good morning. tension in tehran -- at least one person killed in a violent clash between thousands of protesters and security forces in iran as the revolution in egypt sparks a new wave of demonstrations in countries across the middle east. the edwards affair -- did former presidential candidate john edwards know that more than a million dollars was used to cover up his relationship with rielle hunter? nbc news has information from a key witness. set to tell her story to prosecutors. an on-air scare. a veteran reporter struggles through a live report and becomes incoherent.

>> well, a very, very, heavy -- in a little bit -- >> so what happened and how is she doing today? february 15, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. we'll gemt to the situation in tehran in a second. first, i think that first reaction people may have when watching the reporter is to laugh. nothing funny. doctors say this is a neurological event, kind of a warning stroke. we should tell you, though, she's doing fine. >> that was scary as witness. >> we'll talk more about it later on. meanwhile we'll get the latest on the uprising in egypt that led to protests in iran, bahrain

and yemen. >> lawmakers appeared determined to stop demonstrators before they gained momentum. we'll get the latest in a live report straight ahead. also breaking news overnight -- the italian prime minister berlusconi has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl and then trying to cover it up. we'll have details on the story as well. >> plus, we'll meet the cover model for the "sports illustrated" swimsuit issue when she stopped by for her first interview since learning the big news. >> a huge event in the life of a model. she's already pretty famous. >> in your life. >> come february, after the super bowl, baseball hasn't started yet. right? we'll begin with the ripple effect from protests in egypt and other parts of the middle east. nbc's chief correspondent richard engel is in cairo with the latest.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the iranian opposition has been energized and inspired by what has happened here in egypt, but the government in iran is determined not to allow any new protests calling them riots. thousands demonstrated on monday in sol darlty with egypt and apparently to restart an yun rising crushed by the iranian government after disputed elections in 2009. iran is determined not to allow a new round of protests to take root. nbc's tehran bureau chief ali arusy reported from our bureau in the iranian capital. >> as he arrived, they tried to disperse the crowds but the crowd wouldn't go away. the protesters tried to make their way to freedom square to try to emulate the sit-in at tahrir square. they were confronted by the militia who beat them back. today, members of iran's parliament called for the execution of opposition leaders.

two opposition leaders. >> reporter: iran's new round of demonstrations are just one of a growing number in the region inspired by egypt. on the tiny island nation of bahrain, home to the u.s. navy's fifth fleet, thousands of protesters apposing their monarchy clashed with riot police for a second day. two people have been killed already in the unrest here including one at a funeral. the deaths raised the chances of further unrest that could open a painful sectarian divide, all too familiar in the middle east. bahrain has a sunni monarchy but a 70% shiite population, almost the same split as in iraq. in yemen at the tip of the arabian peninsula, protests continue for a fifth day. [ chanting ] like in egypt, yemen's demonstrators want to topple their president of three decades, accusing him of

corruption, but yemen is far more unstable than egypt. yemen is already fighting two civil wars and has an active al qaeda cell that sent mail bombs to the united states last october on cargo planes. a collapse of the weak u.s.-backed yemeni government could lead to anarchy. in egypt, the protests are over. the army has taken control, remove demonstrators from cairo's main square and promises to transition to democracy over the next six months. the demonstrators who organized the revolution in egypt tell us they are in contact with other protesters across the region offering advice and support. meredith? >> richard engel, thank you so much. let's head over to the newsdesk. ann has a check of the other top stories of the morning. good morning. >> good morning to you. also to all of you this morning. the house voted to extend key counterterrorism provisions of the patriot act last night.

voting fell mostly along party lines with republicans largely in favor of the extension. meantime the president's budget plan is getting a chilly reception on capitol hill. nbc's chief white house correspondent chuck todd has more on this. good morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning. it will be the political battle of the year. it will set the stage for the 2012 presidential race. president obama calls the $3.7 trillion budget a down payment and republicans are calling it literally d.o.a. >> i guess i would say "debt on arrival." >> reporter: almost before the ink was dry the political punches started to fly. the budget promises to cut the deficit in half in two years, with new spending on energy, education and high speed rail and cuts on some democratic party favorites including summer school pell grants, community block grants and assistance with heating bills for low-income families. >> the only way to make the investment in the future is if the government starts living within its means. >> reporter: two-thirds of savings would come from spending cuts, the rest from tax hikes.

republicans say the president's budget misses the message sent by voters in the last election. >> it's a patronizing plan that says to the american people their concerns aren't his concerns. >> reporter: but republicans don't have a plan of their own. >> it is premature to talk about what's in the budget given that it hasn't been written yet. >> reporter: while the president unveiled a budget for next year, house republicans are revamping the budget for the rest of this year, and that has drawn fire from key obama officials. >> the scope of the proposed house cuts is massive. the truth is that cuts of that level will be detrimental to america's national security. >> reporter: defense secretary robert gates joined secretary of state clinton criticizing the cuts. at the white house, ann a former president will get honored, officially get the president's medal of freedom. former president george h.w. bush.

>> thanks so much, chuck todd. for your reporting. in italy this morning the prime minister minister silvio berlusconi was indicted on charges that he paid a teenager for text and allegedly used his influence to cover it up. a video clip of this man speaking racial bias causing her to be swiftly fired. she was in fact speaking about racial discrimination. and now to nbc's mandy drewry at the new york stock exchange this morning. good morning. >> good morning. the economic calendar is good. manufacturing, retail sales also housing to help gauge the strength of the u.s. economy, which seems to be gathering pace of late. overseas, chinese inflation less than is comforting but we need to waup oil prices. they rose in overnight trade and of course escalating protests in oil producers iran and bahrain.

something to keep an eye on. back to you, ann. >> sounds important. thank you so much. finally now, tiger woods had ace worse round of golf in the european tour event this weekend not only because he came in 20th place, also because he was fined for spitting on the green spitte green at the dubai desert classic. he said it was inconsiderate and he just wasn't thinking. it's 7:09. now back to meredith, matt and al. >> i don't know what to say about that. >> we'll just move on. >> hey, al. >> a big storm moving into the pacific northwest causing rain, mountain snow, gale warnings for the northwest coast. the kcascades, sierras and lake tahoe. rainfall from one to three inches. snowfall about anywhere from two to three feet of snow. the sierras on into the cascades. we are talking about a lot of snow.

well, our showers are starting to break apart a little bit. we'll see a nice break from the rain for the first half of the day. you can see right now most of that activity is well to the east of san jose. heading throughout the next few hours we'll see a few breaks of sunshine warming the temperatures up to the 50s. later on today we are talking about 58 in san jose. 59 in los gatos. 59 in redwood city. the bulk of the moisture from today's system will come through into tonight. maybe two inches of rain for the north bay. that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you very much. for two years a federal grand jury has been in fact investigating john edwards and whether he break campaign finance laws to try to cover up an affair with rielle hunter. now the investigation reached a decisive point. nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa miers has more on that. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this is a tough period for john

edwards. he had to testify under oath in a civil case involving a sex tape. now what could be an ominous development in the criminal investigation. nbc news learned that prosecutors are preparing to record the testimony of a key witness for use in any future trial. sources close to the investigation say prosecutors now believe they have a strong case. but they have not yet gotten the green light from washington to charge edwards with a crime. since the tragic death of elizabeth edwards, friends say john edwards is focusing his energy on his children and has moved back into the family estate in chapel hill. increasingly he must worry about more fallout from his affair with rielle hunter. last week he had to testify under oath in a civil case over a sex case he allegedly made with hunter. far more menacing, a parade of witnesses at this courthouse 30 miles away. federal prosecutors are trying

to prove that he spent more than a million dollars to conceal his affair with hunter. >> it's a great speech. >> can you read it? >> yes, i can. >> with whom edwards fathered a daughter, francis quinn, now almost 3. political consultant and watch dog. >> we know john edwards acted badly, lied to supporters, his family, his wife. the only remaining question is were his actions criminal or not? >> reporter: it was 2007. edwards was running for president. two donors each began providing hundreds of thousands of dollars used to keep a pregnant hunter out of sight. >> if john edwards was aware that money was being paid to hide his mistress and it was to help the campaign he's in trouble. >> reporter: edwards has denied knowing about it. >> i know nothing about this.

>> reporter: fred baron said edwards knew nothing about flying her in his private jet. but that's disputed by edwards aid who lived with hunter in hiding. young said edwards himself solicited money and helped orchestrate the cover-up. much of the money came from bunny melon. prosecutors plan to visit her sprawling virginia estate and record her testimony for a future trial since she's 100 years old. a key question, why, according to insiders, did she send $700,000 in checks through her decorator, one packed in a box of chocolates. >> is it proper for a presidential campaign to accept six-figure contributions or donations from somebody and claim that it's personal money? >> reporter: melon's lawyer said she was trying to help edwards with a personal problem and had

no idea what the problem was. john edwards has said he did nothing wrong. a spokesperson said he remains optimistic that the investigation will confirm that. matt? >> lisa myers in washington, thank you very much. here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. it's a disturbing statistic. women serving in the u.s. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. now a group of women is alleging they turned a blind eye to reports of sexual assault and harassment while on active duty. here's the exclusive details. michael, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the number of reports of sexual abuse in the u.s. military is alarming and a lawsuit being filed today pins the blame on the defense department's top leadership. 25-year-old rebecca havrilla was a sergeant in the u.s. army in 2007, the only female member of a bomb squad in eastern afghanistan. she said she was constantly

harassed and groped by her team leader. >> he made a habit of telling me exactly what he wanted to do to me, trying to pull me into bed with him, grabbing my waist, trying to kiss my neck, grabbing my rear end as i would knock by. >> reporter: though she faced enemy fire from the taliban she said her most harrowing day happened when a fellow sergeant trapped her inside his room. >> he pretty much said, you're not leaving until i get what i want. pushed me down on the bed and used his body weight to hold me down and proceeded to rape me. >> reporter: she said her assailant took photographs of her while he raped her and the pictures were posted on hotmilitarygirls.com. >> talk about feeling completely and utterly exposed. >> reporter: more than a dozen current and former members of the military accuse the pentagon of ignoring complaints.

they are saying gates and rumsfeld failed to protect women and crack down on the military's sexist culture. since 2004 the pentagon set up the sexual assault office to deal with the issue n. 2009 there were more than 3200 reported sexual assaults in the military. the pentagon says most go unreported and their own figures suggest fewer than one-fourth are ever prosecuted. the pentagon wouldn't comment but the director of the sexual assault office says it is a tough issue. >> research tells us it takes eight to ten years to change a culture. >> reporter: there will be a new victims' hotline. >> if there are victims not getting the care and help they need, that's what i'm here for. someone needs to let me know and give me details so i can help them. >> reporter: sarah albertson was a marine corporal at camp pendleton in 2006. after a night of partying she said a superior officer climbed

into her bed and forced himself on her. >> i didn't say anything. >> reporter: she admits she was drinking heavily but after reporting the incident she was forced to work in the same office as her assailant. >> i was told i needed to suck it up until the end of the investigation and treat him with respect as rank deserved. >> reporter: who told you to suck it up? >> all of them. the specific words were marines don't care sprks she went into a depression and gained 30 pounds requiring a weight loss program. the officer in charge, the man she said raped her. >> i had to report to him about my body every day. >> reporter: she said she only escaped when she was deployed to iraq in 2008. >> i felt much safer there than i did at our command. >> reporter: you felt safer in iraq than you did at your command in the united states.

>> definitely. >> reporter: the lawsuit doesn't identify the accused assailants but both women say the men accused denied the sex making it a matter of he said, she said. a spokesman for robert gates said they have been pressing the armed forces to address the issue. thts a command priority, the spokesman said but we have more work to do. meredith? >> thank you very much. it's 7:18. here's meredith. >> thank you. now to a controversy involving long-time 60 minutes' morley safer over e-mails sent to members of a club in new york. mike taibbi has the details on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. morley safer has been in our living room for decades. what she's talking about now is the flap over the e-mails he

sent that are raising eyebrows and making news. there is no name on the building and on the century association website the single paragraph available to nonmembers says it is a club for sympathetic, stimulating and congenial companions in a society of authors and artists. its main activity, conversation. not so congenial are several e-mails written by the 79-year-old correspondent for cbs's venerable "60 minutes." he opposed ending the association between the investigatgarrett club which allows women inside only accompanied by men. what will be next, he wrote, disassociation with clubs that do not cater to vegans on the menus? kosher dining rooms? special facilities for nudists?

>> any club excludes people and you have to accept that. if you don't, you can't have a club. >> reporter: but there was more. when club member and new york university professor catherine stimpson said she favored cutting ties, safer said, you are as you describe. you may also add humorless and vindictive. for decades he's been the wordsmith on "60 minutes" crafting features on the latest pianist or the great actress helen mirren. >> i think we should do this interview, both of us, in the nude. >> what the hell? >> reporter: other members include michael blmberg and jacquelyn kennedy onassis. some club members aren't amused. >> they were mortified when it became public and especially

upset to find their e-mails will be public. >> reporter: there was no comment from anyone at the century association. safer told nbc news, i can't comment on this. this is private club business. as for the subject of the flap, the two clubs will end their relationship on march 1. the relationship has lasted more than 60 years. >> mike, thank you very much. just ahead, the reporter who gave an incoherent report on the grammys live on air. what happened and how she's doing. we'll get the latest. but first this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, why are so many kids in prince william and kate middleton's wedding party? and is the best man prince harry planning the bachelor party? we are live with new details. >> and the newov sportser sports illustrated swimsuit

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♪ good morning [ male announcer ] there are sixteen fresh-picked oranges squeezed into each carton of tropicana pure premium and absolutely no space for added sugar, water or preservatives. tropicana -- we put the good in morning. good morning to you. it is 7:26 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. i want to check the forecast with christina. the rain is coming down. we are actually getting a bit of a break right now. we have a little bit of shower activity in the eastern portion of the bay area this morning. watch out in antioch for a few light scattered showers, but i want to point out that we are seeing a press rest from the rain we saw yesterday afternoon. more on the way this evening. we are talking about pretty heavy rainfall an 'tis patd between 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. tonight.

we are looking towards two inches of rain in the north bay. an inch and a half along the peninsula. and maybe upwards of an inch in the south bay and east bay. definitely one of the nights where we'll see a lot of action, but clearing just in time for tomorrow morning. so we'll talk about what's to come in your extended forecast coming up right now, but first we want to get you to work on time with mike inouye. good morning, christina. we have the rains coming down in some areas, but we are drying out in other areas with slick conditions. a pretty even flow out there. just a 17-minute drive from 238 heading over to the bay bridge toll plaza. no problems for 24. slowing on the east shore freeway, but not as much as we would expect on a rainy tuesday. a very light volume for tuesday. slowing on 280 as well as 85 showing up. heading into the south bay, the southbound side of 680 through sunol is showing a minor slowdown for the express lane. we have an important

deadline for parents to pay attention to this morning. parents with children who have pre-existing conditions can enroll for more affordable health insurance. this is a new role set down by a new california law. after this deadline children with pre-existing conditions will still be covered but it could cost up to double of what it charges for healthier children. this morning health care experts at oakland's children hospital will present options to bay area parents. this event kicks off at 10:00. another locane wsupdate in a half hour. see you then. ♪ [ female announcer ] unlock the potential of nature and shine. with pantene nature fusion shampoo. experience cassia essence fused with pantene pro v science. the advanced formula conditions damaged hair to unlock radiant shine today and up to 10 times more strength in 14 days.

