchen" back to basics t pioneer woman, popular blog erie drummond is cooking up a steak and pasta dish her cowboy loves. she details her new-life romance in the recipes. "the pioneer woman: black heals to tractor wheels." i know you get aw shucks, but

you were a city girl and fell in love with a guy called the marlboro man. how did that happen? >> well, i met him in a bar and we got married, the end. >> yet your story, you've been blogging about this. you get so many hits a month. like two million a month, something like that. >> the number changes. >> why do you think it resonates with people? >> i think some people grew up in a rural environment and now live in urban environments and like remembering back. i think some people have never seen that slice of american life, the family ranch. plus i'm not afraid to watch about my mishaps. i'm still a fish out of water out there. >> and you've got four kids. that makes life even more complicated. >> exactly. >> you'll do a recipe, you said this came from your mom originally. you made this for your mom when you were dating and it didn't come out too good. >> i have a cookbook. i have a website. i bombed the first couple meelsz

i made for my husband. this is flank steak and we're marinading it in asian flavors. the first time i made it for my husband, i mixed the marinade and decided, it doesn't need a marinade that much. so i dipped it in there and cooked it. i cooked it under the broiler. >> so you burnt the thing? >> i did it for about ten minutes per side. it was gray and about as tough as leather. my husband ate the whole thing. >> he loves you. >> ideally you would grill it for three or four minutes per side. you can put it on salad, eat it by itself. it's scrumptious. >> you're combining it with a pasta dish. >> the second meal i made was this flank steak which was as tough as his boots. i decided to throw in one of my favorite pasta dishes from my l.a. days. >> this is the city dish. >> exactly. we have butter, cream -- >> oh, this is bad.

>> and four cheeses. it doesn't matter what you use. i have farm saun, fon tina, remono and goat cheese. >> not for dieters. >> i live on a ranch with busy cowboys. when i first made it for my husband, i used angel hair pasta and cooked it for ten minutes. by the time i served it to him it looked like cheese grits. >> what did he see in you? you're adorable. >> i don't know, honey, what did you see in me? are you watching. you take a garlic glove -- >> why are you doing that? >> makes me feel urban. i have to hang on to as much as i k. you rub the garlic clove in the serving boil. >> excuse me, meredith.

we'll serve this with the meat. >> that looks great. >> the reason i wrote about this in my book is my husband ate it. the first meal i made was ling ginny with clam sauce, but i loved the fact he ate it. he told me later that he sat there the whole time praying that a prairie fire would break out so he would get a phone call and have to leave. >> he didn't get sick from it? >> well, maybe emotionally sick. but no, he ate it. it's one of my favorite memories. >> you actually solicit recipes from people all over the country as well, don't you? >> i have my own cooking section, but also a site called "tasty kitchen" so people can submit their favorite recipes. i find real jewels on there from time to time. >> have you found that food is the key to a guy's heart? >> definitely. i had to rethink the way i cooked. i had to make friends with a lot

of beef dishes. it's one of the things i do to show love. >> it smells great, ree, thank you so much. the book is "the pioneer woman," ree drummond is the author. next, a live performance from ricky martin. this is "today" on nbc. switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. and i'm going to introduce you in two weeks. he's a dentist so whiten your teeth. no coffee, no espresso. mm-hmm. ♪ [ female announcer ] crest 3d white toothpaste. the remarkable toothpaste that removes up to 80% of surface stains in just two weeks... hi. i'm paul. [ female announcer ] for a noticeably whiter smile in just two weeks crest 3d white toothpaste. also try crest 3d white rinse. ♪

nice to see you. the title translated means -- >> music, soul and sex. >> that says >> that basically says it all, doesn't it? a lot of songs. why did you decide to the a predominantly spanish language album? >> i want to go back to basics, to the beginning. that's the way we do it in spanish. we have different versions, english and spanish and hopefully eventually portuguese and french. language has never been an issue. it's been beautiful to perform in different countries and people reacting to it. >> you talked about going back to basics. i read a couple of really good reviews of this album.

i want to read this statement. it says mr. martin uses a double-barreled approach, the album pours on pop craftsmanship in a show of confidence and pride. it will test how mr. martin's mass audience can handle his new openness. that's not back to basics, it's a new frontier. >> what i mean is fusion. i need to work on my culture and the different influences. but we're always taking risks. i'm working with desmond childs, an amazing producer, we're reedy. i want to go on stage. i want to make the audience dance. i want to have a good time. it's time for an amazing tour this year. >> going on tour with 2 1/2-year-old twins which complicates the issue. >> i'm ready. i can't wait to see them running around in every arena. >> a great family. your mom helps out with the boys which is nice. what are you going to play "the

best thing about me is you." ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm as happy as i can be ♪ cause i'm allergic to tragedy ♪ ♪ the doctor says something's wrong with me ♪ ♪ thele smile on my face has no remedy ♪ ♪ so baby don't say no ♪ come on and just say yes ♪ you know it's time to keep it simple ♪ ♪ let's take a chance and hope for the best ♪ ♪ life is short ♪ so make it what you wanna ♪ make it good ♪ don't wait until manana ♪ i think i'm cool cause your

name's on the short sheet now do ♪ ♪ the best thing about me is u you ♪ ♪ my crying days are now history ♪ ♪ i had a change of philosophy ♪ i take each day as it comes to me ♪ ♪ and i won't take myself all that seriously ♪ ♪ so, baby, don't say no ♪ come on and just say yes ♪ you know it's time to keep it simple ♪ ♪ let's take a chance ♪ and hope for the best ♪ life is short ♪ so make it what you wanna ♪ make it good ♪ don't wait until manana ♪ i think i'm cool cause your name's on me ♪ ♪ now the best thing about me is

you oh ♪ ♪ ♪ take off your shoes ♪ lay back and take a load off ♪ give me your blues ♪ let me love it away ♪ nothing to lose ♪ so don't act like such a grownup ♪ ♪ stay out all night in the moonlight with me ♪ ♪ don't say no ♪ just say yes ♪ you know it's time to keep it simple ♪ ♪ let's take a chance ♪ and hope for the best ♪ life is short ♪ so make it what you wanna ♪ make it good ♪ don't wait until manana ♪ i think i'm cool cause your name is on this heart-shaped tattoo ♪ ♪ now the best thing about me is you ♪ ♪

>> thank you very much. >> the album is almo, sex." thank you very much. we're back after your local news.

good morning, everybody. time 8:56. we want to check the latest on our forecast with christina. >> good morning to you. half the nation is thawing out. bitter, bitter cold, lots of snow. we are going to see beautiful conditions this week. lots of sunshine, and looks like we're going to see some temperatures breaking records

once again as we head into thursday, and especially this reason. later on today we'll see the offshore flow. that means pretty strong winds are anticipated in the east bay hills and mountain passes. keep that in mind especially if you drive a high-profile vehicle. on the way home from work it could get a little gusty. temperatures are going to climb to 69 degrees by thursday. brent's back with more news after this. 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. school district leaders are asking voters to approve almost $200 more per year for schools. now, if voters approve, parcel taxes will go ul nearly $800 over the next six years, and bring in more than $2 billion a

year. it could affect school class sizes and programs.

