>> go out and have yourself a great day. live look at the supreme court right now. people lining up to check it out as the arguments on obama care go down. lot of passion out there. lot of controversy. we will keep you posted. good morning. why did he crack? the fbi launches an investigation into an alarming incident on a jetblue flight. a captain acting erratic goes into a rage after being locked out of the cockpit by his co-pilot. this morning two people who were on that flight speak out about the heroism thatay have saved their lives, and the ceo and president of jetblue talks to us in an exclusive live interview. scaling back. newt gingrich's campaign manager lays off one-third of his staff as house speaker john boehner opens up about the gop field and his relationship with president obama in an exclusive interview.

and talk about a feud. peter cook blasts his ex-wife christie brinkley for her interview her on "today" calling her claims against him. we'll hear from him today, march her claims against him. we'll hear from him today, march 28th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. boy, matt, those passengers aboard this flight, jetblue flight 191 from new york to las vegas are saying it was like a scene out of a movie. >> the pilot, a 12-year jetblue veteran is identified as clapton clayton osbon. he began acting unusually in the cockpit then stormed through the plane yelling things like al qaeda and bombs. his co-pilot locked him out of the cockpit before passengers

tackled him, tied him up with their belts and other devices. as we said we'll talk to passengers who were on that flight about the incident and to jetblue's ceo and president, as well. >> and also ahead, as you well know, there's some alarming statistics out about the unemployment rate for veterans who have served since 9/11. that rate is some 40% higher than for their civilian counterparts. well that is why this morning, we have partnered with the u.s. chamber of congress for our hiring our heroes efforts. we're holding events across the country, overseas and online, to highlight the valuable skills that our veterans can bring to our economy, and one of these events is aboard the "uss intrepid" here in new york this morning. you're listening to the united states military academy band at west point providing us with some music this morning. a lot to get to. we're very excited about it. >> great event and very, very important. look forward to that. a little later on a much different note we're going to tell but the major online controversy that's been ignited by the unusual way alicia

silverstone feeds her 10-month-old son. we'll tell you more about that. but we begin this morning with that jetblue flight that made an emergency landing in amarillo, texas, after the pilot had to be restrained by passengers, nbc's tom costello has the latest. tom, good morning. >> matt, good morning to you. the captain is a 12-year veteran of jetblue. he's now under arrest charged by the fbi in amarillo with interfering with the duties of a flight crew. and also receiving medical care he was on this plane loaded with 131 passengers and a crew of five when he apparently suffered some sort of a breakdown. >> remain with your seat belts fastened. >> reporter: pinned under the weight of half a dozen passengers, the captain of a jetblue plane who seemed to suffer a breakdown mid flight -- >> out of his mind, screaming and saying to the passengers, say your prayers, say your prayers. >> reporter: jetblue flight 191 was flying from new york to las

vegas tuesday when government sources say clayton osbon began erratically steering the plane, flipping switches and operating the radio. the co-pilot persuaded or tricked the captain into going to the rest room, and then asked an off duty captain to enter the cockpit. captain osbon walked to the rear of the plane and then seemed to lose control when he realized he was locked out of the cockpit. this passenger was on row 10. >> he just started sprinting towards the cockpit door and started pounding on the door, tried entering the code to the keypad to get into the cockpit. >> reporter: in the cockpit, the co-pilot declared an in-flight emergency. >> jetblue 191 emergency. we're going to need authorities and medical to meet us at the airplane. >> reporter: while in the back, passengers had to use their own belts to subdue captain osbon, who they say was screaming about a bomb, iran, iraq, afghanistan, and the warning to say your prayers.

>> i ran up, and we were face-to-face, me and the captain, wrestled a little bit. and i got him turned around, and then other passengers jumped on, and we all got on top of him. >> it appeared he was trying to open the side door. i wasn't going to let that happen. >> reporter: once on the ground, police and medics removed captain osbon, his arms still strapped down. but everyone safe. in osbon's georgia hometown, reaction from a longtime friend and neighbor. >> i am as shocked as anybody about this news. he is a straight-headed guy. very level headed. and very professional. >> reporter: the fbi does not believe terrorism was a factor here. captain osbon is a flight standards captain on the airbus a-320. now you can assume that once this is all litigated, the fa a will also be looking into his medical qualifications.

>> earlier this morning, we talked to two more passengers aboard the jetblue flight, and began by asking lori what she witnessed. >> the first thing i saw was the captain running down the aisle, heading towards the cockpit door, banging on the door, saying let me in, let me in. pull back the throttle, we've got to land this thing. he was extremely agitated with his face and with his voice. at that point, two of the flight attendants had tried to restrain him. that's when the brave folks onboard like tony and several other men leapt up out of their seats, ran down the aisle, and grabbed the pilot and then eventually brought him down. so my hat is off to people like tony and also to the jetblue crew, who did exactly what they were supposed to do on this. you know, tony and i were talking earlier. we can't imagine what would have happened if the captain of the plane had either made it back into the cockpit or had never left. we might not be here. >> i think that's a very true statement.

>> you struggled to restrain him. i understand he is 6'3" or 6'4", estimated to be. what made it so difficult to actually cuff him, to keep him from breaking free of his restraints? >> well, when he was attempting to gain access back into the cockpit, he was now in a complete uncontrolled near rage, quite frankly. and when the four of us grabbed him, and he is a 6'3", 6'4", 250-pound guy, so imagine that, and the guy is fully adrenalin running. you know, it's really hard to just take somebody down. he resisted quite a bit. he started ranting about, you know, iraq and iran and afghanistan. then he started to say that we should be saying the lord's prayer. i think at that point, we just -- you know, without thinking, quite frankly, we just tackled him to the ground. everybody grabbed a different body part. and we just sat on top of him quite literally until we were on the ground in amarillo. >> as a passenger on that -- >> go ahead, lori.

>> sorry. as a passenger, and in the first few rows, it was surreal to see this happening. i was on the fourth row. i was by the window. but i had a pretty good view of what was going down. and it was literally like something out of a movie. i mean, we couldn't believe that this was happening. but we all remarkably stayed pretty calm once the team of five or six guys got the captain down. and one of you said, the situation is under control. we're ok. honestly, the rest of the plane, we all said, ok. we're ok. the situation is under control. >> well, i want to ask you, tony, as the ceo of jetblue is going to be on in the next segment. i wonder, is there anything you would ask him or tell him after your experience? >> well, i think two things. i think the co-pilot is really the hero here. he is the instincts to recognize that something was going horribly wrong in the cockpit. and whatever happened up there between he and the captain, he was able to persuade the captain out of the cockpit.

that really is what completely averted what could have been a tragedy yesterday. so i think he should be commended and acknowledged. the rest of the crew did a fantastic job after we restrained the captain keeping the passengers calm. communicating clearly to everyone what was going on. i think what i would say is, the handcuffs or the plastic zip tie restraints were just systematically failed. there were two pairs they gave to us, and they did not work. we had to use seat belt extenders. >> and people's belts, right? >> and physically our hands to restrain the guy. so five guys sitting on top of this man for 20 minutes or so made for a bad situation. >> but you did it. >> yeah. thank god, you know. it turned out ok. and we're not, you know, we're here to talk about it. >> i think a lot of people are happy along with you. lori due and tony antolino, thank you so much for your time this morning. >> thank you, ann. dave barger is the ceo and

president of jetblue. he is with us this morning exclusively. mr. barger, thank you for being here. >> pleasure. >> how could it have happened? >> boy, tough event to say the least as it was unfolding yesterday, matt. but i think that that situation as it played out, what really -- the training that took place with the co-pilot, who became the pilot in command, the entire cabin crew, and then working with the customers, i think that's the follow-up to the story, just consummate training and then a call to action. >> the pilot, a 12-year veteran, clayton osbon. do you think this was a medical problem? an emotional problem? was this a psychotic event? how are you describing it? >> well, we are describing it as a medical situation. obviously, the captain is now in the hands of medical care. obviously, under the custody of the fbi. >> have you had a chance, anybody at the airline, to talk to him since this happened? >> i don't believe so. and i have known the captain personally for a long period of time. there's been no indication of this at all in the past. >> you know this man personally? >> very much so. >> what's your experience with

him? what's his background? what's in his file? any other complaints about him? >> consummate professional, matt. so i think yesterday, that individual action, really the follow-up of the crew, and then the customers, as tony and lori mentioned. that was a true team effort at 35,000 feet yesterday. >> so nothing in your experience with this guy or any other employee's experience with mr. osbon that would give you any reason to think he was a risk on a flight? >> not that we know at this point in time. that's correct. >> you have a blog called blue tail. customers can weigh in on things. i want to read you one that was posted on tuesday after you called this a medical situation. chris wrote, i support jetblue, but this response is nonsensical. best not to sanitize what sounds like a very serious situation. a pilot having a bout of food poisoning mid flight is a medical situation. an on-duty pilot having a psychotic episode in flight is a different category altogether. how would you respond to that? >> really what happened at tud and the call in to the faa is that we had a medical situation, and that's how we responded.

media is real time, matt. we also know it became a security situation. less than 24 hours later it started medical. but clearly more than that. >> are you happy with all screening procedures that are currently in place for pilots? might there be any review of those procedures? >> we always look at our procedures, matt. but i am very confident in our procedures and the industry's procedures. and i think yesterday's action by the rest the crew and the customers, that's really the example of the rest of jetblue's 14,000 crew members and the industry. that's what takes place day in and day out. it's not so much one individual's actions. >> when tony is asked what he might ask you in that interview, one of the things he brought up was the restraints that are supplied on the plane, he said they were flimsy and they failed. will you conduct a review of that? >> absolutely. not just that, but also the entire event, matt. within jetblue and also the industry. and to tony, lori, and those who really came to the support of the crew, a sincere thank you.

that was a tough situation at altitude. the customers and the crew did a great job. >> mr. barger, thank you for your time. i appreciate it. >> matt, nice to be in the studio. thank you. now to the news desk with natalie and the other top stories of the morning. good morning, everyone. major shakeups for newt gingrich's presidential campaign. the former house speaker is tightening the belt, dropping 1/3 of his campaign staff, and asking his campaign manager to resign. the gop presidential hopeful is making a drastic strategic shift, spending less money in primary states and instead personally appealing to delegates. today is the final day of arguments at the supreme court as the justices review president obama's landmark health care overhaul. tuesday's historic session indicates that the high court may drop a provision from the law that would require every american to purchase insurance or face a fine. the high court is also weighing a challenge to expanding the medicaid program.

the parents of slain teen trayvon martin are seeking answers from capitol hill to sanford, florida, where their son was killed. nbc's ron allen is in sanford now with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. information is trickling out, and police here in sanford say they are investigating whether anyone inside the department has been leaking information to the public. trayvon martin's family claims it's been done on purpose to bolster the decision not to arrest george zimmerman. on capitol hill, a warm welcome for trayvon martin's parents. >> a moment of silence for trayvon martin. >> reporter: at a democratic congressional forum on hate crimes, racial profiling and stand your ground laws, the law that police say is the reason they have not charged george zimmerman for the killing of trayvon martin. meanwhile, new reports portray the teenager as a high school student often in trouble, suspended three times for vandalism, truancy, possession of drug paraphernalia, and after being caught with jewelry and

what's described as a possible burglary tool in his bag. that follows a detailed account of what zimmerman told police, that martin attacked him first, knocking him to the ground, smashing his head on the sidewalk, before the fatal shot. information that police admit could have been leaked from inside the department. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> reporter: the martin family's attorney sees what he calls a conspiracy. >> every bit of information that comes out is beneficial to mr. zimmerman. it certainly hasn't been to the dead teenager. >> what was released in the newspaper as far as trayvon approaching george is what george told me. >> reporter: zimmerman's supporters say he is glad the truth is coming out, while he remains in hiding, afraid, depressed, and aware his life is changed forever. we should also point out that zimmerman's past includes charges of assaulting a police officer, allegations of domestic violence, cases that never went to court. and there are reports here now that police initially wanted to charge him with manslaughter, but prosecutors said no, there's

not enough evidence. natalie? >> ron allen in sanford, florida, thank you, ron. lakers legend magic johnson is about to make a little more history in los angeles as a group including the basketball icon has agreed to purchase the l.a. dodgers for $2 billion. if finalized, it would be the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise. and mitt romney stopped by "the tonight show" where he gave jay leno a peek at his potential running mate. >> i can do you a favor with this. i'll choose david letterman. >> there you go. there you go. >> but the republican front-runner played it straight for most of the night. in a video one of his aide's posted on twitter, romney admitted he is rarely funny on purpose. now it's 7:16. now back to ann, matt, and maria. >> thank you, natalie. we have maria larosea in for al this morning. and i hope it's going to be a

pretty day today. >> i'm willing it to feel like spring in a lot of places. in the west, a bit of a mess. a number of winter advisories, storm warnings as well. on top of that, the wind too. rain will be heavy at times from san francisco and on to seattle. mountain snow as well. possibility of strong thunderstorms in and around the kansas city area, into the ohio valley. otherwise, sunshine continues in the southeast. that's a look at good morning to you. well, north of the golden gate bridge, mostly dry right now. very pesky light showers streaming onshore. mostly confined to the east shore. zoom out, you can see what we are dealing with is moving very quickly, very light. not widespread showers by any means. and as we head throughout the afternoon, 57 degrees inland. you will be at 5 by the bay. rounding out the day in mid 60s. 69 tomorrow. 70s on friday. >> now back to you. >> all right, maria, thank you very much. now our exclusive interview with house speaker john boehner.

we sat down on tuesday to discuss a wide range of topics, including the state of the economic recovery, and the gop presidential race. mr. speaker, it's good to see you. >> matt, nice to see you. >> it's a busy day in washington, basically across the street from us here, the justices of the supreme court are listening to oral arguments on the president's health reform law. are you monitoring that on an hour by hour basis? do you get reports? do you hear snippets of the arguments? the comments from the justices? >> no. >> no? you don't care. >> i've got a big job here. and you know the court will hear their arguments. the court will make a decision. all i know is that when i talk to employers around my district, they're concerned that obama care is getting in the way of them hiring more people. >> you call it obama care. every time i hear you talk. why don't you call it what you called it when you debated it, the affordable care act. >> i don't know. because everybody calls it obama care. now even the president's calling it obama care. >> i want to ask you about some of these people running on the republican side, because you

know them. >> i know them. >> you have experience with them. rick santorum, you served in congress with. what do you think is the most important characteristic he possesses that would make him a good leader of this country? >> listen, i know all four of them very well. i've not involved myself in the presidential primaries. i've got a big job to do here in the capitol. voters around the country who choose to vote in republican primaries will pick one of these candidates. and whoever that candidate is, i will support. >> let me try a different tack with you then, as you smile. you were a guy with a great story. one of 12 children, started with very little worked your way through school to this office. where we are sitting today. what is governor romney's most compelling story? when people look at him and say, why can i connect with him? why can he identify with him? what do you think is compelling about his story? >> well, i think his background is probably his strongest suit. he was a very successful businessman.

understands how our economy works. and in a time when the american people are asking where are the jobs, i think that it may be the strongest point that he brings. >> talk about the economy. is it recovering? >> it is. certainly signs of life. but i would argue that it should be doing a lot better. it's doing better in spite of what washington is doing to the economy. >> but it does put some republicans in a difficult position. got better job numbers, you've got better manufacturing numbers. consumer debt is down. consumer confidence is up. isn't it hard to run against a recovering economy? >> matt, my point is, it should be doing better. >> is that -- i hate to, you know, condemn things to bumper stickers. is that the slogan? it can be better? >> it should be better. >> when you hear some prominent conservatives saying the white house is not where we should be focusing, because we may lose that. focus on these congressional and senatorial races, do you like that thinking at this stage of the game? >> no. i don't. if you really want to help win

the white house, you go out and win more congressional races, you win more senate races, you turn more republicans and republican voters out around the country, we'll win the white house. >> you disagree with the president on a lot of key issues. as a guy, though, as a person, do you get along with him? >> we get along great. we really do. >> how important -- >> we have -- we have ours today agreements. we know we come from different parties. we come from different backgrounds. we have different ideas about what the appropriate role of the federal government is. but having said that, we get along just fine. and we have a good personal relationship. and i think that's important in this town. >> how are you going to react when he runs for re-election against the do-nothing congress? you know that's what's going to happen. >> listen, we have passed bill after bill here to get our economy going again. there are 40 bills sitting over in the united states senate. the house has done its work. this week, we're going to be passing a budget. we're going to lay out our

vision for how we get america back on track. how we bring prosperity back to our country. how we save the next generation. we've done our job every year. it's been over three years since the united states senate has done a budget. this is totally irresponsible. >> john boehner, the speaker of the house. just ahead the new online video showing actress alicia silverstone's bizarre method of feeding her young son. it has a lot of moms talking and doctors, as well. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] here in california, our schools need help.

