third avenue. so the alternate is 280. the bay bridge toll plaza, not a big deal. >> we'll check back with you. the local news update at 7:25. >> we'll see you then. have a great day everybody. good morning. breaking news. six police officers shot, one fatally, while serving a search warrant in ogden, utah, overnight. the sole suspect shot as well and under guard at a hospital. we're live on the scene. cashing in. rick santorum raises $1 million for his presidential campaign just a day after his strong finish in iowa as newt gingrich steps up his attack on gop front-runner mitt romney. is the former house speaker doing santorum's dirty work for him? and casey speaks. nbc confirms this video just posted eed on youtube is casey

anthony talking about her life after murder acquittal. you'll hear from her in her own words today, january 5th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm carl quintanilla. six officers in utah were taking part in a drug strike force operation when a man opened fire. >> the slain officer identified as a seven-year veteran of the force. the father of two young children. we have the very latest straight ahead. also this morning, a funeral service is being held today for the three young sisters who died in that christmas morning fire in stamford, connecticut. this after their mom attended an

emotional private wake on wednesday. we'll have details on that tragic story. more on the recovery of a young model. she was badly injured after she walked into a plane's propeller. just what she did for the very first time since that accident. we'll have that for you coming up. kate middleton makes a big announcement tied to her work as a royal. we're live at buckingham palace with that story. but let's begin now with this breaking news. six police officers shot during an operation in ogden, utah. sheriff park is from our salt lake city affiliate kfltv. she's got the latest for us this morning. shara, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. four of the six officers shot during last night's shootout are here at mckay-dee hospital in ogden. two were taken to ogden regional medical center. that is where officer jared frinkham died. the gunfire broke out wednesday night after police and a narcotics strike force team surrounded this home as they reportedly tried to serve a drug-related search warrant. >> we are involved in an incident.

we had a search warrant in which six officers have been shot from the ogden police department and from the strike force. >> reporter: witnesses say they heard gunshots coming from outside the home. >> we just heard multiple rounds going off, came outside to check it out and knew they were gunshots. >> the officers told us to go back in our house and there was a standoff. >> reporter: after a barrage of gunfire, neighbors say they heard police minutes later ordering a man hiding in a nearby shed to come out with his hands up. the wounded were taken to two nearby hospitals. >> whenever there is a big lump of patients that might come in we have protocols in the emergency department to respond to that. the nurses have been awesome and the doctors have been awesome. >> reporter: overnight word came that one of the officers has died. a veteran with the ob again police department. agent jared frinkham. he's survived by his wife and two young children.

the gunman was also shot. he remains at a local hospital under 24-hour guard. thanks. now to politics and the gop presidential candidates shifting their focus to new hampshire with that state's primary just five days away. nbc's peter alexander is in se lem where mitt romney is holding a town hall meeting with voters. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning you to. that town hall starts shortly. the campaign staff for rick santorum says for his part he raised more than a million dollars yesterday alone. that is significantly more than santorum has raised in the past several months. and mitt romney is again flexing his organizational and financial muscles with stops here in new hampshire and south carolina today where he'll campaign with the popular governor nikki haley. >> that is the key to america and what made america the greatest country in the history of the world. >> reporter: with just days to go before tuesday's new hampshire primary rick santorum has little time to waste trying to capitalize on his strong showing in iowa. >> we're doing okay right now. and if the people here in new

hampshire give us a shot, my guess is we'll do a lot better. >> reporter: late wednesday in front of an energized crowd mitt romney joked about his eight-vote victory. >> fresh from that huge landslide victory in iowa. >> reporter: trying to translate that narrow win into new momentum. >> talk about a squeaker. talk about a squeaker. do you think we can do a little better here in new hampshire? maybe. yeah, yeah! >> reporter: romney proudly highlighted the endorsement of john mccain with whom he was locked in a bitter fight four years ago. but mccain told nbc's chuck todd that's history. >> these things when you're dealing with grown-ups you understand a great deal and you move on. >> reporter: meanwhile former utah governor jon huntsman dismissed both the iowa results and the gop front-runner. >> you can get all the doles and all the mccains in the world as romney probably will, but in the end, nobody cares. >> reporter: newt gingrich is already stepping up his battle following a disappointing fourth place iowa finish. the former house speaker welcomed romney to the granite state with his full page ad, contrasting himself to the former massachusetts governor.

>> there is an enormous difference between somebody who has spent their entire career as a reagan conservative and somebody who has spent their entire career as a massachusetts moderate. >> reporter: the only woman in the race, michele bachmann, won't make the trip here. wednesday, following her sixth place finish in iowa, she dropped out. >> i didn't try to spin you. i listened to the people of iowa and all across america and they agree that president obama and his socialist policies must be stopped. >> reporter: but for her former rivals, the campaign goes on. despite long days and little sleep. >> and we'll see you on the 10th of july -- or june -- january! get out and vote! >> reporter: and rick perry said after the iowa caucuses that he would head home to texas and decide whether to reassess his campaign. he has apparently done that and said he is staying put. surprising even members of his own staff.

ann, it's significant because it could actually, according to analysts, help mitt romney if it continues to divide the conservative wing of the republican field. >> all right. peter alexander. thank you so much for your reporting this morning. let's bring in nbc's david gregory, moderator, of course, of "meet the press," and chuck todd who is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent in manchester, new hampshire, this morning. good morning to both of you. >> good morning, ann. >> four years ago rick santorum endorses mitt romney over john mccain and we all know what they say about payback. but does a mccain endorsement really help mitt romney in the race for the conservative vote? david, you want to take that? >> well, look. he is an establishment favorite in new hampshire. he's won it twice. this is mitt romney who's already got a lead trying to spike the football a little bit early here and build some momentum. he is a front-runner, but he comes out of iowa still pretty fragile. santorum is doing well. perry is still in the race. gingrich is at least trying to build that resurgency in new

hampshire, so he's got to actually demonstrate that he can win and win big in new hampshire. >> and dealing with of course the accusation that is still lingering, haunting him that he is a flip flopper. in fact, that was something that mccain called him when he was running up against him. there's an interesting take on this by nick kristof "new york times" in the this morning. he writes until the republican primary sucked him into its vortex, he was a pragmatist and a policy wonk rather similar to bill clinton and president obama. chuck, what do you think about this idea the more interesting battle may be romney versus romney? >> well, that is obviously what the conservatives in this race are trying to create. and the obama campaign is hoping that a newt gingrich or a rick santorum uses this line of attack against mitt romney because they believe it's his biggest vulnerability. the republicans trying to make the case he's not really conservative. and the obama campaign trying to make the case that he doesn't have a core, that he's not a center politician. so it is ultimately we're going to find out if mitt romney does come under sustained attack, and

remember, while he's been the front-runner for a year, there has not been a sustained attack on him. for the last six months all of these other candidates have been attacking each other. they've all been fighting inside this conservative primary. this is the first week where you're really seeing the entire field that's left focusing all their fire on mitt romney. and it'll be interesting to see, what does he look like? what kind of shape is he in? i think we'll know after south carolina. because in the next, i'd say, two weeks, it'll be pretty sustained. what does he look like after that? we'll know if he's got what it takes to go all the way. >> one of the candidates who perhaps has not faced as much attack as the others is rick santorum because he kind of escaped under the radar there from it. but now after a strong second place showing in iowa, he's about to face the meat grinder of tough scrutiny for the first time. so is he going to have to change his conservative message as he's looking into -- looking into new hampshire, which is a much less conservative state?

david? >> well, he is going to be under a very intense scrutiny by the other candidates. we'll see what mitt romney does and how much of a threat he feels that santorum really is. but i think it's significant that texas governor perry has decided to stay in the race. he'll go and debate in new hampshire but he really wants to set up shop in south carolina and he's going to target santorum. he already did that in iowa over pork barrel spending. you could go back about apparent contradictions between small government conservatism and some of his activism. some of his attempts to moderate his positions. i'm talking about santorum here when he was running for re-election in pennsylvania in 2006. all of this is going to be on the table and santorum has not gotten a hard look, not by the media and certainly not by the other candidates. >> that certainly is about to begin. what a story this has been already so far. thanks so much for bringing us your perspective. >> thanks, ann. >> all right. let's get a check of some of the other top stories of the morning. natalie morales is standing by at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. a major wave of violence across

iraq this morning as explosions rocked shy yit areas in the south killing 38 people and injuring dozens of others. in baghdad bombings killed at least 29 others as violence there intensified following the u.s. troop withdrawal last month. the president is introducing a new summer jobs initiative for kids this morning as he pushing the private sector to help create employment opportunities for young people, helping them learn skills and work ethic. president obama has republicans fired up. on wednesday he appointed a new consumer protection bureau head and three labor board members during the congressional recess, sidestepping senate approval. a widowed oklahoma mother will not face charges for shooting and killing an intruder at her house. 18-year-old sarah mckinley heard two men trying to break into her home on new year's eve. she grabbed her phone, her 3-month-old son, and a shotgun and before she opened fire she asked the 911 dispatcher for permission. >> i've got two guns in my hand. is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?

>> you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself. i can't tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby. >> she did shoot and she killed one of the intruders. the other turned himself in and faces first-degree murder charges in the death. mckinley's husband meanwhile died of cancer on christmas day. she believes the intruders may have been after his prescription pain killers. mckinley said she did what any mother in her situation would do. a prison fight in northern mexico left 31 inmates dead overnight. the prisoners used makeshift knives in the brawl that left another 13 people wounded. an eighth grader shot dead by police in texas was aiming at -- a pel let gun at officers. police say the pelle terks gun looked like a real weapon and that they gave 15-year-old jamie

gonzalez, quote, plenty of opportunities to lower the weapon but that he would not. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's mary thompson is at the new york stock exchange. mary, good morning to you. >> good morning, natalie. investors watching developments in the euro zone today as well as december sales figures released by the nation's retailers. this as "the wall street journal" reports an american icon could be headed for bankruptcy. the paper says if eastman kodak doesn't raise needed funds it could file for chapter 11. in what should be recording artists' ears, it is reported that for the first time since 2004 album sales increased last year helped by digital downloads of adele's grammy winning disk. overall sales were up 6%. >> do love adele. good thing she is boosting the industry. thanks so much. and an amazing sight from california. take a look. there was a pod of orcas. they swam right up to a whale watching boat putting on a show there. killer whales are extremely rare in this area. they put on that show as they rolled and interacted with people on the boat. talk about getting your money's worth there. it is 7:13. let's turn it over to ann, carl, and al. what a sight.

>> i know. >> scary too. >> i love that whale in "free willy." he was terrific. >> yes. >> his stunt double is even more impressive. we've got al roker here with a check of the weather. >> all right. thanks so much, ann. as we check it oa is t'pretty quiet day weatherwise. not as lf o snow to talk about, a little lake-effect snow around western new york and upstate ohio. we're also looking at showers in the pacific northwest. temperatures are moderating here in the east and down in florida where we started off with some freeze warnings. look for showers along the coast of texas. we've got wet weather moving into the pacific northwest. record highs from the plains all the way back into nevada. we've got again that lake effect snow and plenty of sunshine around the central and western great lakes. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in you well, we broke temperature records yesterday, and we're on

par to do the same today. 67 in san jose. 63 in san francisco. just about as warm as it was yesterday. ore pe a repeat performance. we hold onto that all throughout the weekend. nice and comfortable with temperatures in the mid-60s. maybe shower activity on tuesday. hope you have a fantastic thursday. we have more good news to share on the recovery of a texas model who walked into a plane's spinning propeller. lauren scruggs has now taken her first public outing since that accident. nbc's janet shamlin is in plano, texas, with more. janet, good morning. >> reporter: carl, good morning to you. you can't blame her for wanting to get out of that rehab center if only for a few hours. and what better mood lifter than retail therapy? but no large shopping malls or even trendy little boutiques for her first outing. we are told she headed directly to her favorite food store. as her mother describes it it was lauren's first adventure since that awful accident just four and a half weeks ago.

word of the 23-year-old model and fashion blogger choose for her first public outing? she went shopping. not for clothing but to the texas-based grocery store known for its natural and organic products -- whole foods. on the blog where cheryl scruggs has been updating lauren's process cheryl writes, we love you, whole foods. we had many complete strangers stop us with tears in their eyes saying they've been praying for lo and for our family. >> hi. i'm lauren scruggs. >> reporter: the field trip not with standing, lauren's recovery hasn't been easy. she lost her left hand in the accident and doctors later had to remove her left eye. she labors through hours of physical therapy every day and as her mom reports she is still in considerable pain. on wednesday cheryl wrote, we've had a few tough days, but things finally smoothed out yesterday. so many are following lauren's story the blog has topped 800,000 hits. well wishers and close friends encouraged by her progress.

>> she is doing phenomenally well. you can't believe it. >> i think she is going to come back stronger. >> her friends and neighbors continue to offer support at events like this fundraiser last week to help pay her medical bills. they believe she'll be back action soon. but what is lauren thinking? lauren told her mom her new life isn't what she would have chosen but she understands that this is what god chose for her and she is excited by the possibilities of using the experience to help others. this is a pretty big step for her and it is likely she'll venture out more in the coming weeks. we've also learned that lauren has been able to reconnect with many of her friends just within the last week but it's her family, mom, dad, and twin sister who have been the constant by her side during this amazing recovery. carl? >> a lot of people thinking about her. thank you very much, janet. in plano, texas. it is 7:17. here is ann. thanks. more of you have taken to our website to express outrage over the intentional destruction of tens of thousands of dollars

worth of designer wedding gowns that happened at a bridal shop in minnesota. nbc's kevin tibbles with the latest is joining us now. good morning. >> reporter: we're all familiar with the phrase, pretty in pink, but in edina, minnesota many are referring to it as a case of shocking pink. instead of a lavish walk down the aisle, these elaborate wedding dresses were destined for the dumpster. >> it was really a terrible sight. >> bridal and formal gowns, some with price tags topping $4,000, were methodically taken, defaced, and tossed in the gowns. -- trash. >> i'm seeing thousands of dollars of gowns being spray painted and thrown in the dumpster. >> reporter: all happening outside this high-end bridal shop in edina, minnesota at priscilla of boston, a chain that was going out of business. many who witnessed the destruction had one question. >> why didn't they donate them to needy people? >> reporter: in response the

company released this statement. priscilla of boston has always donated quality bridal gowns to a variety of charitable causes. we do not, however, donate unsaleable dresses that are damaged, soiled, or in otherwise poor condition. but one retail analyst suggests in the competitive world of high fashion, the dresses may have been destroyed in order to save them. >> for some retailers, they're really concerned with their merchandise getting counterfeited so that is one reason why they would want to go ahead and destroy these items. >> reporter: stunned eyewitnesses say they saw no evidence of damage prior to the spray paint assault. >> it hurt me physically to see that. it was sad. >> some even dumpster dived in an attempt to rescue the designer cast aways pulling dresser, slippers, and mannequins out of the trash. >> that you would just, let's spray paint the dress, give it to somebody who doesn't have the money. >> reporter: in edina maybe pink is the new white but some here are seeing red.

now, late wednesday priscilla of boston's parent company david's bridal issued an apology saying that like many of you we were disheartened by imagery of a small number of unsold bridal gowns being destroyed. we recognize that some of these dresses could possibly have gone to worthy causes. adding that david's bridal has already begun bringing together all of the remaining priscilla of boston gowns to evaluate them and ensure that they are donated to our charitable partners wherever possible. now it sounds like they could use a big gallon of whiteout or maybe pinkout in edina. ann? >> kevin tibbles, thank you so much. maybe some good will come of all this. coming up ahead, nbc news has now confirmed that it is casey anthony speaking out in a new youtube video for the first time since her trial. hear what she has to say. but first this is "today" on nbc. oday" on nbc.

