good morning. photo finish. congressman chris lee resigns just hours after this shirtless picture of the married father surfaces online. good morning. photo finish. congressman chris lee resigns just hours after this shirtless picture surfaces online. he sent it to a woman he met on craigslist and now he is apologizing for what he calls profound mistakes. don't push your luck. a judge warns lindsay lohan he will send her back to jail if she violates the law one more time. but it's what she wore to court that has people wondering if she's taking any of this very seriously. and to drink or not to drink? new research links daily consumption of daily sodas to heart attacks and strokes. but the soda industry says that

study falls flat today, thursday, february 10th, 2011. welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. this story involving christopher lee posed without a shirt for a woman he met on craigslist. >> here is the photo that caused it. lee posing without his shirt for a picture he reportedly e-mailed to a woman he met on craigslist. the married father from new york was just sworn in for his second term on capitol hill. the woman who allegedly received that photo told her he was a divorced 39-year-old lobbyist. we'll get the latest from washington straight ahead. also ahead we'll tell you about a hidden danger at indoor ice skating rinks. we're talking about toxic fumes

that you can't see or smell and can make your children or you very sick. coming up, the results of a startling "today" show investigation. plus, the lunch that has britain buzzing. kate middleton steps out with her future stepmother-in-law. so what did they talk about? we're going to get details live from buckingham palace. and speaking of royalty, sir elton john will be here for a live interview. we're going to talk to him about his new movie and also about what it's like to be a father for the first time at the age of 63. we'll begin with that photo scandal that led to the resignation of new york republican congressman chris lee. nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell has the details. kelly, good morning to you. >> good morning, meredith. sudden is the word. what's so stunning about this is how fast it all unfolded. from the time of the revelation of the scandal to resignation was just a few hours. the former congressman is a former businessman, considered an up-and-coming conservative. he said that he wanted to leave office so that his actions would not be a distraction.

this is the image, shirtless and flexing, that tanked the political career of chris lee, a conservative republican congressman from western new york. >> we're here to get something done and that's really what it's about. >> reporter: his stunning message was read by a clerk on the house floor. >> i hereby give notice of my resignation from the united states house of representatives, effective 5:00 p.m. eastern standard time, wednesday, february 9th, 2011. >> reporter: a lightning-fast fall for the married father just sworn in for a second term last month. >> mr. lee is recognized. >> reporter: lee took part in a house hearing just hours before quitting congress. >> why i think congress gets such a bad name is we don't listen to the american people. hello, i'm congressman chris lee. i have the great privilege of representing new york's 26th congressional district. >> reporter: he has even been given the plum job of delivering the republican address last

spring. >> i've been in congress now 16 months, but it doesn't take that long to figure out that washington does more talking than listening. >> reporter: congressman lee was exposed wednesday by the gossip website gawker.com. their story claimed lee had been seeking women through craigslist. >> he told her he was divorced and that he was dating. he said he had gone on dates with a woman from craigslist before. >> reporter: the site also published e-mails that lee wrote to an unnamed woman. i'm a fit, fun, classy guy. live in capitol hill area. according to the e-mail, the 46-year-old congressman described himself as a 39-year-old lobbyist, adding, i promise not to disappoint. the woman told gawker after she and lee exchanged dozens of e-mails she googled his name and then discovered lee was a married member of congress, not a divorced lobbyist. >> she was outraged that he lied to her. when she realized he'd lied about several elements of his identity, who he was, how old he was, that he was married, that's when she says she cut off contact. >> reporter: lee released a

written apology saying he had made profound mistakes. i regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. i deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. and in that written apology, just two paragraphs, he didn't address any of the specifics of the photo or those alleged contacts with women. he simply got out. ironically, one of the pieces of legislation he's been working on while here was dealing with how to help students be careful in how they perceive and deal with things on the internet to protect them from perhaps putting themselves in a difficult situation. meredith? >> ouch. kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. it is 7:05. here's matt. now the latest chapter in the remarkable recovery of congresswoman gabrielle giffords. just a month after she was shot in the head, giffords has recovered enough to speak. nbc janet shanlian is in houston.

she has details on this story. >> reporter: it was a simple request. just one word, actually. but when gabrielle giffords said the word "toast" during breakfast this week, it spoke volumes, answering a question that was previously uncertain, whether the congresswoman would ever again be able to speak. it was a single word, but it signified an immeasurable step forward. it happened monday morning as friends were visiting with giffords in the houston rehab center where she's receiving therapy for her injuries. >> she was having oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast and she asked me for toast. she sounded great. very clear to understand. i said, absolutely. >> reporter: although not her first word, it confirms what was previously uncertain. giffords can speak. >> she's doing speech therapy every day. she's really getting better every day. >> reporter: there's more news. her husband, astronaut mark kelly, writing on giffords' facebook page, "gabby's appetite is back and even though it's hospital food, she's enjoying three meals a day." when she was shot in tucson a month ago, a bullet pierced the left side of her brain, the side that controls speech, so there

were questions about her ability to speak. her doctors say she continues to improve. >> patience is really needed. she's doing very well. we still have a long way to go. >> even though she's in a hospital recovering from a very serious injury, she still is offering the strength and support that she offered us before this happened. >> reporter: mark kelly, who has resumed his training for the space shuttle "endeavour" mission, is inspired by his wife's progress. but a realist about the road ahead. writing on facebook "the doctors say she is recovering at lightning speed, considering her injury. but they aren't kidding when they say this is a marathon process." on wednesday, the congresswoman's office released a new photo of the congresswoman and federal judge john roll, who was killed in that january attack. they were friends. she also had some good news, the congresswoman's spokesperson, about gabby giffords, saying that they are hoping if all goes

as planned that the congresswoman may be able to attend her husband's shuttle launch of the space shuttle "endeavor," which is scheduled for april. matt, back to you. >> janet, great news. thank you very much. now let's get a check of the morning's top stories from ann curry. hey, ann. good morning. we begin with deja vu all over again. dangerous cold, even where you don't expect it. frigid temperatures below zero have seized the south after the second snowstorm since last week slammed the region with snow and rain. the blizzard plowed through the country's midsection wednesday, hitting oklahoma the hardest and giving tulsa the snowiest winter on record. the storm is also deadly. two people died in weather-related car accidents in arkansas and missouri during the storm. a natural gas explosion rocked allentown, pennsylvania, overnight, leveling eight homes and forcing hundreds of residents on two city blocks to evacuate. at least six people have been reported missing in the aftermath of the massive fire

there. a 12-year-old suicide bomber in a school uniform detonated this morning at a pakistani army recruitment center, killing at least 31 cadets and wounding scores of others. the pakistani taliban movement has claimed responsibility for the attack. the terrorist threat to this country may be at it highest point since the attacks on 9/11. thags that's according to homeland security secretary janet napolitano. today james clapper will testify in congress that al qaeda remains the number one threat to the united states. now to wall street and erin burnett. erin, good morning. >> good morning. the big talk today is that the biggest market in the world, the new york stock exchange, may not be american anymore. the german dutch company is deutsche board is in advance talks to acquire the new york stock exchange. that's a big story getting a lot of talk here. also ben bernanke said yesterday he thinks inflation is not a problem and saying this sobering thing, ann. he thinks it could take up to

ten years at current growth rates to get employment down to 5% or 6%. or unemployment. which is obviously a sobering number. nerd alert, ann. i thought you would like this. the report about what caused the financial crisis, the financial crisis inquiry commission, there's a book. it's debuting at number ten on the "new york times" best-seller list. maybe as popular as justin bieber? maybe not. >> maybe not, but definitely as important. thank you so much, erin burnett. >> all right. and finally now, "guitar hero" has left the building. bu. ac activision is pulling the plug on the cash cow because of declining popularity. and with guitar hero axed, they'll also be laying off some 500 employees. that's a related note to what erin was talking about. it's now ten minutes past the hour. we send it back to you guys. >> thank you very much. >> all right, ann. you know, she's not just a great journalist. she's also a beautiful woman, ann curry. yes. last night she was at the red

dress fashion show. look at that. >> wow. >> it's a beautiful dress. >> who it designed that for you? carmen mark valvo specifically for ann. this fashion show is to raise awareness for heart disease in women. >> did you see that shoulder work there? >> all i was thinking about, they were telling us to do that move. people would be saying, is that all you got? is that your sexy move? >> that's some attitude there. >> you've walked the catwalk before, baby. >> it is all the perp walks she's done. >> oh, thanks. >> she looks good even being thrown under a bus. >> mr. roker, what's going on? >> you know, we're talking about this bitterly cold and all the snow. arkansas getting hit pretty hard. there were hard hits. folks sliding all over the roads. there were a lot of fender-benders, people trying to get through. this is bentonville, arkansas. they picked up almost 20 inches of snow. i mean, it's just crazy winter

kind of stuff. luckily it is just about over. at least into the northeast. we are going to be seeing colder air. temperatures will be moderating. right now, air temperatures, 13 below in duluth, 5 below in tulsa. it is brutal. we're talking about windchills that are 10 degrees below in wichita, 20 below in chicago. afternoon highs moderate a bit. the cold air just about done by this weekend. good morning to you in the bay area. we are going to see a clear and chilly start. the afternoon will bring about sunny and dry conditions. abundant sunshine today. it will be one of those days hard to find a cloud in the sky. and we have clouds on the way for tomorrow, so get on out there and enjoy it if you can. our daytime highs will be mild in the mid-60s. it is cold in gilroy, 29 degrees right now. later on today we look forward to 65 in san jose. 65 in san rafael and 64 in san francisco.

>> and that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. the annual conservative political action conference better known as cpac gets under way in washington today, and it features a who's-who of presidential contenders, including governor tim pawlenty. good morning. >> good morning to you, meredith. >> you have made it clear that you're seriously considering running. you've said you'll make up your mind between now and maybe march, april. but at this point, what would keep you from running? >> my wife. >> she has an interest. is she saying don't do it? >> i'm just teasing. it comes down to what are the needs of the country and what do i bring to that? secondly, it is a deeply personal decision. my wife is fully supportive. i love her very much. it is a burden on a family. >> what would keep you from running? if she supports you and you know

what you need to do -- >> we're just making sure we've got everything in line, get the ducks in a row. that's not an easy thing to do. there's a lot of work there. we've been working for conservative candidates and we'll finalize the decision in the last month or so. >> okay. here's the wrap of t. paw, as you friends call you. how are you going to emerge from behind those headline-grabbers? >> a number of things. people are probably tired of the hype and the big speeches filled with false promises. i've got a record of delivering the product and the goods. >> you think those three are making false promises? >> no, i'm just -- we elected a president who had soaring rhetoric and a lot of great speeches. a lot of people are disappointed in his performance. if you look at my record as governor, when you look at reforming schools, market-based health care and the rest, i've actually done all of that. >> again, how do youo yo you emm

behind the people with star quality? >> i think as people get to know me, i get support. i got elected and reelected in the most liberal state in the country as a republican. so as frank sinatra would say, if you can do it there, you can do it anywhere. >> you're a fiscal conservative. you criticize the president after his state of the union address. you called him a chicken. that's the word you used, for failing to address real fiscal issues in this country. your successor in minnesota, governor mark dayton, has criticized you for leaving a $6.2 billion deficit. last night in his state of the state address, he said that he was left with a horrendous fiscal mess and state agencies poorly managed. so what makes you better-equipped to run the nation's economy, if you left your own house in such disarray? >> well, 49 of the 50 states have a budget deficit. so if the disqualifier is any governor with a budget deficit, no governor could run.

it's the worst economic collapse since world war ii. as to governor dayton, and any other governor facing those challenges, that assumes, by the way, the deficit in minnesota, a 27% increase in spending. that's the forecasted increase in spending. that's preposterous. i could take care of that deficit as i did for my eight years as fgovernor and he shoul, too. outside groups have looked at all of this. i'm one of four governors in the gree that got an "a" fwrad for the best fiscal discipline and management. >> finally, tea party supporters in washington put a lot of pressure on their republican leadership to make even more severe budget cuts in the leadership. they may be trying to run the agenda in washington. you are emerging as a republican leader. how would you reconcile those two sides of the party? >> first, reducing government spending and dealing with the deficit and the debt is now mainstream. so the fact that the tea party

and others are pushing for more cuts, deeper cuts, faster reform, that's a good thing, meredith. i don't discount that. i applaud it. >> okay, governor pawlenty. thanks so much. do you want to make an announcement while we get you here? get it over with? >> absolutely. just kidding. >> you're not going to squirm out of this one. here's matt. >> careful, governor. now to the uprising in egypt and the ancient artifacts damaged there. richard engel just took a tour of the egyptian museum. he joins us now from cairo. richard, good morning. >> good morning, matt. the egyptian museum here in cairo has the world's largest collection of ancient artifacts. during the chaos here, it was broken into. today we got a tour of the museum and saw what happened. cairo's museum has been at the center of the chaos here. in the middle of tahrir square.

it nearly burned when protesters set fire to president mubarak's political party headquarters nearby. but the museum itself has never been a target of the demonstrators' anger. in fact, they've protected it, forming a human shield in front of the main fwaet. but two weeks ago friday, amid some of the worst violence, looters did manage to break in. today, egypt's minister of antiquities showed us the restoration work under way on 70 objects moved or damaged in the robbery. >> they damaged things dated back to 4,000 years ago. this is dated to the middle kingdom. you can see it's broken. >> reporter: for the first time, we were also able to retrace the steps of perhaps the greatest attempted antiquities heist in egypt's modern history. the thieves first stormed into the museum's gift shop. they wanted cash and gold jewelry. probably only one thief actually entered the museum.

he came in through that broken window and lowered himself down on very thin cables. but he fell off, then smashed through this case, which has been repaired, badly injuring himself. you can still see the blood. he was looking for gold and a magical elixir called red mercury, believed to be hidden in the necks of mummies and to have the power to control the spirit world. >> criminals are like traitors of the lost arc, looking for gold and for the mercury. >> reporter: anything else was thrown aside. >> this is not real gold. they throw it on the ground. >> reporter: the thief was in the museum for at least an hour, but was arrested by soldiers right in front of a goddess carved to protect the pharaohs and apparently still on guard after thousands of years. obviously when people think about this, they worry about the great treasures. >> they opened the showcase in front of the gold room of king

tut that contained the beautiful golden mask. it was sealed. thank god. the golden mask is priceless. it's a masterpiece. >> museum officials tell us there were probably four thieves involved in this attempted robbery. the break-in. three stayed on the roof and then that one inside man was lowered on these electrical cables inside until he was arrested by the door by egyptian soldiers. matt? >> richard engel for us in cairo, thank you very much. just ahead, kate middleton has lunch with camilla. we're live with details on that. first, this is "today" on nbc.

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coming up, the judge's stern warning to lindsay lohan and the controversy over the dress that she wore to court. plus, the hidden hazard at your local skating rink that's making children sick.