the largest class size in the nation. 47th out of 50 in per-student funding. but right now, we can make history with a ballot measure toend every k-through-12 dollar straight to our schools. to every school and every child. not to sacramento. it's the only initiative that can say all that. check out our online calculator and find out how your school would benefit. visit ourchildrenourfuture2012.com today. and find out how your school would benefit. i stmy family,ne. my home... my boyfriend. i can't help it.

i'm a fashion stylist! at t.j.maxx, i get designer clothes... all on trend. and, everyone and everything looks good. even my bank account! fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you. this nonstop fashionista is definitely a maxxinista. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you. hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. just ahead christie brinkley's ex-husband peter cook rehere on "today." [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪

...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ whoa! what is that? it burns! it's singeing me! it's the sun. get of the office more often with chili's $6 lunch break combos, featuring our classic turkey sandwich. chili's lunch break combos. and then at 3:15 with my guilt. [ female announcer ] special k cracker che s. 27 crispy chips. 110 delicious calories. mmm. good meeting. same time tomorrow? [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. i see a bag and think... i could have a chip.

yeah right. that's why they're called chipsss. [ female announcer ] special k cracker chips. 27 crispy chips. 110 delicious calories. [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. ♪ good morning, everyone. time now is 7:26. i'm jon kelley. counselors will be at an east bay middle school hoping students cope with the sudden death of a classmate. the 14-year-old collapsed while playing basketball during pe april cesar chavez middle school in hayward yesterday. the emergency call reported a seizure, firefighters say that unfortunately they were just unable to revive the eighth grader. friends say that he was a standout athlete with a very promising future on the football field. >> very athletic. he could have played for any school. lot of coaches are looking at him. he was only in middle school but looked at by a lot of high

school coaches. i'm sure as he got into high school he would be looked at by a lot of colleges. >> family members say that he was the rungest of ten children. friends will wear his favorite color blue today at school in his honor. such a sad story there. time now to check your wednesday weather. meteorologist christina loren says a lot of rain yesterday and wind. today a little sunshine. >> yeah. you know, we have more digital showers, very light and very pesky. later on today, that sun will will be out. we are already starting to see a little bit of sunshine here in the south bay. you can see showers streaming, though, on shore. that's the case as we head throughout the day. by 5:00, mostly clear over the greater bay area. highs today looking rather comfortable down in the south bay. 68 degrees in morgan hill. 62 in dublin. even san francisco today, 61 degrees. bumped your numbers up as we are expecting the shine to shine through. earlier. friday showers arrive late. yeah, we are going to see a rainy saturday. if you want to make outdoor plans this weekend, sunday is the day you should do so. lots of shine and 61 degrees.

let's check your drive with mike. >> all the accidents, plural, 101 completely cleared roadway. we have a much smoother flow. more like what we expect to see for a wednesday morning. northbound 101 slow from 85 up past capital and then things are normal up past the airport. 85, 87. 280, showing your slower routes in the northbound direction. southbound side of 880, jams around union city and also coming off of that cass traffic valley where 580 is slow through the interchange. live look outside shaping up across the bay. water kicking up in many spots. watch the slick roadway. >> foggy as well. thank you very much. for the latest traffic and news updates make sure to check us out on facebook. look! here she comes!

♪ she'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes... ♪ ♪ when she comes. ♪ it'll be spinning new chrome wheels when it comes. ♪ ♪ when it comes. ♪ custom spoiler, race grade pistons, ♪ ♪ gt35 turbo charger. ♪ and they'll all know that it's kevin's awesome car. ♪ bought em! ( clears throat ) sorry. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay.

i'm -- for my family. and i also -- sorry. but i just want peace. and every -- >> that was model and actress christie brinkley getting emotional in an exclusive interview here on "today" as she talked about her ongoing feud with her ex-husband, peter cook. well he called us and asked for a chance to respond. so we're going to hear from him coming up this morning. meantime, inside studio 1a i'm ann curry. along with matt lauer. 7:30 on a wednesday. the 28th of march, 2012. and also ahead we'll be talking about this controversy sparked by the actress alicia silverstone. >> i saw this for the first time this morning. she posted a new video in which

she feeds her 10-month-old son from her own mouth and it's caught the attention of moms, and doctors. we're going to be talking more about that. >> also coming up this morning, are you ready for some good news? who isn't ready for some good news? because this morning we're going to be honoring our nation's heroes. we've got special events all across the country today, and so we are going to head over, the contingent here from the "today" show, is going to head over to "the uss intrepid" to tell you all about it. >> we look forward to that. also it's been a year since charlie sheen's very public war of words with the creators of "two and a half men" and the meltdown that followed basically cost sheen the highest-paid acting job on tv. now he says he is a changed man and he's just started shooting a new sitcom. charlie will be here live tomorrow morning to talk about all of that. >> well, that will be something. but we begin this half hour with a crime that has rocked a quiet vermont town. the murder of a single mom and beloved teacher. nbc's ron mott has details on this story.

ron, good morning. >> good morning to you. we have breaking news to report. the arrest of two people in the death of melissa jenkins. people have a hard time of believing why she was killed. 30-year-old alan prue and his wife experienced a medical episode questioned by police. around the same time, police searched the couple's home. >> there is work to be done. we hope the arrests bring closure to the family and friends of melissa jenkins. >> reporter: the potential end to the murder mystery comes as a cold end to the mystery. the classroom has become a makeshift memorial. >> some cannot take it in right now or some are confused. >> reporter: on sunday night,

vermont state police found the single mom's suv idling on the road not far from the home. there were signs of a struggle. her 2-year-old son, ty, was found safe inside. >> we know she did not leave voluntarily. >> reporter: less than 24 hours later, police found a body on the back road less than 15 minutes from the suv. officials positively identified jenkins and ruled it a homicide and not revealing a cause of death or information to the case. instead of the dinner shift at the creamery restaurant, where she worked, people stood in disbelief. >> small community. young girl. way too short for a life to end in a brutal way. the community is saddened. it is horrible. >> she wanted to make everybody

happy. >> reporter: they had been texting with jenkins the afternoon before she disappeared. they were supposed to see her and the toddler today. now they are dealing with her death. >> she is the best mom. she is still the best mom. >> reporter: outside the private school where jenkins worked, locals gathered for a vigil tuesday night. >> i love you, miss jenkins. >> reporter: as the community struggles with her death, people are focused on little ty who lost his mother. >> she is ty's guardian angel. she is looking down on him. she is the perfect guardian angel. >> reporter: no word on the funeral arrangements for her. matt. >> ron mott up in vermont. thank you very much. let us get a check of the weather with maria larosa. take a look at the conditions across the country.

the cold will stay to the north. the cold in the mid-atlan mid-atlantic, 20 do 25 degrees above average. 80s and 70s. the only place really cool in the northern great lakes and northern new england, your highs into the 30s. a chance of strong thunderstorms from parts of the mississippi valley into the ohio valley. primary threat being some gusty wind and hail. it is a mild start. we have temperatures in the 50s. few light scattered showers. overall slated to hit the mid 60s. good morning. meteorologist christina loren. mid 50s just about everywhere. very light pesky showers. overcast conditions for the first part day. then the sun will break through those clouds. by about 3:00 m.m. this afternoon, highs rather comfortable in places like the valley. 65 degrees today. by thursday, up to 60. bump you up even more for friday. 72 degrees inland with showers moving in late. >> and you can always check your local forecast any time at the weather channel or weather.com. >> maria, thank you very much.

there are some new details this morning in the case of a texas model seriously injured last december when she walked into the still spinning prop propeller of an airplane. "today" national correspondent amy robach has details on that. good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. lauren scrugs has made a remarkable recovery over the last few months and now nbc news has learned that she has reached a settlement with the pilot's insurance company. once an aspiring model and fashion blogger, lauren skruggs has been waging the fight of her life, following a tragic prop propeller accident that severed her left hand and caused her to lose her left eye. for the pass several months she's been solely focused on her recovery. now she can breathe a sigh of relief as she has reached a settlement for her injuries. according to court papers, the company that insures the plane and its pilot, kurt richmond, originally offered scruggs $200,000 in damages.

at first, news reports stated that she had rejected the offer. but her attorney says the two sides have now come to an agreement, tuesday night he told nbc news, attorneys for miss scruggs and aggressive insurance service llc jointly announce that they have resolved the issues raised in the declaratory judgment action. back in december, scruggs flew over dallas in a single-engine plane with a friend to see christmas lights around the city, but as she exited the plane she accidentally walked into the still-spinning propeller. according to the ntsb report, the pilot, a family friend of scruggs, said he told her to walk away from the propeller as she exited but it's unclear whether she heard him over the roar of the engine. scruggs suffered critical injuries that have taken their toll. despite numerous hurdles she has made a remarkable recovery. tweeting pictures from a trip to steamboat springs, colorado, last month.

such a fun weekend with family and friends, lauren tweeted. scruggs also uploaded this picture of herself with her twin brittany. the twins wearing sunglasses that hid from view lauren's prosthetic eye. the ntsb determined the pilot was not ultimately responsible for the accident though they said he should have shut down the engine sooner. the family said they don't blame him and neither the attorneys nor the family has commented on the terms of the settlement. matt? >> all right, amy, thank you very much. up next david zinczenko calls some pointless foods but he's here with alternatives to your favorite daily snacks tha really pack on t can really pack onhe ps. tndou ♪ ♪ wow... ♪ [ female announcer ] sometimes, all you need is the smooth, creamy taste of werther's original caramel

to remind you that you're someone very special. ♪ werther's original caramels. ♪ spread a little love my way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ [ female announcer ] fresh milk and real cream makes philadelphia and the moment a little richer.

yes. yes. noooo! [ male announcer ] yep, subway broke the 200-calorie breakfast barrier. with delicious fresh fit mornin' melt breakfast sandwiches. subway. eat fresh. mornin' melt breakfast sandwiches. [ growling ] captain, one step at a time.keep going! come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ]

long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. the adventures of tintin, on dvd and blu-ray today. and on small business saturday bothey remind a nations of the benefits of shopping small. on just one day, 100 million of us joined a movement... and main street found its might again. and main street found its fight again. and we, the locals, found delight again. that's the power of all of us. that's the power of all of us. that's the membership effect of american express.

this morning on "eat this, not that" we're talking about avoiding pointless foods. sugary snacks and drinks may be harmless in moderation but when they become part of your daily routine they can pack on the pounds and damage your overall health. david zinczenko is the author of "eat this, not that supermarket survival guide." pointless foods defined how? >> just seems like we need these foods like a fish needs a bicycle. food manufacturers have taken simple foods that we have enjoyed for generations, and they've basically messed with them to carve out more food dollars. so we've gone from 8,000 foods in the '70s to more than 40,000 today. so we think it's for convenience, but it's just confusing. >> they aren't pointless, i'm hungry. there's the point right there. you're going to start with one. these are crust -- they're smucker's uncrustables peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches.

>> it's more like unsinkable. it's 420 calories here, and more sugar, 18 grams, than fiber or protein combined. so if you're eating this or serving this to your child over the course of a week it ends up being the calorie equivalent of 8 1/2, you know, burgers from mcdonald's. >> so over the course of the week this is the equivalent and you have a healthier alternative which is kind of the same thing, but a do it yourself version. >> just make your own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. here you're getting peanut butter which has its own natural oils. there you're getting other oils like soybean and palm and assorted hydrogenated vegetable oils and you're paying 2 1/2 times more than you would for a sandwich which is a dollar each. >> better alternative. let's start now, you've got a starbucks double shot coffee drink. why is that a pointless food? >> because it's a small can with big calories. it's not a double shot of coffee it's a double shot of fat and sugar. it has 17 grams of sugar, and 140 calories. if you have a grande from

starbucks, it has 2 1/2 times more caffeine than that. so, you know, over the course of a week -- >> here's the equivalent. >> the equivalent is ten beals of eddy's ice cream. so you're much better off getting the villa. it's very convenient. >> this is all from starbucks by the way. >> compared to $1.50. so it's 33% cheaper. >> this next one might surprise people. you call this snack here a pointless food. it is 99% yoplait original fat free yogurt. >> it's sure for you're being played. because it's basically 26 grams of sugar and none of it is natural, matt. so -- >> if you ate it every day for a week? >> you're looking at 14 fudge sickles. that's the equivalent. that's the equivalent. that's what you're doing to your morning. okay. so basically what you want to do is get the yoplait light. it's not fat free. it has a little bit of fat in it but that's okay and you're

getting 15 grams of sugar rather than 26. those 11 grams definitely add up. >> and a lot of people will look at these in the supermarket and think they are the same thing. >> they are not the same. got to read the label. >> let's end up with an energy drink. you know how popular these are. this is called the sobi citrus energy and it contains 2 1/2 the suggested servings, and actually it's packed with sugar. >> yeah. i mean if this is your energy source you need to unplug, because this is 250 calories. it's a tablespoon of real citrus. that's it. it's 64 grams -- 63 grams of sugar. a sugar gram is four calories. multiply it, you've got 250 calories of pure sugar. and there's no real citrus. >> you had it seven times a week. >> the equivalent of two cans of pringles. just get the regular o.j. because you're getting vitamins and minerals. this is completely devoid of nutrition. >> david, as always, thanks very

much. up next why this video of alicia silverstone feeding her young son is causing a big debate. that's right after this. [ scott ] i grew up playing with little toy trains and now i build them. i am a bigger is better kind of guy. i absolutely love building locomotives. i knew i wanted to design locomotives from when i was very young. [ jahmil ] from the outside it looks like such a simple device. when you actually get down into the bare bones of it, there's so much technology that's submerged. . . . . . . you lay down that nice bead and you look at it, i love it. they don't go together by themselves. there are a lot of little parts, and everyone has their job. [ scott ] i'd love to see it out there on the open tracks. and when i see it, i'm gonna know that i helped build that thing. [ train whistle blows ] here she comes! [ bell clanging ] [ train whistle blows ] wow! [ charlie ] well, it's one thing seeing them built, but then to see them out here,

pulling freight across america, it makes us proud. ♪ ♪ i've got a little secret, too ♪ ♪ i've got a mad little crush on you ♪ [ female announcer ] it's always better when there's a little more to love. introducing our silky smooth dove chocolate bar. [ female announcer ] it's always better when there's a little more to love. hi. we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. two flavors. in harmony. honey bunches of oats. make your day bunches better. well, it's not gonna clean itself. want me to get dad? no thank you. viva's all i need.

look at that! still in one piece. yeah, so's the towel. [ female announcer ] grab a roll and try it on your toughest mess. battle speech right? may i? capital one is issuing a venture double miles challenge. show us how much you spent last year and we'll give you 2 miles for every dollar spent on your travel reward card. up to 100,000 miles! hawaii, here we come. claim your miles at capitalone.com today! what's in your wallet? can you play games on that? not on the runway. no. that's 50% off lenses, including bifocals, no-lines, even sunglasses made with your prescription. so hurry in. sale ends april 1st. lenscrafters.

you squashed my willpower like a fly. 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. back now at 7:49 with a bit of a mommy controversy. alicia silverstone posted video of herself pre-chewing her 10-month-old son's food, then giving it to him mouth to mouth. and as you might imagine, this has created quite a bit of reaction. >> her 11-month-old son, i guess she did this about two months ago. she wrote about it on her blog.

she said i fed bear the moshi, which is part of this soup, from the soup from my mouth to his. it's his favorite and mine. he literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if i'm eating. i guess this video was about two months ago. so i guess a lot of controversy for moms. and a lot of trefrts because there's that ick factor. bacteria. >> birds do that. but that's regurgitating. >> i don't know what the health benefits are of this. one thing you wonder about, a 10-month-old baby, isn't he supposed to be learning to crew food and acquiring these skills for life? and you wonder if that undercuts that at all. >> a lot of moms commenting online. doctors weighing in as well. we have dr. nancy sneiderman joining us this morning from i believe seattle. nancy, what's your take on this? >> hi, guys. i think it's a fad. certainly there are no health benefits for all of this.