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the duchess of cambridge steps out on her own. we're live with a big announcement she is making today. >> plus we'll introduce you to two guys who catch alligators with their bare hands. why? i don't know. >> because they can. >> first your local news. they ? what makes a touch linger? smooth sensation from nivea. the light lotion with moisture enhancing 24-hour-plus hydra iq. it works with your skin's hydration system to keep your skin smooth all day... all night. ♪ smooth sensation and the essentials collection with hydra iq only from nivea. touch and be touched. aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyyy! [ beatboxing ] ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret.

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has left you nowhere to go. when you've lost interest in everything. when you've had one too many days feeling sad or anxious, aches and pains, fatigue. when it becomes hard to ignore that you need help. that's the day you do something. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away you opr ifder ession worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease

and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. is today your day? talk to your doctor and go to cymbalta.com for a free trial offer. deprsitson hurde. cymbalta can help. good morning to you. it's 7:26. i'm laura garcia-cannon. four men are blind bars in the south bay suspected of downloading and trading child pornography online. silicon valley internet crimes against children task force raided four homes in san jose. they used a new forensic lab that allows them to scour the harddrive. process used to be a lot slower. >> it would sit in a lab for six to nine months before we could search them. it's different for me and my whole team. it's one of the things you just

have to deal with. and you look at the images. you see the videosious and it upsets you. >> in the last two months they also raided home in sonoma, salinas and oakland. let's look at the forecast with christina loren. >> we'll break several temperature records if it all pans out today. and i think it will. temperatures now are running three degrees warmer than we were this time yesterday. take a look at where we're headed in the mid to low 60s. 67 degrees is the forecasted high. 70 in los gatos. 63 in the city by the bay. we'll stay warm and drop off a touch through your friday. looking good all across the weekend. so we have comfortable weather to continue through the weekend. we'll get to the seven-day in in

a moments. first we want to check your drive with mike. >> better news for the peninsula. the accident itself. we had five cars involved northbound 101. it has cleared to the shoulder. then there are incidents reported after that in the area. there may be more accidents from northbound 101. we see the slowing for 92 and 101 through the area. a lot of folks are trying to go west to 280 as an alternate. that's still a good option for you. things are slow in the interchange. show you still slow after the earlier accident cleared in the valley. back to you. >> and for the latest traffic and news updates, check out nbc bay area on facebook. i'll have a local update for you in half an hour. enjoy your thursday morning. up

7:30 now on this thursday morning the 5th day of january, 2012. please say a warm hello to some chilly folks outside in rockefeller plaza. it's not as cold as it was yesterday but it is still chilly. and we'll be going outside to greet everybody pretty soon. meantime, inside i'm ann curry alongside carl quintanilla who is in while matt is on assignment. just ahead how would you feel about catching an alligator with your bare hands? >> you know, i'm good. >> not an experience you crave? >> no. actually in a moment we'll meet two guys who do that for a living. lucky for us they brought along a friend. i think his name is junior if

i'm not mistaken. >> saying hello with that little paw. look at that. isn't it amazing how talented they are. meantime, we'll be talking about kate middleton's life as a member of the royal family entering a new phase today. we'll explain in a live report from buckingham palace. she is about to make an announcement. we begin this half hour with casey anthony speaking out for the first time since being acquitted of murdering her daughter. natalie, good morning. >> good morning. that's right. nbc news has confirmed the video that is now on youtube is in fact the florida mother. it is less than five minutes long and in it casey anthony never mentions her daughter caylee. >> this is my first video diary. >> reporter: call it casey's confessional. >> i don't know whether to look directly at myself or look up or -- a little scary because i hate being on camera. >> reporter: casey anthony seen and heard for the first time since being cleared of killing her young daughter caylee last

summer. in the nearly four and a half-minute video the 25-year-old never directly mentions caylee, her parents, or her high profile murder trial. instead she at times seems at a loss for words taking stock of the dramatic reversal in her young life. >> hu, just a little surreal how much things have changed since july and how many things haven't changed. things are starting to look up and things are starting to change either way. if things stay good and that they only get better. only get better. >> reporter: casey, who says on the video that the recording took place in october, has been hiding since she was released

from prison last july. sporting shorter, blonde locks, casey provides few details about where she is as she serves her probation at an undisclosed florida location. >> i'll still be here at least until february, the end of february. seven months, march, my birthday. it's been a blessing in so many ways. >> reporter: even as casey expresses gratitude, she says she feels lonely. >> and now i am by myself. i'm not bothering the poor dog. you know, but i love. >> reporter: casey admits she is just starting to figure out her new computer and the possibilities it brings. >> i'm extremely excited that i'll be able to skype and obviously keep a veil off, take some pictures, and that i have something that i can finally

call mine. it's been a long time since i've been able to call something mine. >> reporter: casey anthony hoping to rebuild her life one video diary at a time. and in that video casey anthony makes reference to what could be an additional video and tapes out there so could be more to come, carl and ann. i think a lot of people asking why she feels the need to put herself out there in this way. >> a good question. i'm sure we'll find out the answer. >> yeah. >> natalie, thanks. >> sure thing. let's check the weather this morning with al. >> thanks so much. we have a young man. you want to wish your dad a happy birthday? >> yes. >> what's your name? >> cab. >> where's your dad? >> right there. >> right there. happy birthday, dad. >> thank you, al. >> good to see you. let's check it out and show you what's happening for today. afternoon temperatures, well, we are looking at temperatures actually moderating a bit here in the east. we are going to see 20s, 30s, and 40s in the northeast. 30s in the great lakes.

the plains actually warming up into the 50s and 60s. some record-setting temperatures. you can see the record highs working their way into the plains. lake effect snow showers in eastern great lakes, rain moves into the pacific northwest. record highs also central california into central nevada. showers along the texas coast good morning to you. 7:35 now. you cannot beat the sunrise in the city over the bay. beautiful conditions out there. northeast pli clear to start. as a result of the all the sun coming in so early. an offshore flow in the weather pattern. near record warmth in the bay area. warmer today in san jose. likely in miami florida. 62 in fremont. 72 in gilroy. right here in san jose, about 67 degrees. friday and saturday we keep the 60 nz the mix. latest weather. ann? >> thank you. a funeral service is being held today for three young sisters killed in that tragic

christmas morning house fire in stamford, connecticut. nbc's craig melvin has the latest. craig, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. that public funeral will happen here at st. thomas episcopal behind me later this morning. it will be followed by a private ceremony at a nearby cemetery. meanwhile, investigators are still learning more about precisely what happened inside their home on christmas morning. grief-stricken madonna badger left the new york city funeral home with help. along with friends and family she spent wednesday afternoon remembering her three little girls in a private wake. 10-year-old lilly and 7-year-old twins sarah and grace. >> the incredible outpouring of love and compassion that has come from our community and around the world has been amazing and has touched them deeply through this unbearable tragedy. >> reporter: monday a scarf covered badger found help from friends when she returned to the site of the fire for the first time. the 47-year-old ad executive sifted through memories and

later officials revealed heart breaking new details about what they believe caused the blaze. >> there is a huge fire at the house next door to us. the whole house is on fire. it's a major fire and there's three kids and a woman. >> we have the fire department on the way, ma'am. >> please, please come quickly. >> reporter: investigators say badger's friend michael took still smoldering embers out of the fireplace because badger's daughters were afraid they might hurt santa when he dropped down the chimney. the embers were left near an entry way where they ignited the house. the girls' grandparents also died in the fire. the grandfather died trying to help one of the girls get out. he loved santa, too. jonathan had just realized his grand daughters' dream playing st. nick at manhattan's prestigious saks 5th avenue during the holidays. meanwhile, officials are still trying to figure out whether there were any working fire alarms or smoke detectors in the house. the badger family has set up a foundation to remember their

three little girls. to find out more about that foundation and how you can offer your condolences head to today.com. ann? >> thanks for that, craig melvin. we're back right after this. [ monica ] i'm away on a movie shoot

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back now at 7:40 with two guys who use their bare hands to catch one of the oldest predators on earth, alligators. we'll meet the stars of an exciting new reality tv show in one of their cold-blooded friends in a moment but first nbc's kerry sanders has a behind-the-scenes look at the new world of man vs. alligator. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, carl. they were almost wiped out by hunters, but today it's estimated there are more than a million alligators in the state of florida, which means sometimes those alligators get too close to people. but now there are two guys who have made it their mission to protect the alligators from being killed when those alligators get too close to civilization. gator trapping and wrestling is as old in florida as the seminole indians. >> every gator for himself.

>> reporter: but not like this. >> that's paul bedard, a 43-year-old triathlete who can hold his breath under water up to four minutes, enough time to lass oo nuisance gators, too close to civilization. in a back yard pond, fresh water canal, in the family swimming pool. typically in florida gators like these are captured and then harvested. their meat and hides are sold to the highest bidders. but the so-called gator boys say they capture and then protect every wayward intruder they find. >> i've been around gators a long time. not a lot of people do this. >> honestly people think it's a joke when i say this but it is about public safety. >> reporter: paul and the barefooted jimmy swim and capture gators unlike traditional trappers in florida. no fishing lines, no hooks, just their bare hands at times a

rope. and just as often the so-called gator boys don't see but sense where their target has submerged. jimmy's gator fascination began when he was but a toddler. and it took off from there. >> i actually started working with alligators when i was 11 years old. >> reporter: wait a second. your mother let you go near alligators when you were 11? >> she didn't like me too much. >> reporter: jimmy has been bitten seven times. >> i've been bit in the side of this hand, in my pointer middle finger. >> reporter: it takes but a moment's calculation. >> you've been bitten how many times? >> let's not get into that. i don't ask you about your failures. don't ask about mine, okay? >> reporter: paul admits he suffered at least 23 bites. remarkably he still has all of his fingers and toes. >> doesn't really sting as much as you would think. >> reporter: it all looks so easy until you try it. >> all you need. you put that on and you're an alligator expert. >> reporter: dressed and ready to go. ♪ >> whoa. >> reporter: experts at my side.

>> get close to him. >> reporter: my adrenalin is pumping. >> don't think. just go. >> oh! that hurt! ah! >> he's the king. >> how do i get out of here? >> we're going for lunch. we'll be back in about a half hour. >> reporter: hey! >> maybe an hour. >> reporter: did i forget to mention? the gator's jaws were sealed shut with tape before i ever started. okay. so i cheated. but certainly not going to go in the water with these, for good reason. nobody should try this. statistics gathered by the state of florida since 1948 show that there have been 300 plus unprovoked attacks in the state, 22 ending in death. so gators are not something to play around with. carl? >> kerry, i am not messing with you ever again. that was good stuff. nice pushup, too. kerry sanders in homestead, florida. as kerry said they are the stars of animal planet's "gator boys"

and this as 3-year-old american gator named junior. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> i know you've been asked this before but do you have some kind of death wish? >> no. it's just kind of just doing things that we've kind of figured out different ways to do it and it's not like you go in there blindly and jump on them. there is a method to the madness. >> you are a college educated guy from new england. why this line of work? >> just kind of happens. you don't set out to do it. you start working around them and kind of fell in love with them. >> you just don't wake up in a morning and say i want to wrestle an alligator. just something you want to do your whole life. >> talk to me about a couple of the close calls you've had. you've been in instances where you've been under water and charged at. your shorts have gotten caught. >> yes. >> you say you ended up like scrambled eggs. >> yeah. every once in a while you'll get a gator -- usually under water they're passive but once you try to make the attempt to catch him he can -- he'll figure that you're not there for good intentions. >> right. >> and get a little aggressive. i've been in some hairy spots where i've been under roots and

going up for air when a gator attacks you and you get kind of stuck. that's why i wear shorts like that. >> talk to me about some of the shows you put on. that part is entertainment and part to raise money for this cause, right? >> it's called alligator wrestling just doing techniques of working with the alligators and like you said, raise money for our program to buy more nuisance alligators and the way we do that is throwing dangerous stunts and putting our heads in the alligators' mouth, our hands. basically putting ourselves on the line for the enjoyment of the crowd. >> when these animals get large, and they do get large, right, they'll go through thousands of teeth over time. >> absolutely. >> what kind of damage could they do if things reel wint wrowint -- really went wrong? >> crush your neck, break your skull, anything. >> he could take off a finger no problem. >> he is only 3? >> about 4 years old. >> he already has 80 teeth. >> they're born with 80 teeth and die with 80 teeth but they

just get much bigger and stronger as they get older. >> and you'll kiss him? >> yes. >> right now? >> do you want to try? >> no. that's okay. i'm good. thank you. though i would love to hold him really quick. >> underneath the arms. >> just keep the head away. >> at this point i want to keep my head away from his head. >> you don't want to kiss him unless you bought him dinner and told him you love him. >> talk dirty a little bit? >> no. he is only 4. >> don't try this at home. >> yes. if you have gators at your house you're probably all right. >> paul and jimmy, thank you, guys. >> all right. >> all right. >> gator boys premieres on animal planet sunday night. up next, here is a segue, kate's kindness. the new role for the duchess of cambridge right after this. ♪ [ male announcer ] why do we grow quaker oats? because there are mountains to climb. ♪ dreams to be realized. ♪ new worlds to be explored

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for months kate middleton has dazzled at royal events and now the real work begins for the duchess of cambridge. she is about to devote a big portion of her life to charity as the new patron of several

very grateful organizations. we have nbc's michelle koez insky at buckingham palace this morning joining us with details. good morning. >> reporter: hi, ann. yeah. over the last couple months we've seen princess katherine make these low-key, very personal visits to charities that touch her heart. many of them are small. for her to reach out to them unexpectedly they say you can't imagine the difference now her patronage will make in so many lives. and this is the way she will serve her country. it is evident immediately. katherine has a natural way with kindness. in particular with children. >> just like one of a kind. >> reporter: and an art history back when she met her prince kate also holds a place in her heart for art. it's all reflected in the charity she has just chosen as royal patron, the art room, giving kids with major

difficulties a place to gain confidence. >> it's a powerful thing. >> reporter: and kate will be patron of the national portrait gallery wherein will likely hang her portrait one day. she will volunteer with the scouts. >> what an inspiration she is and that is just going to grow and grow. >> reporter: she also chose a children's hospice that princess diana helped open 22 years ago. kate wants an active role helping families like the clemmons who lost a child at only four days old. >> sweet and gentle and kind and you can really feel that when you meet her and you feel comfortable in her presence. >> the palace had been quite careful about keeping kate as a supporting role to prince william. but the announcement of the charities, the solar charities, show that she is going to start a royal career on her own in a way really quite early for her to do so because princess diana

took many years before she stepped out on her own. >> reporter: and another organization katherine chose touches a far more difficult subject. addiction. here kate's support can help more people regain their lives. >> for someone who is globally respected to care is quite extraordinary. i think it's just great that the royal family is stepping forward. >> reporter: it's tough to over state the impact this could have on the charities that might otherwise be invisible during tough times to suddenly being able to raise hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. and what great timing, too. now the princess's job is being announced just before she turns the big three zero. her birthday is monday. >> michelle kosinski, thanks so much. >> very good. coming up the impossible way

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good morning to you. a south bay nurse accused of killing a woman with a machete has her first day in court today. the 40-year-old is charged with killing 65-year-old yvonne kirk. she's being held without bail. she lived with the victim's daughter in san jose's willow glen neighborhood. she told police the girlfriend was on vacation when her mother was killed. so far police have not been able to determine a motive. here's christina loren. determining what to wear could be problematic. it's cold now. by the end of the day we're talking 70s. so we're peeling off layers by noon. 42 in san jose. up to 62 degrees as you break for lunch. rounding out the day with the

upper 60s and even low 70s. we are near record territory yet again today. and we'll hold onto a mild dry pattern all the way to the weekend. if you want to get outdoors, you can do so comfortably. 65 in oakland. and 72 in santa rosa. we're the envy of the nation with really comfortable temperatures. typically you have to fly out of town to enjoy the 70s in february. hazy sunshine friday and saturday. let's check the drive with mike. >> northbound traffic is just mild slowing for thursday. folks still betting back after the new year holidays. but we have a major injury accident in sunnyvale. this is not far from lawrence expressway. so expect congestion on the surface streets. but 101 is looking art. slow in both directions, just like yesterday. still recover prg the earlier accident, san mateo.

all lanes cleared. slow on 101. >> it's 7:57. for the latest traffic and news updates, check out nbc bay area on facebook. dinner? candles?

