well, yeah. [ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up. >> good morning. march madness -- residents nationwide dealing with the aftermath of a major storm system. high winds, heavy rains, flooding, even a deadly tornado caught on tape. more stormy weather is on the way. up, up and away. gas prices on the rise again overnight. part of one of the biggest two-week jumps in history. is there any relief in sight? and kate, the early years. the middleton family releases photos of a young catherine this morning as rumors fly over who's designing her wedding gown today, monday, march 7, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry in for meredith this morning. man, what a wild weekend of weather. yesterday. >> it poured. i was trying to drive around 9:00. it was torrential. >> it was hitting the windshield so hard as i was talking to my husband, i could hear it on the phone. >> it was more serious in other parts of the country. a deadly tornado touched down in louisiana, killing one woman. it was caught on surveillance video. more stormy weather is coming today with heavy snow falling across parts of the northeast and new england. and the nation's mid-section is expected to get hit later in the week. al will have more in a couple minutes. >> no surprise here. "saturday night live" had fun with charlie sheen over the weekend. we'll show you some of the highlights about that. also sheen has started hosting his own web cast including one

released overnight. we'll bring you up to date on that and speaking of the internet, how closely do you monitor your children? there is one police chief in new jersey who wants parents to spy on their children. he says if you wouldn't let them lock their bedroom door why would you let them lock you out when it comes to what they are doing online. we will get important advice for parents coming up. >> that's an interesting question. let's start with wild weather. mike seidel is in syracuse, new york, where the snow keeps on falling. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. it's a quick change of seasons in syracuse. yesterday morning we woke up to 50-degree temperatures. they quickly plummeted into the 20s. rain changed to snow and it was all part of a wild, dangerous weekend of weather. this march storm brought everything from major flooding, more snow and deadly tornadoes. across the midwest, heavy rains flooded several areas. in shelby county, just outside

of indianapolis, seven people had to be rescued from their homes. >> it took some of my friends coming out here and getting in the water and stealing somebody else's boat to come get us. >> reporter: outside columbus, ohio, 60 weather-related wrecks reported in less than three hours on sunday, blamed on icy roads. in buffalo, sunday snowfall pushed the season total past 100 inches. people just want winter to end. >> i'm ready for spring to get here, baseball to start. >> reporter: the worst was in rayne, louisiana. 50 miles west of baton rouge. this security camera shows the tornado that touched down saturday with 135 miles per hour winds leaving shattered glass, broken trees, and mud-soaked debris in parts of town. one young mother was killed. authorities say she died sheltering her 1-year-old daughter as fierce winds brought down a tree on their house. 12 other people were hurt with

1,500 people forced from their homes by the twister. >> it was total chaos to be honest with you. >> reporter: it's going to be chaotic for the morning rush hour in syracuse. it is still snowing. syracuse is now closing in on their fourth snowiest season on record. 170 inches so far, and counting. if you do the math that's over 14 feet of snow. matt, i don't know if you want to hear this but it can snow in syracuse into mid may. >> not that i don't want to hear it, but people in syracuse probably don't want to hear it. thank you very much. mike seidel of the weather channel. it's four minutes after the hour. here's ann. >> we have news you may not want to hear. if you are filling up the gas tank before work, bring extra cash. make that a lot. this morning aaa reports the new national average for regular unleaded is $3.51 a gallon. that's a 14-cent increase in a week. 76 cents more than a year ago. we have tom costello n with more on this. hey, tom. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning.

3.52 behind me. close to national average. the administration is consideration tapping the strategic oil reserve to put more oil in the market and drive down the cost of gasoline. analysts say that may or may not abgood idea. it may ends up being a very short term fix. to a lot of americans these days, the gas pump has the look and feel of a slot machine that just keeps taking your cash. >> seems every time i come to the gas station it's 10, 15 cents more. >> reporter: gas prices jumped 15 cents in a week. 40 cents in a month. you may recall on friday's "today" show, matt gave me gas station marching orders. >> all right. tom, come back on monday and we'll have you do every single neighborhood in the nation. okay. >> reporter: this is as close as i could come. without breaking the travel budget. gasbuddy.com tracks the cheapest gas in your neighborhood heal

real-time with a heat map that color codes gas prices across the country. green is 3.20 to 3.40. yellow and orange is up to 3.70 and red is 3.80 and above. the website's visits have suddenly tripled. >> in the past few weeks we are looking at tens of thousands of downloads every hour as motorists try to save at the pump. >> reporter: california's cleaner fuel laws are part of the reason gas prices are higher there. in some places, nearing $5 a gallon. now this florist may have to raise delivery charges. >> some shops did it already two months ago. i resisted it thinking maybe it would go away. it didn't. >> reporter: higher gas prices means everything gets more expensive. airline tickets already up $60 to $100 over last year. food prices up more than 2% in just a month with cereal, meat and dairy climbing the most. >> $4 a gallon is bad for the economy.

it's a setback. it takes us back to where we were in 2008. >> reporter: forbes magazine is out with the list of where commuters are burning the most fuel. while the average commute in america is just over 25 minutes, the worst commutes are in california and metro washington, d.c. with commutes of 40 to 50 minutes each way. a little reminiscing. back in 2000 we were paying 1.56. in 2008 we averaged 3.32. then the recession knocked a dollar off of it and the concern is we may be headed back to over $4. that was in the summer of 2008. back to you. >> tom costello, not good news, but thanks anyway. >> we are not giving your age away. what's the lowest you remember paying a gallon of gas? >> i don't know. two, one, i don't know. >> i remember 29, 35 cents. >> what are you, 105?

>> no. that was the 1970s. >> you are kidding? >> 29 cents a gallon? is that true? i apparently wasn't old enough to drive. >> it was a dollar when i was in college. >> natalie remembers $3.05. >> a dollar when i was in college. new jersey. it's cheaper there. all right. good morning to you. good morning, everyone. in the news, libyan rebels are regrouping after a brutal barrage from moammar gadhafi's troops. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in tripoli with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. gaddafi's forces have surrounded two rebel-held towns and are bombing rebels in the east, forcing them to retreat. if rebels thought this would be a quick war to topple moammar gadhafi, they were mistaken. after nearly three weeks of charging mostly unopposed toward tripoli, rebels are now being pushed back and killed by moammar gadhafi's forces in

eastern libya. the rebels may have stretched themselves too thin, overreached. from their base in benghazi, rebels are trying to cross hundreds of miles of open desert to reach tripoli. but most of the rebels have no military training. they have no air power, no track vehicles. when the rebels entered the village sunday moammar gadhafi's forces attacked. with helicopter gunships, artillery and anti-aircraft guns in the desert, they were totally exposed and without cover. they were forced to retreat. for the first time the rebels are moving away from tripoli, not towards it. gadhafi remains firmly in control of this modern mediterranean capital and still has significant firepower including tanks and jets that so far he's barely used against the rebellion. officials say he's waiting until the rebels further stretch their

supply line before launching a decisive attack. there is more fighting around the libyan capitol. here it's not in the desert but in two towns taken by rebels weeks ago. libyan forces sunday launched deadly assaults on both of them. it has become clear, natalie, that without air support or armored vehicles it will be very difficult for the rebels in the east to cross the open desert and make it here to tripoli. they are too exposed in the desert. easy targets. >> richard engel reporting in tripoli for us this morning. thank you very much. >> robert gates has arrived in afghanistan this morning on a surprise two-day visit to assess the progress of the decade-long war in afghanistan. gates' evaluation will inform the plan to begin troop withdrawal this july.

now to wall street. mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange. what's the latest? >> good morning. oil prices will be helping to guide the stock market which posted modest gains despite we are watching crude oil up toward $106 a barrel. that, in turn, is feeding into higher gas prices. naturally the unrest we are seeing in libya and other oil producing nations is worrying investors that's pushing up gold. while oil and gold soar, watching the u.s. dollar on the back. back to you. >> mandy, thank you. chilling new video of the 9/11 attacks has been released taken from an nypd helicopter. this was retrieved through a freedom of information request. it is never before seen tape. h. this was retrieved through a freedom of information request. a new vent has opened in the kiluaeale volcano. officials say no homes are threatened. some stunning pictures though. back to matt, ann and al.

>> you were able to report from there one time. >> we walked on the lava floes there. help me out on the survey. what do you remember gas prices at? >> 29, 30 cents. >> you got the glasses. >> towels. >> mark still has one of the glasses. >> those were the days. not anymore. >> that's for sure. these are the days as far as severe weather. talking snow in the northeast. we have a mess out west. here's the low pressure moving up bringing windy conditions and snowfall amounts, basically around 8 to 10 inches of snow through northern new england. generally one to two inch telus syracuse. out west we have another big storm system out there. double barrel low, west to northwest winds 30 to 40 miles per hour over southern california. snowfall amounts from 6 to 12 inches. some places in the northern rockies and the cascades, we could be talking about 30 inches of snow in the upper elevations.

well, it is a back to work monday. and we have some weather that could prevent you from having a completely smooth drive to work. watch out in the east bay for lingering showers to the east of livermore along 580. it is also windy in many cities across the bay area as low pressure is retreating off to the east. it is creating a really tight pressure gradient. watch out for windy conditions at least for the next couple of hours. our temperatures today will be really comfortable as we expect them to end up in the 60s. 63 degrees in oakland today. have a fantastic monday. matt? >> the white house and congress are dealing with a massive headache today. how to avoid a government shutdown over the budget. nbc white house correspondent savannah guthrie has the latest on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, matt. the clock is ticking and a deal seems nowhere close. tomorrow the senate will vote on the republican plan and then the democrats' plan. neither is expected to pass. so after that, the real budget

deal-making can begin. >> got to keep the momentum going. we need to come together -- democrats and republicans -- around a long-term budget. >> reporter: president obama ratcheting up pressure on congress to avert a government shutdown. on "meet the press" sunday his chief of staff bill daly said it's up to house republicans. >> they and the senate have to agree on a budget or this government doesn't fund itself and we look ridiculous. >> reporter: this week bipartisan negotiations continue on capitol hill to avoid a march 18 government shutdown. both parties say they don't want that, but on the details are far apart. house republicans passed $61 billion in spending cuts to this year's budget. democrats offered $6.5 billion in cuts and say in a fragile economy, republicans have gone too far. >> i'm willing to see more deficit reduction but not out of discretionary spending. >> dick says everything has to be on the table, but under their plan, nothing's on the table.

>> reporter: the senate republican leader questioned the commitment to solving long-term problems like medicaid, medicare and social security. >> do you believe that president obama is, in fact, serious about trying to get something done here? >> no, i don't. look, i have had a number of conversations with people who count at the white house. i think that so far i don't see the level of seriousness that we need. >> reporter: meanwhile, one of the president's potential 2012 rivals, former massachusetts governor mitt romney, was in new hampshire, test-driving campaign themes. >> soaring numbers of americans enduring unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcy. that's the obama misery index. we are not going to let the american people be fooled. >> reporter: on sunday, the president's chief of staff didn't take the bait. >> finally, is mitt romney the most formidable republican? >> i don't know. the president also -- what i admire is he doesn't spend a lot

of time talking about this stuff. >> reporter: back to the budget. the vice president who is supposed to be leading the negotiations is actually overseas this week. the deal-making will continue behind closed doors at a staff level, matt. >> savannah, thank you very much. former republican congressman joe scarborough is the host of "morning joe" on msnbc. >> hi good morning, matt. >> this is a financial game of chicken. who has the most to lose, joe? >> well, i think right now the republicans do. they have the most to lose with their base. a lot of people go back, look at what happened and say the republicans can't have another government shutdown. it will hurt them. le while bill clinton got re-elected in 1996 the republican congressman decided to shut down the government ended up getting re-elected. republicans kept control of the house of representatives for six

terms straight. so i think we're going to have tea party members in the house being more interested in being true to their base than being worried about what people say in washington about a government shutdown. >> savannah talked about the potential field of candidates for the 2012 election. let's go to the gop side. if we had been talking four years ago at this time there would have been nine republicans who had either already declared or formed an exploratory committee. the new york times calls it a leisurely start to the campaign season. why? >> well, for a lot of different reasons. first of all, you've got a process that begins later. we were out in iowa on new year's day in 2008. the process was really over, at least on the republican side, by the end of january. now republicans have decided they are not going to make the same mistake again. they begin the process in february. it's not going to be a winner take all process in the bigger states. you're going to have a process that drags out much further into

2012. so part one, members believe they can wait later but the second part is the people that want to run think they can wait later, but the second part is they are afraid of barack obama. they look at a president that's sitting at a 50% approval rating, 9% unemployment. he's been pulled to the middle by the republican victory in 2012. they don't think -- if you look at the candidates that could beat barack obama they just don't think they can beat him in 2012. >> let's go over the candidates. you know newt gingrich. you watched him rise and fall in congress. >> right. >> is his toughest challenge going to say to the american people i am the president to lead you into the future or is he too closely aligned with the past? >> i don't think you have to go back to the 1990s to understand. he's got serious problems. this is a man who continually calls the president of the united states a socialist.

compared one of the three great world religions to naziism. compares the cabinet secretaries to joseph stalin. you don't have to go to the past to find gingrich will be unelectable for a lot of people in the republican primary. he may draw headlines. they may love him online on some can i have websites but he's not going to be electable. again, not because of what he did in the 1990s but because of what he did in 2008, 2009, 2010. >> in a few seconds i have left the latest nbc news wall street journal poll about who people may vote for on the republican side puts mike huckabee up top. he had an interesting week last week. spent a lot of time defending his comments. is he presidential in your opinion? >> i think mike huckabee could win the nomination. he had an interesting week. i would say a disappointing week last week, confusing indonesia and kenya, talking about the

mao-mao revolution when he should be talking about jobs. he could be elected president but he can't raise money. now he's more focused on selling books. >> joe, it's nice to have you here. thank you very much. we're simulcasting now, aren't we? >> i think you will see a bump in the ratings. this should be good for "today." keep it up. you have a future. >> thanks, joe. good to see you. catch "morning joe" at 6:00 a.m. eastern on msnbc. ann? >> the fashion secret of the year is out, or is it? with only 53 days to go before the wedding, a british newspaper says it knows who is designing kate middleton's gown. michelle kosinski is there with the royal intrigue. >> reporter: the official wedding website posted great photos of kate middleton we hadn't seen before but made no mention of the dress.

