captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. breaking news. japanese military helicopters dropped water on that damaged nuclear plant in a desperate attempt to avoid a meltdown. now the obama administration is telling americans who are in japan it's time to consider getting out today, thursday, march 17th, 2011. >> from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," "disaster in japan" with matt lauer and meredith vieira live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning.

welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm savannah guthrie in for meredith who is on assignment. it feels like a sign of just how desperate things are in japan that they're willing to try such a long shot. helicopters dropping water from the air. >> take a look. you're looking at the video right now. as you can see when they do that a significant amount of that water seems to be dispersed by the wind. now massive high pressure water cannesens, the kind you maybe have seen police use on rioters are going to be used to hose down reactors from the ground. the latest on this desperate attempt coming up just ahead. meanwhile, growing disagreement today between officials in japan and here in the u.s. over the severity of this situation. the chair of the u.s. regulatory commission believes a storage pool holding highly radioactive spent fuel rods may be completely empty at this point and that at times radiation levels have been so high they would be lethal in a very short period of time. he urged americans to stay at least 50 miles away from the

plant, but that's four times the distance of the evacuation order from japanese officials. people in japan are growing really frustrated at this point about the lack of clear, prompt information. we're going to talk about that as well as the state department's decision to begin offering voluntary evacuations to family members of personnel in japan. >> we have a lot to get to. let us start this morning with ann curry who is in the city of akita in northern japan. ann, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, matt. as you report the situation is still very serious. the japanese government is staying on message, saying that the radiation levels are stable. but the u.s. has its own experts on the ground and has a very different assessment of the risk. meantime, there were more extraordinary measures taken today to get those reactors under control. >> the helicopter has begun the aerial spray. >> japanese helicopters staged water drops over the crippled

fukushima daiichi plant earlier where the situation is far from under control. reactor two compromised and leaking radiation. reactor three critical. spent nuclear fuel rods sitting in almost no water and at risk of melting. >> the helicopters have been collecting water, sea water. >> reporter: helicopter flyover an effort to cool the reactor by reflening the water in the pool where the rods are stored. also planned, an assault from the ground sending in 11 water cannon trucks. reactor four, also a big concern. damaged by multiple fires where the japanese say nuclear fuel rods are sitting in low levels of water with radiation escaping, but at levels that don't pose a risk to the area outside of the evacuation zone. >> the priority is on recovering the water levels in the spent nuclear fuel pools. >> reporter: wednesday in washington a far more dire assessment. >> we believe that secondary containment has been destroyed.

there is no water in the spent fuel pool. we believe that radiation levels are extremely high. >> reporter: saying radiation levels are so high, the japanese evacuation order should be expanded. >> we would recommend an evacuation to a much larger radius than has currently been provided in japan. >> reporter: 220 miles southeast of akita, two governments disagree on how wide the evacuation zone should be at the fukushima plant. the japanese government has maintained for days that residents within 12 miles should evacuate. those within 19 miles should remain indoors. wednesday the american government said u.s. citizens within 50 miles of the plant should leave the area. >> the u.s. government has taken a more conservative approach. >> reporter: at a news conference today, japanese officials stayed on message assuring their people that the evacuation perimeters set by japan are sound. >> our sense is to protect the lives of our nationals. >> reporter: despite the

government's best effort to maintain calm, there's clear concern as countless residents in the danger zone were being scanned for radiation. in tokyo, the streets empty. but the airport packed with people trying to get out. the nuclear situation is very worrying, this man says. i don't want my children to be contaminated by nuclear fallout. the u.s. state department is urging u.s. citizens not to travel to japan at this time. saying those in japan "should consider departing." meanwhile, survivors in the devastation are just trying to hold on as they slowly make it to te vak the evacuees. their main concern is staying warm as temperatures drop and snow falls. the death toll getting higher each day with thousands still missing. there's also a major effort under way at the nuclear power plant to get the generators back up and running so the cooling

system can be working again which is very important to cooling down those reactors. also the u.s. has now authorized a voluntary departure of embassy and consulate personnel and their family members. also, the u.s. government is planning charter aircraft now to assist other americans who need help leaving japan. now back to you, matt. >> before i let you go on the subject of departure, you are in akita which is 220 miles to the north and west of fukushima plant. the wind hopefully going in the right direction. you are upwind from that plant. what are your plans for sticking around or getting out of there? >> reporter: we're going to hold down the fort, matt, for as long as possible. but we are very aware that if, in fact, there is a major disaster, it's not going to really be about the surface winds, it's going to be about the winds in the upper levels and we understand that we would be at risk. so we are making a ton of contingency plans to make sure that our team is safe. >> all right.

as always, ann, thank you very much. it's six minutes after the hour. here's savannah. >> thank you. nbc's chief science correspondent, robert bazell, is in tokyo this morning. bob, good morning. i know there was a news conference this morning from japanese officials. these japanese officials said there was disagreement even among themselves as to whether or not that storage pool with those expired fuel rods was empty. my question to you is, if the japanese officials can't even agree amongst themselves, what does that tell us about their credibility and the handle they have on this situation? >> reporter: good morning, savannah. i have just come from that news conference. there's almost no credibility left. this is as we were hearing a very ominous situation. there are six reactors. 170 miles north of here. at least four of them are way out of control and could release a lot of radiation at any time. the wind is now blowing in this direction toward an area where 30 million people live. so it's very serious.

i'm not saying there's going to be a release of radiation, but it certainly could happen. >> what are people in japan telling you? how do they feel about their government, this lack of information, and maybe even worse, a lack of candor from the government? >> reporter: a lot of people are getting frustrated and upset. i'm tell ing you, it's not just japanese citizens. a lot of nuclear experts. i've been covering this story all week and i've talked to experts here in japan and in europe and in the united states. at first a lot of them were very reassuring about this situation but now they say they feel like they've been betrayed. they're sickened because they think that the company that owns the plants probably was doing something wrong, and that's making it so difficult to bring it under control now. it wasn't just the tsunami. it wasn't just the earthquake. those are horrible but there are difficulties that seem to be caused because the company was making some shortcuts before. >> robert, as i understand it, japanese officials still say there's no need to leave tokyo. at this point are people still listening to that advice from

the government or are you starting to see a mad scramble from the city? >> reporter: well, there's a lot of people who are leaving if they can. japanese people. of course, many of them don't have a place to go or the means to leave. a lot of foreigners, as ann pointed out in her piece, are leaving. it's also very quiet here for a different set of reasons which are related to the earthquake. there's almost no gasoline. there's rolling power blackouts and the trains aren't running. a lot of people can't make it to work and a lot of businesses are closed. it's a very, very quiet time here in tokyo. >> bob bazell in tokyo for us this morning. thank you. it's 7:09. here's matt. the unpredictable weather and wind conditions in japan could add to the problems caused by those failing reactors. al is upstairs with more on that. >> matt, good morning. unfortunately the surface winds are going to be a factor as we get into this situation and if there is a radiation release anymore than we've got.

currently the winds are coming, and they're blowing offshore. that's good news. temperatures, though, 26 in sendai. windchills at 15. 37 in tokyo. as we move into tomorrow, friday for tokyo, here's the problem. we're going to see local sea breezes setting in. so that's going to mean the winds are actually going to be blowing onshore. that's a big problem. temperatures will get up into the mid-50s, helping folks. mid-40s in sendai. as we move on into saturday, you're going to see again the winds will be blowing across the land and so as high pressure builds in those winds are going to become lighter and more variable. so we will not be getting winds blowing out into the ocean. if there is radiation, they won't get help from those winds blowing offshore. we're going to continue to watch this. because we're not going to see any big change coming until the beginning of next week, savannah, when we get a big storm moving in and that will start blowing things back out into the ocean. in the meantime, for the next 48 hours, a land breeze is going to be really the big situation there.

>> all right, al. thank you. as we mentioned earlier, the u.s. government is urging americans to stay at least 50 miles away from the fukushima plant. and the state department has now announced it will begin offering voluntary evacuation to family members of u.s. personnel in japan. chuck todd is nbc's chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. that's going to affect about 600 families, also those chartered flights will allow some private american citizens to get on if they can. all of this has to do with the fact that yesterday was a big turn in that the obama administration and the american government clearly isn't trusting what's coming out of the japanese government and is now taking upon itself to warn american citizens what to do in japan. the u.s. government has been very sensitive to the fact that thousands of americans live and work in japan, and they're scared. secretary of state hillary clinton told nbc's andrea mitchell the u.s. government is following the developments minute by minute. >> we're doing everything we can

to assist american citizens because their health and safety is obviously our highest concern. >> reporter: on wednesday concern over the troubled nuclear plant led the u.s. government to issue its own recommendations for u.s. citizens in japan. nuclear regulatory commission chairman broke with his japanese counterpart on how safe the area near the fukushima plant is. the japanese have so far said that people only need to evacuate if they're 12 miles from the plant. those 19 miles away have been told to stay inside. but on wednesday they said americans should stay 50 miles away from the endangered nuclear plant. four times farther than the japanese evacuation order. >> we determined that in the united states, we would issue an evacuation of people out to about 50 miles. >> reporter: in an interview with nbc news, the nrc chairman said he made his decision after talking to the nrc's own group of technical experts in tech owe. >> they provided us with information that indicated that there was a significantly

degraded condition in the spent fuel. you could have a significant release of radiation from that spent fuel pool. >> reporter: at the white house the press secretary jay carny disputed the notion they didn't trust information coming from japanese officials. >> it's standards set here in the united states and the kind of advice it would be giving should this incident happen in the united states or something similar to it. not about the quality of information or the level of cooperation. it's about our analysis and our standard. >> reporter: the fear of radiation exposure has already driven some americans in japan to leave. >> both my wife and i nearly into a panic. we said, we've got to get the hell out of here. >> reporter: in this country people worried about the possibility of radiation making its way to the west coast have been buying up thousands of doses of potasium iodine. surgeon general regina benjamin initially told a california tv station that having the pills might be a worthy precaution.

>> it's definitely appropriate. we have to be prepared. >> reporter: but nbc's nancy snyderman says it's unnecessary. >> in fact, the surgeon general sent me a text message that said, i never intended to imply that people go out and buy pills. >> reporter: the danger in japan is very real and experts believe the nrc is right to go beyond japanese guidelines. >> i don't think you can be too cautious at this point. if the situation develops, then the risk could extend at least 50 miles and possibly even farther. >> reporter: because japan is such a close ally to the united states, there's a lot of sensitivities here. very late last night president obama called prime minister kan in advance to let him know that these new advisories were going out, hoping that that would smooth things over a little bit. matt? >> chuck todd, thank you very much. james acton is a nuclear expert with the carnegie endowment for international peace. james, good to see you again. good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> let's start with what seems to be the most serious of several serious situations at the fukushima plant in the building housing reactor number four.

according to reports, the pool that is holding the spent fuel rods, the water in it is gone and these rods are now either completely exposed or almost completely exposed, thus bleeding radiation. is this the worst case scenario? >> no, matt, this isn't. this is extremely serious. but it's certainly not the worst case scenario. the water that filled those swimming pool like structures serves two purposes. it both is a shield of radiation and it keeps those rods cool. now, in the immediate term, perhaps the biggest danger comes from the lack of shielding. because these highly radioactive fuel rods will radiate the area around it, making it much harder for workers. in addition, it actually turns out that the expert community is divided upon whether if you lose water, those fuel rods can start burning. our lack of knowledge about what might happen in this situation is also a source of significant concern. >> why wouldn't people know if

those rods are exposed whether they can start burning? shouldn't that be scientific fact? >> it ought to be, but one of the things we're learning about this crisis is when you're so far out of the playbook, when you have so little experience of an accident of this scale and conditions this extreme, then actually there's significant uncertainty scientifically about what might happen. >> right. we've all seen images now over the last 24 hours, james, of helicopters flying over that damaged building, dropping loads of water. i guess the idea is that through fractures in the roof they're hoping some of that water gets down into that pool that's holding these spent fuel rods. from a complete novice point of view, james, it seems like an extreme long shot. what's your opinion of it? >> my understanding is that the helicopters have been bombarding unit three rather than the spent fuel pond in unit four. so it is an attempt to try to

keep the reactor cool. i think the operators will probably acknowledge this is a long shot. as i've said before, we're a long way out of the playbook here, and it's necessary to improvise. >> going back to unit four for a second and this pool with the spent fuel rods, if, in fact, the water is gone from that pool, do we assume that it's gone because it leaked after the earthquake or explosions? or because the heat of those rods has forced it to evaporate? >> well, some of the analysis that i've read, and i haven't had a chance to do any calculations myself to try and confirm this, has suggested that the evaporation rate would be relatively slow. >> then that pool is damaged? >> it's very hard to say, but that would be the tentative conclusion at this point. >> i want to ask you about something. everywhere i go and we talk about this story, i get the same comments. that is about these 50 workers. you've got 50 or so people who

are trying to stand between what is already a serious situation and a desperate situation. we've heard reports of extremely high levels of radiation at that plant right now. and headlines have blared this. but i'm just going to ask you, have they -- is it likely they have already been exposed to levels of radiation where their survival is doubtful? >> i haven't seen the latest data for the levels of radiation on site. when that radiation was at its highest, a number of hours of exposure, four hours or ten hours, and you'd start to feel the onset of radiation sickness. now, the levels have been fluctuating. i'm talking about when levels were at the highest and brave workers on site are not just out in the open, at least most of the time. they are in shielded structures. so we don't know how much they've been exposed to. but what's clear is those brave men and women know they are at

great personal risk to themselves in this situation. >> finally, james, 104 nuclear reactors in this country. some in areas that are at risk for earthquake. others near high population centers in this country. do we need to, in the wake of what's happening in japan, re-examine the procedures at these plants or the designs of these plants? >> i think the key thing we need to examine is the following. the reason why we had this accident in japan is because it was hit by a bigger earthquake and particularly tsunami than it was designed to withstand. i think what we need is a wholesale review to ask whether all plants across the world are capable of withstanding the full range of accidents, both natural and manmade, to which they might be subject. >> james acton, thank you so much for your time this morning. >> thank you, matt. >> amazing how much we still don't know. even the scientists can't agree on so many of what seems to be the core issues here.