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4 new flavors, you can lose yourself in. what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. why don't we raise a glass and toast the people who have the privilege of being part of "today" over the next 50 years. cheers. >> yeah. >> nice to see you. we want to thank everyone. >> 8:00 now on a thursday morning. the 5th day of january, 2012, and that is how it looked ten years ago as we gathered to thank all of our hosts and pay a toast to the 50 years of "today." well, my how time has flown because next week we're celebrating our 60th anniversary. you might want to tune in next friday on the 13th of january to see what surprises we have in store this time around.

we'll have more anchors in our studio than the sixth suite. in the meantime, outside here on the plaza i'm ann curry with carl quintanilla and al roker and matt is on assignment this morning. >> that's right. coming up this morning some of the flaws revealed in the s.a.t. test and the a.c.t. test in the wake of the cheating scandal at some provident -- prominent schools here in new york state. the da in the case says a complete overhaul is in order. we'll talk to her in a moment. >> a lot of folks and i'm one of them, you work on dieting, lose the weight, and slowly but surely you get right back or higher than you were. why is that? there is a compilation of studies that have come together that say your body, your own biological may be fighting you. what can you do to fight the body's desire to get and stay at a certain weight? >> good information. also makes us feel better about the weight gain. obviously it is not completely our fault. >> exactly. there is somebody else to blame. >> we need every excuse, anyway. let's go inside to check the

morning's top stories. natalie is standing by with that. >> good morning, ann, carl, and al. good morning, everyone. shifting fortunes on the campaign trail as the republican presidential candidates descend on new hampshire for next tuesday's primary. michele bachmann dropped out of the race wednesday after finishing last in the iowa caucuses but cash strapped rick santorum has raised more than $1 million in contributions since his strong iowa showing. front-runner mitt romney, who barely survived santorum's iowa surge is holding a town hall meeting in new hampshire today boasting his endorsement from arizona senator john mccain. president obama is making a rare appearance in the pentagon's press briefing room today to personally explain how the military will deal with deep budget cuts. although no radical changes are expected a review of u.s. military policy called for more focus on asia and less on europe. officials in san diego now say it was an apparent murder-suicide that left two navy pilots dead on new year's day. they say fighter pilot john

reeves fatally shot fellow pilot david reese and reese's sister along with another man they had just met before killing himself. police say they have not uncovered a motive. for the first time since 2004 album sales in the u.s. were up last year. it's a sign that digital sales are finally stemming losses from the decline of the cd. a major factor was the album 21 from british singer adele which sold nearly 6 million copies. now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian. good morning and thanks. he was a high flying olympic hopeful and a tragic accident left him near death. now two years later kevin pierce is back. his inspiring story for you tonight on "nightly news." for now, back to you. >> look forward to that. thanks, brian. now for a look what is trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. mariah carey's husband is a top search on google. mariah tweeted this visit to nick's hospital room saying please pray for nick as he is fighting to recover from a mild

kidney failure. nothing compares to this. sinead o'connor is burning up twitter with posts about her on again/off again marriage to husband number four. they got married in december then broke up over christmas then got back together this week inspiring a slew of tweets from o'connor that are way too naughty for morning tv. and a red hot story on today.com. a chicago area police officer gave a woman a speeding ticket then tracked her down to ask her on a date. instead of a romantic dinner she slapped him with a lawsuit. more than 5,000 of you have voted on our online poll on today.com. 67% of you thought the officer's behavior was creepy, not cute. it is 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to ann and carl. i guess he is regretting giving that ticket to her. >> all right. thank you. >> you got it. let's get a check of the morning's weather. it's a little warmer than it was yesterday. but it's still cold, al.

>> it is called winter. and we've got some birthdays to warm it up. you're sweet 16. what is your name? >> rachel. >> it's your name every day. >> yeah. >> i'm getting old. can't figure things out. we got more birthdays here. >> hi. it's my 30th. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. >> who is 41? your daughter is 41. >> she didn't get to come. >> how come? >> she's working. >> all right. somebody had to pay for the trip. let's check your weather. see what's happening. memphis, tennessee and wmc-tv 5. sunny, mild, 61 degrees. look at the snow deficits. this year, time of year, buffalo should have 39 inches of snow. they've only had 5. syracuse, last year got 74 inches. this year only 12 1/2. you can see burlington, vermont way below, about half of what they should have. a lot of dry weather. out west we're talking about nothing because we ran out of

time. because we want to show this young lady who turned double digits, what's your name? >> caylee. >> happy birthday. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's no worries, al. i've got the west covered for you. we are going to see a day of near record warmth again. the clear sky, winds coming offshore make for really comfortable conditions. it's still chilly out there. by noon, 43 degrees in san jose up to 62 degrees. 5 in hayward, at noon, up to 62 degrees in the heat of the day, which this time of year usually occurs at about 3:00 p.m. a rain chance, very slight, that will be tuesday. have a an great day. that's your latest weather. carl? >> al, thanks. coming up next fallout from a startling s.a.t. cheating scandal. why one critic says it's time to give the college entrance exam process a complete overhaul. right after this. ♪ [ woman ] we didn't know where to go next with eric's adhd.

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back now at 8:09 with calls for change in the wake of that s.a.t. cheating scandal that's rocked some of the nation's top high schools. nbc's education correspondent is joining us now with the latest on the story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. we first brought you the story back in september when investigators uncovered that elaborate scandal but now a top official says the system is still broken and the whole thing could easily happen again. teenagers under arrest accused in a high stakes, high dollar cheating scandal. investigators say some paid thousands of dollars to have someone else take their s.a.t. or a.c.t. exam. >> all it takes is a simple, home made fake i.d. to take the a.c.t.s or the s.a.t. for

someone else. >> reporter: that is exactly how it happened according to one of the accused cheaters. 19-year-old sam admits he got paid as much as $2500 to take exams for whoever was willing to pay. he recently shared his story on "60 minutes." >> i took the template from my high school i.d., pasted my picture on top of it, and whatever person's name whose test i was taking i would have their name and date of birth on it. it was really as easy as that. >> reporter: he says he did it at least 16 times without a problem. last year administrators at great neck north high school in upscale long island noticed irregularities in test scores. investigators caught up with him and the student accused of hiring him. their arrests led to a larger probe and even more teens in handcuffs. >> what's your best score? >> reporter: nassau county's district attorney says the system needs a complete overhaul.

>> our office has exposed a gaping hole in standardized test security and most troubling the total absence of consequences for those caught cheating. >> reporter: the s.a.t. is administered by a company called educational testing service. the company says new york state law prevents them from telling schools about cases of suspected cheating. in a statement to nbc news the company said we will continue to evaluate and implement test security enhancements that protect the integrity of s.a.t. scores. while not discouraging any student or group of students from pursuing their college dreams. the company says they're already making changes, including additional web training for test center prosecutctors and more analysis of test scores before they're reported. attorneys for sam say he recently accepted a plea deal including community service. three of the other students pled not guilty to charges of

scheming to defraud, falsifying business records, and criminal impersonation. ann? >> all right. thank you so much. the district attorney for nassau county, new york, is now joining us. good morning. >> good morning. >> you've uncovered a flaw in a system everyone thought had integrity. the question is how much of this is going on? this is just one isolated case? >> our investigation shows that this was a problem that was far more systemic than just happening in nassau county in long island. what we uncovered that was most disturbing is that there is absolutely no security procedure in the administration of both the a.c.t.s and s.a.t.s so what we have is honest kids who are studying hard and playing by the rules taking a back seat to the cheaters. >> so you're saying that their places are basically being stolen by the people who are able to get into these colleges based on these false scores. >> based on fraudulent scores. it is harder to get into schools than ever before and scholarship money is even harder and tougher

to get. these are real consequences. these are long-term consequences for the vast majority of kids who play by the rules. and what we're teaching our young kids is that cheating does in fact pay. >> let's think about this for a second before we go thinking about changing a system. are we looking at just a few hundred cases, a couple cases? are we looking at even more? >> i think it's fair to say and if you speak to the people who administer the s.a.t.s and a.c.t.s they will tell you they have uncovered thousands of instances of criminal impersonation over the years, over many years but even one case jeopardizes the integrity of the test and so much lies on how you do on the a.c.t.s and s.a.t.s in terms of what school you go to and what your future is. we have to change the system. >> we just heard that the testing system itself is talking about changes. we just heard that from the report. does that go far enough? what do you think has to happen? >> i think very simple things like requiring that each person who shows up to take the college entrance exam has a photograph taken of them at that time.

that they are required to say what high school they go to. that the photograph and the test results can be sent back to the high school so there can be a check to make sure that the person who showed up to take the test is who they said they were. these are easy fixes for organizations that take in hundreds of millions of dollars every year. i believe that it is incumbent upon them to make these reforms so there can be some integrity. >> if these are easy fixes then why is there resistance? why is this change not already easily made? >> it is. there is very little regulation in this area which i have discovered during this investigation. these are always investigations that have been done inhouse so to speak until i got involved and we arrested these people. until then there was no way to hold their feet to the fire and say if you want to keep existing, if you want the s.a.t.s and a.c.t.s to mean something you have to institute these changes. i'm confident that they will. but we need to say in the strongest terms if you're going

to dictate what a child's future potential is in school, then there has to be integrity in the testing process. because right now there is no level playing field. honest kids are taking a back seat to cheaters and they're letting it happen. >> we've only heard about the person who is the test taker in this particular case. >> right. >> you can't even reveal the names of those people who paid for, allegedly paid for his services. >> right. >> and the schools can't know based on what we just heard from the report who these people are. the school may know -- >> that's what exists right now. that is another thing that i'm going to insist on reforming. because there is no legal impediment to the tests to prevent them from informing the colleges when there are instances of confirmed cheating. so that's something we need to strengthen as well so that colleges that are thinking about admitting kids can know whether or not they've been accused of

and have been proven to have been cheated on the college entrance exam. that's another way to level the playing field. >> all right. some valuable perspective this morning. it affects every family. thanks so much this morning. >> thank you. coming up next, do you have to be super human to lose weight? the new science behind shedding pounds and keeping them off. that's right afterhis. t t [ other merv ] welcome back to the cleaning games.

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jennifer hudson is just a fraction of her former self. if you can't seem to keep the pounds off, you're not alone. and new research can be disheartening. scientists now say your own body could be fighting against keeping weight off. >> it's definitely a struggle. you're going to have cravings. you're going to want those foods your body shouldn't have. >> reporter: an australian study published in "the new england journal of medicine" recently found men and women who dieted became metabolically different. their bodies produced the hunger hormone and less leptin which increases metabolism and the hormone changes remained long after diets were abandoned. this actress believes it. she's been staying at "the biggest loser" resort and is finding some success but at a price. >> everything will work for a day or two or a week or you'll lose your two pounds like you're supposed to but then to keep it off you can't live by those rules forever. >> reporter: living by the rules

forever may be your bet best for long-term success. janice has always struggled with her weight. >> at my highest weight i weighed 330 and my lowest weight 165 which i was really pleased with. >> reporter: how have she and her husband kept most of it off for the past five years? >> one of the things i do realize is that my body would be fat if i allowed it to be. >> reporter: so she doesn't. she weighs herself every morning, weighs her food. >> 4.35. >> reporter: and then she writes it down consistently. >> whether you like the number or not you record it. >> reporter: she is just as serious about exercise. 100 to 120 minutes a day, six or seven days a week. she says there is no room for error. >> all i have to do is slack off for a couple of days and i can pop on three or four pounds just like that. >> reporter: she admits staying disciplined isn't easy but for her it's the only choice.