the respectable times newspaper is practically crowing over the news that classic, conservative kate may step out of her comfort zone choosing the british fashion house of alexander mcqueen to design her wedding gown. when it's time for these two to get out of the wind and stroll down the aisle, is it possible that kate'sle royal gown could look something like this? maybe minus all the hair. or how about maybe some variation. amazing but maybe hard picture kate looking like she just stepped out of a talbot's sporting, i don't know, leather leads. all of these are by the designer that took over for alexander mcqueen after his suicide. the times of london claim she's the one chosen to drape kate middleton in nothing short of spectacular and she makes the

long walk to commoner to future queen wearing -- mcqueen? >> it's the mcqueen label is runway fashion. extreme, cutting edge, larger than life. pantomime extreme. i think they have to bring it down. >> reporter: emmanuel and his wife designed princess diana's wedding gown. it was bigger than life, too. and camilla parker bowles daughter-in-law wore this gown. traditional with a twist at the bottom. here's here's michelle obama in a much admired sarah burton gown. while the times boasts the fashion secret of the year is out a spokesperson for the mcqueen label says this is not true. hm. >> it may be a clever ruse. kate middleton likes to keep things secret. shele e'll be upset that this h

come out because she want it is surprise for prince william. >> reporter: one thing we know for certain, at the reception party to follow kate and company will not be wearing this as the sun newspaper portrayed them. reporting that the gang will be dancing the night away to abba, disco, culture club and duran duran. also a favorite of princess diana. there are reports this morning of the queen's cousin who is a party planner extraordinary to the stars helping them plan festivities. ann? >> sounds like the reception may be even more fun than the wedding. coming up, charlie sheen is speaking out overnight, promising to deliver and shooting home video for us. first, this is "today" on on nbc. ♪

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coming up, did you take your vitamins today? le could you be getting too much of a good thing? >> and one man, four wives. the stars of "sister w" good morning to you. it is 7:26 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. allegations of police corruption are spreading across the east bay. more officers from a number of agencies are now under investigation after a third law enforcement officer is arrested. "today in the bay's" marla tellez is live in martinez with the latest claims as this investigation is really widening. good morning, marla. >> reporter: good morning, laura. yeah, we are at the contra costa county courthouse. this is where danville police officer steven tenabe is expected to be arraigned some time soon. now after being arrested on friday he posted bail from the connecticut jail here in

martinez over the weekend. now he faces drug and conspiracy charges in the investigation into norman welsh and chris butler. welsh, a commander, put loser butler, a private investigator. they were the first to be arrested in this ever growing and drug corruption investigation. prosecutors allege tenabe and welsh would industrial drugs from evidence lockers and butler would sell the drugs. this is among other allegations. we went to tenabe's home in alamo last night where he told us he is innocent. >> thank you for the update. 7:27 right now. let's check the forecast with were is tina christina. it is kind of blustery in some cities. that's going to change heading throughout the next couple of hours. and the winds have died down from where we were two hours ago. windy conditions up until noon. after that we'll be left with plentiful sunshine. we still have a little bit of listeningering shower activity in places like lfr mr. that is on its way out as well. temperatures are in the 40s and

50s. we'll end up in the 60s. have a great day. we'll check the drive with mike inouye. we told you about the pothole across the golden gate bridge. the person who called it in said they could see the water below the bridge. don't worry, you won't fall through. they will do pothole repair that could cause slowing for the next few minutes. there's 880 starting to build the volume to the jam-up past the coliseum. more local news in a half hour. the "today" show is back in less than two minutes. cc1:cc1: cc1:

7:30 now on a monday morning, the 7th of march, 2011. back to work day for us, but not for these lucky people kicking off a day of sight-seeing in new york city with a stop in rockefeller plaza. >> must be spring break. that's a lot of people for a morning after such a rainy night. >> terrible weather here overnight. luckily cleared off for these people here. we're happy about that. inside the studio i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. meredith is taking the day off. coming up, charlie sheen is not slowing down. he's hosted another web show overnight. he's taking on critics and possibly headed back to court to

get his kids back. more on the story coming up in a little while. >> we'll talk about a tragic story in north carolina. a mother went out for a jog and didn't come back. her husband went public asking for help. he's now on trial for her murder. we're going to hear from the young woman's still grieving parents coming up. >> we'll ask how much is too much when it comes to taking your vitamins? a lot of people take supplements but the foods and drinks we consume have vitamins added. so are we getting too much of a good thing? >> good question. >> meantime a programming note. tomorrow on "today" we'll try something we have never done before. on1: air,cc1:the showcc hoda will host a show about the "today" show online. you will see everything going on behind the scenes from the green to hairthe control roomcc1: and makeup all as it happens live. >> i always say what happens behind the scenes is like watching sausage being made. get ready. it's a today.com show in honor

of our new website. it kicks off tomorrow at 7:30. >> i think i'll call in sick tomorrow. let us start this morning with charlie sheen and the war of words that doesn't seem to stop. nbc's jeff rossen is in los angeles with the latest on this. good morning.cc1: >> reporter: good morning. charlie sheen is still trying to get his kids back. he's in settlement talks with brooke mueller, but so far no luck. now his lawyer tells nbc news if they can't reach a deal today, they are planning to head to court tomorrow. in the meantime, sheen is still talking. with no tv show left he's created his own show, from his house, on the internet. >> welcome to sheen's corner. you are in my corner or you're with the trolls. >> reporter: live from the sheen mansion saturday night or at least a corner of it, charlie unplugged. >> winning! winning!

winning! >> reporter: the whole crew was there including one of his so-called goddesses. >> where is your seat? right there. >> right here where i belong. >> reporter: there he was, a hollywood a-lister, tv's highest paid star, shilling for sponsors. >> the makers of tiger blood. >> reporter: and, yes, taking a swipe at warner brothers, the company that shut down his show "two and a half men." >> they know where i stand. i know where they stand. i make sense and they don't. it's clearcut. >> reporter: hours ago, overnight, sheen was back online. >> [ bleep ] hung up on him. >> reporter: cursing, holding a cigarette lighter to the camera and admitting saturday's show was a, quote, shameful train wreck. >> why can't the tag line be, you know, violent torpedos of truth. sheen's corner. you're either in my corner or you're with the trolls. >> reporter: still, the writers at "snl" couldn't help

themselves. >> welcome to "duh, winning". >> reporter: earlier he provided nbc news with exclusive home video. >> this is a think tank. >> reporter: charlie holding what appears to be business meetings around the kitchen table and out back, here discussing a t-shirt business. >> 50,000 t-shirts, four, five different styles. >> i'm sorry. 50 million. >> reporter: on the surface, not the portrait of a man entrenched in a bitter custody fight. charlie hasn't seen his twin boys in nearly a week since they were taken from his home under court order. right now they are with their mother, sheen's estranged wife brooke mueller, who this weekend took the boys out in l.a. with the paparazzi in tow. mueller told the judge charlie hit her and threatened her life and that she worried for the kids' safety in his home. in court papers she admits she's

battling drug abuse, too. now in a day treatment program. brooke's mother flew in to help care for the boys and e! news caught up with her. >> it's hard now. charlie's angry at the world. i don't know if everything he says is really what he means. i want him to be able to see his sons, my grandsons. but i want him to be okay. >> reporter: sheen denies the accusations of violence. and if there is no settlement by tonight has vowed to fight for his children in court. >> the court's going to probably want to make both short-term and long-term recommendations. in the short term there might be a parenting shadow or a monitor in the home. in the long term, they want to look at the child's attachments and well-being. >> reporter: now sheen has yet another problem as well. his ex-wife denise richards reportedly wants to keep their daughters away from sheen's house, too. if there is no custody deal

between charlie and brooke they are planning for a court date tomorrow. that could be another interesting week. it will be hard to top last week. >> exactly. jeff, thank you very much. >> now let's get a check of the weather with al roker. hey, mister. >> hey, how are you, lady? we have nice folks here. where are you from? >> florida. >> thanks for coming down. a little bit warmer there than here. let's check your weather. we'll show you in this half hour we have a rainy mess in the northwest with mountain snows. snow in northern new england. gulf coast looking good. sunshine. cc1: more rain working through the mid mississippi river valley. here's the track of the storm for tomorrow. it will bring severe weather down to the south from memphis, tulsa, all the way to the gulf. atlanta may seetrong storms late tomorrow night. then more snow moves into the northeast late on wednesday evening. cc1:

well, it is windy in our neck of the woods. good morning to you, bay area. that's going to change as we head throughout this afternoon turning more to breezy conditions by noon. then the winds will subside this evening. livermore is getting more rain right now. a little more action in the east bay hills all clearing out as well. temperatures right now are in the 50s. it is a relatively warm start to the day. and that means temperatures will be in the 60s by the end of the day. pretty dry day on tap for us. only one round of rain expected on thursday. and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thank you. today in north carolina a very high profile murder trial is getting under way. a husband accused of killing the wife who was about to leave him. we'll hear from her parents in a moment. first, janet shamlian is in raleigh, north carolina, with an update on the story. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. this case has been the source of intrigue in the united states and canada where nancy's family moved from before her

disappearance. they seemed to have it all. two young children, a beautiful home and brad's job at a tech company here in the raleigh/durham area, but friends and family say the marriage was a house of cards, crumbling beneath the strain of fights, finances and infidelity. it started as a missing jogger case in the summer of 2008. >> i just want to thank all the hundreds of volunteers that came out. >> reporter: with his wife gone, nancy cooper's husband brad pleaded for help. >> sir, do you have a flyer? >> reporter: hundreds of volunteers, thousands of flyers. it was a frantic search for the 32-year-old mother of two. brad said nancy was training for a half marathon, went out for a cc1:home. er came >> if anybody knows anything, contact the police with any information they may have. again, thank you to everyone that continues to come out and help out. >> reporter: the search ended ays later tragically whencc1: cooper's body was found partially clothed near a storm

drain. it was ruled a homicide, but who was responsible. police searched the home and car. dna samples were taken from her husband. >> it was important that we secured the home as a possible crime scene. >> reporter: then what some suspected. three months later authorities charged brad cooper with the murder of his wife. >> the wheel that is our family is missing a spoke. while the wheel is forever changed it is incumbent upon us to adapt so we may continue to spin. >> reporter: the couple moved from canada for brad's job at a tech firm. friends say the marriage was in trouble. nancy's friends and family claim brad was emotionally abusive, having an affair and just found out nancy was planning to divorce him and possibly take their children to canada. even before his arrest, a judge awarded nancy's family custody of the couple's two daughters. >> she's such a wonderful mother. but i have to start by saying this is the single most

important tragedy that has ever befallen our family. >> reporter: cooper fleeded not guilty and his attorney believe they can show he couldn't have committed the crime and suggested nancy was also having an affair. now the day has come. brad cooper will facele trial. nearly three years after his wife's death. it is a day nancy's family both dreads and has waited for. >> she will always be half of me. i promise to live my life in a way that makes her proud. her spirit will always be alive in me. nancy, i love you, and i always will. >> reporter: the couple's children now live in canada with nancy's family. members of her family have returned to the states for the trial which could last a month and could send brad cooper to prison for life, if he's convicted. ann, back to you. >> janet shamlian, thank you. we sat down with nancy's

parents, gary and donna, and asked how they felt about her husband going on trial for her death. >> clearly we would like the person responsible for this to come to trial and to face his or her behavior. we'd like that to be finished for us, for the girls and for the family. >> the girls you're talking about are the two little daughters, katie and bella. how are they now? what do they know? >> they did hear that nancy was killed. but they have no idea who did it. >> according to the court documents and police affidavits, your daughter was in the process of separating from her husband. >> yes. >> did you know of signs? you were living in canada. did you know of signs that this marriage was in trouble? >> yes. nancy kept us well-informed of where she was at in the marriage. they were separating. she packed up the house and got it ready to sell.

things took another turn. >> were there signs -- people listening now might benefit from your describing that they should know about? >> i think one thing was the control of where you went and who you saw and financial control. those were big items of control. i think the arch typical was the removal of passports. >> you're saying someone took her passport? >> at one point in time nance had both passports and would have been able to get on a plane and leave for ontario. but then brad took both passports. >> we had an opportunity to bring nancy home. the last week we saw her was our holiday. i treasure it forever. it was wonderful. i had her in my arms and she was sobbing. she said, mom, i just want to come home.

but we couldn't do it. the last we saw of her was walking out of the airport with her little girls. >> is it possible that brad is not the one, in your view, responsible for your daughter's death? >> this is a court decision. it's a jury who will decide whether or not he's guilty or innocent. we want to emphasize that we believe in the process. at the end of the day that court will make a decision for bradley and for us. my belief is there were never more than four people in the house the night nance died and she never went running. that's my personal view. >> as parents you must wish you could say something to him. what would it be? brad.would like to talk to cc1: he didn't call us when nancy went missing. i approached him. i would. i would like to know if he did this, why he did it. divorces happen all the time.

know you have both started a fund called the nancy's butterfly fund. >> that was our attempt to find something that we could take from this tragedy that was positive and perhaps a way we can make a difference. >> what will the money be used for? >> domestic violence. >> to help other families. the two of you have proven that your love for your daughter will be ale value to someone else and that, in itself, i'm sure she would be pleased about. thank you. >> thank you. >> we want to thank the press, and i think if we can get a message out through folks like yourself that domestic violence is an issue, your life could depend on it. be mindful of where you are. thanks for your part. >> there you are. you just said it. garry and donna, thank you very

much. we'll be right back. this is "today" on nbc. cc1: whew! these sure are challenging times.cc1:cc1: whoa! with a diamondweave texture at's soft and more durable, no wonder it holds up better. fewer pieces left behind. charmin ultra strong.