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7:30 now on a tuesday morning, the5 7:30 now on a tuesday morning, the 15th of february 2011. boy, did we have a day yesterday. 58 degrees in central park. that was yesterday, this is today. it's only 26 degrees on the plaza, but warming up again for the end of the week. that's good news for these people here. inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira. straight ahead a scary incident for a television reporter in los angeles. >> yeah. a lot of people watched live as serene branson began to speak incoherently. during a report following sunday night's grammys. there are lingering reports about what caused her to stumble. we'll have the latest ahead.

> also ahead the "sports illustrated" swimsuit issue hits news stands soon. we'll talk to the model about the big honor later on. >> you may remember the english granny who foiled a robber with her handbag. she'll be on "today." we are told she's quite a character and we are not going to mess with her. let us begin with the on-air scare for a reporter covering the grammys for a cbs station in los angeles. many are wondering what went wrong. here's kristin welker. >> we did interview a request with sheriff baca tonight. >> reporter: serene branson is a seasoned reporter in los angeles, nominated for two emmy awards. but sunday night, something went terribly wrong. >> well a very, very -- [ garbled language ] >> reporter: she was reporting live during the station's post grammy newscast.

her words seemed incoherent. the video was posted on youtube and comments came pouring in online, many expressing concern. one read, she needs to see a neurologist. another, this is very scary. she needs to get that checked out. her station addressed the issue on air monday. >> she was examined by paramedics on the scene immediately after her report. her vital signs were normal. she wasn't hospitalized. a colleague gave her a ride home. >> reporter: the station said branson went to the doctor monday for follow-up tests. medical experts say from what they have seen watching the whole thing unfold on tv one thing is certain, the episode should be taken seriously. >> this is what we call a classic neurological event. she was obviously aware that she was having difficulty. >> reporter: dr. keith black is the head of the department of

neurosurgery at cedars-sinai medle is center. he says watching the video, in his opinion, there are two possible causes. first a transient ischemic attack, much like a temporary stroke. >> the way to think about a t.i.a., you get a block in blood flow to the brain. >> reporter: the second possibility? >> it could be a mini seizure located in the language area. a seizure can be caused by almost anything that can affect the brain from a brain tumor to infection. >> reporter: medical experts say the fact that there is video of the incident may actually help doctors determine a diagnosis. >> serene thanks everyone for their concern and good wishes and hopes to be back on the air very soon. >> reporter: a wish no doubt shared by her colleagues and everyone who watches her. for "today," kristin welker, nbc news. >> dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. nancy, good morning to you. >> good morning.

>> you have seen the tape a bunch of times. >> i have. >> what comes to mind? >> when i first watched it there was no doubt it was a neurologic event. if you have to rule out drugs and alcohol which you can do because of her stellar history as a reporter you can see the right side of her face gets a little weak and you can tell she senses something isn't right. this is in real time what i would call a transient ischemic attack or a mild stroke. something happened to the circuitry of her brain so she cannot speak. >> i know you are concerned by another part of the story. the station released the story. we heard them say she was okay, examined by paramedics. her vital signs were normal and she was given a ride home. you say she should have gone to the hospital. >> all of us weighing in haven't examined her, can't make a diagnosis but physicians can make a differential diagnosis. because of that exactly what you said, she could have recovered and had perfectly normal neurologic function, normal vital signs and said, i will go home on my own. not the right thing to do.

immediately go to the emergency room. this can be a harbinger of things to come. it's not unlike a heart attack. you wouldn't send a heart attack patient home. >> what things would doctors ask her? what things would they be evaluating? >> i would say, do you smoke, diabetes, high blood pressure, are you on birth control pills? do you have a family history of this? has it happened to you before? i would keep her overnight and check her every hour on the hour. then she gets ct scans, mri scans. you have to rule out a bleed, a clot, a brain tumor or other problems inside the brain. >> if this is a t.i.a. or transient ischemic attack, does it make it more likely that she may have a stroke later in life? >> yes. all that t.i.a. means is there was something transient that blocked off the blood supply that altered the brain. when it happens, even for five seconds brain cells can die and

it can mean further on in life you're set up. it's important while people watch this to remember that this is a classic sign of a neurlogic event. other things that can happen, right-sided weakness, slurred speech, the inability to communicate, problems walking, profound headache which is one of the things doctors will ask her. this is a neurologic event in realtime. >> she seems to be doing okay now. >> right. she'll have a long relationship with a neurologist. this is not something where doctors say, i'm glad you're fine, you're okay. she'll have a longer relationship. >> thank you very much. >> you're welcome. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> good morning, everybody. we have a nice group of folks here hanging out. it's brisk but not too shabby. let's check your weather, see what's happening. we'll show you for today roller coaster temperatures. yesterday, washington 70. new york city, 58. 52 in boston. today, our highs dropped down 32 to new york city.

43 today. 55 in boston, but tomorw they start on their way back up. 62 in new york city. 68 in washington and 56 in boston. if you look around the rest of the country, cold in new england with temperatures near single digits to 0. 80s in the southwest. 70s in southern california. 30s and 40s through the pacific northwest as a storm system good morning to you. well, we are getting a break from the rain right now as you can see most of the showers have pushed into the east of san jose. nothing pushing onshore for now. that will be the case for the next several hours, but by noon showers pushing back into the north bay. and then by 5:00 p.m. tonight widespread showers are pushing to the south. moderate rain indicated by the yellow. 9:00 p.m. tonight the bulk of the moisture will come through the bay area clearing by 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. have a great day.

>> don't forget. check your >> don't forget. check your weather any time day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> thank you, al. just ahead, the new cover model for the new "sports illustrated" swim suit issue. our crew is shameless. we'll meet her. up next, new details on the nothing starday like honey roasted, honey bunches of oats. with a kiss of golden honey.

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we are back with the countdown to the royal wedding, 73 days away. peter alexander is at buckingham palace with preparations taking place ahead of the big day. good morning, peter. >> reporter: good morning to you. 73 days, of course, not that anybody is keeping track. the first royal couple is expected to make its first and only official royal engagements next week ahead of the wedding. they will be in wales where william is stationed christening a boat. then they'll head to st. andrews university the next day where they met each other and fell in love. all those plans while there is still the small wedding to prepare for. with an estimated tv audience of more than 2 billion people at the world's most anticipated wedding the kids could easily steal the show. call it a royal version of will & kate plus eight, that's the size of the wedding party. their names released monday on

the british monarchy's facebook page -- where else? among the young girls and boys, prince edward's daughter lady louise windsor, the queen's youngest granddaughter who suffers from a rare condition that affects her eyes. her parents have been sensitive to keep her out of the spotlight until now. >> she's 7 and overjoyed at the idea of walking down the aisle with kate. very sweet. she's a lovely girl. >> reporter: william's best man, not surprisingly, his best friend harry. the two have been side by side for as long as either can remember. that puts harry who's never been afraid of a good night out in charge of the bachelor party. >> i'm sure it will be risque and impossible to keep private. it will be all over the tabloids. >> reporter: kate's maid of honor, her younger sister pippa with the primary role of making sure kate's dress is properly displayed.

at another royal wedding 30 years ago, that wasn't such an easy task. india hick was just 13 when she was a bridesmaid for diana in 1981. >> of course everyone is behaving regally. very quietly. outside it was like football hooligans but they were happy, joyful and screaming excitement. you could hear it in the cathedral. >> reporter: and about the dress, not a whisper from the palace but plenty of speculation with two of diana's favorite designers in the mix. even the royal honeymoon is fuelling rumors. which paradise would you pick? the windsors may make a stop at balmoral in scotland where kate learned to shoot. then they are expected to jet off to an exclusive caribbean island where they have escaped before. the real challenge with the royal honeymoon is finding a place that they can get to but

the paparazzi cannot. the front runner is necker island, richard branson's island where matt's been a time or two for a where in the world. >> i have not. peter, thank you very much. kate coin is here from people magazine and is with us in studio. celia walden from "the telegraph" is at buckingham palace. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> a lot of little kids excited to be part of the wedding party. how common is it for the royal bride to surround herself with children instead of her peers? >> very common for british brides. wedding parties are often made up of younger children as opposed to close peers of the bride. >> why is that? is that just tradition or -- >> it's a tradition. in some ways it's considered more appropriate to have little kids be part of a celebration than having grown women dress up. anyone who's been in the bad

dress would know. >> let me talk about prince edward's daughter lady louise. her family has sheltered her from the media. why do you think they want to expose her to an event that's probably going to be the most watched in recent history? >> she's 7 years old and has had the condition since birth. they decided against sending her for an operation because it was risky. they even kept her out of the christening photographs of her younger brother three years ago. it's extraordinary that they have decided she will be a bridesmaid. this will make her one of the most photographed girls in the world. but i think they think she's ready and apparently she's beyond excited. >> she's a beautiful little girl, judging by the pictures there. the wedding party is not just made up of relatives. there are two children that are children of william's employees. one of his secretary and one of his former nanny. is that fairly common?

>> it's common in posh circles, yes. obviously we would invite our boss to the wedding as a matter of course. it is less common for a normal person like me to invite my boss's kids. but in this case, i think there are few people who are blessed enough to be inside the royal circle and those children are. >> moving on to prince harry, the best man, he has a reputation as a party boy. he'll be organizing the stag night or bachelor party. do you think the royal family is concerned about how well he can handle his duties? >> i don't think so. i think ultimately the harshest reaction to harry's behavior is generally bemusement. with only a few exceptions, he's never really gotten into severe trouble. he's clearly going to have a great time with his brother. i don't think we need to worry too much. >> do we have a sense of where the party will be held? >> no. the idea is it will be held at a

private estate or somewhere that it can be contained. >> contained. >> somewhat, yes. >> protected. celia, a lot of talk about harry and his off and on girlfriend chelsea now that he's the available prince. what's the latest on that? >> they were seen sharing a valentine's menu together. not on valentine's day but last friday. apparently, i mean, they have managed to stay good friends even when they weren't going out together. word is kate's last wish before she gets married is they get back together. she would like to see them as a couple on the wedding day. >> if you haven't gotten your invitation yet, you will likely not get one. are they out already? >> i think they are pretty much all out now. they did leave it quite late by etiquette standards. but they should all be out now. but, yes, you're not going if you haven't got one yet. >> i'm not going. thank you very much. i will be one of the hooligans, kate. up next we meet this year's

cover girl for the "sports illustrated" swimsuit issue right after this. your favorites, in pieces.

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"sports illustrated" swimsuit issue made household names out of heidi klum and tyra banks. >> irina shayk is the 2011 "sports illustrated" cover model. she's here for the first time since learning the big news. welcome. >> thank you. >> they kept it a secret from even you until last night. >> right. i didn't know i was landing on the cover of "sports illustrated" and it was a total surprise for me. i was in shock. then yesterday on the david letterman show i was crying. >> it is a big deal. you take a lot of pictures. do you remember clearly this picture? >> yes, i do remember.

because this swim suit was so sexy and push-up and it was like, oh, my gosh, this is so sexy. actually we are doing more than 20 pictures a day. but i do remember this shot. it was an early morning shot and i was kind of jet-lagged and sleepy. >> doesn't show. >> thank you. >> you can say that, i can't. i want people to know about your back story. you are from a small town in russia. you pronounce it. >> it's almost the same as my last name. everyone thinks it's a joke. it's not because it's my last name. i'm from a small city in the middle of nowhere. it's a small town. it's actually like one street and everybody knows everyone. you know, i'm so surprised i'm here, guys, at the "today" show and to be on the cover of "sports illustrated" is a dream come true.