>> let's go running. >> reporter: for today, kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor and our leading nutritionist. it's a little discouraging. >> not just discouraging. it's real. there are the metabolic parts of your body that want to sabotage this. it goes back to the survival mode. your body wants to save you. you have to fight that. it can be overcome. i went to one point in my life to 50 pounds heavier than i am now. i didn't do it by going on a diet. i did it by changing my life. so, yeah, those demons are there and the sabotage is there. you have to figure out how to overcome them. >> you make the point if you have two people who weigh 150 and one of them has just lost 50 pounds they're going to have to get by on fewer calories than the person who weighed 150 to begin with. >> you have to get by on fewer calories and as you get older

your calorie expenditure will change too. we know from studies that genes play roles. there are ways to trick it but you have to be smart. it is an every day job. >> where does exercise come into the mix? >> exercise is key to specifically maintaining your weight loss and it makes perfect sense because exercise burns calories. so it gives you a little bit of wiggle room with your food choices and it also boosts your mood and it makes you feel empowered so you make smart, healthy food choices throughout the day. >> we saw a few of the things that young lady did tracking her food, weighing her food. but you've got other tips as well. part of that is just tracking your daily diet regularly, right? >> right. it sounds tedious and semiobsessive but it works. >> you know what? writing things down, there is nothing as important. >> it makes you accountable. >> yes. >> when you just have it loosely in your head you're not always -- >> you don't remember. >> -- right ontrack. so in the head down on paper and you're much more accountable. >> you saw walked about an hour a day. >> yes. a successful loser tends to walk about an hour a day and the good

news is it doesn't have to be continuous. you could break it up throughout the day. walking is easy on the joints. it's convenient. it's inexpensive. you could build up to it. >> if you look back a generation our mothers were not fat. why? because they had a baby on one hand and a vacuum cleaner in the other. >> constantly moving. >> they were moving, going to the gym. they were moving. and we have become a nation that thinks you have to be on a treadmill or a stair climber or you have to pay a gym. we have to go back to the basics in this country. we're going to die of obese tain cancer will kill us because we're fat. but we have to go back to the basics. if you can't say, you know, find two hours a day use the steps and not the elevator. there are tricks that are common. >> really quickly, there is good news on today.com. people who are actually making this work. >> yes. and the sooner you get the weight off the better. you can go to our website, today.com, and get effective, manageable tips that will knock the weight off and help you keep it off. >> you can't go wrong with to h. first your local news.

cutrufelli. good morning to you. 8:26 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. another round of arrests at oakland's frank ogawa plaza. police took demonstrator into custody last night. but they say it's not going to change anything. >> we're not going anywhere. the country is not working right now. a lot of us voted for obama and it's a corrupt, broken system. we're trying to fix it nonviolently. >> the raid comes after a dispute between the city and protesters over a teepee vigil. the city revoked a permit for the teepee and told them to take it down. they say protests violated many

of the permit's conditions. here's mike. >> we'll take you back to the peninsula where we still have more slowing. it gets worse and worse northbound to 101 still drags out of redwood city up through san pla teo. the southbound buildup out of san bruno and heading in towards redwood city where both directions of 101 slow north out of mountain view up to about willow. the bay bridge toll plaza, no major problems. back to you. >> hardly anyone out there. for the latest traffic and news updates check out nbc bay area on facebook. another update for you in half hour. ring, ring.

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okay. is there a woman i can talk to? [ female announcer ] tell your story at progressosoup.com for the chance to win an ultimate makeover in hollywood. 8:30 now on this thursday morning the 5th day of january, 2012. it's a slightly warmer start this morning here in rockefeller plaza but it is still pretty chilly. i'm not going to complain because i would be told by al roker that it's called winter. but luckily, our enthusiastic crowd doesn't seem to mind this morning. meantime, i'm ann curry

alongside carl quintanilla in for gnat, natalie morales and alsoat forementioned al roker. >> if we huddle together we get warmer. >> you want a hug? bring it on here. just ahead we'll be talking about how to help your college student land a job after graduation. and the one way to do that is to find out about encouraging him or her to have internships and as an internship queen she has apparently had 15 internships over the course of her four years in college and so she is going to be answering your questions to parents and also college students. anyway, what else do we have coming up? >> also if you're looking to get fit in 2012 we'll check out some of the latest high tech gadgets that actually help you with your weight loss regimen, whatever it is. >> wow. >> including my favorite, a machine that can track which songs motivate you the most. actually learns over time. >> what is it? monitors your heart rate? >> yes.

>> i tell you over and over again working out. >> exactly. >> if you're trying to get fit probably these recipes aren't the best thing for you since the lighter ones have butter, cream, and bacon. however, paula deen's son bobby is putting a leaner, lighter spin on some of his mom's favorite southern recipes. we'll get caught up on those. and today's professionals are back. they are raring to go in the new year talking about everything from celebrity marriages and breakups to a woman who didn't know she was pregnant until she gave birth in her own bathroom. >> what? okay. >> you hear the stories. >> in the meantime let's get to the bottom of this weather. is that right? it says 39. that has to be wrong. our temperature reader is still broken. i am complaining now publicly on national television. we have to fix that thing. >> my stomach is bothering me. oh, no. i'm pregnant. wait a minute. >> not funny.

>> let's see what's going on. we'll show you first of all for today rain in the pacific northwest with some windy conditions. record highs in the plains. all the way back into the central california area. look for some snow around the eastern great lakes. tomorrow sunny but cool in the northeast. mild through the gulf coast. rain moves into the pacific northwest. look for flurries from the central great lakes into the hi, good morning to you. a nice clear start over the city of oakland. we have a little bit of haze out there. moderate air quality reported all across the bay area. today, another gorgeous day with temperatures in the 70s. 70 degrees in los gatos, 67 for san jose and 67 degreeses in fremont. up in santa rosa and potentially napa, 70 degrees. tomorrow, we'll drop off to 64 by saturday. but lots of sunshine all weekend long. can check your weather any time of the day

or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. now let's head to washington, d.c. and say hello to our favorite, uncle willy scott. hello, willy. >> ah, the sweet smell of new year's. mardi gras, valentine's day, easter. happy birthday to smucker's. have a jar of that this week. love it. lucy coppola is from hamburg, new york. a hundred years old. enjoys reading and baking. but not at the same time. and we have joseph soukup, of emerson, new jersey. you won't believe it. anyway, a proud ww ii vet and loves to read and run. how about that? again, not at the same time. rita engeian of jamaica plains,

massachusetts loves to braid her hair. that's pretty. always liked braided hair. gives her longevity to eating vitamins. oh, boy. emily ryll from loudoun, tennessee. is a hundred years old and a fantastic cook and baker. best blueberry pie in the world. i'll bet she can. john caldwell, springfield, virginia. right over there, our neighbor. loves the washington redskins and the nationals. he is a patriot and sports fan. and we have ethel poitier of new york, new york 103 years old today and enjoys traveling, loves her family very much. and finally, we have rose sande of naples, florida. a hundred years old. likes to read and also being around her family and friends. that's it. that's all.

now back to new york. gets better every year. >> thanks. up next how to give your college student a head start on landing a job. the so-called intern queen answers your questions. but first this is "today" on nbc.

♪ back now at 8:38 with anex expert at internships. lauren has completed 15 of them during her four years in college. she calls herself the intern queen and now is sharing her expertise in the new book "all work no pay." good morning. >> good morning. >> did you not do 15 internships in four years. >> 15 internships. hence the title intern queen. >> including one year at nbc. but what caused -- what was the benefit? what was the good thing that came out of so many internships? >> i started doing internships very early, earlier than all my peers, and i did my first internship this spring semester of my freshman year of college

and i was addicted. i mean, it was the first time i was in a real professional environment and with every opportunity learned so much more about what i wanted to do with my life. personally and professionally. >> so you're saying bottom line because you are really an expert, you would know they are useful even if they have you go get the coffee every five minutes. >> i think in terms of some of the most valuable experiences i had in college and you know i see it every day in young people that are graduating college. they started with an internship and because of that internship, they're able to land a job. >> a lot of us who are listening to our parents, you know, how do we motivate our kids to get internships? sometimes have you to sit on them, like shake them. >> this is kind of becoming full circle because i first heard about internships when my mom saw a segment on "the "today" show" in 2002 about internships. >> by the way, i think mom ness the studio here. are you mom over there? mom is over there. ah ha. it's your fault. so you saw the "today" show. there we go. okay. all right. that's good to know. let's get to some questions

because there are a lot of college students who obviously need to talk to you and find out advice from you. we have caroline who is at colgate university and joins us via skype. what is your question? >> hi there. i had a question regarding cover letters. first off i was wondering how you can personalize it and be a good candidate when you don't know much about the profession and company because you haven't yet had exposure to it and furthermore if you are applying to more than one internship how do you recommend keeping it personalized and specific? >> all right. we're going to rewind a second. we're never going to apply for an internship blindly. we're only going to apply for internships when we've been to the company website, read the mission statement, executive bios. you want to know what you're applying for. it is very important to take the time. it takes a while but sit down and personally customize every single cover letter for the position you are applying for. one of the biggest mistakes students make is they stay up until 3:00 in the morning, write a hundred of the same cover letters, they send it to a

hundred companies, and the employers know. they know a generic cover letter. so customize your cover letters and do the research first. >> caroline, good luck to you. i hope you get a good internship. we have an e-mail out from mike who is in los angeles. he writes, what is your advice for keeping in touch with your internship bosses once you've completed the internship? >> three times per year. i chant this to students. three times per year you're going to stay in touch with your professional contacts. so this means e-mailing them, stay in touch, staying in touch. you want to build a below the surface relationship, a real relationship with these people. you want them to remember you so that when you're looking for a job you call them up and you say, hey. it's time. can you help me? >> we'll go back to skype now with tara who graduated from the university of portland in 2010. tara, what's your question? >> good morning. i just wanted to know, what are your thoughts on internships for recent college graduates especially those struggling to find a full-time job? >> this as great question because there are so many in

this economy who are struggling to find jobs. it is possible to get an internship after you graduate isn't it? >> it is possible. however, if you've had internship experience, i do encourage you to look for that job. just like you would look for an internship. stay organized. job opportunities are out there. however, if you've graduated, you didn't get the internship experience under your belt. you really feel it would pay off, go after an internship, look for a boutique company. they often promote internships to our recent fwranlgts. >> what do you mean, like smaller companies? >> smaller companies, right. the bigger companies often have policies where the students must be enrolled in a four-year university in order to -- >> how do you find a boutique company that's -- >> you can go to intern queen.com is my bet. we have a ton of internships. off the top of my head, tom's shoes has, it as company everyone wants to work for. they have a great program. they cater to recent grads. fresh & easy supermarkets cater to recent grads. there are opportunities out there. look online. go to your career center.

get that internship. >> tara, good luck to you. and now we've also got an e-mail question from heather in columbia, missouri. she e-mails, what do you think about internships outside your college major? i am a psychology and business major, but i would love to do a writing internship for a magazine or a pr internship. >> don't feel restricted by your major. go after what you want. >> yes. of course. that's the bottom line. >> go after what you want. but you know you need to tie your cover letter, you need to tie it all together for the employer. you need to say, why does your academic, professional experience make you the best person for this job? make sure you say in the cover letter, yes i'm an art history major but i'd like the p.r. job because of these reasons. tie it together for that employer. >> and write that cover letter personally. all right. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> and the book once again is called "all work and no pay." coming up next high tech gadgets

to help you get in shape in 2012. but first -- this is onod" ay nb ldhoc.n! dinner? candles?

i wanted it to be special. oh, what's this? it's progresso's new loaded potato with bacon. mmm, it's good. honey, i love you and... oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. yeah but honey, i love you and... is that what i think it is...it is... it's bacon. honey look. [ male announcer ] progresso rich and hearty... 4 new flavors, you can lose yourself in. what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ male announcer ] get ready for some deli-style delic-ious-ity: the subway big hot pastrami melt. dive into piled-high pastrami, spicy mustard, pickles

and melt-a-licious cheese. treat your taste buds to a fresh toasted subway big hot pastrami melt. subway. eat fresh. back at 8:45 this morning on "today" tech fitness gear and gadgets. a lot of you probably made a resolution to exercise more in 2012 and if you need added motivation today's digital tech editor mario armstrong has found a few gadgets to help get you going. good morning. happy new year. >> thanks. same to you. >> we're talking about technology. how much of this stuff is something that someone who is not a tech geek could use? >> that is a great question. it's not about the tech. you heard it earlier. get back to basics. this technology is simpler to use these days. we're carrying devices. we're used to downloading apps, connecting to the internet. a lot of this stuff is already happening. these devices are making it a little simpler and helping you track your progress better. >> right. >> so you want to figure out how to use tech because that is the way you can measure over time what progress or what lack of

progress you really have. >> one thing you want to weigh is yourself. >> that's right. all the time. >> so scales have gotten very smart. >> they have. this is a smart scale. this is a wi-fi connected scale. so basically you stand on the scale. you can then connect this to any device -- smart phone, computer. it then will capture that information and give you the readout right here. what is really cool is you can use this for up to eight family members so it knows the different family members already and then you can share the phone with your doctor, personal trainer, all of those things to really -- >> and sort of where you are. >> as a chart. >> interesting. what's next? >> what is next is the arm band. this is great for people that are on the go and maybe not really fitness buffs but want to know how many calories they're burning. maybe there are moms out there carrying babies. what this does is follow your every day movements and track all your physical activities. so i don't care if you're doing groceries, lawn work, or actually working out or picking the baby up out of the car it will track all that information and then show you here how much calories you've actually burned,

how much physical activity you actually have and can track all of that information. >> this has been clinically proven in some way to work? >> that's what they say. i'm not a doctor. i can't stand beside that but they do say it is three times better. you get better performance three times more so than if someone didn't use it. it's made by body media fit. >> interesting. you have a pair of sunglasses here. >> yes. >> with a very interesting accessory on the side. >> they aren't your average sunglasses. these are called sport eyes. what you see right here, i want you to focus on the little l.e.d. lights. this is the actual device. you can attach it to any pair of glasses. the idea is when you're working out and training if you're looking down at your handle bars or if you're looking down at your device to kind of see if you're at your right heart rate air taking your eyes off the road, off the actual activity. >> sure. >> this shows you exactly what level you're at and if you're on point with that level staying right within your eye view. so you don't have to, you know, look down. >> right. >> and look away. >> running out of excuses to slack off. what about these?

this is for swimming under water? >> that's this one. that's next. this is motorola moto active. i've been testing this out for the last day and a half. this is great. the watch has so many features but i think the best thing i like about it is not only is it a watch. you can also attach it to your bike, your clothing. i just happen to have it in this wrist band here and you can see that it's been tracking all of my walking around. here we go. i'll pull it up right here. it's been tracking all of my walking. i want you to see real quick how cool this is because what i can also do super fast, see if i can pull it up, is actually show you the map of where i've been -- i can see calories burned, how many steps i've taken. where is the map? >> looks like a gps. >> but it's a gps and a smart mp3 player all in one device. >> this will connect to the music and see what songs you ran fastest to and learned. >> and learn what songs really pump you up. that's really smart. there is the gps map right

there. i was walking up and down fifth avenue quite a bit. >> this is for listening to music when you're swimming? >> yes. this is great for swimmers. the biggest problem with swimmer is that their ear buds fall out. these aren't actually ear buds but speakers and they are swim mp3 speakers that actually go right to your bones or your temple and you actually hear the noise, the music from bone inductions. pretty cool how this works. >> i know you like this treadmill for a number of reasons. >> yes. love this treadmill. this is the live strong treadmill. this thing is $1199 but has so many high tech features. it has a fan built in, speakers you can put in your ipod, mp3 player. 14% incline so if you really want to get steep, 12 miles per hour, and last but not least, the cool thing is it's long so a lot of tread mills are short. if you are a jogger or a real runner, you have long strides, this is five inches longer than the average. >> do you mind if i turn this up? >> let's go for it.