a couple of downsides. there's nothing dirtier than the human mouth. forget the ick factor. there's nothing really very good about the viruses and bacteria that live in an adult's mouth, and a child may not be ready for those. it's not a great idea. and the social parenting aspects. toddlerhood and the skills of learning to sit in a high chair and eat foods with your hands and eat on your own are really important adaptive skills. so no benefits, and certainly a lot of downsides. >> wouldn't a child through breast feeding be exposed to some of the viruses and bacterias that the mom carries anyway? >> not necessarily. the immune things are pretty close. but things like the herpes virus have not been transmitted to baby. and the mom could have that in her mouth and transfer it to the baby. just kissing a baby is different than transferring bacteria and

viruses that could be enmeshed in chewed up food. it sort of pushes it one step forward. and there's no health benefit for chewing food for your baby. i think that is the biggest thing. >> nancy, thank you very much. coming up next, peter cook, christie brinkley's ex-husband, speaks out about her emotional interview here on "today." here's to turning rookies into experts, and shoppers into savers. here's to picking up. trading up. mixing it up. to well-earned muddy boots and a lot more spring per dollar. more saving. more doing. that the power of the home depot. break out the gardening gloves. miracle-gro garden soil is now 3 bags for 10 bucks. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

♪ ♪ and i know there's no orange like a tropicana florida orange. the soil and sunshine are just perfect here. tropicana pure premium is made with 100% florida oranges. because the best oranges make the best juice. energy in america.mium is made with 100% florida oranges. we've got to protect the environment. the economists make some good points. we need safer energy. [announcer:] who's right? they all are. visit powerincoope

since before i could walk. [ sigh ] if only mom knew about kraft homestyle macaroni & cheese. i can dream can't i? [ male announcer ] kraft macaroni & cheese. you know you love it. we've created aquafresh training toothpaste and brush. our toothpaste is safe to swallow with no fluoride and no artificial colors or preservatives. a great start for a lifetime of healthy teeth. aquafresh training. amazing. i get the power of claritin-d. sinus pressure? nothing works stronger or faster than claritin-d. get non-drowsy claritin-d at the pharmacy counter. live claritin clear. ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart is playing tricks on me ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing new special k granola bars. ♪ i can't break through with 4 grams of protein.

and 4 grams of fiber. finally, a granola bar that makes your heart skip a beat. . . . in the bathroom. and start talking about what you really want from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft & strong. stronger than the leading rippled brand. for a confident clean.

good morning, everyone. time is 7:56. i'm jon kelley. 12 straight days and still no sign of morgan hill's sierra lamar. volunteer searches continuing today from burnett elementary school. santa clara county investigators say it is highly unlikely sierra actually ran away. after detectives interviewed more than 100 of her friends and family they determined sierra was more than likely abducted. a fund has been set up to chase bank trying to help pay for the cost of the search and a reward for information leading to sierra's recovery. well now time for a check on your wednesday weather. who better to do that than meteorologist christina loren. >> you want to keep the umbrella handy. we have very light pesky showers from time to time and fog so thick it is generating a drizzle along the pen lanes this morning.

7:56 in the morning. we got the showers now by 5:00 p.m. tonight completely clear skies over the greater bay area. highs today will be able to reach the 60s. 65 in the valley. 63 in san jose. up to 69 inland tomorrow. we will see 70s return friday. before another system rolls in and looks like friday evening into saturday rain on the way. up about sunday great for outdoor plans. check your drive at 7:57. >> better for your drive. wednesday not as heavy as tuesday commute. that's good news. that's what saved us in many parts of the bay area. right here we have the peninsula with two accidents southbound 101 at marsh. both moved off to the shoulder. starts to back up early if you are heading southbound in towards redwood city and menlo park. jam as the morning commute as the commute starts in. 880 moving smoothly. low all the way from the dublin interchange to cass traffic

valley. northbound 680 showing unusual slowing. >> for the latest traffic and news update check out nbcnewsbayarea. [ female announcer ] here in california, our schools need help. the largest class size in the nation. 47th out of 50 in per-student funding. but right now, we can make history with a ballot measure to send every k-through-12 dollar straight to our schools. to every school and every child. not to sacramento. it's the only initiative that can say all that. check out our online calculator and find out how your school would benefit. visit ourchildrenourfuture2012.com today.

8:00 now on a wednesday morning. 28th day of march, 2012. there's a pretty shot of "the uss intrepid." sea air and space museum as we enjoy great music from the united states military academy band at west point. the reason we're showing you this, and the reason we are there this morning is because we have a very special event coming up. ann has made her way over to "the uss intrepid" to fill us in. ann? >> hey, matt. as you well know, we've partnered with the u.s. chamber of commerce to help businesses get the skills of a great resource, our veterans. i'm inside hangar three.

registration is getting under way right now. over the next five years, 1 million men and women will be leaving the active duty ranks. so it's vital to our economy to get them back in to our workforce. bring their fighting spirit into our economy. people like juan, who is here with me. and also mark wood, and also tamad, they're all looking for jobs here along with many others. and similar events are being held all across the nation today. in chicago, and in fort hood in texas, and veterans are even taking part online, in stuttgart, germany this morning. we'll be checking in with all of them, coming up. we'll also be talking with dr. jill biden, the wife of the vice president, and she along with the first lady michelle obama has been making hiring veterans her mission. so there's a lot to ask her about. we're very excited about this, matt. >> ann, i also want to just to brag on you for a second. you have been one of the driving forces behind this. we're proud of you. we look forward to hearing what you have to say later in the program.

on a lighter note from here, in some ways, christie brinkley was on this show yesterday morning and got very emotional as she talked about her ongoing feud with her ex-husband, peter cook. well, it didn't take long for my cell phone to ring after that interview. peter cook was watching. he wanted a chance to respond. he sits down with savannah guthrie this morning. we'll hear more about that. but first, let's go inside. we've got natalie morales standing by at the news desk. >> good morning to you, matt. good morning, everyone. the fbi is investigating an incident involving a jetblue captain who had to be restrained by passengers in midflight tuesday. the flight with 136 passengers and crew members was heading from new york to las vegas when sources say pilot clayton osbon began steering the plane erratically, forcing the co-pilot to boot him from the cockpit. passengers say he then screamed at them about a bomb and told them to say their prayers. passengers used their own belts to restrain the captain. a co-pilot made a safe emergency landing in amarillo, texas, where osbon was arrested.

firefighters in colorado hope calmer winds today will help them tackle a wind-driven wildfire that has destroyed more than 15 houses outside of denver and forced thousands of people to evacuate. officials suspect the fire may have caused the deaths of at least two people. top officials from at least four beef producing states are showing their support today for the company that makes a beef filler known as pink slime. the governors and lieutenant governors are touring a south dakota plant that is now the last facility making the ammonia treated additive. three other plants suspended operations this week because of an online consumer backlash. now let's head to wall street. mary thompson is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. >> good morning, natalie. prices at the pump keep rising but the cost of heating many homes continues to fall. warm weather pushing natural gas prices to a ten-year low. in the meantime the u.s., the uk and france are reportedly talking about a joint relief of

their strategic reserves in order to push the price of oil lower. and lastly, mortgage applications declined for the seventh straight week as longer-term interest rates inched higher. back to you. >> mary thompson at the new york stock exchange. now for a look of what's trending today. a quick roundup of what has you talking online. a twitter error has reportedly forced an elderly florida couple to leave their home in fear for their lives. and their son said director spike lee is partly to blame. the couple's address was mistakenly posted on twitter as belonging to george zimmerman, the man who shot unarmed teenager trayvon martin. the son says he traced the original tweet to a california man and then it was retweeted by spike lee to a quarter of a million followers. the couple's son is named william george zimmerman but is not related to the martin shooter. lee's tweet has since been removed. madonna has made peace on twitter with deejay dead mouse. he criticized her online for

reportedly making a reference to a male, a slang term for mdma a chemical in ecstasy. it is also strikingly similar to mdna which is the title of madonna's new album. madonna tweeted back a silly picture as a peace offering with a note that molly was simply a reference to a song written by a friend. deejay dead mouse accepted the apology. and twitter users are astounded over a stolen lorax. a 300 pound bronze statue of dr. seuss' character was stolen from the california home of the author's widow. the sculptor released a statement begging for the thieves to return the lorax statue saying, quote, wherever he is, he is scared, lonely and hungry. so please, if you know where the lorax is return him. it is 8:05 right now. let's go back outside to maria with a check of your weather. who steals a lorax? >> good morning, natalie. we're here with wonderful sisters enjoying new york city

time. where are you from? >> oklahoma. >> mckinney, texas. you're the birthday girl, right? >> i'm the birthday girl. >> do you want to say -- >> happy birthday. >> welcome to new york. another beautiful spot. honolulu, hawaii our pick city for today. partly sunny and warm, 80 degrees on waikiki beach. the lower 48, midsection warm right now, we're expecting some thunderstorms to fire up, though, through the mid-mississippi valley into the ohio valley. so watch out for gusty winds and perhaps some large hail, as well. looking at sunshine still in the southeast. wouldn't mind a little sunshine in the pacific northwest where wind, rain and mountain snow continues. good morning to you. we have thick fog out there. nothing too severe right at the surface but a low ceiling for flight delays out of sfo. check ahead. we'll take it live to golden gate bridge and you can still see pretty good here on the

highway. as you head throughout the day today fog will likely continuously develop through the next few hours. showers are moving out. high pressure is moving in. it compresses the moisture. we lose the visibility. we'll get a few showers late friday but 72 degrees before that down to 57 on saturday. >> matt back to you. couples celebrating a 25th anniversary. i said what's the secret? he said we never fight. but we did have a fight on the way here this morning. right? speaking of that, coming up, peter cook. the ex of christie brinkley fires back on the charges she leveled here yesterday. [ male announcer ] this is the story of one of nature's most perfect foods... quaker oats. in every way, a super grain. ♪ super for the fiber that helps fill us up. super for the energy it gives to get us going. super for the oats that are so good for our hearts. ♪ super for how it makes us...

super. quaker oats. energy. fiber. heart health. super people eat super grains. you make a change with best foods. make parmesan crusted chicken surprisingly crispier, juicier, mmmm yummy-er. best foods. make it real: make it different. best foods. ♪ abracadabra. new hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces.

i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams.

my inspiration for quitting were my sons. they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. we're back now at 8:09 with fallout over our exclusive interview with model and actress christie brinkley. on tuesday she spoke out for the first time about the ongoing dispute with her ex-husband peter cook. now he's firing back. nbc's savannah guthrie talked to him. savannah, good morning. >> good morning to you, matt. as you know the feud between christie brinkley and peter cook has been playing out in the public eye for years and it has been ugly. now cook has a message for his ex-wife. he says he's not going to take it anymore. *christie brinkley is in a war of words with her ex-husband, architect peter cook. the couple divorced in 2008, after 12 years of marriage. cook confessed to watching online porn and having an affair with an 18-year-old woman. now, another court battle is raging, this time over money and what brinkley says is harassment.

she says she didn't want to go public but on tuesday she spoke to matt about her ex-husband. >> this is my first time on tv, okay? this is my first time. i want to stress that. i have never gone on a tv show. since the day that he realized that i wasn't coming back, there has been a real character assassination going on. >> now, peter cook wants his say. he contacted us after brinkley's interview and asked for a chance to respond. >> i thought that it was horrible that she could sit and shamelessly lie to our children, again, on national tv, about the events surrounding this current motion. >> what do you think she was lying about? >> virtually everything, the entire content of her interview was a lie. when she claims that i am harassing and bullying her on a daily basis. i need you to know that we haven't had a conversation in 4 1/2 years. and we haven't e-mailed each

other directly in two years. so this perception that i am harassing and bullying her is nonsense. >> reporter: during brinkley's interview with matt she broke down at one point. >> i'm looking for peace for my family. and i also -- sorry. but i just want peace. and every time i have any joy, or any kind of success in anything, he has to try to destroy it. >> there was a moment when she cried. >> crocodile tears. >> why do you say that? >> because she's not -- ever since the separation she has been on a campaign to smear me. there is no peter cook press machine. i have no interest in the press. i'm not a celebrity. you don't hear about peter cook until christie brinkley dredges something up from the past to make herself relevant in the media again.

>> reporter: the couple's public battle heated up again recently when brinkley went to court, saying cook owed thousands of dollars in child support for their teenage children. cook says he paid brinkley and responded with his own court filing. each side is now accusing the other of violating confidentiality agreement of their divorce. and cook admits he was the first to go public. you've done more television interviews than she has, right? >> on this particular issue, yes. >> so one might assume that you're the one who's drumming up publicity. >> but i'm defending myself. i'm not out soliciting publicity. i'm defending attacks by my ex-wife. >> she says there's a confidentiality agreement, and that you have violated this by being on tv. >> i have not breached the confidentiality. she did in this morning's interview. but i haven't. she spoke about things that led up to our divorce. and we are allowed to speak as freely as we want about anything post-divorce. so discussing issues that are

pre-divorce is a violation of confidentiality. >> you called her a narcissistic ego maniac in your papers. >> right. in the context of a long chain of e-mails that started out very benign about scheduling. >> is there a certain irony to the fact that both of you call each other narcissists? >> yeah. well i think i -- there's a part of me that's a narcissist. i think there's a part of my narcissism that makes me a really great dad and focuses my energy on my children. >> how does being a narcissist make you a better father? >> it makes you focus attention on something. you can either be focused entirely on yourself or you can focus your energies on a child, your child, and say i'm always thinking ahead of what they're going to need. >> how is this very public battle good for your children? >> it's terrible for my children. but the damage was done when she fought in that court in 2008. this is in google eternity. this isn't going in the bottom of a barrel. this is here forever. >> take a look at yourself here. are you acting as a role model that your kids should follow?