snow in oklahoma, as much as two to three inches per hour in spots and this massive system is heading north and east. it will be in our area by tomorrow. i'm matt lauer along with natalie morales and tamron hall. it's hard to imagine nearly a third of the country's population will be impacted in one way or another by this storm. it covers more than 2,000 miles, bringing wit heavy snow and at least in this part of the country probably a lot of sleet, freezing rain, icing conditions.

there are blizzard warns for nearly 300 counties and nine states. we'll have two live reports this morning from the center of it all in just a moment. >> al looks cold out there. we're going to head live to cairo with more on the unprecedented protests in egypt where more than 100,000 people are in tahrir square calling for president mubarak to step down after 30 years in power. soldiers are keeping order but are not forcibly keeping people from demonstrating. >> also an important health reminder iffer women about heart disease. february is american heart month. heart disease is the number one killer of women, but the warning signs can be different from what we see with men. >> first we have a massive winter storm. al is in chicago bracing for as many as two feet of snow. al, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we are on the balcony of the shedd aquarium, overlooking

beautiful downtown chicago, lake michigan, the winds are gusting at 35 miles per hour. add to that snow starting this afternoon. that's why we are under a blizzard warning. in fact, we've got nine states -- parts of nine states under blizzard warnings today into tomorrow. i mean, we are talking about -- snow along a lo2,100-mile stret. as you look and we'll show you what's going on, basically we are looking at more precipitation working its way up from the south. winds blowing strong here. with the winds we're talking snow as well. here in chicago, we may see a record broken that stood since 1967.

the snow's back and lots more is on its way. this massive storm began on monday as commuters in denver, colorado, had to fight snowy roads and ice on their wind chills. ice-slicked roads in omaha, nebraska had vehicles spinning their wheels and a school bus sliding. the snow blowers are out in force again. nearly half of the country under a weather advisory because of the massive winter storm. with missouri already in a state of emergency, st. louis residents hit stores monday to stock up. bags of salt and ice scrapers flying off the shelves. >> snow shovels are gone. anything that has to do with winter we are either low or running out of. >> it's the same story in chicago where residents rush to get ready for what could be an historic storm. >> visibility is poor. >> reporter: before it's over the storm could break chicago's 1967 record when almost two feet of snow fell. >> we may be potentially dealing with a storm of historic proportions. we want to assure everyone in this city that we are prepared to handle this storm to the best of our ability. >> take a look.

we'll show you the path of the storm, the way it's shaping up. it dips down to the south. it's going to bring a risk of strong storms to the southeast. isolated tornadoes possible. north of the system, we have a mix of frozen precipitation and snow stretching from indiana, illinois all the way into new england. by the time this is all over, we are talking about a pretty strong stretch of heavy snow. chicago, up to two feet of snow. jefferson city, missouri, up to two feet. kalamazoo may see two feet of snow. syracuse picking up 20 inches. oklahoma city, 14 inches of snow. it's not just snow. we have to worry about ice as well. there is a swath of about an inch of ice that we're going to be talking about, but the cold air will be brutal over the next 48 to 72 hours. current temperatures well below zero through the plains. wind chills even worse and the actual afternoon highs don't get much better.

what we are looking at here is a really powerful storm that's going to affect about 110 million people and later on tonight, the ice is going to be a problem as well. we are talking about an area stretching from missouri on into central ohio of an inch of ice. that's deadly because it will bring down trees and power lines, cripple airports. this thing will be a monster. >> al roker in chicago. you say on the balcony of the shedd aquarium. i know you're not going inside between the weather forecasts, right? >> you're sticking it out. >> no, no, i'm not. no. no, i'm not. no. [ laughter ] >> see you, al. >> go warm up, al. now to oklahoma city which is getting pummelled this morning. jeff morrow is there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie!

it might be hard to see me -- because of the snow that's blowing around. beside me -- a car that's been stuck and abandoned. there is nobody here. we have had to push out several cars just in the parking lot of our hotel. i don't know why anybody would want to travel today. i'm going to walk back across the roadway. it is snow packed. this is meridian road which is usually a very busy thoroughfare, but not today. just a few hearty souls trying to come out here. it's not been plowed and even if it was, i don't know that they could keep it clear. the wind is blowing so hard. these are true blizzard conditions. we are expecting as much as a foot of snow after all is said and done. even if the snow -- this afternoon, the wind -- 30 to 40 miles per hour and creating what you see behind me. it won't stop here. as al was saying, it's going to move away to the north oond east. i'm experiencing right here in oklahoma city, guys.

yeah. it will be moving north and east. back to you. >> all right. take care, jeff morrow in oklahoma city. you can just hear in the break-up there the amount of wind affecting the satellites and technology. let's get a check of the news with ann curry at the news desk. >> on that note let's talk about significant breaking news, especially amid the turmoil in egypt. king abdullah of jordan, a key u.s. ally in the middle east, suddenly sacked his government today. this after thousands protested across the country calling for the resignation of jordan's prime minister. the story is still developing but the palace said the king asked an ex-army general and former ambassador to be the new prime minister and appoint a new cabinet. all nonemergency embassy staff has been ordered by the state department to leave egypt this morning. this as a sea of protesters in cairo demand president mubarak step down by friday.

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us from tahrir square in cairo. is this a tipping point? >> reporter: there are many who fear this could be the tipping point or the start of it. today's protests have been peaceful but they say if mubarak stays they won't remain peaceful by friday and that after friday prayer ifs mubarak is here there will be renewed clashes. people are converging on downtown cairo. as you can hear behind me, despite a curfew the protests continue to grow. they were calling for a million to protest. it looks like they'll make it. this is the biggest march of unprecedented demonstrations in egypt. it began early as the curfew was lifted this morning. the crowds have been pouring into tahrir square all morning. they are bringing food and water.

they are planning to stay all day saying, mubarak, this is your final day. >> we want to face mubarak. we have had enough in the last 30 years. >> reporter: by noon, more than 100,000 were in tahrir square demanding that president mubarak step down. the protesters are students, islamic groups, the unemployed, government workers, all with different agendas, but united in a call for mubarak to leave although there is no consensus on who should take over. so far the mood has been largely festive. for the first time, families are out. the rest of egypt is shut down. the pyramids are closed. the army set up a perimeter around the demonstrators but said it will not fire on its own people. the atmosphere today has almost been carnival-like. people are bringing food to the

demonstration. they have been celebrating, but that could change, many demonstrators tell us, if mubarak is here friday. they will go into the streets after prayers and try to confront the police, confront, perhaps even the army. ann? >> richard engel on a developing story there. thank you very much. in other news, already ravaged by floods northern australia is bracing for what could be the most severe cyclone the country has ever seen. preparations are under way for the storm which is the size of texas and expected to reach north queensland at a category four strength by thursday morning. a revived volcano is erupting in japan forcing more than a thousand people to evacuate and shattering windows more than five miles away. experts say a dome of lava is expanding inside but they are not sure it will overflow. finally, check this out. it's called the tough guy race. an eight-mile run through the english countryside followed by a climb through smoke, a jog in

icy water and a hand over hand crawl through tunnels. this year's winner was a tough german medical student. gets to be called tough guy now. i don't know what he wins besides soreness. ten minutes after the hour. let's go to matt, tamron and natalie. >> crazy guy. >> soon to be in intensive care guy. thank you very much, ann. now back to al in chicago, tough guy, with another check of the forecast. >> a real tough guy. >> i'm frozen guy. let's see what's happening in your neck of the woods and around the country. basically we are looking at a risk of strong storms to the south. sead hi t system we have a lot of moisture coming up. we have the ptysihilibi of tornadoes stretching from east texas all the way into parts of alabama. you can see to the north we have the frozen precip mix and the rest of the country today.