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[ laughs ] [ male announcer ] drivers have told us they like a crossover that can go the distance. but do passengers appreciate all of the comfort features we put in the chevy equinox? ♪ we'll take that as a yes. hey. want me to drive? [ chuckles ] ♪ back now at 7:47. this morning on "today's health" are you taking too many vitamins? you can get too much of a good thing. madeline, good morning. >> hi, matt. >> for years we told people, make sure you get enough of these essential vitamins. now with vitamins added to food and supplements we have gone too far? >> too much of a good thing can harm you.

people think, vitamins, what can be bad but you can have health damaging effects. there are a lot of vitamins in tiny amounts. >> right. half the people in this country are taking supplements. let's start with calcium. what's the daily recommended amount of calcium i should be getting? >> about 1,000 milligrams. there is an upper limit. that means there are government relg galatiaregulations of 2500 milligrams a day. >> how easy is that to go over? >> very easy. this cereal has 100% of your requirement. >> just that and you're done. >> done. if you have this, you don't want to have a lot of other fortified things. >> tofu, broccoli. >> you're going to get way above. milligrams.1: you want to be careful you don't say, maybe i'd better add a supplement. these are 500 to 1,000. >> what's the problem with too

much calcium? >> you can have kidney stones, constipation, fatigue, irritability. these things add up over time. it's not one day of too much calcium. >> vitamin d. what's the recommendation? >> 600 to 080 international units. is that a lot? it's not that much because the sunshine helps convert that. the problem is most people don't enough.: we are not totaling up the source. there is not a lot in food. fish has a lot. salmon or tuna will have a lot. that's enough for a day. then people say, i better have more. the upper limit of 4,000 is something that sounds high and it is. you can have side effects like muscle and joint aches, constipation, mood effects. you can have problems that are associated with too much. >> so the whole idea is look at what you are eating, find out where deficiencies are an that's what you want a supplement for.

>> talk to your doctor. a blood test can help evaluate this. >> great information as always. thank you very much. >> welcome. >> up next, is it okay to spy on your kids online? we'll have important information for parents. first, these messages. to build a healthy heart, it's about being active and it's about putting the right fuel in your body. it's that simple. and here's the good news -- it's never too late to start. quaker oatmeal is proven to help lower cholesterol. it's a staple in my diet. in fact, it's the only cereal i eat. it powers you up and it makes you feel great. are you eating quaker for breakfast? ♪

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still ahead, how to get motivated to do some spring cleaning. >> hard to do that. also the brown family, kody and his four wives. they all star in the hit reality show "sister wives." we'll weigh in with what's going on in their lives coming up after your local news. i had my suspicions. and i never get chicken, i always get fish. you know, it's the quiet ones you have to look out for. you look like you eat a lot of protein. so i found a super secret hiding place. and i outsmarted them all. chobani. rich and creamy yogurt, with only natural ingredients. share your story at chobani.com

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good monday morning to you. it is 7:56 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. people are going to have so shell out more money to dump their trash. a typical home bill will jump to $48 from $39. san mateo charges the lowest rates among cities using the same pickup service. the city wants to repay old debt and cover the cost of improving waste disposal. you may have heard the term "take a penny leave a penny." how about take a dollar today at san jose state university. they are giving out dollars encouraging people to invest in local businesses and sustain a better future for everyone.

you can bet your bottom dollar you will like what's in store for the second half of the day. we have winds and leftover shower activity to get through today. for the most part, that's in the east bay hills near livermore.c: this wind will probably clear b: noon. 49 degrees in santa cruz. all the temperatures are starting out relatively warmer. we are expecting them to end up in the 60s before all is said and done today. 62 degrees is the forecasted high in los gatos. and we are going to keep the rain chances very low this week. in fact, just light showers expected on thursday. we'll check the drive with mike inouye. hey, that is good news, but the roadways are just drying out. we have a nice smooth south bay commute. look at the northbound speed sensors, where the speeds are mostly in the 30s and 40s in the northbound direction, no big log yet. we have it generally slow throughout this area. moving up along the peninsula, 101 is slowing down into palo

alto. and the southbound is seeing a typical pattern there. san mateo north of the bridge is slow as well as near the bridge on the east bay side. 680 is really slow out of concord in to san ramon. keep that in mind approaching the bay bridge toll plaza which it is jammed near the berkeley curve. no major incidents which is great news. we did have slick roadways this morning. we hope it stays clear out there. thank you, mike. thank you for joining us. another local news update in a half hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great monday morning. cc1:

we're back we're back, 8:00 on monday morning. it's the 7th day of march, 2011. a little bit overcast in new york city. temperature 36 degrees. and we have a huge crowd out on the plaza. break. officially springcc1: we have mardi grassers here as well. getting ready form the big festival. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry who is filling in while meredith is off. joined by mr. roker as well. in this half hour, we'll talk about the expression, do you know where your kids are?

do you know what they're doing? so many kids online these days and social networking sites. for parents, it can be a real scary thing because unless you keep tabs on what they're doing, who they're communicating with, what they're sharing online, you could end up in trouble. we'll be talking about why some parents have taken the step of actually spying on their own ids online using spyware, andc: is that a good thing? what does it do to the relationship of trust of parent and child? morning, ming up thiscc1: the stars of a popular but also controversial reality tv show called sister wives. follows the lives of kody and his four wives and their 16 children combined. they're here to give us a preview of the next season and also answer some questions. hager is here c1: with a remarkable family opening homes for kids cc1: in need. >> it is a beautiful story. i'm looking forward to it. and standing here, that

means natalie is over at the news desk. everyone.1:ning cc there's no let-up today in the has ravaged thatcc1: much of the weekend. more than a foot of snow could fall in the northeast. heavy rain put streets under water in the midwest. a tornado in louisiana on saturday damaged dozens of homes and killed one woman as she tried to shelter hir child. the budget deal-making resumes on capitol hill to prevent a government shutdown in 11 days. house republicans want $61 billion in spending cuts this year. about ten times more than democrats have offered. about 700 people rallied sunday in wisconsin to support a republican bill that for state unions of bargaining power. democrats refused to show up for a vote. the obama administration says it will consider dipping into the nation's strategic oil reserve as middle east turmoil sends gasoline prices soaring.

unleaded now averages about $3.50 a gallon. rebel fighters in libya are regrouping the day after fierce air yell as salts. gadhafi loyalists unleashed an artillery barrage to dislodge rebels from the town of bin jawad. the house begins on sunday, the chairman of the homeland security committee warns al qaeda is trying to recruit in the u.s. in new york hundreds gathered in times square to denounce the hearings. japan suspended the use of vaccines after the deaths of four children last week. health officials say the children died within three days of being vaccinated for pneumonia and meningitis. both companies say they're cooperating with the investigation. carnival celebrations are under way around the world.

this year's festivities are especially significant in haiti. it is the first carnival to dance its way through port-au-prince since last january's devastating earthquake. it is 8:04. time for a check of the weather. >> what's your name. >> cory. >> leaving for iraq tomorrow? >> yes, sir. >> we want you to be safe and careful. come back and see us when you come back. >> okay. thank you. let's check your weather and see what's happening. burlington, vermont, heavy snow, 25 degrees out. as we look at the rest of the country, w can see that storm system moving out through new englany, bringing that snow to other glplaces. we're also looking at wet weather out west and another big storm system getting itself together in the plains that will bring mountain snow and later on tomorrow into tomorrow night and wednesday, some severe weather down through the lower mississippi river valley. more rain in the pacific

northwest, and you like this? you'll want to be on uncle willy's smucker's jar in 65 years? >> yes, i got some mardi gras coming up next, how far is too far in terms of what your kids are doing online? we have crucial advice for parents right after this.

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we're back at 8:10. this morning on parenting today, monitoring your kids online. you want them to have privacy but you need to keep them safe as well. where do you draw the line? in new jersey one police chief is helping parents out. carolyn blake a new jersey mother of three ages 18, 15 1257bd was concerned about what her kids were doing online, especially on social networking sites. >> a couple of times one of my children came and said, somebody wants to be my friend that i don't know. we didn't grow up with this technology. i wanted to make sure that they were safe. >> reporter: she's not alone. according to a common sense

media study, 54% of teens admit to risky online behavior. 40% admit they gave out personal information on sites despite knowing they shouldn't. one police chief has taken an aggressive approach to teaching parents the dangers of the internet. >> parents have to get their heads out of the sand. it's not a matter of a right of a child to have privacy. it's a legal responsibility for the parents to ensure the safety of their children. >> reporter: his solution, teach parents that they have to keep tabs on their kids, especially online. even if it means snooping on their children with computer spyware. >> we don't consider it spy-ware. we consider it parenting monitoring software. >> reporter: carolyn followed the advice installing monitoring software on the family commuter. now she's able to keep track of her kids ak activity online. >> it was just to help me have an extra pair of eyes to make sure they were being safe while using the internet. >> reporter: while this solution has worked for caroline and her

family, reaction in the community to the chief's seminars has been mixed. >> what's surprised us is the number of parents who have approached us, some with a certain degree of anger who say how can you get up there and tell parents to spy on their children? >> reporter: valerie is the mother of two teens who keeps tabs on her kids but has not yet installed software on the computer system. >> i have my son's passwords and i'm one of his friends on facebook, so i check his wall. my daughter is at an age where i have to start doing more. it's important to monitor your child's activity on the internet. >> reporter: a first step in keeping kids safe. >> software isn't going to resolve everything. communication isn't going to resolve everything. put them together and raise successful children. >> reporter: caroline agrees. >> we would do anything we can to make our children safe. i think especially with the

internet, they are not always going to realize when they are in an unsafe situation. >> donna rice hughes is president of enough is enough and executive producer of internet safety 101 program. michelle borba is a "today" show contributor. the police chief says you wouldn't let the kids lock their bedroom door at home and not let you in ever. eye would you let them lock you out of the computer? you agree with the spy-ware idea? >> parents have to be the first line of defense. they have to put nontechnical measures in place to protect kids like keeping ongoing communication open, supervising but they need tools to filter and monitor. kids have easy access to all of the good and the bad. >> coming up with an agreement between parents and kids is a great idea. if you can't reach the agreement, do you spy on your kids? >> our philosophy is to use the tools but to let your children know why. why filters?

there is stuff that can come in that they don't want to see and you as a parent don't want them to see. monitors monitor incoming and outgoing communication. let your kids know because you want to protect them. >> i think this is a no-brainer here. yes, you should be monitoring. we are forgetting the upfront, i will be monitoring. therefore it's not spying. >> which is a deterrent in itself. >> it is. >> i'm watching. >> yes. you will also look at 90% of kids say once you set the rules they are less likely to do all of that surfing and they know you are being watched. beyond that you can do things called the walk by. i'm walking by, if i happen to glance and you look like you're covering things up, we will pull the plug. >> what's the consequence? one strike and you're out? tell your kids where they can and can't go online, what they can and can't share. if they violate that is the computer gone? >> well, you can shrink their privileges until they show they can be accountable.

you can give them back the privileges, but if you set appropriate rules and tools and you're on top of it then it makes it much easier to be a cyber parent. >> let me play 16-year-old for a second or 15-year-old. you're my mom. mom, you don't trust me. what does that say about our relationship? >> honey bun, i'm the mom and i'm being a responsible parent. what you're going to do is verify your responsibility and your trust. be careful not to pull too much of the computer away. we know if we are too stringent the kids don't talk to us. there is a fine balance between those two. you can also do things like, all your passwords and accounts, we are going to do them for a while with us until you can do it on your own. >> isn't it a good idea to use real world examples? we had a story on the show about a young girl who had a boyfriend, she sent him a nude photo and he shared it with just about everyone.

these are adult consequences. >> it's also impacting not only now but their job security. we are looking at college administration looking on to see what they have posted in life. so, yeah, we have to be careful on what we post online. >> last words, donna. >> it's important that parents recognize that they can be a great parent but they have to be a good cyber parent. we created a program to help them. you can find out more about it at internet safety 101. we have lots of real stories, video vignettes and everything. parents are using these to instruct their kids and recognize that, you know, my kid's not immune. as the parent they have to say, look, the buck stops with me as long as i'm your parent. this is what i need to do. >> ladies, thank you very much. appreciate it. 8:16. coming up, the stars of "sister wives." kody brown and his four brides after this. what was i thinking? but i was still skating on thin ice with my cholesterol.

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[ male announcer ] he's sweet, even with 1/3 less sugar than soda. kool-aid delivering more smiles per gallon. talk about a memorable appearance. last september a man named kody brown came on this broadcast with four women who announce they were polygamists who would star in their own reality show called "sister wives". >> what made you choose polygamy? >> part of a faith belief. i followed through with it this is where it landed. >> the brown family is back for season two. in the first episode they open up about the impact of going public and about the repercussions as well. >> i just became a public polygamist. my life is different now. >> there is no going back anymore. we have made our decision. we made our decision a while ago. each step gets us closer and closer to -- well, i guess we're

doing it now. now, really. there is no going back. >> kody, meri, janelle, christine and robyn brown. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> are you comfortable with this? have the repercussions been too overwhelming? >> we have had a lot of support. just people coming up and saying hi, greeting us and, you know, letting us know that we have helped change their mind a bit. that's been wonderful. >> the other side? >> our life is open. we have people sort of judging our lives and, you know, we have those side effects. >> you know, the positive is by far outweighed. i hope that we have helped people have a little more tolerance and understanding. >> have there been families like yours that have reached out to you? how many families like yours do you think might exist in america or do you think you're the only

ones? >> we have people write to us. there are families out there like us. they were saying, you know, we didn't know this was somewhere else. they were grateful to us for the example we were showing and for letting them see there were others like them. >> at the end of the last season, kody, we need to hear from you, you married your fourth wife robyn. you basically incorporated her three kids from her previous marriage into your family. is there -- did you make that decision consulting your other wives or do you make that decision yourself? >> it included all of us. the experience of meeting robyn and the process of falling in love was very serendipitous. meri and robyn connected and meri suggested it to me. >> is there a limit on the number of wives you are going to

have? have you discussed, okay, four is enough or is there no end in sight situation here? >> right now we feel four is enough. >> i feel we are so busy trying to get our feet and incorporate everybody. >> it was 15 years from the time i married christine to the time i -- 16 years by the time i married robyn. i'm not the marrying man. >> you're not? what are you talking about? you have four wives here. >> i understand but it's like ask me that question in ten years. let us have a honeymoon, an experience where we are getting very comfortable with each other as a family. >> mm-hmm. >> but wait ten years. it's just not happening soon. >> when you talk about busy. 16 children you've got to all fend for and take care of. that's really been the relationship. i want to ask you this. you know, this was brought up earlier today. i know that as a result of your going public the police in utah have been investigating and

basically they have been investigating your family on suspicion of polygamy and the utah county attorney has sent it to a salt lake newspaper. he said we'll make a final decision but we don't know when it will be. if, in fact, there are charges filed would that make you regret having gone public, kody? >> i don't -- no. i don't think i would regret going public. >> we knew there was a risk. >> i'm not thinking that way. i don't want to -- i mean, puts you in a position of kind of fear. you know? i'm not playing that game. >> we're just here to show a family. we are trying to open up our lives and say here we are. we're a family. we are not hurting anyone. our children are happy and that's what the message is. >> certainly a lot of people are interested. i understand you are one of the

highest rated shows on tlc. people are interested in what's happening. >> we're grateful for the open minds. >> for sure. >> thank you so much. we want to tell everyone that "sister wives" airs sunday at 9:00 p.m. on good monday morning to you. it's 8:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. this morning the investigation begins into a rowdy brawl. it happened friday night shortly after a basketball game ended. the fight broke out in the stands and spilled out on to the court. that is when a fan reportedly punished a washington high school player minutes after the team beat mission high school in the city championship game. today the athletic commissioner hopes to review video and conduct interviews before handing out any penalties on that right now, goi ght now, going to take a quick break. we'll be right back.