>> everybody thinking about those workers, what they must be going through. i think about what their family members must be going through knowing they are so close to such danger. >> that's true. let us get a check of the other top stories of the morning. natalie is over at the news desk filling in for ann. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and savannah. japan's nuclear crisis has also royaled the world markets. for more on this and the outlook today, cnbc's erin burnett at the new york stock exchange. >> roiled is really the right word. you saw stabilization in the tokyo market overnight, down 1.5%. i've never seen anything like this. we always think markets have full information and so they trade sort of ahead of what the rest of us know. in this situation you get a headline out of an eu nuclear minister and the market plunging here in the u.s. then the tokyo power plant in charge of the plant says, no, things are okay. the market rebounds. it is literally a roller coaster and a whip saw. it's not so much because of the economic impact, it's because of the uncertainty and because the word radiation and the word

meltdown sparks a lot of fear. we'll get a bit of a pop today. it's really a headline driven market. back to you. >> erin burnett at the new york stock exchange watching the markets closely. thank you. bahrain is on lockdown after security forces unleashed a wave of violence on demonstrators in the capital wednesday. witnesses report police slumming into the central hospital, attacking doctors and square, d were sprayed with tear gas and rubber bullets. at least six people were reported dead in the clashes. the united nations security council votes on a resolution to impose a no-fly zone over libya in a move to stop moammar gadhafi's assault on opposition forces. the u.s. is pushing the u.n. to authorize the use of air strikes in that country. meantime, four journalists from "the new york times" are reported missing in libya. they were last seen and heard from on tuesday. u.s. government is denying reports that it paid so-called blood money for the release of cia contractor raymond davis who was detained in pakistan for

killing two men allegedly in self-defense. protests broke out in cities across pakistan as news of davis' release spread yesterday. the affair has chilled relations with pakistan as the u.s. insisted that davis had diplomatic immunity. the u.s. used unmanned drones in mexico to aid in the war on drugs there. mexican government confirmed the drones wednesday and said that it sought u.s. assistance on several occasions in its ongoing efforts to collect information on drug cartels. on wednesday clinton told andrea mitchell she would not stay on for a second term if president obama is re-elected and she denied plans to pursue a run for president, vice president or secretary of defense echoing comments she made back in december that secretary of state would be her last public position. for millions of irish people and people who wish they were

irish like me are celebrating st. patrick's day around the world. right here in new york city with our nation's oldest parade dating back to 1762. go back over to matt, savannah and al. i'm the only one wearing green today? >> i got a little bit good morning it you. it's a cold start in our neck of the woods. temperatures in the 30s and 40s. grab a jacket on your way out the door. 9 good news, we have rain for the past four consecutive days and today we are getting a full-on break. 60 degrees in oakland. still on the chilly side. you'll probably need something to keep you warm throughout the day. 62 in redwood city and 62 in los gatos. tomorrow gets active around here. heavy rain anticipated in the forecast for tomorrow. so enjoy today. >> that's your latest weather. >> all right, al. just ahead, how japan's royal

family is dealing with the crisis in their country. first, this is "today" on nbc.

that's the site of the upcoming royal wedding. look who ishe ts

7:30 on a thursday morning. it's march 17th, 2011. it's st. patrick's day. we have a lot of green outside getting ready for a big parade down fifth avenue in just a couple of hours here in new york city. inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie who is in while meredith is on assignment. just ahead this half hour, the chilling diary kept by the mastermind of a brutal home invasion in connecticut. details as he plans to stand trial. what would you do if you caught your boyfriend cheating?

four women discovered they were dating the same man who conned them out of thousands of dollars. so they got together, confronted him and recorded it all. we'll talk to those women live in our studio coming up exclusively. also ahead, we'll check in with meredith vieira who made her way to london doing preparation for the royal wedding. when i say preparation, what exactly does that mean? >> reporter: well, that means i'm picking up royal wedding come emirative shot glasses. it's cold here this morning. i was in the abbey talking about last-minute preparations. we'll tell you about that and also to new zealand where prince william is visiting the quake site as we speak. back to you, matt. >> we'll check in with you in just a couple minutes. thanks very much. we want to start this half hour with the royal family in japan and how they are dealing with

the ongoing crisis in their country. natalie has their story. natalie? >> reporter: emperor akihito rarely makes speeches but the 77 year old took to the airwaves on wednesday and delivered a message of solidarity and determination to his people. to a nation under siege, the appearance of the 77 emperor is inspirational and another indication of how critical the situation has become. akihito urged the country to stay calm and pull together in the difficult days that lie ahead. >> translator: i'm deeply concerned about the nuclear situation and hope it will be resolved, he said. i hope things will take a turn for the better. >> the presence of the emperor on television i think is very much an indication of how important it is to express within japan the unity of the japanese people. >> reporter: japan's imperial

family is the oldest in the world going back 1,400 years. for most of that time emperors were considered virtual gods. that changed after world war ii when akihito's father conceded. he's made an effort to change with the times including marrying a commoner. >> humanize the entire royal family and trying to find a place or niche so to say in japanese society where they can play a huge role. >> reporter: in 1995 the royal couple visited victims of the earthquake which killed some 6,400 people. usually the japanese imperial family stays out of public view living in quiet luxury inside their palace. but beneath these tranquil

images is a tension about the line of succession. they have been unable to produce a male heir to the thrown ne setting up a potential showdown. male or female, whoever ends up on the legendary throne will have the same possibility as the current monarch. a living symbol of japan who can be called upon in moments of crisis just like today to unify a grieving nation. >> i think that the royal family particularly the emperor will certainly make condolence visits especially to the tsunami site which is very visible. whether or not we'll ever see the emperor appearing at the nuclear reactor site is far more doubtful. >> the experts we spoke to say that the emperor is treated with a great deal of respect in japan

in part because he's not often in public view and doesn't get involved in politics at all. matt? >> thank you very much for that. let us now get a check of the weather from al. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by chico's. it's who you are. >> we have got a huge st. patrick's day crowd today. the weather will be perfect for the 250th st. patrick's day parade in new york city. unbelievable. oldest st. patrick's day parade anywhere. unbelievable. they are all going to wear the green today. let's check your weather and see what's happening. we'll show you for st. patrick's day. dublin, california, 58. dublin, ohio, sunshine, 66. clover, south carolina, 76.

shamro shamrock, new york, 58 degrees. that's what's going on around thank you, mr. roker. we are looking very good. the luck of the irish is certainly with us this morning. hey, dublin got a shout-out. 71 in concord, 69 in san francisco. showers to the north. staying mostly dry for today, if anything, just a few light scattered showers. a chance, very slight. big-time rainmaker moving onshore tomorrow. talking an active weather day and snow starting at 5,000 feet thaw to 2,500 by saturday. weather. >> new developments in a deadly home invasion case in connecticut. a mother and her two children were brutalized and killed. one man has already been convicted and sentenced to death and now his alleged accomplice is going on trial. nbc's jeff rossen is at the courthouse in new haven. jeff, good morning.

>> reporter: hi, savannah. good morning to you. how much can one man possibly take? dr. william petit has been in court every day. sat through an entire trial already listening in detail about how his family was sexually assault and killed inside their own home. brutalized in front of him for many hours overnight. here we go all over again. prosecutors won't just be standing in court explaining what happened. turns out the new man on trial kept a diary, a very graphic diary of the crime. for the lone survivor, the vigilant guardian of his family's memory, dr. william petit returned to court on wednesday face to face with joshua komisarjevsky, the alleged mastermind behind the horrific killing of petit's wife jennifer and young daughters hayley and mik chaela.

not a single juror chosen. their minds made up. >> he's a murderer. >> i have my definite opinion. i think he's guilty. >> reporter: prosecutors say komisarjevsky and steven hayes already on death row for this broke into the family home, tied dr. petit to this pole in the basement and beat him with a baseball bat. then tied his two girls to their bed posts upstairs. forcing his wife to withdraw ransom money at a local bank before burning the house down. sexually assaulting and killing the family inside. dr. petit escaped and ran for help but it was too late. prosecutors say komisarjevsky kept a chilling diary of his role in the murders writing "years of pent up aggression built up in prison was waiting to be released like a ticking time bomb." recalling the result of petit's daughter, michaela. >> i tasted her fear after stripping her of her clothing to take blackmail pictures.

chris is the former prosecutor. >> the journal entries are distu disturbing. >> they are disturbing and graphic. in many ways they are a revictimization of the petit family. >> reporter: dr. petit is aware. diary and what it says. a key piece of evidence in the case. komisarjevsky not only admitting he was there but what he did inside even taking a shot at petit himself. had mr. petit fought back in the very beginning, i would have been forced to retreat. when a criminal enters your home, you better have a prearranged plan to fight back. >> what's going to be the battle in this case and always the battle is whether or not he's going to get an order of execution. >> reporter: in that diary, joshua komisarjevsky went on to say and i'm quoting here "i'm a criminal with a criminal's mind. my anticipated death sentence will be a state sanctioned

murder of mercy." komisarjevsky has plead not guilty in this case but already offered to plead guilty if prosecutors will take the death penalty off the table. so far prosecutors have said no deal. they are pushing for death here. >> jeff rossen in new haven this morning. thank you. tara knight is a criminal prosecutor from new haven. good morning. when you think about dr. petit sitting through another horrific trial, i know a lot of people at home say why not try the two defendants together at the same time? >> it's a good question. the problem is the defendants are each blaming each other for the escalation in the violence in the case. they have a thing called an tag niftic defenses. when they blame each other, this he have to be tried separately. >> so much publicity surrounding this. steven hayes was tried and convicted and sentenced to death last year. how hard will it be to get a jury in new haven who hasn't heard about the case? >> it's going to be almost

impossible to find a juror who hasn't heard about the case. that's not the standard. what they're going to question jurors about is whether or not they can follow the judge's instructions. the judge will say to the jurors, listen, we know you heard about the case but can you follow what i tell you about the law and put any preconceived notions aside? >> jeff rossen mentioned the defense wants to cut a deal. they want to plead guilty in exchange for not getting the death penalty. prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. could the judge come in and grant that plea deal to the defense or do prosecutors have to agree? >> it's interesting. i don't think the judge can but the judge has not ruled on that motion yet. the defendant has asked let me plead guilty but the prosecution does have a right to pursue the death penalty. komisarjevsky can plead guilty but that doesn't take the death penalty off the table. he can't dictate what his punishment is going to be. >> all right. we know jury selection is expected to last months so we'll be following it. thank you. >> thanks, savannah. >> coming up next on a much

different note, prince william's visit to the quake zone and meredith vieira has an inside look at preparations for the royal wedding coming up right after this.