sunshine in the pacific northwest looking good. we have clouds and showers later today in parts of florida. we look for more sunshine down through southern california where temperatures will be nice and mild. we wish we all were now. yeah, we feel you, freezing guy. we're looking really good. we're warm and sunny on the west coast. temperatures are going to be really nice today, this afternoon. 60 degrees. which is actually a about three to five degrees above our seasonal average for this time of year. but wait until we hit thursday when temperatures climb towards that 70-degree mark. we have a lot of sunshine. temperatures in record-breaking territory, friday, saturday, sunday. lots of sunshine, staying warm through monday. and that's your latest weather. we'll update you coming up in the next 30 minutes. guys, back to you. >> see you then. thank you, al. up next, the signs and risk

factors of heart disease. what every woman should know. later, are you suffering from mommy guilt? it's a common feeling for working moms. we have advice to balance work and family after these messages. softer than teeth and a lot of people when they get a denture they think the best way to clean it is by brushing it with toothpaste. toothpaste contains abrasives that scratch dentures leaving microscopic crevices where bacteria can grow and bacteria can cause bad breath. only polident is proven to clean without scratching and kills 99.9% of odor causing bacteria. i recommend using polident and soak every day. it's the right way to go. now with an improved microclean formula.

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the most delicious yogurt imaginable. heaven on earth! discover dannon greek your favorites, in pieces. everybody's talking about honey bunches of oats. whoa...with cinnamon! it's got warm, freshly baked cinnamon in one delicious heart healthy cereal. mmmm. can't you just taste it? try honey bunches of oats with cinnamon. heck, try 'em all. so we took her to our olive garden. just us girls. we kept the fun going all through dinner. introducing olive garden's new artisanal raviolis. try our creamy asiago cheese ravioli topped with pan-seared chicken. or try our pear and gorgonzola ravioli

topped with sauteed shrimp. starting at just $10.95. with unlimited salad and breadsticks. it was really cool just hanging out -- the three of us. olive garden. when you're here, you're family. olive garden. when you're here, you're family. this morning, what women should know about heart disease. it is the leading cause of death for women with one in three dying of a heart-related illness. dr. kerry peterson is a contributor to women's health magazine. good morning. >> good morning. >> women tend to overlook or ignore the symptoms of heart disease. what kinds of health problems are women dealing with when you talk about heart disease, specifically? i know you have a model of the heart right there. >> yes. there are a number of conditions referred to as heart disease. there is heart failure,

arrhythmias and coronary artery disease which i will explain. it is a development of plaque in the arteries of the heart and when the arteries, as you see, supply the muscle of the heart, when they become blocked and completely clogged, the heart muscle loses oxygen. the tissue dies and that's called a heart attack. >> women, as i mentioned, often experience different symptoms than men. so therefore they tend to overlook, according to the american heart association, 50% of women don't call 9-1-1 according to to a survey because they don't think they are having a heart attack. what are some of the specific indicators that we should be looking out for? >> there are differences between men and women with regard to heart disease. the first, as you mentioned is there can be very different symptoms between men and women. the second is that women have smaller hearts than men. the heart is about the size of your fist. the vessels in a woman's heart are smaller than a man's. it takes less blockage to clog

them off than it does for a man. in addition, for women, we get heart disease later in life than men. we typically have a significant rise in the incidence of heart disease after menopause. there is a protective effect premenopause. this encompasses the differences between the genders. >> when it comes to the symptoms, some of them are for the most part what you would expect -- chest pain. that is something that is a real indicator. >> that's correct. chest pain which is the tight squeezing sensation. >> a burning. >> yes. it really only occurs in 30% of women. instead, women get other variations of symptoms. nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, sweats, dizziyness. it's important for women to recognize the symptoms and seek attention if they experience them. >> what are some of the risk factors for heart disease, particularly for women? >> there are several that people may be familiar with.

there is high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, family history, diabetes and smoking. but a lesser known risk factor is secondhand smoke which is a relatively new discovery that second hand smoke exposure can cause heart disease and causes 46,000 deaths per year in nonsmokers. something new to be aware of. >> there are four numbers you should pay close attention to in order to assess your heart disease risk as well. the first is your cholesterol. >> yes. >> what's the number? >> at women's health we have four numbers to know. the first is for your cholesterol, you want to know the number and the ldl should be below 130. the next number is your blood pressure. the ideal is 120 over 80. the third number to know is your body mass index, a ratio of height and weight. it should be between 18.5 and 25. and lastly, you should know your

blood sugar level and a fasting blood sugar below 100. >> some of the things you can do to control the numbers and help reduce your risk factors. obviously behavior when it comes to quitting smoking and the things you need to take care of. >> yes. quitting smoking is the most important thing you can do for your health to prevent heart disease. in addition, common sense things. diet and exercise. in particular, when it comes to diet, you are going to address the specific targets of your problem. so if you have high cholesterol, you're going to want to attack the diet with low saturated fat. if you have diabetes, you're going to want to approach it with a low carbohydrate diet. with high blood pressure a low sodium diet. tailor it to your risk factors. exercise regularly to modify all of your risk factors. >> what's starting to us as women we tend to take care of everybody else. when it comes to taking care of us, we don't look after ourselves.

so when you talk about the numbers that people are ignoring the symptoms. one in three are dying of heart attacks. you have to pay attention. in fact, the health and human services campaign launching today is called make the call, don't miss a beat. call 911 if you feel these symptoms. you're wearing red proudly? >> i am. this friday is national wear red day. it's for heart disease education. >> dr. kerry peterson, thank you very much. much more on the website as well to spot the symptoms of heart disease. still to come, it's something mothers feel as they head to work. we have advice toguilt. f e ilt. first, these messages. everybody has somebody to go heart healthy for. who's your somebody? eating campbell's healthy request can help. 25 delicious soups with low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat, and a healthy level of sodium.

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with over three pounds of your favorite pasta, like meaty marinara or chicken alfredo, plus an order of breadsticks, you get enough for the whole family. only on tuesdays, and only at your pizza hut. still to come, we are getting ready for super bowl sunday with chicken wings two ways. >> and the kids are all right. we have advice for working moms suffering from mom guilt. >> and more on the massive

winter storm affecting more than 30 states headed east. take a look at this. in oklahoma, ice. uh uh-huh. after your local news. hy as pos. 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. that lets you eat six times a day? yeah, baby! try the slim-fast 3-2-1 plan. 3 snacks, 2 shakes or meal bars, and 1 balanced meal. slim fast. who has time to slim slowly? colace capsules stool softener helps ease straining to make going easier.

try colace capsules for effective comfortable relief from occasional constipation. save $3 right now. go to getconstipationrelief.com. gh morning to you. it is 9:26 right now. we want to check the forecast with christina. >> good news in the weather department. we're going to see temperatures approaching record levels once again. as of thursday, lasting into the weekend. high pressure, though, as it moves in today will create breezy conditions throughout the mountain passes and hills always we head through this evening. keep that in mind. it could get a little bit gusty for your drive home. 60 degrees in san jose. as we head throughout the next few days, temperatures are really going to start to climb. by thursday, 69 degrees. the conditions continue all the way into monday.