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it is thursday morng7:26 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's check the forecast with christina. >> good morning to you. we have rain on the way, but high pressure is holding strong for yet another day making more beautiful sunny skies over the bay area. it is a little chilly out there, so you need a jacket. we'll warm up nicely today under full sunshine. right now we are at 27 degrees in gilroy. later on turning over to the low 60s. 38 in livermore right now. 28 degrees in napa. the coldest morning we have had in quite some time. it is clear and chilly out there, but by this afternoon it will be sunny and dry. one of the days where it is hard to find a cloud in the sky.

mid-60s for today. here's the high in your city, 62 in oakland. 62 in concord. fremont, 62. 65 in san jose. rain on the way as i just showed you. that will start up in our area really starting a wet trend monday, late monday into tuesday and wednesday. tuesday lack looks to be a soggy day. wednesday we have the rain chance continuing all the way into next week. here we have a lunch at 11:30. you can meet mike inouye out in the city today. parking will be tough near union square where folks can also meet wis tina. we have a situation near geary boulevard with the overnight investigation clearing. both directions are clear now from richmond or into downtown. that's cleared for 38 into gery with the muni lines. the metering lights are on. northbound 880 jammed a bit coming into downtown sunol.

here's a live shoot of the southbound side heading to the left of your screen, it is getting slow near the express lanes. new allegations this morning that pg&e took shortcuts during safety inspections months before the deadly blast in san bruno. the utility delayed inspections and was not doing enough to look out for problems on gas pipelines. the awe it was not send to pg&e a month until after the san bruno explosion. another update in a half hour. see you then.

7:30 now on thursday morning. i always enjoy seeing happy faces on the plaza. we have a bunch of them this morning, even though it's chilly out there. temperature in the upper 20s. moderating by the weekend. we like hearing that. spring is 38 days away. feels like forever. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. just ahead, a hidden danger at indoor skating rinks. >> that is right. it can make children who skate or play hockey sick. coming up, the alarming results of a "today" investigation. also ahead, an icon in the house, elton john stops by for a

live interview. we'll talk to him about a variety of topics, including what it's like to be a dad and his new animated film called "gnomeo and juliet." and then coming up tomorrow on "today," another music legend. we'll talk to janet jackson. she opens up in a very personal and revealing conversation about her struggles with body image and self-esteem growing up in the jackson family and losing her beloved brother, michael. that's our exclusive interview with janet jackson tomorrow on "today." and we begin this half hour with lindsay lohan, free on bond after pleading not guilty to a felony grand left charge on wednesday. kristen welker is outside the courthouse with the latest. good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. lindsay lohan arrived early for court with no family members by her side. she seemed relaxed, even chatty before the proceedings began. then the judge arrived and made it clear one more slip and he

won't hesitate to put her back in jail. >> miss lohan -- >> reporter: harsh words for lindsay lohan. >> i'm trying to put this as polite as possible. you're in a different situation now that a felony has been filed against you. >> reporter: wednesday, lohan was charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing this $2,500 necklace, which she was photographed wearing a few weeks judge keith schwartz warned her. >> if you violate the law i will remand you and set no bail. so what i'm telling you is you need to follow the law just like everybody else. do you understand what i'm telling you? >> yes, sir. >> the actress didn't say much more. but she did seem to react when the prosecution made a request that the judge agreed to, that lohan stay away from the jewelry store where the alleged theft occurred. >> the store received some flowers, which caused the victim in this case to be somewhat alarmed. so i would ask the court that she stay away from the victims at this point in time.

>> like past court appearances, lohan was flange flanked by media as she arrived. but this time, she donned sunglasses and a striking white dress that had people wondering if her outfit was appropriate. >> the cut might have been a little much. but it didn't have any effect. i tend to counsel my clients, go to the court or dress for court like you're going to church or temple. >> veteran defense attorney, mark gaeragos defended winona ryder in 2002. lohan's case carry as possible three-year prison sentence. but geragos says that's unlikely. >> my guess would be that they're going do come to some sort of a plea deal. i do not see state prison. >> but the actress has other pro bes. prosecutors in riverside county are still investigating after lohan allegedly assaulted an employee at the betty ford clinic where she was a patient. lohan denies the claim.

>> it could be impulse control issues for her. it could be a lot of things that are driving those behaviors. >> psychiatrist, dr. charles sophie who has not treated lohan, said even though the actress has spent time in rehab, it seems she's not getting the kind of counseling she needs. >> there are going to be slips and mistakes, but nonetheless, that whole treatment plan needs to be looked at. >> for now, treatment is coming from a stern reality check, ghined ghin administered by a south americaier court judge. look around, everyone in this room has beens to governed by the law, you're no different. so please, don't push your luck. >> now the judge also revoked lohan's probation. he set bail at $40,000. and her next court date will be in two weeks. matt? >> all right. kristen welker in los angeles this morning, kristen, as always, thanks very much. we're joined now by mark geragos, mark, good morning to

you. >> gosh, matt, how are you? >> i'm doing well. >> i'm doing well. you counsel your clients when they're going to court, they should dress like they're going to church or temple. neither of us has seen a dress like that in church or temple. would you have stopped her? >> well i don't know what i could have done to stop her if she showed up there. i generally don't ride with them if their house. but luckily she's in a courtroom with a judge, judge schwartz, who is not going to hold that against her. and unfortunately or maybe it's my own problem, but 80% of the people who come to court generally are dressed inappropriately, anyway. so -- it's certainly not something new. >> but you mentioned this judge and the fact that he won't hold this against her. in effect, justice is supposed to be blind do that, anyway, correct? >> that's correct. and while that is the case, in this courtroom, i can tell you that in the decades that i've been practicing and some of the courts i've been practicing, that's not always the case. >> mark, you know, it's funny,

i've heard people on both sides of the coin in this discussion saying on the one hand, they think lindsay lohan is being treated better because of who she is and on the other hand, they think she's being treated differently, perhaps more harshly because of who she is. do you see a different level of treatment? >> i would say in the past i think she's been treated more harshly. yesterday, what happened, the setting of the bail, the amount of the bail, which was the bail schedule, getting the lecture from judge schwartz, she was treated exactly like anybody else in her position would have been. >> reasonable doubt, that is what the defense needs here to get her off these charges. if this misunderstanding can be brought into the courtroom, if for example a stylist walks in and says, yeah, i thought i was borrowing that on behalf of lindsay lohan, is she out in the clear? >> yeah, this is the problem she has. for the new case, the grand theft, it's reasonable doubt. so that's a tough standard for somebody to get a conviction on. the problem she's got is this

probation violation. because that is not. it's not the same standard, it's a lower burden of proof. that's what's going to drive this and that's why i suspect there's going to a plea deal here. because she could win the new case and still lose the probation violation. >> something in kristen welker's report kind of caught my attention, this idea that the judge told her to stay away from the jewelry store where this necklace came from. because according to the reports, the jewelry store received some flowers, perhaps on behalf of lindsay lohan. we don't know that for sure. is that simply inappropriate or is that illegal? >> well, sending the flowers, if she had done it, is not illegal. unless she did it now after the protective order was issued. but, issuing the protective order is certainly not something unusual. prosecutors ask for that every day in millions of cases. >> it's my understanding the

flowers arrived at about the same time the police investigation was beginning. i guess some people might try to draw conclusions based on the timing. >> well, i, you know, in some ways, sending them flowers or writing them a check, there's not much difference. if you've got a situation where somebody is accused of a theft, a lot of times and you think it's a misunderstanding, there are mechanisms by which you can try to satisfy that civilly, not criminally. you can't do it where there's a felony charge. but if there's a misdemeanor charge, you can do what's called a civil compromise. you want to send flowers or say, there's a misunderstanding, i don't see any harm in that. >> mark geragos, thanks for your time this morning. let's get a check of the weather now from al. we've got these beautiful young ladies. where are you guys from? >> denver. >> it's pretty cold there, but it's going to start warming up. we've been getting a lot of snow. wichita, kansas, again, roads

icy. snow-covered, people moving along. people getting used to it at this point. we're going to continue to see the cold air in the midwest for 24 more hours. talking about snow, check it out. we've got snow in the southeast, atlanta picked up about an inch as the system moved through. as we go to the maps and show you, we've got rain also down along the florida northern coast. we've also got snow moving through north carolina. pick up about a half an inch to maybe two inches of snow throughout parts of eastern north carolina. we've got lake-effect snow, lake ontario, still not ice-covered, so we're getting the snow blowing across oswego to pulaski, we're looking for anywhere from nine to 12 inches of snow. one little bull's eye, generally three to six inches from buffalo out to oh, we have a little birdie in the background there. we are looking good this morning. a nice, clear start across the

bay area, but because it is so clear and cold out there, make sure to grab a jacket. we are in the upper 30s for the most part. temperatures are going to end up in the mid-60s. 63 degrees is your forecasted high. rain on the way. and a lot of it. especially heading through tuesday. rain showers are starting late valentine's day, which is monday, lasting all next week. have a great day. and this just in, it's cold. but if you don't have this gentleman, you might want to go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> al, thank you very much. coming up, kate middleton's lunch date with her future stepmother-in-law. up next, is there a hazard at your local skating rink that is making your kids sick?

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bee happy. bee healthy. ♪ so, you got a chevy malibu. nice. a consumers digest best buy three years in a row. and an epa - estimated 33 miles per gallon highway. and what does your neighbor have? a bad case of car envy. back at 7:43, this morning on "today" investigates, a hidden danger at indoor ice rinks. nbc's jeff rossen has uncovered just how damaging it can be. good morning to you, jeff. >> good morning, meredith. this is timely, right in the middle of winter. hundreds of thousands of kids who play ice hockey and the rest of us who skate for fun.

the danger is in the air at these rinks. toxic fumes you can't see, smell or taste. and it's literally making children sick. >> get back, get back! >> at first, it was a mystery. what was powerful enough to send this 14-year-old boy to the hospital. and this former ice capades star, into retirement. on a respirator. >> i thought i was going to die. >> i was just really scared. i didn't know really what happened. >> four kyler fisher it happened at a recent game in minnesota. with every breath, he was being poisoned by carbon monoxide in the rink. >> it got pretty bad up to where i felt like i was going to pass out. in the locker room i was laying down, i couldn't get up. >> kyler's parents rushed him to the emergency room. >> you're sitting in the hospital, your son is getting oxygen. what are you thinking to yourself? >> very scary. we just didn't know the long-term effects of it and what

was going on. you think your kids are safe in the rink, and he wasn't. >> it turns out, kyler's entire team was sick and this was no isolated case. last weekend outside denver, a carbon monoxide leak at a kid's hockey game sent 61 people to the hospital. in fact, in the past two years, news reports show more than 250 people have been poisoned at indoor ice rinks. the culprit? those smoke-beching resurfacing machines run over and over again to clean the ice. their exhaust fumes contain poisons like carbon monoxide, fumes that become trapped in the rink. >> there's very little ventilation and whatever toxic materials in the ice rink stay there. >> think of it this way, you would never stand in your garage at home with a car turned on and the door closed. but experts say at your local ice rink, the air could be just as dangerous.

so nbc news set up a scientific experiment to find out how dangerous ice rinks can be. we hired certified industrial hygienist to test the air at the revolution ice center in pitstown, pennsylvania, your typical neighborhood rink. for our test, we'll use their old fuel-surpassed resurfacer. the kind used at most rinks nationwide, it's the standard. we had them run it for a single sweep around the ice. along with this machine -- the ice edger, also commonly used at skating rinks. our experts set up meters all over the ice. and they walked around with hand-held monitors. testing for those toxic pollutants. studies show over time, they can cause permanent heart, lung, even brain damage. just five minutes into our test, our air quality alarms went off. the carbon monoxide already over

the safe limit. according to state guidelines. >> the levels of 20 parts per million, can you see we're up to about 60 right now. >> and when we measured for ultra-fine particles? even our expert was surprised. >> studies show that we start to see adverse health effects at about 100,000 particles. and right now in the arena we're at 209,000 particles. go we turned the machines off, incredibly, even an hour later, it was still so dangerous, our expert had to pull the plug. >> jeff, we're going to have to call off the test now and just go outside and event late. >> the levels are too high. >> we've hit the evacuation level. >> believe it or not, there are no laws requiring carbon monoxide detectors in rinks. so kids can be inhaling this is an nbc news special

report. here's ann curry. >> we interrupt our regular programming to tell you the news that two separate sources have told nbc news that egypt's president, hosni mubarak, will step down tonight and that his vice president, omar suleiman, will now resume office. we've got nbc's richard engel. he is in cairo with a reaction to this. first of all, richard, do we know if the word about this has reached the streets of egypt, and what do you think the response is likely to be? >> reporter: the response will be nothing but cheers here. the word is just starting to reach the streets. there has been no official statement from the government. no statement by mubarak coming out and saying that he is stepping down. but we have been told by two separate sources that president mubarak will step down. what we have seen is a statement from the military. a statement saying that the egyptian army is now in a permanent state of meeting and will take the necessary actions to protect the egyptian people. that is the first time we are seeing the military take a

leading role, a decisive role, a clearly political role. and we are now waiting for word from mubarak himself. this situation, after several weeks of unrest, does seem to be finding a resolution right now. >> interestingly enough, richard, this comes as we are getting word today that many groups have -- are starting to protest. now, not only is there a call now for another huge protest tomorrow, there also are public transportation workers who are staging a protest. i mean, increasingly, grouping are saying, we're going to try to shut things down even further than just filling tahrir square. >> reporter: this coup, if you could call it that, that's what it appears to be right now as the military is taking the lead as making statements, does appear to be a preemptive strike. there have been huge protests and much bigger protests were scheduled for tomorrow, friday, the day of prayers. also, beginning yesterday, we've been seeing labor strikes growing across the country with

the potential of bringing this country's economy to its knees. so when you have labor strikes growing and a massive demonstration tomorrow, this government, this military, this presidency, has apparently now taken the decision that it is better for mubarak to step down, that his continued presence as president of this country after 30 years is no longer a source of stability. ann? >> all right. we want to have you stand by, richard engel. we're looking at a real people's revolution unfolding here. we've also got nbc's andrea mitchell standing by. omar suleiman, this is a vice president actually newly named by the president mubarak. what's the response to the reaction likely to be in the white house? i understand he's considered a friend to israel. is that true? >> he is considered a friend to israel and to the united states. long-standing relationships. but the question is, of course, whether he will have credibility with all of the hundreds of thousands of people who've been protesting and the people who

believe that he is part of the mubarak establishment. whether he is acceptable as a transitional figure remains to be seen. his conversations, repeated conversations with vice president joe biden have not been entirely successful, according to most reports here from officials in the united states because they felt that he was not stepping up quickly enough, not agreeing to the kinds of reforms. that he was continuing to both overt and more secret ways to harass journalists. they have been demanding repeatedly these people be released from jail, protests continue unimpeded, that journalists be able to cover the protests. and it remains to be seen whether suleiman is increasingly responsive to american and international demands. >> all right. nbc's andrea mitchell, thank you so much. we also want to thank nbc's richard engel reporting from cairo and to tell you that we'll be covering this story all throughout this day on msnbc and also on "nbc nightly news" with

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easy to buy. easy to fix. easy to save. staples. that was easy. just ahead, kate and camilla's lunch date. plus a live interview with new dad and movie man, elton john.