back at 7:45. meredith made her way to london this morning. she's outside westminister abbey where the royal wedding between prince william and kate middleton will take place in less than 43 days. meredith, good morning again. >> reporter: good morning again to you, matt. we're going to tell you why we're here but it's known as church of the kings. first, wouldn't you know i get to london and prince william leaves. we go to christchurch, new zealand, for more on his trip there. >> reporter: good morning. in what is likely to be prince william's final overseas trip before his upcoming april wedding to kate middleton, he arrived in christchurch, new

zealand today. the prince's visit was a welcome relief for the people here who are struggling to recover from last month's devastating earthquake. prince william's first stop in cy christchurch, the center here. the prince knows first hand the stress and pressure these workers face. christchurch's mayor says the nic for a beleaguered city.l a somber prince william took a trip through the red zone. this city's ground zero. >> it's unbelievable. >> reporter: 166 people are known to have died in the quake on february 22nd but the number is expected to rise. in a separate meeting with

families of victims from a mining disaster, there was an emotional moment as the prince was reminded of his own loss. >> we know that you also have had tragic times in your past with your mom, princess diana. >> reporter: prince william did not bring fiance kate middleton on this trip, the wedding was on the minds of many here. >> she was born in england. she thinks she's a princess. excited to see a live prince. >> reporter: the prince's decision to come to new zealand six weeks before his own big day makes this visit especially welcome. >> instead of having a stag party, he's come down here to christchurch. >> reporter: what's more, when prince william weds kate middleton on the 29th of april, the couple suggested in lieu of gifts, guests can donate to specially chosen charities including the christchurch

relief effort. >> it's a great morale booster here for us in christchurch because we've been through a lot of tough things. >> reporter: but on this day, perhaps the greatest gift was the presence of a prince. and tomorrow prince william will represent his grandmother, queen elizabeth ii, at a memorial service to remember the victims who died in the earthquake and that service will take place at a lovely park here in christchurch just a short distance from where i'm standing. back to you. >> thank you so much. we'll have much more on prince william's trip to new zealand tomorrow on "today." back to you. >> you said you took a tour of the abbey and you were given that tour by the dean of the abab abey and that's the person who will conduct the ceremony, is that right? >> reporter: that's right. he'll lead kathryn and her

father into the church. it takes four minutes to get from the entrance to the ougalt. he said i was talking too fast. on both sides the people will look at when she enters will be a lot of guests there. they won't be able to see the wedding. it's blocked from view from them. monitors up. as she passes underneath where the organ is where the choir will be on either side of her and by the time she gets up to the alter, royal family to the right and her family to the left. the dean has been dean here since 2006. this is his first royal wedding. the last one 25 years ago. i asked him if he was nervous, he said he's doing okay. has advice for the royal couple as well. we'll tell you what he said to them tomorrow. matt, back to you. >> good tease. way to go. we'll see you inittlwhile.ile. we're back on a thursday morning right after this.

. .

>> it's like that commercial.

wait there's more. meredith has more from london. >> i wanted to show you your shot glass. i'm going to test it out for you tonight just to make sure there's no cracks or anything. >> i have a feeling. don't have too many and then drop it. thanks. we'll see you in a little while. >> straight to ebay i have a feeling. four women conned by the same boyfriend and they confront him on camera. e lsirviniviete story.ve w lte w teivie l after luryoocal news.

good morning, everybody. 7:55 now. i'm brent can knocbrent can kno. breaking news out of minnesota. minneapolis, a gas line ruptured. you see the flames shooting into the air. also a big local. so far no reports of injury and with the last few minutes, looks like they've gotten significant progress on getting that shut down and thingseneder control. loogs like they're getting the upper hand on it. meantime, california state regulators are threat being to fine pg&e $1 million per day. the california public utilities commission says the utility has not handed over enough of its records in the wake of the san bruno explosion. that specifically includes

records that would determine if the pressure levels in the gas pipelines are safe. now, pg&e insists it has turned osier more than 90% of the key records on thousands of miles worth of pipeline throughout the state, but they haven't turned them all over. right now we want to check in with christina and the latest look of the forecast. rain on the way? >> rain on the way for tomorrow morning and then a lot of rain on the way for tomorrow afternoon into the evening, but today, the luck ever the iish is with us this morning. it's cold out there. grab the jacket but leave the umbrella at home pap dry day out of st. patrick's day. showers and thunderstorms stay to the north. 62 degrees in san rafael. 60 in oakland and 61 in prefront. there's the rainmaker. you see a well organized system of low pressure pushing onshore in the pick northwest tomorrow. driving a cold front through the area capable of producing heavy rain at time. keep that in mind. could see a dangerous commute tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening. cold conditions set in for the weekend. 54 degrees.

chilly showers on saturday. let's check your drive with mike inouye. >> christina, show you the slowdowns. concord, very slow. 242, southbound 680, approaching the walnut creech interchange. lafayette could have drigerred that slowdown. slow approaching the bay bridge maze area. a live look at the toll plaza shows a relatively light line of traffic at the toll plaza itself. looking good, south 380 through oakland. there we go. end with this map. slow in the northbound direction. >> not too bad. another news update in half an hour. the "today" show continues in less than a minute. have a happy st. patrick's day.

8:00 on a thursday morning. the 17th day of march, 2011. that makes it st. patrick's day. yes, that is the fountain -- i believe that is on the south lawn of the white house, and they have dyed that baby green in honor of the occasion. the president himself out there with food coloring this morning. probably not. out on the plaza, look at the size of the crowd that has gathered here in rockefeller plaza. lots of green, lots of smiles. lots of people headed to the parade in just a little while. i'm matt lauer along with

suzanna gulthry while meredith is on assignment in london. it's always one of the most subdued crowds. >> absolutely. >> coming up, we'll talk about saving a lot of money on clothing, we have america's cheapist family back. they were given a task of coming up with two outfits for 50 bucks. we'll find out how they did. >> four women who dated the same man and were conned by him. they took matters into their own hands. they filmed the confrontation with him. they're all here with us live this morning. hell hath no furry. >> times four. as you head into your 40s, 50s and 60s, is there anything you can do to stop your vision from deteriorating. matt, when you got glasses -- i've been wearing them since first grade. dr. nancy snyderman will be here with advice if your eyesight isn't exactly what it used to be. >> natalie is standing by at the

news desk while ann is on assignment. good morning everyone. helicopters are dropping water on damaged nuclear reactors in japan, a desperate attempt to try to cool them and limit the release of radiation. u.s. officials warn the situation is more desperate than japanese officials are acknowledging. meantime, more than 450,000 people in japan are still living in schools and other shelters nearly one week after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. the state department will start airlifting american civilian families of government personnel who want to leave japan. the u.s. has already urged americans to stay at least 50 miles from the stricken nuclear plant. authorities in bahrain detained six prominent opposition lead toers day as part of the crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. president obama called wednesday to express concern over the deadly violence used against peaceful demonstrators. the top u.s. commander in

afghanistan, general david petraeus revealed his own son completed a combat tour in afghanistan last november. general petraeus told congress the u.s. pull-back starting in july will include combat troops. a first of its kind study is offering new hope in the treatment of parkinson's disease. researchers say half the patients who received experimental gene therapy showed meaningful improvements within six months. even a picky either might go for veggies grown by michelle obama. her white house garden to date has yielded 2,000 pounds of produce. schoolchildren joined the first lady to plant spinach, broccoli and something new this year, beets, which the president admits he doesn't really care for too much. let's go outside to al for a check of the weather. i love my beet salad. >> roasted beets are the best. love those. they're not green. we've got a lot of green today.

a lot of leprechauns. where are you from? >> st. louis, missouri. >> a lot of leprechauns in st. louis. >> yes. >> let's check your weather and see what's going on. pick city, columbus, ohio, sunny and mild, a high of 66. my brother-in-law lives there. let's check the afternoon forecasts. 40s in the northeast. toasty through the southwest. 90s into texas with record highs to day. more heavy rain. showers along the great lakes and the frontal system moves through. up and down the east coast. no real airport delays with happy st. patrick's day to you. our temperatures today will be fairly cool, but we are going to see the rain that we had yesterday and three days prior to that. we'll get a break from the rain. major storm arrives in the bay area as we head through

tomorrow, capable of producing more than two inches of rain in the north bay, looking more like one inch everywhere else. through the next couple of days, temperatures will drop do 54 degrees, cold showers saturday. enjoy today, 62 degrees. happy st. patrick's day. when we come thank you very much. when we come back, four women conned by the same boyfriend confronted him together on camera. they'll share their story right after this. right. with the bankamericard cash rewards™ credit card... i get 1% cash back on every purchase. 1% cash back on groceries. highlights. frog leg green. 1% cash back on... whatever that is? and there is no limit to the amount of cash back you can earn. no expiration on rewards. no hoops to jump through. -simple. -i love this card.

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that's why there's kleenex® brand hand towels. a clean, fresh towel every time. back now at 8:09. painful enough to learn you were being conned by a boyfriend. what would you do if you learned he had done the same thing to three other women? that's what happened to this group. they decided to take matters into their own hands. we'll talk to them exclusively in just a moment. first, with the back story,

nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: he said he was in love. >> very, very charming man. >> reporter: over and over. >> very gentle. charming. >> reporter: the problem is he was saying it to several different women. >> he just represented a very kind of exciting life. exciting possibilities for me. >> reporter: with each one a different story. >> we were going to get married. he talked extensively. >> reporter: it was it turns out a web of deceit. all spun by 44-year-old englishman simon reid after four years of masquerading as everything was caught and exposed by the very women whose hearts he broke. >> i don't know what the truth is anymore now to be honest. >> reporter: first of the four a woman from minnesota who met him online. >> i think lying just comes

natural to him. he was able to spin all of these stories. >> reporter: stories like being the father of a fighter pilot injured in afghanistan. that's what laura says he told her in england. >> i was flabbergasted by what he said about his son being involved in a helicopter crash. >> reporter: reid hit her up for money. a lot of money. about $27,000. >> it was after we had been together about four months. suddenly within a week give him my credit card on the basis that we were an item. >> reporter: reid lived for a time in this cabin on her property in england. it was another woman that started to connect the dots. >> i did get a bit suspicious. >> reporter: she did research and found a blog from one of reid's other girlfriends warning of his deceit. she tracked down the other women

and they hatched a plan. the plan was to lure him to a home, catch him red-handed and film it all. >> i know it's wrong when i'm doing it. i just don't seem to stop myself. it's not something that i think of when i'm lying. it's really not. >> i can never trust anyone again. >> i don't go into it to con people. >> reporter: after grilling him for several minutes, the jig was up. >> i'm going to call the police now. >> yes. >> you're going to admit to scheming us. >> reporter: simon reid trapped and confessing to it all. he's behind bars serving time for two counts of fraud. the judge called his offense

despicable. for these women, a sense of justice. >> all four women are with us exclusively. good morning to all of you. before we talk to you, i want to mention we did reach out to simon reid's lawyer who said that simon has cooperated in full with the police and pled guilty. he says he's also has a sense of remorse and believes his sentencing is justice. what did he tell each of you his job was? >> independent contractor. >> international businessman. >> drug and alcohol counselor. >> a professional indoor speed climber. >> do you feel like he tailored his story to what he thought you would want to hear? >> he would spend so long talking to you when you got together. you would have these really long conversations. i think he was trying to work

out what kind of guy you were looking for and what you were interested in and he would tailor himself to become that man. >> this started with you in 2008. he was talking about getting married and then you found out what? >> i found out he had a wife already so he couldn't marry me. >> you decided to write a blog. >> i did. i already had my blog going since 2003, but i wrote a scathing post about him. used his real name. used his photo. i said watch out for this guy. >> meanwhile he moves back to the u.k. you start dating him. he told you an incredibly sad story about his father being on life support. and then what did you find out? >> he cried on my shoulder initially and told me that he had to switch his dad off life support and then after that he told me his mom had tried to commit suicide. she was in a local mental

hospital. >> one day you called looking for him and found out -- >> he was with his other girlfriend. >> his father was alive? >> he certainly was. he said do you want to speak to his dad? >> another sad story for you that his son was in the royal air force and had lost both legs in afghanistan. >> yes. both legs and an arm in afghanistan. how can you reject someone when they tell you that? it just brings out all of your nurturing instincts. his son never had any accidents. >> you got on this pretty fast and you actually kind of pulled this group together. what was your experience with him? >> he told me variations. his father was dying and died a few weeks after we started dating. his son was in afghanistan. no limbs removed. slightly different variations of

the same thing. >> whose idea was it to confront him on video? that tape is priceless. was that your idea? >> yes. i have a friend who is an ex-journalist and asked him to record it all because he would keep it factual and businesslike. >> what did you think of his reaction? you are standing before him. it's all of you. you say it lasted four hours. that may be punishment enough. some of you said you felt sorry for him in the end. did you? >> yes. he was a liar 24 hours before the confrontation so i was still in a relationship with him. i still loved him at that point. i felt really guilty for calling the police on him afterwards. >> i was going to say, you loaned him $27,000. he's now in jail. how do you feel about that? does that feel just to you or does it feel harsh?