>> last year brooklyn decker was here. she was on the cover and now she's in the highest grossing movie in the u.s. as of last weekend. >> so exciting, yeah. >> what do you hope for? >> i'm trying to enjoy the moment right now. i'm still in shock. i didn't realize yet that i'm on the cover of "sports illustrated." i'm just trying to enjoy the moment. we'll see what's next. >> can i ask about personal life for a second? you are dating cristiano renaldo, correct? >> you can ask, but i wouldn't respond. >> there is a picture of the two of you right there. >> you know, we russians -- >> you keep secrets. >> you know, kgb, russian spies, you know. le. >> i think he's telling everybody you're with him. >> congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> beautiful cover. >> thank you. >> good luck in the future. i know you're jetting to vegas tonight. >> yeah, it's going to be fun. thank you. >> tell people the issue hits nestanwsda newsstands today. >> just ahead, why 50 isn't the

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good morning to you. it is 7:56 right now. i'm laura garcia cannon. time to check the forecast with christina. we are getting a nice break from the rain showers right now. good morning to you. just a few pop-up showers throughout the next few hours. we'll get a break in the early part of the day right now. the showers will continue to push east heading throughout the next couple of hours. by about noon we'll see light scattered showers moving into the north bay. then 5:00 p.m. widespread rain approaches the bay area. you can see this yellow here embedded within the green, that is heavier rain. that's expected as we head through probably 5:00 and 10:00 tonight. that's when the most moisture is anticipated. we'll get you to work on time now to see how your drive is doing with mike inouye. good morning to you, mike. good morning to you, christina. the north bay is getting some rain coming back this afternoon,

but right now we have slow drivers southbound out of novato with speeds below 30 and into the 40s coming around the bend approaching the richmond/san rafael bridge. as we move the map around we have a sigalert south of there at wrote day owe rodeo avenue. we have a travel advisory lasting for another half hour there. the other side of the water, westbound 880 near carlson we have an accident there as well. we have slowing through richmond but nothing heavy. in fact, for a tuesday it is pretty light heading near the bay bridge toll plaza. going back to the 880 overcrossing, the fast track lanes are moving nicely. no real backup off the 880 overcrossing except for the one area through the area. h presidential news conference from the auditorium at the eisenhower office building next door to the white house. president obama will take

journalist questions this morning. david gregory, our moderator to "meet the press" standing by. david, dual backdrops you dealt with on this past sunday's "meet the victory of the people's uprising in egypt, what the future looks like there, the rise of protest in the region, again this morning the president's budget. some cuts that kind of amazed his partisans that republicans say isn't enough. >> well, it is what is next on both of those story that is is so important, brian. the president will fuel questions on what responsibility the president has to influence events elsewhere in the middle east as the uprisings continue to spread and on the budget, $1.6 trillion deficit is what is projected in this document. are they really going to tackle it? the hard stuff is not in the budget. and there's a sense from both republicans and democrats that they want the other side to go first when it comes to dealing with entitlements, medicare, social security, big budget cuts

when it comes to defense spending. it is a question of where the political will is in this town. this will be the big fight of the year. >> as we show folks the podium waiting for the president to walk up to it, there was also a new york time's story about some disagreements within the administration on egypt, perhaps he'll address that. morning, everyone. please have a seat. i figured that i would give jay one more taste of freedom before we lock him in a room with all of you. i'm here to do a little downfield blocking for him. before i take a few questions, let me say a few words about the budget we put out yesterday. just like every family in america, the federal government has to do two things at once. it has to live within its means while still investing in the future. if you are a family trying to cut back, you might skip going out to dinner, you might put off

a vacation, but you wouldn't want to sacrifice saving for your kids' college education or making key repairs in your house. you cut back on what you can't afford to focus on what you can't do without. that is what we've done with this year's budget. when i took office i pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term. our budget meets that pledge and puts us on a path to pay for what we spend by the middle of the decade. as a start, it freezes domestic discretionary spending over the next five years cutting the deficit $400 billion over the next decade and bring annual domestic spending to the lowest share of the economy since dwight eisenhower. some of the savings will come through less waste and more efficiency. to take one example, we'll save

billions of dollars by getting rid of 14,000 office buildings, lots, and government-owned properties we no longer need. to make sure special interests are not larding up legislation with special projects i pledge to veto any earmarks. as we cut waste and inefficiency, this budget freeze will require us to make tough choices. it will mean freezing the salaries of hard working federal employees for the next two years, it will mean cutting things i care about deeply, like community action programs for low-income communities and we have some conservation programs that are going to be scaled back. these are all programs that i wouldn't be cutting if we were in a better fiscal situation, but we're not. we also know that cutting annual domestic spending alone won't be enough to meet our long-term fiscal challenges. that is what the bipartisan

fiscal commission concluded and i concluded. i'm eager to tackle excessive spending in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending and spending embedded in the tax code. some of this spending we've begun to tackle in this budget like the $78 billion that secretary gates identified in defense cuts, but to get where we need to go we have to do more. we have to bring down health care costs further, including programs like medicare and medicaid, the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficits. i believe we should strengthen social security for future generations and i think we can do that without slashing benefits or putting current retirees at risk. i'm willing to work with everybody on capitol hill to simplify the individual tax code for all americans. all of these steps are going to be difficult. that is why all of them will require democrats, independents

and republicans to work together. i recognize there are going to be plenty of arguments in the months to come and everybody is going to have to give a little bit, but when it comes to difficult choices about our budget and priorities we have found common ground before. ronald reagan and tip o'neill came together to save social security. bill clinton and the republican congress eventually found a way to settle their differences and balance the budget. many democrats and republicans in congress today came together in december to pass a tax cut that has made americans' paychecks a little bigger this year and spur on additional economic growth this year. so i believe we can find this common ground but we are going to have to work. we owe the american people a government that lives within its means while still investing in our future in education, innovation and infrastructure that will help us attract new jobs an businesses to our shores. that is the principle that

should drive this debate in the coming months. i believe that is how america will win the future in the coming years. with that, let me take a couple of questions. i will start with ben feller of ap. >> thank you very much mr. president. you have been talking a lot about the need for tough choices in your budget, but your plan does not address the long-term crushing costs of social security, medicare, medicaid, the drives of long-term debt. can you explain that? where is your leadership on that issue? when are we going to see your plan? and if i may, sir, the uprising in egypt has prompted protests in bahrain, yemen and iran, how do you balance your push for freedoms in those places against the instability that could endanger u.s. interests? >> on the budget, what my budget does is to put forward some tough choices, some significant spending cuts so that by the

middle of this decade our annual spending will match our annual revenues. we will not be adding more to the national debt. so to use a sort of a analogy that families are familiar with, we are not running up the credit card anymore. that is important. and that's hard to do. but it's necessary to do and i think the american people understand that. at the same time we are going to make key investments in places like education and science and technology, research and development, that the american people understand is required to win the future. so what we've done is taken a scalpel to the discretionary budget rather than a machete. now i said in the state of the union and i will repeat, that side of the ledger accounts for

20% of our budget. we have a whole bunch of other stuff we have to do including dealing with entitlements. you talked about social security, medicare and medicaid. the truth is social security is not the huge contributor to the deficit that the other two entitlements are. i'm confident we can get social security done by parties coming together making some modest adjustments, i think we can avoid slashing benefits and make it stable and stronger for not only this generation but the next generation. medicare and medicaid are huge problems because health care costs are rising as the population is getting older. so what i've said is that i'm prepared to work with democrats and republicans to start dealing with that in a serious way. we made a down payment on that with health care reform last year. that is part of what health care reform was about. the projected deficits are going

be about $250 billion lower over the next ten years than they otherwise would have been because of health care reform and $1 trillion if we hadn't done health care reform for the following decade. we still have to do more. if you look at the history of how these deals get done, typically it's not because there's an obama plan out there. it's because democrats and republicans are both committed to tackling this issue in a serious way. and so what we've done is we've been very specific in terms of how to stabilize the discretionary budget, to make sure we are not adding additional debt by 2015 and then let's together, democrats and republicans, tackle these long-term problems in a way that i think will ensure our fiscal health and at the same time

ensure we are making investments in the future. >> how does that happen? >> we are going to be in discussions over the next several months. i mean, this is going to be a negotiation process. and the key thing that i think the american people want to see is that all sides are serious about it. and all sides are willing to give a little bit and that there's a genuine spirit of compromise as opposed to scoring political points. we did that in december during the lame duck on the tax cut issue. both sides had to give and there were folks in my party who were not party and folks in the republican party who were not party. my suspicion is we can do the same thing if we have that same attitude with respect to entitlements. the thing i want to emphasize is nobody is more mindful than me that entitlements are going to be a key part of this issue as is tax reform.

i want to simplify rates and i want to at the same time make sure that we have the same amount of money coming in as going out. those are big, tough negotiations and i suspect that there's going to be a lot of ups and downs in the months to come before we get to that solution. as a lot of people were skeptical about us being able to deal with the tax cuts that we did in december, but we ended up getting it done. i'm confident we can get this done as well. now with respect to the situation in the middle east, obviously, there is still a lot of work to be done in egypt itself. but what we've seen so far is positive. the military council that is this charge has reaffirmed its treaties with countries like israel and international treaties. it has met with the opposition and the opposition is serious about moving towards fair and

free elections. egypt is going to require help in building democratic institutions and also in strengthening an economy that has taken a hit as a consequence of what happened. but so far at least we're seeing the right signals coming out of egypt. there are ramifications, throw, throughout the region. my administration's approach is the approach is that how most americans think about this region, each country is different. each country has its own traditions. america can't dictate how they run their societies, but there are certain universal principles we adhere to. one of them is we don't believe in violence as a way of -- and coercion as a way of maintaining control. so we think it is very important that in all the protests we are

seeing in -- throughout the region, that governments respond to peaceful protesters peacefully. principle we believ in strongly is in the right to express your opinions and the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly that allows people to share their grievances with the government and to express themselves in ways that hopefully will over time meet their needs. and so, you know, we have sent a strong message to our allies in the region saying let's look at egypt's example. as opposed to iran's example. i find it ironic that you've got the iranian regime pretending to celebrate what happened in egypt when, in fact, they have acted in direct contrast to what happened in egypt by gunning down and beating people who were trying to express themselves peacefully in iran.

and i also think an important lesson and i mentioned this last week that we can draw from this is real change in these societies is not going to happen because of terrorism. it is not going to happen because you go around killing innocents. it is going to happen because people come together and apply moral force to a situation. that's what garners international support that is what garners internal support. that is how you bring about lasting change. patricia. >> mr. president, thank you. getting back to the unrest in the middle east and north africa, what concerns do you have about instability, especially in saudi arabia, as the demonstrations spread? do you foresee any effects on oil prices and talking about

iran, can you comment about the unrest more? what is your message to the iranian people in light of criticism your administration didn't speak out strongly enough after their last -- the demonstrations in iran after their elections. excuse me. >> that's okay. well, first of all on iran, we were clear then and we are clear now that what has been true in egypt should be true in iran, which is people should be able to express their opinions and their grievances and seek a more responsive government. what's been different is the iranian government's response, which is to shoot people and beat people and arrest people. and, you know, my hope and expectation is that we're going to continue to see the people of

iran have the courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedoms and a more representative government. understanding that america cannot ultimately dictate what happens inside of iran anymore than inside of egypt. ultimately these are sovereign countries that are going to have to make their own decisions. what we can do is lend moral support to those who are seeking a better life for themselves. obviously, we are concerned about stability throughout the region. each country is different. the message that we've sent even before the demonstrations in egypt has been to friend and foe alike that the world is changing, that you have a young vibrant generation within the

middle east that is looking for greater opportunity. and that if you are governing these countries you have to get out ahead of change. you can't be behind the curve. and so i think that the thing that will actually achieve stability in that region is if young people, if ordinary folks end up feeling there are pathways for them to feed their families, get a decent job, get an education, aspire to a better life. and the more steps these governments are taking to provide these avenues for mobility and opportunity the more stable these countries are. you can't maintain power through coercion. at some level in any society there has to be consent.

and that's particularly true in this new era where people can communicate not just through some centralized government or a state-run tv, but they can get on a smart phone or twitter account and mobilize hundreds of thousands of people. my belief is that as a consequence of what happened in tunisia and egypt, governments in that region are starting to understand this. and my hope is that they can operate in a way that is responsive to this hunger for change, but always do so in a way that doesn't lead to violence. chip reed. >> thank you mr. president. actually, i have to get my glasses out to read these. >> that is a bad sign there, chip. >> a little fine print in the

budget mr. president. you said that this budget is not going to add to the credit card as of about the middle of the decade and as robert gibbs might say, i'm not a budget expert and i'm not an economist. if you could just explain to me how you can say that if you look on page 171, which i'm sure you've read, it is the central page in this, the deficits go from $1.1 trillion down to $768 billion and go down to $607 billion in 2015 and start to creep up again and by 2021 $774 billion. and the total over those ten years, the total debt is $7.2 trillion on top of the $14 trillion we already have. how can you say we are living within our means? >> here's -- let me be clear on what i'm saying. i'm not suggesting we don't have to do more. we still have all this accumulated debt as a

consequence of the recession and as a consequence of a series of decisions that were made over the last decade. we piled up, we racked up a whole bunch of debt. there is a lot of interest on that debt. so in the same way that if you've got a credit card and you've got a big balance, you may not be adding to principle, you've still got all that interest you've got to pay. well, we've got a big problem in terms of accumulated interest that we are paying. that is why we have to wittle down further the debt accumulated. problem number two rising health care costs and medicare and medicaid, once you get past this decade are going to start zooming up again as a consequence of the population getting older and health care costs going up more rapidly than

incomes and wages and revenues are going up. you've got those two big problems. what we've done is try to take this in stages. what we say in our budget is, let's get control of our discretionary budget to make sure that whatever it is that we're spending on an annual basis we are also taking in a similar amount. all right. that is step number one. step number two is going to make -- is going to be how do we make sure that we're taking on these long-term drivers and how do we start wittling down the debt? that is going to require entitlement reform and tax reform. in order to accomplish those two things we are going to have to have a spirit of cooperation between democrats and republicans. and i think that's possible. i think that's what the american people are looking for, but what i think is important to do is not discount the tough choices

that are required just to stabilize the situation. it doesn't solve it, but it stabilizes it. and if we can get that done, that starts introducing this concept of us being able to, in a serious way, cooperate to meet this fiscal challenge and lay the predicate to solve big problems in the next couple of years as well. so, again, i want to repeat, the first step in this budget is to make sure we are stabilizing the current situation. second step is to make sure we are taking on some long-term drivers. but we've got to get control of the short-term deficit as well and people are going to be looking at a signal for that. the choices that we've made are some pretty tough choices, which is why you have been seeing some grumblings, not just from the other party but also from my own party about some of the

decisions we have made. chuck todd. >> pardon me. thank you mr. president. everything you've talked about, tax reform, the entitlement reform, two parties coming together, just happened in december. >> right. >> in your fiscal commission. you had a majority consensus to do all this. it's now been shelved. it seems you have not taken -- i guess my question is what was the point of the fiscal commission when you had tom coburn, your conservative friend, sign on to the deal, judd gregg, dick durbin, everybody you described in your answer to chip and ben, why not grab it? >> the notion it has been shelved, i think is incorrect. it still provides a framework

for a conversation. let's face it, you guys are pretty impatient. if something doesn't happen today then the assumption is it is just not going to happen. all right? i have had this conversation for the last two years about every single issue we worked on, whether it was health care or don't ask, don't tell, on egypt, right? we've had this monumental change over the last three weeks, well, why did it take three weeks? so i think that there is a tendency for us to assume if it didn't happen today it is not going to happen. well, the fiscal commission put out a framework. i agree with much of the framework. i disagree with some of the framework. it is true that it got 11 votes and that was a positive sign. what is also true, for example, the chairman of the house

republican budgeteers didn't sign on. he's got a little bit of juice when it comes to getting an eventual budget done. i have to have a conversation with him. what would he like to see happen? i have to have a conversation with those democrats who didn't vote for it. there are some issues in there that as a matter of principle, i don't agree with. where i think they didn't go far enough or they went too far. so this is going to be a process in which each side, in both chambers of congress, go back and forth and start trying to wittle their differences down until we arrive at something that has a chance at passage. that is my goal. my goal here is to solve the

problem. it is not to get a good headline on the first day. my goal is that a year from now or two years from now people will look back and say, you know what? we actually started making progress on this issue. [ inaudible ] >> chuck, this was the same criticism people had right after the midterm election. if you had polled the press room and the conventional wisdom in washington after the midterm, the assumption was there was no way we were going to end up getting a tax deal that got the majority of both democrats and republicans. it was impossible. right? and we got it done. so this is not a matter of you go first or i go first. this is a matter of everybody having a serioious conference

about where we want to go and everybody get in the boat so it doesn't tip over. i think that can happen. julianna goldman. >> your budget relies on multinational corporations and increases in oil and gas industries. you have been calling on this for years. if you couldn't get it through a democratic congress why do you think you are able to get it through now? also doesn't it blind your push for deficit neutral corporate tax reform? >> well, i continue to believe i'm right. so we're going to try again. i think what is different is everybody says they are serious about the deficit. if you are really serious about the deficit, not just spending, but serious about the deficit overall, part of what you have

to look at is unjustifiable spending through the tax code. through tax breaks that do not make us more competitive, do not create jobs here in the united states of america. the two examples you cite, most economists would look at and say these aren't contributing to our long-term economic growth. if they are not, why are we letting some folks pay lower taxes than other folks who are creating jobs in the united states and are investing? why are we not investing in the energy sources of the future? just the ones in the past. particularly the energy sources of the past are highly profitable right now and don't need a tax break. so i think what may have changed is if we are going to get serious about deficit reduction and debt reduction, then we've got to look at all the sources of deficit and debt.