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right now police have shut down highway 101. so far police won't say if the suspect is still on the loose or in the suspect has been found. they found a woman's body at 5:20 this morning. no reports on exactly how the woman died. the tracy teenager beaten and starved by four adults is suing sacramento cat county for failing protect him. sheriff's deputies did nothing despite evidence that the boy's guardian physically abused him long before they moved to tracy. the sacramento sheriff's department is not commenting so far on this lawsuit. let's switch gears now to talk about the weather. here's the forecast with

christina. >> good morning to you. one of the coldest mornings we have had in weeks. 28 degrees in napa. 31 in santa rosa. 27 in gilroy. a little more moderate to the coast, 46 in san francisco. as we head throughout the afternoon we are going to see clear conditions. a lot of sunshine. it will stay dry. heading through this afternoon most cities will end up in the mid-60s. another beautiful day with clouds returning heading through tomorrow. but today abundant sunshine over the bay area. 65 is the forecasted high in napa. 64 in san francisco. and 64 degrees in los gatos. as we head through the rest of the week it is just getting warmer and warmer. 69 degrees by saturday. a nice, comfortable weekend. clouds increasing by sunday. then the rain arrives monday into tuesday. tuesday is looking very wet. let's find out how we are looking on the roadways with mike. right now we do have slowdowns for the east bay, christina. we have the approach east shore freeway looking at speeds in the 30s and 40s. 880 jams up approaching the come

coliseum due to an earlier accident. there's police activity building on the upper deck, we'll follow that report, but nothing official on the bay bridge. approaching the sanguinel nay m owe bridge, we have construction slowing north out of hayward. very slow in both directions. it is a typical buildup. slow through san mateo down to palo alto. we'll have another update with mike and the weather forecast after the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning.

8:00 on thursday morning, 10th of february, 2011. elton john class irk crocodile rock. are ehearing it? >> yes. sir elton stopping by in this half hour. >> that's right. we are really looking forward to this. this is a guy who is dynamic, to say the least. he's the driving force behind the new animated movie, called nomeo and juliette. he's a brand-new father. 63 years old. he and david now have a baby. we're going to talk to them about a lot of things coming up

when he joins us live. zachary. >> zachary. okay. also ahead -- dangers of diet soda. a lot of us drink diet soda on a daily basis. now it comes with serious health risk but was the industry is take issue with the findings. >> we don't know what they had at their lunch but kate middleton has lunch with her future stepmother-in-law live at buckingham palace with the details. >> first a check of the morning's top stories with ann curry at the newsdesk. >> good morning. major development in egypt, two sources tell nbc news president hosni mubarak will likely step down tonight, meeting protesters' demands. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel ginning us from cairo. what more can you tell us about this in. >> reporter: there is still no reaction yet from the streets. people here are skeptical. they want to hear a definitive statement from mubarak, from the military, that he has stepped down. what we are hearing now are two

sources close to the president, telling us that mubarak will step down. there has been a statement, brief televised statement from the military, they are calling this statement number one, that the military is taking the necessary action to protect the egyptian people. we are expecting more statements from the military later today. ann? >> thank you so much. we're hearing that vice president omar suleiman will be taking over as vice president, according to the reports. thanks, richard engel. also in the news, representative chris lee resigned suddenly wednesday after a website posted a shirtless photo he sent to a woman he met on craigslist. he is married with a young son. his resignation red on the floor of the house of representatives on wednesday, to be effective immediately. a new study shows that an exexperimental surgery to prevent a serious birth defect

may offer expect ant mothers new hope. robert bazell has the story. >> good one. >> reporter: after heather and >> reporter: after heather and brian learned their now-3-year-old son, thomas, had the worst kind of spina bifida, they found out about a clinical trial where doctors operate on the fetus in the wound. >> i said, all right, baby. we're going to get you this surgery and help you walk as well as you can. >> reporter: the complex surgery involving a huge team at the university of california san francisco took hours. >> at 22 weeks, 23 weeks, some of the tissues are so soft that if you just even handle them carefully for more than a few minutes, they start to fall apart. one thing we have to do is learn to operate. >> reporter: the results were so good that the group that monitors the trial decided it needed to end six months to a year sooner than planned.

as for thomas, he does not need a shunt for cerebral spinal fluid and he's free of mental problems. what's this? >> it's an emergency helicopter! >> reporter: two common complications of the disorder. >> it looks like it rubs right up against the uterine wall. >> reporter: the doctors believe this trial is just the beginning. >> the goal of the fetal treatment center is that we could cure all disease before birth. >> reporter: an ambishing goal many years off, but this latest trial is a major start. for "today," robert bazell, nbc news, san francisco. and finally, a book known as the wicked bible is on display today for the first time at cambridge university. it's a rare 380-year-old book. it contains a notorious typo that instructs readers, quote, thou shalt commit adultery. it is now four minutes past the hour. let's get another check of the weather with al.

and our pick city today happens to be the big easy, new orleans. our question, why is new orleans nicknamed "the big easy"? two popular theorys. from parks to nightclubs, the city offers musicians many ways to earn an easy living. and then -- or the city's relaxed attitude toward alcohol consumption during prohibition. we'll never know. the forecast for the pick city looking pretty good. they've got snunshine and temperatures up into the 50s. there was a -- there was a window washer, but he jumped inside. but that window is clean. let me tell you. let's check it. >> you're seeing things, aren't you? >> i am. i was in the big easy earlier obviously drinking heavily. let's check your weather, see what's going on. santa ana winds, burbank, santa

ana, san diego. we've got the strong, high-pressure system over the great basin. wind advisories until 6:00 p.m. as you look at today, we've got sunny skies in the pacific northwest. morning snow along the carolinas. look for showers and thunderstorms throughout much of florida. the chilly conditions continue down through texas, but we've got plenty of sunshine. is he out yet? no? okay. and, you know, if the window good morning to you. clear and chilly this morning. by this afternoon, though, we're going to see abundant sunshine. we climb into the mid-60s. the forecasted high, 65 degrees in san jose and 64 in san francisco. last day, though, of abundant sunshine. clouds increase and rain is on the way for the second half of monday into tuesday. have a great thursday.

>> and just so you don't think i'm crazy, we actually have tape. there he is. he was up there. really. and then he went into the window. >> he's waving to you right now. he's there again. >> hey, hey! good to see you! >> just trying to make you look crazy. >> he's gone again! all right. when we come back, we'll talk about new research that links drinking diet soda to an increased risk of heart attack is or stroke. and we'll also sit down with sir elton john. talk about his new movie and life as a dad at 63. all of this after these messages. no matter what we're buying. i'll take it. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang. fire! [ garth ] it's hard to beat double miles! have you seen garth? oh! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one. money magazine's best rewards card if you aim to rack up airline miles. what's in your wallet? bebebebebebaaa!

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this morning on "today's health" a warning to diet soda drinkers. you may tring diet soda if you're watching you weight, but that could be hazardous to your overall health. >> is that a great new diet pepsi can or what? >> dietsoda has been portrayed as sexy, glamorous and guilt-free. but a new medical study is questioning the safety of diet soda, suggesting diet soda may be linked to serious health risks. >> this study really shows us some new information to help sort of fill out the -- the question of whether diet sodas are healthy and what we see is that they're not. >> reporter: for nine years researchers at the university of miami and columbia university followed 2,500 new yorkers who drank diet soda every day. the study found that daily diet

soda drinkers had a 61% higher risk of so-called vascular events, including stroke and heart attack, than those who did not drink any diet soda. the study did not look at specific diet sodas, nor the amount of the diet soda people in the study drank each day. hanna gardner is the lead author of this study. >> i can't tell you it's safe or unsafe. all i can say is what we found was that there was an increased risk of vascular disease among those who drank diet soda daily. >> reporter: the american beverage association disputes the study saying there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that diet soda uniquely causes increased risk of vascular events or stroke. nutrition experts say the study doesn't answer the question why there may be a link between daily diet soda and vascular events. >> we don't really understand the full mechanism of how these

non-cal non-caloric sweeteners are being used in the body. >> reporter: so should you ditch diet soda? nutrition experts say that would be going too far. >> occasionally that's just fine, once or twice a week. but the reality is there are many people out there getting three and four diet sodas a day. those are the people i'm particularly worried about. >> dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. good morning to you. >> hey, meredith. >> the official study has not been released. this is a press release. >> it's abstract. it is an abstract and it was presented at the stroke meeting. there's some science behind this. >> without being able to pinpoint the link, how much diet soda is too much? >> what they've found and reported was that for people who drink soda every day there was a 61% increased risk of a vascular event like a stroke. the real question, why the beverage industry has taken a stand and the scientists are saying we stand by our data, we don't know where the it is. what might be the link? we have to dial back our social

patterns a little bit to the days of julia child where she would say, hey, what's wrong with a teaspoon of sugar? it's 16 calories. it's not going to make you fat or kill you. but we have fallen in love with dietary sweeteners. what we've all found is they've made us like things sweeter. there's no some science that it may rejigger the brain that it makes you crave other things. there's a link here somewhere. we just don't know quite what it is. there's no doubt that we like things sweeter and when we want things sweeter, we want more of them. >> when it comes to the link, the american beverage association is taking a hard stand against this study. they say one of the problems is weight gain and family history were not controlled in this study. >> the scientists controlled things beyond that. there will always be a genetic component. and weight gain per se, i'm not so sure, is important. the beverage industry does have

a point, that we don't really -- there's no reason to think that this is -- there's a villain in diet beverages. i drink them. but i think you have to remember it isn't water. it isn't -- there's nothing nutritional in it. it's a treat. so if you find yourself thinking, oh, well, i'm going to get skinny because i'm drinking this every day, think otherwise. have a couple of week, but once you have one every day or so, you have to pay attention to the science and what the scientists are calling for now is for more research. and there will be more. but this battle, the lines are just being drawn. >> exactly. >> this battle is heating up. >> thank you so much. >> you bet. now here's matt. thank you very much. e elton john, one of the most recognized names in music. now he's lending his talents to the movie "gnomeo and juliet." providing the music and serving as one of the film's executive producers. they've even turned elton into a gnome. take a look.

♪ it's a little bit runny this pesticide ♪ >> my dad can really pick them. >> this is painful. >> oh, sweet torture. ♪ don't have much money but, boy, if i did ♪ ♪ i'd buy a big house where we both could live ♪ >> sir elton, good morning. welcome back. >> thank you very much. good morning. >> you make a cool gnome. >> i'm pretty good. i didn't see that until the film was finished and they showed it to me. i couldn't stop laughing. >> the glam gnome. >> i finally made it. >> you called yourself this. you called yourself the gnomosexual of the film. i'm glad you said it before i did. this took 11 years to make. why so long? >> the idea was green lit by disney years ago, and then there were various changes.

and then it -- a couple of the studio people didn't really understand the idea of gnomes. it flatlined a few times. as my roll of executive producer, i have to phone up the studio and say, come on. this is a great idea. finally when dick cook became chairman of disney, he said go away, make the movie. we don't understand it. this is a very english movie. it's got -- it's set in stratford on avon. we did it with disney and it really great. >> it's romeo and juliet using garden gnomes. i'm looking more forward to the music. the soundtrack has got to be amazing. >> originally we had five new songs, of which two actually made the cut. but dick cook, one of the conditions that dick said, listen, go away and make it on your own, he said i'd like to hear more elton john stuff. i really never thought of this as being an elton john soundtrack, to be honest with you.

but it worked out well. some of the songs we used that are popular really helped the songs -- the film visually with the music. and the arrangements were all done by james newton-howard, who is one of the stop scorers for film in the world. he used to be in my band. >> everything comes full circle. one thing you said besides the gnome comment, you said if you're british it's important to take the piss out of yourself. what does that mean? >> it means to make sure you have a good sense of humor about yourself. nothing is sacred. it's -- we have a very ironic sense of humor in britain. it's kind of cruel kind of humor. in a way. it's kind of -- >> just sarcasm or -- >> it's sarcasm, it's setting yourself up. it's not holding yourself in too high of esteem. >> i was reading your resume last night, knowing you were coming by here today. you look at all you've done in your career from rock and roll and pop and soul and blues and movies and broadway and

animation, did you ever in the earlier days of your career, elton, imagine that you would have a chance to take advantage of so many creative outlets? >> no, i've been very fortunate. fate plays a huge hand in your career. you have to have the instinct to follow it. i had a phone call about "the lion king." i said, tim, you're one of my best friends. of course i'll do it. i've never done anything like this. that opened a huge door for me. it opened the door for broadway, for making our own animation, it opened the door for me scoring movies. you know, it just -- at that time, matt, i was just making records, touring, doing videos. and so in '93 with "the lion king" my career completely took off. thank god it did. it was so boring just to do the former three all the time. so i -- you know, as a musician who loves all sorts of music, it's given me the scope to -- i've done four broadway shows,

three animation movies, produced a broadway show, made this film. it's -- there's no end to what you can do really if you're lucky enough to be able to be offered the chance. >> in terms of professional and personal wish lists, you're checking things off at a pretty fast rate. you and david have just welcomed a little baby, zachary. >> we had zachary on christmas day, which was really wonderful. you should go on jeopardy. i'll take elton john for 1,000. >> how is he doing? >> he's great. i'm going to go see him shortly. we had to go to england to promote the film last week. david was only there two days. he's -- he's always got one parent there, if we can help it. i can't wait to see him today. >> you waited a long time. you're 63. >> i'm 63.

people say i waited too long. that may be the case. i can't answer that question. but from my point of view, we tried to adopt a little boy in the ukraine, which was quite heavily publicized. it became too hard to do that. too hard on the child. too hard on us. we would never have been able to do it. when that cause kind of negated, we wanted -- we pledged to look after the boy in the ukraine and make sure he was out of the orphanage, which he shortly will be. but we thought, you know what, maybe we should go the other route. and i said, you know what, why not? this is the only thing in my life that i haven't had the challenge -- it's the most challenging thing you can do, to bring up a child. i thought, you know what, i'm going to try it. i'm sure as much as i can give him, he's going to give me a thousand fold back. already in seven weeks he's done that. >> i can see it in your face. you're glowing, as they say. i want to ask you about something else, elton, when you said in an interview with qua

"rolling stone." you talked about billy joel and a lot of the canceled dates because of his drinking, quite frankly. you said this. he's going to hate me for this, but every time they've gone to rehab, they've been rehab light. i love you, billy, and this is tough love. billy, you have your demons and you're not going to get rid of them at relab light. >> he hates me at the moment, and i understand why. >> have you spoken privately about this? >> no. he sent me a message and he's not happy. i understand that. i really love the guy. i think he's an american treasure. he's up there with all of them. and from the new york point of view. i'm just concerned. >> so this comes from a place of -- >> yeah. he's going to hate me and he's not going to talk to me, but it comes from a place of love. i said it's tough love. you don't take your dog to rehab, okay? you just go in there and you -- you try and listen. and i'm sorry i had to say it,

but i'm saying it because i really want billy -- you know, to -- to lib a long life and be very happy. that's all it came from. and i understand why he's mad at me. and i can take that on the chin. i mean, years ago when i was using, people tried to tell me -- i didn't talk to them for years. how dare you talk to me like that? i look back and they were only trying to help. i'm only trying to help. maybe i should have done it privately, but i've been so frustrated over the years. i love the guy. i love everyone around him. his band, everyone. it was a great fun to -- it's the greatest fun i ever had. >> you seem like you're having a lot of fun. >> i am. but i do love him. i want to stress that. and, you know, he may want to punch my face in at the molt, but it's okay. >> i also want to ask you about something else. when you talked about your days, you know, of using in the '70s, maybe -- >> '70s and '80s. >> when you look back at that

time, elton, is there anything you would like to relive from that period of your career? >> i would like to change all of that time. >> why? so many great things happened. >> it got me to a certain place where i -- in 1990 i became soeber and clean, blah, blah, blah. it's been 20 years. if i get to that place through taking drugs and alcohol abuse, so be it. but i heard a lot of people, i wasn't there for an aids crisis. i wasn't conscious. i thought i was, but i wasn't. you know, self-obsessed. irresponsible. and it took the aids finally to -- to bring me to my senses and to meet his family and to realize how out of whack i was. you know, you can't have regrets because you -- i'm so happy now. but, you know, if i had that time again, would i do the same thing? absolutely not. absolutely no way. >> that's knowledge that comes with age and maturity, i guess. >> yeah. >> elton, congratulations on the movie, the baby, everything. really, it's nice to see you.