>> no. if i were a role model i'd sit back and just keep taking the beatings and the bruises. but i think miss brinkley dipped into this well one too many times. i don't think there's any reason why i shouldn't stand up for myself and not allow someone to make false accusations, and blatantly lie for the world. i want peace. i want peace for my family. i want peace for myself. i want to be able to do my job, see my kids, and live without the christie brinkley shadow over me. that's all i ask. >> one thing that the couple says they agree on, they do want what is best for their children. 16-year-old jack is now refusing to see his father. peter cook confirmed that. but cook said he has a great relationship with his 13-year-old daughter. >> let me bring in christian cal psychologist jennifer hart steen. before i talk to you, let me wrap up one thing with you savannah. before we get to the emotional side of this, and the psychological side of this, legally what is going to be decided by this court? what is their legal beef with

each other? >> well, there were issues about child support. some of which have been resolved. the big issue is there is an agreement in this divorce order that says they can't disparage each other, they have to be civil, and there's a $5,000 fine for each incident when someone is being uncivil. christie brinkley has asked for $140,000 of these instances where she's said he's been uncivil. he's said i have $240,000 worth of incidents, and it's going to come before the judge and the judge will determine. i have to think that this judge when he sees these two before him in court again basically calling each other names he will not be happy to see them. >> jennifer as you watch this from the sideline, a trained psychologi psychologist, just give me your reaction. >> i feel horribly badly for the children. the fact is he says this is for google eternity. all they're doing is perpetuating all of this negative interaction and venom at each other and the kids are hearing it, seeing it and they're old enough to really understand. >> what's the impact of children growing up in the midst of this

animosity? >> divorce, we know, can create some problems for kids anyway. academic performances, low self-esteem, problems with depression. for teenagers with both of these kids they're now creating problems with having sex too early, problematic relationships. really trying drugs and alcohol, all of that kind of stuff. now add to that stuff that's so contentious, it could get even worse. >> what about their relationships with their parents moving forward? i mean clearly it seems as if one of the children has chosen sides. >> absolutely. >> what's the impact of a child having to do that? >> well, it's really going to impact how -- what are they going to do moving forward? jack has chosen to be with his mom. who knows what saylor is going to choose to do. any children where this is going on and they have to choose sides, we don't know how that's going to play out in court, how that's going to play out with the other parent. we don't know. >> and just, you know, she was here yesterday and said that he had been diagnosed as a malignant narcissist. he has called her a narcissistic egomaniac. is there a bit of truth in both

of those comments? >> probably. and the fact is, neither of those are actual clinical diagnoses. the clinical diagnosis is narcissistic personality disorder. at its core what that means is they're in the service of their own ego and they don't care who they step on and hurt. and his point of focusing on the kids as his narcissistic ploy doesn't really work. >> thank you very much. coming up, suze orman on why she says you should not want a fax refund this year. but up next, hiring our heroes. a push to get military veterans back to work. ann will talk to dr. jill biden right after this. living with n of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... ...could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you... ...with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra,... ...humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections,

lymphoma, or other types of cancer, blood, liver, and nervous system problems,... ...serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against... ...and help stop further joint damage with humira. [ chuckles ] isn't easter fun, red? [ grunts ] not from my perspective! ♪

our family-owned company makes daisy... with 100% natural farm-fresh cream. no artificial ingredients. no preservatives. and no added hormones. ♪ daisy, do-do a dollop that's 50% off lenses, including bifocals, no-lines, even sunglasses made with your prescription. so hurry in. sale ends april 1st. lenscrafters. so hurry in. sale ends april 1st. you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. i'm eating what i know is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself.

welcome back to "the uss intrepid" and our "hiring our heroes" job fair. it is part of our ongoing effort with 400 more events planned over the next year. but this morning, we want to highlight some of the job fairs that are going on right now across this country, and the world. we begin with nbc's janet shamlian who is joining us now from ft. hood in texas. and janet the jobs fair there is really focusing on the military families, right? >> ann, good morning. that is right. we are here at ft. hood in kille killeen, texas and this is only the second job fair aimed at military spouses. those for the men and women who also serve but in terms of employment they're an und served population. it's a staggering 26%. that's almost three times the national average. here is how significant the demand is. 1,000 people have signed up to come here today to apply for a job. 88 companies are here. and part of the requirement is

they have to offer employment. this is not just about collecting resumes today. and the companies really run the gamut. we've got oil field services firms. technology companies. tax preparers. you name it. the city of austin is looking for people for the police department. and the difficulty for military spouses is it's hard for them to grow their resumes because they move around so much. as i said, this is just the second job fair for spouses. there's one at ft. campbell in kentucky next month. and this is an effort to try to get those spouses employed as the other half also serves us. ann, back to you. >> all right, janet shamlian. thank you so much. so exciting there. we go to nbc's kevin tibbles now in chicago. i understand that the workshop going on there to help veterans translate their resumes. >> reporter: ann, some 1,000 veterans are expected to come through here today. 135 companies are going to be looking to hire them. i'm actually joined by a former

infantry captain in the marines, brad watson. brad was injured in iraq. he is now working for navistar and one of the main things that i think veterans -- i have been to iraq and afghanistan myself in the capacity of a reporter, and we understand that military people don't speak the same language as we civilians do. how do you translate that into a job when you get home? >> well, there's no better catalyst for strength of character than combat. and veterans have strong parallels between their skill sets, and the military, and how that translate into the civilian workforce. part of what we're here to do today is unlock that potential. >> are you surprised at how many companies have come out? >> it's inspiring to see this many companies circle the wagons to do something good for american veterans. i'm happy to be part of this where we can arrange a introduction between a stronger generation of veterans and an american industry. >> we're expecting about 1,000 veterans to come through here. it's still early in the morning because we're on the central time zone. in the end he's now working for

navistar. he was injured riding in a humvee in iraq. he's now helping to build reinforced humvees to prevent those sorts of injuries from happening again, ann. >> it's very cool. very cool, kevin tibbles, thank you so much. and you don't have to be in new york or chicago or texas to take part. because take a look, in stuttgart, germany, where a virtual jobs fair is now going on. 35 companies have posted 1500 jobs online. so far more than 10,000 people have logged on and 4,000 have sent in applications. and you can join them by heading to this website today.com/veterans. this is an issue that is very important to the vice president, joe biden, and also his wife jill biden. their son bo served in iraq as a member of the national guard. so we visited iraq with the vice president last year, and he talked very passionately about finding work for our returning veterans. take a look. >> we have an obligation, they fought over here, they've gone

through these god-awful sands and deserts in the middle of a war, they're in god forsaken places out in afghanistan, they shouldn't have to come home and fight for a job. >> we're now joined by joe biden's wife, dr. jill biden. dr. biden, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> looking around here, what is your reaction to these veterans? >> this is so great. ann, what you've done, what capital one has done to bring all these veterans together, this job fair, and all over the country and germany, it's a wonderful thing. >> what is your message to employers who are worrying about things like ptsd. there was a number that came out by the rand corporation that said 80% of our returning veterans have been found to not have any -- >> not have any amount. these men and women are leaders. they've been on the battlefield, they handle equipment, so they have technical skills. they -- and as i've heard you

say, ann, they have true grit. so these are the perfect employers. so if you want to get the job dorngs hire a veteran. >> with a fighting spirit, the grit, the courage, into our economy. dr. jill biden. we'll see you in a few moments. good wednesday morning to you. 8:26 right now. i'm laura garcia cannon. the man accused in a brutal mass murder in san francisco will be in court today to face murder charges. he is charged with five murders with special circumstances meaning he could face the death penalty if convicted. we now have pictures featuring two of the five people he is suspected of killing. police haven't revealed a motive for the killings. time to check the morning commute with mike. >> hey, laura. it's been a tough drive for folks heading on to 13 from 580.

the latest accident is just clearing from the interchange and it affects westbound 580 and northbound 13 both commute directions heading north through oakland toward highway 24. and the maze, a slower drive there. other side of the bay slowing through san mateo but that is easing up a bit. the slower drive is down south past marsh the earlier accidents causing quite a stir and now both directions into menlo park slow. back to the san mateo bridge we'll look at 92 and the conditions over the water. you see the low clouds hovering around. still wet roadways. just use caution especially on the off ramps this morning. back to you. >> please be careful. check out the latest traffic and news updates with nbc bay area on facebook or any of us individually. have a good morning. [ female announcer ] here in california, our schools need help.

the largest class size in the nation. 47th out of 50 in per-student funding. but right now, we can make history with a ballot measure to send every k-through-12 dollar straight to our schools. to every school and every child. not to sacramento. it's the only initiative that can say all that. check out our online calculator and find out how your schulwol d benefit. visit ourchildrenourfuture2012.com today.

day 8:30 now on this thursday morning. the 28th of march, 2012. we have a great crowd in rockefeller plaza. and another great crowd here on "the uss intrepid" where we are holding our "hiring our heroes" event. our veterans have unique skill sets and that's putting them to work on the home front will

certainly give a boom to the overall economy, bringing the grit and the courage as shown on the battlefield to our businesses here at home. i'm ann curry here on "the uss intrepid" and matt and natalie are on the plaza. the atmosphere here is amazing. a got to tell you there are a lot of major businesses here stepping up to offer jobs. we'll have more from here coming up. >> ann, it is so, so important that we take care of these men and women and we're applauding you for what you're doing. here on the plaza, matt along with natalie and we're coming up, the tax deadline, april 17th the deadline to file your income taxes. >> that's right. but suze orman is going to be along with us, and she says if you're expecting a huge check or a refund, well then you may be doing something wrong. she's going to explain exactly. she's got her tough love advice for you coming up in a little bit. >> and even before we send it back to you, want to mention as i sat down with house speaker john boehner yesterday in washington i had the chance to ask him about our returning veterans, and the fact that in the under-25 age group, some

29.1% are unemployed. his assessment was blunt. take a look. >> it's a disgrace. and we've worked with employers to try to reach out to hire more veterans. there are a number of employers around the country who are making big commitments to hiring veterans. but we also ought to make sure that they've got the skills they need to get in to today's workforce. >> a lot of people in congress on board with this, ann. back to you. >> all right. thanks a lot, matt and natalie. dr. jill biden was kind enough to stick around. we're also joined by new york city's mayor michael bloomberg. mr. mayor, welcome to the broadcast. >> nice to be here. we're going to make a difference. >> let's talk about that. because new york city has made a commitment. what is new york city's commitment? >> we have roughly a quarter of a million veterans here. about 3% or 4 prsz are unemployed and our commitment is to try to get all of those working. we try to help. we waived some fees on civil service exams. we give preference points.

we have some volunteer lawyers that help them deal with legal problems, with the v.a. and other organizations. i try to make sure my company does things. we have a hiring program and a mentoring program. but we have the police department here. the corrections department here. we have a veterans affairs department here. all trying to recruit the best and the brightest. and these are young men and women who have what we really look for. and that's interpersonal skills and a dedication and a work ethic. they can survive in the military, they can survive in new york city. and there's a kind of employees that we want. >> you heard it here. the jobs are being offered here in new york city. also joining forces, i've got to ask you about that dr. biden, because you and the first lady have been working for years now trying to send a message to everyday americans that we all need to step up. in what way can we step up in this regard in terms of finding people jobs? >> i think we all have a role to play. corporations have a role to play like here today, hiring veterans. i think schools have a role to play in creating awareness of military children in the classroom. i think that individuals have a

role to play. finding out who's in your neighborhood, who can you lend a hand to? who can you say, let me cut your lawn? in our case, when my son was deployed to iraq, a neighbor during a snowstorm just came and just shoveled the driveway, and just walked away, didn't even say anything. so, i think we all have a role to play, and so the first lady and i are just saying, commit to an act of kindness. every american can do something. >> you know this is the attitude you're describing that existed after world war ii that opened the doors of so many americans who came back from the war. when they came back because of that open door they were able to become the greatest generation. there are those who study history who wonder whether these returning veterans, the most highly skilled. the most experienced fighting force in the history of this country, can become the next greatest generation. but they need training. >> the president and the vice president have made a commitment to make sure that we don't make the mistakes that we did after vietnam and not welcome back people who put their lives on

the line for the rest of us so we can enjoy the freedoms which sadly we're taking too much for granted. if they're committed, then the first lady, and dr. biden are committed to do it, and i can tell you new york city is committed. we have our work force one center, robin hood foundation, a very big charity, financial community is here, they've put up a lot of money to help us create jobs. there are lots of places these young people can fit in and really make a big crib use. we look at this as an asset, not an obligation. >> change the way our thinking so we realize they are a boone to our economy. mr. mayor, thank you. dr. biden, thank you so much. and thank you so much for being here. coming up now we want to go back to the plaza for a check of the weather with maria larosa who is in for al this morning. >> good morning, ann. good morning, everyone. want to say happy birthday to little hannah from alabama. is there someone back home you want to say hi to? >> i want to say hi to my dad and my grandfather and my aunt. >> all right. done. happy birthday, little sweetheart. let's see how the rest of the day is going to pan out for all

of you, maybe celebrating a birthday today. a chance for some strong thunderstorms from the mid-mississippi valley in through the ohio valley, damaging winds and large hail possible. we still have wet and snowy weather in through the west from san francisco to seattle, the rain may be heavy at times. gusty winds and mountain snow. parts of the cascades could be picking up an additional foot of snow by tomorrow. well, we're done with the heavy showers. looks like we'll see fog develop as we head through the next few hours. we have light to moderate showers sneaking onshore but nothing heavy at this point. in fact, you can see very little left in all of that shower activity now racing into the central valley. you might get caught by a sprinkle or two on your way to work. 63 degrees in san jose. limited sunshine for the first part of the day but it will come out for the second half. up to 69 degrees tomorrow. then we'll get another round of late fridays but we'll hit 72 degrees today. hope you have a great day. >> check out your local forecast any time at the weather channel and weather.com. >> thanks so much, maria.

still to come this morning, up next, financial expert suze orman has your tax time tips. important advice, including the down side to getting a big return. >> first this is "today" on nbc.

we're back now, 8:39. this morning on "today's money," five things you need to know as tax time approaches, including why getting a refund this year isn't necessarily a good thing. suze orman, host of "the suze orman show" on cnbc is here to explain. welcome back. good to see you. let's remind people before we begin, the tax filing deadline is april 17th. >> yes, because the 15th is on a sunday. monday is a holiday. so you have until midnight april 17th. >> a lot of people have probably already filed their taxes and they know that they're getting a refund and they are celebrating. and you say not -- >> what are you doing? average refund is about $3,000 at a time. matt, that's $250 a month.

rather than letting the government hold that money for you essentially interest free, don't you think $250 a month, right now, would help you pay down your credit card debt. fund a retirement account for yourself. make it for an emergency fund. why let the government keep it when you could be using it now. >> so the goal is to owe the government money? or break even? how do you figure that out so you hit it right? >> the goal is truthfully to break even. everybody, if you are getting a refund, you should go on to irs.gov under the individual returns. it will show you how to adjust your exemptions on your w-4 or go to your hr office, increase your exemptions so you get more money back. >> i know you're going to blast me on this. but you know what happens. people say okay i'm getting a refund, $3,000 and they go, it's free money. it's found money. and you say wake up. >> but i'm not going to blast you. because that is what they say so you have to deal with reality. and the reality is that money is far better used to pay down

what? your student loan debt. your credit card debt. do an emergency fund. and/or fund your retirement account with it. do not go and take that money and go on vacation or go to las vegas or atlantic city. >> not free money, it's your money. and you've got to do something with it. april also marks the deadline for funding your i.r.a.s for the tax year 2011. >> you're going to have lots of choices. and you should be funding your retirement accounts. because you're going to need that money when you retire. many different types of retirement accounts out there. my personal favorite will always be the roth i.r.a. >> why is it different? >> i like it because you fund it with after-tax dollars. which means at any time, at any age, if you get into trouble, you can withdraw anything you put in without taxes or penalty. but when you get older you can take it out tax free. >> i remember you were here in the past, talking about roth i.r.a.s, and there are limitations as to who can open one. >> yes, there are income

limitations. in 2011 you can only fully fund a roth i.r.a. if you're single and your adjusted gross income is $107,000 or less. married filing jointly it's $168,000 or less. but you can get money into a roth i.r.a. >> how do you do that? >> you're making too much money. i hope everybody's making too much money to qualify. simply open up a traditional i.r.a., make it non-deductible, and then convert it to a roth i.r.a. that's how you can do it. >> all right. at this time of year everybody asks themselves the question can i do my taxes myself or do i go to a tax professional? what's your rule of thumb? >> here's what i would do. if you're nervous about it, great go to a tax professional. why not just for fun get one of those programs, there's many of them out there, and do your taxes yourself, and compare what you came up with on your own to maybe the $500 or $1,000 that you spent to have your taxes done. if you find more, tax write-offs

or you match, next year do it yourself. >> who is a good candidate for doing it on their own? >> people who are computer literate. people who really don't have complicated taxes. you're not filing in every state. you just have income, you're an employee, you don't have tax write-offs or ability. if you're a single person, you own a home, i think you should do it yourself. >> things come up, a lot of people file an extension. the most important rule to remember about filing an extension. >> please remember, people, you can file an extension if your paperwork isn't done all the way until october of this year. however, the problem is you better pay your taxes. otherwise there's going to be a penalty for filing, a penalty and interest for not paying your taxes. taxes are due on april 17th, even if you don't file in your paperwork. >> suze orman. thanks very much. >> any time, matt. >> nice to see you again. 43 minutes after the hour. for more advice you can catch "the suze orman show" saturday nights at 9:00 eastern and pacific time on cnbc.

still ahead a big announcement from ann as we honor our country's bravest. this is "today" on nbc. whatcha lookin' for hon? ah, these new jeans i want. i've been looking everywhere. new blue jeans? oh, don't be crazy, i've got tons of blue jeans. frank! frank! get my jean bin, susie wants my jeans. no she doesn't. here we go. nice and loose. ohhh. those are loose,

but i actually just ordered three pairs of this kind. ooooohhhh. oh. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay.

back now with more of our "hiring our heroes" event. a special event aboard "the uss intrepid" in partnership with the u.s. chamber of commerce, and here inside one of the hangars we have 100 visitors, some of them from fortune 500 companies, some of them from small businesses, representing small businesses who are welcoming our heroes, hoping to hire them. including derrick coy who was once a marine, and you're here now looking for what job? >> i'm looking for something to give back to the community, especially veterans. anything that will fit that bill. >> you have a skill set, your resume says that you manage a monthly budget in the marines of $100,000.