we can't be just trying to pick and choose and getting 100% of our way. the same is true, by the way, for democrats. there are some provisions in this budget that are hard for me to take. you've got cities around the country and states around the country that are having a tremendously difficult time trying to balance their own budgets because of fallen revenue. they have greater demands because folks have lost their jobs, the housing market is still in a tough way in a lot of these places, and yet part of what this budget says is we are going reduce community development block grants by 10%. that is not something i'd like to do, but -- and if it had come up a year ago or two years ago, i would have said no. under these new circumstances i'm saying yes to that. and so my expectation is that

everybody is going to have to make those same sorts of compromises. now, with respect to corporate tax reform, the whole concept of corporate tax reform is to simplify, eliminate loopholes, treat everybody fairly. that is entirely consistent with saying, for example, we shouldn't provide special treatment to the oil industry when they've been making huge profits and can afford to further invest in their companies without special tax breaks that are different from what somebody else gets. what is absolutely true is that it's going to be difficult to achieve serious corporate tax reform if the formula is lower our tax rates and let us keep all our special loopholes. if that is the formula, then we

are not going to get it done. i wouldn't sign such a bill and i don't think the american people would sign such a bill if you are a small business person on main street and you are paying your taxes and you find out that you've got some big company with billions of dollars they are ung businesses all paying a fraction of what you are paying in taxes, you would be pretty irritated and rightfully so. and so the whole idea of corporate tax reform is, yes, let's lower everybody's rates so american businesses are competitive with businesses around the world. in order to pay for it, it doesn't add to our deficit, allow special loopholes that allow lobbyists who work hard to get in the tax code, let's get rid of those as well. all right. april ryan. caught you by surprise.

>> you did, sir. you started your career of service as a community organizer and now we are hearing from people like organizations like the cbc saying rebuilding our economy on the backs of the most vulnerable americans is something that is simply not acceptable like the cuts to the community service block grants, pell grants, heating oil assistance and freezing salaries of federal workers. the joint center for political and economy study says it is not good to make these type of cuts at a time of recession instead of a time of recovery. also have you been placing calls for your friend rahm emanuel for his mayoral campaign. >> i don't have to make calls for rahm emanuel. he seems to be doing just fine on his own. and he has been very busy shoveling snow out there.

i have been very impressed with that. i never saw him shoveling around here. let me use pell grants as an example of how we're approaching these difficult budget choices in a way that is sustainable but preserves our core commitment to expanding opportunity. when i came into office i said i want to once again have america have the highest graduation rates, college graduation rates of anywhere in the world, that we have been slipping. so i significantly increased the pell grant program by tens of billions of dollars. and so millions of young people are going to have opportunities through the pell grant program they didn't before and the sides of the pell grant itself went up. what we also did partly because

we were in a recessionary situation and more people were having to go back to school as opposed to work, we said you can get pell grants for summer school. now we're in a budget crunch. the takeup rate on the pell grant program has skyrocketed. the costs have gone up significantly. if we continue on this pace, sooner or later what is going to happen is we are going to have to chop off eligibility. we are going to have to say that's it. we can't do this anymore. it is too expensive. how do we trim, how do we take a scalpel to the pell grant program? make sure that we keep the increase for each pell grant, make sure that the young people who are being served by the pell grant program are still being served but for example on the summer school thing, let's eliminate that. that will save us some money,

but the core functions of the program are sustained. that's how we're approaching all of these cuts. on the liheap program, the home heating assistance program, we doubled the home heating assistance program when i first came into office in part because there was a huge energy spike and so folks, if we had just kept it at the same level, folks would have been in real trouble. energy prices have now gone down but the cost of the program have stayed the same. so what we've said is let's go back to a more sustainable level. if it turns that once again you see a huge energy spike, we can revisit it, but let's not just assume because it is a $5 billion level that each year we are going to sustain it at a $5 billion level regardless of what is happening on the energy front. now that doesn't mean that these

aren't still tough cuts. because there are always more people who could use some help across the country than we have resources. and so it is still a tough decision. i understand people's frustrations with some of these decisions. having said that, my goal is to make sure we are looking at the vulnerable, we are looking at the disabled, we are looking after our seniors, we are making sure our education system is looking at our kids, we are investing in our future in a way that is sustainable and we are paying for it as opposed to having huge imbalances where some things that aren't working with are paying a lot of money for, some thing are underfunded. we are trying to make adjustments so we have a sustainable budget that works over the long term. by the way, there are some things that are not working at all.

we have eliminated a couple hundred programs. on the education budget we are consolidated from 33 programs to 11 programs. there is waste and inefficiency there that is long overdue. and we identify a number of these programs that just don't work. let's take that money out of programs that don't work and put that money in programs that do. >> mr. president, feeling our pain, especially as you are a community organizer. >> look, definitely, i feel folks pain. somebody is doing a book about the ten letters that i get every day. and they came by to talk to me yesterday. and they said, you know, what is the overwhelming impression that you get when you read these ten letters a day? what i told them is i'm so inspired by the strength and

resilience of the american people, but sometimes i'm also just frustrated by the number of people out there who are struggling and you want to help every single one individually. and i, you know, you almost feel like you want to be a caseworker and pick up the phone and advocate for the people trying to do right by their families, oftentimes through no fault of their own they have had a tough time over these last few years. so, yeah, it is frustrating. my job is to make sure we are focused over the long term. where is it we need to go? and the most important thing i can do as president is make sure that we are living within our means, getting a budget that is sustainable, investing in the future and growing the economy. if i do that, that is probably the most help i can give to the

most number of people. jake tapper. thanks mr. president. house republicans, as you know, want to start cutting now, this year's budget. are you willing to work with them in the next few weeks so as to avoid a government shutdown? there is a down payment on this year's budget? and i was wondering if you could talk about the attempts of getting ambassador ray davis freed from pakistan. some have criticized putting pressure on a weak government. can you walk us through that process? thanks. >> my goal is to work with the republicans both on the continuing resolution and those who are watching who don't know washingtonese, the cr is a continuing resolution, a way to

keep government going when you don't have an overall budget settled. we didn't settle our overall budget from last year. this is carryover bids from last year funding this year. i want to work with everybody, democrats and republicans, to get that resolved. i think it is important to make sure we don't try to make a series of symbolic cuts this year that could endanger the recovery. so that is point number one. what i'm going to be looking for is some common sense that the recovery is still fragile, we passed this tax cut package precisely to make sure that people had more money in their pockets, that their paychecks were larger, we provided tax credits and incentives for businesses, but if the steps that we take then prompt thousands of layoffs in state or local government or core vital functions of government aren't performed properly, well, that

could also have a dampening impact on our recovery as well. are we doing things in a sensible way, meeting core functions, not endangering our recovery. in some cases like defense for example, secretary gates has already testified, if we are operating -- even operating under the current continuing resolution is putting significant strains on our ability to make sure our troops have what they need to perform their missions in afghanistan. further slashes would impair our ability to meet our mission. and so, yeah, we've got to be careful. again, let's use a scalpel, not a machete. if we do that, there should be no reason at all for a government shutdown. i think people should be careful about being too loose in terms of talking about a government

shutdown because this is not an abstraction. people don't get their social security checks. they don't get their veterans payments. basic functions shut down. and it -- that also would have a adverse effect on our economic recovery. it would be destabilizing at a time when i think everybody is hopeful we can start growing this economy quicker. i'm looking forward to a conversation. the key is to be practical and not score political points. that is true for all of us. if we take that approach we can navigate the situation short term and deal with the problem long term. with respect to mr. davis, our diplomat in pakistan. we've got a very simple principle here that every country in the world that is party to the vienna convention on diplomatic relations has upheld in the past and should

uphold in the future. that is if our diplomats are in another country then they are not subject to that country's local prosecution. we respect it with respect to diplomats who are here. we expect pakistan that is a signatory and recognized mr. davis as a diplomat, to abide by this same convention. the reason this is an important principle is if it starts being fair game on our ambassadors around the world, including in dangerous places, where we may have differences with those governments and our ambassadors are various embassy personnel are having to deliver tough messages to countries where we disagree with them on "x," "y," "z," they start to be vulnerable to prosecution locally, that is

untenable. that means they can't do their job. we respect these conventions and every country should as well. we will continue to work with the pakistani government to get this person released and obviously, part of -- for those who aren't familiar with the background on this, a couple of pakistanis were killed in a incident between mr. davis within pakistan. so obviously, we are concerned about the loss of life. we're not callous about that. but there is a broader principle at stake that i think we have to uphold. >> what will you say to the pakistani government if they don't hand him over? >> i'm not going to discuss the specific exchanges we have had. we have been firm about this

being an important priority. ed henry. >> thank you mr. president. i want to go back to egypt because there was perception you were too cautious in that process and a step behind the protesters. there was dramatic change in three weeks. i realize it is a complicated situation that was evolving rapidly. adds the protests grow throughout the middle east make sure you are not violent to peaceful protesters. what is the message to the protesters? do you want them to taste freedom or only if it brings stability to our interests in the region? >> well, first of all, without revisiting all the events over the last three weeks, i think history will end up recording that at every juncture in the situation in egypt that we were on the right side of history.

what we didn't do was pretend that we could dictate the outcome in egypt. because we can't. so we were very mindful that it was important for this to remain an egyptian event, that the united states did not become the issue, but that we sent out a very clear message that we believed in an orderly transition, a meaningful transition and a transition that needed to happen not later, but sooner. and we were consistent on that message throughout. so, you know, particularly if you look at my statements, i started talking about reform two

weeks or 2 1/2 weeks before mr. mubarak ultimately stepped down and at each juncture, we calibrated it just about right. i would suggest that part of the test is what we ended up seeing was a peaceful transition, relatively little violence, and relatively little, if any, anti-american sentiment or anti-israel sentiment or anti-western sentiment. that testifies to the fact that in a complicated situation we got it about right. my message, i think, to demonstrators going forward is your aspirations for greater opportunity, for the ability to speak your mind, for a free

press, those are absolutely aspirations we support. as was true in egypt, ultimately what happens in each of these countries will be determined by the citizens of those countries. and even as we uphold these universal values we want to make sure that transitions do not degenerate into chaos and violence. that's not just good for us. that's good for those countries. the history of successful transitions to democracy have generally been ones in which peaceful protests led to dialogue, led to discussion, led to reform, and ultimately led to democracy. and that's true in countries

like eastern europe. that is also true in indonesia, a majority muslim country that went through some of these similar transitions but not in such a chaotic fashion that it ended up dividing the societies fundamentally. >> what are the chances of something like mideast peace or has it made it more complicated, in your mind? >> i think it offers an opportunity as well as a challenge. i think the opportunity is that when you have the kinds of young people who are in tahir square feeling that they have hope and they have opportunity, then they're less likely to channel all their frustrations into anti-israeli sentiment or anti-western sentiment because

they see the prospect of building their own country. and that is a positive. the challenge is that democracy is messy. right? so, you know, if you are trying to negotiate with a democracy, you don't just have one person to negotiate with. you have to negotiate with a wider range of views. but i like the odds of actually getting a better outcome. in the former circumstance than in the latter. all right. mike emanuel. >> thank you mr. president. the number one concern for many americans right now is jobs. >> mm-hmm. >> taking a look at your budget, there are tax hikes proposed for energy, for higher income people, and also for replenishing the state unemployment funds. do you worry about the impact on jobs, sir?