>> i feel vindicated. >> all right. ladies, a lot of people can relate to what happened and he sounds like a real jerk. thank you for being with us. ecap iaprte tee l k afact thghr messages. about saving for retirement and all my investments, but it's not something that i want to do completely on my own -- i like to discuss my ideas with someone. that's what i like about fidelity. they talked with me one on one, so we could come up with a plan that's right for me, and they worked with me to help me stay on track -- or sometimes, help me get on an even better one. woman: there you go, brian. thanks, guys. man: see ya. fidelity investments. turn here.

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- 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 ♪ this morning on today's consumer, we're talking about dressing for success. if you think used clothing is not for your family, you may want to rethink that when you see how the cheapest family in america dresses. we gave them a little bit of a clothing challenge. for this family, it's a sport. >> we're proud to be known as the cheapest family. we get our clothing for pennies. >> when it comes to clothing, steve and annette never play retail. >> i have a closet full of

designer brand name clothes in perfect condition. 90% came from thrift stores. no one would ever know. >> the entire family is onboard. >> we have five kids. >> our sons and daughters look like a million bucks. >> no one would know that all their clothes are used. even 35 for a gown is a great price. >> we gave them a challenge. for $50 a piece, find a snazzy formal outfit and a nice spring casual one. >> 50 bucks for two outfits, that's a piece of cake. >> steve didn't make the cut but for $52.46 he still pleased with his two outfits. abby got a steal. 15.25 in total. >> this is not my color. >> annette trumped her. 14.50 for her two outfits and bargain becky won cashing out at

10.50. at full retail these outfits could have costed $1,200. but the economides got it for much less. >> we have you here with two of your children. nice to see you. i'm getting into these savings. are you happy with your looks? >> it looks great. >> it seems like you had a lot to choose from. i thought for this budget you would go into a store and have one choice. >> no. >> the stores we shop at you can get in and out faster than you can get outfits at the mall. we outfit ourselves in less than four hours. >> you live in an area where it is thrift shop heaven. >> amazing. >> now we're looking at the

price tags you are all wearing. you look like bad game show contestan contestants. did they fit off the rack or did you pay extra? >> even his tux did not need to be altered. >> that's right off the rack. >> right off the rack. >> let's talk stigma. a stigma in tough economic times people freak out about second-hand clothing. you are here to say that stigma is ridiculous. >> i think so. consignment stores require clothes to be washed, pressed, just ready to wear right off the racks. thrift stores when you get the clothes you do need to wash them when you get them home but you could never tell. you can't tell the difference. >> when we look at an out fit for $10, you check a lot of things. >> check seams and zippers and any wear areas. hold them up to the light.

you'll have moth holes. >> 90% of the clothing that your family wears is second-hand clothing. what do you decide to buy new? what are the items that you will not go second-hand on? >> the things that we get new would be lingerie, underwear, socks, and sometimes sneakers. we'll get sneakers. we don't pay retail for those. we have a store that we'll get last year's closeouts. it's a chain in our area. we'll get really nice brand sneakers. >> how do your friends feel about this? are they onboard with this? do they think it's strange? what? >> our closest friends live the same lifestyle that we live. what we do when we hang out, we go play sports. we hang out in our rooms. but our closest friends live the same lifestyle so maybe some other friends go to the mall but we don't. >> you actually lend out some of your gowns that you've gotten over the years? >> from being able to shop at consignment stores i have collected gowns i've gotten a

great deal on. if there's a prom or a dressup event and girls don't have a gown, i'll loan them one of my gowns and it's a great way to bless them. >> it's working for your family i'll tell you that. nice to have you all ba.ck good morning. time is 8:26. i'm glenn canon. expected to change his plea today, attorneys for raymond clark iii say he struck a deal with prosecutors and will change his plea during the hearing today. clark originally had plead guilty last fall to the murder of 24-year-old annie le, a yale graduate student. her body was found stuffed behind a research lab on yale's campus. family and friend also gather to celebrate the life of a soldier killed in afghanistan. mark wells died earlier this

month in the hellman province. there will be a funeral today where his wife's family lives. he leaves behind a pregnant w and a toddler. weather and traffic, right after this.

good morning to you. welcome back. grab a jacket on the way out the door but leave the umbrella at home. if we see any activity in terms of rainfall today, it will be very light in nature and pass very quickly. the bulk of the moisture from

the next system doesn't arrive until tonight into tomorrow morning. enjoy today. st. patrick's day. temperatures will be in the 50s. luck of the irish on the roadways? >> travel times approaching that area, highway 24, the worst of it out of walnut creek and lafayette. live look out there. smooth here. on the highways, reports of a port-a-potty in lane number two. not a joke. >> all right. thanks a lot, mike. more local news in half an hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute.

8:30 on a thursday morning, march 17th, 2011. st. patrick's day. big parade in new york kicking off in just a little while. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie.

natalie morales and al roker. in this half hour, you can't have a holiday like this without doing good eating. >> traditional irish breakfast looks so good. sweet stone potato cakes. green beer optional. >> that should be great. looking forward to that. as you get older, is it impossible to avoid the eye problems that creates the telescoping arm. we'll talk about that with dr. nancy snyderman. most common things that happen to your eyes and possible ways to prevent it. and a much talked about documentary "waiting for superman" and we catch up with her to find out what she's doing now. how to find the right doctor for your family. >> a lot to get to. you have a weather forecast.

>> kicking off the parade later here today. mild through southern tiers of state. sunshine through the great lakes. sunday, sunday, we're looking at a lot more heavy rain moving into california. could be flooding. mountain snows. rain in the upper mississippi river valley. sunny and cool in the northeast. mild in the gulf coast. >> good morning to you. it's a cold start out there with our temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s. 62 degrees is the forecast later on today in redwood city. 59 in san francisco. looks like the luck of the irish will stay with us for today as we're only expecting partly cloudy conditions and very little rainfall, if we do see any at all. the bulk of the moisture from our next system arrives tomorrow. we could potentially see heavy flooding across the bay area. make sure you stay tuned right here, nbc bay area. >> if you want to see if your

irish eyes will smile about the forecast, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. when we come back, a woman who is making it h mission to save america's schools. first, this is today on nbc. ♪

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>> this morning on "education nation today" saving america's schools. michelle reed captured headlines as she made sweeping changes in washington, d.c. and enemies along the way. she lost her job but not her passion for education reform. today contributing correspondent jenna bush hager, a teacher herself, caught up with michelle recently. good morning. >> that's right. she's truly a maverick in education reform. she's controversial and a courageous change maker. and these days as budget cuts mean teacher layoffs, ree is leading the fight for a quality

education for every child. michelle ree may have lost her job but she gained a mission. she continues her passion to fix america's schools with a new lobbyist group. >> we're working with rick scott in florida, chris christie in new jersey, governor kasich in ohio. >> ree launched a campaign called save great teachers. >> because of you i'll be back tomorrow. >> she's working with states to end a hot button issue policy of laying off teachers last in first out. >> whether or not you bring value to a kid or not makes absolutely no difference. all that mat certificates how long you've been in the system. >> ree hopes to change that. once a teacher herself, she was appointed the youngest chancellor of d.c. schools. out of the gate she united a firestorm of controversy.

she ended tenure, closed 23 schools, fired more than 200 teachers and two-thirds of d.c.'s principals. >> you fired even the principal of your little girl's school. >> that's right. >> was that a hard decision? >> it was a hard decision because my daughter came back from school that day and said the kids were upset and they were asking me why did your mom fire the principal? i said to my daughter, i said do you think your principal is a great principal? she said she's okay. i said don't you think that you and other kids deserve better than okay. don't you think you deserve the best? she said, yes, i do. >> reforms are part of a recent documentary "waiting for superman." her firebrand approach created criticism and protests in

washington. while you were chancellor, the union protested you calling you hatchet lady, how did you keep a thick skin during that? >> what was going through my mind was, you can call me whatever names you want. you can yell at me as loud as you want to. under my watch, i won't continue to allow the absolute dysfunction. >> her revolutionary work may have cost her her job last november when her boss, d.c. mayor adrian fenty, lost his bid for re-election. >> it didn't make me lose faith in the system. it made we want to double my efforts. >> here in d.c., what do you think it takes to bridge the education gap? >> having high quality teachers is one. we think that having choices for families is another piece because we don't ever want any family to be trapped in a

failing school. >> rhee is making education reform a family affair of her own. she's engaged to another education activist. they've been called the education celebrity couple. >> one of the most outspoken mayors in the country on education reform. we can come home and talk to one another about something that we both care about a lot. it is kind of great. >> rhee says she'll join forces for change and she's calling on every american to fight with them to save our nation's schools. >> we're at a moment in time right now that i never have seen in my entire career that there is more focus on education. i think a lot of people are saying, you know what? the education system in our country isn't working right now and we need to do something drastic to fix it. >> rhee has ambitious goals. in the first week she opened students first and raised $1

million. she hopes to attract a million members and raise a billion dollars. savannah? >> she's passionate. jenna bush hager, great to see you. up next, your ageing eyes. what to do when your eyesight starts to go. first, this is "today" on nbc. switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

this morning on "today's health." your ageing eyes. vision loss is one of the most common issues that people deal with as they get a little bit older. nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is here to explain why. >> should i put my glasses on? it would be you and me. people that are older. >> this happened to me like an alarm went off at 45. >> i grew up with glasses because i was near sighted and then when i was 40 suddenly my

eyes changed and now frankly -- fashionable bifocals. >> is that the magic age for people around 40? >> that's when the eye starts to change. if you look at your eye you have your cornea on the outside and then your lens. the lens is just like a joint and every other muscle tissue. it gets stiffer and as it gets stiffer, you can't as a human being take those images that come into your eyes and focus them on the back part of the eyeball near the retina and it is that lens and the fact that it is just not as squishy that changes around the age of 40. that's what gives us the ageing eye. >> let's talk about some of the common conditions that we should refer to. >> a medical term for the ageing eye. it's what you and i are talking about. >> glaucoma you hear about often

that surfaces around 40 or older. >> when we get our eyes checked, the doctors put in that numbing medicine and they touch the eyeball and it's to check on the pressure. there is fluid in your eyeball and normally the eye makes fluid and the fluid is released. when that fluid is blocked from leaving the eye, it cause pressure on the eyeball and causes pressure on the nerve in your brain which can cause you to lose vision. >> is there pain attached to it? >> blurry vision and simple treatments are eye drops. in some cases surgery may be needed. >> i read often times people with gralaucoma goes undetected. >> 50% of patients don't realize they have it. unless you see a doctor who tests for those pressure readings and monitors them over the years, you may not know that

you have it. >> what about cataracts? >> they don't go away. they can stabilize. this is one i want people to pay attention to. this is why you want to invest in a good pair of sunglasses and wear them on cloudy days. it's that light over the years that causes the lens to get cloudy. if you talk to people in their 70s or 80s, they'll talk about a decrease in vision that's like looking through a dirty windshield of a car. it's gradual. easy surgical fix. now it's simple outpatient procedure. and my father had two of them. my mother scanned for them. it comes with age but technology is extraordinary and easy surgical procedure. >> how about macular degeneration? >> this is the one you don't want. this is the one where you get a loss of central vision. imagine you and i looking at each other and i can see everything around you but i can't see your face.

frustrating for people that want to read. it's also one that when doctors sign that bright light in your eyes, they look at the back part of your eye. if there's a problem there doctors know and sometimes with medication or surgery they can take care of that. >> are we victims of invisible genetic clock or things we can do? diets that we can take on or vitamins? >> this is one of those things where lifestyle plays a difference. smoking hurts the blood vessels to your eyes. diabetes is one of the leading cause of blindness right now and overt-the-counter medication an just eating carrots. a good diet keeping blood pressure down and warding off diabetes means your eyes will be healthier. >> in 15 seconds left, misconception or truth, hurts your eyes texting using things like ipads. >> strain your eyes but doesn't

hurt vision. >> driving at night? >> no. >> reading in dim light? >> no. you may have a headache but it won't hurt your eyes. a special irish breakfast to help us

back now at 8:48. this morning we're celebrating st. patrick's day with a

traditional irish breakfast. the makings of a delicious feet that will make irish eyes smile. your book is "italian kitchen" but you are irish and we're doing the irish breakfast this morning. what's the one must have to make it a true irish breakfast? >> smoked salmon, farm eggs, irish bacon, cheeses -- >> okay. the list goes on. we're making potato cakes. >> these are easy to make. you need mashed potato. >> any potato will do? >> a good mashed potato. we have a bit of mustard that goes in. >> you used only egg yokes. >> you don't want more liquid in

it. and we'll put in some of this that goes in like so. you get a nice mix. this turns into a dough like this. >> do you worry about how much air you get in as you mix it? >> never overmix potatoes. then we need mixture here to make up. we need lemon juice and lemon zest and chives go in there. here we have a potato cake. these can be served with main course for dinner or they are fantastic with smoked salmon for breakfast with a bit of bacon. then they get fried up like so. >> how long do they go in there? >> it's great. if they are brown on the outside, we feel confident they are cooked all of the way through? >> absolutely. the potato is cooked.