>> i just found out about an accident in san francisco involving a muni bus near geary. there will be a closure there. there's the fog, the north bay commute slowing because of that. down the peninsula, san mateo, slowing as well. foggy patches for 101. 280 had an earlier accident. that is cleared up. slow along the peninsula. lower visibility of the fog creeping through many spots. northbound 101 as well as 85 seeing slowdowns. 280 looking better than we have. no major issues on the bay bridge. we'll get you a live look out there. we have to contend with the fog throughout much of the east bay.

san francisco police are getting ready to enforce the controversial law this morning that makes it illegal or sit or lie on public sidewalks within

the city limits between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. it technically went into effect in december, but the police will start enforcing the new law in the next couple of weeks. they'll undergo training to enforce it fairly. students are back at oakland elementary schools today. police evacuated the school yesterday after reports someone saw a man walk in with a rifle. the report was never confirmed. students were moved to a safer area where parents could eventually pick them up. another local news update in about a half an hour.

♪ can you believe it was 30 years ago when princess diana burst onto the scene and became an instant fashion icon from her early days in top gowns to her later sleek look, she made headlines everywhere. now there is a new girl from london making all the scenes. that's kate middleton. she's poised to be a princess and to become a fashion icon herself. she seems to have a lovely sense of style. we'll take a look at the styles of the princess tomorrow here on "today." meantime, coming up in this half

hour tracking the massive storm. can you believe at least 33 states expected to be hit. more than 100 million people in this country affected. it's headed our way. it's in oklahoma already. chicago is feeling it and al is there. what's the latest besides, brr, it's cold. i'm glad you're wearing that coat. >> yeah. i'll tell you. parts of nine states under blizzard warnings including chicago. we are on track to be in the top three snowstorms for chicago. if we get the two feet we are predicting we could be talking about breaking the record back in 1967. this city will be paralyzed. the airport is open, but refl k airports have already cancelled flights for today and tomorrow. we probably won't get out until thursday, hopefully. we'll see. >> hey, al. a quick question. last night on "nightly" we heard from weather forecasters that

the size of the storm could make this the largest, the biggest storm this country has ever seen. would you concur with that? >> well, yeah. absolutely. just think about this. there is a 2100-mile swath that stretches from texas into the northeast that will show people getting about a foot or more of snow. i mean, it really is unprecedented. >> all right. al, thank you so much. i think we should all take the day off tomorrow. we'll get the rest of the forecast in a moment. what else is coming up? >> also, we'll be talking about mommy guilt, something women go through when they decide to go back to work after having a baby. whether it's the spelling bee you can't make or the soccer game you have to leave early. trying to do it all can make women feel they are doing nothing well. we'll get advice to help you cope with the guilt. >> that's a good topic. are you ready for football? >> always! >> yes. it's the snacks i'm ready for.

>> super bowl food is the best. it's almost super bowl sunday. a party isn't a party without wings. we have recipes to add pizzazz to your party. >> and we have two delicious men in the kitchen. >> they are. i was thinking of being in bed on a cold day with a big bowl of chicken wings. that's not attractive. so we'll think about the guys. >> anyway, let's go back to al. we want to get him inside in the cafeteria after one more check of the weather. hey, al. >> i was trying to figure out where tamron was going there. >> i know! >> i started to worry, too. i was thinking the woman needs turn signals. stop! come back! no bed, no bed. >> the bed and chicken wings. you brought up the good-looking men. >> let's change the subject to weather. save our girl, al. >> you know, i'm just going to throw myself in the lake and call it a day. >> except it's frozen.

>> don't do it, al. >> let's check it out. i'll tell you. not only do we have to worry about all the snow, we have ice to talk about as well. some areas picking up an inch of ice stretching from missouri into northeastern ohio. but we also have brutally cold air that's funneling down from canada. it is going to be -- i mean, look at the temperatures. these are air temperatures below zero in the plains. you're got below freezing temperatures all the way down into texas. tomorrow, the cold air spreads south and east for the afternoon. you can see teens and 20s aroun the great lakes. 20s as you get into parts of texas and then on thursday, the cold air spreads further south and east as well. 50 degrees for our daytime

highs today. temperatures ending up towards 70 degrees. 60 degrees is your forecasted high for today, as high pressure moves in from the pacific. this will create some breezy conditions. it's also going to push in cold, dry air, but it will mix out by thursday. and these temperatures in the 60s today will be near the 70-degree mark thursday, friday, saturday, all the way through this weekend and monday. and that's your latest weather. by the way, i want to -- >> what? okay. we lost you. >> wait, go ahead. >> those are the censors, al. >> i just want to say -- the guys in the audience. a lot of us feel dad guilt, too, for not making those events. >> oh, okay. >> we'll try to cover that. >> equal time. >> you've got it. we'll talk about that in the segment maybe as well. coming up next, a woman who turned a few dollars into a multi-million dollar dream right after this. multi-million dollar dream right after this. how'd she do it?

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and about lipitor. so this morning we are kicking off a special three-part series called the grio's 100 history makers in the making. >> devoted to african-american stories and perspectives is out with the second analyst of movers and shakers. >> the grio's 100 is doing big things in health, education, politics. women like lisa price, a wife and mom who tapped into her passion for natural beauty products to create a multi-million dollar company. ♪ >> reporter: the one who helped turn grammy-winning artist mary j. blige's first perfume into a record-breaking success isn't a farm face but the wife and mother of three and her company carol's daughter have transformed the beauty's

industry in a way few imagined. >> i thought of it as a way of something i liked to do that was fun. >> reporter: looking around the spacious new york city headquarters of the beauty brand it's hard to imagine 48-year-old lisa price's multi-million dollar empire began as a hobby and a love for natural hair and skin products. the key may have been an underserved market thirsty for quality. >> you can't sell a black woman hope in a jar. she doesn't want hope. she wants something that works. >> reporter: lisa knew the market was there, but could she break through? like so many she found herself at a crossroads. in the early 1990s she was a writer's assistant for the cosmetcosby show, a dream job for many. >> it was amazing and good training for being an entrepreneur sprks but it was

what she was cooking up at home. >> i started playing in the kitchen. first making fragrances and then making products to add them to. >> reporter: lisa named the product after her mother carol and set off to test the market, albeit on a small scale. >> your mother encouraged you to go to the flea markets? >> yes. mom encouraged me to sell at a church flea market. i wish i could say, why did you suggest that? i was never a salesperson. i didn't expect to sell out. i didn't expect people to be so interested. >> why didn't you? >> i looked at it as we'll have fun and maybe sell some cream. here i am. >> reporter: lisa started selling products out of her home before opening her brooklyn boutique in 1994. once word spread the flood gates opened and for lisa there was no going back. she remembers the first time she was featured in "essence" magazine. >> that little half page changed my life.

it changed how many phone calls came in, how many orders went out. nothing was the same after that. >> reporter: by 2002 the most coveted endorsement of them all came. >> being on oprah was a personal moment for me. >> reporter: name some of your celebrity investors. >> will smith, jay-z, mary j. blige. >> not shabby. >> not at all. >> reporter: inspiration for her products may lead her to unlikely or exotic places like this local indian market. >> i experiment with ingredients. anise, clove, chickpeas. early on i decided everything was going to be food-related. i looked at the products as food for your skin and hair. and then in coming up with the names for the fragrances, sometimes it fended on what was in it, what the mood was at the time. we have sweet honey dipped chocolate brown sugar. >> that rolls off the tongue. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: what started as a

line of african-american products has gone main stream. >> there are things that are universal like bath salts to relax. wanting to smell pretty. that's universal. >> in addition to her own boutiques lisa's products are available in a variety of retail stores and through the home shopping network. she's also planning to put out home kits to mix your own salts and flavors and create a nice individual scrub. >> wow. that's interesting. carol's daughter did okay. >> she's not doing bad at all. >> amazing. >> good story. thank you very much, tamron. coming up next, if you're a working mom we have advice on how to cope with the guilt right after this. ♪ [ female announcer ] why use the same hand towel over and over instead of a clean, fresh one every time?