>> well, actually, if you look at that budget, there is a whole bunch of stuff in there for job creation. i think some folks noted, for example, our infrastructure proposals which would create millions of jobs around the country. our investment in research and development and clean energy have the potential for creating job growth in, you know, industries of the future. you know, my belief that the high end tax cuts for -- or the bush tax cuts for the high end of the population, folks like me, my belief is that that doesn't, in any way, impede job growth. most economists agree. we had this debate in december. now, we compromised in order to achieve an overall package that

reduced taxes for all americans and so i believe -- i continue to believe that was a smart compromise, but when it comes to over the long term maintaining tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, when that will mean additional deficits of $1 trillion, if you are serious about deficit reduction, you don't do that. as i said, i think most economists, even ones that tend to lean to the right or are more conservative would agree that is not the best way for us to approach deficit reduction and debt reduction. so i do think it's important as we think about corporate tax reform, individual tax reform,

to try to keep taxes as simple as possible and as low as possible. but we also have to acknowledge that in the same way that families have to pay for what they buy, government has to pay for what it buys. and if we believe that it's important for us to have a strong military, that doesn't come for free. we have to pay for it. if we think we have to take care of our veterans when they come home and not just salute on memorial day but actually have to work with folks who have post traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, that requires services that are labor intensive and expensive. if we think it is important that our senior citizens continue to enjoy health care in their golden years, that costs money. if we think that after a flood

we help out our neighbors and our fellow citizens, so that they can recover, we've got to pay for it. so the circumstance that's changed earlier julianna asked why i might think i might get a deal, some questions are centered about what is different this time. my hope is what is different this time is we have an adult conversation where everybody says here's what is important and here is how we are going to pay for it. now, there are going to be significant disagreements about what people think is important. that is how democracy should work and at the margins, i think that, you know, i'll end up having to compromise on some

things. hopefully others will have the same spirit. >> as part of the adult conversation what if they say deeper spending cuts before you consider tax cuts? >> well, i think it just depends on what exactly you are talking about. i think there should be a full open debate with the american people. are we willing to cut millions of young people off when it comes to student loans that help kids and family on their college education? is -- are we only serious about education in the abstract, but when it is the concrete we are not willing to put the money into it. if we are cutting infant formula to poor kids is that who we are as a people? i mean, we have to have those

debates. particularly if it turns out that making these cuts doesn't really make a big dent in the long term debt and deficits then i think the american people may conclude, let's have a more balanced approach. that is what we are going to be talking about in the next couple of months. i now everyone would like to see it resolved. it probably will not be. i will take one last question here. jackie collins. >> thank you, there president. i'd almost given up there. >> oh, don't give up. >> you correctly suggested the media can be impatient about seeing both sides come to a deal. this is the third budget, your third year of presidency. you said you would rather been a

one-term president if it means you have done the hard things you have done. i know you are not going to invite republicans to the negotiate table today to start hashing it out, but why not? since you are not, what more are you doing to build the spirit of cooperation you mentioned earlier needs to happen before there is bipartisanship? and finally, do you think the markets will wait -- >> i should have written all this down. jackie, i'm running out of room. i in my brain. >> i'm happy to repeat my question. >> let me speak to this generally. it is true this is my third budget, the first two budgets were in the midst of the worst recession since the great depression so we had a different set of priorities. i said it at the time. in each of those budgets what i said was the deficit is going up

and we are compiling additional debt because it is so important for us to avoid going into a depression or having a longer recession than is necessary. the most important thing we had to do in order limit the amount of increased debt and bigger deficits is to grow the economy some more. that was our priority. that was our focus. this third budget reflects a change in focus. the economy is now growing again. people are more hopeful and we've created more than 1 million jobs over the last year. employers are starting to hire again and businesses are starting to invest again. in that environment out of the depths of the crisis, we have to look at these long-term problems

and these medium-term problems in a more urgent and serious way. now, in terms of what i'm doing with the republicans, i'm having conversations with them and democratic leadership, i did before this budget was released and i will afterwards. i probably will not give you a play by play of every negotiation that takes place. i expect that all sides will have to do posturing on television and speak to their constituencies and, you know, rally the troops and so forth, but ultimately what we need is a reasonable, responsible and initially probably somewhat quiet and toned down conversation about, all right, where can we come pcompromise ad

get something done. i don't think anybody wants to see our recovery derailed and all of us agree we have to cut spending and all of us agree we have to get our debt and deficits under control. all of us agree that part has to be entitlements. so there is a framework there that speaks, by the way, again to the point i made with you, chuck, about the commission. i think the commission changed the conversation. i think they gave us a basic framework and within that framework we are going to have to have tough conversations and the devil is going to be in the details. look, i was glad to see yesterday republican leaders say, how come you didn't talk about entitlements? i think that is progress. what we had been hearing made it sound as if we slash deeper on education or, you know, other provisions in domestic spending

that somehow that alone was going to solve the problem. i welcome -- i think there is significant interest on all those issues. in terms of the markets, i think what the markets want to see is progress. the markets understand that we didn't get here overnight and we're not going to get out overnight. what they want to see is that we have the capacity to work together. if they see us chipping away at this problem in a serious way even if we haven't solved 100% of it in one fell swoop then that will provide more confidence that washington can work and more than anything that is not just what the markets want, that is what the american people want. they want confirmation that this place can work. i think it can.

all right? thank you, everybody. >> president obama taking questions from the old executive office building, reporters and analyst will chew over what was said. we will look all day long at some of the answers, how they apply to this budget process going on in washington to the process in egypt and beyond. for our team in washington and new york, i'm brian williams. nbc news. we'll see you for "nightly news" tonight.rning here in the northeast. it's onlybout 26 degrees out on the plaza. >> you've got to talk longer so we can get all the crowd in. >> we were abandoned out here. a lot of the souls from the beginning of the morning have departed. we've brought the most artistic members of our audience. >> with the biggest signs. >> this took how long to make? >> i think -- >> 20 seconds. >> boy, that long?

>> it's cold. >> i'd make it bighe plaza i'm along with natalie morales and al roker. coming up, more on the story about the veteran tv reporter in california. she was covering the grammys over the weekend and she suddenly became incoherent. she could not really formend. she suddenly became incoherent. she could not form any words that were comrehsnive. she suffered perhaps a seizure or a mini stroke. we'll get the latest on that coming up. >> that had to be very scary. if you're feeling more confident about the economy, you think about turning back to using your credit cards more, well, you may want to consider going on a debt diet. we'll have financial advice to help us avoid the pitfalls of overspending and sticking to a healthy budget. if you want to stick to a healthy weight loss plan, joy

bauer is here to answer your nutrition questions on our "joy's dit s.o.s.." and when michelle obama walls here, she made quite a splash with that beautiful dress, which she bought for $35. well, apparently polka dots are in again. there's a lot that's coming back. everything retro is new again from video game joysticks to even the pac-man that you see and simon says. so we are going to get a little blast from the past coming up with jill's fun finds. before we dee all that, let's go inside to ann. shock waves of antigovernment protesters sweeping the middle east today in the wake of egypt's toppling of its regime. in iran, at least two people are now reported killed and dozens were wounded as police used force including tear gas and batons against protesters who reportedly marched by the tens of thousands on monday. in bahrain this morning, police

clashed again. this time with a funeral procession for a man killed in monday's protests, also inspired by the events in egypt. and in tunisia, people are reportedly fleeing the country by the thousands. the president holds a news conference today as lawmakers face off over his budget plan for 2012. also today, the top two white house budget officials testified before congress. the spending cuts are not nearly enough. some democrats say the plan cuts too deeply into programs into the poor. an incoherent moment live on television has doctors investigating whether there were neurological signs. >> reporter: serene branson is a seasoned reporter in los angeles, nominated for two emmy awards. but sunday night, something went

terribly wrong. >> well a very, very -- [ garbled language ] >> reporter: she was reporting live during the station's post grammy newscast. her words seemed incoherent. the video was posted on youtube and comments came pouring in online, many expressing concern. one read, she needs to see a neurologist. another, this is very scary. she needs to get that checked out. her station addressed the issue on air monday. >> she was examined by paramedics on the scene immediately after her report. her vital signs were normal. she wasn't hospitalized. a colleague gave her a ride home. >> reporter: the station said branson went to the doctor monday for follow-up tests. medical experts say from what they have seen watching the whole thing unfold on tv one thing is certain, the episode should be taken seriously.

>> this is what we call a classic neurological event. she was obviously aware that she was having difficulty. >> reporter: dr. keith black is the head of the department of neurosurgery at cedars-sinai medical center. he says watching the video, in his opinion, there are two possible causes. first a transient ischemic attack, much like a temporary stroke. >> the way to think about a t.i.a., you get a block in blood flow to the brain. >> reporter: the second possibility? >> it could be a mini seizure located in the language area. a seizure can be caused by almost anything that can affect the brain from a brain tumor to infection. >> reporter: medical experts say the fact that there is video of the incident may actually help doctors determine a diagnosis. >> serene thanks everyone for their concern and good wishes and hopes to be back on the air very soon. >> reporter: a wish no doubt shared by her colleagues and

everyone who watches her. for "today," kristin welker, nbc news. the nephew of his holiness the dalai lama was killed last night. he was struck by an suv while taking part in a 300-mile-long walk for tibet. the driver has not been charged. and from generation to generation for 3,000 years, the ancient tradition of falconry has been kept alive in asia through the present day. falconers are testing their golden eagles and hawks this week in a competition that shows off the birds' homing and hunting skills. and it is now six minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to matt, natalie and al. >> it's cold out here. >> yes. >> you guys picked the right city for it. >> our kracrowd has doubled to point where our viewers actually now outnumber our crew members out here. >> wow! >> that worked out pretty well. where are you guys from?

>> new york. >> all right. just hanging out? >> we're going to see dr. oz in our pajamas. >> you're not really in your pajamas. >> yes, we are. >> why are you in your pajamas? >> they're having a slumber party today. >> all right. >> he better give us something good orll b we'e very angry. >> dr. oz, if i were you, i'd check these folks out. let's check your weather. they're angry and they're in paj pajamas. we have a winter storm warning in the northwest. we're talking anywhere from two to three inches of rain all the way down to monterey bay. go inland, mt. shasta, the sierras, and we're talking the cascades. anywhere from 2 to 4 feet of snow. look at these temperatures. 52 in boston. only 22 today. by friday up good morning. to you. well, the clearing continues. at least for the first part of the day. we are expecting a big storm to

pass through the bay area heading throughout tonight. moderate to heavy rainfall coming down between the hours of 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. it will come in fast, hard and quickly as well. flooding will be a factor in local areas. we have widespread rainfall coming down across the bay area. just make sure you are ready for it clearing and slick conditions. ♪ >> and that's your latest weather. ann? ♪ money, money, money >> this morning, keeping your spending in check with a debt diet. credit card debt is on the rise for the first time in two years so it's important to set a budget and stick to it for successful financial health according to our experts jean chatzky and mandy walker. good morning to you both. this is interesting. not only savings are down in addition to credit card use being up.

what explains this? >> we saw credit card use top for the first time -- revolving credit card use and i think consumers are tired of saving money combined with the fact that the spigots have opened a little bit more for debt and consumers are taking advantage. >> a little bit more at christmas, too. it's the credit card debt that's going up. and they are saving a little bit less. savings is down to just over 5% of pretax income up to 7% at the end of 2009. consumers say -- we ask them about financial troubles they have had and they say they are having trouble paying bills again. they have had negative changes in the credit card terms. >> you really want to flash warning light this is morning a little bit and say to people -- in fact, i wonder why we have to, given that we have just gone through this terrible downturn in the economy. you think if that didn't teach us to save our money, what will? >> we need reminders. it's like a regular diet. it's not that people don't know

they need to eat less and exercise more. >> it's like chocolate. >> sometimes we have to remind ourselves to spend less and save more. we can tell you how. >> you're going to tell us how this morning number one, you suggest to budget backwards. save first. >> save anywhere from 10% to 15% of what you bring in every single month without fail. once you do that, i don't care what you spend your money on. go spend it however you want. put that savings aside first. by the way, the money in a 401(k) and those matching dollars, they do count. we get that question all the time. >> and you should max out contributions. no matter how young you are and how much should you donate? >> it can make a big difference. we crunched numbers over two decades and found someone who put the maximum into their 401(k) versus someone that puts the typical 7% in gets about $36,000 more. that's after paying taxes. it can make a significant amount of money.

$16,500 away if you're under age 50. an additional $5,500 more. >> here's the thing. if you put 3% in, 4%, just increase it by a percentage point. just try it out. i guarantee you that you won't miss that you're doing it. take it up by another point and eventually you get to the max. >> and matches are up this year. that's good news. more companies are reinstating them which had eliminated them and some are adding them. >> there's good news. also you say to consider using home equity. how? >> well, you can tap your home equity in the form of refinancing the mortgage which is not the easiest thing to do now. the paperwork is a bear. >> but the rates are so low people want to do it. >> the rates have topped a little bit, but home equity lines of credit are more available than they used to be. i have had this debt diet out for a long time.

when you look at it, the most popular thing people want to do is find money to reduce interest rates, reduce debt, using home equity debt is a terrific way to do that, but make sure you don't go out and charge the credit cards right back up again. if you don't think you have the willpower to leave your hands off the plastic, leave the home equity alone. >> that puts your house at risk. it can be risky. >> we have two more and not a lot of time. get your portfolio in shape. how? >> well, you want to make sure you have the right asset allocation for future goals. there are online calculators and questionnaires that can help. vanguard has a great one. check it once a year to be sure you are in the right place. >> if you're not going to do it, just put your money in a target date retirement fund. they will keep you balanced if you're not going to do it yourself. >> be smart with the tax refund that's coming in. >> use it to pay back debt, use it to save, split the

difference. >> don't buy a new coat without having done that. >> absolutely. >> okay. yes, ma'am. both of you are giving good advice this morning. jean and mandy. coming up next, should you eat six small meals to lose more weight? joy answer that is and other questions in diet s.o.s. and later, she's one of the models of the "sports illustr e illustrat illustrated" swimsuit issue. [ brays ] and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang. is caesar home? we get double miles every time we use our card, no matter what we're buying. thank you! thank you very much! [ garth ] it's hard to beat double miles! if anyone objects, let them speak now or forever hold their... [ bleats ] [ 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? cannonball!! [ clang ]

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alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you or anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses, it's stelara®. this morning on joy's diet s.o.s. we are answering your questions like whether eating six meals a day can help you lose weight and is coconut water worth the extra calories? joy, good to see you. >> hey, al. >> we have lauren in beachwood, new jersey. what's your question, lauren? >> i hear people say that you should eat five to six small meals a day or three regular-size meals a day to lose weight.

i'm not sure which is the right way to go about doing it. >> good question. >> really good. the truth is that one eating style over the other is not more effective when it comes to losing weight. the key is simply to make smart food choices and to control the collective amount of calories you eat at the end of the day. for weight loss it should be between 1200 and 1600 calories. i find people typically choose to eat the traditional three square meals a day because of hectic schedules and it's easier to socialize that way and we have a heartier appetite so you get more volume less frequently. if that's the direction you choose, you want each of the three meals to be between 350 and 500 calle ories. that gives you room for a snack. if you want nibble meals be a stickler for portion size. keep those mini meals mini which is no easy task. they should be between 200 and

250. that's a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter, rice cakes with cottage cheese or half a sandwich. choose whichever you like. they are equally effective. just watch your calories. >> good luck. >> thank you. >> the next question from sarah is something i have been wondering. she's on the phone in new york. good morning. >> caller: good morning. >> your question for joy? >> caller: my question is about coconut water. i have heard how hydrating and how great it is for you. i want to know if it's worth the extra calories and if you're better off sticking with plain old water. >> coconut water is only worth the extra calories if you absolutely love the taste or you are a serious endurance athlete. here's why. companies can claim coconut water hydrates you better because it contains some electrolytes, things like potatoes y

potassium and sodium. it's the same science behind sports beverages. we know for serious athletes exercising longer than 60 minutes at a time -- for example, marathon runners, hikers or serious basketball players, they do better when they sip on a beverage. they have more staying power and they have better hydration when the beverage has carbohydrates and electrolytes. now, for everybody else, who either is not a serious athlete or a casual exerciser, plain water does the trick fine. then it just boils down to drink the coconut water because you love it and account for the calories. one cup has about 45 calories. eight to ten grams of sugar. natural sugar but it's still there. and 40 to 100 milligrams of sodium. water is free of all that stuff. >> do you think it's better than sports drinks? >> it's kind of a wash. it really is. it does have good things in it. if you like the taste, by all means, drink it. there is no magic to it.