>> while they are doing that, we work on the topping. >> what we have here are scones. the perfect sweet scones. i have sugar, plain flour, salt and butter in here. you make a well in the center. and in goes your milk. this is whole milk. goes in like so. >> have to do it with whole milk. >> absolutely. there is such a knack to making perfect stones. >> what's the trick? >> one hand mixing. >> why does it matter? >> if you knead that you will have stones and not scones. it's just coming into a dough now. nice and light. there we have it now. and then like so on a floured work surface like so. >> that's all the mixing you need to do? >> the air is trapped in there.

that's what you want. you give it a bit of wooshing around. it's not a culinary term. >> it's a technical term. >> what's this stuff here? >> egg. cut scones into circles or whatever shape you want. >> can you use that same circle over here? >> you can. you can cut with a knife if you wish. i already made some over there in triangles for you. >> i want to see the other stuff. let's just get right to meat. >> this is irish breakfast. if you stay in my bed and breakfast back home in ireland, this is what you get. jam with scones. >> potato cakes. you serve this with salmon? >> smoked salmon and horseradish cream or whatever you want. lemon cream or whatever you want with it. irish bacon with sausages and scrambled egg. >> what are these tomatoes? >> these are just a bit of

breadcrumbs and typical with an irish breakfast and mushrooms you may have as well and this is spotted dog. >> that's a whole other segment. what do you drink with this? >> tea. >> this looks delicious. happy st. patrick's day. >> let's check in with our good friend mr. willard scott. >> beautiful south seas island resort. hanging around here since i was 3. happy birthday from smucker's where the sun is shining right now. our birthday jar spins about a bit. l leo meyerson, turned his hobby ham operating radio into a business. and longwood florida, paul troup

100 years old today. swims every day. 70 years of happy marriage. and a martini every night. how about that combination? virginia white, great state of new york. 100 years old. loves to see her sisters whenever she can. that's wonderful. all right. harold greve. 100 years old today. lives by himself. volunteers at the local food bank. happy, happy birthday, sir. also eugene carbone. loves to eat out all the time. especially breakfast. breakfast every single morning with his friends and enjoys his

breakfast. charlotte hirsh. holocaust survivor. how about that? she loves being with her family. all right. cecil boyd, scottsdale, arizona. 100 years old. loves to play golf. three holes in one in his life. i consider it an accomplishment if you come down to see me. love you. >> thank you, willard. he's been missing the smackdown here in the kitchen. al taking issue with savannah's cooking pro ining prowess. how do you know they are cooked through? they are pamashed potatoes. >> come cover the white house. see how you like that. >> so tough. chuck todd, i don't know what to do. >> i have to go. just ahead, money mistakes you pass onto your

good morning, everybody. time now is 8:56. i'm brent canon. state lawmakers are making painful cuts to try to reach a budget deal. approved $7.4 billion in cuts yesterday, affect welfare work programs, programs for the developmentally disabled. a plan to eliminate

redevelopment fell shy, one vote from passing. lawmakers have not decided whether to have a special election to extend tax hikes as well. right now, we want to check the if forecast with christina. >> good morning, brent. good morning to you at home. chilly out there. much colder than it has been the past several days. later on today, without any major rain in the forecast, anything that we do see will be very light and quick. we're talking about mostly clear conditions and 62 degrees in redwood city. 62 in los galos. next big rain maker on its way tomorrow. more local news in half an hour. the "today" show continues, next. ♪ have a good daisy

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back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning, 17th day of march, 2011. say hi to the nice people gathered here on st. patrick's day morning. if you haven't been to new york on this day, it's a fun time to be here. we have a great parade that goes down fifth avenue a block or so from here on rockefeller plaza. we have a perfect day for it with sunny skies and temperatures up around 60 degrees. >> couldn't ask for better weather. >> that's fantastic. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. natalie is inside at the news desk. al roker is here as well. meanwhile, we'll have more on this developing story out of

japan. what is now being described as a nuclear crisis. desperate measures being taken. military helicopters dropping water on a damaged nuclear reactor. at least one reactor there trying to keep it cool. meanwhile, the u.s. and japanese government seem to be differing on the severity of the situation. the u.s. now saying anybody within 50 miles of that plant, especially americans that we're dealing with, should be out of that area. they are offering voluntary evacuations of american personnel inside japan. we'll have more on the story coming up. >> we'll turn to issues at home and how you know if you have got the right doctor for you. we're going to give you some advice about how to find a new physician and how can you find out about the quality of care that the doctor provides. it's a concierge doctor. we'll get into that issue. later on we all want to pass on certain things to our children including a nice little nest egg. could you be passing on bad financial habits? we'll take a look at the wrong

things you may be doing for your kids from overusing credit cards to not being honest about money. we have david here to talk about mistakes we make as far as financial advice for our children. >> let's go to natalie at the news desk. >> helicopters are dropping water on the damaged nuclear reactors in japan in a desperate attempt to try to cool them and limit the release of radiation as u.s. officials warn the situation is more desperate than the japanese officials are acknowledging. nbc's ann curry joins us now from akita, japan. >> reporter: just a few moments ago we experienced another aftershock in akita. the ground is still shaking in japan as it deals with this nuclear threat. reactors two, three and four are still in trouble and as you mentioned, the japanese military is now using helicopters to drop

water on the fukushima nuclear complex. water cannon trucks are also being brought in to cool those reactors. a major move to try to restart the generators that were stopped by the quake so the cooling system can kick in. meantime, as you mentioned, there's discrepancy in the risk assessment by u.s. and japanese governments. the japanese government maintained for days that residents living within 12 miles should evacuate and that while those within 19 miles should remain indoors. the americans have been saying something very different. on wednesday the u.s. government said that u.s. citizens within 50 miles of the plant should leave the area. and in another development, the u.s. department of state is strongly urging u.s. citizens not to travel to japan right now and says that americans in japan should consider leaving. we should also mention this humanitarian issue. the tsunami and the quake victims most of them are above this nuclear power plant. and most of the aid is coming

from the south from tokyo and a lot of it has not made it up to these tsunami and quake victims because they are cut off by this nuclear power plant. there's a real emergency going on up there right now. the temperatures are dropping. there is no heat. there is very little food and so people in fact in one evacuation centers were down to one bowl of rice a day and water and this is for people ages 3 to 95 trying to endure the impact waiting for help to arrive and now all this attention is being focused on this nuclear power plant problem. back to you. >> you wonder how much more the poor people there can possibly take in this situation. ann there in akita, japan. thank you so much, ann. united nations security council votes on a resolution to impose a no-fly zone over libya. the u.s. is also pushing the u.n. to authorize the use of air

strikes in that country. meantime, four journalists from "the new york times" are reported missing in libya. they were last seen and heard from on tuesday. bahrain is on lockdown this morning after security forces unleashed a wave of violence on demonstrators in the capital wednesday. witnesses report police storming into the central hospital attacking doctors and patients alike. and in pearl square, demonstrators were sprayed with tear gas and rubber bullets. at least six people were reported dead in the clashes and six opposition leaders were detained today. secretary of state hillary clinton is in tunisia today to push for post-revolution reform in the middle east. wednesday clinton said she would not stay on for a second term if president obama is re-elected and she also denied plans to pursue a run for president, vice president or secretary of defense echoing comments she made back in december that secretary of state would be her last public position. a measure that would let college students in texas carry licensed handguns on campus

passed its first test vote on wednesday. supporters say it will prevent campus crime such as 2007 virginia tech massacre. officials are investigating why a small plane crashed and burned on takeoff wednesday in long beach, california. five people were killed and another was seriously wounded. the group was on its way to a ski vacation in utah. life expectancy in the u.s. has hit an all-time high. 78 years and 2 months for a baby born in 2009. health experts credit better medical care including vaccines and anti-smoking campaigns. you never know what will amuse or terrify a baby but for baby emerson, the sound of his mother blowing her nose seemed to be both at the same time. take a look.

that's the cutest thing. we could just watch that all day, right? baby emerson's video has gone viral and viewed by nearly 2 million so far. pretty amazing there. little emerson so cute. seven minutes past the hour. let's go back out to matt and savannah. adorable. >> savannah wanted to know how he would react to other bodily noises. mr. roker? >> that's the best. all right. let's check your weather. we have our friends that are waiting for the 250th anniversary of the st. patrick's day parade. we see rain in the pacific northwest. a little bit of activity working its way through the northern plains. not a bad one. lots of sunshine up and down the east coast today thanks to a

nice beneficial area of high pressure. we expect more showers up into the pacific northwest. leprechaun lake, high of 46. shamrock, texas, 86 degrees. shamrock, colorado, only 65. st. patrick, missouri, 71 and clover, south carolina, 76 and sunshine. that's what's go in our very own dublin, we're expecting 60s and cloudy conditions, the case for the entire bay area today. a few rain drops up in the north bay. most of the bay area will stay dry today. that's good news after four consecutive days of rain over the bay. as we head through tomorrow, a big-time weather maker will push through the area. this does have the potential of producing flooding in some areas. keep that in mind. 62, partly cloudy skies. >> that's your latest weather. natalie?

>> al, thank you. on "today's daily dose" how to choose the right doctor for you and your family. as more information becomes available online, many are searching the internet for recommendations and reviews. nbc's chief medical correspondent nancy snyderman is here with advice on finding the right provider for your medical needs. we got so many great questions. first we have a phone call from jonathan in danville, pennsylvania. good morning to you, jonathan. what's your question for dr. nancy? >> caller: good morning, dr. nancy. my question is this. what's the difference between a family practice doctor and a pediatrician and when should a parent choose to see one or the other for their child's care? >> you can really choose to see either a family doctor, general practitioner harkens back to the old days when a doctor could do everything. pediatrics follows under that. this may be the kind of doctor you want your family to see. pediatricians normally see children from birth to age of

18. sometimes a little longer if there's a relationship or certain chronic illness. for most children you really have the selection of doing either. it doesn't really matter. >> any specific questions? >> not every family doctor wants to do pediatrics. that relationship as you and i know as mothers and for expectant families do doctor shopping before the birth. you want to have a relationship. if something does go wrong during labor and delivery, you want that pediatrician to already be invested in you and your family. for a lot of people in rural america, the family doctor is the way to go. >> all right. great. thanks for that question, jonathan. let's get to lori in redman, washington. she joins us via skype this morning. good morning to you. >> caller: my question is i just found out my primary care doctor is actually a physician's assistant. i was wondering should i look for an actual physician or is it okay to see a physician's assistant and what are the differences between the two? >> you don't necessarily have to

look for someone. i wish you had known ahead of time whether you were seeing a doctor or physician assistant. the office should have told you just because you deserve to know that information. i will tell you that as a dermatologist office where my family goes, we see the physician assistant because i think in a certain subspecialty like dermatology or some other fields, what you want is someone who sees common conditions all the time. now, the physician assistant will not be able to prescribe medication and may have a physician come in and say the diagnosis is correct. but one of the advantages of a physician assistant is it could be easier to get into the office because that person may be more readily available. i personally have no problem as long as you like that person and they're well qualified and there's good suspervision in th office. >> let's get an e-mail from julia in napa, california. what is a concierge doctor and how does that system work and

how do doctors fit into today's medical practices? there are so many different doctors and now even physicians assistants and now concierge doctor. >> this is boutique end of things. the idea is if you have extra money and this is not going to come out of your typical coverage if you work for a big company but for $1,000 up to $5,000, $10,000 depending on where you live, you get your doctor's personal e-mail and personal telephone 24/7 which means that if i want to call you at 2:00 in the morning, you are expected to pick up the phone call. now, for the worried folks who want access to a doctor whenever they want it, this may be money not well spent. however, let's say you are 50 or a 60 year old and you have ageing parents who have five or six doctors and you worry they don't all talk to each other, having a concierge doctor who has power of attorney for some medical decisions and is the one point person who brings in all of the lab data, all of the doctors and is central clearing

house, that might be a very good investment for a family. so figure out if you want a central gate keeper. if you aren't able to do it as that sort of middle sandwich generation kid. >> that's a great point. so many people taking care of their ageing parents as you know. in fact, let's get right to lisa in thompson station, tennessee. i believe her question has to do with that. good morning to you, lisa. >> caller: good morning. i live near nashville, tennessee, where i have found excellent doctors for myself and my family but my parents live 350 miles south of me and they are in their 80s. do you have any suggestions on how i can find them a good primary physician via long distance? >> i think you increasingly represent a demographic in this country of middle-aged people like me who have elderly parents and you want to provide for them. so assuming they are not going to move near you and you're not going to move near them, the first thing i would do is if you

like your doctor, ask them. doctors in geographic areas know each other and see each other at medical meetings and know not so good ones and know buddies. many times they have gone to medical school together. rely on that doctor to doctor network first. even if doctors don't know someone, they know someone who will know someone. and then that gives you access. but most important, make sure you also then have the right to talk to your parents' doctors and get medical information. in this crazy world of patient privacy, you can find yourself in case of an emergency having no one to talk to you. have your parents while they are of sound mind sign over power of attorney to someone in your family and that might be you so that in the case of a problem, you can as the adult child get that information, run it by your own doctors, let your doctors talk to their doctors because that's what you want. a free flow of information. >> this is unfortunately an

increasing problem. >> generation sandwich issue and i tell you this patient privacy thing has thrown a kink in the whole system. it has gone haywire. sit down and have those conversations about who will share the information early before the crisis hits. >> all right. thank you, dr. nancy. still to come up next, money mistakes you could be passing onto your kids. plus later on, we'll show you simple ways to spruce up a room coming up after these messages.