is that right? >> yes, it is. >> is that translating? are they listening to that as you talk to people here? >> it's something a lot of people like to hear. because we dealt with high dungates and a lot of sensitive equipment. that definitely translates to the private sector and helps out quite a bit. >> derrick coy, thank you so much. sfrou h now we're going to take a little walk and introduce you to vesta. i want to ask you about what you're looking. you're army by the way. what are you looking for here? >> i'm marine. >> oh, i got the wrong name. don't mess up, marine. i'm sorry. that would have been trouble. what are you looking for here? >> i'm just looking for [ inaudible ] >> and what are you studying in school? >> international business. >> my goodness. thought talks about the talents

of our veterans. thank you so much our marine veteran. i'm sorry i had that wrong in my notes. now we've got anton thompson, he was in the navy for eight years. you have a very interesting resume, because it talks about how you provided operational oversight and training for a lab of 35 laboratory medical assistants and a high volume microbiology processing environment. my goodness that sounds so high tech. how is that translating to your efforts to find a job? >> i'm looking for a job, and it helped me because it gaves me the critical aspects on how to do the administrative part so i think it's going to help. >> what is the demand, i mean a lot of times these companies want college educated students. were you college educated? >> yes, i'm currently working on my masters degree. >> all right. but why were you having a hard time finding a job without this jobs fair? >> i think because i didn't know exactly what i wanted to do at

the time because i've done so many things in the military. so sometimes it's kind of hard to narrow down to that one thing. >> seems to me that you're highly employable. i wish you luck. i'm going to also introduce you to zack zevin. and you are army. is that right? >> yes, i am. >> he's former army. got that one right. you are looking for a communications job. you were once a communications chief in the army, is that right? >> i was. i'm actually looking for business development and production, though. >> but you're standing here in front of comcast nbc universal. what is your -- are they listening to you in terms of what kind of job you want to ask for? >> absolutely. these guys have wonderful. they want to get to the bottom of what makes me happy and i think that we can work something out. >> i can tell you you have a fantastic voice for broadcasting, if i might say so. to anybody who is listening you really do. in terms of veterans who are listening today who are at home, who may be feeling that they also want some help, what is

your message to veterans in terms of the openness of companies to hiring them? and what is your message to companies? >> well, my message to companies is that absolutely hire veterans. those guys, every single veteran that i know is -- has experience with getting the job done, regardless of what it is. that is what we did. in terms of the veterans, reach out, find other veterans, find a support network and go to events like these. you'll definitely be happy. >> thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> and also we want to tell everybody that you can take part on that note he just mentioned you can take part online by going to today.com/veterans. and we have much more from "the uss intrepid" and also from studio 1a coming up right after this. [ female announcer ] this is the story of joycelin...

[ joycelin ] it was a typical morning. i was getting ready for work, and then i got this horrible headache, and then i blacked out. [ female announcer ] ...who thought she had reached the end of her story. [ joycelin ] the doctor told me i had two brain aneurysms and that one of them had ruptured. [ female announcer ] fortunately, she was treated at sutter health's california pacific medical center. [ joycelin ] the nurses and doctors were amazing, and they were like a second family to me. and now i'm back to doing what i love. [ female announcer ] california pacific medical center and sutter health. our story is you. [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks

with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. and we're back with more of our "hiring our heroes today." it is time for a big announcement. retired lieutenant colonel kevin schleigel served for 20 years. he is also the executive director of the hiring our heroes at the u.s. chamber of commerce and john zimmerman is a navy veteran and commerce and corporate secretary at capital

one. good morning both of you gentlemen and welcome. john, you've got an announcement. what is it. >> thank you, ann. our work here today to help veterans and military spouses find jobs, capital one is pleased to partner with the u.s. cham per of commerce with a goal of hiring 500,000 veterans and military spouses in the next three years. and we are committing $4.5 million to that effort. >> that's a lot of jobs. 500,000 jobs in three years. how are you going to accomplish that? >> well, this is the most important thing to note is we're going to be doing this, what you see today, in 400 communities across the country. but we're also going to tie in small business. in addition to all the big companies you see here today, they're going to engage the small business community like never before. >> why is this time frame so worth it? why do it within three years? >> well, we have a million men and women leaving the armed forces in the next five years. we don't have until 2020 to do

this. we need to do this today. and we need the entire private sector working with the public senter to do this across america. >> we want to mention as part of this pledge, i had a chance to sit down with brian roberts, who is the chairman and ceo of comcast, our parent company, and his father fought in world war ii. so for him, this is personal. take a listen to what he had to say. >> my dad was a veteran. the gentleman who runs all of comcast cable was in the original neil smith. we're proud of the many veterans who have made our company what it is today. it's my pleasure and indeed honor on behalf of everybody at nbc and comcast to announce that we're over the next three years we'll hire 1,000 veterans in addition to our workforce today and i'm excited to work with many in the future as they come home from these wars. >> so just now we just heard it comcast promising another 1,000 jobs over the upcoming years. so this could be a snowball.

this could not just help these veterans but could help our economy. what is it that these men and women offer? kevin? >> well, i think they offer unique leadership experience. advanced technical skills. they're reliable. they're great team players and they can adapt to any challenging environment you throw their way. >> kevin, thank you so much. john, thank you so much. >> pleasure to be here. >> great honor to meet both of you. of course it will take big and small businesses to fulfill the commitment to hire 500,000 veterans. brian wagner out of kansas city kansas is pledging 50 veterans and 5 spouses. and guess who else heard our call? the legendary rock band kiss is going on tour this summer with motley crue. they need a roadie and they want to hire a veteran. so if you're interest gd to our website today.com/veterans. kiss has been supporting our service members for years, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to the wounded warriors project.

so, that's an unusual job offer and some lucky person is going to get it. meantime, we've got much more still ahead. and we want to thank everyone, all of our partners and the u.s. chamber of commerce, our jobs fairs are also a great start. woor coverage throughout this day on msnbc and across all the platforms of nbc news. and don't forget, there will be 400 more of these jobs fairs all across the country over the next year. and we'll be back with much more. good wednesday morning to you. 8:356 right now. i'm laura garcia cannon. an early easter gift for some bay area food banks. california egg farmers are donating more than 64,000 eggs to local food banks today. more than 2/3 of them will go to the second harvest food bank.

fresh eggs are an important donation to the food banks because they are high in protein and other nutrients but are also one of the hardest foods for banks to get and there is always the need. let's check out the need for the umbrellas today with christina. >> i think you can go ahead and safely leave the umbrella at home at this point. good morning to you. mostly cloudy conditions the case throughout the day today. temperatures in the 60s. we have more rain on the way but we'll hit the 70s first. 72 degrees on friday. showers arrive late. by saturday rain. have a great day. a morning talk show. o i'm always talking about t.j.maxx. i tell people how to look like a million bucks without spending it. fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you.

there is no more heartbreaking a sight than the sad. the exposed. the public testament to unrealized potential in such epic proportion. conversely, there is nothing more glorious... than the last minute comeback. the largest class size in the nation. 47th out of 50 in per-student funding. but right now, we can make history with a ballot measure to send every k-through-12 dollar straight to our schools. to every school and every child. not to sacramento. it's the only initiative that can say all that.

check out our online calculator and find out how your school would benefit. visit ourchildrenourfuture2012.com today. we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, the 28th of march, 2012. nice spring day here in new york. great spring crowd on the plaza. thanks to these people for stopping by. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. ann is over on "the uss intrepid." al is taking a little bit of time off. and coming up we're going to have more on this incredible situation on the jetblue flight yesterday from new york to las vegas. a 12-year veteran pilot of that airline really had a meltdown. he started screaming things about iraq and afghanistan and al qaeda and bombs. he was locked out of the cockpit by his co-pilot.

and eventually restrained by some very brave passengers. it had to be a harrowing experience. we're going to talk more about that in just a couple of minutes. >> all right. also ahead we're going to answer your financial questions on money 911. they've got answers on everything about when you should pay off your student loans, when to refinance your home, and how. we will have the expert advice from our team. and then being pro-active about your medical care. sometimes which you see your doctor you really only have a few minutes to talk to the doctor. we have some really good advice about what you can do to prepare. what questions to ask before, during and after your appointment. >> all right a lot to get to. let's go inside. natalie has all the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. a jetblue captain is in custody, as you heard, and getting medical attention this morning. on tuesday, he had to be restrained by passengers after a midair meltdown. tom costello covers aviation for us. tom, good morning. >> natalie, good morning to you. the captain is a 12-year veteran of jetblue. he is now being held in amarillo

by the fbi, charged with interfering with a flight crew. >> please remain seated with your seat belts fastened. >> pinned under the weight of a half dozen passengers, the captain of a jetblue plane who seemed to have suffered a breakdown in midflight. >> just out of his mind. screaming things to passengers, say your prayers. >> reporter: jetblue flight 191 was flying from new york to las vegas tuesday when government sources say captain clayton osbon began erratically steering the plane, flipping switches and operating the radio. the co-pilot became so concerned he persuaded or tricked the captain into going to the rest room. then asked an off-duty captain to enter the flight deck, lock the door and change the combination. witnesses say captain osbon left the rest room, walked to the rear of the plane and then seemed to lose control when he realized he was locked out of the cockpit. tony antolino was in row ten. >> he just started sprinting

towards the cockpit door. and started pounding on the door, tried entering the code to the keypad to get into the cockpit. >> reporter: in the cockpit the co-pilot declared an in-flight emergency. >> jetblue 191 emergency, and we're going to need authorities and medical to meet us at the airplane. >> reporter: while in the back, passengers had to use their own belts to subdue the captain, who they say was screaming about a bomb, iran, iraq, afghanistan, and a warning to say your prayers. >> i ran out and we were face to face, me and the captain, and i got him turned around, and then other passengers jumped on, we all got on top of him. >> it appeared he was trying to open the side door. i wasn't going to let that happen. >> reporter: once on the ground, police and medics removed captain osbon, his arms still strapped down, but everyone safe. in osbon's georgia hometown, reaction from a longtime friend and neighbor. >> i am as shocked as anybody.

clayton is a straight-hitting guy. very level headed. and very professional. >> reporter: captain osbon is a flight standards captain on the airbus a-320. the fbi does not believe terrorism was any way involved here. but the ceo of jetblue told the "today" show earlier this morning he had never seen any kind of behavior out of this man before, out of the captain. he apologized for the event but he also thanked the crew and also the passengers for getting involved. natalie? >> all right, tom castillo. thanks so much, tom. it is the final day of arguments before the supreme court on president obama's health care overhaul. today's arguments focus on whether the health care law can survive if the requirement that everyone buy health insurance is found to be unconstitutional. a major shake-up for newt gingrich's presidential campaign. a spokesman says a third of the campaign staff has been laid off, and gingrich's campaign manager has been asked to resign. gingrich plans to spend less

time and money in primary states, and will, instead, personally call delegates hoping to win their support at the convention. congress has started work on a bill to help reunite parents with children abducted to other countries. the measure is named for sean and david goldman. david goldman is the father whose then 4-year-old son sean was abducted to brazil in 2004 by the boy's mother who later died. it took david five years to get his son back home. >> because of the recognition that our case got, people immediately realized what the bill is. what it means. what it stands for. and what it does stand for is all the other tens of thousands of left-behind families, moms, dads, grandparents, who suffer, in anguish, every day. >> the bill is aimed at protecting american children and helping parents of abducted children. former cuban president fidel castro announced last night that he will happily meet today with pope benedict xvi.

castro's statement said he requested the meeting. the pope's three-day visit to cuba ends today at havana's revolution plaza. new research is suggesting that green coffee beans may help people lose weight. the study looked at 16 overweight young adults who took low doses of green coffee bean extract and reduced their body weight by more than 10% in 22 weeks. scientists call the study provocative, but they caution that more research is needed. and it might be israel's version of march madness. a basketball game screeched to a halt when a stray cat ran onto the court. it was then cheered by the fans, and appropriately chased away by the tel aviv team's mascot, a dog, who even apparently did a little victory dance to celebrate. poor cat. it is now six minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to maria with a check of your weather. >> that is hands down the greatest video ever. we love, love here on the

"today" show, and we have a great story here. married 25 years. but i think you have amends to make. you never got a ring? >> never did. >> so what are you going to do about that? >> i'm going to make it up to her right now. >> oh. >> i don't know if it's going to fit. >> go for it. congratulations. lots of happiness. so far it's rking for you, though. good job. let's take a look. very nice. very nice. perfect. all right, congratulations, guys. as we take a look at the weather >>t'as we take a look at the weather across the country notice the showers and thunderstorms, sizable ones already beginning to pop up along the front that could trigger stronger ones. severe storms later through the ohio valley and parts of the mid-atlantic and also the mid plains. we're looking at gusts and of course the possibility of some hail so watch out for that. across the pacific northwest it is all about the rain and wind especially late tonight in through tomorrow. more mountain snow in through the cascades. could be piling up 1 to 2 feet. that is a look at the weather across the country. here is a look at what you can expect. >> we're not tracking showers on the radar at this point but thick fog is developing and now

we have flight delays out of sfo. travel cautiously this morning. as we head throughout the day today the fog will clear and we'll have to wait until probably about noon. we're talking about 60s in places like san jose. up to 63 degrees today. even warmer as you head through your thursday. a few stray showers possible up in the north bay. then friday the warmest day of the week. 72 degrees. showers arrive late and last through saturday. sunday is your day for outdoor plans this weekend. >> savannah, back to you. >> maria, thank you. now to "today's money 911" where we tackle your financial problems. jean chatzky is "today's" financial editor and the author of "money rules." david batch is the founder of finish rich dotcom and author of "debt free for life" and sharon epperson is cnbc's personal finance correspondent. let's get right to our questions. our first one via skype, lydia in tucson, arizona. good morning, what's your question? >> good morning. my question is, i have a $50,000 student loan that i pay on time

and i paid ahead by four years. i was laid off and i know what to i need to do to work with lenders to forgive a portion of this loan so i can pay it off >> lydia, getting a portion of that loan forgiven is a bit of a hard call. unless you worked in public service, in some public service profession. in which case you could be eligible for some forgiveness after ten years. is that an option for you? >> unfortunately, no. >> well then there are a couple of other things that you want to look into. you want to get in touch with your lender and you want to talk about forbearance which essentially means they table your loan for about 12 months. interest will still accrue but you wouldn't have to make the payments which may give you some relief. the other option is interest-based repayment. and i think this may be the better way for you to go. it takes a look at your household income, and you don't have to pay any more than 10% of that income toward those student loans. that's a lot of relief for a lot of people.

and after 25 years of those payments, the rest of the debt does get wiped away. >> all right, lydia, thank you so much for your question. let's go to the phone lines now. we've got milieu in malibu, california. >> my husband and i bought a condo for investment. the value dropped about $100,000. mortgage is twice the rent. with the homeowner association and tax, it's hard to keep up. we always paid on time for both mortgages, and don't want to mess up our credit. what do you think we should do? >> david, do you want to get that one? >> sure, and i want to be in malibu right now with you. there's no law that is going to help you here. but there's a new program, if you go to makinghomes affordable.gov, go to 995 hope dot org. that website has a program called tier two. this is a new modification program for people like you who

have investment properties. again it's not a slam dunk. when you go on that website 995hope.org you can ask to speak with a counsel are for free. on the website there's all kinds of information that you prepare for that counseling session. they'll walk you through and see if you can qualify for a loan modification. that could help you. lastly, go to lender directly and see if the lender will work with you. believe it or not more and more lenders are working with people on these properties because they really do not want them going into foreclosure. >> thank you so much. >> we're all heading to malibu. next one is an e-mail for you, sharon. i am thinking about refinancing my mortgage from a 30-year to a 20-year how much time and money will i save on a 20-year mortgage if i pay biweekly and make one extra payment a year? my current mortgage balance is $239,000. we would like to have our mortgage paid off by the time our 3-year-old daughter goes to college. i love our responsible viewers. >> i love this.