>> last one is a viewer e-mail from colleen writing, what is the difference between soft spread marge rarine and hard st? are either good for you? >> soft tub spreads clearly win. the story is that butter has a lot of saturated fat which drives up cholesterol. most stick margarine has a worse fat. it's the trans-fat which drives up bad cholesterol and lowers the good. the nice part about soft tub spreads, they have zero trans-fat. look at your favorite brand, look on the nutrition panel, make sure it says 0 trans-fat and look in the ingredient part to be sure there is no high dodge nadroj nated oil. for purists try the whipped butter. there is a lot of air incorporated into the butter to drive down the calories and fat.

it tastes delicious and it's in a soft tub. >> thank you. still to come on "today," we're going to show you what's in vogue with jill martin in her fun finds. first, these messages. eggland's best eggs. the best in nutrition... just got better. even better nutrition -- high in vitamins d, e, and b12. a good source of vitamin a and b2. plus omega 3's. and, 25% less saturated fat than ordinary eggs. but there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. better taste. better taste. yum! [ female announcer ] eggland's best. better taste -- and now even better nutrition -- make the better egg. better taste -- and now even better nutrition -- your favorites, in pieces.

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cash? he want cash! want better rewards? peggy? switch to discover. america's number 1 cash rewards program. it pays to discover. so have we mentioned that we are giving a viewer and a guest the royal treatment? we're sending the two of them to london for an all expense paid trip during the week of william and kate's royal wedding. >> send us a video that's no more than two minutes long detailing why london is calling you and why you should be there for the excitement. head to todayshow.com for more information. >> speaking of the royal wedding

we'll go live to london for new details on everything from the bachelor party to the honeymoon. that and more after your local news. so you have five brothers. tough being the only girl. aw, there's the man of the house. who's this ? this is rufus. hey, rufus. he's actually pretty talented. you wanna see him do a trick ? ok. hey rufus. who do we love ? we love our bank. we love our bank. we love our bank. we love our bank. yes, yes. you really love your bank don't you. ally bank customers love our 24/7 customer care that allows you to talk to a real person anytime. ally. do you love your bank ? give me half an hour. ahhh. ♪ ohh! ♪ [ male announcer ] so simple you could make em yourself. breakfast!! [ male announcer ] so delicious you don't have to. golden crispy outside, warm and fluffy inside.

did you make coffee too? yes... i will. [ male announcer ] eggo waffles. simply delicious. . good morning. 9:26. checking the forecast. >> little rain and wind was knocking around the camera behind you. that is he going to increase. we have wind and a system of low pressure makes its way inland. right now a nice break from the showers. north bay spreading south. as we head throughout the rest of the afternoon, tonight a lot of rain on the way. let's find out how your drive is looking. >> good morning.

it is okay now. but it is going to get a little slow. 24 minutes. live look at the toll plaza still has a back up. starting to move really well. we'll look out to the maps again, we have an accident heading into the area and into fremont into the south bay clearing up right now. more news after this.

a shift in how students are accepts to the university system. it may mean students will have to go to school further from home. san diego state is the first to turn away qualified local students. in the past, students could count on being given priority at their local campus. schools typically hold on non local applicant to a higher

standard. that fear is that the other universities will now follow sandsa sandsa sanj. if tax hike rz not extended important programs could be cut. cuts to wild land firefighting as well as programming across the state. the cuts are part of a plan to save $13.5 billion. governor jerry brown has proposed cuts in his goal to close the state deficit. the "today" show coming up in just a minute.

yes, that is a 71-year-old woman dubbed "super granny." she made headlines around the world after foiling a jewelry store robbery in a single bound in great britain with a few pows from her purse. she stops by our studio tomorrow on "today." >> i cannot wait to meet her. she wasn't just standing by. she races over there. >> oh, man. >> i want to know what's in the pocketbook. >> got some weight in there. >> kryptonite. >> she's a great story from

great britain, but not the only story. we are all talking about the wedding of prince william and kate middleton. there are new details about the bachelor party and also the wedding party and the honeymoon. >> flower girls. >> we'll go live to london for more. >> if you thought you would never wear anything tie-dyed again jill martin said it is back in style again. she's wearing hers widely. so are the wide-legged pants. we'll take a walk down memory lane. everything from tees to toys with jill's fun finds. >> the candy -- the dots candy. >> remember? >> the mary janes. >> i never understood. it was just sugar. >> what don't you understand? >> it's gross. >> yum. >> they're making turkish taffy again. >> okay. we move on. >> everything's ducky in today's kitchen. if you think preparing duck for dinner is difficult, we'll show you how easy it is with a delicious recipe.

>> a check of the weather first. >> today it will be chilly and breezy in the northeast. heavy rain into the pacific northwest. sprinkles in texas. we have partly cloudy skies in florida. showers move in tomorrow. more rain down into southern california tomorrow. plenty of sunshine up and down the east coast withal cool weather and temperatures begin to moder good morning. well, we are taking a nice break from the showers but there is more on the way. a quick, hard, fast round of showers expected as we head through tonight. could take up to three inches of rain in the north bay. cloudy conditions until noon and the showers will start up again. 59 degrees. as we head through tomorrow, 57 degrees windy conditions more rain on the way. just not as potent as tonight's system.

that's your latest weather. jill gave me some taffy. >> very nice. there you go. >> we met a cover model this morning irina shayk on the "sports illustrated" swimsuit issue. hitting news stands today. guys are running to the news stands as we speak. >> model chrissy tegan is one of the models featured. congratulations. >> thank you. i have been so excited. i just saw it for the first time back there. >> including your boyfriend john legend who's back there. >> so awesome. >> very nice. >> thumbs up, john? >> thumbs up. >> fresh from the airport. poor guy. i made him come. he just came to see me here. for me, this is new. >> this is your second time in the issue. >> yeah. >> is it different the second time around? >> it's really fun.

last year it was a big secret. you can't say anything when you're a rookie. this year i got to go to the super bowl, do radio row, speak a lot. it's been a big build-up. last year i couldn't say anything. it was hard except for this morning. >> now that it's out, what reaction do you get? you have been down this road before. what can you advise other women in the magazine in terms of what happens next? >> it's a career-changer for anybody. of course the cover is amazing. irina was major to me before but now she'll be enormous. for any model out there, this is a game changer. it puts your name out there. i got a better agency, everything happens. my agent is here. >> shoutout to your agent, to your boyfriend. what else is going on? this is a whirlwind now. >> it's crazy. of course the grammys are going on and everything, but then the super bowl promoting the issue.

we're going to vegas which i can't believe. >> all of the models are going. >> right. a big charter flight to vegas. we bring our luggage to the red carpet for the launch. >> oh, for the launch of the magazine. >> the launch is today and we all hit the airport right after. >> there is a rookie model search for next year, i understand. >> it is the first year doing it. you can go online and vote. you get to pick the rookie for next year. >> wow. that could be a huge opportunity. >> lots of models. >> you have had a successful time. >> i'm excited. congrats to john on your three grammys. >> nicely done, my friend. >> he's going to hide my rookie of the year award last year for the grammys. >> oh! >> look at the pout. >> you have a lot to celebrate. >> really good year. >> thank you. >> up next, from bridesmaids to the honeymoon, the latest

details on the royals after these messages. 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. nothing starts your day like honey roasted, honey bunches of oats. with a kiss of golden honey. and the same calories per serving as special k original. who knew 120 calories could taste so delicious? so, try honey roasted, honey bunches of oats! it was a mystery to me. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves

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love how you feel or your money back! time for our countdown to the royal wedding. it's now just 73 days away and preparations are in full swing. everything from the bachelor party to the honeymoon. we have peter alexander already in london with the latest on the story. hey, peter. good morning. >> reporter: ten more weeks we'll be staking out buck house the entire time. the palace can't get rid of us. 73 days. prince william and kate will attend their first and very likely only official public event before the wedding next week. there is a rescue boat christening in wales where william is stationed and the celebration for the 600th anniversary of andrews university where the two met and fell in love. all that and a little wedding in the works. with an estimated tv audience of more than 2 billion people at the world's most anticipated

wedding the kids could easily steal the show. call it a royal version of will & kate plus eight, that's the size of the wedding party. their names released monday on the british monarchy's facebook page -- where else? among the young bridesmaids and p page boys, the nanny's son and lady louise windsor, the queen's youngest granddaughter who suffers from a rare condition that affects her eyes. her parents have been sensitive to keep her out of the spotlight until now. >> she's 7 and overjoyed at the idea of walking down the aisle with kate. very sweet. she's a lovely girl. >> reporter: william's best man, not surprisingly, his best friend prince harry. the two have been side by side for as long as either can remember. that puts harry who's never been afraid of a good night out in charge of the bachelor party. >> i'm sure it will be risque and impossible to keep private. it will be all over the tabloids. >> reporter: kate's maid of honor, her younger sister pippa

with the primary role of making sure kate's dress is properly displayed. at another royal wedding 30 years ago that wasn't an easy task. india hick was just 13 when she was a bridesmaid for diana in 1981. >> of course everyone is behaving regally. they are quiet. outside it was like football hooligans but they were happy, joyful and screaming excitement. you could hear it in the cathedral. >> reporter: and about the dress, not a whisper from the palace but plenty of speculation with two of diana's favorite designers, bruce oldfield and the daughters of the late catherine walker, in the mix. even the royal honeymoon is fuelling rumors. which paradise would you pick? the windsors may stop at balmoral, the queen's home in scotland where kate learned to

shoot. then they are expected to jet off to an exclusive caribbean island where they have escaped before. the real challenge with the royal honeymoon is finding a place where will and kate can go but the paparazzi can't. the spot that's getting buzz in the tabloids is necker island, richard branson's private caribbean island. it's good to be the future king. if i cover this for 73 days i hope it comes with an island assignment after that. >> matt's been there. you can tell him all about it. >> show them around. >> i can't believe you said "buck house." that's the new name for it. not buckingham palace? >> that's what the locals say. >> groovy. all right. peter, thank you so much. coming up next, '70s and '80s flashback with retro fun finds after these messages. who says credit card rewards can't be simple?

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isn't that amazing? taking a walk down memory lane as jill's fun finds goes retro. "today" and "us weekly" contributor jill martin has it covered. i love the background. >> we have a lot to get to here. ready to go back in time. >> cabbage patch dolls. we all remember not being able to get one. >> my aunt waiting to get one in the middle of the night. they are coming back reinvented. this is a kathie lee cabbage patch doll. she had it made for her. >> no wine glass. >> not on this one. the new cabbage patch doll, every child can relate to. there is a skater, a shopper. these will be out this summer. >> more like your child which is great. over here we are excited about this. we were playing pac-man with the joystick. >> you just go on itunes and download your favorite games. there is a joystick that

attaches to your ipad and you can play games with the joystick. >> simon says, this is the old and here's the new. >> remember this? from hasbro. it's toy fair now. these are all coming out this summerer. the new simon game, you can travel. it's four games and it has the classic one in it where you touch it when it lights up. remember the ez-bake oven? no more lightbulb. it comes with red velvet mix which is your favorite. comes out faster. there are different molds. i grew up with this. >> we all did. >> this is basically the only thing i can cook on. >> you're wearing the bell bottoms and tie dye. wide leg pants are in. >> absolutely. back to the '70s. look at the wide leg. you can go as retro as you feel comfortable. the scarf is great from xoxo. we saw dots on the show when

michelle obama came back. >> fabulous dress from h & m. >> this is from bloomingdale's but you get the '70s vibe with the dots. >> and these, bike shorts are back? >> just throwing it out there. from the '80s, biker shorts are back in. they are great for teenagers. you can wear these with a black legging underneath with a t-shirt. >> tie dye, as you wear this shirt we see here. >> tie dye are great. i love these shorts. look at these. >> oh, cute. >> really fun. >> wonderful. >> if you're into disney animation, you are seeing the classics come back, too. these are bambi. >> patterson kincaid teamed up with disney. you can go on and order these for the first time. feel the t-shirts. >> beautiful cotton. >> they are so great. you see bambi and his friends on the t-shirts. wear them under blazers. they're great for adults.

>> and keds? >> all the different colors, different patterns. they are comfortable. different laces. they are back and they are in. >> and jewelry? how is this channelling back to the '80s? >> back to the '70s. theodora & callum jewelry. how great is it with a white t-shirt as a statement piece? i showed it in silver. you can really mix and match metals now rather than in the '70s when it was all about the gold chunky jewelry. >> in makeup, dior has pallets that are retro. >> again, back to the '70s. blue eye shadow and red lipstick. >> very farrah fawcett. >> do not wear them together. pick one and go with it. >> and the candy. al was excited about the taffy. >> dylan's candy bars from the

'60s, '70s, '80s. >> i remember these bottles. disgusting. they're wax. >> the producer drank ten during set-up yesterday. anything you want from here is really great to throw you back. >> jill, thanks for making me feel old this morning. yay! >> i'm there with you. >> up next in "today's kitchen" why not try duck for a quick and elegant dinner? first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning, what's for dinner? tired of chicken? try duck. suffering succotash. chef, great to see you. >> nice to see you, too. >> a lot of people are intimidated by duck but it's easy. >> it is. >> if you are doing it with the skin on you want to render this off. >> the most important thing is to render the fat out. a lot of people think duck is

unhealthy. it's not if you take away the fat or render it off. i will season it lightly with salt on the skin side and then salt and pepper on the breast side. >> should you score the skin at all? >> you don't need to. some people think you do. you really don't need to. depends on the effect you are looking for. i do it on a really low temperature. this way i'm really not cooking the flesh and i'm rendering out the fat. >> okay. >> we're going to move to this pan. we have this breast, about 20 minutes later and as you can see it's nice and golden brown. >> nice. >> what i'm going to do is take some thyme and some garlic -- >> wow, attack it. >> i will crush it with the heel of my hand and do a technique which is to baste. i will baste the flesh and allow the meat to kind of cook. then i will flip it over. at this point i would pop the

duck in the oven for a minute. there is very little fat here. >> right. we have a salad to go with it. this is nice to cut the fat. >> exactly. citrus is so cleansing. it really works well with the salad. we have fennel, frise and baby aru arugula. it makes the salad pop. we have orange segments. these are nice. >> mint? >> just going to tear it. al, want to toss that? >> you bet. >> i will season it with a little bit of salt. salt draws out moisture and makes things taste good. i'm just going to squeeze the juices of an orange. >> yes. >> that i have segmented in and a little bit of lemon juice. >> always good to check when you hear that door open. you never know who's coming in.