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this morning on "today's money." experts say lessons about financial responsibility should start at an early age but some kids are getting mixed messages from their parents. david is the founder of finish rich.com and author of "debt free for life." wearing the green. i love it. looking good. this is a topic that you feel pretty strongly about and it's a personal message for you. >> i have a boy that's 7 1/2. his name is jack. it's all about teaching kids about money. the reason i'm here with you today on the "today" show is i had a father who taught me to be an investor and a grandmother that helped he had buy my first stock at 11. >> you couldn't keep your kids out of the loop. don't give them a silent treatment when it comes to

money. >> the easiest way to start out is tell kids what things cost. that lucky charm that you are eating is a $5 box of cereal. taking them to a baseball game and how much that ticket cost. we went to a broadway show. that ticket was $100. your dad worked his butt off for your butt to be in that seat. we're staying. >> in this tough economic times with people facing economic difficulty, how honest do you think people should be about financial situations in the family? >> i think more honest the better. if you are worried -- if you have financial worries, your kids pick up on that. they see you fighting with the doors closed. they know you have anxiety. be honest. if you have credit card debt, we're working to pay that down. that's why we spend less money. tell your kids the truth. >> speaking of credit card debt, you talk about one thing kids shouldn't see is whipping out that plastic. >> old days they say money grew

on trees and now it grows on plastic. they think that's free money. if you use credit cards in front of your kids, tell them we have to pay the bills at the end of the month. this is not free money. we have to budget even if we use the credit cards so they know they have huge responsibilities. >> the extension is the atm card. >> the magic cash machine. my son, jack, when he was 4 is, like, how to you get money out of the cash machine? i put the money out of the bank so i can take it out. teaching kids explaining how the bank works. >> here's one thing we agree on. you don't give the kids an allowance. they should earn an allowance. >> you earn your allowance. if you're $7 y7 years old, you $7. we have a list. you make your bed. put everything away. you set the table. you walk the dog. you pick up dog poop. it's your job. if you want the allowance, you pick it up. >> what about savings?

we don't really talk about savings and kids don't see us saving. >> they don't see us saving. one of the great things about having that allowance is teaching your kids they can save that money and showing them the value. let's show this chart. $5 a day. i show my son $5 a day can grow to be a fortune. if you save $5 by the time you're 40 years old you could have over half a million dollars. >> it's like a cup of coffee. >> we call it the latte factor. going to starbucks with your kids they are watching you spend small amounts of money on little things. showing them $5 a day over 20 years is $90,000. it's the power of savings. take that change and taking it down to the bank and putting it into a bank account for your kids so they see the value of just saving change. >> one of the things we also do besides having to save allowance sometimes they have to give to charity. church or something. >> jack as one for savings, spending and one for giving.

the school supplies were brought in for kids that don't have them. he took $10 out of his giving piggy bank. found out what crayons cost. he values $10 he spent and knows that money went to help other kids. >> giving and a teachable lesson. thank you so much. coming up, two options for irish stew for tonight's big st. patrick's day bash. first, these messages. to surprise people

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good morning to you. it is 9:26 right now. i'm laura garcia canon. almost a year ago, more than 3,500 newly employees lost their jobs when the auto plant closed. now a 2 million increase has been approved to train those workers. it will add to a $4.2 million contract with the oakland private industry council for serves and training program. it will provide employment resources for displaced workers. more than 3,500 former employees have already enrolled in that program. jury questioning begins today in the barry bonds perjury

trial. prospective jurors will fill out a questionnaire this morning, some of the questions being asked include the number of baseball games attended and if the family has had substance abuse problems. bonds is facing charges he lied about taking steroids in front of of a grand jury in 2003. jury selection for theec perjur trial starts next week.

welcome back. happy st. patrick's day to you. it's thursday, one day away from getaway friday. today looks pretty good with temperatures ending up in the 0 60s. still on the chilly side out there. 40s. make sure you grab a jacket. you can wear something green underneath, something that you can show off later on today. you will see enough sunshine for you to be able to take off that jacket. our next weather maker arrives as we head into tomorrow. it looks like the bulk of the moisture will come through between tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon. and we could see upwards of two inches of rain in the north bay. this is definitely the potential

for some flooding. grounds are already saturated from recent rain. it will be cold this weekend. 54 degrees. enjoy sun and clouds today. how is the roadway travel looking, mike? why wait? green tie. mostly green in the south bay. kind of along the same longitude, 101, 880, your typical slowing off the mission boulevard interchange there. also slow out of the sunol grade. little better past downtown oakland. back to you. >> thanks so much, mike. 9:29 right now. another local news update in about half an hour. the "today" show returns in less than a minute.

>> there are less than 43 days to go until prince william marries his princess, kate middleton, and the royal couple announced in lieu of wedding gifts they request donations to special charities. and for the last few weeks we've been holding a contest as well to send one lucky viewer and a guest to london during the royal wedding week. today is the last day to vote. we introduced you to our finalists yesterday. mom mary baker has never been out of the u.s. except to canada and wants to take this special trip with her husband.

and then molly works with seriously ill children and is obsessed with all things british and pamela who gave us a fascinating video and she's always been fascinated by the royal family since she was a little girl. she even named her cat princess diana and her son andrew. >> there's nothing wrong with that. who deserves the royal treatment? winner gets an all-expense paid trip to england during the week of the wedding. head to our website, today.com. deadline is today 3:00 p.m. eastern time. we'll reveal the winner tomorrow on "today." >> coming up on "today," if you want to give your home a little pick me up and jazz it up from in pillows on the couch to new ideas for centerpieces in your dining room, we'll have fun -- there are spider-man sheets. we'll get into that. >> that's disturbing. >> little children are very

scared right now. >> that's going in a different direction with decorating. >> very nice. ryan in the princess bed. okay. >> we're going to celebrate st. patrick's day in the kitchen with variations of the traditional irish stew. >> a gorgeous day. let's check the forecast in the weekend. beautiful in the east. chilly side. rain in thisipsi mpiss mississi river valley. a storm system comes in and warm through the gulf coast and sunshine and then sunday more sunshine. it will be cold in new england. heavy rain throughout california. could be some flooding out there. mountain snows. warm through texas. mild into the gulf coast. showers in the mid and u good monday to you. after seeing the rain for four consecutive days, we're finally going to get a break today. just in time for st. patrick's

day. 62 in oakland, los galos. 59 for san francisco. not all that warm. you probably need a jacket but could take it off later on today in the heat of the day, usually around 3:00 pm this time of year now with the time change. big-time storm on the way for us tomorrow. make sure you're ready for heavy rain as we move through tomorrow afternoon. have a great day. >> that's your latest weather. >> we have a very special guest with us on the sofa. she's capture the heart of michael scott on the nbc comedy "the office" and now bringing her charms to studio 1a. amy ryan plays human resources rep on the show. good morning. >> nice to have you here. >> happy st. patrick's day. are you scared of us? we've been entertaining you during the break. >> deeply entertained. >> we love you at michael scott's love interest. it's all going very well right now. >> yeah. there's an episode coming up called "the proposal." that doesn't give anything away

believe it or not. it's true michael scott fashion. it's something that took our crew two days to clean up. >> wow. leave us hanging. >> we all love steve and this is his last season. what's the news been like on the set? >> bittersweet. there's a nice burst that's come in with will ferrell. hopefully he'll keep everyone tuned in as well. >> you've been keeping busy. a new movie coming in. >> i love this movie so much. it's called "win win." a nice irish american family in new jersey. down on their financial luck like many in this country. there's a high school wrestler that shows up on their door. >> your character is apprehensive at first about bringing him into the family but then you're the one who ends up allowing him to open up. >> exactly.

yeah. it's a nice transition. we have two young girls at home. there's a great kid. amazing guy alex schafer who was plucked out of nowhere. open call. he's never acted before. never thought of acting. he's remarkable in this film. he holds his own. >> his career is set. great. always good to catch up with you, amy. what's going to happen? >> maybe will ferrell will make a play for him. who knows. who knows. >> speaking of proposals -- >> amy, thank you so much. you can watch "the office" tonight and every thursday at 8:00 central time on nbc. a way to spruce up every room in your house coming up. we'll be back after this. [ sneezes ]

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lot. today, an "us weekly" contributor jill martin has creative ideas for revamping almost any room in your house. good morning. >> good morning. >> let's start in the kids room. you have a little girl bed here. this canopy is so cute. >> people are so overwhelmed when they look at a room and think, we have to redo everything. look at a little thing like a canopy over a bed. this is pottery barn kids. everything is $14 and up. come over here. all different themes. obviously for your boy's room, spiderman. he got stuck over me like this, actually. the details are great for a wall. they're adhesive. >> that's a decal you have there. >> it's a decal. starting at $14. this is great, obviously, whatever your son or daughter, they're into, they're different themes. >> for the lady of the house you've got a very interesting idea for displaying jewelry. these little mannequins. >> i actually have these on my vanity at home. i just think they're so pretty.

$65. jennifermillerjewelry.com. you put all your jewelry on it. your earrings. >> you have the earrings hanging here. clever. >> not only is it pretty, but functional. then you can see everything. all of our jewelry, usually women will tell me, i'll get facebook questions all the time. how do i organize? it's jumbled in a box. this is a great way to display it. >> to the dining room, candles always beautiful. smells great in here, too, right? >> a really great pattern to spruce up a room. they are really affordable items. usually tfsz it was a little pricey. now there's candles and place mats and vases. $20 and up. i love these. i don't know if you can tell, there's little vases. you can hang them from the ceiling with fish wire and put flowers in it. i love that. $1.95 for those little vases.

>> the chand leer. it's great. >> under $100 it starts just depending on the vibe in your room. >> how difficult to hang it? >> i didn't have to do that. it comes with everything here. as long as you have someone to hang a chandelier, you're in business and also i have these sconces. i have them in my house. around $100 can really make a room. >> jazz up. the picture frames. i don't know about your choice of who you put in the frame here, mr. roker. you can really jazz up a wall. >> the rest of these are my family. i use these at home with the big borders and put the picture in the middle. it really just acts like art and have your family all over the home. >> moving to the living room. just some throw pillows, some blankets, you're saying, can add color and personality. >> these are butterscotchblankies.com. look at how they are wrapped. you personalize them. feel how soft they are. this can add to any room. i made luke and josh for natalie who i thought was going to be in today.

great to spruce up a kids' room or living room. >> you can personalize them with their name or whatever. >> great gift for the home. >> okay. over here, these are some of these other throw pillows. >> jonathan adler. great to just throw on a coach. they really have personality to them. initial. aries, my son. >> okay. then you have over here, you think you hang it in the kitchen? >> i think it's fun for the kitchen. it comes right on and off. i think that it's just fun for a family to show what they're doing. everybody can be involved. it's fun and you can decorate it. >> it looks better than the dry erase board which is what i was imagining when i read about it. >> feel it. >> feels like wood. >> high quality. $59 so you invest in it. but then you know where your kids are. >> our last thing, candy dishes. sort of a decoration and storage. >> i actually have these in my house, too, in the kitchen. i just think it's a fun idea. you always have candy out as long as you don't eat it.

>> that's the trick. >> $24 at pottery barn. put them in the middle and look so expensive and make a pop in your kitchen. >> great ideas. >> thank you. coming up next in "today's kitchen," we're celebrating st. patrick's day with two tasty ways to do an irish stew right after this. [ mom ] can a little bowl of cereal change your life? i think it can. one of the challenges for kayla being gluten-free is actually finding choices the whole family will love. then we discovered chex cereals.