>> mario, thank you very much. when we come back, a healthier spin on paula deen's recipes. you'll need it after this. first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's kitchen" what's for dinner? something healthy in the new

cooking channel show "not my mama's meals." paula deen's son bobby transforms his mom's southern comfort food into lighter, leaner dishes. bobby deen, good morning to you. >> good morning. how are you? nice to see you. >> doing all right. how is it you didn't get your ma mama's everything is better with butter genes? >> goi got it but when i turned0 years old i wanted to take on exercise. i found myself working 15, 16 hours a day and maybe carrying 20 pounds too much so i started to work out and it really began to change the way that i ate and my relationship with food. but i love it. i'm not turning my back on it. just trying to lighten things um very simply. >> and it shows actually because, okay. ouch. you know, there is also a thing, i'm wondering, we know mama loves her boy. >> yes. >> what does she say about your changing, messing with her recipes like you do? >> you know what? she is happy about it because in the end i am her son so she is happy for me to be exercising and living a healthy lifestyle

and she loves it. you know, she takes it. she likes it and then she goes on and does her own. >> all right. we'll have some shrimp and grits today. >> what we're doing is we love to do shrimp and grits in the south around charleston, havana. this is a dish that you find a lot in lots of restaurants. and we use grits, which are wonderful, but we cook them real long and real low and slow with a lot of butter and heavy cream and they're delicious. but we're going to cut that fat out by today using a pawlenta instead of that. in new orleans you'd call this the holy trinity. this is your onions, peppers, garlic. we've got that going. to that we'll add, let's see, some white wine. add the tomatoes. there is going to be one of those dishes where you can't go wrong. you can add them in any order. >> what's this? >> yogurt, one of my favorite new ingredients. >> i could live on this. the zero fat and it still tastes creamy. >> it'll replace heavy cream. it'll replace sour cream. it'll replace all sorts of things. put that on a baked potato.

delicious. >> kind of i guess you make your, you know, you make this with something creamy and yogurty. >> and it has cultures that aid in digestion so wonderful things going for it. >> thank you for adding that. >> this is going to be a little bit of hot sauce of your choice. and to that we'll add canadian bacon. if you see that. >> canadian bacon is this one? >> well, this is what it looks like before we dice it up. but it comes from the leanest part of the pig. so there's not a whole lot of fat in this. >> that's terrific. all right. okay. >> here we go. in with that. and the pawlenta i have going over here. >> you already have the shrimp in there. >> i'm hoping -- we have one ready but i'm hoping to actually use this. pawlenta and grits are really similar in that they're both from corn meal. hey y'all. >> hello. >> they're both sort of a blank palate to start with. you have to add the butter and cream to grits to get flavor but with the pawlenta have you a

naturally nutty flavor. i have it going and just going to toast it a little bit and bring out the nutty flavors. we'll turn it up a little bit and then add the water. got some hot water here. we'll get the pawlenta going. >> and there isn't a faster version of pawlenta. >> just like grits. >> in 20 seconds? >> no. the good news is -- >> this one is done. you thought ahead. >> the good news it is's done if we only have 20 seconds. >> we actually have five. g'rwe toieng eat reallyyyyyyyo. bobby y y y y y y y y y y y enh. :56 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. santa fe city leaders have been arguing over pension reform for months and now members are talking about cutting their own retirement packages. mayor chuck reed and city council members have agreed to consider terminating their pension plans. the cost of funding city

employee pensions has more than tripled in the past ten years. let's check the forecast, christina loren. >> those temperatures are rising. we are on par to break records yet again with 70 in january. 67 in san jose and 63 degrees even in san francisco. feeling that brief warmup. as of tomorrow, just a touch cooler. we'll hold onto the 60s. nice and dry weekend ahead as well.

welcome back to "today" on this thursday morning, the 5th day of january, 2011. a nice morning in rockefeller plaza. yes it's cold but not as cold as it has been earlier in the week. we're happy for that. and we're happy with such a nice crowd out here at the plaza joining us this morning. and i'm ann curry alongside carl quintanilla. we have al roker and also savannah guthrie is back. thanks for being here. matt is on assignment. coming up we'll be talking about today's professionals. >> we have a lot of topics including the new video on youtube with casey anthony in some kind of video diary.

we'll talk to our panel. she never mentions other little daughter caylee. a very interesting story, a cop pulls over a woman for a speeding ticket then later tracks her down to try to get a date. guess what? she is suing. was it cute or was it creepy? did it cross the line? we'll ask our panel. they are assembled. >> they're ready and chomping at the bit. oh, my gosh. we better go quickly. what else? >> of course one of the most popular resolutions every year is to either go on a diet or give up something that's bad for you. well, joy bauer in our diet s.o.s. will answer your questions and give you easy tips to keep you motivated as we get into the new year on diet s.o.s. >> okay. >> we'll help you clean up your skin by clearing up some popular myths about aknecne. not a problem for teenagers, not caused by dirt. we have the facts. >> a lot of people get acne as they get older. that is something to look forward to. >> great. meantime, we now look forward to going inside and talking to natalie with a check

of the morning's top stories. good morning once again and good morning everyone. it's off to new hampshire now for the slightly shrunk enfield of gop presidential candidates. after her disappointing sixth place finish in iowa michele bachmann has called it quits on her run for the white house. meantime texas governor rick perry has decided to stay in the race after all. he returned to the lone star state to re-assess after finishing in fifth place in iowa. this as rick santorum is defending his support of earmarks and iowa caucus winner mitt romney is pushing ahead hoping a victory in new hampshire could solidify his front-runner status. a major wave of violence across iraq this morning as explosions rock shiite areas in the south killing at least 38 people and injuring dozens of others. in baghdad bombings killed at least 29 others as violence there intensifies following the u.s. troop withdrawal last month. six police officers were shot late wednesday night in ogden, utah as they attempted to serve a drug-related search warrant. one of the officers died of his

injuries over night. he is a seven-year police veteran with two young children. the five other officers remain hospitalized. the shooting suspect is also hospitalized with nonlife threatening injuries. a funeral is being held today in new york city for three young sisters who died along with their two grandparents in a christmas day fire in connecticut. officials say the fire was started by a bag of embers removed from a fire place to make way for santa claus. the girls' mother a new york city advertising executive escaped the fire along with a friend. for the first time since 2004 album sales in the u.s. were up last year. it's a sign that digital sales are finally stemming losses from the decline of the cd. a major factor was the blockbuster album "21" from british singer adele, which sold nearly 6 million copies worldwide. well, just in time to make your new year's resolution crumble the girl scouts are now coming out with a brand new cookie. the lemon flavored treats with a

dusting of confectioner's sugar are called savannah smiles after the georgia city where the girl scouts were found'd hundred years ago. we think of course they're really named in honor of our own savannah. i get they're as delicious. it's three minutes after the hour. let's go outside to see our own savannah smile. >> that is a nice smile. >> that is. >> back in the day they had a different girl scout cookie named savannah. they were peanut butter. >> like the lemon cooler. >> we could try them. >> get some of those. >> just what i need. more cookies. >> more cookies. >> we do need a check of the weather. >> we need more cookies. let's check it out and see what's happening for you. show you for today, we don't have much going onn the weather map which is a nice thing. we got a few showers moving into the pacific northwest. a little lake effect snow, eastern great lakes. that's about it really. looking at some record highs in the plains all the way back into nevada. some showers along the texas coast line. we've got sunny skies in the northeast.

temperatures are starting to moderate and as we mentioned rain is moving into the pacific northwest. inland looking at mountain good morning to you. the time now 9:04. taking a live look over oakland, a little hazy here but mostly clear. our temperatures are warming up nicely, already in the upper 44 in san jose. on our way to 67 degrees in the south bay later on. near record territory. unusually warm for this time of season. 63 today in san francisco. we're going to lose a little bit of that warmth tomorrow with cloud cover. but overall, staying comfortable throughout your weekend. hope you have a great day. that is your latest weather. savannah smile? >> thanks. now to today's professionals. our team of power players tackling the hottest headlines, stories, and studies making news. you know them by now. star jones is an attorney and author. donny deutsch is chairman of deutsch incorporated. and dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's

chief medical editor. good morning to all of you. happy new year. good to see you. >> welcome back. >> i'm sure you've seen now casey anthony is out with a web diary posted on youtube. i think we've got a little portion of it to play for folks and let's talk about it. >> just a little surreal how much things have changed since july and how many things haven't changed. things are starting to look up and things are starting to change either way. things only get better. >> it's unclear why she did this, why she posted youtube. >> who cares? >> it couldn't get any worse than your dead baby being found in a swamp after several months. okay? it doesn't get much worse than that. the fact she doesn't even mention her child, the loss, now she is glad to have something of her own, that she doesn't have to give back. >> the difference in a

sensational situation like an amanda knox who people maybe think was a victim and they want to help bring her back, she left the public consciousness. she has no redeeming value. a lot of people think she got away with the most horrific murder. she is irrelevant. that's irrelevant. >> i really think she is a sociopath. she has disassociated herself from that other world. i kept looking at the back of the wall behind her and the pictures. there is not one picture of her child. there is a group photo of maybe a family photo. this is a woman who as sociopath and i have to agree with donny, gone out of the public eye. >> good advice. go climb under the rock from which you came. >> it was an incredibly self-centered video. not only did she not mention her daughter. she just talked about herself. to be honest it is actually pretty boring. what do you think is motivating her? do you think she wants -- somebody posted this on youtube. >> she misses the attention. casey anthony had all of our attention for all of that time, and now she doesn't have her

family around her telling her how fabulous or wonderful or bad she is. she doesn't have us talking about her. >> and a perfect example of how people blur the lines between fame and infamy. >> no redeeming social value. >> now she can be recognized because everyone can see how she has changed her appearance. >> this is what she wanted. >> okay. the next segment. which is i didn't know i was pregnant. there as tlc show called "i didn't know i was pregnant" about women who don't recognize they are pregnant until late, late in the pregnancy or even in some cases have a baby, you know, go to the hospital thinking their appendix has burst but lo and behold they're having a baby. this happened in kentucky. i think before we get into the larger issue, nancy, is it possible somebody can be pregnant and not have any symptoms whatsoever? >> in my medical training i delivered two babies, very obese women, who had not realized they had put on 20 pounds and yes delivered babies, women who said oh, i thought i just had an upset stomach. it can happen. >> not always obese women on the show. >> no it isn't. it happens with skinny women

too. here's why. women a lot of times don't keep track of their periods. sometimes they're on iuds and periods are come and go. they may not pay attention. they don't want to. there is a real disassociative aspect. i'm telling you, there is a denial that over rides everything. >> i think the bigger issue is why does the show exist on television? i'd like to know. >> because -- >> tlc, you know, 35-year-old virgins, half-ton moms, and people who are pregnant and don't know because we watch it and go as bad and stupid as i think i am there are stupider and lamer people. >> and mothers and daughters pregnant at the same time. >> used to go like wow. there are people who have it -- i'm not as dumb as i thought i was. >> back to our original issue, i think a lot of women, we hear about these stories and let's be honest. a lot of women judge other women who say what's wrong with someone? they are in denial. how can they not know their own bodies? you had a visceral reaction.

>> my reaction was my best friend just gave birth and i watched an arm move through her stomach at some point sitting at dinner and i thought to myself, either she's sigourney weaver or she is pregnant. anybody who can't see that, i would think is -- that's me. >> having gone through a pregnancy with a woman, you know when a woman is pregnant. she'll tell you. >> okay. let's move on to our next topic. i can't wait to hear your opinions. it happened, a cop issued a ticket to a woman in illinois. >> this is donny in his police outfit. >> so the cop issues the ticket to a woman. she goes away, and then later he tracks her down using the state's electronic records and asked her for a date. she did not think it was adorable. she sued. let's start there. does she have a case? >> she 100% has a case. first of all, there are privacy protection laws all across the united states and they are supposed to say that anyone in the government can't use your

personal information that they access solely due to their relationship as a cop. >> what a fuddy duddy you are. >> the hell with you. creepy. >> creepy. >> i would like to -- >> okay. creepy. legally i just want to let you know. you know this. legally she's got -- >> relax. i would like to see what the good doctor has to say. >> relax. that seems like the answer of the day. >> when you tell someone to relax doesn't it have the opposite effect? it makes them madder? >> exactly. >> all right. nancy? >> relax, honey. >> if you're fighting. >> is it a man/woman thing? >> a man thing. >> men rule the world. >> okay. can we give it up? >> okay. regardless of whether you are married or unmarried, you, in times in your life, meet people where you have this phenomenal attraction. you in some cases must step back

and think over a 72-hour period, does this make sense to move forward? and i would hope that a police officer would say, no matter how much his attraction was for her this crosses several lines. >> i want to mention quickly we did a today.com poll and most viewers thought this was over the line. >> two of three. let me give you the other side. obviously with a cop -- let's say a pharmaceutical sales rep was in a doctor's office, selling, and had the doctor's address because of that and she or he called to ask on a date he met through work. >> wrong. wrong. >> but it happens. by the way, if the woman had acted differently we might today -- might be doing a story about what a charming thing that was. and the woman had a right to have that reaction. but like i said, if she had a different reaction we'd be talking different he carries a gun. he has access to my personal

information. >> he didn't go rob her. >> excuse me. he carries a gun. that is why there are laws in place. he should be fired. >> i agree. >> i agree. >> he should be fired. >> by the way, how about if he is a lovely man. >> he's not. >> so he made a mistake. >> a big one. >> with what goes on in the world maybe he fell in love. he was trying to -- if the woman had a different reaction we'd be talking differently. >> what goes on in the world. >> no we wouldn't. >> is the craigslist killer that. 's what goes on in the world. you don't do that. >> we all are connected now and that happens to be what people do for a living and he is taking a beating whereas so many people meet that way and you wouldn't say it is inappropriate. he is not using his gun. if he goes if you don't go out with me i'll shoot you then he is using his gun. >> but using his authority to have access to information normal people don't. let's move on. a recent survey -- we'll talk about sex and get in a better mood. a new survey says men have twice as many sex partners as women between the ages of 60 and 69. now you report an average of 9.3

partners in their life. women report 4.7 partners. >> women are lying. >> both of you ladies said that. >> here are the statistics you need to remember. men think of sex about 19 times a day. women about 8 to 10. now talk about sexual partners over a lifetime, if a woman says three, multiply it by a three. if a man says nine, divide by three. >> people were surprised that most men only had eight. i think because the media is so over sexed, most men if they're not guys who are one nighter guys have had only sex with the relationships they've been in and there are a lot of guys that have had sex with -- >> 9.3 female partners. how would you like to be the 0.3? that seems depressing. >> i'd like your opinion. where do you fit in on that? >> are you kidding me? give me a break. donny, it is the new year. turn over a new leaf. >> we don't get to talk about --

>> an honest answer. are you less than -- >> none of your damn business. >> i'm less than 8 for a man. >> got to go. star jones, donny deutsch, dr. nancy. >> wow. >> i thought it was in the 60s. >> i'm kidding. >> we don't need cameras. carry on. coming up next joy bauer helps you stick to your resolutions in her diet s.o.s. and a little later the real work begins for the duchess of cambridge. kate o announcement resal announcement. first these messages. about whole grainere's surs and the cereals your kids love. ♪ now all general mills big g kid cereals have more whole grain than any other ingredient. the same great taste they love in cereals like lucky charms and cinnamon toast crunch with whole grain that they need. just look for the white check, only on general mills big g kid cereals, the delicious way to help them grow up strong. now with more whole grain than any other ingredient.