>> always nice to be here. it's 24 after the hour. we're coming back with why we're obsessed with gossip.

we continue to follow developing news this morning. last update i told you about a woman found dead in san jose. now police believe she was actually stabbed. she was found on carolyn avenue inside of a home. investigators are still at the scene there. right now we will switch gears and check the forecast with christina. >> it's a cold start. make sure you give yourself plenty of time to warm that car up. we haven't seen temperatures in the 20s and upper 30s in a couple of weeks.

it's pretty cold out there. this afternoon, sunny and dry, beautiful, mild, mid-60s. 64 degrees in los gatos. 65 degrees in san rafael. it's going to take a while for temperatures in the 20s to get to the 60s. you'll head to 60s in fairfield by 3:00 p.m. >> you may have a little extra time to warm that car up. toll plaza and a live look out there, from the plaza up the incline, police activity near fremont in san francisco off the upper deck. things have been moving smoothly for the last 20 minute there is. meanwhile, further south, we have a nice drive. jamming up northbound 880. heavier than typical on the peninsula. san mateo very busy in all directions. more news in a minute.

8:29 right now. another local news update in half an hour. the tour de show returns in less than half a minute.

8:30 now on this thursday morning, february 10th, 2011. our intrepid crowd braving the cold this morning. it's around 25 degrees on the plaza. feels more like 12. matt lauer has departed the building. he had something to go to an assignment. that's the other way to put it.

he's gone. he's taking a flight. he's going somewhere. >> you could have just stopped right there. >> i thought you said he had to go. >> that's right. well, maybe both. this is -- this is not what we're talking about. we're talking about gossip. people in america seem to love to gossip. but what topics should be off limits? is there ever a time when gossip is actually good for you? we'll get into that. and, plus, of course, coming up on valentine's day. a lot of people like to send flowers. they can get expensive, but it doesn't have to be. just ahead, easy and affordable arrangements you can make yourself or places you can steal them. either way. also this morning, we'll talk about heart disease. i think we've been talking about this on the broadcast. i know that's a picture of me. there was a fashion show last night for heart truth. it's supposed to raise awareness about the issues about heart disease. we've been telling people on this broadcast for years that it's the number one killer of men and women, but --

>> exactly. people don't -- exactly. that's very important. >> we'll talk about that this morning. >> and you made a lot of men's hearts go like that. and the story behind the hit "the king's speech." we'll meet the fwragrandson of george vi's speech therapist. >> it's just -- it's great. >> did i not tell you? >> months ago. >> months ago. >> you're the kind of guy that doesn't watch movies two or three times. >> usually if there are explosions and car chases, i do. but it's a really good movie. first, al, a check of the weather. >> absolutely. as we look ahead to the weekend, rain in the pacific northwest. sunny and cool through the southeast. lake-effect snow showers around the great lakes. warm in the southwest. then sunday we're looking at more snow in the northeast and the great lakes. more wet weather in the pacific northwest. sunny and mild through the southwest.

another beautiful day in our neck of the woods. a cold start. grab that jacket. we're going to approach the mid-60s today. 65 degrees in san jose. 65 in los gatos. lots of sunshine today. clouds move in for tomorrow. it looks like this will be the last day of brilliant sunshine. rain on the way as we head towards this weekend. latter part of the weekend, we have a 10% monday night into tuesday, looking wet. have a great day. >> you can check your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online coming up next, we'll talk about gossip and whether or not it's actually a good thing. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:35, wrapping

up our special on obsession. why are we so obsessed with gossip? we've just been doing it. everybody does it, chat about celebrities, politicians, co-workers, even close buddies. but why is spreading news about other people so irresistible? >> she's my best friend. >> dump her. >> what? >> you have to dump her. she knows too much thanks to your gossip. yes, that's right. you're a gossip. ♪ >> reporter: gossip. everyone loves to do it, even though they may not admit to it. >> what do you call what you were doing on the phone? >> i prefer to think of it as a mutual exchange of vital information. >> reporter: what exactly does it mean to spread vital information? the dictionary defines it as -- >> gossip, a person who reveals personal or sensational facts about others. >> who would have thought that? poor old sam. here's the way i got the story. >> gossip, a rumor or report of

intimate nature. >> kim kardashian has a new man. the beauty has been out on the town with terrence howard. >> gossip. also known as chatty talk. >> reporter: whatever you call it, experts say gossip is addictive. >> when you're gossiping with somebody, any number of brain systems can be stimulated to make you feel calm and relaxed or energetic and optimistic. >> reporter: so is the gift of g gab harmful? >> people can bond by talking about other's lives. as long as it's harmless -- but once you overdo it, it becomes negative. >> reporter: at the empire hotel where the tv show "gossip girl" is filmed, we asked people to give us the scoop on why gossip is good. >> it's fun to gossip because you can get a perspective on how somebody else would feel, how your girlfriends would think about a situation that is

happening. >> it's an escape for me. >> personally if i know somebody is a gossip, i wouldn't tell them my own personal business, but i wouldn't mean hearing what they have to share. ♪ >> exactly. tanika ray and rob schuder and lola are here with us. good morning to everybody. >> good morning. >> we really were gossiping. >> absolutely. >> everybody seems to love to do it. robert, you say that you don't trust people who don't gossip. >> no, i wouldn't talk to somebody that doesn't gossip. >> why? >> because they're dead. >> they're soulless. >> everybody gossips. i think you can do it in a naughty but nice way. gossip is fun, exciting. it's got a bad, negative tone to it, but that's not true. you can have lots of fun. >> when somebody says you're a gossip, that's the worst thing in the world. >> i don't know about that. i agree with you. if somebody says they don't gossip, they have other problems. they're also liars. exactly.

because we all do it. >> being able to gossip does have a negative connotation. it implies that you're inherently untrustworthy and you spend your time just digging into other people's businesses. >> where is that line? >> where do you all draw the line? >> you don't have a line. >> he doesn't have a line. >> there are things that i don't report. i don't report about people's health crises, i don't report about people's children. what i think about, if i can't say this to your face, then i don't say it. i'm a nice -- it's a nice -- it's fun. you might not like it. but if i'm not brave enough to say it to you, then i wouldn't do it. >> and they've done studies to determine that gossiping can be good for you if you do positive gossiping. >> and it's a big self-esteem boost because you're the center of attention, the person at the water cooler dispensing the juicy nuggets. you're the star of the office or the newsroom. >> but even naughty gossip can be helpful.

it gets it off your chest. look at these people that have come out of the closet. >> what about the people who have been forced to come out of the closet because of gossip? >> they didn't like it at the time, but if you ask them later, they said i admitted the truth. i lived -- the lies are gone. gossip makes you -- >> you shouldn't be dragged kicking and screaming out of the closet. that's something they should do on their own. >> absolutely. >> it's a bonding experience. you and your mom really bonded over gossip when you were little. >> we did. i keep admitting so many things. my mom is going to kill me. we watch entertainment magazine shows, we watch the miss america pageants and we gossip about who was the prettiest, the most amazing dress. that's where we connected. when it comes down to it, yes, prostitution is the oldest profession, but gossip is the oldest hobby. >> you looked at me when you said that. my goodness! we don't want anybody gossiping about us. we can dish it out, but we can't take it. >> hypocritical. >> some people do like people

gossip. ing about them. as long as you're talking about -- >> kim kardashian has made a career out of this. we just talk -- i don't really know what she does. i've said that to her. but i know who she is. i did say it to her face. she laughed. she's got a great sense of humor. >> she loves it. >> she's laughling the way to the bank. >> exactly. >> it's one of the oldest professions. i read somewhere that the oldest piece of gossip is over 3,500 years old and it was about a mayor having an affair with a married woman. >> when you start a sentence with "i heard," gossip is coming. stand by. >> when anybody starts a sentence with "i shouldn't tell you this," i always jump in and say don't. if you feel guilty about telling me this, then i'm not going to like it because it's not fun. it's not interesting. >> what if it's exclusive? >> it's good, but tell me when you can tell me. >> that's the starter of a conversation with me.

>> right? >> do you think he's lying. >> i do. he's a publicist in a former life. >> come on. >> he's trying to protect his old friends. >> i think -- it's not just about the information you get. it's the timing of it. >> do men and women gossip differently? >> no, they just gossip in different places. >> straight men don't gossip. >> yes, they do. >> you said straight men? >> no. they talk about football. >> have you been in a barber shop before? that's all they do. >> at the super bowl, all the men did was gossip about every player, about how hot cameron diaz looked. >> why do we gossip about the celebrities? >> they're our new best friends. >> but they really aren't. >> but we think they are. like on twitter, we don't know these people. all these people that follow us, we think we're friendly with them. we're social beings. we love interaction. >> it's a way to establish an instant connection with somebody. everyone can talk about how christina aguilera flubbed "the

star-spangled banner". >> and there's no consequences. it all starts back at the playground. the kids with the most information have the most power. they're the ones at the corner of the playground saying, did you hear about so-and-so? they ruled the playground. we never grew out of that. >> you knew when you walked away from that kid, you were getting the dodge ball thrown at your back. >> i want to get dirt on something during the commercial break. thank you, guys. up next, do-it-yourself arrangements for valenti

back now at 8:45. this morning, flowers for less. you don't have to spend a lot of money to shower your loved one this year with creativity and

time. you can create amazing arrangements all by yourself. it's easy according to florist kim foreign. she's the owner of geranium lake flowers in oregon, in portland, oregon. good morning and welcome. >> good morning. happy valentine's day. >> thanks. we have to think about this. a lot of us just buy the $100 red roses every year. it doesn't seem that inventive. you don't have to do that. >> no, not at all. i brought ideas that i wanted to think outside of the box. a little more creative. >> let's walk over here. let's go over to -- now, you also say we should buy flowers maybe in terms of saving money that are grown in the areas where we live. so from the south, you have come up with this. >> this is like, you know, you buy flowers and they don't last that long. this is an idea to have plants. so i just clustered a couple of budding plants in a super-cute little rustic box. lily of the valley, always adorable. it's something that lasts, you know, a lot longer than five

days. >> and you bought some, what is this, fern? >> this is irish moss. >> pretty, pretty. >> this fabulous thing is something that i couldn't find blooming branches, so i went ahead and found magnolia branches and attached little silk blossoms. >> so you just got this from your backyard and then decorated it with little blossoms and made signs here. >> it's so realistic and adorable. >> just for the right person, that would be great. let's move over this way. you're using a lot of succulents here. >> there's a lot of floral available. i used a clustering technique. i put bouquets of all of the same color. all orange, all lime green, all yellow. then put them all in one vase. if you want to have a dinner party, put them in their individual vase. >> right, right. >> then that way you can at the end of the party you can say,

oh, my god, here you go . >> that's a great way to give something to your valentine. let's move over to the northeast. or the east koesh. this is is kind of an area where there are a lot of expensive flowers. >> this is fabulous. i went and visited my recycling bin, if you can believe that, a found a vintage lemonade bottle, wine bottles, beer bottles. cleaned off the labels, clustered them together on a tray, bound them with ribbon. this one i bound with wire. just put three or four blooms. it is so creative, so simple. and so inexpensive. >> you've got the red underneath with a little red flower. and it daffodils. >> that's right. and if you have to have that red rose, we just put one in there just because. >> right. okay. now let's move to the midwest. this is an area that you can buy a lot of flowers.

>> right. >> they've also been hit with a lot of snow. this is a wave to save money and that's using vegetables and fruit. >> if you have a foodie that's one of your valentine's and you want to be more innovative, i took bell peppers. >> and you have here "you're too hot." that's very creative. that's cute. >> and we clustered kind of -- i just gave a simple cut, filled it with water. if you didn't want it to leak, then you can put a little liner, like a little plastic in there. >> you actually put water inside the pepper. >> right, right. >> it's just a little bouquet that's clustered in there with water. there are other things you can use. cabbage, you can use -- let's see. what else have we used? i'm totally forgetting. >> that's all right. and, in fact, you're using lemons and oranges inside the vase here. >> this one is kind of, you know, you don't always have to do red, pink, or, you know,

light pink. you can also do yellow and springy colors. so we used citrus, oranges, lemons. you could use limes. it's really easy to make it look kind of creative and outside of the box. so we just filled it with citrus and put the flowers in and viola. >> jim, thakim, thank you. happy valentine's day. coming up next, the real story behind the movie "the king's speech." [ male announcer ] 95% of all americans aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's easier than you think, because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. there's whole grain in every box... ♪ ...from chex... to cheerios... to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste y le. get started on the whole grain you're missing with your favorite big g cereals. make sure to look for the white check.