i love her plan. and the fact that she set goals. you can't get anywhere unless you actually set your goals to get there. so i applaud you for really outlining what you want to do. you're well on your way. most people don't even realize they can refinance to a 20-year mortgage. that could be a great way for her to go. if she's able to reduce her mortgage payments even less than she's paying now that's even better. in terms of making that extra payment that's another way to shave off years off of the life of a loan that you're going to pay. and paying biweekly that will bring that 20-year term down to 17 years. so she'll be well on her way to having paid off that mortgage by the time her child goes to college. and whatever money you're saving right now, put that in a 529 for your kid. put that away for the college savings and make sure that you have that, as well for your child. you're on the right track, definitely. >> our next question from our viewer jan in centerville, minnesota. my mother passed away six years ago and i went through some of her books and found a savings bond from the '70s. is this still valid? there are three kids left all in our 50s and 60s.

will this money be taxed? >> the short answer is yes, it's valid. you should go ahead and redeem it. and it will be subject to federal income tax. but it will just be considered part of her estate. so it will be distributed as if it's a piece of her estate. >> okay, great. nice to find a savings bond. >> exactly. thanks. coming up next, taking charge of your health. what you need to do for yourself before and after a trip to the doctor. and then later on beauty buys that will have you breezing through airport security. sf hi! i brought champagne. wow! the best in the world. ...some chocolates swiss! ah...the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt from dannon. really? wait until you try it. so creamy thick and fresh tasting dannon oikos berry flavors beat chobani 2:1 in a national taste test. mmmm...

this may be the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt possibly the best yogurt in the world. its smooth taste spreads across your bread's delicate surface. while melting into those creamy mashed potatoes... bringing a rich, warm tenderness to your peas. ohhh! it's i can't believe it's not butter! fresh butter taste with 70% less saturated fat than butter go ahead. cheat on butter. you naughty thing. [ male announcer ] what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover all of manhattan out of landfills each year? the equivalent of 140 million trash bags, gone. by using new glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can. ♪

it's a small change that can make a big difference. ♪ but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals.

so skinavoid bad.fats. healthy. don't go over 2000... 1200 calories a day. carbs are bad. carbs are good. the story keeps changing. so i'm not listening... to anyone but myself. i know better nutrition when i see it: great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself. for multi grain flakes that are an excellent source of fiber try great grains banana nut crunch and cranberry almond crunch. "today's" daily dose is

brought to you by nature valley. irresistible by nature valley. this morning on "today's daily dose" taking charge of your health. no one knows your body as well as you do. so there are some steps to make sure you're in control of your medical well-. dr. roshini raj is say "today" contributor. dr. raj, good morning. >> good morning. >> really important for us to take control, take charge when it comes to our medical -- our health. >> absolutely. you're busier than ever, you don't have as much time in the office so you need to be pro-active about getting the best care. >> first thing you say we should be making sure we're booking an appointment. >> that's right. for many offices you don't have to be on phone on hold with the office. some offices have their own websites that you can book online. there's a great free service where you can punch in your zip code, insurance, type of doctor you're looking for and they will

give you an appointment within your area, usually within 24 to 72 hours, which is really quick. >> you say when you set up the appointment make sure you go in armed with questions. what kinds of things should you be asking them and what are some of the things you should make sure that you tell your doctor. >> first of all when you're in the doctor's office, many of us start to get nervous. we forget a lot of things. you want to write down all the questions you personally have for the doctor. all the symptoms you've been experiencing, and then there are some general questions that depending on the condition you would want to ask. there's some great online research to help you figure out what those questions should be. i like mayoclinic.com, some great information. what specifically should you be asking for in terms of recovery, what type of surgery. very often they're going to forget and the last thing the doctor wants is for you to call back two minutes later and say i forgot to ask you. >> exactly. and they're very busy people. sometimes you feel the pressure they're under to move on. good to have that in hand.

also you say if a doctor orders tests you want to make sure to find out how and when you're going to get those resolved. >> this is so important. really in the olden times doctors say if it's normal, i won't call you. but you can't really trust that anymore because things can fall through the cracks. you want to know are you going to call the office in a week to get the results? are they going to call you? can you get it online. you do want to know how and when you're going to get those results. >> medical records you say so important for you also to have a copy for yourself. why is that? >> especially when we're talking about blood tests, x-ray tests, mri. if you're going to different type of doctors, you're traveling, you want to have a copy of your record. it's not always easy to get your personal doctor to fax it to someone else. you want to make sure you have it on hand, make sure you're not getting duplicate orders of tests. >> okay and then also you recommend getting a second opinion. now, sometimes i think a lot of us may feel like this is going to be insulting to our first doctor but it is your health. >> absolutely. and you should always put your

health in front of any sort of feelings that you might hurt of your doctor. but many doctors realize that we're not always perfect. we don't know the answer to every question. and if you feel like you're not getting anywhere with a particular doctor it's perfectly reasonable to ask either them or one of your other doctors to recommend someone to get a second opinion. >> finally this goes without saying, you probably should do it first, you should research your doctor's background. >> yeah. and i love talking about the sort of reviews of other patients, because honestly many times you'll have a disgruntled patient who gives the doctor an unfair review. looking at where they went to medical school, are they board certified. what is their area of focus. if you're looking for a specific kind of doctor, look online and say is this something they really focus on and see often. >> dr. roshini raj, always great information. thank you again. still to come this morning, the aspiring model severely injured after walk nothing a plane's propeller reaches a settlement. we'll tell you about thay. le rec ♪ we were skipping stones and letting go ♪

[ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious.

♪ we're as passionate about cheese as you are. so inspired by the popularity of italy's most famous cheese, we've created three new parmesan dishes. new grilled chicken parmesan, featuring chicken fresh off the grill as well as grilled shrimp or grilled steak. all with a savory parmesan crust. for a limited time only, it's our passion for parmesan

for people who really like parmesan. olive garden. when you're here, you're family. now for just $6.95 you can create your own lunch. with one of six choices, like a half a flatbread. plus unlimited soup or salad. johan comes in a porcelain vessel, crafted with care by a talented blonde from sweden. ♪ meet me in the coffee aisle. ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart is playing tricks on me ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing new special k granola bars. ♪ i can't break through with 4 grams of protein. and 4 grams of fiber. finally, a granola bar that makes your heart skip a beat. a snack that loves you back. what will you gain when you lose? ♪ ...skips a beat

still to come on "today," travel-size beauty products on the fly. >> and gurentiis turns de laures breakfast into dinner. (bell rings) hi. good morning. big news. we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry... and banana/blueberry. we're telling everyone. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. try some.

mmm! two flavors. in harmony. yummy. four nutritious grains and two big fruit flavors to make your day bunches better. i'm here with carol, flo, and karen for a girls night out talking about activia. i tried it and my body felt so right, for a change. and then there's you... why should i try it? my system gets out of sorts but that comes with age, right? wouldn't you like to feel great? just because we're in that over 50... what does that mean? are we done? activia helps regulate your digestive system when eaten daily. these could be our best years yet. activia

good morning, everyone. the time is 9:26. i'm jon kelley. counselors reaching out in an east bay middle school this morning helping students cope with a sudden death of a classmate. 14-year-old polyopsne hainey collapsed yesterday. the emergency call reported a seizure. firefighters arrived on the scene. unfortunately, they were unable to revive the 8th grader. friends say he was a standout athlete with a promising future on the football field. >> very athletic. he could have played for any school. a lot of coaches were actually looking at him. he was only in middle school but was being looked at by a lot of

high school coaches. i'm sure as he got into high school he would be looked at by a lot of colleges. >> family members tell us he was the youngest of ten children and today his friends will be wearing his favorite color to school. that is blue in his honor. well, palo alto police are reaching out to the community today to fight a string of robberies. police are talking to community members about recent break-in arrests and ways to protect their homes. more than 50 homes in palo alto have been broken into so far this year. tonight's community meeting is at walter hays elementary school starting atll have a l k>e'll hav a look at your local weather and traffic right after this break. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes

and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. welcome back. taking a live look over alcatraz you can see the tower off in the distance. hard to see the sky though. we have a lot of low cloud cover this morning. and flight delays as a result of sfo. temperatures starting to pick up a little bit. 58 degrees and sunnyvale. now 56 in san jose. we are on our way toward the mid 60s although we'll be dealing with limited sunshine for the first part of the day.

63 in san jose. up to 69 tomorrow. 72 peak warmth on friday for our next system arriving bringing rain showers into saturday. outdoor plans, make those on sunday comfortably with a lot of sunshine and 61 degrees. check your drive with mike. >> earlier action northbound 880 had things tied up at 101. still slow off 217 and the 280 interchange. 101 better past the earlier accidents. this is finally where we see the slowing clear up from capital up to 680. a smoother drive with still a couple issues in menlo park. an accident on the side of the road in redwood city and a disabled vehicle. 880, a smooth drive down northbound past the coliseum. back to you. >> very smooth mike. thanks very much. thank you for joining us. we'll have another local update for you in one-half hour.

into another cannon and just shot out of that one. >> charlie sheen had to say last year about his very public battle with his bosses at "two and a half men" and his colorful antics that followed. how is he now doing a year later? we're going to find out when charlie sheen sits down with us live in studio tomorrow only on "today." sure to be interesting. no doubt another cannon into another cannon. >> he always has a colorful way of putting things. >> tiger blood. we'll check in with him. also coming up in this half hour the aspiring model lauren scruggs who lost an eye and a hand after walk nothing a

spill-spinning plane propeller. she is going through an amazing recovery and we're going to have an update on how she's doing coming up in a bit. >> also, no time for dinner? how about breakfast? giada de laurentiis is making gourmet dinners by turning the tables on supper. she has quick and easy meals for families on the go. you're going to like the sound of this. then beauty on the go with the airlines restricting what goes into your carry-on. a quick weekend getaway can be complicated for women. we're going to have some of the best beauty products that are now tsa friendly. >> some news we can all use. first one last check of the weather from maria larosa who is in for al. >> good to see you guys. we still have a little bit of the morning chill in the northeast. but we're seeing a warm-up out ahead of the next storm system. that is going to bring some severe storms potentially for the ohio valley in through the mid-plains. that means gusty winds and possibility of some hail. meanwhile the pacific northwest going to get battered once again as another storm ready to slam in late tonight into tomorrow

with heavy rain and wind and mountain snows, the cascades, the siskiyous could be picking up one to two feet of snow. we're getting a break from the showers but we do have dense fog developing. good morning. i'm meteorologist christina loren and limited sunshine later today. the clouds just linger probably until about noon. then the sun will start to break through and we will see some sunshine by about 5:00. 63 in san jose. mostly clear conditions later this evening. 69 degrees tomorrow. we'll warm you up and then bring more rain into the next friday into saturday. take a look at your temperature difference between friday and saturday from 72 to 57 inland. >> natalie and savannah, back to you. >> coming up next, the recovery of lauren scruggs. the model maimed by a plane's propeller. how's she doing now? [ male announcer ] this is the story of one of nature's most perfect foods... quaker oats. in every way, a super grain. ♪ super for the fiber that helps fill us up.

super for the energy it gives to get us going. super for the oats that are so good for our hearts. ♪ super for how it makes us... super. quaker oats. energy. fiber. heart health. super people eat super grains. cleaning better, doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle, but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads can clean better in half the time so you don't miss a thing. swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. and for dry messes big and small try swiffer sweeper vac. whoa! what is that? it burns! it's singeing me! it's the sun. get of the office more often with chili's $6 lunch break combos,

featuring our classic turkey sandwich. chili's lunch break combos. splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away.

tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. my inspiration for quitting were my sons. they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

we're back with new details this morning in the case of a texas model seriously injured last december when she walked into an airplane's spinning propeller. "today" national correspondent amy robach has details on that. >> safin, good morning to you. lauren scruggs has made a remarkable recovery over the last few months and now nbc news has learned that she has reached a settlement with the pilot's insurance company. once an aspiring model and fashion blogger, lauren scruggs has been waging the fight of her life, following a tragic propeller accident that severed her left hand and caused her to lose her left eye. for the past several months she's been solely focused on her recovery. now she can breathe a sigh of relief as she has reached a settlement for her injuries. according to court papers, the company that insures the plane and its pilot, kurt richmond,

originally offered scruggs $200,000 in damages. at first, news reports stated that scruggs had rejected the offer. but her attorney says the two sides have now come to an agreement, tuesday night he told nbc news, attorneys for miss scruggs and aggressive insurance services llc jointly announce that they have resolved the issues raised in the declaratory judgment action. back in december, scruggs flew over dallas in a single-engine plane with a friend to see christmas lights around the city, but as she exited the plane she accidentally walked into the still-spinning propeller. according to the ntsb report, the pilot, a family friend of scruggs, says he told scruggs to walk away from the propeller as she exited, but it's unclear whether she heard him over the roar of the engine. scruggs suffered critical injuries that have taken their toll. despite numerous hurdles she has

made a remarkable recovery. tweeting pictures from a trip to steamboat springs, colorado, last month. such a fun weekend with family and friends, lauren tweeted. scruggs also uploaded this picture of herself with her twin brittany. the sisters both wearing sunglasses that hid from view lauren's prosthetic eye. the ntsb determined the pilot was not ultimately responsible for the accident though they say he should have shut down the engine sooner. the family said they don't blame him and neither the attorneys nor the scruggs family has commented on the terms of the settlement. savannah? >> all right, amy, thank you so much. still to come, the best beauty bets to throw in your carry-on. coming up. hush little bunny don't say a word. we used to be enemies, but that's absurd. a nibble on your ear used to keep me up all night. now our relationship can be nice and bright. yes, my chocolate friend, our struggle's thru. when i bite your head off, i'll still love you. now i have truvia and i've been set free. natural sweetness from a leaf with zero calories.

it's freed me to enjoy. it tastes really great. it helps me balance out what i've got on my plate. now i can indulge in the things i adore. i don't have to wrestle with sweetness anymore. truvia. honestly sweet.

you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word. you have yet to master the quiet sneeze. you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts. well, muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. zyrtec®. love the air. you make a change with best foods. make parmesan crusted chicken surprisingly crispier, juicier, mmmm yummy-er. best foods. make it real: make it different. might seem... ♪ ...impossible. no, no... well how about the purp? ew! ♪ yeah. wow. unless you have eggo® waffles. they're quick and easy to make, and there's something about them...