good monday morning. it is a windy monday. we have high pressure and it is actually moving in right now. it's going to keep our weather really nice for the first part of the week. low pressure moving out. creating a windy setup. low pressure will really start to retreat as we head into the next couple hours already seeing a shower starting to diminish here in the east bay hills. a good sign that the winds are also going to start to relax as we head through the next couple of hours. it will be breezy today but not windy. 50 degrees in hayward. 46 right now in livermore

turning over to 61 degrees later on today. rain returns but not until thursday. have a great monday. let's check your drive with mike. >> good morning. we'll take you for a live look. things are slowing down a bit down the east shore freeway still just 20 minutes approaching the maze off the golden gate field area. 680 off the 24 interchange still slow south of 24 but north of there it's all right. back to you. a live shot. >> all right. it's all right. 8:29 right now. i'll have another local news update for you in a half an hour. see you then.

8:30 now on a monday morning, the 7th of march 2011. getting breezy here in the northeast. you know what, we'll take this compared to what we had over the past 12 hours or so in new york with torrential rains, part of a storm system that moved across the country and was difficult for people. al will tell you more about the forecast in a couple of minutes. meanwhile, we are out on the plaza right now.

i'm matt lauer along with ankle ann curry who is filling in for meredith. natalie is here as well and al is joining us in addition. in the studio now we have one of the hot actors around. matthew mcconaughey is here. he has a long and impressive track record. by the way, played a lawyer about 15 years ago, remember "a time to kill"? >> yes. >> now he plays another lawyer in "the lincoln lawyer." we'll talk to matthew in a few minutes. >> looking forward to hearing about it. the trailers on this movie are very cool. also this morning talking about spring is coming. so spring cleaning is coming. we have elizabeth mayhue helping us figure out how to make it fun. >> and we have an inspirational story of a family adopting children in need. in fact, they went to ethiopia and fell in love with kids who had hiv. how they have accepted them into their home. jenna bush hager is here to share their incredible story. >> looking forward to that. >> and barbara corcoran is here

to answer your real estate questions. >> first, can we say hello to blair underwood? >> yes! >> good morning. [ cheers and applause ] >> how are you? oh, mr. president. how are you? >> you don't have to bow. >> i love the premise here. shortly before this they say the deficit will be huge, unemployment is terrible and, oh, there are a bunch of aliens you need to know about. >> aliens trying to take over earth. >> how does a president handle that news? >> calmly and smoothly. listen, we're having a great time. the show starts tonight on nbc. a two-hour special. we are very excited. now we know these aliens used to be here before. used to live here before. not taking over. they are taking it back. >> is that the event? >> it may be. it may be. we don't know what it is. >> it may be. it may be. >> do tell. tell us more.

>> it's a big part. >> it has to do with -- i will say this. it has to do with the aliens coming back and changing and adjusting the world in which we live. as president i have an issue with that. >> as president -- >> i've got issues. >> in this episode you got a riff from the headline, president dealing with a senator from alaska who's a woman. >> virginia madsen joins the cast. she's a senator from alaska. we know these detainees or sleepers were here. that's in her backyard. a lot going on in her backyard. >> wait a minute. a senator from alaska, is she one of the sleepers? >> we don't know. >> oh! >> we want to know. >> that's the thing. i have to tell you, too. the first run of the season we had a lot of flashbacks. we are no longer doing that. we heard about it. >> matt's still having flashbacks.

>> from ohio university. >> other flashbacks. >> you're very presidential. i will say you've got that gravitasse. >> you would vote for me? helps when you walk into a room and people stand up. >> we don't have chairs. >> catch back to back episodes of "the event" tonight. starting at 8:00. 7:00 central time. next week starts at mondays at 9:00 at 8:00 central time. i confused people. here on nbc. >> let's just start with tonight. >> thank you very much. >> good luck. >> mr. roker? >> all right. that's what's going on around the country. we have no issue with that. we're looking good. it is windy but the windy situation is improving. high pressure fills in and what that means is we'll see a really nice second half of the day once we get rid of all of these showers which are starting to deteriorate right now.

as we head throughout the next couple hours our temperatures will start to climb now that the sun is out. 49 degrees right now in sunnyvale, looks like probably 62 degrees later on today. same goes for places like san jose, 63 degrees. 64 in gilroy. weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> love that advice. up next, jenna bush-hager is here on a truly remarkable family. first this is "today" on nbc. here on a truly remarkable family. fi"tisth is "today" on n i

>> right now in america, one out of four children doesn't know where their next meal is coming from. >> food insecurity is a growing problem in the united states. >> tune in march 19th at 7:30 p.m. on nbc to see child hunger ends here: a special report. a spec ♪ have a good daisy ♪ eat well, live long ♪ have a good daisy, work out, get strong ♪ ♪ when you need a lift, just sing a song ♪ ♪ and have a good daisy ♪ have a good daisy with a natural treat ♪ ♪ have a good daisy, healthy foods to eat ♪ ♪ when you want some joy, dance to the beat ♪ ♪ and have a good daisy [ female announcer ] enjoy the fresh, 100% natural choice in cottage cheese. ♪ have a good daisy ♪ have a good daisy

it's been three decades since the discovery of the hiv virus. though great progress has been made in the treatment of the disease, some of the stigma remains. "today" contributing correspondent jenna bush-hager is here with the story of one family working hard to break down the stigma. good morning. >> good morning. i'm passionate about hiv education and so is this family from the chicago area who adopted six kids from ethiopia, two with hiv/aids. as they showed me the power of a

loving family is the best medicine. she may seem like a typical little girl who loves playing in the snow, dancing and gossiping with her sisters. but she's anything but typical. just over two years ago sayla was dying of aids in an orphanage in ethiopia. separated from her siblings, her parents dead of the disease. >> when i was in ethiopia, the doors opened up and two social workers brought in this beautiful little girl. this child was devastated. you know, just really sad, frightened. you could just read it. >> reporter: caroline returned to the u.s., still thinking about the little girl in the orphanage. she knew her family could offer her a better life. >> i kept thinking about her, praying for her, checking up on her. six months later i had found out that her health was declining and that no one had ever inquired about her even to adopt her.

>> reporter: caroline went back to ethiopia but sayla was now too sick to survive the long flight to her new home. she needed a blood transfusion. with a shortage of blood in ethiopia there was little hope. >> i saw her and she was 32 pounds at 11 years old. she had just shrunk down to nothing. >> reporter: sayla was everything to caroline who offered to donate her own blood. miraculously, caroline was a match. it was finally time for sayla to go home. tell me what it was like when you came here? >> i saw my family. everyone gave me hugs, showed me around the house. it was really cool. i was really happy. >> reporter: with a loving family and medical treatment, sayla's health drastically improved. >> how desperate was the situation? >> my guess would be that she

would not have survived. we had what we needed to help her and others like her. >> reporter: this wasn't the family's first time adopting. in 2008 with seven biological kids between them the family adopted three siblings from ethiopia. the middle child, sam, also has hiv. last year, the family expanded once again to adopt sayla's biological sister and brother. their family now complete. >> these kids can live and live a quality, healthy, normal life with the exception of taking medication. it's not a death sentence. people thought when we set out to do adoptions of the kids that we would have to budget in a funeral with our adoption fees. it's not true. >> reporter: now with their nonprofit organization project hope, caroline and carl are spreading information about the importance of hiv adoption.

>> if not us, then who? >> reporter: other families are following her lead. >> we are waiting for embassy approval to return to ethiopia to pick up our first child. >> we adopted four girls hiv-positive. >> reporter: two years later, sayla is living with hiv. happy, healthy and her own biggest advocate. if you could change one thing about the way people view hiv/aids, what would you change? >> i would change that people who might get afraid of the hiv not to be like, no, i'm not going to say hi to her because when she's breathing i will get the hiv. if i give her a hug, i will get it. no. it's not like that. i wish i could change that. i think they're learning a lot. >> reporter: a full house, giving a new future to one child at a time. >> when i grow up, i want to be helping people. i want to help the kids that are

in need with hiv, get them off the street, help them get on the right medicine. get them home. yeah. like i had that. >> reporter: with proper medication, hiv is a chronic illness like diabetes. it cannot be spread through casual contact. to the other kids in the family they are not at risk. many people many wonder how they can afford to adopt and raise all of these kids? careline is a stay at home mom and kyle is a decorator. they don't make millions but they say their priorities are shifted and their kids are what are most important. they cut back on vacations, movies and little things. >> they are wealthy beyond description. as she said, if not us then who? beautiful story, jenna. >> thank you. >> really beautiful. >> they are amazing. sayla, i'm in love with her. >> coming up, we'll switch gears and talk to actor matthew mcconaughey on "the lincoln lawyer." first this is "today" on nbc.

mcconaughey on "the lincoln lawyer." first this is "today" on nbc.

here's good news. matthew mcconaughey is back on the big screen playing a hip l.a. criminal defender who works from his car, literally. "the lincoln lawyer." things get tricky when a client's murder charges cause him to question work he's done in the past. >> can't bring it to the cops because he's your client. can't take it to the d.a. or you would lose your license. >> any evidence we found would be inadmissible, attorney-client privilege. it would ruin any case they could have against him. >> welcome back. nice to see you. you like lawyers, don't you? >> i do. >> you thought about being a defense lawyer during your college days. >> that's what i thought i was going to do. growing up i loved to debate. i always ended up on the

defense. so my parents were like -- my dad was like, you need to be a lawyer to come defend me if i get in trouble. i took it on from there. i went to college and that's where i was headed. >> this movie is about the relationship with the client. the client looks like a dream client. he's got cash, can pay the big fee which is nice for a defense attorney. sooner or later, the initial enthusiasm on your part turns into trepidation. >> and it goes beyond that. the story is about a defense attorney. if you found out that you put an innocent man in jail four years ago, a man who did not commit a crime. now present day, defending someone who you know is guilty of the crime that you're defending him about. not only guilty of that crime but the crime four years ago of a man you wrongly put in jail. now that's quite a quandary. and how the system works. >> that's important. any legal thriller or any movie

when it comes down to it. it's great you have one specific story line. i think back 15 years to "a time to kill" and that was the story of a black man in the deep south who was on trial for murder, murdering the two guys who raped his daughter. the question was could a black man in racially -- >> charged times. >> -- get a fair trial. what's the question we are forced to ask in this movie? >> this is more about how the system works, how you could argue it doesn't work, how you have to work the system. all these cases are dealt out of court now. the prosecution basically overcharges. the defense attorney comes forward to lessen the charge. his client may go to jail but if he can lessen the charge it's a victory for the defense. most of the clients that defense attorneys are defending are not actually innocent. everyone's got something in the closet to some extent are guilty for the crime committed. this is how the system works. and the situation you saw in the

clip, common sense would say if you find out you are defending a guilty man, say he's guilty. you can't do that. not only would you not do that, you would lose your license, the evidence would be inadmissible. it's tricky. >> i don't often share the little moments that a guest and i have right before the segment but you said something interesting to me. i said, hey, you look healthy and great. you said you're taking on the role of promoting a movie the same way you take on shooting a movie. you're doing it like you're in training. >> yeah. it's a six-week run. le even if i have three, four days in between press days i'm treating it like i'm working, go through the daily regimen, get a good night's sleep. >> how is that from the way you used to handle it? >> i used to think, i have travel time, i'll play. now i guess this is the first one i have done also with children and a family and camilla is traveling with me. that makes it easier and easier

to stay home. >> i asked you about how your family is. that famous smile crept into your face. you like being a dad. >> i do. it gives you a lot more to live for. you know that. >> yeah. >> one thing that makes me happy is having something to look forward to. having children is a given, a universal truth. you have something to look forward to every day. >> isn't it funny how it changes a topic of conversation between you and other people with children. that's all you want to talk about which is great. this is "the lincoln lawyer." great to have you back. it hits theaters march 18. up next, getting a jump on spring cleaning. first this is "today" on nbc.