"the king's speech" is a critical and commercial success nominated for 12 academy awards. it's the story of king george vi and his battle to overcome stuttering. well, now there's a book about that relationship. "the king's speech: how one man saved the british monarchy." >> i can answer that in two ways really. i mean, a, he did literally teach the king to overcome his stammer. he taught him to, you know, address the nation and, you know, rally his people in the time of crisis, you know, during the war. but also it's also a question, really. it's like, you know, what if he

hadn't found lowe? what if the king hadn't done this? what then? who would he be replaced with? would he be able to rally his people? and would he be able to address the nation? essentially that was his role. he had to speak. he had to talk. that was his -- his ceremonial role. >> and your grandfather kept very detailed diaries. i know you brought that with you. they went to your uncle valentine when your grandfather died and then to your dad. you got them in 2001. you didn't even look at this stuff until 2007. you didn't know what you were holding on to. >> yeah. we do these things, don't we? we never ask the questions when our fathers or grandfatherers are alive. it's a regret of mine, but thank god he kept such a brilliant diary. it took six years for me to get to grips with it and start reading it. his writing was pretty bad. it took a while to read. >> tell us about what you

brought. >> well, here we have -- this is the king's speech. this is -- this is the actual speech the king read from. and here you've got -- this is the actual one that the king read from because here we've got pencil annotations of where my grandfather would be telling the king to pause -- >> can you put it towards the camera. right that way. >> to pause. hear you see there's line breaks here where there's asking the king to take a breath. you know, if you feel the urge to hesitate, just pause and then say the next word. he has underlined words where he's telling him to slide two words together. he's replacing words. he's going to find that difficult. they've rehearsed this. he was handed this speech, you know, a few hours before he was expected to broadcast it. they've rehearsed it over and over again. they've done it together. they've gone, well, let's change that word. that's going to cause you trouble. >> you know, david sidler, who

is the screen writer, former stutterer himself. he knew about these papers. he went to your uncle, asked if he could see them, and your uncle came back and said, no, he can't. what happened? >> well, actually, he said, yes, go ahead, but you need to get royal approval. and so he referred the -- the inquiry to clearance house where the queen mother lived. the queen mother replied and refused access to the letters. >> queen mother being the king's wife at the time. >> right. our current queen's mother. she found the memories too painful. and would rather the film wasn't made in her lifetime. so sidler waited and waited and waited. it was 25 years before eventually the queen passed away and he resumed the project in 2005. >> when they saw a lot of what your grandfather had written, they adapted lines in the movie to reflect him more accurately. your reaction to the movie and all of this now? >> well, i'm just blown away.

the reception it's had, you know, i was good morning, everybody. time now is 8:56. we want to check your forecast with christina. >> it's a chilly start. good morning to you. as we head through the afternoon, it's going to be nice under full sunshine. a beautiful day across the bay.

mild day with conditions mostly clear and ending up in the mid-to low 60s. 62 degrees in concord and 64 in los gatos. rain is on the way. a big rain maker on the way for next we showers lookinging heavy on tuesday. we're back after the break.

sports teams at cal find out today if they will be able to play ball next year. there are sports on the chopping block to save the school. cal could also have to cut 80 athletes from the remaining men's teams in order to comply with title 9. cal supporters have raised $15 million trying to keep the

sports afloat but that may not be enough. the chancellor will make the decision later on today. more local news in half an hour and the "today" show continues coming up. i have fallen in love with making bird houses. caw caw! [ director ]what is that? that's a horrible cr. here are some things that i'll make as little portals. honestly, i'd love to do this for the rest of my life so i've got to take care of my heart. for me, cheerios is a good place to start. [ male announcer ] got something you'll love to keep doing? take care of your heart. you can start with cheerios. the natural whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. brrrbb... makes you feel ageless. [ male announcer ] it's time. love your heart so you can do what you love. cheerios. [ bob ] squak.

we're back now with more of "today" on a we're back now with more on the "today show". the "today show." we're with ann curry and natalie morales. last night, ann was baring a little shoulder. >> it's all for a great cause. my father had heart disease. a lot of people do. we were trying to draw attention to heart disease, especially for women and men as well. it's the number-one killer. that's the designer of the dress that i wore.

he designed it for me. >> it's beautiful. >> they made it in three days. >> it is gorgeous. >> it was really fun. i would much rather be in cargo pants in a war zone than walking down the runway. >> in heels. >> yeah. and with -- and ps, i thought there were going to be like 40 people there. there were 1,000 people there. i mean -- >> that's quite a dress for 40 people. >> i thought it was this little thing. >> you looked spectacular. can we show the -- can we show the shoulder turn she makes? that's what makes it. >> we'll see the whole tape in a little bit. >> here's what happens when they did that. they told us that we had to have this sexy look when we -- so i was trying to do that sexy look. as i was doing it, all i could think was people were going to be saying, is that all you've got? really? is that it? >> a lot of sass. a lot of sass. >> enough about that. >> she's got spunk. there's more to talk about.

>> also ahead, we've been talking about lindsay lohan posted $40,000 bail after being charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing that $2,500 necklace. what she was wearing got just as much attention as her alleged crime. we'll tell you what happened in a live report coming up. >> i think she looked beautiful. >> that might have been part of the problem. >> i don't know if you can read that headline. yeah. that could say it all. >> classy. and they could have chosen a private place, but kate middleton and camilla parker-bowles decided to go to lunch. a little marriage advice. we'll tell you all about that. ann, you've got to top stories. >> i do, in fact. good we'll talk about the news. morning once again. two sources are telling nbc that hosni mubarak will step down tonight meeting protesters' demands. however, other sources are saying mubarak will stay in

power. the president is expected to address his nation shortly. new york representative chris lee resigned suddenly on wednesday after a website posted a shirtless photo he allegedly sent to a woman he met on craigslist. lee is married and has a young son. an explosion rocked allentown, pennsylvania, overnight, leveling eight homes and residents on two city blocks to evacuate. at least one person has died and five are still missing in the aftermath of the massive fire. officials say a natural gas explosion may have triggered the blast. frigid temperatures well below zero have seized the south with the -- after the second snowstorm since last week slammed the region with snow and rain. i know, very dangerous conditions. the blizzard plowed through the country's midsection on wednesday, hitting oklahoma the hardest and giving tulsa the snowiest winter on record. the storm is also deadly. two people died in weather-related car accidents in arkansas and missouri during the storm. the number of homes entering foreclosure in january was the lowest monthly total in more

than three years, but the slowdown was partly due to paperwork problems and also because banks with the backload of bad loans are letting delinquent borrowers stay in their homes longer. it's time to cut support for mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie mac, which have received $150 billion in federal aid. another reason to drink water, a new research is suggesting that daily diet soda drinkers are at a higher risk for stroke and heart attacks than those who drink no soda at all. and while doctors are not sure whether there is -- the exact link between the two, experts are advising sticking to water instead. and a pelican blown 1,400 miles off course by a hurricane is going to have a lot of explaining to do when he gets back to the nest. this is ralph. named after the nightclub in nova scotia where he was found. >> nice. >> rescuers spent five months

nursing the disoriented florida native, not just because of the nightclub, but they nursed him back to health and he'll waddle back across the border. it is now four minutes past the hour. there you go, you guys. you're all up to date. >> we got our daily animal story. >> we do try. we like animals. >> they're so cute. >> you've got a check of the weather for us. >> i wonder which doctor you'll send the bill to. >> ah! nicely done. >> all right. i should have left that one alone. let's check it out, show you what's going on. look at these temperatures. 21 degrees below normal in st. paul. 18 degrees below normal in st. louis. as you look at the actual temperatures for this afternoon, you can see it's going to be awfully cold back through the great lakes, down through the plains states, down into texas. only warm spot, 80s down in florida where they'll have showers and thunderstorms. morning snow, blows out of north

carolina. we've got partly sunny skies in the pacific northwest. lake-effect snow in the great lakes. the santa ana the same system of high pressure is driving the santa anas keeping our skies nice and clear this morning but it's chilly out there. grab a jacket by the afternoon. sunny and dry. temperatures in the 60s. 65 degrees in san jose. 64 in san francisco. oakland, about 62 degrees for you and this is the last day of full sunshine. the clouds are back by tomorrow. rain arrives as we head monday into tuesday. have a fantastic thursday. >> and that's your latest weather. natalie? al, thank you. lindsay lohan is out on bail for her latest run-in with the law. she appeared in court wednesday facing her most serious charges yet and got a stern warning from the judge. nbc's kristen welker is in los angeles with more.

kristen, good morning. >> good morning to you, natalie. lindsay lohan arrived early for court and without family members by her side. but she seemed relaxed, even chatty before the proceedings began. but then the judge arrived and made it very clear one more slip and he wouldn't hesitate to put her back in jail. >> miss lohan -- >> reporter: harsh words for actress lindsay lohan. >> i'm trying to put this as polite as possible. you're in a different situation now than a felony has been filed against you. >> reporter: wednesday, lohan was charged with felony grand theft for allegedly stealing this necklace which she was photographed wearing a new weeks ago. lohan pleaded not guilty and posted bail, but judge keith schwartz warned her. >> if you violate the law, i will remand you and set no bail. so what i'm telling you is you need to follow the laws just like everybody else. do you understand what i'm telling you? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: the actress didn't say much more, but she did seem

to react when the prosecution made a request that the judge agreed to that lohan stay away from the jewelry store where the alleged theft occurred. >> the store received some flowers, which caused the victim in this case to be somewhat alarmed. so i would ask the court that she stay away from the victims at this point in time. >> reporter: like past court appearances, lohan was flanked by media as she arrived, but this time she donned sunglasses and a striking white dress that had people wondering if her outfit was appropriate. >> the cut might have been a little much, but it didn't have any effect. i tend to counsel my clients, go to court or dress for court like you're going to church or temple. >> reporter: mark garagos defended winona ryder when she was convicted of shoplifting in 2002. ryder got probation and community service. lohan's case carries a possible three-year prison sentence, but garagos says that's unlikely.

>> my guess would be they'll come to a plea deal. i do not see state prison. >> reporter: but the actress has other problems. prosecutors in riverside county are still investigating after lohan allegedly assaulted an employee at the betty ford clinic where she was a patient. lohan denies the claim. >> it could be impulse control issues for her. it could be a lot of things driving those behaviors. >> reporter: dr. charles sophie who has not treated lohan says even though the actress has spent time in rehab, it seems she is not getting the kind of counseling she needs. >> there are going to be slips and there's going to be mistakes and that kind of stuff, but nonetheless, that whole treatment plan needs to be looked at. >> reporter: for now, treatment is coming from a stern reality check administered by a superior court judge. >> look around this room. everyone in this room has to follow the law. you're no different than anyone else so please don't push your luck.

>> now, the judge also revoked lohan's probation, which stems back to a 2007 dui arrest. he set bail at $40,000. her next court date will be in two weeks. natalie? >> kristen welker, thank you. robin sax is a former prosecutor and courtney haslet is our entertainment reporter. a lot of people were talking with the outfit. was that improper for -- for such a serious charge, courtney? >> i think everybody was shocked when they saw her get out of the car. most of what you saw were legs first and then, you know, this white dress. white is supposed to be angelic and connote innocence, but, lindsay, this is very serious. people are watching. why wouldn't you just dress conservatively? >> and the color is great. white and purity and innocence all go together, but the issue is that everybody watching are potential jurors. jurors are very judgmental

people. you want to go most conservative. it's like going to a party. you don't want to be the most underdressed. you always go to something that's not going to make a huge statement. >> a suit perhaps would have gone a lot further. >> yes. >> does it really matter? at the end of the day, judge schwartz was very tough on her. s he said you're like everyone else. you're not above the law here. he warned her not to push her luck. >> that's exactly true. i know judge schwartz. that lecture you saw is a keith schwartz standard lecture. he loves to tell people what to do. also the das in that building who run that building over there are fair, straight-shooters. anybody who thinks she's being treated differently, she's not. she's acting like any other criminal and she's being treated like any other criminal. >> the charge she's facing for stealing that $2,500 necklace, very serious charge. what's the likelihood, robin, that she ends up going to jail for this? >> most people on a first-time felony offense will not find themselves in state prison.

they will not see a three-year sentence. people who are thinking that she's going to do three years are mistaken. she's likely to do some sort of time because you can't just keep going to rehab and the prosecutors are going to be in a position to up the ante based on her prior behavior. we're talking six months, maybe. maybe a year. that kind of thing. >> we know how well she did last time she served some time. she had a nervous breakdown, was crying. what's the chance that she di slides to plea bargain? >> the pickle is that for lindsay lohan, one day in county jail is like a year to anybody else. so they need to try to find some sort of sentence that's going to be able to reduce the chances of a long sentence but yet be something that she can actually find palatable. that's going to be the challenge right now. >> the prosecutor is tough here, too. >> i think they'll consider an employee bargain. they'll think about judicial

economy. jury trials are a gamble. you never know what a jury is going to do. everybody wants to resolve it. it's just are they going to be able to find the resolution? >> what about the reports that according to the police report, she was seen four days beforehand in that same jewelry store trying on a pair of diamond earrings. apparently she left one of the diamond earrings and started to walk out of the store. the clerk called her back and said, oh, you still have one of our earrings. she left her more expensive jewelry on the counter. could that be used in her defense? it could be argued that -- the forgetfulness. >> i don't think it can be used in her defense. her line has been, i thought that was loaned to me, this necklace in question. not, oh, i was trying on so many things, i'm so deeply sorry, here it is, my apologies. he said, i thought it was loaned to me. you and i know that there's no mistaking it when something is loaned to you. you sign papers about the insurance. usually the vendor actually makes arrangements to pick it up from you. they make it as easy as possible

and as clear as day that this is something that doesn't belong to you and they're going to get it back. so for her to say it was loaned to me, that sounds so entitled at this point and like a big excuse. >> and what about those battery charges, too, at the betty ford clinic? she allegedly assaulted a worker there. could that come -- become combined in this situation as well? >> it's not going to be combined. riverside county is a very different county. one doesn't really have anything to do with the other. what does have something to do is the fact that this is a felony charge that has to do with moral turpitude. everything is about lindsay's word. if we don't believe what lindsay is saying in the grand left, how can we believe what she said about the battery? >> thank you, ladies. >> he just has to behave for a little while. everybody is watching. everybody is watching what jewelry you touch and who you touch. >> great to have you both on.

>> thank you sglchblts still to come this morning, just a few months before marrying prince william, kate middleton is getting advice from camilla over lunch. t the next, curry catwalk and struts her stuff all for a good cause and looking amazing. that's right after this. ♪ that's when all the conditions are right for a good time ♪ [ male announcer ] advanced technology that helps provide cleaner air, cleaner water, and helps make all of us more energy efficient is something the whole world can get in step with. [ static ] ♪ i need a good time [ male announcer ] ecomagination from ge. it's technology that makes the world work. ♪ it's technology that makes the world work. ["stir it up" playing] stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. you can do this... get the ball, girl.

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♪ [ male announcer ] old el paso stand 'n stuff taco shells. old el paso. feed your fiesta. covergirl trublend has skin twin technology. other makeup can sit on the surface of your skin, so it looks like...makeup. but trublend has skin twin technology to actually merge with your skin. you get skin twin coverage that's perfectly true. and you're more perfectly you. [ female announcer ] plus, with trublend, you always get a perfect match. if you're a shade 1 here, you're a 1 here... and here. how easy breezy beautiful is that? trublend...from covergirl. our lady in red, ann curry, helped kick off fashion week last night here in new york. >> it was all for the heart truth red dress show to raise awareness for heart disease.