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this morning on joy's diet s.o.s., your resolutions whether trying to stay on a diet, need help staying ontrack or air stressed our "today" nutritionist joy bauer has great tips for you. >> happy new year to you. can't even talk. >> still trying to get all the weather. let's go to skype. we have melissa from massachusetts. melissa, happy new year. >> happy new year, al. >> thank you. what is your question? >> happy new year. >> this year my resolution is to kick my addiction to diet soda. any ideas for a plan of attack? >> oh, i love this resolution. i'm always encouraging people to pull back on some of the artificial sweeteners they take in. you have two options. you can either go cold turkey, a lot of people just like to wipe it out completely in one swoop so they're not tempted.

or you can just dramatically cut back. so if you go with that option this is what i would tell you to do. allow yourself one daily diet soda and push it, save it for between lunch and dinner. this way you look forward to it. it's a treat and you're not using it up with a meal when your taste buds are already excited and engaged by the food. and then after a few weeks assess it. do you still need that one daily soda fix? if you do, fine. if you don't, give it the boot. get rid of it. >> all right. melissa, good luck. >> it's a great question. thank you. >> really. the next one is good too. we have mary jane in lansing, michigan, on the phone. happy new year, mary jane. >> happy new year. >> you've got a stress question. >> i do. how do i stay ontrack? i seem to stay motivated until a stressful situation strikes and then i go right to my cupboard. do you have any suggestions? >> yes. i want you to follow a three-step interference plan.

before you reach for food you're going to do three different strategic activities. and hopefully that is going to help defuse the urge to emotionally eat. so first you're going to grab a stress ball and pump it for five minutes. then you're going to get up, do 100 jumping jacks either regular or modified. this is going to help you rechannel some of that frustration and anxiety. the third thing is to make a hot cup of tea that you're going to nurse. this will help to calm you down. so write these three things down on paper, post it on the refrigerate aon make sure it is front and center the next time you go grab for some food. >> good luck. >> our director tried that but when he is doing the jumping jacks kept spilling his drink. we've got a few more e-mail questions. tina from pitsfield, massachusetts writes i was diagnosed with diabetes this past month and put on medication. my resolution for 2012 is to get my blood sugar under control. what are the most important things i should be doing? really good question. >> great question.

most people with diabetes know that they should layoff the sweets and you want to minimize the starchy carbs. rice, pasta, potatoes. fill your plate with ample protein and nonstarchy vegetables. what most people don't realize, there are two other powerful ways that you can stabilize your blood sugar. the first is if she is overweight, lose ten pounds. because losing just a small amount of weight, al, could have a significant impact for the better on your blood sugars. and the second thing is to walk 30 minutes a day. exercise increases sensitivity which then keeps your blood sugars nice and even keel. that is really going to help her blood sugar. >> all right. joy bauer, great advice. thanks so much. if you're looking for more diet inspiration go to today.com and read joy's daily tips. join our 10,000-pound weight loss challenge already at what? >> we already have 5,000 entries. >> unbelievable. >> join us! >> come with us. >> woo! >> still to come it affects more than 70 million americans but

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♪ [ male announcer ] it's hard to resist the craveable nature of a nature valley sweet & salty nut bar. [ shark 1 ] uh, steve. [ shark 2 ] yeah, the guy. with steve i tasted peanut butter and uh snickers. yeah, that's it! steve had just eaten snickers peanut butter squared. ohhhhh! steve was delicious. [ male announcer ] if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try snickers peanut butter squared. coming up the truth about acne. how to have clear skin at any age. >> plus if you're looking for

something for dinner tonight, something different for dinner tonight, we'll get a lesson in healthy mexican ea,kispng enchiladas. >> your local news and weather first. you looked so innocent and so sweet. convinced my lips that we should meet. you were a relentless flirt. oh no we had indecent dessert. twinkle twinkle hope appears. a stevia leaf erased my fears. it made my willpower a super hero. as for calories, it has zero. twinkle twinkle truvia® star, natural sweetness, i love just what you are. truvia®. honestly sweet. that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown

then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun. it is 9:26 now. good morning. i'm marla tellez. a south bay nurse accused of killing a woman with a machete has her day in court today. she is chargesed with killing 65-year-old yvonne kirk and being held without bail. sidique apparently lived with the victim's daughter in the willow glenn neighborhood. manima was on vacation when her mother was killed. police have not been able to determine a motive. >> a bold promise by pg&e. that double blackout of at candle stick park will never happen again

chief anthony earley told the "san francisco chronicle" the outage during the december 19th game was one of the most embarrassing moments of his career. he had apparently just walked into the owner's box at the 'stick when the lights went out. he is working with san francisco to make sure it never happens again. pg&e says it inspected the two lines running into the stadium with infrared technology and >> hllk av a look at weather and traffic afr the break. k

welcome back. well, our temperatures are climbing slowly but surely. you're almost at 50 in san jose. 52 already in san tan cruz and 45 in novato. still on par to break temperature records. best chances are livermore, santa rosa and san jose. 72 degrees up in wine country. not bad for the first week of january. we'll drop off just a little bit closer to the weekend. tomorrow staying dry.

60 degrees at the coast. a nice comfortable weekend on tap. let's find out how the roads look with mike. >> still slow on the peninsula, really a tough drive. now 101 northbound, we see a little shift. the southbound side easing up a bit coming through menlo park. the northbound side because of a new accident at marsh, still a jam off mountain view and 237 up past highway 84 and willow. we'll go to the other side of the bay. southbound 880 slows at steffansson because of an accident moving to the shoulder. northbound 880 slows through oakland. let me show you a live look past the coliseum. volume starting to eek out through the oakland. not a big deal. back to you. >> we'll be back with our next news and weather update in the 30 minutes and see you again at 9:56.

good morning. this is "today" in romania. >> we are in pearl harbor. >> i am in caesar's palace. >> reporting from st. peter's squaur. >> good morning and welcome to beijing. >> we're in the northwest corner of zimbabwe. >> finally two hours to go before the wedding. >> and that's just a fraction of the places our program has traveled over the last 60 years. next week we'll be celebrating. a look back at some of the highlights over the last six decades of your favorite anchors and us. >> that was a good one.

>> amazing. >> meanwhile, looking forward to that. a huge week next week. coming up in this half hour it's a problem associated with the awkward teen years but it actually affects 70 million americans. we're talking about acne and it's not caused by what you think like dirt or not washing your face enough. coming up we'll clear up some of the myths and hopefully help you get your acne cleared up as well. all right. >> also ahead the duchess of cambridge has been slipping into her royal role with ease. now she has taken another major step announcing the charity she plans to work with. we'll be live in buckingham palace for the latest on that. and then in today's kitchen a lesson in meatless mexican cooking. we are cooking up spinach enchiladas. they're easy and healthy and there will be guacamole on the side. >> meatless mexican. sounds like deprivation. right? >> it's going to be good. first though you have a check of the weather for us. >> you bet. let's show you what's going to be going on for today. we have sunny skies in the east. temperatures moderating a bit. showers in the pacific northwest with interior mountain snows

there. record highs from the plains into central nevada. we've got showers along the texas coast. for tomorrow the frigid conditions continue in northern new england. flurries around the great lakes. more showers through the afternoon and evening hours in the pacific northwest. temperatures nice and mild through the gulf on into the southwest but it's going to stay cool to frigid from the central rockies all the way to the mid-atlantic states. well, it was pretty chilly out there at the tonight of the hour. but right now, that sun is already starting to boost your temperatures up, and we're still forecasting is near record highs today. 70 degrees in los gatos, 72 degrees in santa rosa. you can see from the live picture of the city by the bay, very little cloud cover out there. that camera had a shake to it. the winds are keeping our pattern nice and child. cooler for tomorrow. staying dry with hazy sun in the mid 60s. that's your late weather.

>> all right. thank you. coming up next the athcney n about acne at any age is coming up right after this. beth!

hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. i make sure i've got the right guidance. turbotax has a unique gps feature that guides me to every deduction and credit i deserve, so i get my maximum refund, guaranteed. man: try turbotax now. get free, one-on-one, expert tax advice live, by phone or chat. we throw out over $500 in food ziploc preevery year.gic. help save more of it with ziploc freezer bags featuring new, improved smartzip. edge to edge protection you can hear.

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and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free. no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. hey, aren't you... shhh. i'm researching a role. today's special... the capital one venture card. you earn double miles on every purchase. impressive. chalk is a lost medium. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. was that really necessary? [ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? cover for me. i have an audition. this morning on "today's health" acne myths revealed. it is not just a teenage problem but affects more than 70 million people in the u.s. according to the american academy of dermatology, our guest is an eye village contributor and dermatologist. good to have you with us. >> great to be back. >> we know acne can affect us throughout our lives so it's

here to stay. >> right. >> what are the main causes of it? >> well, it's genetics, stress, and hormones. and the reason acne is such a hot topic in the eye village community is because it affects women and men but women 20 through 52 and they're the first ones that seek treatment. then the men come in later when their girlfriends or wives are starting to look better. it is a very significant thing. it affects your image and how you feel about yourself. >> the 20 to 52. that bebunks the first myth. that is a teenage problem. >> it is not a teenage problem. >> so your skin changes over time. is that hormonal usually? >> right. then this is just a very high stress society. and that causes a lot of it. so it's stressful and if you have a family history. >> that's right. let's get to our second myth that acne is caused by dirt. a lot of people think that and therefore over spread their face. >> it is not dirt. it is a disease of the oil glands. the disease of the oil gland and you can't scrub the acne away necessarily. it's not caused by dirt. it's caused by pores that get

blocked. as the pores get blocked, you get this over production and there is a bacteria in there that really can flare the disease in many people. >> so washing your face then goes by the same way. it doesn't necessarily help in getting rid of the acne. >> right. when i was a teenager i had acne from 11 to 27 and people would stop me on the street my acne was so bad. and say go wash your face. if you just wash your face. it's not washing it that will take it away. if you over scrub it with these harsh, abrasive cleansers, you can actually strip all the oil and then get rebound oil and that can make your acne worse. so you should wash your face at least twice a day. you shouldn't strip your skin because that can make it worse. >> what topical should you use when you are washing your face? >> just something that is gentle, not abrasive. you can use an abrasive maybe once or twice a week. people tend to use it two and three times a day. that's too much. >> a little peroxide. >> and it can help as well as the sulfur compounds. >> the other thing i think people always try to do is pop your pimples which we all have

been told don't do that. >> okay. this is a big no. you pop your pimples you're disrupting the top layer of your skin and you cause scarring. >> right. >> for me, golfing i put divets in the grass. you don't want that on your face. it's not a good thing. >> so the myth that tanning also will help make your face and skin look better. >> right. >> and will clear up your pimples. not true right? >> that is just -- tanning, the negatives of tanning are the fact it causes premature aging and skin cancer. there will be 2.5 million new cases at least of skin cancer during 2012. >> not to mention premature aging. >> exactly. you don't want those things. so the negatives of tanning outweigh the positives. maybe it dries out your skin a little bit. there are some lasers and light therapies available that can help a little bit but maybe they just help in 20% of the cases. it's more of the topical over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, the topicals and prescription orals that really can help more than anything else. >> all right.

now there is the other i guess myth out there is that diet can affect whether or not you have bad acne or not. >> right. >> turns out that's a myth. diet has nothing to do with it? >> diet has a little bit to do with it in that basically if you're eating chocolate only 2% of the population is allergic. you can bathe in chocolate and it won't really cause acne. the reality is though that they've done studies and milk, yogurt, dairy products can raise your insulin levels and cause acne in some people. so it's a post insulin level and it can actually cause acne in some people. we see milk and dairy products can actually cause acne so we tell those people to maybe watch their dairy intake unfortunately. but you're not going to have an allergy to chocolate or greasy foods. i mean, you can drip bacon grease on your face and it won't cause acne. >> okay. also, a myth sweating can clear up acne. >> right. through a study that was very interesting that proved a lot of sweating in these hot saunas and stuff like that can make acne

worse. it can aggravate it and make it worse. >> okay. good to know. also, finally, acne no matter what you think will not go away on its own. that is a myth as well? >> it is a chronic disorder. people think that i'm just going to be clear in two weeks. this is something you've had for 20 years. it won't go away in two weeks. the bottom line is that it needs to be treated and if you're not successful with over the counter you need to see a board certified dermatologist. that is the bottom line. >> go see dr. jenin. thanks so much. you can logon to our website today.com or eye village.com. coming up next the duchess of cambridge makes big decisions that have a lot of people talking in great britain. we'll go to buckingham palace right after this. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] take the special k challenge.

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appreciate it. take care. fill it up? free tank of gas. man, switch to progressive, dog. they doing a lot of good out here, man. tell him the messenger sent you. she has been at prince william's side since her royal wedding last april but now the duchess of cambridge is branching out on her own choosing the charity she will support. nbc's michelle kosinski is at buckingham palace with the details. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: the last couple months we've seen princess katherine make low-key, very personal visits to charities that touch her heart. many of them are small. for her to reach out to them unexpectedly they say you can't imagine the difference now that her patronage will make in so many lives and this is how she will serve her country. evident immediately katherine has a natural way with kindness. and in particular with children.