♪ spring cleaning >> this morning on "today's home," getting a jump start on spring cleaning. sure it may seem a daunting task, but if you know where to start and how to do it we may enjoy it. at least according to the editor in chief of women's day magazine, elizabeth mayhew. hey, good morning. >> good morning. >> you say that the two words fun and cleaning can go together. >> can go together. >> so fun and spring cleaning. >> first of all, get motivated. >> involves color. >> there are so many things on the market from fun gloves to scrub brushes that make you look happy. you should be happy while you're

doing it. we have a few things to show you here. then we have a new mop which i love. it's a quickie mop. one of the things that's great is it has a scrub brush. so, yes, you don't have to get down on your hands and knees. >> they are colorful. actually, you wouldn't mind using that. even the stripes on the pail. >> it's to get you motivated and have fun. >> and feeling better about the products we are using. there are a lot of things available. this is unusual. >> replenish. we think this is the wave of the future in terms of cleaning products. most are shipped with all the water in them. replenish, you buy the bottle. the one-time purchase and you buy pods that come in different scents, snap it to the bottom, squeeze it. it fills it up. you pill it up with water. one pod lasts four full bottle spms so you're not throwing the bottle away, just the pod. >> saving on everything from

plastic, carbon emissions, energy. >> is the material inside eco-friendly? >> it is. you can find these at the grocery store where they don't have toxic fumes and they are better for the environment. >> better for your children, your pets, all of that. a lot of people waste money, spend a lot of money on disposable cloths, wiping materials. you say go with -- >> go with micro fibers. don't put them in the dryer. buy them in the automotive section. they are les expensive than in the cleaning section. >> who knew? show us how to clean a window. >> take an old towel and cover the sash. the reason is it's the single most important thing you can do right now to let the light in the room. it gives immediate freshness. >> i will hold it. >> then use a spray cleaner and just spray the window and the best thing to do is use a

squeegee. go from left to right? >> why? >> it's cleaner and easier. if you go left-handed maybe you go that way. >> i am left-handed. we are pretending this carpet is a mattress. >> mattresses can have 10,000 to 10 million dust mites. >> that's all i need to know. >> you want to vacuum with a bristle. >> why? >> that's how you get them out. >> are you scrubbing when vacuuming the bed? >> scrub on the mattress and get out the dust mites. you may flip the mattress so definitely vacuum both sides. >> and soft toys as well? >> stuffed animals can be home to a lot of hidden allergens and dust mites. so either put them in the washing machine in a hot cycle or in the freezer for 24 hours. >> that's not going to traumatize the kids. >> but while they are at school, stick it in the freezer. >> and get them out fast. last, the shower curtain.

they can get disgusting with mold. >> mold and mildew. so take this off. you can also put it in the washing machine. add old towels to rub the scrum off. >> you also say baking soda is a magic weapon. >> if there is still mildew make a paste of baking soda. i know you are dying to hear this. baking soda and water and scrub it. i know you all hate germs. there you go. >> i know this stuff. believe me. >> the point is have fun, spring clean and you and your family will feel better. >> i like the racing stripes on the bucket. >> could we not bring a mattress in the studio? >> we were -- >> we were worried you would be afraid. >> so we have the oriental rugs. >> we were worried you would be afraid of the mites. >> thank you so much. >> coming up, getting every last ounce out of your hand lotion bottle to fixing stale sugar.

we'll tell you thousand cut down on waste after your local news. versus toyota. which is better? [ male announcer ] why do so many car companies compare themselves to toyota? maybe it's because toyota has more hybrids on the road than all other automakers combined. like the 50-mpg-rated prius, the best selling hybrid in america. and prius was also named a best overall value of the year. plus, every new toyota comes with toyotacare, a complimentary maintenance plan with roadside assistance. we're #1 for a reason. come see for yourself. hurry in for the best selection. ♪ good monday morning to you. it's 8:56 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. news this morning an oakland police officer fired after shooting and killing an unarmed man in 2008 will be retired. officer oscar jimenez shot the man after a chase.

he shot him in the back when he tried to run from officers. it was the second time in seven months jimenez had shot and killed an unarmed man. after his dismissal jimenez contested his treatment by the city and under an arbitration agreement he will be reinstated and given back pay. do not know when jimenez will return to duty or where hebe wi as assigned. we'll take a quick break and have weather after this. restor. cortizone-10 -- feel the heal.

good monday morning. it is kind of a windy start but we aren't going to see really gusty winds. they'll turn breezy by about noon. low pressure is heading out of the area. that brought us the showers yesterday. high pressure is building in. the two combine to create a pretty tight pressure gradient but we do have really good news for you. that system is pulling out and

as it does so our wind speeds continue to fall this morning. temperatures right now are in the 50s. later on today 60s. back to you, laura. >> thanks so much. thanks for joining us. the "today" show continues next. our latest editorial states the public sector isn't rebounding and either we restructure the tax code or let legislative inaction and demand on public services tax us and our resources. no one wants to make the tough choices and we seem to be ignorant to vote for anyone willing to make those choices. rory echoes her complaint. we have a number of residents that don't want to pay taxes and who support politicians with that attitude. dunn believes a value added tax would be more fair and targets spending thus encourages saving.

david adds you were ahead of the curve on the pension problems the state is facing. i hope editorials like yours make a decision possible among elected officials. onognb lo t as always for your mored logon to nbc oriteditorial.com. we're back with more of "today" on a monday morning, the 7th day of march 2011. we were talking about how it's overcast about an hour ago. now the skies have cleared up. got some sunshine on the plaza and some nice people sticking around. i'm matt lauer with tamron hall and al roker. natalie's inside filling in for ann. >> who left. >> who's filling in for meredith and will bat third in the next inning and take over playing center field. >> something like that. >> coming up we'll talk about wild weather that we have seen over the last 24 to 48 hours.

major storms moving across the country including a tornado in louisiana over the weekend. >> that's right. >> heavy, heavy rains in the northeast. al will be talking more about that. >> absolutely. >> and later, charlie sheen had that wild week last week. over the weekend he was streaming a live show from his mansion. goddesses included. he's still trying to get his children back and his hit show which is important to his income. many people wonder what's coming up next on his professional and personal battles we are watching play out. >> i like the hat though. >> yeah. it's a look. >> answers to your most pressingpress i ing real estate questions. barbara corcoran will discuss the pros and cons of renting to collecting on a tax credit. she'll help you make the smart moves in this tough real estate market. >> you know the saying waste not want not. we waste 25% of household

products. for example, ketchup. you get to the bottom and open a new bottle. we waste a lot. we'll look at how to get to the very bottom of it. >> my mom used to put water in it. >> my dad did the same thing with dishwasher soap. we'll look at how to be resourceful at home. >> lots to get to. natalie's not here. she's at the news desk with the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. we'll start off with the brutal march storm blowing across the country. weather channel's mike seidel is tracking the winter weather. he's in syracuse, new york. mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. here in up state new york we have had as much as 25 inches of snow following temperatures yesterday morning in the springlike 50s. it's all part of a storm that provided wild weekend weather. this march storm brought everything from flooding, snow and deadly tornadoes. heavy rains flooded several

areas. in shelby county outside indianapolis seven people had to be rescued from their homes. >> it took some of my friends coming out here and stealing a boat to get us. >> reporter: outside of columbus, ohio 60 weather-related wrecks reported in less than three hours on sunday, blamed on icy roads. in buffalo, sunday snowfall pushed the season total past 100 inches. people just want winter to end. >> i'm ready for spring to get here, baseball to start. >> reporter: the worst was in rayne, louisiana. this security camera shows the tornado that touched down saturday with 135 miles per hour winds leaving shattered glass, and mud-soaked debris. one young mother was killed. authorities say she died sheltering her 1-year-old daughter as fierce winds brought down a tree on their house. 12 other people were hurt with

1500 people were forced from their homes by the twister. >> it was total chaos to be honest with you. >> reporter: a bit of chaos this morning in syracuse for the rush hour. parts of interstate 81 are shut down due to accidents, natalie. we are approaching or have tied the fourth snowiest season on record. 170 inches and counting. if you're doing the math, that's over 14 feet of snow. natalie, back to you. >> way too much snow. all right. thank you, mike seidel, in syracuse. robert gates arrived in afghanistan this morning on a surprise two-day visit to assess the progress of the now decade-long war in that country. gates' evaluation will inform the plan to begin troop withdrawals this july. libyan rebels are regrouping after a brutal barrage from moammar gadhafi. pro government forces launched aerial assaults and increased artillery strikes to repel rebels as they advance on

tripoli. a tour bus flipd on icy roads in pennsylvania overnight killing at least one person. in the accident that involves multiple cars. several people were injured in the crash. the senate could vote this week on two packages of spending cuts. one bill passed by house republicans would slash more than $60 billion. the other cuts less than $7 billion. parts of christchurch, new zealand are so destroyed they will have to with completely abandoned according to the prime minister. at least 10,000 homes will be demolished after the quake that struck february 22, killing at least 166 people. a dispute over an overhead luggage bin cost a virgin blue flight attendant his job. virgin admits he placed a 17-month-old boy in an overhead bin during a flight from fiji to

australia and shut the door. however, virgin said the boy was playing peek a boo with his father and the flight attendant joined in. the child's mother was not amused. it was a good weekend to be a lizard at the box office. animated western comedy "rango" came in first with $38 million followed by "the adjustment bureau" and "beastly." i saw "rango." very cute. thumbs up. >> mr. roker has a thumbs up for the weather. >> we saw it, too. really liked it. very nice. we have a little friend here. what's your name? >> sevaj. >> what are you doing here? >> we are here for make a wish to see bert and ernie. >> you're going to sesame street? >> yes. >> say hi to big bird and everybody. where are you from? >> maine. >> nice to see you. >> thank you. t let's check your weather, see

what's happening. we've got a storm system exiting the northeast. that's the one that brought the heavy snow that mike seidel was talking about. another one making it through the plains. that will be a severe storm maker. tomorrow into wednesday down through the gulf coast into the southeastern atlantic states. in fact, tomorrow you can see the rain getting together. gulf coast into the mid mississippi river valley. snow in the pacific northwest. sunny and mild through the southwest. sunny in the east but chilly exce well, we are talking about wind in our neck of the woods and a lot of it. really gusty winds right now throughout the east bay hills. in fact, pretty much everywhere you head this morning you'll encounter windy conditions at least until noon. the reason why? we have a high pressure gradient. high pressure moving in, low pressure moving out. the two combine to create some pretty gusty winds, the case for the first part of the day but once that system moves out we're talking calm conditions and 53 degrees in places like san jose.

and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. this morning on "today's consumer" getting your money's worth. the saying is waste not want not but many of us toss everyday items with more to give. how do you stretch your dollar? todd markson joins us from consumer reports. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is so important because of the economy, you say we waste 25% of our packaged goods. how are we doing it? >> we'll take a page out of grandma's playbook. years ago people used every last drop. today we throw things away easily. in a study we looked at a vast array of products and found as much as a quarter of everything inside a pump bottle, a tube is wasted because people just don't want to extract the effort to dislodge this stuff and use it to the last drop.

>> let's teach people how to use it to the last drop starting with hand lotion in the pump bottles. how do you get to the last drop? >> pump bottles are one of the least efficient delivery systems because a lot is stuck on the bottom. when you take something like body cream or hand lotion, the pump stops working. >> no matter how you shake it, turn it, you can't get to it. >> take whatever is left in the bottom, open the top, put it in a tube with extra. then take the rest of the bottle, screw the top on, put it in hot water. let it sit for a few minutes. unscrew it again and you will be amazed when you open it up and pour it in there how much is there. you're good to go for another week. >> yeah. what about squeeze tubes like hair gel, toothpaste. that's the hard part is getting to that little bit. >> they drive people nuts because there are nooks and crannies. be careful.

take a utility knife with this hair gel. open it up and carefully hold it, give it a quick cut like that. open it like a baked potato. peel it back, take a wad and boom. you take the extra side container or a soft pliable long-handled rubber spatula. with those things you can get stuff out of everything. >> perfect. food waste. this is the most frustrating part. so much food is wasted in our country. you've got great ideas for what we can do with, for example, overripe bananas. these look good. >> they do. but people get grossed out when they're brown but they are at their sweetest. you can do a lot with them. one, mash it up, put it in hot cereal. make banana bread. take off the skin, put it in a bag with a strong seal and

freeze them. take them out on an as-needed basis after frozen. you can be decadent. my wife told me about this. take it, dip it in chocolate and refreeze it. you have a snack. use it for banana bread and it will keep indefinitely. >> and smoothies. >> oh, yeah. it's a lot of sugar in there. >> condiments. al said his mom put water in the ketchup bottle. this is cider christivinegar? >> a lot of things like mayo with the long handled spatula, barbecue sauce, tangy canaondims like ketchup, mustard. water doesn't work well. take a few drops of vinegar, shake it up. >> keeps the tanginess and loosens it up. >> you do it, pour it into

another container or leave it there. again, you have another male out -- meal out of it. >> stale sugar doesn't sound great. is there a way to salvage it? >> it's really not stale. exposed to humidity over a long time it turns into a brick. >> right. >> you can throw it out, use it as a door stopper or get a nice handy dandy rolling pin, bang it to a pulp until you get rocks that come into a little bit of a shard. take the shards out. put it in the food processor, grind it up again. put it in a plastic bag or container. another good idea is to put it in a sealed container so it won't happen in the first place. >> todd, as always getting us to stretch our dollar. >> my pleasure. >> up next from short sales to a second time home buyer's incentive. barbara corcoran is here to answer your real estate questions and then bethany