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i always was winning in percentage. i am a little competitive. together we lost 162 pounds. i don't know if you've noticed, but look at this guy. [ female announcer ] join for free today. weight watchers online. finally, losing weight clicks. i mean they're rewards, right? right? right. with the bankamericard cash rewards™ credit card... i get 1% cash back on every purchase. 1% cash back on groceries. highlights. frog leg green. 1% cash back on... whatever that is? and there is no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn. no expiration on rewards. no hoops to jump through. -simple. -i love this card. looove it. [ male announcer ] the refreshingly simple bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. this morning on "today's moms," got guilt? if you're managing a child and a job we have advice on how to

help you cope, especially if you're feeling guilty. we have liz zack from ivillage.com's pregnancy and parenting and gail saltz, "today" contributor. this survey asked women to go online and log on. it's not a scientific survey but found 72% of ivillage women say they do expect some kind of mommy guilt. i'm surprised the number isn't higher. do we have evidence as to where the number is going up, down or maintaining? >> we are seeing an increase in conversations on the message boards about this topic. i think a lot more moms with the recession are jumping back into the workforce and are experiencing it maybe for the first time or for the first time in a long time. >> interesting perspective. >> yeah. it's a hot topic for us. >> mm-hmm. especially if you have been a stay at home mom and made the commitment. it's difficult to make the transition. some guilt, i think, is good. it reminds you where your priorities are, what you should be thinking about as the most

important thing. but at some point it's not so good for you. you were talking about it before we started broadcasting. >> yeah. negative emotions are all a part of things that are potentially good for you. they are a red flag to say, well, maybe something is not working here and i have to evaluate what's going on. on the other hand, there are people that are more prone to guilt. you know, it may be for varying reasons. maybe their mom was a stay-at-home mom and they feel they are not doing it the same way or maybe there is an issue with their child and they are sensing that or something going on with their spouse. if you are burdened by guilt a good part of the day, then obviously that's a problem. >> okay, what do you do about that? >> i think you need to assess -- the question is why. why are you feeling guilty? is there something going on with your child? not just that they are unhappy saying good-bye but they are miserable throughout the day and letting you know. is it that your spouse is having difficult himself with you being

back at work or you being a breadwinner and that's the source of it? or is it your identity vis-a-vis the way you grew up. if you can identify it you can deal with it. >> one thing i have been saying because my kids are older and people asked me this question. i say, you know, i think part of it is accepting that taking care of your job, especially going back to work in the recession is taking care of your family. is taking care of your children. >> that's a great point. it's part of the reality. >> absolutely. think of the things you going back to work, mom, are now providing for your kids whether it's skating lessons, contributing to the mortgage. >> food on the table. >> when you're feeling these horrible pangs of guilt we all feel, more than 70% of us feel, remember those things you are providing for your kids. there are also so many other positives about being a working mommy that i think are really helpful to remember. >> like? >> when we talk to kids about,

you can grow up to be anything you want to be, we're the proof. the three of us working moms are proof that we're showing them career ambition, drive, work ethic. these are all wonderful attributes that we wish on our children and we're modeling that behavior for them which i think is so important. >> one thing i have learned as a mother is that kids will look at what you do almost more than what you say. that's a good point. nevertheless, it seems to me that the struggle is to assuage the guilt while at the same time making sure we are taking care of the number one priority of raising these children right. we have to be vigilant about our caregivers. we have to trust them and make sure the kids are okay. >> that's a really important point. sometimes in the struggle to be out and manage these different feelings, we don't actually listen to our gut. so if your gut is telling you something's not right here you need to investigate that. in any way you need to. that's the number one deal.

>> all right. thank you so much for your perspective this morning and the poll data. up next, getting ready for super bowl sunday with -- what else? wings. first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning, gearing up for the big game with bold-flavored wings. guys, good morning. >> good morning. >> we have hot wings. let's get going. we have three different sauces to make. first thing you say is to brian. what's in the brine? >> we have worcestershire, spices, salt, sugar, garlic powder. you chill it, put the poultry in it the day before and brine for eight hours. >> for eight hours to get nice

and soaked up. what's the next step? >> manicure the wing. cut it at the first joint and push the knee down. >> so you have a nice lollipop look. then flour it. >> i'll take a bunch of these, fry them, start them. we'll start the chocolate cola sauce. something weird and delicious. it gets cola, chocolate sauce, brown sugar, worcestershire. it's all done. sugar, habanero, orange zest. we'll throw that in there quick. >> you can use these sauces on different meats, too, if you want a healthier alternative. >> beef works, too. reduce it by three-quarters and we have. >> a beautiful sauce. >> we finished it with butter. >> i would never think to put

chocolate and cola together. sounds great. >> chef seth will put that in and we'll make a couple. >> we have great recipes on the website, todayshow.com. >> we'll do them quick. >> we'll coat them with chocolate cola sauce. wings to go! >> and once it is all coated we have them here and go back here and check out other wings.

good morning to you. 9:56 right now. we want to check the forecast with christina. lucky on the west coast. >> boy, are we lucky. we are going to see temperatures

contrary to what they're experiencing on the east coast. our temperatures are going to be at record high levels. lots of sunshine and fair weather for us this week. high pressure firmly in control of the weather forecast. that will create some gusty winds in the mountain passes as we head throughout the evening. the forecast just keeps on getting better as we get closer to thursday. 69 degrees. lots of sunshine on thursday. friday, also looking good at 69 degrees. back to you. we do have an accident of a muni accident. northbound van nuys is still closed because a bus went into a pole there, close to ellis street. there's a closure between ellis and geary for that accident. fortunately no major injuries reported. the northbound side is closed causing a big backup on van nuys. maybe polk would be a good option for you to take you past the scene there. the freeway is moving pretty smoothly approaching the city

from the east bay. the metering lights have been turned off at the toll plaza. san francisco could soon become the first city in the country to control the way the yellow pages are delivered. board of supervisors will talk about that idea today. an estimated 1.5 million yellow pages phone books are handed out in san francisco every year. they often end up on door steps and lobbies all over the city sidewalks. in an effort to improve the environment, the supervisors could order that customers receive the phone books directly. under the in proposal yellow pages reps would need to get delivery permission in advance. violators could face fines of up to $500. another local news update in about a half an hour. switching to progr