>> i was one of two dozen public figures to walk the catwalk. i did get much-needed advice from the professionals. we're all going to wear red dresses. >> it's all about red. >> who doesn't look good in a red dress? >> everyone looks good in red. >> let's look at what you got. ♪ this is beautiful. i would look like a sex pot in it. i like the flimsiness of this. i'm going to go into it very relaxed. what's the worst that could happen? >> you could trip. >> i love the feel of it, the flow of it. all right. let's go check this out. what do you think? >> it's cute. end of the runway, do a little swirl. >> that's nice. >> oh, that's gorgeous. ♪ >> i feel like a princess. >> oh, you look like a princess. >> so your tips on walking are -- >> head high, don't look at your feet. >> get to the end of the runway. smile.

>> smile. then i do a little pivot and then i come back. >> good luck. we'll see you there. >> rehearsal. >> my father had heart disease. so i'm thinking about that. i wasn't thinking about 1,000 people. in this case, matthew mcconaughey is in the audience. i've got to do a rehearsal walk now. this is our opportunity to understand how to walk the runway. if somebody is going to fall, it will be me. >> come with me. ♪ >> i can't do that. oh, wow. oh, my god. this is my virgin voyage. so exactly -- >> i got myself a virgin. yay! >> i walk, i walk, and i stop. >> center, center. ♪ it's a beautiful day

>> it's going to be like that. >> but in your head -- have fun. >> thank you. ♪ >> i don't know what i'm doing or where i'm going. ♪ i had no idea that there are models walking. >> yeah. >> they're professionals that are walking. >> yeah. >> send me to a war zone, i'm happy. th this, crazy. >> this is the fashion war zone. >> fashion war zone. >> first time i did a fashion show, i fell off the runway and i've never done one since. >> oh, that's great. that's really -- that's confidence-boosting. thanks. >> channel beyonce. >> what? channel beyonce? ♪

>> here we go. i love your dress, ann. >> thank you. >> i love it. >> let's see the back. i love the one shoulder. >> if you fall, i will not walk over you like roadkill. >> just step over me. just walk over me. >> you want me to walk over here? >> no, you have to pick her up. >> she wants me to walk over her like roadkill. ♪ ♪ it's a beautiful day don't let it get away ♪ ♪ it's a beautiful day ♪ >> i think i probably walked too fast. but i didn't fall.

♪ >> great group of women. they all wanted to make the point that women should take care of our hearts so we can live a long life. >> and you're a natural-born model. >> no. that was the first and last time i will ever do that. anyway, it was a lot of fun. people were really into it, and we were excited when it was over. >> we'll be back after these messages. sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day,

have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com. sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm flaky pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two boxtops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. ♪ [ female announcer ] picking tights isn't always easy. ♪ picking a free detergent is. switch to tide free & gentle in the white and blue bottle. no other free detergent is milder on skin.

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still to come, crab carb nara. [ male announcer ] those with frequent heartburn imagine a day free of worry, a day when we can eat what we want, drink what we want, and sleep soundly through the night. finally that day has arrived with prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn-free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn

all day, all night. now we are free. happy. with prevacid®24hr, happiness is a day without heartburn. good morning, everybody. it's 9:26. let's check the forecast. >> we're now out of the 20s and 30s but it's still in the 40s. we'll see a lot of sunshine and daytime highs in the mid-60s. 62 degrees in oakland and 65 up in santa rosa. a few high wis pea clouds. the rain is back as we head into the latter part of the weekend. a better chance on monday into tuesday. tuesday, looking very wet. let's find out how we're looking on the roadways. big time problems, it looks

like. >> oakland, 880, past the coliseum. two lanes are blocked. earlier car fire. no injuries reported but very slow southbound. look at the maps. we have a slow drive northbound passing the scene as well. westbound 580 still shows slowing. in the lower deck, finally starting to move a little bit. police activity on the lower deck causing problems and a lane closure. the south bay 101 at capital and shoreline for the second day in a row. an accident was there. back after this.

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we expect president hosni mubarak, or a member of his staff to, announce that he will step down immediately. he already said he would not run for re-election in september but that he was going to stay in power until then. nbc has confirmed that he will step down immediately. that's the big anticipation there. meantime, a cal grad freed from jail in iran is using poetry music for her friends to be freed. the two have been in prison for nearly 2 1/2 years. we will have more news coming up in half an hour. the "today" show coming up next.

head up against the wall and i would cry because i -- i didn't feel attractive. there was a lot of pain in my life. >> janet jackson, the beautiful, talented, five-time grammy winner opening up about the demons she's battled. she's revealing a new book and an exclusive interview with meredith about her struggles with self-esteem and coping with the loss of her brother, michael. that's tomorrow right here exclusively on "today." >> all right. meantime, coming up in this half hour, the lunch that has britain buzzing and us, too. we're talking about kate

middleton. she stepped out with her future stepmother-in-law. where did they go? and what did they talk about? i'm not sure we know, but we'll get details live from buckingham palace. >> to be a fly on the wall. well, they wouldn't have flies in that restaurant. >> i doubt that. >> we could get a report from a small rat. >> to be a fork on that table. i don't know. you spend all your hard-earned money on your wardrobe and you want to get your money's worth. we're going to share secrets to keeping your fashion fresh and in good shape. and seafood spin on a classic pasta dish. we're making crab carbonara. it makes just minutes to make. first, a final check of the weather. >> let's look ahead to your weekend, see what you're expecting. sunshine up and down the eastern seaboard. we've got snow in the great lakes, rain in the northwest. sunday, we're looking at more

showers in the pacific northwest. nice and mild through the four corners. down into texas, gulf coast into florida. some heavier snow moving into good morning to you. we are having a great day shaping up. it's a little chilly out there but a lot of sunshine anticipated for the second half of the day. dry conditions. daytime highs mild and in the 60s. we're still above average for this time of year. 65 degrees in redwood city. 64 in san francisco and 65 degrees if you're making that trip down to 17 into santa cruz. as we head through the weekend, rain showers and another chance on sunday. >> and that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to florida and say hello to willard scott. >> sweet springtime. it's on its way. that groundhog knew his stuff. happy birthday to smuckers, the pride of orville, ohio, where

all the sun shines on your groundhog daily. take a look at fanni delia of new jersey city, new jersey. the secret to longevity is eating whatever she wants at any time of day or night. now, that is my kind of woman. i love her. ann left, clearwater, florida, right up the road. 100 years old, served as a lifeguard during world war ii. been a swimmer all of her life. that's good. keeps your figure right, too. bill shivley of bringfield, ohio, is 100 years old today and lives independently. works at the church. he loves to help feed the homeless. good man. keep working, doing goodddddddd. anna vacek of hutchinson, minnesota. 101 years old today. lives on her own until she was

94 and loves visits from her grandkids. we all like that. and little kids visiting nursin. here is mariejztennyson of baltimore, maryland, 102. old and made a scarf f wod war ii. that was a big thing, people did that. and ted otte of atchison, kansas. 103. third try to get on the show. i'm glad we did it. secret toty is secret toty is x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x. that's good. now back to new york. >> all right. >> thank you, willard. always good to see him. coming up next, kate middleton getting some marriage ce while hitting the that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves

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[ female announcer ] ...even after he goes home to nevada. [ grandpa ] and i love you when you are loud! [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. ♪ make your voice their valentine. with royal watchers hoping to get any new details on the royal wedding, this is giving them something to chew on. kate middleton stepped out with camilla for a public lunch in london. nbc's stephanie gosk is in buckingham palace with more on this. hey, stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. you know, there are plenty of private places where camilla and kate could have had lunch, but instead, they chose a very public restaurant at a fancy london hotel where they knew they were going to be seen and maybe even overheard. the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can be, in a word, complicated, but wednesday inside london's berkeley hotel, it was all smiles. and according to witnesses,

wedding talk and some advice. >> when they arrived, of course, the whole restaurant was looking towards this table. they knew it, everybody knew it. >> reporter: the two were joined by kate's younger sister, pippa, likely to be the maid of honor, and laura, camilla's daughter from her first marriage. "the daily mail" quoted a fellow diner who sat tables away. "i heard camilla saying, "if i could give you one bit of advice." there was clearly one moment that was clearly meant to be amazing when kate said, "what happens if william doesn't show up?" if she has a lot of concerns right now, that's probably not one of them. but the duchess of cornwall has something else to worry about on top of the wedding of the century. earlier this week visiting a children's center, an 8-year-old asked camilla if she would one day be queen. her reply, "you never know." but she should know. titles are a very sensitive issue here. when camilla married prince charles, the couple said the duchess would be known publicly

as princess countess when her husband bottom king. at the time, the idea of camilla becoming queen made many britons uncomfortable. but during a "dateline" interview last year, the prince of wales also made it seem as if the issue had not been quite resolved. >> does the duchess of cornwall become queen of england if and when you become -- >> reporter: the heir to the throne hesitated and then said this -- >> we'll see, but that could be. >> reporter: one possible reason for the shift could be the public's newfound affection for camilla. her approval ratings have been on the rise, and the princes, william and harry, often talk about how close they are to her. if wednesday's lunch is any indication, a soon-to-be member of the royal family is as well. the conversation at lunch eventually turned to the menu at the wedding. mini pizzas, sausages on a stick and chipolattas, which is

basically a fancy word for a small hot dog. now, i like hot dogs as much as the next person. kind of think they were joking. ann? >> stephanie gosk, thank you so much. and a reminder, if you want to be in london during the wedding festivities, we want to send you and a guest for an all expense paid trip. so, send us a video. we've got the rules on our website, todayshow.com, and we'll, hopefully, get to choose one of you and take you there, and it will be a lot of fun. coming up next, getting a lot of wear out of your wardrobe. gosot oome gded ias,tt after this. lot of wear out of your wardr e wardrobe. we've got good ideas after this. [ female announcer ] you have all this chicken.

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should we order panda blossom, panda moon... how about chinese at home with wanchai ferry? you can make it in just 14 minutes. mmmh, orange chicken. great. i didn't feel like going out anyway. [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry. restaurant quality chinese in your grocer's freezer. [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry. heaven comes to earth. rich, creamy, thick dannon greek, the most delicious yogurt imaginable. heaven on earth! discover dannon greek 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. this morning on "bobbie's style buzz," protecting your wardrobe with style and care.

you can protect that dress from fading or wrinkling for years to come. bobbie thomas is here to show us how to do it. bobbie, good morning. >> good morning. >> we invest a lot in our wardrobe, so you don't want to see it all stretched out or get holes in it. >> no. you want to get your bang for your buck. this is the time of year we're still bundled up for winter and not ready to take care of spring shopping yet, so tlc for what you already have. >> our first category right now is wrinkle-free. >> yes. >> we're talking about ways to keep those pesky wrinkles from really setting into your clothing. >> well, i love the name of this. tide has a new line called swash. you can swash is out. this is ten minutes in the dryer on tumble dry, five pieces. you have a fresh, new garment, wrinkles are gone and it's ready to go again before the dry cleaners. so, this could cut back on your dry cleaning bill. these are great. did you ever get up for lunch and you're a wrinkled mess? you spritz this on, smooth it out, and believe it or not, without an iron, you're good to go. >> tethered down. i was going to help this poor

lady out. she needs some help. >> but speaking of an iron, ladies at home, please, if you don't own a steamer -- >> best investment, right? >> this is going to change your life. you can get a handheld one. you don't need a professional one. or a little one like this. this is conair's micropro that folds up in your bag as small as a sock. >> great. and it works well? because sometimes the travel things don't work. >> these both work great, i promise. they'll change your life. >> okay. next, we have stay in shape. i was going through my closet, kind of doing this myself, and protecting the shape of things like boots. my boots kept flopping over. i was like, i nooed something to stand them straight up. you have a solution. >> this boot looked totally different before i kept letting it flop over. i like the distressed look, but you can reuse a wine bottle. >> now we're talking! >> you can slip the bottle right there. >> right inside. >> like we have here. voila. slip it down or you can buy a boot shaper. >> great. >> cardboard will work as well. cardboard is also great for handbags, because you don't want them to crease in the closet

when you store them. or you can use these purse forms, that will help keep your bags in good shape. >> good shape. >> and this will last for years to come so it doesn't look so beat up. >> what about sweaters, because all of us have these sweaters that end up three sizes bigger as they stretch out. >> even on yours, they got little holes from the hanger. these are great. precision hangers will help them keep the natural shape. >> great. >> great investment. >> very good. okay, over here, let's talk about cleanse and refresh, okay? >> yeah. >> because even your clothes need cleansing and refreshing. >> yes. make sure the guys are listening to this one, too. but we're bundled in our sweaters right now, but in a few months, we will be packing them away. you want to absorb the moisture in either your closet or the bin where you put your sweaters so they don't smell musky and you don't have to dry-clean again. >> no moth balls here, though, right? >> no moth balls. this is about absorbing the moisture. this is loved by so many, because this is a line to care

for your wool and cashmere, which can be expensive. >> just spray and wash. >> exactly, and this will work on something you don't want to continually take to the dry cleaner. >> and this is what the dry cleaners use, the professional line, the spot treatment. >> exactly, the spot treatment. this is something i have seen work miracles, the jamie. you put it on the spot -- >> different stains? >> different stains, oil stains. it will absorb and then flake off. i have been amazed what this can get out. >> wow. >> that's a good secret. >> red wine? >> wow, that's actually a good one. madam paulette is a cleaner in the city that takes care of couture dresses for vera wang and other designers. this is like a science experiment. it will tell you what the stain is and then follow the forma from the packets. >> and we're running out of time. over here, antiaging. simple ways to preserve our favorite outfits. all of us have a sweater -- >> like bianca here. >> we have some pills going on

on the sweater. >> she's got pills on the back of the shoulder. this is a sweater brick. keep it going in one direction and you can really revive the life of any of your sweaters. and i know so many girlfriends are complaining about expensive sweaters -- >> yeah. well, the cashmere, especially. you can tell right away. >> look, it's very natural. >> you have a lot more sweaters to go. but we will get that brand new for you in a minute. >> this is great. and there's a bunch of stuff i put in the article online, everything from helping to get your blacks that look faded to look new again, and even the color catchers in the wash. >> we've had that moment where our clothes turn pink. absolutely. bobbie thomas. >> let's go over here! >> party in a boot, we love it! giving new meaning to bootleg. >> yum! >> bobbie thomas -- >> who knew? >> thank you. coming up next, a seafood twist. first, this is "today" on nbc. a

this morning in "today's kitchen," what's for dinner? crab carbonara with eric lee from a winery in sonoma, california. chef, good to see you. >> thank you so much for having me. >> you think this is a good valentine's day dish, why? >> oh, it's incredible. it's so incredibly easy. >> how about that? >> we're dialing up a rustic, italian dish, making it so much better. >> leaves time for romance. >> oh, yeah. >> so let's get started. first of all, you put in sliced garlic, but you don't cook with it. >> well, the flavor of the nuttiness of the garlic infuses into the olive oil. >> okay. >> now, i'm using the olive oil to actually cook my pancetta. >> all righty. >> so, i didn't want to have big, big pieces of garlic in there. >> you just want the flavor. >> again, it's valentine's day. garlic, a little too strong. >> that's right. >> so, we've got our pancetta cooking here. and seriously, if you can't find pancetta, you can use regular

bacon. >> flat bacon? >> you can use flat bacon. it's going to have more of a smokey character, which is fine, but a little less authentic in terms of the italian characteristi characteristics. >> once you cook that down, then what? >> then we are going to glaze with our sonoma county chardonnay. so, once we get crispiness on there, add some wine to it. and i am going to turn this off. >> let that just kind of simmer. >> just a low simmer. some of the alcohol's going to cook off of that. and then i'm going to take our crab meat. >> nice. >> now, fresh crab meat is going to add this wonderful sweetness and savoriness to the dish that's going to balance the saltiness of the pancetta and the acidity of the wine and the creaminess from the cheese. really adds a new level. >> so, once we get that in there, then what's next? >> all right, so, i'm going to season with just a pinch of salt. >> mm-hmm. >> and we have our bowl. and this, seriously, is how easy this is.