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embrace the pure life. nestle pure life. ♪ she's a brick house this morning, answers to some of your most urgent real estate problems from qualifying for government tax breaks to selling your home in a tough market. today our brick house barbara corcoran is here with perspective. >> good morning, al. >> lots of folks on the phone. we'll start with kathleen in connecticut. good morning. >> caller: good morning. hi, barbara. >> what's your question for barbara? >> caller: well, i would like to sell a parcel of residential

property in grand bahamas. since i purchased a waterfront condo. can you tell me what your best advice to market and sell the lot to u.s. and foreign investors would be? >> the challenge here, kathleen, is that you can't advertise on u.s.-based websites because it's in the bahamas. there are three major websites in the bahamas to advertise on. the thing is that lots there are selling for anywhere between $25,000 and $1 million. your location is precious. sale.1:ld be an easy cc you should really market the language of the ad because i had a look and it was very flat. it looked like every other lot out there. remarket it and make sure you oncc1: all three of the large websites in the bahamas. >> is this a good time for people selling land in the caribbean? >> it's not. but it's a great time for somebody buying land in the bahamas. things are selling for 40% to 50% less than they were four

years ago. for people thinking of buying a lot this is a great time to buy. >> good luck, kathleen. >> caller: thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> this is the first time we have gotten a call from alaska. carla has a real estate question. good morning.cc1: >> caller: good morning, al, cc: barbara. >> good morning. >> caller: we need to sell our turnkey garage gas station which includes a three bedroom home and two vehicles. how do we go about finding the c loves to meone who1: hunt, fish or surf and wants to own their own business in a beautiful alaska village. >> the words are pretty, but it's a challenge. this is a specialty buy. it's not so different from selling a big horse ranch or any kind of business that needs a special buyer. you should be advertising in all the business for sale websites out there. there are probably seven of them. google it and find the websites. $100 to list the property there. nd also you should becc1: advertising in hunting and

fishing magazines. i'm dying with my throat. a question.kcc1: she's got a house with a business. should she be selling the house as -- >> no. forget the house, kathleen. goingcc1: along for the ride. you have to find somebody who wants to be 30 miles from civilization, likes to hunt and fish and wants to run a gas station. that's a real specialty buyer. you have to reach out to the speciale ty magazines. forget the house. this is about selling the business. thank you for the clarification, way, and for saving me as death. ing tocc1: >> now we have an e-mail. this is from malia in salt lake city. writescc1: because of the real: estate market i'm thinking of renting my house for a couple of years. i havecc1: to pay capital gains taxes? >> there is absolutely no need to worry. as long as you live in the house for two of any five-year period you don't lose the capital gains

deduction at all. you can get up to $500,000 on your gain. what you do lose is the depreciation on the specific period of time that you are enting the house which is just: nickels and dimes. don't worry about it. so many people are doing it today and it's a good option. >> last e-mail from joan writing can i negotiate the price of a short sale of a house? i don't want the bank to get angry and dismiss my bid. the house need as roof. can i use that to negotiate the price? >> banks don't get angry. short the beauty of acc1: sale. they are happy to do it. what you must do is include what the deductions are like for the cost of replacing the roof in the bid. they are impatient about going back and forth. once you submit the bid you will get an answer quickly. you are certainly not going to get a bank angry over it. >> good advice.

of course we have more coming up for you as we take a look we'll show you how charlie sheen spent his weekend. plain was the same as plainly plain... samely same... but then...someone lit the flame. plain rode away on lion's mane. where plain met fruits with strangely names. such wonderful things they did contain. a shot of life to a hungry vein. the captive beast who broke the chain. and there upon that fruited plain is where plain became what plain became so much more than more than plain. plain will never be the same. you could spend as much as $200.

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we want to remind you once again. we want to give you the royal treatment. earlier today we hinted that the wedding dress may or may not be designed by alexander mcqueen's fashion house. we are still looking for a creative viewer to send us a short video on why you and a guest deserve to go to london all expenses paid. >> the winner will get two first class tickets on british airways during the wedding of prince william and kate middleton. get out the cameras and tell us why london is calling you. go to today.com for all the details. >> meanwhile coming up, products to make your home more pet friendly which i need. >> yes. >> there you go. i'm hoping you have a pet. >> i do. >> also weather with al roker. >> oh, well. >> after your local news and weather. this is a strawberry pop-tart.

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no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm. good morning everybody. i'm brent cannon. trial for the teenager accused of plotting a killing spree at a san mateo high school in 2009 is now under way this morning. prosecutors say that alexander ushak then 17 years old walked into hillsdale high school armed with a chain saw and sword and ten pipe bombs intending to kill as many people as possible. two of those bombs did explode but nobody was injured. he has entered an insanity plea but still could face life in prison. opening statements started about 9:00 this morning. hundreds of pg&e workers are working around the clock with

truck loads dropping off boxes of records. the state public utility commission has ordered pg&e to produce records of the pipe lines by march 15th. the search comes after investigators found a faulty pipe that is believed to be the origin of the san bruno gas .e kled eig ople. weather and traffic coming up right after the break. stay tuned. california should be proud. we were the first to ban smoking on airplanes. the first to have smoke-free bars and restaurants. all while saving over $86 billion in health care costs...

and over a million lives. we've done a good job. but even if you were born today, you'd still grow up in a world where tobacco kills more people... than aids, drugs, alcohol, murder and car crashes... combined. we have a lot more work to do. welcome back. it's still pretty windy out there as low pressure is still moving out and moving off to the east and high pressure is moving in. the high pressure gradient will be the case until probably noon when we'll see windy conditions turn to breezy conditions. breezy throughout the day today. 49 degrees in san francisco right now. 52 degrees in sunnyvale. we'll see a nice second half of the day. mostly sunny conditions. breezes will also start to subside later on tonight and into tomorrow morning. jose.rees in sancc1: 64 in gilroy. 63 degrees in san francisco. just can't beat that this time of year. looks really nice.

our next rain chance doesn't arrive until thursday. let's see how we're doing right now on the roadways with mike. >> not so bad overall.cc1: looking at the south bay northbound 101 really bogging down still approaching the airport passing highway 87 and guadalupe. northbound 101 had a series of accidental involving cc1: motorcycles. now actually the capital expressway might affect the on ramp there. watch for that. i found it curious they all involved motorcycles. inflow shows your typical slowing a little heavier approaching hillsdale after an earlier accident there.cc1: and then thanks a lot, mike. the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have a great morning. cc1:cc1:cc:

oh, my god. you're a vision. you are a vision. what? cc1: >> how do you do it? seriously, every morning. there is something new. something new. seriously. look. >> wow. matt lauer with the shovel, working hard. ever wonder what really happens behind the scenes here at "today"? in honor of our new website, today.com, we'll have a one-time only today.com show hosted by kathie lee and hoda. it's going to give you a glimpse of what happens in the green room, the control room, behind the scenes in the studio, ann's dressing room.

>> nice. >> it's everywhere. looking for my keys, wallet. >> this is riveting television so far. as part of that another first. meredith vieira will be tweeting for the very first time. her twitter handle is @meredith vieira. she has over a thousand followers already. she's in. what will she write about? check it out tomorrow on today.com. our show is starting at 7:30 with hoda and kathie lee tomorrow at today.com as well. >> coming up in this half hour, the latest on charlie sheen. the embattled actor may not be working but he didn't take the weekend off either. he hosted a web cast from his home. we'll have an update on his efforts to get his kids and hit tv show back and new video from inside his mansion. >> love that hat. also ahead, making your home more pet-friendly from the best alternatives to your shoes for chewing on to the easiest ways

to clean up after your four-legged friends. >> so cute. >> having a romantic moment. >> sitting here with a candle. >> oh. >> i'm leaving. >> we embarrassed him. >> i'm done with the close-up. >> oh, lucky. so cute. there goes mommy. >> also in "today's kitchen" what are the must have ingredients you should always have in the pantry? chef giada shares what she keeps on hand in the kitchen as we whip up simple dishes using her favorite ingredients. first, al, all smiles this morning. how about a check of the weather? >> i loved that. that's what you will see tomorrow at 7:30 -- >> this is not behind the scenes. this is all on air. >> the week ahead, we have snow in the northwest. much below normal temperatures with the exception of texas. mid-week period, we have another

storm system making its way across the country. that's going to bring rain to the gulf coast, snow in the western great lakes. above normal temperatures in the west. the latter part of the week warming in the east with more rain and great lakes snow. we have much above to above normal temperatures in the southwest. below normal along the pacific northwest coast. good morning to you. we are sandwiched between systems and it's windy as a result. low pressure that brought us the rain yesterday is moving off to the east. high pressure builds in. we have a tight pressure gradient so it will be windy for the first part of the day but then we have some changes. i think you'll like the changes. temperatures right now in the 50s are expected to jump to the upper 60s in some cities today. mid 60s for the most part in the bay area. 63 degrees in oakland and those winds will subside as the system continues to head out. our next rain arrives by thursday. that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. new york times best selling author breakout star on the real

housewives of new york and chef bethany frankel seems to have it all. she's in her second season of "bethany ever after". >> good morning. >> we saw in the first season you were dealing with everything from getting married to eventually having your water break on the show. how do you top that in season two? >> i am the queen of too much information. this season is more of the texture. really the first year of marriage. my career has kind of exploded and trying to finish my book and raise a baby and be a good wife. the truth is it isn't always pretty but i'm letting people under the hood. you know, you may not always like what i do but it's always the truth. >> it will be fun. >> you know, i turn 40. i have a low grade breakdown on that day. >> a low grade breakdown. >> i don't love birthdays. i didn't want that big attention

around my 40th, but it happened. it's there for the world to see. i'm really proud of the show. it's not a guilty pleasure. i think it's a pleasure. >> how's motherhood? bryn is 10 months old now? >> i love it. she's now standing up. all of the sudden she turned into a person. it's amazing how they are so interactive, involved. >> nice panda costume. >> i love her so much. she's the sweetest thing in the world. we hit the baby lottery and we appreciate it because we're older. every single thing is a big deal. i spend all the time in the world i can with her. >> thank you so much. >> good luck with everything. new projects, books and show. >> new life. >> absolutely. watch tonight at 10:00/9:00 central on bravo. >> up next, winning. >> duh. >> the latest on charlie sheen right after this. works. ooh, the price sure doesn't.

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stir up a smile with hershey's syrup. now to new developments in the charlie sheen saga. the actor's war with the world pressed on over the weekend and could end up in court this week. jeff rossen has the latest. jeff, when are you coming home? >> al, i know you miss me. >> i do. >> reporter: can i make a personal request? that you never say duh or winning again. >> i'll try. i can't promise. >> reporter: i understand.cc1: just try. thank you. charlie sheen is still trying to get his kids back this morning.: he's in settlement talks with brooke mueller. so far no luck on that. his lawyer says if they can't strike a deal today they are planning to head to court tomorrow. meantime, sheen is still winning.duh,cc1: that's where that comes from.

with no tv show left he created his own show from his house on the internet.cc1: >> welcome to sheen's corner. you are in my corner or you're with the trolls. >> reporter: live from the sheen mansion saturday night or at least a corner of it, charlie unplugged. >> winning! winning! winning! >> reporter: the whole crew was: there including one of his so-called goddesses. >> where is your seat? right there. >> right here where i belong. c: >> reporter: there he was, a hollywood a-lister, tv's highest paid star, shilling for sponsors. >> the makers of tiger blood. >> reporter: and, yes, taking a swipe at warner brothers, the company that shut down his show "two and a half men." >> they know where i stand.cc1: i know where they stand. i make sense and they don't.cc1: it's clearcut. >> reporter: hours ago, overnight, sheen was back online. >> [ bleep ] hung up on him. >> reporter: cursing, holding a

cigarette lighter to the camera and admitting saturday's show c: was a, quote, shameful train wreck. >> why can't the tag line be, you know, violent torpedos of truth. sheen's corner. a violent torpedo of truth. you're either in my corner or you're with the trolls. >> reporter: still, the writers at "snl" couldn't help themselves. >> welcome to "duh, winning". c: reporter: earlier back cc casa de sheen he provided nbc news with exclusive home video. >> this is a think tank. >> reporter: charlie holding what appears to be business meetings around the kitchen table and out back, here discussing a t-shirt business. >> 50,000 t-shirts, four, five different styles. >> i'm sorry. 50 million.cc1: >> reporter: on the surface, not the portrait of a man entrenched in a bitter custody fight. charlie hasn't seen his twin boys in nearly a week since they were taken from his home under

court order. right now they are with their mother, sheen's estranged wife brooke mueller, who this weekend took the boys out in l.a. with the paparazzi in tow. mueller told the judge charlie hit her and threatened her life and that she worried for the kids' safety in his home. in court papers she admits she's battling drug abuse, too. now in a day treatment program. brooke's mother flew in to help care for the boys and e! news caught up with her. >> it's hard now. charlie's just very angry. charlie's angry at the world. i don't know if everything he says is really what he means. i want him to be able to see his sons, my grandsons. but i want him to be okay. >> reporter: sheen denies the accusations of violence. and if there is no settlement by tonight has vowed to fight for his children in court. >> the court's going to probably want to make both short-term and long-term recommendations. in the short term there might be

a parenting shadow or a monitor in the home. in the long term, they want to look at the child's attachments and well-being. >> reporter: now sheen has yet another problem on his hands. his ex-wife denise richards reportedly wants to keep their daughters away from sheen's house as well. if there is no custody deal between charlie and brooke they are planning for a court date tomorrow. that could be another interesting week. by the way, i want to reconsider what i said. it turns out duh and winning coming out of your mouth brings great ratings, i have been told. i stand corrected. >> if charlie will stop, i'll stop. >> never then. >> okay. up next, how to make your home more pet-friendly right after these messages. [bell tolls] - to best serve your customers, you have to know them. personally. only a local agent can do that. [click, motor hums] - doug pierce. lives in tornado alley. - hobby? - collects stamps. - excellent. - annette thompson.

small business owner. hates cantaloupe. - good. - the lee family: twins. with another on the way. - mazel tov. - that's meatloaf. - hmm. [click] that's still meatloaf. - very good. moving on. - we are insurance. - ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum di bum bum bum bum bum ♪ thanks, skyler. let's go to last night's highlights. there's mom and dad cleaning up. and there's the meatloaf. yuck. look what sometimes happens with the ordinary bag. it slips, oh, bingo, falls in.

mom was mad. mom should have used glad forceflex with the stretchable drawstring that grips the can and stays in place. plus, it has the stretchable strength of forceflex. that's all today for glad tv. [ both ] don't get mad -- get glad! new aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers, with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on, to even skin tone in four weeks. new aveeno tinted moisturizers. don't suffer waiting for your pills to kick in. add alaway. for fast eye itch relief that works in minutes and lasts up to 12 hours. only alaway comes from bausch & lomb. for fast eye itch relief, add alaway. [ female announcer ] wake up to sweetness with honey nut cheerios cereal. kissed with real honey. and the 100% natural whole grain oats can help lower your cholesterol. you are so sweet to me.