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it's truly life-changing. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hey, everybody, it's the 1st of february. good lord, we made it through january. guess what's coming today, hoda woman! one of the biggest storms -- they used words like legendary and historic to talk about this storm. >> every day when they talk about snow, i would wake up and say, oh, my god, when is it

coming, how much? i don't care now. because it's always coming. we've already had two feet. that's how i feel. i put the boots on come what may, you step outside, it's sleety and icky. >> 30 states have a blizzard warning or some kind of warning. >> chicago is another one. that's where al is. they're talking about two feet. >> and everybody is saying this could be the worst storm in 40 years. >> they're saying this is the most precip we've had in january on record. >> let's have a precip on our own. and that would be with this. this is walgreen's beer. it's called big flap, which no one has ever called me. it's 50 cents a can. we're going to visualize. on days like this when you just can't take it anymore, you visualize where you wish you were, and it komsz true. you and i want to be in -- on

the beach where it's hot. >> we're at picnic tables with newspapers underneath. we've got dozens and dozens of the biggest, fattest maryland blue crabs. ready? wash it down. >> i'm washing it down. >> oh, mama, i'm coming home. >> that's actually kind of good, that big flat. you have to get into the right head in this kind of weather, because there's nothing we can do about it and it just keeps coming. >> and you have to keep a sense of humor. that's why we're fast-forwarding to friday fun day. and i want to tell a joke. my wife and i were watching, "who wants to be a millionaire" while we were in bed. i turned to her and said, honey, do you want to have sex? no, she answered. and i said, is that your final answer? she didn't even look at me this

time, simply saying, yes. then he said, i'd like to phone a friend. and that's when the fight started. >> that's cute. >> i can't do much better than that. >> that was cute. if you ever decide to make a journey to malai, and you might. be careful of something, there is a new law in place in malaui. it is a federal offense to, how shall we say, break wind. the cops are upset because apparently a lot of people are doing it. >> what's the local food? >> it's an issue and it's apparently gotten so bad that they're cracking down on it legally. they're enforcing it in local courts. >> locals fear that others are going to blame them for their offense. >> i didn't do it. it wasn't me. it was her. >> oh, my gosh, the local court so system.

i don't know what the fine would be, but around here if we even say the f word -- >> fart. >> one of our studio producers gets crazy, so don't say it. >> you know what i did last night, real quick? i fell asleep with my contact lenses in. this is the second time i've done that. that is the worst feeling in the world when you wake up -- first it was weird because i woke up and i could see, which is strange, because i'm usually legally blind in the morning. i woke up like, wow, this is so unbelievable. that's a bad thing. >> frank does that once in a while. >> what happens, nothing? >> nothing. you're not peeling off your cornea or anything, it's just not comfortable. you know what's not comfortable to me? i missed on saturday night, he and his wife give parties, and you never want to miss it because they're the greatest party ever. i was sick as a dog on sunday

wi -- saturday with this head cold, so i want to lift a cheap beer to mark kittredge. i hope you had a great birthday party. i hated missing it. >> there is a controversy brewing in a preschool. at this preschool, a three-year-old was having -- was not potty trained all the way. apparently the little boy or girl was, you know, having issues twice a week. so the school is trying to figure out, what should we do? this child is not potty trained. >> and they have boundaries and rules they have to abide by. >> basically they wanted the child taken out of the school until the child could be potty trained. the question is, did the school do the right thing? do you put a kid out -- three years old. this is pre-k, almost. doctors will tell you kids get potty trained between a year and

a half and four. >> very, very rare at a year and a half. it's usually two is your goal. at least it was when i was raising kids. off the binky, off the potty by two. >> so if your child happens to be one that's not all the way potty trained, what are you supposed to do with the parent? >> this parent was expected to keep paying the tuition even if the child would be -- i think the compromise would be, take your child home as long as it takes -- they're not going to miss learning algebra. take some time teaching your child a little more how important it is, and we will forgo the tuition because you're not in school. >> unless you're a working mom and you can't take two weeks off to teach them. >> nothing is easy. the minute you bring children into this world, you have no idea the complications they're going to be in your life. i feel for the parents. they're trying to make a living

and provide a good education for their children. but at the same time, i feel for these schools. if everybody had their kids not potty trained, they would not be teaching. >> you know my worst moment thinking of this, this happens with every kid, i would imagine, somewhere in your life you just accidentally let it go when you're young. i still remember it because it was so humiliating. it was a tap dancing recital. wait a second. i'm telling them, i have to go. they're just like, just get on stage. i didn't even like tap. plus i was nervous. can i tell you something? i got up there, i started tapping, and right on the stage. everyone was slipping. i know. >> you were drinking a big flat before you went out there. >> crying and tapping, it was awful. >>

>> how old were you? >> i was young. six or five -- >> that's a little older. >> but i was nervous. >> i tell you what, i bet you never lost it again. >> but that's not a good way to -- >> now you're saying the entire show should have been held up for you who should have gone to the bathroom earlier, for you to go to the bathroom. >> i asked and there wasn't time. >> there wasn't. >> well, i'm still scarred. >> i don't want that happening to any kid because obviously it scars you for life. but you know the other thing we're not talking about? it's not just number one. >> don't even go there! that's not what we're -- i'm discussing number one. we can't go there. now, florida -- this all goes hand in hand. florida is proposing a parent report card. they're not just going to -- i'm all for giving teachers report cards, too. i think everybody should be responsible for their job. >> they're saying they're going

to judge parents, basically, on how well they do their homework, if they come to school prepared, et cetera, et cetera. then they send something that says you're a satisfactory parent, you're an unsatisfactory parent, you need improvement, whatever. parents will ould be livid! livid! don't you think? >> well, then the teachers should be called in so you can say, i'm disappointed you didn't whatever. >> you feel for teachers because often kids aren't disciplined. >> it's totally wrong because parents have given up parenting and they send their kids off to school and think, the teacher will teach them how to be polite and kind. teachers aren't supposed to teach values, i don't think. that should be a parental thing. but we're so screwed up. >> here's the funny thing. this is something they say about people in the u.s.

we always -- we usually think british people are smarter because of their accent. i got to tell you, there is a new woman, i can't remember her name, who is coming here covering the royal stuff. i thought the same thing right when she walked in. >> i thought the exact same thing. >> no matter what they say it's smar smarter, better, sophisticated. when you hear a new york accent, people automatically think rude. southern people, you automatically think really, really sweet. >> sometimes with the southerners, and i love southerners, they are sweet, and most of them, 99% are. but there is the occasional one that will go, did you see that rosemary gained 400 pounds? bless her heart. it's sort of disguised. so you got to be careful. you got to be careful. nice ain't always what it seems to be. >> i'm with you. so the most desirable women. if you're wondering who they are 2011 according to men.com.