>> that didn't sound welcoming, al. >> it was absolutely. >> i think we should leave. >> it was just a warning. >> and a light drizzle of olive oil. >> you want to put that on the plate? >> sure. >> fan out the orange -- i mean the duck. >> fan out the duck. >> beautiful. >> a nice healthy salad. >> and we'll make it unhealthy here. >> that's good. >> chef, thank you so much. the recipe on the website at todayshow.com. >> still to ,osh

. 9:56. check in on the rainy day forecast with christina. >> good morning to you. we are getting a bit of a break.

before the heaviest precipitation that we are expecting all week. we are talking two inches of rain tonight over the course of five hours in the north bay. and we're talking about an inch in the beast aeast and south ba. right now a break from the showers. bulk of the moisture comes through by 5:00 and 10:00 tonight. heavy pounding of rain drops overnight. another round of rain on tap for tomorrow. let's find out how your roadways are faring the weather. >> we had light traffic. for tuesday, big back ups here. all lanes clear as you are passing highway 84. we should see major improvement over the next half hour. no major good alternate route heading up towards the golf course. we have an accident on the upper

deck. light volume of traffic there. back to you. >> thank you. >> a valentine's day tradition is leaving the city with a broken heart this morning. hundreds of people turned out for the pillow fight in san francisco. but that created a big mess. the department of public works said it cost $17 million to clean up that mess because the feathers were wet. >> maybe they can ask for monetary donation and i know it is like a free problem but you would be surprised how many people pitch in. >> with budget cuts throughout the city and no one to send a clean up bill to. officials say it might be time to put the tradition to bed. the "today" show returns in a minute. we'll see you back here in a bit.

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it's truly life-changing. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hey, everybody. we're so glad you're with us. hope you had a beautiful valentine's day yesterday. it's february 15th. >> the day after. >> the day after. somebody came in a little messy this morning, needed a lot of fluffing, because apparently she had a lovely date last night, right? >> what do you mean fluffing? >> you were out late. >> okay. >> the guy who i'm going out with was overseas in the congo,

and he wanted to come back. i said, you don't have to get -- >> he was getting in about 4:00. >> in the restaurant, suit on, scruffy. >> oh, yummy. >> it was almost like -- something about the suit -- he had the suit on, the valentine's day suit. i loved that. i thought that was really sweet. >> the nice part is you learned how much you missed him. >> isn't that funny about life sometimes? they're gone for a couple weeks, and you do. the best tough -- after i got off the show, there were roses, and i was like, wow, beautiful roses. i counted them, not that i'm like that, and there were 16. i said, that's interesting, why 16? i opened the card, and it said, you know, dear hoda, the traditional 12 roses, plus one for each month that i'm known you. score! score! >> touchdown as we say in my house.

>> i don't know what's going on today in the show and don't care. just letting you know, those are my feelings about it. >> that's wonderful. very happy for you. and barbie and ken are back, which i'm also happy about. they're back in love. he's been tweeting about how much he missed her all these years. she was going out with a surfer named blaine, and so -- well, they're back together. >> here's the funny thing about ken and barby. first of all, i can't believe they're tweeting. ken -- ken and i were made for each other and our love is grander than any dream house. i mean, cheapie? >> they're broke up in '04 and now back together. when i read that i was touched, because maybe a lot of you know in my life, my first love was a surfer, and, boy, when you fall for a surfer, you fall for the rest of your life. you just do. i had a phone call just right before we came on the air this morning that his daughter, his

beautiful daughter, abigail called me, to say that he died yesterday surfing in malibu. he had a massive heart attack. he was 60 years old in great shape. he was one of the sweetest, most gentle-spirited people i have ever known in my life, though we obviously never married, you never get over that first love, you know. we've always remained dear friends, and his daughter came to live with me -- you all may know years later she was the breakout star of the year at the soap opera awards when she was on all my children, abigail spencer. now she's acting in movies. just a beautiful girl. my love goes out to his wife and all his kids. i found out this morning as well that my dear friend lisa kit ridges's dad lost his battle with lou gehrig's disease. it's the ebb and flow of life. yesterday i get this beautiful news, and then the sad news about people that i love.

and it just makes you hold on, boy. just grab 9 people you love and just tell them that you do, because you never know. you just never know. he had been out in california visiting with abbey and her little boy. so she had spent a week with him surfing and being with him, but, you know, when god calls you home, there's not much you can do. >> strange how on monday your life seems like everything is perfect, and then on tuesday everything falls apart. later in the week, somehow it picks back up. it's strange how life is. >> that's why for me it's so important to have faith, believe in something, you know? that you can hold on to and just you know grab the hand a little tighter than you normally would not. it gets you through. >> i went to this breakfast -- >> at 21 club this morning. >> to speak and there was a woman -- they were asking questions. and she said i just want to tell you something. she said i was going through the

most difficult time, talking about a job loss and other things in her life. she was talking about how sometimes you just need something to lighten the load. she said, it's funny, i tuned in at 10:00, because i needed to feel for an hour to feel less sad. she said, it was one of those things. make sure you tell kathy -- i said, i'm right here, you can tell me too, but it made you feel like sometimes people just need a place where they can be free. >> usually here at 10:00. that's what we're trying to do. but abbey asked me to tell the world. i don't know why. i'm touched she called me. >> i think that's sweet. >> nancy -- anyway. a couple just celebrated 77 years of marriage. >> robert and virgilia, married in 1934. she's -- he's 102, she's 101.

they live in a retirement home. the couple has one daughter, two grandkids and a couple great-grandkids. did anyone ask them what the secret is? how does that continue? >> i don't know, but they are adorable. >> so sweet sitting very far apart now, though. have you noticed that? after a while, you're like, i'm over here. >> hey. so charlie sheen's back in the news. >> oh, charlie. >> what is going on? >> i don't know. >> he called into that dan patrick, the sport show or whatever, was talking about his visit with the ucla team -- i don't even know what happened. i don't even know what's going on. >> she's in a daze. he's ready to go back to work. apparently he had gone over to the cbs studios, banging on the doors to come to work. they're dark, because he's supposed to be in rehab. where is everybody?

no one told him that the set was dark. that's why he was hoarse talking to dan patrick on the phone. basically he was saying, what is stunning about this interview, he was basically saying, um, that -- she does not like sobriety. he found he was board to death. i was bored out of my tree. so he said i'm sober right now, all right, get me -- open the set, get me -- because i'm ready, and i might not be ready very much longer, because this is not -- it's inauthentic for him to be sober. >> okay. >> i think the story continues. >> this one really shocked me with how open he was. billy ray cyrus gave this interview, talking about his daughter. this is the first time he opened up about the relationship in terms of the detail. >> but people know the marriage is almost dissolved. >> he talked about being a parent versus being a friend.

i thought this was interesting. the business was a driving wedge between us. other than the parents might say you don't need to be a friend, you need to be a parent. i'm the first guy to say, you were right, i should have been a better parent, i should have said enough is enough. it's getting dangerous and somebody is going to get hurt. that's pretty powerful. >> they had a devout home for a long time, and on their faith, he said somewhere along this journey, both mine and miley's faith has been shaken. that saddens me the most. there's always been a battle between good and evil. this is a chance to bring family together and look what it's turned into. >> this shocked me, too. on hannah montana, which you thought was a great show for them. it says it destroyed my family. the damn show destroyed my family, for my family to be here and just be everybody okay, safe and sound, happy and normal would have been fantastic. heck, yeah, i would erase it all in a second if i could. i don't know that it's the show

that destroys your family. >> no many families have come out of childhood shows and do just fine. i think he hit it on the nose, when he said i wanted to be my kid's friend. they have friends, they need parents. you can't just be the one parent, the wife tish. you need to love them enough to say no. >> i agree. you know who we can't stand? we shouldn't say that. >> i can't stand it when they take my body and put some other girl's face on it. i'm tired of that. every year they do it, they never pay me and ind kind of sick of it. personally. >> irina sheikh. >> i was supposed to do the herman show yesterday and couldn't because of cassidy's play last night, then i realized that all of the swimsuit models there were yesterday. that's the real reason i didn't do it. >> if you travel, okay, and you

want a kind of outfit that you can, qulo know, throw in your bag quickly and turn into different pieces of clothing, look who we have here. two of our nbc stars. >> hello, ladies. >> i want to say how skinny everybody is getting at nbc. you guys look awesome. this is a dress garment that can be worn -- five pieces, two accessories, 25 different outfits it is chick on the go. would you wear this in real life? >> some of the pieces, yes. >> is it just a couple pieces? >> 1, 2, 3, and then -- >> two accessories, five pieces. >> look how glam. everybody looks so pretty. >> thank you. >> remember she did one of our makeovers. she just runs things pretty much. >> $199, that's a bargain for 25 outfits. >> you look hot, too. >> gorgeous. they don't want to go.

>> why would they? >> the top honeymoon destinations, "bride magazine" is -- our fan of the week yesterday is so thrilled she's going to paris. >> france is number 10. bahamas, greece, then costa rica. >> bermuda. bali, italy, my favorite, fiji, french polyneeshia, and hawaii. >> all of them sound darn good right now. >> any of them, don't you think? still to come, diving to win a diamond engagement ring before taking the plunge. this will be one of those pieces of video that will live on and on and on. and josh groban kicks off his world tour, and he's here live to tell us all about it. beautiful new record, right after this. kicks off his world tour and he's here to talk about it.

today's talk is brought to you by -- real chocolate chips

you'll never forget the moments that are crammed with joy, chips ahoy! . >> best music ever. by the way, josh groban is on the way. he's on 66th street. valentine's day is the big day for engagements, which means a

lot of brides-to-be are now searching for that perfect wedding dress. >> she's the fashion editor for the knot.com, as in tying the knot. >> is kate middleton setting all kinds of trends? is that what's going on? >> we don't know too many details about kate's dress. the dress is actually being designed inside the walls of buckingham palace. so it's top secret. >> you have on a wedding dress, a little shortie. >> i'm getting married in september, so i thought i would get in on the action, and i'm wearing a little dress from priscilla of boston, and it's just a little cocktail dress. you can wear it to the reception or leaving the reception. so a lot of fun. >> beautiful. >> we're getting to the models. first we have allison who is peti petite, and show us the trend allison is showing off. >> allison is wearing a dress by ann taylor. the best part about this dress,

$495. >> they can run up into the many thousands. >> you got it. they add a lot of fun and add a nice touch without a lot of bulk. >> you have to be careful about not being overwhelmed by the dress. >> right, something slim. next up, we have natalie, who is tall, and she's wearing a dress -- that is gorgeous. >> that doesn't scream wedding dress to me, but that is beautiful. >> this dress is a huge trend. this is from nordstrom and this dress is $558. >> it looks like it's $5,000 with all that beadwork. >> exactly. it's a plan the prohibition era trend which is huge because of the boardwalk empire. >> it's also like the great gatsby. >> good for a second marriage, perhaps. >> it's great for a destination. >> it is. thank you, natalie. i'm so excited about this next

model. jen gotty, our manager. >> i didn't even know you were engaged. congratulations. >> this dress is from david's bridal. it's $640. again, another great price. >> go, gotty. >> it's not the huge ball gown, so we think it's kind of the kate middleton modern princess look. that's what we're calling it. a little bit of beading. it's great because the neckline minimizes her bust and the draped waist shows off her figure. >> it's so pretty in the back. >> that's beautiful. >> next step is our garden glam. we're seeing melissa who has a curvy figure. beautiful. >> melissa does have a curvy figure and she's showing it off. we always recommend that. if you've got it, flaunt it.

>> because all eyes will be on you. >> it's $2,000, but it's got all the beadwork from the top of the shoulder neck line to the hem, so it's worth every penny. >> this is like the cinderella. >> come on out, christy. >> this is gorgeous. >> this is by vera wang, and this gown, believe it or not, $1,000 for all of this. we're playing up this whole ballerina thing. the pink bodice to the tulle skirt. >> we think josh groban is now he>> >> he'll be live, right after this. ♪ [ woman ] tonight, i'm gonna teach amelia my secret recipe.

combine two pounds of potatoes and some cooking oil with a packet of hidden valley ranch, and we have a side dish that might just upstage the main -- ranch potatoes. [ male announcer ] hidden valley ranch.

mix it up. well, look who just showed up. literally fell out of bed and made his way over here. thanks a lot. >> we're going to talk to josh groban in a little bit. the first valentine's day is one of the most romantic times for a couple to take the big leap and get engaged. >> our lucky couple as the groom

took a dive for the engagement ring. >> ten wannabe grooms so they could pop the question. >> for these ten men and their soon-to-be fiances, wedded bliss starts at the bottom of this pool. >> the first thing is romance. >> among these 10,000 balls is a special apple which represents a $10,000 diamond engagement ring. the winner just has to be the first one to find it. >> if he gets the lucky ball, are you ready to be engaged today? >> i'm ready. >> i'm ready. that's why we're here. >> when is the last time you played in one of these fun things. >> it's been a long time. we debated going to chuck e. cheese. >> it's all done by the topps

company in honor of their own anniversary of ten years. >> this is what i'm looking for? this is the ring? >> it's beautiful. >> i feel like i should propose right now. >> oh, my god, that makes my heart skip and i don't even know you. >> some couples have been together almost a decade. to compete, each bachelor uploaded his plea for an engagement ring on facebook. ten finalists were chosen. >> have you done anything to prepare for this big dive? >> i've been collecting change on the bottom of ymca pools. >> so either way you either raised enough money to buy the ring, or you're going to get it here? what's your big victory dance going to look like? >> it's going to be something like this, raising the roof. >> oh, i like that. >> oh, my -- >> something like that.