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making home a better place for your furry friends. wendy diamond is here with the key to making your home pet friendly. good morning. >> good morning. >> how many of us who have pets, especially dogs, have a pair of shoes that look like that. chewed and at that titattered. >> anything in the house. >> you have brushes here. hysterical. you have ways to teach them not to chew shoes. >> at home it's toys, treats. find something for them to chew on rather than your shoes or anything else. kong. this tie was designed from a tire. it's rubber. throw a treat in there, peanut butter or something and for hours they play with it. dogs want to play. >> and they have to keep busy with their mouth. >> messes happen. how do you clean it up? >> first of all, swiffer.

it's a sweeper, mop, duster. when you have pets, carpet is harder to clean. hard floors are important. this is alt ererna. it's scratch resistent from cc1: armstrong. and they have a hardwood floor as well. this is important because carpet has odors in it. it's better than wood flooring with scratches and paw prints and everything. a swiffer or anything like this will easily clean it up. very important. >> now let's talk about keeping the air quality clean. >> first of all, anyone who has allergies or any pet parents that's a problem. accuclean by american standard air. it cleans 98.98% of the allergens in the house. lot. cca even the husband odors? >> everything! not just in you have pets but if you have allergies, clean the

air in your home. >> if you think your dog is brilliant when it comes to being artistic, put his skills to the test. this is fun. first of all it for children, dogs, cats. we all want to cherish our animals. >> this is by pupcasso. >> it's mess free because they have a paint shield. it's patented. it's great. you put it down. you should put more in. then the dog goes on. watch. the treat doesn't come with it. but you get a treat. she's slipping and creating art. >> you can have one of these originals done by lucky. >> we have to go over here to safe candles for the home. >> flameless candles. when you have a pet you never know what they will run into.

if there are live flames it can and the1:us for the petcc home. this is triple l.e.d. lighting. >> wax, too. >> they smell amazing. >> all right. wendy, thank you. these dogs are available, except humane societycc1: of new york. thank you. up next, the must haves in every cook's kitchen. first this is "today" on nbc.cc: :

♪ this morning we are cooking with giada, "today" contributor and chef giada de laurentiis. what do lemons, sea salt have in common? they are her favorite ingredients she likes to have on hand. let's start with seasonings. i bet people come to your home and ask for the must have thing. >> it always changes. i would say herbs de provence, a

combination of dried herbs you find in france and italy. fennel, basil, thyme, marjoram. it's wonderful. instanda stead of a different dried herbs buy this one. >> how do you which herbs to buy dried and which to buy fresh. >> this is a nice mixture to have. secondly, i like thyme and tarragon. they are under appreciated herbs people don't know what to do with. thyme, if you touch it, it's lemony. >> we keep these fresh. >> and tarragon as well. >> it has a fennel, licorice flavor. sea salt, put it on meat, chicken, fish and it gives it a smoky flavor. >> quinoa looks like a grain. but it's actually a seed from south america. it's gluten-free and tastes very much like rice.

it's a great substitute for people looking for something gluten-free instead of pasta. chicken broth, quinoa, a little lemon juice. >> it's a substitute for pasta and rice. >> this is what it looks like when cooked. it absorbs the liquid like a rice would. i dump it in olive oil and make dressing with lemon juice, oil, zest and herbs. put it with fish, chicken or whatever you like. >> we're almost out of time. >> oh, no. >> lemons are a must which you put in the quinoa. >> lemons are something where you can add them to food. it makes everything pop. you don't need to add a lot of oil or salt and you can fry them. >> sun dried tomatoes. >> it's a pantry item i love. chewy, tangy. i make a little pesto, leave it in the fridge. put it on sandwiches, bruschetta, fish, chicken or meat. >> this is my favorite tip. last night i thought i would

love cookies and i didn't have anything. >> what i like is chocolate chips in the freezer. when i need a pick-me-up i go for chocolate chips and they're frozen so they take time to melt in your mouth. you don't have to eat as many. >> and you can share with friends. >> we have great chocolate chip cookies here with heath bar. >> that's a nice list of must haves. thank you. >> you have to have giada. >> i want her in m [ wheezing breaths ] [ woman ] the first time i smoked, i was 13. i was in a hurry to grow up and wanted to look cool. big tobacco knew it, and they preyed on me. i'm here to tell you that big tobacco hasn't changed. they continue to profit... by selling kids the same lies... to get them to use... the same deadly products. don't be big tobacco's next victim.

good morning everybody. time now 9:56. i'm brent cannon. sunnyvale police are warning people about man wanted in a sexual assault. investigators say the man

invaded a home near homestead high just before 6:00 yesterday morning and sexually assaulted a woman then took off. if you have any information, call the sunnyvale police department or you can send an anonymous tip to sv tip@tip now.org. break through contract negotiations with city firefighters are now in the hands of the san jose city council. firefighters agreed to a new contract over the weekend that slashes pay and benefits by 10% but it does save jobs. city leaders say it's a step in the right direction and mayor chuck reid says other unions need to follow suit. critics say it isn't enough because it won't fix san jose's budget problems by itself. they still need the other unions. time to check your forecast with christina. >> good morning to you. it's still relatively windy out there but high pressure is building back in. winds are calming down a little bit and we are in store for a pretty mild afternoon once we lose those gusty winds. right now we have temperatures in the 50s expected to end in the 60s later today.

we don't have any rain in the forecast until next thursday. let's talk to mike. maybe you're leaving right now. how is it looking? >> pretty good time to leave the house and get on the roadways. in the south bay we had a series of earlier accidents including the three motorcycle accidents, northbound 101. so now right around guadalupe is the only one for 101. moving north, a smooth drive. things are moving nicer now. livermore no major slowing though we had an earlier accident but all lanes have cleared over the last 15 minutes. a live shot of oakland past the coliseum, 880, the camera shakes quite a bit. 880 moves nicely but the camera indicating the gusts of wind christina was talking about still time to time over the east bay hills. you might get caught as well as crossing the bay. the bay bridge toll plaza shows you very light volume. metering lights still on but guflty conditions. there are those people waiting. >> look at all those people. more and more. thanks a lot. more local news in a half hour.

today show returns in about a minute. cc1:cc1:cc1:cc1:cc1:cc1::

kotb live from cc1: studio 7a. >> good morning. fun-day monday. we just got home from jamaica. >> we had a lot of fun there. we went to do a show, which is huge there. the show because they

said our show is a lot like ours. >> there are two goddesses. it'scc1: simon and neville. e were supposed to be on thecc: air at 7:10 and we're looking around going, is anything going on? >> they come on whenever. >> when it's time. just wait around. it will show up on the screen eventually. >> so 8:30 came, and we're still on. >> we thought it was supposed to be over at 8:30. >> it turns out the prime minister called and said, keep them on until 9:00. >> we have some pictures of the fun and fridvolity. >> some nice coconuts. >> that was at a roadside stand.

>> this guy, i never did meet monkey man, but i took his number down. anyone who advertises himself as monkey man is my kind of sgi. >> that was like the equivalent of a jamaican gondola ride along the river. >> then we just got a little fun with the local guys, and, yeah, hilarity ensued. we'll have to show you that. >> when we were paging through the newspaper to see what was going on, this is the spread in the paper of our time in jamaica. >> hoda and i are wearing a variation of the jamaican flag. not the most flattering outfit i've ever worn. the coconuts were hanging a little low to the ground, if you know what i mean. >> we did our best. >> we did our best. >> we had some fun, though.

>> nothing stopped charlie from the charlie sheen drug that he's on. >> everyone was poking fun at snl. let's watch this for a second to see who played charlie sheen. i missed snl saturday. >> a show for people who are tired of apologizing for their bitching, gnarly, rock star lives and are ready to celebrate being warlocks. what's new with you, goddess? >> things are pretty rough. >> hey, lindsay, you winning? >> you know it. >> radical. lay it on me. >> things are great. my new movie "herbie" opened 68 months ago. >> that was little miley cyrus.

>> and christina aguilera was the music backup and i guess onwar gadhafi was there as well. >> if anyone knows the true spelling of his name, could we settle on one way to spell his name? >> the funny thing is they don't have the alphabet there, so some o u ausse some use a g. let's listen to this about charlie sheen. >> i'm a bitching rock star. i'm like zeus in a speedo. i'm going to embrace my life. i'm going to put both arms around it and love it violently. and then defend it violently

through the violent hatred. dude, you're 45 with five kids. you're in your big house with your beanbags, sit back and buckle up. it's going dobto be a long one. at one point you'll want to put your hands up. $25 when you get off the ride, you can buy a picture of you enjoying the whole charlie sheen ride. what's my real name? carlos he estevez. [ bleep ] i feast on the bones of trolls. another great example of how i'm winning and the computer is losing. >> that was unbelievable! >> you start to think he's him for a second. >> that's really, really good.

that was really good. >> we have a little thing going off for jimmy. >> we love our jimmy fallon. >> we love this part of the segment so much we need to talk about it beforehand. if you go to a public restroom and you're embarrassed going in there because people make sounds in restrooms and they don't want everyone to hear but it's an open stall. there is nothing you can do. there is a noise blocker bobbi found. you push it and drown out the sound. it is embarrassing. sometimes i've sat in stalls before and listened around, and there are people who can go forever. my god, they are still going. it's astonishing sometimes how long people go. >> you have room in your purse for that? >> yes, i have room in my purse

for that. so many things happen in a restroom and you walk in and think, what happened before i got here? >> i walked into the makeup room this morning and said, what happened to you? you are at least 12 shades darker than you were when we left. you are like one color now. your hair is the same color as your face. >> i can't help it. i'm out in the face for ten seconds and it happens. >> you and jay were sprawled out there, i tried to say goodbye, you were in the sunshine, sweating in the cleavage. >> no, i wasn't. >> yes. and i thought, i bet she doesn't have skin protection on. >> i had a little. i can only stay out for an hour or so. i like the sun. >> i know you do, but it's not good for you, hoda. i worry about you. you look beautiful. >> it's from the sun. i like it. >> we can't even be in the same

scene together. that's just wrong. what else is going on? you spent the rest of the weekend with jay. anything to tell us about that? >> it was really nice. jamaica was great. we shot a lot of the time, we shot thursday, we shot friday and everyone left. >> i was going to stay with you, but when i realized jay was coming, there was really no room in the inn for me, if you know what i'm saying, and my daughter said, mom, i really want you to come back, which is kind of neat, you know? you don't expect your 17-year-old daughter to kind of want to be with you. so i rushed home with christine and i spent -- one of my favorite things is theater, as you all know. saturday we went to see "into the woods" at a high school. they did a great, great job sunday we went to see "hello, dolly." >> how was that? >> terrific. so i was sort of up to my eyebrows in plays.

it was a great weekend. what was i going to tell you about? >> something about max cato? >> do you want to do that now? >> let's do it. >> what i read on this trip was a terrific book. i love everything max cato writes. he writes with such great humanity. so my favorite thing is "outlive your life" by max. it's $15 at amazon. >> i love how he writes, i love how he makes it realilatable to everybody. he is great. >> he's been a guest here, too. >> every time you complain about my fingernails, which is every day. >> hardly. >> just about. i found the cure for chipped nails. you don't have to do the gel, you don't have to do anything. you just have to do this stuff.

it's called -- also known as nail hardener. go on amazon.com. it's $3.26. it's a base coat. i don't know what's in it and i don't care. because you put it on base, then you put your nail polish on. it extends your man cuicure for week. it's $3.26. it's got a green top so you know what it is. >> hi, sara. >> i love that. they offer you the one with the green top. my favorite thing this week is good life granola. it's made out of all natural stuff. you can get it on goodlifegranola.com for $6. it's 250 calories for a half cup. you literally should step away from the bag.

>> step away from the bag, ma'am. you know what we're doing tomorrow, hoda? tomorrow from 7:30 to 8:30 eastern time, what's happening? >> we are doing this live behind-the-scenes show. you guys know what's happening when you watch on camera, but behind the scenes in the makeup room, the green room, the kitchen, stuff is happening. so kathie lee and i are coming in early, and we're going to do this whole entire show live on the web. >> why did they pick us? >> because you don't know what the web is. they thought it would be fun. >> right. i seem like the last person on the earth who should be telling anybody what's going on. >> you'll be communicating with matt and meredith throughout the show, and then i don't know what we're doing. >> they're changing the name of the web site. brand new launch tomorrow to today.com. >> it will be easier to navigate and all that stuff.

sdplz today we ha >> today we have a really, really cool thing. have you ever been to pompeii? >> i haven't. >> there is a video called "the life and death of the vecuvius." it's running at times square. over here is a 15-year-old boy. he lived in pompeii when the volcano hit. >> that is astonishing. >> this is unbelievable. this bracelet here is called a sex bracelet. >> what? >> it's a gold bracelet that was given by a master to his slave. i guess we know what kind of a slave it was. but it must be worth millions. there is a security guard who hasn't taken his eyes off me the entire time since we started. would you know how much that might be worth now? would you think that would be a good thing to find out? >> it's worth a lot. >> and this is bread that had just been baked at the time of the vecuvius erupted. they're discovering new stuff all the time there, too.

>> it breaks your heart. >> it really does. >> we want to give a shout-out to heather locklear. she was supposed to be our guest thursday or friday, but then we had to go to jamaica for the taping. she is in a movie tonight and it's supposed to be pretty good. >> there is a scene involving a yoga. >> sorry about that, heather, and we'll have you on another time, we hope. >> down, girl, hoda. >> he is darn cute.

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he grew up all over the world rgs got his first big break on the cosby show. he's been on all kinds of stages. >> that new nbc drama started last year that centers on a group of extraterrestrials after a ship crashed in alaska. he plays elias martinez. >> up until a short time ago, we thought we had all the terrestrials in prison. you're wrong. a lot of them have been living among us. >> stop it! and quit teasing us about the

events, blair. >> this is what we know that we did not know this time last year. these people, these non-humans, they look like us but not everybody is like us. >> they're missing a chip or something. >> they were here before. >> so is charlie sheen. >> what is up with him? yes, but they were here before, so they are not taking over earth, they're taking it back. we didn't know that before, so there is a history. >> there is an actual event that something is going to happen that hasn't happened yet. >> that event has to do with these people -- >> you know what it is. >> i know what it is. >> can it be coaxed out? >> you play the president. >> right. >> how did you prepare for this role? did you read things, did you look at things, did you watch president obama? >> i watched a lot of different presidents. of course, this president is a man of color, he's a youthful

president with a young family. of course, i took a little bit from that, but we don't know what party he's from, so we're not doing that dance. >> and he's cuban, right? >> and he's african-american. people say, how can you be cuban and black? how can you be cuban and not have an accent in 2011. dealing with these non-humans is all about identity. who are these people and how do you feel about that? immigrants, first generation in america, it affects how he views these non-humans. >> as an acting exercise, it's been exciting for you. >> oh, yeah. >> you kept filming all through this hiatus. >> we've been off for three months. and part of that was we were in a serious headwind of competition, not the least of which is monday night football. this is a political thriller. >> let's say you missed the first week, can you pick it up?