that just makes people move. [ male announcer ] golden crispy outside, warm and fluffy inside. who says breakfast together can't be done? [ male announcer ] eggo® waffles. simply delicious. [ male[♪alluette"] eggo® waffles. ♪ ♪

this morning on "today's beauty." beauty on the fly. with all of the rules for getting your bags through airport security, what's a girl to do if you're trying to sweep all those beauty essentials in your carry-on. shape's senior editor is here with products ready for takeoff. good morning. >> good morning. >> a problem with a lot of our beauty products is they're liquid. the tsa has rules against how much you can carry on. remind us of those rules. >> the rules are simple, remember 3-1-1. your licked withs, gels and aerosols need to be in a container that are three ounces or less, all of them need to fit in a one-quart bag that's actually clear and it's a ziploc sometimes and everybody gets to bring just one with them. >> that's what makes this segment so important. you've got to look outside liquids to take care of your beauty needs. >> a lot of people want to bring their face wash or toner on the road. you have an alternative. >> you don't want to deal with

bottles. they can break. they can spill. so a great alternative that's going to clean your face is these amazing facial towelettes. one of our favorite brands is the yes line. yes to tomatoes. and what this one does is has salicylic acid. it's fwraet for people with problematic skin. they have yes to cucumbers which is soothing. and yes to blueberries which is wonderful for aging or mature skin. >> these are nice travel sizes. >> biore also have towelettes, and these are hyperallergenic. this is a good choice for you. what we like about the pond's towelettes is they have exfoliating beads, as you're cleaning your face off, those beads can take away those dull skin and reveal glowing, beautiful skin. >> you can't bring your tube of exfoliator. >> right. it's a great alternative. and finally neutrogena makeup

remover. it's a very potent makeup remover, going to get rid of waterproof mascaras, but it's gentle on your skin and eyes. if you wear contact lenses this is a product for you. >> sunscreen. we all should be wearing it on our face every single day but you don't want to bring the big bottle or having to buy it once you're there. >> we always do recommend you wear sunscreen wherever you are, whether on the beach or just touring. so we like an alternative, sunscreen in stick form. one of our favorites here. this is from clarion. what's grate about this is it's 100% mineral based. it goes on just like that. >> is it for the face? >> it's for the face. you can target protection around your eyes, your lips and your nose. now sun bon also has an alternative here. this is great for people, they're sporty and in the water a lot. >> and what's the last one here? >> the last one is shiseido, it's sheer and translucent. the great thing about all of

these, these portable. you can pop them in your burst. >> and they don't count against our liquids. makeup, what do you recommend? >> instead of bringing a separate lipstick, eye shadow and bronzer, bring one compact palette. one of our favorites from benefit, what you're going to get is eye shadows, bronzers, even a little bit of foundation. so this is super easy, really good way to look beautiful. trish mcavoi also has a great little palette. what you see here is lipsticks, a little bit of brush and conseouler. >> this is cute. this looks to have lip gloss as well as blush and eye shadow. >> this is from sephora, everything. after you come back from your vacation you can pop these into your purse and they're great for touchups on the go. >> foundation, that's a toughy because that's a liquid a lot of people want to bring. what's an alternative? >> foundations that come in come pact form. one of my favorite is from neutrogena. what's great about this it's going to give you flawless coverage, it's really nice and

blendable but also has spf 55. so you're getting two benefits in one compact. >> what do we have here? >> this is san alternative to translucent powders. a lot tend to make you look ashy and cakey. this is the mali face defender. it can set your makeup, reduce the appearance of pores and wrinkles, and if you're somebody who gets oilly during the day, this can mattify your skin. it's nice and translucent. very interesting product there. >> another alternative to liquids because a lot of people want to bring your perfumes. no way you want to bring those on the plane. >> just like foundations, a lot of those come in glass bottles. that runs the risk of breaking and spilling all over your clothing. as an alternative we like solid perfumes. some of my favorites from pacifica, and what we like about these is they come in small tubes, they're portable. if you go on a hike and need to freshen up, dab some on to your

pulse points. and you can also blend these together. wear them awhile and blend them together. if you have a favorite brand, a designer brand, definitely check out and see if they have solid alternatives, as well. >> some of the little roll-ons, they may count as liquids >> as long as they're under 3 ounces. you can bring those with you, as well. >> finally, we don't want to leave the men in our lives out. >> for the men, what we like is something from jan allen, of course, this is a very popular line for men. this little kit features everything from shampoo to conditioner, even a little bit of shave cream. and the best part is, each of these bottles are one ounces, so they're tsa friendly. >> they can take this little bag and they're good to go. >> absolutely. >> meanwhile we'll have this whole table full of stuff. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> coming up next, wondering what to cook for dinner after a long day? giada de laurentiis has quick and easy recipes coming up.

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause that you just keep going.

(man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) there's no doubt in my mind that komen's funding helped saved my life. the 3-day is my opportunity to help save others' lives. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. with 3 days and 60 miles, you're making a bold statement. you're saying breast cancer is not going to win. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... because everyone deserves a lifetime.

cooking with giada is brought to you by target. giada's exclusive line of kitchen products and delicious food is only available at target and target.com. well this morning we are cooking with giada, "today" contributor and chef giada de laurentiis has a new cookbook out just this week in stores called "weeknights with giada." >> and giada's advice this morning, try breakfast for dinner. good morning. >> hi. >> i know my boys are big fans for breakfast for dinner. so is jade. is that how all this started? >> honestly when you have a 4-year-old, as you know well, at the end of the day it's hard to get them excited about dinner. >> yeah. >> so when jade knows it's coming up on breakfast for dinner she gets really excited. so i've got a few different ideas. >> and these are healthy options. >> no, we're not. we're going to start with a crispy breakfast pita. >> come over here. >> savannah >> yes, dear. >> the rebrush the oil on the

pita. just brush a little oil on a regular pita and i put it on a grill pan like this and grill it for a couple of minutes until we get the nice little grill marks, and flatten it so it looks like pizza, really. >> exactly. >> and take an egg and you just break the egg in the skillet with a little bit of oil. let it cook for two to three minutes. >> over easy, right? >> i like it a little bit runny. everybody's got their own way of doing their eggs. however long you like it. i like it a little runny so i do two to three minutes just until the white is set. a little salt, pepper, then -- >> i like this secret ingredient. the mascarpone. >> it's just mascarpone cheese. >> we're going to add a little lemon zoes give it a little flavor. a little salt, a little pepper. season it up and then you're going to smear -- smear. >> smear on the pita. just like that. >> just a little bit. >> and the lemon just kind of

brightens up the flavors of the cheese but you need something to let everything stick to. and this is actually fun for the kids to do. so jade can usually just do this on her own. and then you toss it with a little -- >> over here we make an easy vinaigrette, lemon juice, olive oil, a little bit of salt, little pepper, too. mix it all together and pour it over the arugula or any lettuce that you like. you can go ahead and toss that. >> a way to sneak salad past the kids without them knowing it. >> mine won't see past that. >> then don't put it on there. i put a little bit of prosciutto down first. todd likes a little bit of meat. a little bit of prosciutto. >> guys like the meat and potatoes. >> yeah, right. >> and then if you want to take the egg -- >> savannah is like -- >> is this the right size? >> oh, yes so and put it right on top. >> there you go. >> go, go, savannah. oh, no. >> here we go.

i got it. there you go. so at the end of the day that is what it looks like. you can have dinner very, very quickly. >> now let's move on back here because this is something my kids would love. >> this is jade's favorite. >> these are almond pancakes. >> these are almond pancakes. you've got to like almonds. and jade loves it and i love it. so we've got a little pancake mix. two eggs -- what do you think? >> mascarpone. >> favorite ingredient. >> a little ol ill oil. >> and garlic. and then a little bit of almond extract. a little vanilla extract. and water. and that's it. you blend it all together so it gets nice and light. then we're going to add the almond paste. for anybody who doesn't know what almond paste looks like. it has less sugar than marzipan. >> it's yummy out of the tube like that, too. >> it's like candy, honestly. you put this all together and then add the almond paste. >> if you use this, and put this in the fridge and you don't take

it out to let it come to a temperature it doesn't soften like this, it gets gritty and then you're going to have grittyness in your pancakes. then you take this, i'll show you. sorry i need to figure this out. >> dump that in. go for it. >> blend it all up. >> and you guys start making pancake here's. you put this all together and leave a little bit of chunkiness. it pops up and you've got little bites. it's like having chocolate chips. >> delish. >> and just like that. jade this is her favorite? >> well, yeah. because hello. >> pan takes. >> these are great you make a bunch, give it sort of a snack or for breakfast or whatever. >> raspberry maple syrup. we've got peach and cherry. frozen cherries. >> that's it for easter >> the cookbook is great. i've been cooking from it already. so my kids are big fans already. crispy chicken fingers. >> yes. >> lots of good recipes for kids and adults.

>> and savannah. >> and savannah. >> easy categorize. very easy. >> it's so rare that we actually cook breakfast at this hour on the "today" show. i love it. >> i love breakfast for dinner. i could do breakfast ten times a day. thank you, giada. >> we've got hoda and kathie lee chatting with american pie star shannon elizabeth about her new film, american reunion. a lot of people looking forward to that. but first your local news and weather. have a great day. .

9:56 right now. i'm laura garcia cannon. 12 days and still no sign of morgan hills sierra lamar. volunteer searchers will

continue today from brunette elementary school. santa clara investigators now say it was highly unlikely sierra ran away. after detectives interviewed more than a hundred of her friends and family, they determined sierra was most likely abducted. a fund has been set up at chase bank to help pay for the cost of the search and a reward for information leading to sierra's recovery. a mother, son, and daughter will be laid to rest in gilroy today the victims of a tragic murder-suicide. the funerals will be held this morning at st. mary's catholic church on 1st street in gilroy. investigators say 27-year-old abel gutierrez shot his mother and younger sister before killing himself on march 14th. gutierrez was an iraq war veteran and police say he showed signs of post traumatic stress disorder. let's check the forecast now. we're getting a break from the rain. good morning to you. an area of low pressure that brought the heavy downpours into places in the north bay and san

francisco now moving off to the northeast. for us that means high pressure will slowly but surely be building for the next couple days but the jet stream lingers to our north. stray showers certainly possible in the north bay but we're talking about a.m. showers today clearing by noon. in fact, radar is rather dry right now, just pesky, light activity right at the coast. 65 degrees today in nassau, 65 in san jose, 69 tomorrow. 72 friday with showers late. let's check your drive with mike. >> all right. the south bay had a rough commute from 101 which is actually easing now. 85, the bottom of your screen, a disabled vehicle around guadalupe parkway and an accident approaching 280. both incidents are moving to the shoulder. now just have a little slow drive northbound 880 and 101 coming up past where they both crossroads. we are looking over further north in southbound 880 still slow out of fremont into milpitas jamming up around the 237 interchange. the express lane not clearing things up there but it is late and they'll be turning the lights off soon anyway. we'll look at 880 past oakland.

still a little slow there. back to you. >> thank you very much. we will have more in a local news update in half an hour. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels

so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, iv delg.er in with more choices and fewer calories, e mpansg.er are delivering. in captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody! it's winesday, wednesday, march 28th. it's the middle of the week, but we don't care. all is well in the world. >> when it's winesday. by the way, we're still drinking the colby red. the same glass. >> i got the nicest letter from the man who owns the vineyard. anyway, beautiful story. this 14-year-old son said, dad, can't we do something to help

heart disease? he said can't we do a wine that all the profits will go to -- his father said, of course we can. the third time we're mentioning colby red. >> we like it. >> i just had somebody try it who has never loved red. it was donna. our wardrobe mistress. she goes, oh, my gosh. >> it goes down smooth. >> you know what else goes down smooth? i was stunned. did you think i would like or dislike "the hunger games." >> i thought you wouldn't like it. knowing it was about children eating other children. >> not eating. killing. >> cannibalism, i don't know. >> that's another -- we'll get to that. >> what was the verdict? >> the movie started and i had no idea. you know, i hadn't read the book like so many people have read the book. i was not a fan of the "twilight" series at all. i heard it was similar to that. there's a love triangle and all of that. this young actress, jennifer lawrence, it does take place in

the future. it's about 24 kids that are called together from their districts in order to basically put on what they used to put on in the roman coliseum. you know -- >> fight to the death? >> fight to the death for the assu amusement of the mob. as the movie progressed i realized it's the exact opposite what i thought. it so celebrates the human spirit. it so celebrates the sanctity of life. it's about how we can become so callous as a civilization that this is what we're reduced to. this is what we've become in order to maintain our status quo. we need to have that kind of entertainment. it absolutely blew me away. >> wow. >> i'm crazy about it. >> are there violent scenes? >> there are violent scenes but there's a very jerky sort of a directtorial stance he takes early on in the movie.

you don't see anything you haven't certainly seen on "jersey shore" if you know what i mean. i was blown away by the story. i was blown away -- there's a stripture that says greater love has no one than they lay down their life for a friend. that's basically what -- this is about sacrificial love. to the death. >> for kids, too, you think? >> not for little ones. >> pg-13. >> it's pg-13. i think that's absolutely perfect. >> i'm dying to see it. now i am. we have interesting video of alicia silverstone. this created a stir on tuesday. she posted this youtube video of herself. it's of her chewing food, taking it from her mouth and feeding it to her child. >> sometimes she doesn't take it. she puts it in the baby's mouth. >> he's not even looking. not paying attention. >> is that not precious, though? >> here she goes. he's still eating. >> here it comes, honey.

uh-oh, uh-oh. yes. >> ew, ew, ew. >> thank you, mommy. more. more. >> and we get it. here's the thing. is it -- why do it? we know birds do it. >> they also poop in a field. you know what i'm saying? how far you going to take that analogy? birds poop on your head. i don't think alicia's going to do that. why feed your child like a bird does? >> doctors say it's not safe because the adult mouth is disgusting according to doctors. >> none of us should french kiss one another. >> kids don't have all the immunities that grown-ups do. you've got a baby. who knows if you have a cold sore or something icky. >> how about you don't do it if you have a cold sore. i think any time you can avoid spreading bodily fluids to other

people it's probably a good idea. but i don't know. i think she posted later that the child wanted it to badly. i just -- i see the child looking around. it's the mom that wants it. >> she said whenever she's chewing her child comes up to her mouth and wants to eat. >> let's see what he's doing when he's 17. there he is. you know what, i don't want to judge. because i've done weird things with my children, too. they haven't written their books yet. some day you'll learn what i did. i did not eat their placenta, however, all right? i did not eat their placenta. who knew it was so good for you? who knows what i would have done. >> january jones, just so you know, she said that she saved her placenta, dehydrated it and put it in capsules and swallowed it. >> companies will do that for you. >> she doesn't think it's witch crafty or anything like that. >> she says other mammals do it. again, they poop in fields. that should be the one thing you think of when you think it

through. it seems good. but it wouldn't make me poop in a field. >> there's little scientific evidence to show any benefits to this kind of thing. other mammals who do poop in the field also eat their own placentas sometimes. >> we'd love to know what you think at home. >> they're probably repulsed. >> one of the greatest -- got to love "the post." >> maybe one of the best headlines they have ever, ever had. >> read it, hoda woman. >> it says this is your captain freaking. this is the captain on that jet blue plane who -- >> we're only laughing because nobody was hurt. >> he was going from jfk to las vegas. the co-pilot noticed he was flipping switches and doing things erratically. he coaxed the pilot to leave the cockpit and go out into the cabin, into the bathroom or something. he changed the lock on the code. the co-pilot did. he was off and flying. this captain apparently freaked out. he went -- he was saying things on the plane. he was saying iraq, iran, al

qaeda, say your prayers, say the lord's prayer. he was ranting and raving. one of the things that struck us was how cool, how calm and collected the co-pilot was when he was radioing in during all this commotion. let's listen to what he said. >> jet blue 191 emergency and we're going to need authorities and medical to meet us at the airplane. >> look at that. and the sky is blue. >> he's like a sully. >> we want him. >> give me sully, baby. >> calm, cool and collected. what's funny, they interviewed a lot of the passengers who got off the plane. a lot of people, guess, helped subdue the pilot. what? >> it's up for grab who was the real -- the real hero. let's take a look at our first contestant. >> i ran off and we were face to face, me and the captain. tussled a little bit. i got him turned around.

then other passengers jumped on. we all got on top of him. >> it appeared he was trying to open the side door. i wasn't going to let that happen. >> no, you weren't. >> god bless them both. they obviously were involved. we started talking this morning about what a woman would do, basically. we said that a woman would go, oh, no. the boys are fighting. but maybe i should help. but i don't know that i should get on top. i have gained a little weight. i've been trying to watch my weight. but maybe it'll help because i've gained a little weight and i can get on and put more weight on them. >> we would not take credit. >> we wouldn't. >> women would all say i'm not sure who was in first. even if you sort of know you were, you were still say -- >> i couldn't have done it without the guys. >> all right. >> human nature. >> you guys remember yesterday christie brinkley was on the "today" show. an interview that got tons of press. matt lauer. >> still talking about it. >> turned out her former

husband, ex-husband was watching. he also wanted to respond to what christie said. here's just a tiny bit of what christie said first. >> i -- i want peace for my family. and i also -- sorry. but i just want peace. and every time i have any joy or any kind of success in anything, he has to try to destroy it. >> okay. so peter cook saw that. and he immediately wanted to respond. he called matt on his cell phone. savannah ended up doing the interview with peter cook. this is a little bit of his reaction. >> i thought that it was horrible that she could sit and shamelessly lie to our children again on national tv about the events surrounding this current motion. >> what do you think she was lying about? >> virtually everything. >> there was a moment when she

cries. >> crocodile tears. >> why do you say that? >> because she's not been bullied and harassed by me. ever since the separation she has been on a campaign to smear me. there is no peter cook press machine. i have no interest in the press. i'm not a celebrity. you don't hear about peter cook until christie brinkley dredges something up from the past to make herself relevant in the media again. >> you know, you and i know we have mixed emotions about this. >> mm-hmm. >> we're still talking about it three days later. we're part of the problem because we're still talking about it when the best thing to do would be for the two of them to be quiet. be decent to one another and protect their children. he was doing yesterday what he said he shouldn't be doing. don't watch. don't listen. don't surround yourself with friends who feel like they need to tell you what they saw. what they read. that was my big problem. if i wasn't paying attention to every -- i was doing what i thought i had to do. i was going through some stuff.