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talk to your doctor. find out if chantix is right for you. for eight years beginning in 1987, television viewers watched actress canndace cameron grow u on the set of "full house." >> as she grew up, candace's

personal life began to take off. she met the man she married and would eventually have three wonderful children with him. but she writes a book called "reshaping it all." >> you've reshaped beautifully, honey. not just the inside, the outside, too. >> and a new name, too. >> not that new. it will be 15 years this summer. >> you look like a child. you were what age when you started on "full house"? >> i was ten. >> what made you decide to write this book? >> funny enough, i've been speaking and sharing my faith all over the country for about six or seven years, but the most-asked question i would get from women is how have you had three kids? we remember those chubby cheeks, you look like you're in better shape now. and i found myself having so many conversations, sending many e mails, tips about what i've done to reshape my body, but it was spiritual as well, and

decided to put it in a book. >> you really talked about how food was a substitute for something else that you needed in your life. >> yeah, and i think so many of us do that. food is not just about fuel, it's a comfort in some way. whatever that is, whatever void there is. for me it was just a transition in my life. i turned to food to do that, but -- >> in damaging ways. we're not going to dwell on that, but this is not about bingeing and purging. but people see that and think, she really had a problem. and you did for a while. >> i did. but it wasn't about hollywood that i had a bad image, it was about the changes in my life. i had to attack the emotional feelings i had about food and the abuse i was doing with the food to then understand, you know, that i'm beautiful inside and out, just how god made me. >> when a lot of people pick up books like this, they assume it's going to be a tell-all with all the secrets of what happened

on the set and all the nitty-gritty. that's not what this is. >> no, it's not a tell-all, but i have lots of things in there about growing up and things fans will appreciate. so it's got a little for everyone. >> whatever you're facing, there is spiritual help for them as well. >> there is. it's all about inspiration and encouragement and i hope this book is really just a cheerleader right alongside you, just like a personal trainer to help motivate you to be the best and healthiest you you can be no matter what size that is. >> the spirit walt objeuality iy a key component in your life. >> it's based on biblical principles, but you can be of any faith to enjoy this book and just take the practical advice that's in it. one of the things in the book, they talk about the i covenant

which is based on a biblical principle, but it talks about l lusting the i covenant, but i say let's apply that to food. if we know we don't need donuts and cookies, let's just sit at the bakery and salivate. it's not on my diet or my menu, so i'm not going to look at it. >> are you doing any act sng. >> i'm on a show this second season, "make it or break it." it's on abc family, and it's been great. and i just finished a film for april that will be on the family network for procter & gamble. >> a girl that doesn't want to take off her clothes, it's great. how is kirk doing?

>> he's great, yes. >> what is it called again? >> "reshaping it all." should you or shouldn't you? later, a change to your browse with ma brows with makeup that will change your whole look. 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. at purina one, we want your dog to be as healthy as possible.

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we're back with our special series we call "sara on the streets." we wonder what you're thinking about so we send sara to find out. >> right now we wonder about revenge. it came up when dr. laura was here talking about doing to those doing you wrong. >> is getting revenge a good idea or a bad idea? i talked to shoppers in the nbc store to find out. >> do you think revenge is good or bad? >> bad. very bad. >> always? >> always. nothing good comes out of revenge, ever. with some friends, it can be

possible. with other friends, no. no. never. >> nunga. >> yes. because i think it's a learning process. if you don't have someone give revenge to you or you don't give revenge to somebody else, you'll never learn the lesson. >> i think funny revenge is okay, but i feel like revenge, like, really mean-haerearted revenge, causes more problems than it solves. >> have you ever gotten revenge on anyone else? >> i have, but not necessarily anything that i want to talk about. >> they're still looking for her. >> all over the place. but most everybody realized if they were just doing it to lrean a lesson, it's not a good thing to do. >> what's the word. i think by definition they said it seemed negative. if you're getting even, on the other hand. i remember my brother took every

light bulb out of my room and made me earn them back one by one. >> what did you do? >> probably nothing. >> you were an angel. i do think it's one of those things you think will feel good and it never does. i thought about keying someone's car and i didn't do it because i'm nice. >> back to the innocent story. >> i love when you confess to stuff. because we think we know you. we don't. that's the evil twin helen. still to come, a woman who spends her time on vh1. we're going to show you how you can lift your face without a nip and a tuck. weird al yankovich coming up. why use the same hand towel over and over instead of a clean, fresh one every time?

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breaking news right now. a child's body was discovered in stanislaus county canal just after 7:30. according to the merced county sheriff's department, the body was found just 30 miles downstream from juliani cardenas disappeared. it does match the description of the child. although the identity has not been confirmed, the night juliani was taken from his grandmother's arms, a witness saw the man who abducted the little boy going into the canal. we'll have the latest on the

developing story tonight at 5:00 and 6:00 as we continue to follow it. right now, a check of our forecast with christina. >> good morning to you. yeah, we are going to see temperatures in the 60s today, and pretty gusty winds throughout the mountain passes and east bay hills as we head throughout tonight. keep that in mind if you drive a high-profile vehicle. our temperatures will climb towards 70 degrees by thursday. staying nice and steady with that 70-degree temperature all the way into monday. laura's back with more on that breaki newafthe onbreak.br

we're still following the accident in san francisco. no major injuries. from the north bay, the fog causing an issue coming out of the marin side. heavier in oakland. jamming up past the coliseum. slow through downtown. no problem at the toll plaza. just the haze hanging around. metering lights are off. once again, following breaking news this morning, a child's body was discovered in a stanislaus county canal early this morning, just 30 miles downstream from where 3-year-old juliani cardenas disappeared. we'll have the latest on 5:00 and 6:00 tonight. for breaking updates on this, turn to nbcbayarea.com for the

very latest. thank you so much for joining us. we're back with more of "today" with a special series we're calling life changeres to show you a big difference you can make without much money. >> these guys are here to show you why you don't have to. she is an eyebrow specialist and owner of sonja's eye bar here in new york. hello, ladies. we're going to start with sonia and sach catch up with mickey it a moment. eyebrows frame the face. that's the whole ticket, right? >> you want to keep them

natural. you want to keep them as close to what your natural shape is. >> let's look at shelly's before picture. what was the issue with her brows? >> her brows were flat, dark and no arch. so what i decided to do -- >> let's look at shelly now. what did you do? >> i lifted from underneath, tweezed a little bit from under here, lifted the arch and pushed the arch back and put white on the eye. it's a much softer look for her and used a pencil around the brows. >> while they're growing out. >> i hate to pluck, that's the thing. >> we're working on her. we're still getting there. you have to have a lot of patience. >> why is it they grow back on your upper lip, like, in no time. >> look at this before picture.

tell us the issue with her. >> her browse are uneven. the left one is higher than the right and there is a lot of sparseness going on, i'm figuring from moisturizer. never put moisturizer on the brows. >> it clogs it, right? >> it blocks the hair follicles. what i did was push the arch back where it belongs, lifted. i didn't necessarily take away from the good to meet the bad, i let hairs come in here and kind of evened them out as much as i possibly can, but it's still going to be a work in progress. >> how can you grow your brows back quicker if they are really thin. >> nothing on the brows, lift the arch. >> when you say lift the arch, what does that mean? >> you push it as far back as you can get. you want to tweeze and stick to the back end.

leave the front part fuller. >> what about the strings? >> any time you pull more than one hair at a time, the precision isn't there. >> she's a genius. thank you, sonia. now we're going to mickey. we're talking eyes with you, right? >> we kind of put four things together that really will just kind of make that quick change in your face. this is brittany. >> brittany is one of us. >> this is our before picture. one of our issues with brittany -- >> she has no issues. >> i think one of the things women shy away from is eye shadow. you need to find a really hydrating eye shadow. but also because they have that super hydrating base where they are really easily bendable. the trick is to use a dome brush and keep your eye open.

when you put that contour on, keep that eye open and it will natur naturally go on. >> show on us brittany. >> basically, just keep your eye open and that's where you pick the one you want to use. another thing that women really do shy away from are liners. and this is quite possibly one of the coolest things i've ever seen. this is physician formula. it also helps your lashes grow. >> how genius is that. >> you can make your lashes -- you can do so, so, so, so thin. look at that. anyone can do it. if you can draw a line, you can do your own liner. i love it. it's like the first brush tip you find in a drugstore. another thing, too, we've got sheila over here. >> let's look at sheila before. what was her issue here? >> sheila, of course, has no

issues again. >> i'm tired of you people. >> we did the same thing with her eye shadow. we pumped it up and went overboard and used the same thing. we also used a blush on sheila which was really great. we use something really soothing. this is actually a clay brush. it goes on so smooth and you can build the pigment. if you find it got a little chalky in areas, it's so beautiful, because if you find it's in the pores, just take your finger and glide it wherever you want. it's that amazonian clay so you don't get any shimmers or anything like that, it just glides over. zrp co coming up, we're going to show you how hair can take years off your face. i have to be in a bathing suit in a month,

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on it is -- on the vh 1 one show "what everyone wants," she works hard to hook up somebody with the girl group vrc. take a look. >> this is my good, good friend rafael. >> hi! >> i don't know what tiana was thinking. >> no, no, no. >> i'm here to interrupt your date here, man. >> i don't have a date.