>> pretty simple. okay. >> so, we take our egg, crack it in full. you want to whisk that around for me? >> sure. >> we're going to add our parmesian, our parsley. >> all right. >> freshly cracked black pepper. that's key. >> salt? >> and a little pinch of salt. >> all right. that's it. >> now, we have our bucatini that's in here. and bucatini is a thicker spaghetti. >> all right. >> hello, ladies! >> i'm just taking in the aroma. it's beautiful. >> put that in here? >> let's drain that off just a little bit more. >> okay. >> great. >> here we go. >> just go ahead and stir that in there. >> oh, yeah. >> now, i am going to start stirring this around. and what happens is, the hot pasta's going to be cooking the eggs that's in this dish. >> ah, all right. >> it's going to be melting the

cheese. >> so good. >> and let's go ahead and add this. >> wow! >> all of the wonderful flavor to that. >> that is a lot of flavor. >> now, did you see how long that took? >> boom! >> exactly. >> no time. >> almost about three minutes. >> it's taking longer to crack the crab. >> it really does. and if you can't find fresh crab meat, you can easily do bay shrimp, cooked shallots. >> thank you so much. >> great job, eric. >> coming up, the best wines for valentine's day. >> hey, now, let's talk the internet on a plane! are you from the future? um, no. cleveland. listen cleveland, your savings account is stuck in the past! earn more with interestplus savings at capitalone.com. that's new school banking baby! so instead of making peanuts, your savings will be earning

three times the national average. oops. sorry. three times more? i'll have that! it is now safe to go online to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? buh-bye... call me. good morning. checking your morning commute, the very latest on the forecast with christina. >> good morning to you.

warm up your car. it's still cold out there. by this afternoon, noontime, i would say we're going to be in the upper 50s, rounding out the day with mild conditions, mid-60s. 64 degrees in los gatos. 62 in oakland. 65 in san rafael under abundant sunshine. clouds throughout the day today and then the clouds really increase as we head throughout tomorrow afternoon. here's what to expect. temperatures climbing towards the weekend. 69 degrees on saturday. 65 for valentine's day with showers arriving. let's see if we have any improvement on the roadways. >> mike has got to take a reprieve on this one but police belief a man who kidnapped and assaulted a woman in oakland is off the streets. police arrested larry wilson of oakland on kidnapping and gun charges in connection with saturday night's attack. officers spotted wilson and chased him through city streets

and finally caught him about ten minutes later on 95th avenue at sunnyside street. officers were originally looking for two men that they thought would be linked to the men but it's not clear if they are looking for a second suspect. people in a south bay neighborhood are waking up on edge after another break in. a home in san jose's evergreen area was the latest target. neighbors say it was the eighth burglary in the past week. san jose city councilman's office says it may hold a community meeting pretty soon and if the burglaries continue, people in that area say they may start a neighborhood watch. san francisco hotel workers are going to risk arrest at protests that they say are unfair contracts. employees will protest outside of the hotel starting at 4:30 tonight. protests will be held outside of other hotels across the country as part of a national day of action. more local news in half an hour.

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

here i am, second year in a row, and i'm already signed up for next year's. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> we're laughing already, everybody, because this is thirst-day thursday, february 10, 2011. i hope you have a toasty day. >> we should point out in new york midweek it's going to be in the 50s, we hear. >> someone who didn't make it that far, and this may be the

fastest scandal ever in washington history. this republican representative, chris lee from, i guess, the western part of new york state resigned promptly. >> this is what apparently happened. he went on craigslist like people tend to do, and he was looking for a girl. >> company. >> company. so he post aed a picture of himself flexing -- >> i got to admit he looks okay. >> he said he was 39. he's 40-something. >> and he said he was single skpl and a lobbyist. >> and he's married with a baby. >> so this girl googles him and finds out he's a representative because he used his own name. so she becomes the gossipist and he's resigned. do you use your picture and your name when you're an elected

official? >> the legislation warned of this very thing. he has pledged, by the way, to work it out with his wife. good luck with that. we mean it. good luck. and -- what was the other thing? what was the legislation that he sponsored? >> the legislation that he wanted so -- there should be an age limit on facebook, right? >> he said kids just don't realize at that point in pictures and things that they put on line, they post on line, is going to come back to haunt them. they just don't realize that. he's 47 and didn't -- the irony -- >> if you post your picture, your name, and you're an elected official, why do you think you're not going to get caught? >> the ego and arrogance is just unbelievable. it blinds you, i guess, to the -- i don't know -- the capitulousness of doing

something like that. they have a no tolerance now for this stuff. boehner laid down the law. he said, if you do it, that's it. >> boinking? >> i didn't say boinking. >> that's what you meant. so lindsay lohan went to court again. apparently she's accused of taking a $2500 necklace. the judge put bail down at $20,000, which she paid 10%, so it's $2,000 -- >> i thought it was 40. >> 20. anyway, when you listen -- he doesn't sound as tough as everyone was saying, does he? >> i don't think he sounds tough at all. maybe if it's a first offense, but i've lost count. nobody is dealing with the seriousness of this, it seems. >> everyone is talking about the outfit she walked in with, wearing the white, tight dress.

>> i always felt sorry for her attorney because he's dealing with someone who isn't listening to her. her attorney should have said -- maybe she did -- that you wear something appropriate for court. maybe she didn't get the memo. the inappropriateness of all of it. you start to think maybe there is a different universe for you, the rules don't apply to you. every single person has to follow the same laws in this country. but then he didn't put an exclamation point on it with -- >> here's a picture in the new york post which is a cartoon. can you read it? i just started not being able to see. >> you got it all wrong. it's a loan. >> i do think they think there are different rules that apply. >> just now your eyes started to go? >> yeah, it's weird. last week everything seemed

fine, and then lately i'm in the restaurant trying to read the menu -- >> ha! >> look, i already have a problem. i can't see far away. >> you wear contact lenses already. >> if i took my contact lenses out, it would be one big blur. >> so you're legally blind. >> so now i'm getting hit on the other side, too? i can't read, either? >> yeah, welcome to my world. you're pre-menopausal. >> no, i'm not. >> wait till next week. first it's the eyes, then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. one thing after another. then you find yourself at your dermatologist getting your fat sucked out. that's the way it works. >> is that what's going to happen? tomorrow you're going to reveal the belly thing, aren't you? >> it's not sucking, it's not the lipo, it's the melting. >> kathie has been doing this for the last couple weeks, using

a special heating element that melts fat into liquid. >> that was me this past weekend. i don't even remember her. i weighed 104 pounds. >> this is before your kids, right? >> that's the summer before frank and i got married. i was 33 years old and weighed 104 pounds. >> i can't believe your stomach was concave. >> it's almost gross but i miss it now. i thought it was weird then, but i'd give anything to have it back now. the things people will do. there is a whole other thing about texting, doing all kinds of things you -- you should not be multi-tasking. there was a woman who was giving birth, and while she was giving wirt she was texting because she wanted to give her mother the blow by blow of what was happening. father held the phone by the bed so grandma could feel like she was there. >> and they were posting the videos on facebook and everything. >> so hospitals are saying they're banning those kinds of things, probably for legal

issues, but the families are saying, don't take our moment. you're stealing our memories. we'd like to know how you feel about that. they're saying it's a potentially dangerous distraction. there are serious things going on, and they would be potentially liable if there was a camera getting in the way of a baby and saving a life, possibly. >> people are never where they are. they're always looking through the eyes of a lens. >> give me an example. >> kim kardashian was called up by prince on stage, and she's on stage and she's tweeting, hey, i'm with prince. instead of being with prince, she's tweeting, i'm with prince. >> they asked her to leave the stage because she wasn't dancing, she wasn't in the moment. >> it's the same ceremony from the olympics. they're all out there with all these athletes and everybody is looking at it through the eye of the camera because they want to capture it. i can understand wanting to have the memory, because that's important, but live a little memory of your life. >> we're so busy chronicling it,

we're not living it. >> let's talk about our purses. >> let's talk about it. . >> this is okay or not okay. is it okay to carry your life around? >> i say life is too heavy to carry around. take what you need and leave the big stuff at home. >> i say the bigger the better. we have our purses -- >> this is what she carries around. >> i'm going to say that's a good -- >> 25 pounds. >> that's not 25 pounds. look what's in here, though. everybody needs water. >> you don't need that, though, hoda. that's the wallet, the famous wallet. you know, we went to see a great show yesterday. you would think you could throw it out or save it someplace. that's from broadway yesterday. a terrific show called desert cities. >> what about sex?

>> what does it all go to? everybody needs one of those. what is this? more stuff in bags. hoda, it's unbelievable. and there's more. >> careful of my things. do you mind? do you mind? please put it back the way you found it. >> sara is going to measure them for us later. >> this is one of those songs, you guys -- i usually go crazy and nutty. this one is mellow. it's one of the best loved songs i've heard. i heard it twice today already because i knew something was happening. it's called "marry me" by train. beautiful. beautiful. ♪ ♪ revel can never be long enough

for me ♪ forget the world now, we won't let them see ♪ but there's one thing i'm thinking ♪ that the weight has been set. >> something gog ing on in hoda life. >> i just like the song. ♪ today and every day. >> it's beautiful. come on. close your eyes. >> marry me. say you will. >> we want to have our viewers guess the weight. that's right. we want you to go on facebook. guess what mine weighs. it's light. can you do this with one arm? >> yes, i can.

>> up next, if gravity is getting you down, you might want to think about the hottest procedure around. it's called a brazilian butt lift. are you serious? >> no, it's true. and a teen crush on a hollywood heartthrob. how one woman turns her infatuation in a poster boy into something to read. [ female announcer ] back to school means back to busy mornings.

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♪ i like big butts and i cannot lie ♪ >> we're back with hoda's life changer series, and we're here to tell you how to get bootylicious. >> it seems like the sky's the limit. there is this hot new procedure called the brazilian butt lift that has women everywhere shaking their tail feathers. >> my name is grace, and i'm 41, and i'm a mother of four.

on the fourth baby, my body just quit and said, you know what, i'm done. i'm not doing anymore. i love my butt but it has fallen and it can't get up. i am going into surgery to have a butt lift, brazilian butt lift. >> hi, my name is dory, i'm 31 years old and i'm the mother of one. i'm doing the brazilian butt lift. >> the brazilian butt lift is a combination of three procedures, the abdomen, the hips, the lower back and the thighs. we strategically shape the butt to lower and contour. >> men do like big bottoms. did i consider that when i thought about doing this? yes, i probably did. >> in a perfect world it would probably look like kim kardashian. >> kim kardashian has a very nice bottom. i just love the way their body

is sculpted. >> over the last year, we've seen a threefold increase in requests. this has become one of our most popular surgeries. the brazilian butt lift is being requested by women of all ages and economic status. >> the goal is for it to be perky and up. >> i need it to go back to where it was at one time. >> working out sometimes you still can't get the perfect bottom that you're wanting. so i'm here. and the doctor is going to help me. >> today it's surgery day. we're going to go ahead and have surgery with lori and grace. they'll both come out with beautiful round bottoms. >> everybody keeps asking if i'm nervous. should i be? i'm in good hands and i'm just looking forward to the outcome. >> i'm feeling great, really excited. i'm going to be bootylicious. >> it's time to come see!

grace and lori, come on out. >> come out, ladies. >> oh, let's see! hello! >> okay, hello! >> can you sit? it's only been a couple weeks since the surgery, right? the good doctor, dr. paz mino is with us, american society of plastic surgeons. you're very serious about this. this is not just cosmetic surgery, there are risks involved, obviously. >> absolutely. >> but you guys were willing to take the risks. and you've said why. >> explain a little more. how does it feel having the new configuration? >> it's so early, still, to tell, but i feel better. i'm still recovering. >> are you still tender, hard to sit? >> yeah. i'm still swollen. i also did a tummy tuck. >> you had the motherlode. >> i sure did.

>> they took the fat away. are these your actual bodies we're looking at? >> yes. >> so they took the fat out of one area and put it in your rear end. tell me how you're feeling. >> i feel great and i like the results so far. >> these are the contraptions you're wearing right now? >> i'm wearing my garment today. >> you're all free? >> yeah, it was chilly. >> the recovery after this procedure is very important, and so what we do is the brazilian butt lift is a combination of three procedures. we first do thorough liposuction of the abdomen, the back scoop, the hips and the thighs. s entire procedure takes two hours. >> how much does it cost? >> many times they combine it with other things, but the range could be between 8 and $10,000. >> is this about kim kardashian and j-lo, guys, or is it your own personal deal?

>> for me, i've always had a nice butt, so i just wanted to get back to my high school body. >> what about your four children? should we have expectations like that, doctor, really, after four children? i've had two. i know what it did to my body. can we really ever get back to what we were? >> i don't think so, but i feel there is a safe and effective way to change something you're self-conscious about. >> we all heard the story, i think it was last week, about a woman who died getting this type of surgery done but done, obviously, by people who weren't professional. it was done in a hotel room. >> they didn't use their own fat, did they? >> that's a very important point because that poor woman did not die of plastic surgery. she traveled here from england to philadelphia, and in a hotel room, she had a dangerous chemical injected into her body. >> what exactly was it? >> it was industrial grade sill

don' -- silicone, from what we hear. we've heard of people injecting motor oil, caulking from kitchens and bathrooms. it can cause permanent scarring. people have died from this. what's heartbreaking about this tragedy is there is a good option, a safe option, and that's the brazilian butt lift. >> it was all about cost, probably. are you glad you did it? >> i am, very much. >> always check to make sure someone is certified with the association of plastic surgeons. up next, she's here. every kid's nightmare. catching their dad in action. uncomfortable skin om, with skin relief moisturizing lotion. only aveeno has an active naturals triple oat and shea butter formula that soothes, nourishes and restores moisture.

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our series to puts you on the next big curve of the music videos. >> do you ever do your groove thing and you think that no one is watching? >> besides hoda, that's exactly what happened to tom rebecca. the catch? his 15-year-old son got the entire thing on tape and posted it on youtube. >> nice. ♪ >> very nice.