>> just like one of a kind. >> and an art history major back when she met her friends kate also holds a place in her heart for art. all reflected in the charity she has just chosen as royal patient ro ron. the art room. giving kids with major difficulties a place to gain confidence. >> having her here, she realizes what a powerful thing it is. >> and kate will be patron of a national portrait gallery wherein we'll likely hang her portrait one day. she will volunteer with the scou scouts. >> what an inspiration that is. that is just going to grow and grow. >> she also chose a children's hospice princess diana helped open 22 years ago. kate wants an active role helping families like the clemmons who lost a family at

only 4 days old. >> sweet, genuine, kind. you can really feel that when you meet her. you feel comfortable in her presence. >> keeping kate in a supporting role to prince william, but these solo charities show she'll start a royal career on her own in a way really quite early for her to do so. princess diana took many years before she stepped out on her own. >> reporter: and another organization katherine chose touches a far more difficult subject -- addiction. here kate's support will help more people regain their lives. >> for someone who is so globally respected to care is quite extraordinary. i think it's just brilliant that the royal family is kind of stepping forward. >> and it's tough to over state the impact this could have on a charity that might otherwise be

invisible during tough times to suddenly being able to raise hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. some say it means more to them that their efforts will be recognized. what great timing that the princess's job essentially is announced just before she turns the big 30. her birthday is monday. savannah? >> all right. well 30 is the new 20 or something. michelle kosinski in london. >> reporter: definitely. >> so is 40 by the way. up next we'll get to the kitchen and meatless mexican enchiladas but first this is "today" on nbc.

with the "name your price" tool, you tell us what you want to pay, and we give you a range of coverages to choose from. who is she? that's flobot. she's this new robot we're trying out, mostly for, like, small stuff. wow! look at her go! she's pretty good. she's pretty good. hey, flobot, great job. oops. [ powers down ] uh-oh, flobot is broken. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. call or click today.

good morning. in today's kitchen meatless mexican step by step. our guest from los angeles is here with a special enchilada. good morning. >> good morning. >> you know what? most people don't realize that mexican food can be very

healthy. and we have several healthy vegetarian options and our enchiladas are by far the most popular. let's start off making our salsa verde the sauce that tops the enchiladas off. okay. >> in two cups of water we'll add our tomatillos just by themselves. add a bushel of cilantro. >> can't have mexican without cilantro. and a half onion sliced. and a teaspoon of garlic and a little bit of salt to taste. and what we'll do is bring this to a boil and cook it for five minutes. >> you can find pretty much -- >> you can. >> i've never seen -- >> you can see, it's loaded with antioxidents. really a very healthy sauce. we transferred everything now into the blender. >> how long do you let this go? >> for five minutes after it comes to a boil. >> put it in there. >> and this on? >> right. >> then we'll puree it.

to this for richness we'll add half an avocado. >> you know how to turn it off? >> you want to add the avocado? >> take the whole thing. >> and then we have one more thing. >> there's more. >> good old fashioned sour cream. >> yes. >> if you wanted you could use low fat sauer cream. >> exactly. >> okay. >> we're not being that naughty with everything. >> really. >> you let it go until it is nice and creamy, maybe two to three minutes, and that's good. >> okay. >> we'll make the spinach filling for the enchilada so we have our tablespoon of onions already simmering. >> all right. >> olive oil there? >> canola oil which is trans fat, very healthy. to this we'll add a couple handfuls of spinach. >> amazing about spinach. you start with so much and you get almost nothing. >> and then we'll let this cook down for like, you know, two to three minutes again and then what we're going to do is add

about, let's see if we can get that off. perfect. we'll add three to four tablespoons of the salsa verde we just made. >> just a little bit of a cream. >> add a little bit of flavor inside. can i just reach over here? >> you got that. >> then we'll add some cheese. maybe a handful of jack cheese. and then we'll just -- >> a little salt? >> stir it together. you could add a little salt to taste or not. >> okay. >> let's keep it healthy and not. >> okay. >> all right. >> we'll go back and i'll teach you how to wrap a proper enchilada. everybody would take -- >> looks like a corn tortilla. it is. the flour tortilla will tend to get gooey underneath. >> gluten free. >> exactly. this is an entirely gluten free meal. that is nice. >> great. >> so down the center we'll put a little spinach mixture. >> this is how it's going to look once we're done over there. >> exactly. >> almost looks like cream spinach. >> it looks delicious. here we go.

>> terrific. >> make one, too. >> okay. great. we'll get some to al. >> okay. >> all right. we'll put it just down the middle. >> looks delicious. >> al, would you like this? >> so we're rolling it. >> right. then you just roll it over and what you want to make sure is you gently roll it over so that the seam is down when you place it in the casserole. you want to warm it first with a little canola to make sure they don't break. >> nice and soft. >> place it in the casserole dish. >> place it in the dish and then top it, natalie, if you would, with the salsa. >> some of the left over. oh, i get you. >> a couple more in there. >> and a handful of sprinkled cheese. >> al. then to this we'll put it in a preheated 350-degree oven until the cheese melts. it should just take 2 to 3

minutes. might take a little longer this time. that's what it is traditionally served with. you can also serve it with slices of avocado and we've also got some baked not fried tortilla chips and guacamole. >> the one i nearly choked on right before the segment. >> this is great. thank you. >> thank you. >> coming up hoda and kathie lee find out how to fix your reputation. >> uh-oh.

good morning. 9:56. i'm marla tellez. an oakland shopping district is looking to trade parking spaces for parks. so-called parklets are already

popular in san francisco. now oakland has a pilot program and montclair village is looking to bring new life to its shopping district. the montclaire village association is preparing an bliks to trade one or two parking spots for a small park. customers who say parking is already tough to find have mixed reactions. >> i don't see taking parking spaces to do it. i don't think it's that good an idea. >> i park my car about four blocks away so i don't have to put money in the meter. >> city leaders won't let those meters go for free. they either have to be put somewhere else nearby or the village association will have to pay the city $14,000 a year to cover the lost revenue. members are banking on moving meters to make way for community space. another very nice day on tap for us. let's check that forecast with meteorologist christina loren. >> good morning to you, marla. undoubtedly you'll see people out on the streets enjoying this beautiful weather today. typically you've got to catch a flight to enjoy 70s in january.

not today in our own hometown. 70 in los gatos today. 67 in san jose, 72 in gilroy. we'll break more temperature records up in the north bay. 72 for santa rosa today. tomorrow, we'll see a little bit more fog and in turn, a little bit cooler weather. 65 degrees. still staying nice and mild. to rain till possibly tuesday up in the north bay. let's check your drive. >> we start in the south bay, top of your screen, slowing northbound 101 from 237 up through mountain view into pal totality toe. that's pretty typical. we do have a closure. roifd avenue closed between wolfe road and sec aquaia drive. earlier this morning, a pedestrian was hit and killed at that intersection. there's a stretch of roadway still closed for investigation. we'll have more updates for the 11 news. we're looking at the bay bridge toll plaza, no metering lights. >> good updated information.

for the latest updates find us on facebook. we'll be back at 10:26. "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody, it's thirstday thursday. i don't know whether it's colder outside or in this studio. >> it's quite nippy, if you know what i mean. the pictures keep pouring in. pictures of your pets you're sending us. >> the people who keep love them are sending them in. >>ou y're madly in love with your pets. >> lucky looks like bambino. >> mica from alaska.

>> she's pretty. >> she is pretty, for a cat. i'm kidding. i like cats. lulu from iowa. >> look at charlie. >> aren't we equal opportunity? >> lilly is so ugly she is adorable. look at the fat on her arm. >> okay. >> she is so cute. keep sending your pictures in. >> please, don't get your hopes up so high. you break your hearts. you want to take it out on us personally. take it out on the people who should remain nameless joanne lamarka. >> a man had a bad day yesterday. >> i'm not sure we should show it. >> here's the deal. imagine that you decide, this guy decided to propose to his girlfriend in a public way in a

basketball game. we don't know if it's true. >> we would love to know what you think. >> it's called a mistletoe cam where she show the person doing the proposal. is it not good? >> no. >> this is what went down. >> no. >> no? >> oh, gosh. >> i understand. it happens. >> that's not camera shy. that's matrimony shy. >> wow.

>> is that real? >> it was a real event at ucla. i don't know. what do you think? he seemed weird. >> he seemed weird. a guy's reaction wouldn't be to hang your head. what would you -- i don't know. it seemed weird. >> the guy's reaction would be, it was a joke. it was a joke. >> ashton kutcher. >> all right. i don't know. this is the point, if it is true, it's meant to be and the girl of his dreams is out there somewhere. next time do it privately. learn from that. know what the answer is before you go ask him. >> i know. i know. here's the thing, a few weeks ago i was feeling blah, low energy. i went to the doctor and had all these tests done. the doctor said you are b-12

deficient. i said where do you get b-12? it's in liver and things i don't like. he told me take b-12 liquid, put it under my tongue. i have crazy energy. i still do. i don't know if it works for everybody, but i know afg that little dropper full was great. then people started saying, i'm tired. everyone's tired. everyone was like give me some of that b-12. >> i forgot it this morning. i'm delighted today joy bauer will explain why this is working. >> i feel like the drug dealer. >> why is it that that stuff gives you this crazy or gave me this -- >> you've got to shake it. >> everybody shouldn't be taking it unless like you you were tested. were you tested? this is 400 times what you should be getting. you need it because we need to build you back up. but you should go to the doctor

first. >> i will. later. >> hold under your tongue for a while. >> it is really important for you to have because when you are deficient, and a lot of people are deficient as we get older about 10%, 30% of the population have a harder time absorbing it. go to the doctor, you get a blood test, if you're deficient, you take the drops. you -- >> we don't know yet. what foods are they in? >> fish and seafood, dairy, cottage cheese, yogurts and in beef. it's fortified in a lot of vegetarian foods because it's only an animal-based vitamin. people that are vegetarians either need to take a supplement. >> where did it come from? >> animal foods. >> is this the milk of a yack? i don't know. >> one guy told me his grandmother was on the deathbed. she got a vitamin b shot and it

brought her back from the dead. >> sometimes you feel awful, you have tremors and you shake. it's great you're taking it right now. you should go back to the doctor when the doctor tells you your baselines are fine, you don't need to take it. >> doesn't it go through every day hike vitamin c. >> it will flush out. i get nervous taking amounts indefinitely because it could imbalance other things you're taking. we have 5,000 entries. >> today's tip is to strike the starch with dinner. still have it with breakfast and lunch, but in the evening when we tend to overeat the rice, potatoes and pasta, get rid of it. instead a lot of protein and voluminous amount of nonstarchy vegetables. we have recipes and ideas and suggestions. >> i've never seen you so excited since the crew lost

about a pound and a half. whatever happened to that deal? love you joy. happy new year, sweetheart. you should see a doctor first. we are having fun with that. >> all righty. >> should we talk about music? >> let's do it. we've been talking about health. >> they are saying there is a mental tune-up, music is one of the few things in life other than alcohol that changes your mood instantly. like you have it, you listen to it and it's a mood changer. >> it's instant. i agree. >> there are some songs that will actually change you. ♪ if i can make it there >> this song right here is supposed to reduce your anxiety. ♪ it's up to you new york, new york ♪ >> you picked a song. >> just to chill out. it was going to be olivia newton-john ♪ have you never been mellow or this one. ♪ every time you walk by

>> the carpenters. that voice. soothing. i also like ♪ if you leave me now >> chicago. >> mine is an amy grant song. this is a good one. ♪ ♪ better than church bell ringing ♪ ♪ better than a choir singing >> love her. >> they say if you want to clean your house or clean your purse, this is the song you should be listening to. >> you obviously never listened to it. >> i don't know what it is. >> this is for vacuuming. ♪ taking care of business >> i think the audio stimulus. ♪ taking care of business every day ♪ >> if you want to get out of a bad mood, the way to do it is bruce springsteen. "thunder road." >> i think there are people in the world that are diehard bruce springsteen fans or they're not.

i saw him at madison square garden, electrifying performance, but i'm not a fan of his music. most people are. >> i'm going to stay old school. this is the emotions, that song. ♪ i second that emotion that one? >> no. hit it. ♪ ♪ doesn't take much to make me happy ♪ ♪ to make me smile with glee ♪ never never will i feel discouraged ♪ ♪ cause i love so mystery >> that is a good one. that is a real song, hoda.

i'm proud of you. yesterday we had fun. it was mat any winesday. before we left the studio here, we went right over to the stage door "billy elliot" at the imperial theater. they had a contest. we looked at 14 doors? >> they decorated the doors for christmas. we were a little late. >> the first time -- they are going to have their final performance january 8th. that show has been running 3 1/2 years. won ten tonys. we spent the afternoon behind the scenes. we were the judges. this ultimately won first place. that little kid named zach, that is a real child. a real billy elliot kid. >> how could you not pick that as the winner? >> that was the spirits of christmas past. from the stage managers. and that was number two because that is made out of band-aids. everything on there is a band-aid. can you imagine? >> that was really cool.

>> yes, that was number one. it was fun because our host played bundles in "annie" with me at the garden playing miss hannigan. you've only got until january 13th to go. patty lupone and mandy patankin. they are obviously in love with one another as friends. that is the nicest thing to see. the stories they told, about being in "evita." the warmth between two of them. two pros. you want to see how two pros do it, they are there until the 13th. okay or not okay. is it okay for royals to act like commoners? i said of course, they're human. as long as they don't take their clothes off. >> it does. hoda said nothing better than watching people who are buttoned-up let their hair down like the rest of us.

>> okay. everybody here is getting plastic surgery. coming up, we know you are tired of being known for being -- what? >> reputations. we are going to talk about how you can maybe, i think they said six weeks or six months you can change your entire reputation, even if you're extremely disorganized. >> i don't know if that is true. >> rehab your reputation. crystal light? yeah, it's almost bikini season. bikini season? really? we live in chicago. we work 60 hours a week -- catching the red eye back as soon as this conference is over. i mean, when are we ever gonna find ourselves sitting on a beach? i need someone to help me find some fresh water. i can help you with that. you're gonna get wet. i'm gonna to get wet. you know i used to be a lifeguard. [ female announcer ] crystal light. 5 calories. 0 guilt. because you never know.

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face it. few of us have the perfect reputation, maybe you forget birthdays, you're arriving late, maybe. way you dress or you're extremely disorganized. >> some might say they don't give a you know what, but the reality is most of us do. here are lesley james seymour, editor in chief of "more"

magazine and dr. taylor a psychiatrist. >> a lot of people don't know they have that kind of reputation. sometimes they are unaware of it. >> don't you think people that are chronically late know they are chronically late? >> i don't think so. >> they know they're late, but i don't think they know the reputation from it. >> or the long-lasting impact of the behavior and activity they have. >> is it hard to unring the bell? let's pretend you have an epiphany. don't people always tag you, late again. >> you can change it. that's the good news. >> something like that you can. by becoming aware of it. when people realize how incredibly rude it is that your time is more valuable than other person's. a totally self-absorbed person doesn't care about other people. >> you don't want to be like that. you have to put it out there that you're going to change the way you behave. >> when you think about reputation, it's that thing people say about you, think about you, when you're not

around, it's important to know what that concept is. >> what if it's a slut? if people think you're a slut, what can you do about that? >> if someone thinks that, you have to confront them and talk to them and say why would that be true? >> you need to know yourself. people know whatever behavior that would make them think they are a slut. know yourself. you have to be aware of what other people think about you and figure out what is under your control. whether it's drinking too much, hanging out. >> why would you want to do that? >> what if you say, people think this of you? >> no. >> you're thinking about the slut. >> exactly. >> if 2 it's negative feedback and meant meanly, that is one thing. on the other hand, we should be

aware how people think about us, especially in a work place. that could have a long-lasting impact. >> work you have to jump in and change it right away. >> what do you do? >> i do soft confrontation. sit down with somebody and say, look, i'm seeing there is a problem here we need to talk about it and we've got to get it out in the open and you do. >> you work at a big place where there are lots of people that work for you. are most people defensive about it? most people are. >> yes. defensiveness is one of the biggest problems because half the time you're not ready to hear what the real issue is. you have to deal with that. >> it's one thing to do it with you because you want to keep your job. i'm going to work on that. not leaving the ladies room a mess. then they come to you, janet and it's relationship problems they have a result. they are invested in a different way. >> they are invested. think about the impact if you hear reputation of sleeping around, having an affair and that gets back to someone, it can affect them.

the key is to figure out what the truth is and understand what you can do in small steps. >> what if someone says they think you're a slut and you're really not. why did you say that? >> why do these people think it? >> when you have a negative reputation, you can go to the source. the key is to shoot down whatever rumors or reputation that is out there. >> it may be the way a person is dressing inappropriately and they may be a moral person. >> you have to sit down and talk to them and say, where are you getting this from and where is it coming from? that doesn't make sense. sometimes it's rumors. sometimes it's just completely inappropriate. >> other times the reputation can come from you. think about what people post about on facebook and twitter about. you have to think about what you're posting about yufs. >> you can change everything. i really believe you can change the way people perceive you by how you perceive yourself today. if you put it out there differently, it can change.