>> you're doing a good job on your own. >> do you have a victory dance? >> probably here. >> so it's going to be more of a lifetime moment? >> tuxedos in place, time to dive in. >> will you marry me? >> she said i want a private engagement, so they're going to do it again in their own time. >> i like it like that. >> josh groban has arrived. >> and don is going to cook for us.

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by giving me huge discounts on rooms hotels can't always fill. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. with unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. where you book matters. expedia. good morning. it is time now, 10:26. check in on the forecast with christina. >> good morning to you. we are still getting a break from the showers. we have more rain on the way as we head through this evening. we are expecting heavy downpours at times. let's show you what is coming. a strong line of showers and storms. by 5:00 p.m. showers in the north bay, maybe two inches of rain tomorrow morning we will see clearing but we will be left with saturated grounds and highways. let's see how your commute looks this morning. >> good morning. not so bad, despite the rain.

this evening's commute will be impacted. eastbound right now you are moving nicely. there is an accident there. approaching the toll plaza where we have a little back up forming now. volume is starting to thin out. nice smooth form both directing southbound on the right. crossing over the water. no major issues except for the wind. you might get caught with a gust. be careful out there. moreness after the break. honey...? [ mom ] yes.

honey, i can't find my internet cord. oh, i'll borrow hailey's. you're downloading movies. fast! from here? where is her cord?! we switched to at&t high speed internet and got wireless access. no more cords. wireless, okay, honestly, can i just get a cord, please? dad, the cord's invisible. [ female announcer ] for a limited time, call to get high speed internet for just $14.95 a month for 12 months with select services and a 1-year price guarantee. it's our fastest internet for the price. oooh. videos online? here? how much is that? nothin'. at&t high speed internet at home includes access here. our invisible cord is really long, dad. oooh. [ female announcer ] get access to the entire at&t national wi-fi network for no extra charge. so for a limited time, get high speed internet for just $14.95 a month for 12 months with select services and a 1-year price guarantee. aren't you glad we switched to at&t? yes...but i want my own invisible cord. you already have one.

oh. ♪ south bay will get a boost and construction could begin as soon as next year. the federal transportation agency is recommending $130 million in federal money for that project. the congress says it may cut billions of dollars out of president obama's transportation budget. the ten mile extension is expected to cost $2.3 billion. east bay city wants san francisco's stratrash. pittsburgh is talking to san francisco about dumping in the landfill. 4 to 500 million tons of trash to a lance fill in ala mmeda county every year. pittsburgh wants the new

contract. if both side as grs agree, pitt could make $1 million a year on that deal. thank you for joining us this morning. the "today" show continuing up next. ♪ you bring me up so i can climb a mountain ♪ you raise me up. >> josh groban's video for you, "you raise me up." josh is a singer known for his strong, classical voice. >> in case anyone is watching who might be interested. >> you read the asterisk really well, by the way. >> he released his album called "illuminations." >> it's very romantic. there's some surprises in it. when i looked and saw that rick

groban produced it. >> who knew the guy who just did the metallica record had such a heart. i was scared to meet him because i thought he was a rap guy and didn't imagine he would know my world so well. boy, was i wrong. >> you wrote 11 of the 13 tracks on the cd, and i understand they're personal. is every song connected to somebody in your life? >> i think so. sometimes when you write, you write based on a story you develop in your head and sometimes it's not autobiographical and sometimes you write about a very specific person. there is a mix of that on this record. rick told me not to be afraid to tap into my life experiences and write traditionally. >> your life experiences are very multinational because you sing in portuguese, you sing in french, spanish. what, four languages?

>> right. ♪ to all the girls i loved before ♪ i took japanese for four or five years which finally served me well when i did a concert in tokyo, which was awesome. those i've found to be very music musical. the foreign languages are very fun. >> you told matt yesterday about your valentine's day, that you were going to, what, cry an ocean of tears in the tub? >> sure. i just sit in it empty and it slowly fills until i just go, enough, enough! >> and you're wrinkly and pruny at the end. >> gross. >> how was your valentine's day? >> my valentine's day was fine. i had to get a lot of rest.

when you're a pro singer, you have to put your amorousness aside and rest your voice. i stayed in and watched "antique roadshow." >> that's a hot show. >> you have the biggest album a couple years back. we expect a guy like you to be out with a swimsuit model. >> well -- thank you. >> and they are all in town right now. why were you watching "antique roadshow"? that's so lame. >> the swimsuit models don't have an understanding of the voice the next day. you have to create your valentine's day. valentine's day should be all day long so on the actual day, you can feel okay to be miserable. >> you recently moved to new york city. and you're an l.a. guy. how are you finding it getting your apartment together and all that? >> i love it. it's the first place where i decided it's okay if i don't

have furniture for a few months. >> swimsuit models do like furniture. maybe that's your problem. >> maybe so. great chair! that's a fish tank. but i love the energy of the city. i just love walking. you miss so much when you're in the car, and rarely when i take a long walk with my dog in l.a., i'll walk into a store and be like, how long have you been here? they'll be like, four years. wow, i drive past it all the time. being right near lincoln center and broadway, it's great. >> one of the songs you sing is "the bells of new york city," right? >> i'm not sure if i could write it while living here. i needed to write it while new york was still my mistress, calling me from afar. >> the old ball. welcome to my world!

>> the old ball and chain. it's great. we're in our honeymoon period now and i'm loving it. >> good luck with your new cd. >> i'm on the road again. we're heading to new orleans. we'll be rehearsing there and performing there. it's been forever since i've been on the road. thanks, guys. >> up next, we find out why 50 is not the new 30. it's not the new 30. no, you're just old.

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if you're 50-something who thinks 50 is the new 30, think again. a new book called "between a rock and a hot place," why 50 is not the new 30, says get over yourself for your own good. >> she interviewed 50-somethings for her new web blog, and here's what two had to say about it. >> is 50 the new 30?

absolutely not. >> aches, pains. >> kids leaving for college, aging parents to take care of. >> how many years do i have left and what do i want to accomplish? >> i think that's part of what stresses us out, not really knowing, maybe, what we want or what should be on our bucket list. >> bucket list. wow. hi, tracy. thank you. thanks so much. we feel so great. >> i know. happy day. >> but that's what you do here. everybody says 50 is the new 30. everyone looks younger, they feel like they have more energy, and you say huh-uh. >> i think we all do look younger, if you look just at the three of us and say what did our grandparents look like at this age, there is no question people look younger, they feel younger, they look healthier. i think the problem is society hasn't caught up to science in a way, so people don't really make a plan. we all have a plan for the first 30 years of our life. it starts when you're playingnn

as a little girl, you're going to get married, have children, have a career. but nobody gave you a plan at age 50. the second wife, the old folks' home, the kids going to college, so a lot of women wake up at 50, if their kids have left home and they were a full-time mother, i call it the biggest pink slip. it's the emptiness of that. what are they going to do? it's very hard to pick up a career at 50. >> you're a comedy writer. >> comedy writer. >> you said in your 40s, you started to realize the work was drying up. but you're still funny. it's not like you're making your living as a swimsuit model. >> maybe i could have. >> you look amazing. but you hear what i'm saying, your job was not all tied up with being a sex symbol. >> not at all, but hollywood, as you know, is an ageless town. >> unless you're a man. >> but the truth is, it's an ageless town.

comedy is kind of a guy's game, it's a young guy's game. it's actually even getting to be more of a guy's game in the last ten years. so in my 40s, i could see i could have still worked a little bit if i had really, really pushed it, and i try to push this in my book, but i still feel that women have to look at their lives and their careers in their mid-40s and say, okay. is it working? is there someone coming up behind me? am i going to wake up at 52 and maybe not have a job or be downsized? i think everybody should have a plan b. i really do. >> the book is funny, we should point out. but not like you are. >> i'm so depressing. it's all over. i also think it's the beginning of a lot of things, but i think what you have to face is, you start making your choices and you have this next 20-year span that you had from 30 to 50, you're going to make excuses about men -- >> you're going to look like a freak if you have all that stuff

done that you had done to make you look 30. >> i talk about it in the book, i got some stuff shot in my face, i'm not going to lie, but i don't want to look like a clown. >> you don't want your lips to enter the room before you. >> i think you have to exercise, i think you have to keep yourself healthy. but i really think it's important for women at a certain age, and i think most women i talked to feel like they've lost control of their lives and they need to take that power back and own their lives. you can only do that and say, i'm 50. where do i want to be nor tfor next 30 years. >> a lot of goodies in that book. thank you. how to help your skin, after these messages. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then, well, i have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, the loss of interest, trouble concentrating, the lack of energy. [ male announcer ] if depression is taking so much out of you, ask your doctor about pristiq.

pristiq is a prescription medicine proven to treat depression. pristiq is thought to work by affecting the levels of two chemicals in the brain -- serotonin and norepinephrine. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior, or thoughts of suicide. anti-depressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens, and young adults. pristiq is not approved for children under 18. do not take pristiq with maois. taking pristiq with nset pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor about all your medications, including those for migraine, to avoid a potentially life threatening condition. pristiq may cause or worsen high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or glaucoma. tell your doctor if you have heart disease, or before you reduce or stop taking pristiq. side-effects may include nausea, dizziness and sweating. for me, pristiq is a key in helping me treat my depression. ask your doctor about pristiq. [ female announcer ] there's a place called hidden valley

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if you're embarrassed by ak necessa -- acne as an adult or your teen has blemishes, help is on the way.

>> she has the most gorgeous skin i've ever seen in my life. gorgeous! >> thank you. it's all makeup. >> i don't think so. >> the cause of acne, it's hard to know what it is, but is it stress, how you take care of your skin or what's the story? >> it does start at the skin level. it often takes three weeks to start. so a lot of people think, oh, i had french fries yesterday, i have a pimple today. it's often been festerring underneath your skin for a long time. there are so many different reasons acne forms. stress plays a part. hormones, definitely, which is why as a teenager, it can be so hard to eradicate acne, stress and your body is going through so many changes. your skin cells are made out of what you put your body teenwise. >> we're going to start with julian.

>> where you see acne manifest itself on teens is often the forehead, nose, chins. it's usually caused by a lot of oil-producing glands. julie ann has beautiful skin, but it does seem to congregate in the t-zone area. it tends to manifest more on the jaw and on the cheeks. and that's usually caused -- i call it lifestyle acne. it's often caused by stress. you have beautiful skin as well, but in theerly, it would be on the chin and jaw area. one thing a lot of women don't realize, it could be caused by hair products as well. so a lot of women -- >> what? >> a lot of women get breakouts at the hairline, and they're puzzled about it. you could be using something that's too heavy on your hair.

>> what about things on your body that manifests itself into acne. >> this is the good stuff, though. >> flax seed, and the bad stuff which looks tasty, right? >> this doesn't cause acne, does it, chocolate? >> that's one of the biggest myths is french fries, hamburgers, chocolate. studies show chocolate is actually good for you. have one teeny, tiny piece a day. >> hoda loves her french fries. >> i don't care what's going on today. >> we have tons of products here. technology these days, research and development, amazing ingredients for products. a lot of people with acne are afraid to moisturize, because they think if they make their skin a barren, desert wasteland, acne won't produce.

the more you dry out your skin, the more your skin wants to produce more oils. >> it's kind of a catch-22. >> exactly. >> what's a good thing to get? >> cephaloc acid is a good thing. >> you're a good advertisement for good skin, let me tell you. up next, she's cooking up something.

we are back cooking with giada. with presidents' weekend coming up and a lot of kids out of school, a lot of people will be enjoying the outdoors. >> but baby it's cold outside. and giada is here with comfy

comfort food to warm of your loved ones, and your 3-year-old loves minestrone soup? >> she does. >> wait, wait, wait. >> look at her. we don't care about the meal. >> look at her. >> isn't she sweet? >> and the husband is cute, too. >> he's a hot ticket, too. >> i cannot believe she is 3. >> right? >> um-hmm, gorgeous. >> she's the love of my life. anyway, onions, celery and carrots, cook them down for like five, six, seven minutes, ground beech, ground turkey, ground lamb, whatever you like. cook it up for like five minutes. tomatoes. >> fresh tomatoes? >> those are canned tomatoes, can lynni beans. >> those are from tuscany, right? >> also known as tuscan beans. canned, drain and rinse. >> why? >> because you need all of those

starchy things -- it's not even -- truly it's the salt. there's a lot of salt in them. tomato paste for depth of tomato flavor. garlic. >> look at me. i'm showing giada how to cook. >> she's taking over. she even knows the ingredients, and we need some liquid. >> what kind? is there wine involved? >> no wine in here. beef broth. >> how much? >> like two cups. it's a soup, so you want to cook down. you give it a nice stir, let it sit on the stove -- >> now you're showing off, gifford. >> olive oil? >> no. >> why not? why is it here? >> because we used it in the beginning. parmesan cheese. go for it. >> i love everything you make. >> i'm going to be a good cook

someday. >> think i should have a cooking show? >> oh, my gosh. >> and super easy. you dump everything in. >> you're grilling here, so beautiful. >> i love our sandwiches and soups together, especially when it's cold out. comfort food, but light still. grilled vegetable and i take eggplant and zucchini, which is probably the hardest thing to do in this, and make a simple marinade. sun-dried tomatoes garlic, tarragon andtime. >> just talk to me. hoda is not here. >> i'm sorry. >> she has no idea what she's saying nor does she care. >> she's like, what are you making? oh, never mind. i don't really care. >> she's not eating, she's not -- >> so you mix this all together, and you can throw the vegetables in here, and just kind of toss them, or brush it right on. grill them for like, three, four minutes.

>> let's go back -- we have some stuff here. >> my gosh. here we go. we're going to assemble the sandwich. do you want to help? >> yes. >> no, i want to eat. >> this is the marinade that you added to the vegetables. you also add it to the bread. >> that's what we were just mixing up. why is it so much darker? >> because it sat. i maid it this morning. bianca made it this morning, the little elf. goat cheese, spread it on there, grilled vegetables, top it with spin nature, and the best, apogato, epresso, topped with whipped cream. >> harlem globetrotters. maybe hoda will be here. i'm not sure. >> what's happening? >> have a great day. air with a presidential news conference from the auditorium at the adjacent eisenhower office building right next door from the white house. president obama will take

journalists' questions this morning. gregory standing by as we tick down the seconds before we go to the president. and david, kind of dual backdrops, part of which you dealt with on this