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this morning we are celebrating st. patrick's day with traditional irish dinner. >> at home with the family or throwing a party. we have two stews they say are easy to make. we'll see. >> we'll test savannah. >> good morning. >> this first one is traditio l traditional. a little bit of a twist. >> i have beets and lamb in there. >> how did you come up with that combo? >> i have no idea. >> irish stew is about anything being thrown it. >> it's tougher cuts of meat and you throw things together at the end of the day and they get soft. you get oil in the bottom of the pan. beef and lamb in there. nice and brown. get those bits on the bottom. great flavor that sits in the

bottom of the pan. you want it in there. let it sit. release natural suing ygars alr in there. we have parsnips and turnips. fresh bay leaves, onions, tomatoes and carrots. you have to. it's stew. we'll add all that in as well and let that sit. you stir it up. this will be about two hours. one of the cool things we'll do is this a bit of beef stock. all right. we have that right here. we also have honey wine. it's easy to make if you want to take water, yeast and a little bit of honey and add it in and let it ferment for a couple days. a fun thing to do. that's what makes this different. beef stock we'll add in. cover it up. let it sit. on the stove top. >> over here you are doing a bit

of a different take on this. this is seafood. >> traditionally it's a layered dish but it has ham and some sort of sausage inside of it. so what i did a couple years ago i came up with this great dish. it's one of the dishes that the hardest part is making the broth. traditional fish stock. you cook potatoes and -- okay. we'll take our scallops, our shrimp and an irish bacon. it's not traditional american bacon that has that fat on the outside. a small cap of fat around the outside. it's a cured bacon.

>> can you find that at a butcher? >> you can go on the website. information on there about where to get this stuff. now i add salt and pepper. all right. just like that. then after that all starts to cook together, get color on each one. then what we'll do is once it opens we'll let it sit because it's a stew. these are an irish sausage. these are cocktail. >> what's in the basket? >> this is good stuff. this is that final product of what it comes out with. we have a little bit of butter here. >> fresh peas and green onions. we'll let everyone have a little taste. nothing like this at 10:00 in the morning. >> makes you want to soak it up with bread. >> it has a really, really nice

rich broth that comes with it. >> thank you. >> that's the beef and lamb. dip bread in it and then it wouldn't be a st. patrick's day without guinness. >> good to see you. happy st. patrick's day. >> coming up -- >> model and comedian olivier

>> initiation to the fourth hour of "today." >> we wait until we start the show. careful. >> go. go. go. >> when you say go, i drink. >> it's not yet. >> what do you have coming up?

>> we have olivia with us. it's all st. patrick's day. drinking, festivities. >> go. go. go. >> first your local news and weather.

good morning to you. it is 9:26 rigi'm laura garcia .

employees lost their job when the auto plant closed. more on that story in a moment. first, i need to tell you, it could be a big day in the court for the couple accused of kidnapping jaycee dugard. expected to appear in an eldorado courthouse this afternoon. nancy garrido is likely to change her plea. philip garrido was found mentally fit to stand trial. a man who opened fire outside a mcdonald's restaurant. just after noon yesterday, the shooter walked up to another man in his 20s outside the restaurant. he shot the victim once at close range and then ran off. the victim was rushed to medical center. at last word, he was in critical condition. let's take a look at the forecast with christina. >> good morning. happy st. patrick's day to you. 62 in san jose.

the rain will give us a break for st. paddy's day. it will be back and stronger for tomorrow. potent winter storm pushes onshore, possibly producing up to two inches of rain, maybe even more so in the north bay. looking like an inch everywhere else. definitely enough for flooding. you want to enjoy the temperature today. 62 degrees. the luck of the irish is with us in the weather department. >> those beenie bops you got there, very nice. green for most of the area. east shore freeway approaching the bay bridge, still slow. last update, lights have been turned off. that's a live shot. we can show you the bay plaza with cash lane up. meter lights must have been turned off. things moving nicer at 880. 101 commute, 85 slower as well. >> it is st. patrick's day.

have a good one. another local news update in about half an hour. the "today" show returns in about a minute. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me and asking me how they could help. you meet the most wonderful, inspiring people.

when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> it is sainlt pt. patrick's d thirst-day thursday, march 17. >> i'm already drunk. >> here's the sad thing. we just did tte 9:58 tease, and he was challenging olivia to chug. >> he was going, go, go, go! when people tell you to drink,

you drink. and you were saying don't. i was very confused. we went live and it was like, 15 seconds. and they were like, shut the door! and nobody was shutting the door, so i ran and -- >> we want to you help out. >> i don't want to help out. >> the last time olivia was with us, she made such an impression. this is one of those that got a lot of traction. we were just doing a normal session with you, chatting about your life. just watch. >> there she goes. you know what? >> hold on.at? continue. >> please like me and watch my show. >> that would make me want to watch. you're going to want to share with your friends right after this. >> yeah! that's what we like. >> i was getting day wasted. i like to think i coined it. i did. let me just say i did. if i say it first, you have to

believe me. i came up with that. and also hyyervehicle. my idea. twitter? me. you're welcome. >> it is st. patty's day. you wore green and black. >> not on purpose, though. i picked it up from ann taylor, and then i realized it was st. patrick's day, and then i was like, i'm like the girl next door who dresses up for every holiday. then they want us to weer these hats. >> you know y because it's a party. if you look around rockefeller plaza in the last hour and all the way through the day today, it's packed with people dressed up in all kinds of green. >> where is your green? >> look at our crazy plaidza, okay? it was nuts today and all those people will now go on fifth avenue so they can watch the st. patty's day parade.

>> and find a camera. >> they're just sleeping now. >> this is green beer, and we wanted you to feel at home and part of st. patty's day. have you ever seen jib-jaa and the things they do. isn't that un? >> go. >> jerry, you're in the middle. ♪ >> we like it.& >> that's injuryjerry.

we're jerry's girls. >> i do. it's the small things that make& me happy, put me digitallyyin something. it's like you say i'm family, but you don't really treat me like family, make me shut the door, make me drink. you probably think i'm more fun when i drink. >> okay. i'm not kidding. okay. this show is going to be bad. >> is that green on my face? >> yes, it is. you have really green lips. if you're wondering where you know olivia munn from, she's been in lots of things, but there is a new show on nbc called "perfect couples." >> yes. >> you're in that. >> i am. it's on tonight at 8:30. >> do you love that show? >> i love that show. >> tell me about your role. you're the straight-laced wife? >> the thing is, we go like eventually we'll get to all of

america. we haven't got o your house & yet, but eventually we'll get th there and you'll watch. my couple actually put it brilliantly in a way i wasn't able to see. my charrcter, lee, we want the whole world to be as intense as we are for each other. we're just that perfect couppe. zsz >> annoying. >> this will make your negative comments feel etter. >> there's also -- if you are younger, under 20, you know her from g4. >> or like 60 and you're alone. >> what do you do on this show? >> i'm no longer on this show. >> exactly. so what did you do on that show? >> you need to drink more, i think, hoda. it's video game technology. pop culture show is a live show we did monday through friday, and it's kinn of like the daily

show but for video game technology. with john stewart. >> and you did all that stuff? >> i did do all that stuff on & maxim. this last show, there was a lot of things that made it maxim are so great.people at they're always really nice, and woman to be able to show all different sides. sometimes they want to put you into a box, and i think you can be sexy and beautiful and funny and smart, you know, a girl's girr. >> all the way around. >> all the way around. i drink to get me the rest of the way. i'm like a quarter of the way. this makes me go the rest of the way. what? >> you must have done so well on the show. because kathie lee likes to have a few. i was in her dressing room and she hassso much moonshine. she's making it in there. there's like cauldrons and vats.

i was on line looking at one of my frienns. she's on mtv squire and they do the brackets on line where you can vote for it. and i saw kathie lee and hoda are competing with sofi sofia vergara. >> it's an awful picture. >> what? >> wear wearing bathing suits from the '40s. >> i think you look awesome, but i'm not a guy. the thing s they're only at 11%. there's only one day left. i know ttere are a lot of fans out there, everybody on twitter& we have to just go to esquire. >> she has 89% and we have 11? >> have you seen her breasts? they're worth 89% of the vote. i'm just saying! >> how are we ever going to make up this ground? >> there is a way to do it if

you can get everyone to vote. everyone to vote right now. i have about 220,000 twitter followers, so i'll twitter out at the next commercial break to ask them to get you guys in there. i ddn't know what will happen. i think -- >> yesterday sofia had 95%, -ptoday she has 89, so we're chipping away. >> you're the perfect couple. eventually they'll all love you. just look at the numbers. >> here's a question for a lot of women which surprised us in the makeup room today. did you hate youu proposal? they said one in four brides disliked the way their fiance at the time proposed to them, which i found interesting. >> i've never been proposed to, so i wouldn't know. but if they do it on the jumbotron or somewhere really -- >> tacky. >> you were proposed to?

>> i was proposed tooonce, and at the time i liked it. i mean -- >> what was it? >> i was in central park in one of those carriages. what? it was -- >> did you just watch an '80s chick flick and then go on and then did you realize it's really horrible to ride in those carriages with those pretty horses? what? you're the one who did it. >> at the time it was very and later it turned out it wasn't. >> fyi, faster. but you accepted. >> i did accept that proposal. >> you accepted the proposal ii a carriage ride in central park. >> yes. >> what does that say about you? >> that says i'm a romantic. don't you think? >> you're not drinking enough. >> okay. i'm going. i'm doing it. >> more intimate, something that's special. >> i agree with you. we did talk about bad dates and there are certain things women can't stand on dates

universally. one of them is baby talk. >> i hate -- i cannot stand baby when i hear people do baby talk, i literally want to smash a glass in their face. >> why? >> it's just weird. i don't know what it is. it's just wrong. it's annoying. >> what? >> if iididn't want to finish this drink, i'd smash it in yoor face, fyi. you like baby talk, too, right? >> i don't love it. >> you back in the day in central park in a carriage with horses in front of you, you're baby talking? would you marry me? you're going to regret this later. i'm just saying. the truth hurts. >> god. >> do you not regret it? >> well, yeah, because i'm divorced. of course, i regret it. >> because you were in a carriage ride in central park. i bet you there is a jumbotron somewhere. >> i do not like the jumbotron

proposals. i think it should be more intimate. i think anything you do in public is a little weird, buttto each his own. some people like a big -pspectacle. >> weell tell you what you should do. we'll tell you what your own is. fyi, we're on tv. that's what we do..o cf1 o >> i talked to my girlfriend about when guys don't pay. i think i embody 2011. i'm a woman. i do my own career, and i'm not looking for someone else to take care of mee but there is something very chivalrous aaout a guy -- ton of money more than he does. >> we wouldn't be dating in the first place. i was tricked. didn't like that one. >> if that were the case -- you offer, though. you say it's more important to reach -- >> i always reach and they say, no, no, no, and you go, okay. but you say you need to do more thhn reach for the purse.