>> absolutely. >> i think that is the cover of your next magazine, how i went from being a slut to mother teresa. you'll sell a lot of copies of that. up next, a smile on your face with webtastics. it's kind of a big deal. to find nutritious and gluten-free cereals actually loves? well, the word "wow" comes to mind. and then a friend told me chex has five flavors that are gluten-free. even a cinnamon one the kids love. a nutritious cereal that makes everybody happy? like i said, wow. [ male announcer ] chex cereal. five flavors. good and gluten free. five flavors. smoky eyes look amazing. but creating them? that's a whole different story. almay intense i-color smoky-i kit. first, sweep the smoky-i color across your lid. then, add the crease accentuating shade... and a highlight under your brow. only from almay. only for me.

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and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. we are back with our special series called webtastic. >> she's got a double dose today. >> yes, i do. the first video features

university of connecticut sophomore guitar playing and one very cool golden retriever. check it out. ♪ >> watch this. ♪ >> talk about a mood changer. that is hysterical. ♪ >> isn't that so cute? he was playing in his friend's basement and the dog starting doing that and they started videotaping it. there is one more. check out 2 1/2-month-old jackson who is scared of snoring.

[ snoring ] >> either that or he's got gas. >> a mom did that to tease him. they laughed so hard and started sending out to family. >> still to come, the dog whisperer shares safety tips for kids. >> how one woman's past found a political campaign and led her to a whole new life. making cookies. [ male announcer ] what makes the weekends so memorable? ♪ maybe it's the things you do or the things you really want to do. ♪ whatever it is, kfc's new weekend bucket makes the weekend even more unforgettable. 10 freshly prepared pieces of the world's best chicken.

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and these are the ones you'll love on a school night. pillsbury ham and cheese crescents. with just a few ingredients, you have an easy dinner. pillsbury ham and cheese crescents. school night ideas made easy. good morning. it's 10:26. the man accuse of leading police on a city-wide car chase that injured several san jose police

officers is expected in court today. alejandro gonzalez will be arraigned this afternoon on unspecified charges. police say he carjacked a man at a east san jose gas station tuesday. then he rammed four police cars while trying to get away. several officers were hurt in the chase but all are l we'. we'll have a look at weather and traffic after this. [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon are an irresistible sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. sunday morning ideas made easy. here's a better idea... pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits. in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands! dinner ideas made easy.

welcome back. the time now 10:28. the temperature is climbing nicely. 52 in san francisco. 53 in san jose and already at 56

degrees in santa cruz. yes, still on par to break some temperature records through the south bay and north bay where we're expecting the warmest conditions. 72 for gilroy. and 70 degrees in los gatos today. it's the last day with near record warmth. by tomorrow, we'll see more onshore flow. patchy fog starts and a little bit cooler weather as a result. let's find out about your drive with pike. >> south bay commotion going on. northbound 101 just past 237. this is a standard pattern for the south bay. we did have a couple accidents north of mountain view. one still going on in sunnyvale. still the closure of reed avenue between wolfe road and sequoia road after an early morning hit and run resulted in the death of a pedestrian hit by a car. more details during the 11:00 a.m. news. we're having more calls from the police department. to the san mateo privilege, no major problems across the water. >> coming up on bay area news at

11, a string of burglaries in a bay area city that doesn't see much crime coming up in 30 minutes. jon and i hope to see you then. we are back on this thirstday thursday with a special giannone as the dog whisperer. >> he is here with tips on taking care of your friend and keeping kids safe when they meet a dog they don't know. >> who would have thought a vacuum cleaner could have caused so much chaos. >> like a fight chaos. >> tell was happened? >> these dogs have been living together for a long time. there you go. just the sound of a vacuum can trigger a fight. in this episode, i'm teaching by

body language how to observe and anticipate a fight. a lot of people say my dogs are unpredictable. in my world it's not so unpredictable because the dog has a little bit of eye contact or ear moving, he tells you i'm about to do this. >> let's talk about winterizing the dogs. >> we assume because they have fur coats they will be warm. >> especially junior's case. it's too cold. this is really good for junior, that kind of jacket. he totally will love that. >> even though other parts of their body is exposed, that keeps the warmth in them. >> absolutely. these boots are fantastic. >> i didn't know about these boots. >> i like this one. it's very practical. obviously, you need to spend some time. >> if you don't put these booty once a dog what happens to their paws? >> frost bite.

then they'll start licking the chemicals. also there is a cream. >> they can get -- like we get dry skin. >> is that scarf for looks? >> it keeps them warm on the neck. this is deicing. this is an organic deicing so it's not going to hurt the dogs. >> you were saying when you take the dogs out and they've got to use the bathroom. >> they prefer the living room. i don't blame them but i don't like it. >> one thing that works for junior when i put a newspaper close to the tree. >> like most people take it to the bathroom? >> no. that triggers for him to use the bathroom. a lot of times he spends time being cold. soon as he smells something he relaxes and pees. >> what about the other? you for showing us how they do

it. you just lifted your leg. >> a lot of dogs don't get exercise in the home. because it's so cold outside. >> let me show you a practical exercise. you love this one. simple boxes like he has his toe. you put it in any box you want, right? let's pretend you're moving the boxes. you let him wait. waiting drains the mind more. >> look at him. because you trained him. who has the time to train their dog to wait for a ball? >> you have to have time for a relationship. then you send him so he can go look for it. so it becomes a challenge for him. there you go. you don't want him to find it too fast. >> good boy. how important is reenforcement when they do a good job? >> just the fact he found the ball, he's being reenforced by the challenge. >> good boy. >> it's up to you. >> the dogs we are showing, these two, these are all up for adoption? >> north shore animal league.

>> let's stroll down here with that cute puppy. >> let's take the ball away from junior. very good. >> can't he have it? we are too lenient, aren't we? i give bambino anything he wants. the other two have to wait. >> with kids, very important. new year's resolution is to adopt a dog, make sure the dog is compatible to you. make sure the whole family knows what the rules are and how to pet a dog or approach a dog is very important. one thing i teach kids, no touch, no talk no eye contact. let the dog come to you. this is an excited energy. if you start touching this energy, even though he looks very happy, very friendly, he will love it, but he will get very excited. this will not be a dog you should start petting. >> are you supposed to get down to the ground level?

>> sorry. >> you would be nurturing excitement. >> i do everything wrong. >> caesar, thank you. >> happy new year, everybody. thank you. >> your show begins? >> saturday 8:00. >> all these dogs except for junior are up for adopg. how to make a major life change and a woman who has done that. [ female announcer ] what makes smoothness last? what makes a touch linger? smooth sensation from nivea. the light lotion with moisture enhancing 24-hour-plus hydra iq. it works with your skin's hydration system to keep your skin smooth all day... all night. ♪ smooth sensation and the essentials collection with hydra iq only from nivea. touch and be touched. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really?

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challenge that. new olay smooth finish facial hair removal duo. first a gentle balm. then the removal cream. effective together with less irritation and as gentle as a feather. new olay hair removal duo. stage three of our series, new you invention. >> take 55-year-old marla who followed her love from cooking and turned it into a career. >> good boy. >> you have these moments in life where you realize you are where you belong. i had more than a few of those moments in a kitchen. i used to work in politics and now i work in pastry.

i made the change because after many, many years in politics i made a difference, i was proud of what i was able to accomplish, but i felt like i needed to do something different. i was an accomplished home baker. i went to professional pastry school. for all the things i've done, presidential races, four marathons, it was the hardest thing i've done. i'm 55 years old and i feel behind the curve. i have to remind myself julia child started writing books in her 50s. the independent cookie company i launched in november. i ordered the flour, sugar, whatever we need. the recipes i have i accumulated over the years. i try to do things that are topical. right now the iowa caucuses are behind us. it was even.

i tried to keep our sense of humor in front of people so they when think bus, they think clever, funny, smart, informed. when people are planning parties around here, i want some party planner to think, what was that lady who made those smart alec political cookies? i want some from her. people said why are you doing this? you could stay working as a political consultant and make money. i love politics. you don't stay in it as long as i did without loving it and having a passion for it, but there is something about this. there is something about baking. there is a peace to it. my heart is in the kitchen. i think that's where i'll end up staying. >> it is a great story. back with advice is "today" financial editor jean chatzky who is here with deborah shigley of the website the grindstone.com. >> she did it right. >> she followed her passion. >> she was smart about it. >> she is still consulting at

night. still holding on to that money-making base for as long as she needs it. we forget. i looked at the statistics. 1/3 of businesses make money when they start, 1/3 make nothing, break even and 1/3 lose money. you've got to make sure that you are in a profitable venture before you go full board. >> or have the resources to get through the lean times as you build. >> is it tougher at 55? people watch this thinking i would love to try something new but it's tough to start over again. >> tougher to put your bra on. >> it can be. it's definitely a trend. many people get to that point in their lives and they feel an incredible urge to do something and not have any regrets, basically. there is a sort of formula when you talk about dream careers. we throw this term around. you leave the passion marla talked about, the money, but there is the third category, skills and talents. if she wasn't good at making cookies or managing a team of making cookies, she would not

have a thriving business at this point. >> when should it be just a hobby? >> i think you road test it. you keep your day job, you hold on to that and you try this on the side and you figure out if you can turn it into a profitable venture. if you can't, it's fine to enjoy it. it's even if to hold on to it and decide i'm just going to do this with a part of my life i enjoy on the evenings or on the weekends. >> i have friends who wanted to be professional musicians and it just didn't happen. it doesn't mean they stop enjoying music. >> one woman said continue to do your job but spend 10% of your money, time and energies on your dream job and see if you can make something come of it. >> if it's going to take off, eventually you'll know you have the credit you need. you'll get a line of financing and you'll be able to actually make it into a business. that growth process is really difficult and it can take time. >> you have to be realistic, as well.

becoming a baker is different than thinking i'm going to become a professional wrestler. >> she may be very willing to downsize her lifestyle a little bit just to live on the salary of a baker instead of the salary of a political consultant. >> she is doing okay. these are darling. they are $4 each. we thank her very much for making them for us. thank you very much, ladies. tomorrow we'll have one more life-changing story. >> $4 on the floor. >> i know. >> say good-bye to chapped lips and more. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

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never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part.

people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. it's time for "today's" beauty. a little care and repair for your dry winter skin. >> if the elements of the cold are taking a toll on your look, we have a few remedies. >> how are you? >> i know what your remedy was.

you went to florida for flee weeks. >> now i come back to this weather and my skin, my hair, everything is suffering. >> what do we do? >> when your face is flakey, where it hurts to smile? this is great. it's omega oil. it uses chia feed oil. it regulates the production in your skin so it stays hydrated, but doesn't get greasy. it has much more omega than fish. >> would you use this on your body or face? >> on your face before your moisturizer or on its own. also throughout the day you can put it over your make-up if you're starting to feel crispy. >> your eyelashes sometimes are trouble in winter. >> because of the breakage, you can get mascara. this is the new gold standard of

mascara from guerlain. it doesn't flake, doesn't look like you've been crying. >> we should try these. i get flakey later this the day. >> there are refills. you buy it once and can get the refills which are around half the price of these. >> okay. >> a bath. that's all we want after a cold day but it's so bad for your skin. this is great. under $4, seaweed bath company. it has seaweed, bladder rack seaweed so it helps your skin. >> i thought those were two separate things. apparently i was wrong. >> you can soak both things in the tub and get a nice soak that doesn't dry your skin. you can get this at whole food

stores. >> soak your bladder rack every night. >> in the winter, it's cold out, the heat is on, you get sweaty and stinky. this is a deoderizing lotion for men. women can use it. it doesn't just mask odor but will help to neutralize odor. >> or you can shower. >> there is a concept. >> dry, cracked lips. the dryness, fine lines. this is new from fresh. >> i love fresh. >> sugar advanced lip therapy. >> jerry won't let me open the tube. >> you put it around your lip. it's anti-aging. it has sea fennel extract, soft orange extract, helps to get the circulation going. really soothing. >> we have a couple of seconds.

>> nail polish. has sheep's wool extract to strengthen your nails. and l'oreal has shampoo and conditioner. it's a low lather that doesn't dry your hair out. >> cold weather is great for hair. >> your hair can get dry and brittle. this hydrates. minimizes shower time. diaper cream is really thick, but a baby's bottom is getting washed all during the day. >> this is still for the baby. >> no. you use it for yourself. >> this is organic. it is not going to irritate and sync oxide for opf. this one i love. in winter your heels get gross. you take a hacksaw to them. this is a file i found. >> genius. we have to run. thank you. >> this is "today" on nbc. dinner's ready.

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it's time for "today's kitchen." we are getting saucy with chef anthony. >> anthony stuart is the executive chef in miami. if you're trying to get fit, he's the guy. >> good to see you. no fat, you're saying? no sugar? >> no salt. >> no salt? your secret ingredient is you. >> it is. >> what are we making? butternut squash. >> roasted squash soup. butternut squash, acorn squash, butter and garlic, blend it. that's what you have. 100 calories, no more. >> you didn't say cream? >> no cream. you can add fat-free sour cream

or yogurt if you like. >> she can't have it so she is happy. >> that's very good. >> it's so delicious. it's hard to believe there is no sugar in it. >> it's the winter. you ask for anything better. >> this is really good. >> did you tell us how to make it or we're just eating it? >> check it out on the website. what are you making? >> i'm whipping up curry sauce. i'm going to do curry mushroom. i have onion, garlic, ginger. >> that smells delicious. >> curry powder. >> this is going to be a chilean sea bass. >> what is this? >> vegetable stock. >> can i put it in? >> not yet. some of the best recipes come from making mistakes. don't worry about it. >> do you ever make a mistake? >> absolutely. all the time. >> do you want to talk about it?

>> i'm known for it. >> you can add the vegetable stock right now. >> changing the subject. all righty. >> it's going to cook down. >> bring us down here. >> i'm always amazed how little mushrooms end up. bring it home. that looks fantastic. >> we have just about a minute. >> when they come down there to the pritiken spa, they check in like a fine resort but lose weight? >> lose weight, lower blood pressure. it's a health resort and spa. it's not just a regular resort and spa. >> 200 calories. >> 30 seconds. show us quick. >> this is unbelievable. delicious. >> i have bananas and apple juice concentrate. i'm going to add ginger juice to that.

you're going to do work here. >> get over here. >> we have to run. >> it ends up being this. >> fat free greek yogurt. >> we've got to go.