>> what are you doing? >> tianatiana t. has fuput it i book. you're like, what is wrong with you? get your mind right. >> they have to get their mind right. they must. >> what are women doing wrong, do you think? >> when it comes to love, women are doing most things wrong. the main thing is as soon as they get a man, they lose their life. they don't go out anymore with their girlfriends, they don't get their hair done every saturday like they used to, everything is man, man, man. >> they better get their hair done. >> a lot of them don't. they lose themselves as soon as they get a man and that's just the wrong thing to do. >> why are you the authority? >> i don't consider myself the authority, because other people may be the authority. i just know what i'm talking about. >> you do. and watching people. >> i've watched women since i

was a little girl, how they do things when it comes down to men. >> were you always good at friends like that, though? with women we love, and they're fabulous girls, but one after another, you see them go for the same bad guy. >> how do you break a pattern, because that's what women do. they go for the bad boy, bad boy, bad boy, time and again. >> how many times do you need to get hit by a car? some i like to call vics. they like to be victims and go through the same thing continuously and continuously and never learn anything. >> do you think it's one of those things where you're like, you know what, i'm finally done? >> one day you'll have enough and you're going to say, you know what, enough is enough. you're going to get tired of all your friends talking behind your back and your mom is talking behind your back. but the book will help you get your mind right even quicker. >> i was looking at her book and there was a lot of good advice in there. i was thinking about one

relationship i was in. it was up and down and never worked. and i remember hearing a quote once, if you don't change what you got, you deserve what you got. >> your friends can tell you this guy is a loser 100 times, but until you realize he's a loser, you're not going to get your mind right. >> one of our fans janet asked, you've been with a guy for a couple years, he comes to you, tells you he's cheated, but it was only once and truly regrets it. do you give him another chance and can trust be rebuilt? >> that's really good, a one-time cheeater. that she knows of. in your book, you say that's not the way it is, though. >> yeah, that's what i say. it depends on the person. i could tell her to leave him, but i don't know the situation.

what i would tell her is look at the situation, whether it's worth it or not. is he a good guy otherwise? me personally, i don't think she should stay with a cheater. >> let me ask you this. if he told her that without even being asked, it sounds like. it sounds like he's confessing and that's a different thing. >> it's a forgivable offense. i'm not saying that. but is he a loser besides the fact he cheated? >> are you paying for him while he's cheating on you? >> it all depends on his no, no, no. a squared plus b squared don't equal c squared. >> michelle is asking, she likes this guy and she's working on her second master's degree. he doesn't have a college degree. i consider myself a conservative suburbs girl. he has gold teeth. >> the gold teeth is so 1990s.

he needs to upgrade his game a little bit. he needs a dentist. i think after he gets a little dental work and upgrades himself, i think it can work. i definitely think opposites can attract. >> to a point, though. >> they have to have the same lifestyle, though. they can't be, okay, you have a degree, i don't have a degree. two nerds don't have to go together, anyway. >> you have to share values. >> that's it, values count. the degree, that doesn't make him a better man because he has a degree. so it might be good. >> thank you, tiana. great to see you. >> thank you so much. up next, he is fat, all right, with the ph. we're talking about how weird al yankovic is changing for the century. he's got a new book out, "p-h-a-t." >> an adorable children's book. after this.

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you are listening to "eat it" the song parody from the 1980s that put weird al yankovic on the map. the comedian went on to win three grammy awards and sold more comedy albums than anyone. >> now he is start ing a new career. this may surprise you. he is becoming a children's book author. >> as i'm sure you know well, it's the time of the week when we do show and tell. and this week the subject so special to me was, when i grow up, what am i going to be? >> love it. >> it's adorable, isn't it? >> weird al is celebrating the debut of his book. i love the title "when i grow up." >> thank you. >> we don't put you with children's books. >> it's a natural flow because you're a wordsmith, anyway. you love rhyming and you're now the father of a five-year-old

girl? >> i am. how did that happen? i think harper collins kind of saw in my body of work, they saw in my wordsmithing that there was some kind of content that woulding appealing to kids and there it was. >> this little boy isn't sure what he wants to be and he picks a bunch of professions. it's adorable. is this you in the book, or your daughter? >> i wasn't thinking in those terms initially, but in reflection, the book is auto biographical in some way, because i didn't know what i was going to be when i grew up. >> and meats yowhat's your educ? >> i have a degree in architecture. but i knew it wasn't my passion, and luckily there was a job opening in the weird al field. >> you created that. but it was your dad, like it was in my life, who basically said the same thing but said it in a different way.

>> the greatest gift my parents ever gave me was permission to follow my dreams. my dad said the true sign of success is being able to do what you love and be able to make a living at it. >> exactly what my dad said. find something you want to do and then figure out how to get paid for it. >> i love the picture on the back of your book. it shows you are still very childish. >> that is so sweet. what does she think of her weird daddy? >> i think she gets into it. i was a little worried growing up that it would be kind of odd for her to be the daughter of weird al, but i think she's gotten used to it and she's in the wings singing along. >> when she sees the videos like that when you're dressed up in the phat suit, does she get a kick out it haof it? >> yeah, she knows it's make believe. and when i do star wars on stage, that's a big deal for her. >> you're actually a very lovely

man. >> thank you so much. >> and you are a very nice not a man. >> thank you very much as well. >> anything on the horizon? >> i'm going to tour australia mechanics month, some tours across america this summer, and hopefully a new album in the near future. >> do you feel like everywhere you go in this world, everybody gets your humor? is it a universal thing? >> there is sort of an american pop culture reference. not every single thing comes across -- i just played england recently in december and i had to take out references to gilligan's island, because they never got gilligan's island, but they got the gist of it. >> that's one thing we do well here is our pop culture. you would think with the internet they have access to anything. except in egypt. we have to get that back. >> we wish you luck, al, with the book. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

♪

all right, so i guess we have to clear something up before we go to sara. >> we know that rusty rudder is in dewey beach. >> you asked the fans about the potty training. stephanie wrote in that they should suspend the cost and parents should make other arrangements, but most agree that if you're in a specialty school, you need to agree to the terms, and most parents agree their kids are potty trained before they go. >> okay. >> tomorrow we are so -- >> james earl jones. he's starring with vanessa redgrave on broadway in "driving miss daisy." also we'll have the photos that will make you say, what?

also, news of the super bowl. be careful, everybody, in the snow. think about warm places. ♪ ♪ slip sliding away

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