>> absolutely. we have a two-hour special starting tonight. there is a two-hour roundup to let you know what happened in the last run. but no, you can pick up pretty fast. also, i should say we got away from a lot of the flashbacks. >> that was confusing. >> we heard a lot of that, so i'm loving the show, but it's hard to follow what's going on. it's much easier. no less intense, no less great quality. >> i had a small part in a movie called "homework." it was a kid finding neverland with johnny depp. we sold the movie so it will be out this summer. >> you got a lot going on, don't

snu. >> we always have a lot going on. the kids need to eat. >> and they want to eat three times a day. >> you can catch back-to-back episodes tonight at 8:00 central right here on nbc. >> tinseltown is hre with all the vibes. but first these messages. nts to. only yoplait original has twice the calcium of the leading yogurt. that's 50% of the daily value ♪ so pass on the news and we can help close this calcium gap together. to get you started, we're giving away a million free cups at yoplait dot com. the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today.

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it is time to surprise one of our devoted viewers at home in our series we call "fan of the week." our friend sara is here to announce the very lucky winner. >> are you ready? drumroll, please. the winner is judi haneker from clearwater, florida. she watches us on wasa. she feels like they're one of her girlfriends. if she's not home to watch in the morning, she records you and watches at lunch. she watches kathie lee and hoda because when she's not having lunch with her girlfriends,

she's having lunch with klg and hoda. we're sending her to the renaissance hollywood spa, round trip airfare for two. it's furnished by the hollywood hotel and spa, so don't miss your chance to log on to our web site. >> thank you, judi. all right, we still have rob with the celebrity buzz. >> we showed you one of them. there she is. show us what you got. >> what is that? >> i don't know, but i like it, whatever it is. >> finally a pair of jeans that body type, we promise. after your local news. [ male announcer ] sometimes after surgery straining should be avoided.

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good morning everybody. time now10:26. i'm brent cannon. more than three months after san francisco voters approved an ordinance police are still not enforcing it. the latest delay has to do with printing. police are supposed to hand out multiling withdrawal cards offering homeless and other social services when enforcing the ordinance but the cards are not back from the printer. the sit law ordinance bans people from sitting or lying on city sidewalks between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. good news for the city of san jose this morning. a major deal has been struck between san jose firefighters and city leaders. it only helps the city budget -- not only helps the city budget

but also paves the way for other unions to negotiate. firefighters voted over the weekend and agreed to a new contract that slashes pay and benefits by 10%. city leaders say it does help and is a step in the right direction. mayor chuck reed says other unions need to follow suit. >> a couple yun lyons we don't have proposals from yet and some are saying no because they're still in denial. but the facts are really difficult to deny now. we're in a huge problem next year, a big shortfall of $110 million more or less. and we just have to make some changes. >> critics claim the 10% cut is not enough because it will not fix san jose's budget problems by itself. federal documents show the san jose firefighters were in the top five in the nation in terms of pay. the city council is expected to vote tomorrow whether to approve the new contract. 7.we i10:2 10:27. weather and traffic coming up right after this. :2

good monday morning. we're going to see a lot of sun tods. still windy but winds are starting to relax and will do so even more as we heads through the afternoon and evening. we're talking about breezy conditions as opposed to windy conditions we've had this morning. 63 degrees is your forecasted high in san jose. high pressure making for a mild week. let's check your drive right now with mike. >> christina, we have an accident declared for southbound 280 on bird slowing through the area just around highway 87 so keep that in mind coming through downtown san jose. 880 shows past the coliseum, a

lot of volume into downtown oakland. the hammer is shaking because there are gusty winds all over the east bay. >> thanks for joining us this morning. the "today" show continues coming up next and we'll see you back here tomorrow. r we are back on this fun-day monday with all the entertainment news you can take in today's buzz. >> here with the answers to your buzz-worthy questions is naughty but nice columnist rob. he's been texting. >> charlie sheen and i are text buddies, so we've been texting all night and he's pretty angry. he's angry that he's lost his son and he's angry with the mother of the son, brook mueller, who he claims is setting up photo ops and is profiting from having the son.

>> what's happening with him? >> he's sort of moved past "two and a half men" and his fight at the moment is trying to get his sons back. this is the battle he's got at the moment. we know he's lost his sons. he's also actually lost his daughters. denise richards has full custody of both of those little girls and she's not letting them anywhere near charlie. >> is it true he wanted to do a family photo of all his ex-wives and the goddesses? >> he did. he wanted to prove to the world that he's a good family man. he had a fight with denise because he wanted her to bring the girls over for a big photo moment and she said no. >> good for her. >> the goddesses left? >> one of the goddesses left, one came back. it's gotten to the point where people are tuning out. it's like this reality show with him on line. nobody watched. i think he got 100,000 viewers, which is very, very tiny.

>> we see him in all these meetings talking about how much money he's going to make off all this and -- what do they call it -- the merchandising and all that. is that real? >> charlie now has money troubles. believe it or not, this man earns a fortune, but he also spends a fortune, so charlie doesn't have the money to live that kind of lifestyle now that the show is gone, so he really is looking for other ways to make money. >> let's go to lindsay. >> she seems so tame by comparison. she's behaving well these days, right? >> the jewelry store has sold the surveillance video. this actually helps her because now she can argue that the natives aren't quite as pure. >> i'm not sure why their attorney allowed them to do that. $35,000 they sold it on e.t. the show is going to air tonight.

the video actually proves lindsay might be innocent. she didn't snatch it and run out. she put a necklace on, some other jewelry on. it looks like she forgot to take it off. >> what's going on with scarlet johansson and sean penn? >> remember, when she was with ryan, we never saw photos together. she's been seeing sean penn for a couple weeks now, and there are pictures out with them touching and being very affectionate. they went to cabo together, so they were in mexico and had a great time. >> we met her last year at the -- what was that? she was so lovely. >> she's almost small beyond her years. i've met her, too, and she is a very, very smart lady. i think what she really likes about sean penn is all the work he does for haiti. his political work really kpits

h -- excites her. >> what about the celebrity? >> i almost put the phone down from charlie sheen to focus on this. it is so brilliant. i called lisa rinna who told me everyone on that show needs to be in an orange jumpsuit. it's insanity. nobody can reveal who the winner is or any of that stuff, but i think she lasts a long time. she's in it to win it. >> she's a very smart woman. >> you know what she did last night which i loved? she's still raising money for the american heart foundation. every one of these celebrities picks a charity, and last night she raised, i think, $80,000. >> we wish everybody all the best. >> thank you, rob.

up next, gum that will cause you to need a bigger bra. >> what? >> that's what bobbi says. >> our whole crew is so excited bobbie is here. [ female announcer ] now, give dry, damaged hair a whole new life! with aveeno nourish plus moisturize. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] visit aveeno.com to save on nourish plus. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. when your eyes are smiling...

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>> bobbie is here with a bunch of buzz-worthy products. >> i want to say one thing. we don't do this for anybody. >> i'm going to explain. >> what is this bra you have on? >> it has over 42,000 how-to ideas and randy submitted this one. it's called the clap-off bra. >> do it again. one, two, three. >> you know a guy invented that bra. that's ridiculous. >> i had to put it on. these are slimming slippers on amazon. they came you'll get in shape. >> they're hard to walk in. >> see if you can get a workout.

you've seen all the advertisements for shoes like the reebok easy tone. now they have these resistant bands built into the fabric of the shirt, so they say when you move around, it's going to create resistance and you'll get a workout. that's what they claim. speaking of shifting your shape, this is another one of those hmm ideas. >> hmm. >> this is saviola who sent pictures of her at 5 and 23. and without a nose job, she has changed her nose by using these plastic inserts which you put inside your nose, in your nostril, and it lifts the tip -- i am just the me sssenger, peop. it lifts the tip. >> what happens when you blow your nose? >> you have to use the extractor.

>> you don't have to go to a doctor. >> that could put an eye out. >> first of all, that's nasty. >> but, you know, you stay away from the plastic surgeons for $35. >> go ahead. >> tell us about that. >> there is a web site that allows you access to these inventive ideas from the far east. they have everything from what you showed earlier, which is the toilet sound blocker. if you want privacy in the bathroom, you turn this on. they also have a bad breath detector where you push this button and hold it down. when it turns green -- it's going to turn green -- you blow in it and it will tell us your breath. >> do it. >> you have to blow really hard into it. so when it stops -- you passed. it's green. so you have good breath.

>> congrats. you have candy breath. >> they also have things called the beauty voice trainer. you would know this apparatus. you have to stick this thing in your mouth, put your tongue underneath -- >> what's it do? >> stick it in your mouth and then -- >> hello. >> you can't hear anything, but you're supposed to hear the tune and you hum. >> i have no idea what this is. >> this gum helps enhance your boobs, they say. this is for guys to help fight body odor. it was so popular in japan, this cool rose menthol. it's to help fight body odor. women complain that men in japan apparently smell, so this was all the rage. and lastly, if you want to smell richer and younger, there is money perfume that comes packaged in shredded money.

all information about this is on line. coming up next, jeans you won't want to take off. flattering for every body. that was ridiculous. t getting a? [ woman ] ♪ why you gotta be like that? [ elevator bell dings ] ♪ don't be like that ♪ 'cause i deserve better than this ♪ ♪ did i catch you flying up like that? ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] make friends with your dry, unpredictable hair. dove's new range with weightless nutri-oils instantly absorb to nourish dry hair deep down, smoothing away up to 100% of its roughness and frizz. new dove nourishing oil care. make friends with your hair.

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♪ have a good daisy, healthy foods to eat ♪ ♪ when you want some joy, dance to the beat ♪ ♪ and have a good daisy [ female announcer ] enjoy the fresh, 100% natural choice in cottage cheese. ♪ have a good daisy ♪ have a good daisy time for today's style and the jeans that will flatter every figure. really? >> you want something versatile in your closet, however, finding the perfect pair of jeans can be as difficult as finding mr. right. we have someone from teen magazine to help us out. >> how are you? >> finding a pair of jeans might be harder than find ing a boyfriend, when it comes down to it. you can't just think you can pop into a store and buy a pair of

jeans like you would a t-shirt. you have to understand that it will take, just like finding a man, it will take a lot of kissing frogs. >> i'm running out of time. where do i go? >> it's not about a price point. there are $500 pair of jeans, there are $40 pair of jeans, and it really comes down to fit. >> i like what we're doing here, because we have different body types so hopefully everyone can relate to a body type. first we have christine. >> chrissy is petite and shorter, and these can give the illusion. >> what kind are these? >> these are aeropostale. and they can give the illusion of skinny hips. they're for slightly younger, so you can wear purple jeans, you can wear tie-dye jeans.

it gives you enough room to -- >> thank you, christine. next we have the boyfriend jean. >> the boyfriend jean is sort of the chicest version of the relax jean. it sort of balances the style and comfort line. >> what are these jeans? >> these jeans are actually -- they are also aeropostale. what you want to look out for with the boyfriend jean is you don't literally want to look like you're wearing your boyfriend's jeans. they can't be saggy. it has to create an illusion, like a nod to that. it's all about needing to fit between your natural waist and your hips in a natural way and your backside. >> nobody wants the mom jeans because we just don't like those. >> i do. >> but we have jeannie, and she's going to step out. >> jeannie, our aptly named

model, jeannie, is wearing dkny jeans. here's where things get a little dicey. a jean like this that is mid-rise, it needs to be slightly on the lower side so it doesn't create that mom jean look, but it also needs to be able to cover the love handle situation. >> yes, that's the problem. she looks adorable in those. i love those jeans. >> it's kind of a nod to the '70s which is on the runway, and this is a really, really good way to do it in a non-costly way. >> nothing looks worse, andrew, than an older woman trying to put herself into teenager's jeans. they're ridiculous. >> when it falls directly down from the hips and elongates to the legs -- >> we've got the darker denim and this is monica. this is the longer, leaner look. >> these are levi's, and no

matter what your size is, i personally think that your biggest sort of secret weapon is black jeans. a lot of people don't understand that. it can look more polished and gives you a great sill -- si-- silhouette. >> thank you, ladies, very, very much. >> thank you, andrew. up next, how to top your dough like a pro.

if the only exercise you get is in the kitchen, we're going to show you a skill that will

help you work your arms, if you know what i mean. >> that's right, he's the world famous pizza throwing champion. you just do it sort of like a basketball player does it. >> over your shoulder. >> now you're showing up. >> how many titles have you won, nine? >> nine world titles. >> they've given it out three times in naples, italy, right? >> one for best pizza maker in the world, so baking and acrobat ix. >> this is what you wanted to be when you grew up? >> a little bit. >> we need room to move. >> come to my left, you're on my right. all right, let's slap it. >> yeah. we're used to that. >> nice. >> when i'm teaching somebody at my restaurant in san francisco, i'll teach you the basics. we'll slap it, we'll put it in our writing hand. do you write with your right or left? >> right. >> perfect. bring it in, push it up, palm,

toss it. lefties, palm, toss it. a whip. >> look what he's doing. how do you do that? >> spin it like a basketball. you're good. you're almost there. >> hoda has a big hole in hers. >> no, i don't. >> not anymore. this is not easy. this isn't getting any bigger. how do you make it bigger? >> you want to make it as big as you can. >> wow! look at that. >> i have to pick a winner here, and whoever is the winner is -- the winner is going to get -- >> what's the winner? >> the winner is going to get free dinner at my restaurant in san francisco. >> what's the winner? >> show me a trick. show me anything. time is running out. >> hmm. >> looks pretty good.

>> how about this? >> i like hoda's behind the back. >> oh, nice! we got to go. tomorrow we're going to be at mardi gras. >> plus fashion dos and don't and so much more and baby jesus and the king cake. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com [ female announcer ] for a limited time, get sizzler's

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