>> no, i think you have to have the feeling you're going to pay. aater a certain point, the guy should pay for everything. girls should be completely willing to pay for it, and if the guy lets you pay for it, just let him know that will be the last one he ever, ever gets. for me i just like the old school. >> olddfashioned. >> and i'm not going to eat that much, so ii will be a really small bill, i promise. like a side salad, maybe some balsam!!ansamic if it's free. i won't eat the bread, i promise you. i'm giving him a lot of reasons to pay. >> you're ridiculous. it's thursday, so we always do this thing called the hoda playlist where i play a song. i made her listen to beyonce in the green room, but here's old see if you know it. this one is called, "she's a bad

mamba jamba." do you know the words? do you know it? >> yeah. ♪ she's a bad mama jama ♪ >> okay, i'm liking it. you know the songs from back then? how old are you, by the way? is it a secret? >> 47. it's not a secret, i'm 30. and i think honestly that women should -- you know, i turned 30 this past year. somebody toasted a guy, he was like 26. he shouldn't have been at my party, but he's like, your 22nd,

ha har ha, ha, ha. and i said, no, to my 30th. i'm proud of everything i've accomplished up to age 30, so i think women should just embrace it. take care of yourself. don't be like, i'm 30. really, you look 40? >> we have a lot cominggup. she's tweeting on the set, which is what she does. up next, can carrying a pen in your purse eep you from getting sick? she cheetats. >> i did not cheat! >> she did..o cf1 o we'll be back after this.

ilts it's time for safe health and drawing the line between medical truth and medical fiction. >> will yogurt beffre a hot date really give you bad breath? -p>> here with answers is robbi. you're going to try to stump us, right? >> right. >> we have our panel for myth and fact, and you'll set us

straight. >> i'm going to read statements, you hold up your paddle and we'll go from there. >> i'm going to totally kick your you know what. i'm just saying. p> myth oo fact. sipping something alcoholic before bed will help you sleep better. >> i'm going with myth. what are you going with? you have to make a decision. >> it's actuallyya myth. >> that's rude. >> the reason is you would think it would be a good idea, but what happens is you go to sleep and the alcoool level is actually dropping your blood and suddenly you're awake. if you want to have a little wine with dinner, make sure you do it about two hours before bed because it takes about an hour to metabolize a drink. >> myth or fact.

brush, your teeth right before bed is the best way to keee your mouth healthy. >> i'm going with myth. >> fact. >> this is, in fact, a myth. food and drink actually softens the enamel in your teeth, so you're better waiting for about an hour. it's actually not a good idea. you can have black tea or green tea. it helps with adding fluoride. it's very good for you. >> myth or fact. if you skimped on sleep this week, you should sleep a few extra hours this weekend to reflenish your sleep bank. >> myth. >> you're both right. this is, in fact, a myth. it is a good idea, and what everyone wants to do, sleep till noon on saturday, but, in fact, ii just makes you sleep deeper and you wake up wiped out. it's just not a good idea. >> it is weird how when you sleep more you're more tired. >> you're much better off going

to sleep earlier for a couple nights and then you're in good phape. >> i'm a little tipsy and i just realized while she's responding, i'm just playing the game. >> drinking a cup of coffee before a nap will help you wake up and feel refreshed. >> i'm going to sayyfact ecause it sounds ridiculous. >> i'm going to say myth. >> this is actually true. the reason is caffeine takes about 20 minutes to hit your bloodstream. if you want to take about a short 20-minute powee nap, it's a good idea to drink a cup of coffee before you go, and you'll wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. >> we have to wrap up. >> what? i can't believe that. >> there is more in prevention magazine, right? >> right. >> all the questions are here. >> did you win? >> i did, but there's no prize. >> there's aaprize. >> what's the prize?

>> green wine. >> you need to catch up with me. >>keok l look at an internet video that will have you sharing it all day with your friends. first these meesages.

we're back with the webtastics. >> what happens when you combine a five-month-old baby and a

cold? >> emerson can't decide if seeing her mom blow her nose is scary or hilarious. check it out. >> he's five and a half months old. the mom has been sick for a week. this is the first ddy he's laughed, though. she created a youtube account. had never done it before. wanted her husband to see it and now it has over 2 million hits. >> i was watching it over and over last night. it's the cutest thing. especially when he freaks out and his one arm goes. >> she sent it to a couple friends and then it blew up. babies are magic. >> genius! still to come in honor of st. patty's day, how toopair your beer with anything.

then just add color. how to update your spring wardrobe. o

good morning to you. it's 10:26 right now. i'm laura garcia canon. u.c. students could see an annual tuition hike of 18% according to a new report. u.c. system says it's looking at a $1.5 billion budget gap over the next few years without state funding increases, the school system will have to combine cuts and tuition hikes to try to close that gap. only an annual tuition hike of 18% will do. the regiants approved an increase last year. the pac 10 will become the pac-12 this summer taking on a whole new look.

here is the logo. you'll see it change. long-time members of the pac-10 will now be part of the new pac-12. conference headquarters are in walnut creek. ncaa tournament starts this morning. nbc bay area crew filled out their brackets. nbcbayarea.com or brackets.csnbayarea.com. easy one to remember. check it out. i think i'mwin. 10:27 right now. weather and traffic, after this.

good morning to you. will you be of the irish is with us this morning. temperatures are going to climb up into the 60s later on today. we'll finally get a break from the rain, which is the real luck. you know what? it runs out as we head into tomorrow. big system on the way could create flooding across the bay area. the bulk of the moisture will come through over the course of tomorrow morning, into the evening hours. and then we'll look at a cold weekend ahead. so, happy patrick's day -- st. patrick's day to you, mike. any problems on the roadway? >> reporter: no, no, and patrick is fine. looking out here. we're seeing yellow instead of green. volume of the traffic is sorting itself out in berkeley. but then it's clear. once you get there. there is backup in the cash lane.

i'm told all the cash lanes are open. this is just after typically we see a burst of traffic. that might be what's going on there. there's a shot of that slowdown, laura. >> thank you very much, mike. thank you for joining us this morning. the "today" shownsoi j u joinsse see you tomorrow morning, starting at 5:00. we are back op st. patrick's day thursday with today's style and spring forecasters. she has been helping me out while kathie lee has been away. green chardonnay. >> you're going to teach us thing or two about spring style. samantha yang, the editor and chief of ggtham magazine. she's wearing purple. >> i do like it, it's almost springtime. >> it's like four days away. it's close. >> we're talking about how to

start innecting spring color into your wardrobe as olivia has already started to do this morning. these are from theodore and callan. the lines were just launched. they're friends, they named the line after their kids innpired by their amazing travel. these scarves are from 88 to $100. >> how do you wear aascarf? >> you wrap them around your & ne neck. >> it's a little more complicated. i'm just hanging out with hodaa and kathie. >> she's not here. >> kathie lee is always here. >> you can wear it as a scarf, you can wrap these around, wear

it as a dress. you can make it a head scarf. >> first of all -- >> i want to see you turn your scarf into a dress. >> by the way, there is a couple ways to wear a scarf. i'll teach you later. these are really soft. i like the material. >> they're really soft. they come in great colors. the price is great. up next, swatch watches. the new watch is the lady watch collection. you take one -- -p>> double wrap it. >> if you're wearing a watch now, the best thing to do is wrap it and get double the pleasure. >> i have a million cardigans. i always want a new one. >> soothis cardigan is from ann

taylor. it's $68. it comes in amazing colors, it's in merino wool. in this weather it'' just a great thing to havv in your bag, in your closet, in your desk to throw on. >> and this cardigan is really great because someeimee they get boxy. thhse have cute little rouching on the side. so obviously we all like jewelly. next is earrings. these are from jennifer miller. they're $85, and what's great about these is they're a little bit expensive, you can wear them now with black, and then keep wearing them into the summer with white, layer on some jewelry. >> i'm not a big earrrng girl, but these are big. >> that looks really good on you. >> they're cute. >> that looks extremelyyamazingg summer makes you think of turquoise, no? can talking about color, we'll talk about a bag.

these just went on sale for $44.69. they were $80 and now they're o $49.99. they come in all these great colors. they're from simply vera from vera wang at kohl's. th this is easy to play with. these are from urban out fitter. they glow n in the dark. >> i go to urban outfitters every week. i love that store. >> now that you've got your party clothes on, we've got a st. patrick's day celebration for the procrastinators out there. >> and the celtic group tops off the day. >> but first these messages.

the leprechaun living under the blarney stone, just remember it happens to be march 17.

we have the perfect last-minute st. patrick's day party to throw together. >> jean is the founder of jeanbenedict.com and there's lots of food. >> we're not doing the traditional corned beef and cabbage but kind of a take-off on it. >> you have to have corned beef and cabbage and this is kind of a take-off on it. saurkraut pizza. >> that's how you have to get boys to like you. >> spread a quarter cup of dressing. then you do three-quarters of a cup of the sauerkraut. hoed a do you want to put on the corned beef? >> you could do deli corned

beef. then a bunch of chhese. bake it at 350, 10 minutes, andd voila. do you want to taste it? there's some over there. >> let me take a bite of this. >> you work out a lot. do you make sure to eat -- p> i eat junk food. >> oh, good. >> you can't trust a girl that doesn't eat junk food. if a girl doesn't eat junk food, she'll probably sleep with your boyfriend. >> scoot oo down there, we're -pgoing to make some leprechaun balls. >> this is really good. >> it's goodd right? >> there's a hint of ssauerkrau but it's not overpowering. >> i have two cups of vanilla wafr cookies, i have a cup of white chocolate. let's mix that up first. just press on. perfect. now, to that -- you want to grind it up a little bit more.

that is a cup and a half of pistachios. >> i say "pistachio." am i saying it wrong? >> i like cooking. >> this reminds me of college. >> and then we're going to add in half a cup of whiskey, we're going to add a corn syrup and we're going to pulse that up. you might want to take yoor lid off. gg ahead, pulse that up. then it makes a dough. that's good enough. you would pulseeit until it makes this lovely dough, and then you just roll balls. olivia, taste one of those irish whiskey balls. i think you'll love it. go ahead, bite into it. >> do you like it? >> that's really delicious. it's like -- >> it's a no-bake cookie, basscally. ttis is like the perfect

teacher's gift for me. it's like, thank you for hanging out with my kid. >> the whiskey is strong. >> yeah, the whiskey is strong in it. now we have a mashed potato martini bar and it's because the mashed potato is served in martini glasses. if you guys want to make your own, you can make your own. it's a green sour cream. it's so good. >> make your own. olivia, if you want to make your own,,you can. >> i want to put everything on it. >> there's everything green. and then finally -- >> everything is good. >> you know what? here's the good thing about potatoes, it fills your -- st. patrick's day is adrinking holiday, right? you can stand and mingle and get something in your tummy. green cuucakes. they're cupcake wraps that are really cute. you can download the pattern

from my web site, jeanbenedict.com. on green vel vet cupcakes, take it on like this. >> this is really good. >> thank you, olivia. it's been a pleasure. >> just now it be's been a pleasure. before now, it was tolerable. nobody liked my and that's why i drank. >> who feels bad now! >> oh, my gosh, i'm sorry. p>> coming up next, the celtic women with the st. patrick's day performance you'll be listening an all day.

in just six years, celtic women has sold 6 million cds around the world and performed for people without their music ever being played on the radio. >> through television concerts

and word of mouth, the women have become a multiplatinum irish music sensation, and now they've got a new album called "lu "lullaby." >> and here they are. hi, ladies. >> hi. >> for those of us who haven't actually heard the music, tell us what makes your group unique? >> we have an amazing fiddle player and we're accompanied by an inccedible choir. we do some traditional irish songs, some contemporary pieces, and we've been going for six years and it's incredible. we made our first live televiiion appearance on the "today" show. >> we went to radio city and got a great welcome and it's great >> do we want to hear them do their thing? >> es. >> yes, we do. what are you going to perform

for us? >> it's "seize today" for st. patrick's day. >> take it away. ♪ ♪

♪

♪

>> that was so great! >> awesome, awesome, awesome. that is celtic woman. try to check out their concert. their next stop is at radio city that?hat's coming up -- when is >> tonight. >> we're going to be back with more beer. it's enough, but first this is "today" o nb [ female announcer ] here are some great reasons to switch to at&t.

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the last time olivia was with us she drrnk all our wine. >> because you didn't drink it >> this is actually a present we brought for olivia. it's a wine rack. >> i just realizzd, i'm not going to be on the soup, am i? it's actually called talk soup. hayley is from dbgb and she'ss some traditional irish dishes.th

you guys get paid for this, to drink and eat? >> yes, we do. hayley, people don't know what goes best with other things. >> this is some potato and cabbage as well, really traditional. i just went the non-traditional route with a pairing. it's called secellar door, so please take a sip. >> okay. >> you don't have to say please. gives it a spicy flavor. >> real flavorful. >> that is like a breakfast drink. >> over here we have our irish stew. it's a flatiron with irish croutonn and vegetables. i thought it would be nice to do a dark lager. >> this doesn't look like a

guinness at all. it's very dark. >> it's light in flavor but dark in color. try that. >> o you want to try the food with it? >> no. that would take away from the buzz. hello! >> what do we ave here? >> this one here is an irish black pudding, a little more exotic. we make ours a little spicy which is why we pair it with a hoppy pale ale. it really lightens up the spice. >> what do you think? >> the cheese burger helper one is really good. >> together is really cools down your palate. >> this is the favorite.

it's a chocolate caramel ice cream. this, actually, i made. it's a coffee stout. it goes well with everything. >> do you want a bite? >> you go first. sometimes desserts are eally sweet. >> that's why i paired it with coffee so it will give it that earthy note..o cf1 o for something nationally available, i really like left hand milk stout. >> thank you so much for being with us. olivia, it's been quite the -pexperience with you. >> you mean we're done? >> we're done. that's the whole show. >> i drank my way through it. >> tomorrow, you guys, bette mid ler midler is with us. plus the cake boss. >> happy st. patrick's day, everybody! -- captions by vitac --

good day from new york. we want to update you on the situation in japan where workers at that damaged nuclear power plant are using desperate measures to try to avoid a catastrophe and all out meltdown. overnight they used water cannons, they drop water from military choppers to try to cool down those overheated reactors. not clear whether any of it work. new video emerges of the damaged plant the u.s. is offering chartered flights through the state department for any americans who want to leave japan because of the radiation levels. the.s