>> you were busted! >> what did you think when you realized your son had not only taped it but put it on youtube? >> when i first taped it -- you didn't see it on the end of the clip there, but i laughed and said, chase! another funny thing chase is doing because he's a funny kid and he caught me. but when we got it on youtube, it was a whole different thing. >> why did you do that, sweetie? >> because i could. >> oh, you're one of those kids. >> great. does he often dance like that? >> that's not the first time he's done that. >> you caught it on tape, though, that's adorable. >> you don't need a butt lift, you're doing just great. >> you have great moves, honey. >> you better watch out for this one. he's nothing but trouble for years to come. we have home-spun gifts, courtesy of

danny cito. >> we love our danny! grease-fightingpower of dawn. right in the eraser. oh-h, look at the bubbles. bottle 1: that's the race car of erasers. bottle 2: it is, it's the "erase car". is there a pit stop in this guy's future? this is unbelievable. he helps remove three times more greasy kitchen mess per swipe. well, i think he wins this race. oh man, look at him go. if i had hands, i'd throw in the towel. yeah, things aren't what they used to be. mr. clean magic eraser kitchen scrubber... when you're a stunt woman, work can be pretty unpredictable. from knowing when my next job will be to what i'll actually be doing. so in the rest of my life i like control. especially in my finances. that's why i have slate with blueprint. i can make a plan to pay off everyday things and avoid interest,

or pay down my balance faster on the big stuff. that saves money. with slate from chase, i have everything under control... ♪ ...financially. announcer: debit card control. credit card flexibility. get both with slate. good morning, once again. 10:26. the very latest on your forecast with christina. hopefully we're going to warm up now. >> yes. we are finally going to warm up a little bit. if you're walk ug out that front door, make sure you cover yourself because it's so chilly. some cities in the low 50s. san francisco to 52. sunny and dry for today. daytime highs in the 60s. lots of sunshine. 54 degrees in los gatos and 64 degrees is your forecasted high in san francisco. in 9 next few days, temperatures are going to climb.

65 for monday and 59 degrees on wednesday. back to you. >> thanks a lot. a cultural treasurer that many people thought was gone forever. a series of paintings that once hung on the walls of a restaurant in the '50s and '60s disappeared. they thought it was lost forever until they got an e-mail that left them to where they are. >> we thought all that was left was post cards. we got an e-mail telling us that they existed. >> the chinese historical society of america will be on display at the chinese historical society of america's museum in china town. more news coming up right after the break. me

a bay area man is rocking a hall of famer with a lawsuit claiming that he was not paid enough for the work that he did. he claims that metalica drummer owes him for years of unpaid over time. the man's lawyers tell the marin i.j. that he was ee sently on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. he gave him a partial bonus of $20,000 in december but claims it does not cover overtime for 70 to 80 hours that he worked each week. the lawsuit does not say how much money he's asking for.

foster city does not want drivers to see green. there is energy-efficient l.e.d. lights. they use about 50% less energy and moreininhiisibleus t s than.u for joining hi t morning. the "today" show continues coming up next and we'll see you back here tomorrow. . >> we're back on this thursday with more of "today." a woman who turned her teenage crush into a best-selling novel. >> if you have a teen or tween daughter in your house, leave it to beaver is probably running rampant, but turn the clocks back when david cassidy was causing young girls' hearts to pound. this book is about one woman's obsession with the oldest son of the partridge family. by looking at the little ribbon you're donning, is that young girl in the book possibly you?

>> she has some resemblance. this was found in an archeological dig in my mom's t attic. it's thousands of years old, but when we find these things, it takes a little bit of music and a picture, and all of a sudden you're that 13-year-old girl in the bedroom. >> that wasn't all that was found in the archeological dig. this kills me. you never did cut it out and take it around like where's waldo. >> no. >> you're already talking about a movie about this book with sarah jessica parker maybe starring in it. >> it's being made into a movie now, and it's full of great music, and it takes me back to when i was 13 and i read in a magazine that david cassidy's favorite color was brown. so for two years of my precious adolescence, i wore brown.

>> nobody liked brown then. >> i look terrible in brown. >> i look malarial in brown. >> what was it about david cassidy? >> my david cassidy was perfect, and i was in competition with 30 million other girls. >> but you thought, if he only knew me, he would love me, right? >> that not only takes you through your teen years but your adult years as well? >> yeah. the character in the book is older, and she's looking back, of course. her marriage has just broken up, her mother has just died, and she found a letter her mother has kept from her which says, you won the ultimate david cassidy quiz, which was 20 years ago. she wrote them and said, i claim my prize. >> you did get to meet him,

right? >> yes. >> how was that? >> it was great. i didn't know whether to wear brown. >> you should have worn brown today. >> come on out, our special guest. >> someone is here to say hello. ♪ >> there he is. hi, david. >> oh, god. hey, i'm sorry, you don't hate me for writing this book, do you? >> are you kidding? i'm wearing tails, as you can see. >> and you're wearing black with very strange shoes. >> well, i'm a very strange guy. by the way, i wanted to -- sweet. your writing is superb. i have to tell you, i was humbled by it. >> it's a love letter to you. somewhat belated. >> i don't know why you would say that. we're both still breathing. the most fabulous thing is i can be objective about it.

what she does is so brilliantly crafted, to get inside the what she does is so brilliantly crafted, to get inside the psyche of a 13-year-old girl and the way she weaves the characters, the frustrated, seemingly holier-than-thou bill who sees himself, fancies himself as a serious movie critic and can't tell his significant other that he's writing the essential david cassidy -- >> you must still, david, get tons of girls who come up with you and still see themselves back in the day. >> and even here. >> what happened here? >> look at the groupiees. >> the up groupies. >> even here. >> back off. >> back off. this is one of half a billion dollars. i was told after the show was over, the partridge family became the most successful financially because of merchandising.

and i had nothing to do with it. >> you got no part of it, right? >> they owed me a lot and i never received it, but they're making an effort to compensate me a little bit. >> hopefully they will and your book will be the big hit. congratulations. >> yes, congratulations. >> i think i love you all, too. >> we'll leave the two of you alone. >> good to see you. >> it's great to be here, and i thank you. i thank frank as well. please say hi to him. >> he dns love you as much as i did. >> he liked susan dey. up next, if you think you love someone, danny cito is going to show you how to show them without spending a dime. >> what's happening here?mo something's going on over here. >> he still got it. look at this. oh, my.oh my.

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same soft rolls we use at home honey! one more thing, guys. oh nice a shoe rack! actually, it's a toilet paper rack. sweet. huh. huh. [ female announcer ] do you know scott? scott extra soft is softness, done right. it's vale it's valentine's day. it's just four days away, so you have all weekend to hit the stores for the perfect gift. >> but why would you do that when you have resourceful items just sitting around your house ready to be put to good use. danny cito is here to show you how to put those things to good use. >> happy valentine's.

>> hi, danny boy. lover boy. >> oh! shhh. we read your tweets. you said you spent all week working on crafts for us. that's what he said to the people, his followers. >> like a faithful stalker, i've made valentines for kathie lee and hoda. >> what did you come up with? >> i went to chanel, i went to hermes to buy some high-end stores to get something beautiful for you but i didn't spent a dime on it. >> what did you do? >> i took the ads for perfume. open the strip. with scissors, cut out paper petals. from the craft store, get the florist wires, attach the petals by going around and around to make designer bouquets. total cost -- >> smell this one. >> so nice. we got donna karan -- how awesome, take a september issue. >> they have tons. >> a bouquet. >> great kids' project. that would be great for kids to

make for their teachers. >> i think so. >> i like that idea. >> you should have a book deal. go ahead. what's this? >> valentine's day love bottles. take canisters, empty bottles. you can make them time capsule bottles for valentine's day. >> i can make a load of those. >> if you can take maybe some sand. take a funnel. i'll do this. >> of course you will, danny. >> fill it with sand. filter it over the sand, and i've got do-dads from the craft store. >> careful. >> i don't like crafts. >> there we go. basically love a wine cork. we've got a cork inside, extra wire. you got things floating inside, it's a fun little time capsule. >> okay. >> super easy to do. >> not great, but pretty good. you got four more chances, it looks like. >> all right. >> one for two. >> you're one for two. >> scrap wood. go to the home improvement store, they have a little lumber section with scrap woods.

take some extra pieces and sandpaper the edges. these are stamp kits. stamp out like love on the front. basically what you're making here, you can see, are wooden postcards. >> that's adorable. you're redeemed. >> cute. >> adoabldorabldorable. >> you can send them in the mail but you have to use a first class stamp not a postcard stamp. you can totally send it. it's mailable, it's free -- >> except the stamp. and the kit. >> and a little stamp kit. that's adorable. >> scarves. i love this. tons of scarves. take big, thick, chunky scarves and run them together and make scarf blankets. if you don't want to sew or do the stitching process, i've taken them to the dry-cleaner and they'll sew them for $10. so, old books. >> already. old books. we're going to take a page and you're going to fold it in half. >> hard for me to see a book --

>> i don't like you tearing it up. >> can be like "jersey shore" book. >> snooki. we have a lot of those around. >> punch out with a heart-shaped hole punch and we're making heart garlands. it's easy, you can do a whole garland in like ten minutes. so easy. >> cute. >> this one, i'm obsessed with. >> vie so many sitting around. you pop the back off the watch, and what you do on the inside, take all the little mechanisms out and you pop in a picture of you, hoda, kathie lee on your wrist. >> what a great idea! >> danny, you're a genius. >> yeah. >> danny, for once, it was fabulous. >> it was outstanding. >> great to see you. up next, romance in a bottle. >> we have that. >> your kind of bo. >> wh s >> leslie and ray going at it. they secretly adore each other.t .

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important information. which wines to uncork when looking for love. >> a lot of ways couples spend valentine's day. whether buried in bubbles or about to make the plunge, his and her picks for the perfect wine. ray, we love him. >> leslie, love her, too. >> author of simple savvy wine guys. >> we always know we're going to have a party. >> a dual party. >> boy and girl picks. let's talk. >> not there's a competition. but i'm going to whip him. >> in a dating way. >> a george st.-amour, $12.99 a gotle. >> like that. >> romantic, affordable picks so you can take your lover out to din, buy a gift. wine called monogamy. >> oh! >> only one in the world that practices monogamy. >> truly, madly, deeply, it's

from california. 12 bucks a bottle. both go with lamb. ray and thought the lollipops and cheese. >> my pick, sorry, just this one. >> what's your? >> one down. >> leslie's not going to disappoint me. >> she's tough competition. >> bathtub wine. come on. >> bathtub wine? >> you have to lounge around in the bathtub with your significant other. a lightly sparkling, sweet. >> say it again. >> roll our -- >> sit in the bathtub with a straw and like relax with your bubble bath. >> i like that. >> that's fizzy and light. i believe when you get in the bathtub, something pink is beautiful. you can get a glass like this. this is from chile. on the label you have a couped by, he's naked anyway. day reday in the bathtub. >> we're not supposed to be

voting. ray's again. sorry. >> leslie, leslie. sorry. i do, too. >> they're both beautiful wines. >> delicious. >> she's got the secret weapon. this is the pop the question wine. with this is -- it look likes -- got do something. >> marry me, hoda. >> marry me. >> stop it. go on. >> you've got to do something expensive. you can't pop the question with a ten buck wine. >> unless you only have ten dollars. >> splurge a little bit. >> i picked a great white burgundy. the idea, pick one a few years older like the year you met. >> or were born, in my case. nice old one. >> i have had this wine before at our friend's. a beautiful wine. >> white burgundy is chardonnay. it's a beautiful, gorgeous wine. >> lovely, isn't it? >> how much did you say? >> i'm pulling for you, leslie. >> 74 bucks but you're getting

married for a long time. >> get cheap after you get married and you know you do. everybody's married on this crew knows what i'm talking about. >> that's why, if you're married you have to buy the 150 bottle of bubbles. come on. this going to bring plea back into the game. grand dame, celebrating the magnificent woman in your life a great lady, right. this is the gorgeous champagne. >> widow. >> widow? >> took over the business after her husband died. ran it like crazy. >> right. >> responsible for lots of innovations. >> what was it before? >> old dude. >> leslie's back in the game. you love champagne. >> whoo-hoo. >> i love leslie with all my heart but i'm going with ray. sorry. >> don't worry. >> leslie it has nothing to do with my personal love for you. >> hoda's on my side. get over here. >> of course i am. of course i am. >> i'm coming back. >> this is -- you've got to have

wine and chocolate on valentine's day. can't be beat. >> i'm going first. >> finally he's going to let me go first. >> it would be rough to taste yours after a sweet wine. >> people like dry wines with chocolate even though sweets go beautifully. from washington state, from one of the top producers in washington state. this is called doyanne. a great lady. a rich, rich, beautiful red wine. >> like that. >> have a bite. >> what's what? >> kisses, right there. isn't that lovely? if you want a dry wine, i suggest this. it's a bit of a splurge, $30 range but a beautiful wine. >> awfully nice. >> delicious. >> ray? >> i'm convinced i'm going to come back here. i picked a sweet wine with chocolate, and it goes well. madeira. a 5-year-old, 22 bucks a bodle. >> really?

>> not too bad. a take a sip. have more chocolates. >> yes. >> have more chocolates, why not? >> here's a heart, code da. >> that's good, too. >> everything tastes good to hoda. >> madeira's underappreciated and fantastic with chocolate. >> good. >> the sweetness and the acidy is mind blowing. >> i'm going with leslie. >> yes! >> it's too sweet for me, ray. you know ha? >> you are perfect. >> thank you, leslie. >> thank you, guys. >> say it's a tie because we're all in love on valentine's day. >> we'll be back with more of "today "s on nbc. . >> cheers.

okay, the results are in. all right. >> results are in, sarah, you checked with facebook fans. >> the weight of our purses. >> lowest guess for hoda 4.1 pounds.

>> i think they're right. >> this is a fast scan over 100. highest 35 pounds. >> ridiculous. >> come on. come on. jerry? >> person ga na debt says hoed's wallet alone is 35 pounds. >> hold it up high. >> hold on. >> oh, my gosh. >> wait. how much is it? >> see, it's only -- >> ten. >> ten pounds. yawn. >> carrying that around all day long, hoda. >> houston breasts weigh five pounds, that means you have two extra sets on you. >> what human breast weighs five pounds? >> not mine. >> by the way, in mine, the earring that you lost at theater yesterday. nice y. hy, hurry. >> five seconds. >> hurry. >> go. hfl a pound. >> what is it? >> 1 1/2. nd a half. >> i used to have a stomach like this. >> now she's trying to melt the

fat away this is an nbc news special report. here is brian williams. >> good day from new york and we're choosing to come on the we're choosing to come on

the air because in plain english, something big is happening in egypt. president s an hosni mubarak. it is widely speculated he is stepping down tonight local time in egypt. our chief correspondent richard engel is watching it from our base in cairo. richard, what do we know at this hour? >> reporter: we know that several hundred thousand people are now in tahrir square. they are celebrating already and waiting for president mubarak to speak. we have been told by numerous sources that president mubarak, will, after 30 years in power, step down. we have seen the military in this country step forward convening an emergency meeting. one of the first of several in the last several decades, saying that the egyptia