then somebody would fgo, oh, i' so sorry -- i wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me. >> right, right, right. this is, again, he responds -- he reacts to what she says. who knows if she'll react to what he says. >> she'll come on again. we're all part of the problem, hoda woman. mostly you. if only they'd just eat the placenta. >> stop it! this will meak you go ooh, aw. the teeniest puppy. might be the smallest one born in northern california. >> 3 1/2 inches. its name is beyonce. >> look at it on the iphone! >> my favorite is the girl scout cookie. do we have that? see, if he wants to grow he has to eat. he's not eating that cookie. >> no, he's not. oh! >> somebody said he's -- listen. the veterinarians managed to revive her. it's a little girl. through chest compressions. what, with their pinky? >> she didn't have a heart beat

when she was born. >> and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. >> they had to do it. >> couldn't they have -- >> i want to give a shout out, you guys. if you have a best friend who you feel is like a sister to you, there's this really cool book that sonia jackson miles came out with. "51 ways to love your sister." she interviewed a bunch of people. she's actually in the studio with her family. >> oh, good! >> how sweet are they? little things that people say as to why they love their sister. it's sweet. it's moving. it has pictures. >> you and jane -- >> anyway, it's a really sweet book. it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. >> that's very nice. you know who i think would be a funny "saturday night live" clip? since nobody was hurt and everything's fine, you have the plane. >> the jet blue thing? >> yeah. you've got the guy everybody thinks is crazy running down the aisles doing what he's doing. at the same time you have alicia

silverstone and her son. she's not paying attention. she's feeding her kid. you've got christie brinkley, peter cook. who's the crazy one? i just think that's funny. you know what's also funny? we are about to do our own version. our version of the "the voice" is better than anything you'll see anywhere else. >> just the kids. 8 years old to 16 years old. we're getting lots of entries. >> four. >> we've got more than four. >> six. >> people can't figure out how to send their videos in. we're going to listen to a couple more. >> here we go. ♪ ♪ i will stand by you, i will

help ♪ >> right now i'm telling you, they're going to win. >> beautiful. don't say that! how can you say that? >> i don't even know them. >> we have other entries. you just made everyone feel terrible. >> that's just my gut reaction, all right? >> come on. ♪ >> all right. they're going to come in, like, second. that's beautiful. ♪ working on the chain gang >> beautiful, beautiful. >> terrific. you know, the instant i heard those other two. >> you know what music i'm obsessed with? i can't stop listening to lionel richie and the duets with the country stars. >> i love that. that's real music. up next, can your pediatrician refuse to treat your child if you refuse to have your child vaccinated? at's the debate we're going to have right after this. >> wow. [ female announcer ] women have made it the number one selling

anti-aging cream undeniably. it creamed unbelievably a $500 cream. and now women have made regenerist microsculpting cream also unscented. women love it. in original and also fragrance-free.

how about the beat of a healthy heart? campbell's healthy request soup is delicious, and earned this heart, for being heart healthy. ♪ feel the beat? it's amazing what soup can do. that's great, honey. where? [ male announcer ] for life's bleachable moments. but don't just listen to me.

listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. plug into the savings you deserve with snapshot from progressive. by the time a child reaches the age of 6 he or she will have been stuck with a needle about two dozen times for immunizations. as parents continue to question the safety of these vaccines, physicians are getting fed up with it. >> should pediatricians have the right to fire their patients for refusal to vaccinate? tanya bennison is nbc universal's chief medical officer and a good friend of ours.

and henry bernstein is chief of pediatrics at cohen's children's medical center. this is an interesting debate. there are a lot of parents out there who do worry about vaccines. there was a big article in the "wall street journal" that addressed this very point. should doctors be able to say, hey, look. we don't want you coming to our hospital anymore. >> why would they say that? what's the danger in a child not being vaccinated according to these doctors? >> what's the danger of not being vaccinated? the purpose of vaccines is to prevent diseases that can kill you. it's one of the most amazing medical breakthroughs of our time. not to get them puts you at risk for diseases that could have been prevented. >> is it contagious to other people, is the idea? >> absolutely. >> that's their reasoning. >> okay. you hear this -- let's say a patient walks into your office says, hey, look. i don't want my kid to get a, b and c vaccines because i've read stuff about them. >> a lot of horror tales. >> what would you say to that particular mom? >> to that particular mom we would want to better understand

what her thinking is. we need to understand her concerns. which vaccines are most concerning to her. and why she feels that her child should not get those particular vaccines. >> then if she gives you her answers and they're heartfelt, would you ever as a doctor yourself say, then i'm sorry, i'm sure there's another place you can go that would better address your concerns? >> so in general we try very hard not to fire patients from the practice. that's really not what our role is as pediatricians and advocates for children. these parents are making decisions for their children, and we want to protect children from all these diseases that are vaccine preventable. >> in some ways you're trying to protect them from their own parents? >> in a sense. >> some doctors do fire their patients. they don't want them coming in. what would be their reasoning for not wanting patients to come back? >> i'm on the extreme of that. being a new mother and a physician, i have all the facts. and i have the heart, want to

take care of my baby. i am fully for it. i would prefer to take my child to a practice that does not accept people who don't vaccinate. i don't want to bring my healthy newborn child into a waiting area where there's somebody with wh whooping cough that could have been presented by the vaccine. >> there are moms who don't want measles, bumps, rubella vaccine all at the same time. >> i really get the fears. it's not fun to bring your child to get stuck. they cry. that evening, they're fussy. it is so important, though. there are these studies that came out sud popposedly that li it with autism. they've been debunked. >> allergies. when i was growing up in the 1800s before the polio vaccine -- i remember getting that. i still have it on my arm. that one. i've also get a little dementia.

forget where it is. kids didn't have peanut allergies. i don't remember things like that. all of a sudden everybody's allergic to everything. >> that's why it's important actually for us to treat each vaccine individually. we should not lump the many vaccines that children need, as you pointed out earlier, together. >> for financial reasons they often do all three at once. isn't that true? >> it's not financial reasons. it's that the science supports when these vaccines should be administered so that the children's immune systems develop enough protection to protect them should they be exposed to any of those contagions, any of those infections. >> it's also a compliance issue. you spread out all the vaccines, you do an alternative method which i did do with my child, you have to keep on it. instead of coming every two months, you have to come every month. you have to keep track. you can't leave that up to the pediatrician. they can't keep track. >> how is your little 5-month-old?

>> oh! >> how do you feel about placenta eating. >> oh! still to come, we'll test your knowledge in all things trivia. great conversation starters when we play "who knew?" beth! hi! looking good. you've lost some weight. thanks. you noticed. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm! [ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter. [ male announcer ] who can clean your toilet thirty-six nhundre[ ding ]a year?os scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaning gel.

it's flush-activated to prevent buildup of lime scale and hard water that cause toilet rings. the freshest way to keep a toilet clean. [ toilet flushing ] flush after flush. [ female announcer ] s.c. johnson. a family company. i was trying to figure out how i could get rid of 99% of the lead

i can pick up traveling through your pipes, and then... [ click ] it just clicked. get it? it clicked... like the thing...click... still to come, if you have a set of encyclopedias in your house, do we have a "who knew?" game for you. "american pie" is offering a second helping with a reunion. shann shannon elizabeth tells us all

about it. >> what to wear when the cold weather transitions to warm but it ain't quite there yet. gluten free cooking in your own kitchen so you can spend your hard earned money in other places like buying a bigger tv to watch us. after your local news. a surpris. [ rattling ] wanna see what's in it? yeah! whoagasp! whoagasp! whoagasp! you wanna make these? you put it in here? yeah, put it in there. ok, just press. i'm gonna give you some m&m's® to put in there. ok! ready? and then you wanna take this... ...put it together. shake it. [ giggles ] are you making them for the easter bunny? no, you. ahhhhh. [ female announcer ] this easter... bring a tradition... out of its shell. rice krispies®. i did it! you did! at home, i challenge that in one easy step with olay. total effects tone corrector. 7 anti-aging therapies for younger looking skin including an even skin tone, instantly. only from olay.

good morning. it's 10:26. i'm marla taez. the man accused in a brutal mass murder in san francisco will be in court today to face murder

charges. he is charged with five murders with special circumstances meaning he could face the death penalty if convicted. we now have pictures featuring two of the five people he is suspected of killing. a man and his daughter, a highly regarded software engineer in emeryville. police haven't revealed a motive for the five killings ak looe h hndst aav look at the fore arandhe a tsticfffter the break. ic

welcome back. now the clouds are starting to break apart over sinole and that's the good news. we still have socked in conditions over the city by the bay and flight delays continuing out of sfo but we are still slated to hit the 60s. temperatures right now are in the upper 50s about 65 degrees today, 62 redwood city, 61 in san francisco. we'll hit the 70s tomorrow. we'll take you to the forecast today at 11:00. let's check your drive with mike first. >> we're looking at 237 still slow off of 880 in the express zone area. we have that as the last real major sticking point for your commute. a new accident just recorded into san jose southbound on 880 at brokaw. no slowing on the sensors. we'll get a look at the golden gate bridge. an easy drive across the bay. from the north bay the clouds still there. the water on the lens and on the roadway starting to dry out at this time. it comes out a little bit gets a peek there. back to you. >> at 11:00 another day of volunteer searches in morgan hill from missing teen sierra

lamar. investigators now say her disappearance most likely an abduction. we'll have the latest. a somber day at a hayward middle school as students deal with a sudden loss of one of their classmates. how they are honoring him today. the news at 11:00 starts in 30 minutes. we are back on this winesday, wednesday, with more of "today." we're ready to play our weekly trivia game we call "who knew?" with encyclopedia britannica going digital. kathie lee across the street. she's ready to hand out $100 to those who get the answer right. to those who don't they get kathie lee's cd. the executive editor of encyclopedia britannica. >> beautiful mom and her daughter, olivia, from oregon.

i hope they don't get this. i want to give them a cd. what is the highest grossing film series in history? harry potter, star wars, james bond or twilight? >> star wars. >> that was good! >> she looks happy. the correct answer here, ted, "harry potter." >> the number one series. coming in third is the "star wars" series. but interestingly, coming in second, 22 films featuring that swap a suave and debonair agent -- >> james bond. >> a lot of oregonians here with us today. true or false, the funny bone is really a bone. >> true. >> oh. that's the best kathie lee cd

reaction ever. all right. so the correct answer, the funny bone is actually not a physical bone. >> that's right. the funny bone exists. it's actually the ulnar nerve which runs up and down our arm on our elbow. when we bump it around our elbow it gives us that weird sensation. >> pain. painful. >> we call it the funny bone. >> all right. back across to kath. >> we've moved on to miss chicago, here. are you ready? >> yep. >> true or false, the smallest country in the world is monaco. >> false. >> okay. you get money. it's not as good. >> okay. so the smallest country in the world is not monaco. what is it? >> it's the .2 square mile vatican city. population about 800. the only country in the world completely contained within the city. that, of course, is the city of rome. >> sure. good. kath, back to you. >> where you from, honey? >> chicago, illinois. >> it's a conspiracy. according to encyclopedia

britannica, all of the following were once olympic sports except what? tug of war, walking, ballet and shooting. >> ballet. >> smart cookie, wow! >> he's going to use that money to buy his own kathie lee cd. >> sure he will. all right. so ballet was the only one. tug of war was an olympic sport? >> yeah. tug of war was actually a very competitive team event. every summer olympics between 1900 and 1920. >> that would be a good one to watch. >> who knew? >> exactly. >> all the way from new zealand, true or false. red grapes can make white wine. >> false. >> oh, but yay! did she get that right? >> no. the answer is true. >> did you say both? >> no. she said -- >> just take it and enjoy it. >> she said, oh, boo. but yay, she gets the cd! all right. the correct answer is true. you can make it.

>> right. the juice of red grapes can make white wine. but white grapes can't make red wine because critical to the production of red wine is the red pigment in the grape skin. >> got it. >> you're from clearwater. which sport was invented as a game for businessmen who found basketball too vigorous? i love this. tennis, soccer, volleyball or baseball? >> volleyball. >> neither of you know. admit it. >> volleyball. >> no, you do know it! >> she's right. all right. so is basketball too tough for you? play volleyball, they say. >> it's interesting that both volleyball and basketball were both invented in the 1890s. both invented in massachusetts. and both invented by directors of the ymca. the difference was that volleyball was specifically oriented towards businessmen who couldn't cut it playing basketball at noontime. >> okay. all right. time for one more. kath, one more. >> gentleman from chicago. when mattel introduced barbie in 1959 parental out rage focused

on which of the following? her blond hair, sexy figure, white skin or her name? >> her sexy figure. >> you bad boy! >> all right. so barbie's figure too much? >> it was very much too much. it caused quite a con tro ver spip it was interesting the mattel toy company was able to get around the controversy by producing some of the very first commercials for kids. not their parents. they bypassed the parents. >> ted, great job. thanks again. coming up next, actress shannon elizabeth is here. she's got something special for those diisr th .rdpi right after this. ♪ my skin loses moisture nearly twice as fast as yours does, mom. ♪ that's why you use johnson's baby lotion to keep my skin baby soft. ♪ i love that it's gentle enough to use twice a day, morning and night. ♪

you've really got this "mom thing" down. ♪ and we are talkingren about activia.ing" down. i've been eating activia and i feel great! i'm used to having irregularity. i feel like that's normal. if you are not feeling like trying this on, that's not normal. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. feeling regular to me was a new feeling... i came to find my 'new normal' and i love it! ♪ activia and try new silky, fruity tihavia rvest picks. another way to enjoy activia. everyone wants to be the cadbury bunny. cause only he brings delicious cadbury crème eggs,

while others may keep trying. nobunny knows easter better than cadbury!

cleaning better, doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle, but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads can clean better in half the time so you don't miss a thing. swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. and for dry messes big and small try swiffer sweeper vac.

if you are an "american pie" fan you probably remember shannon elizabeth as nadya, the sexy foreign exchange student. >> like any other high school crowd the gang has come together for what else, a high school reunion. with a movie appropriately entitled "american reunion." nice to see you. do you take your clothes off in this one? >> i don't. some other people do. >> hate to disappoint. >> you got everybody back. the whole gang came back. >> you're watching it. you think you've seen everyone. there's another and another and another. >> time has not been kind to everybody like it has been to you? >> i think everyone looks exactly the same. they all act the same for sure. >> no one's grown up at all? >> they've grown up.

everyone looks like an adult version of themselves. i look at the first one, i'm like, we look like babies. now i feel like we look like adults. >> do the story lines kind of stay consistent to the older one? >> to the character. the directors wrote it. they did a really good job at capturing everyone's character. >> is there a new flavor of pie this time around? like a key lime or something? >> i don't know. you'll have to watch. >> that means yes. that means yes. >> was it weird, though, playing your character again 13 years later? it must have been strange, i can imagine. >> you know, you want to give everybody, like, something about her that they loved. for me, i had the accent to go with. it was a lot. it was a lot to make sure you lived up to it. >> it has a cult following. >> what about other films? what else do you have cooking? >> i did a film called "a green story." that's going to be premiering at the greek festival in l.a. soon. that's my next big thing right now. >> what about your juicy personal life? >> how juicy is it?

>> i have no personal life right now. >> everybody says that. >> i know, i know! >> we don't fall for that anymore. >> we don't believe it. >> i've just been -- i've been focusing on the work. i just did a jewelry line with my cousin. i've been focusing on that. >> your focus has been elsewhere. >> her cousin is a local anchor here. >> oh, yeah. my first cousin. >> you guys like just alike. >> yes, cool. >> we wish you everything. doesn't sound like you need anything. you do come back, we'll wish it again. >> thank you so much. >> in theaters april 6th. coming up next, how to take your wardrobe from the winter into the spring so you never feel like you've got nothing to wear. right after this. [ male announcer ] it sizzles, ready for anything.

bringing a rich, warm tenderness to your peas. ohhh! it's i can't believe it's not butter! fresh butter taste with less saturated fat than butter go ahead. cheat on butter. the best in nutrition... just got better. high in vitamins d, e, and b12. plus omega 3's. there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. better taste. yum! [ female announcer ] eggland's best. the better egg. new venus & olay. olay moisture bars help lock in moisture... while five blades get venus close. revealing smooth and goddess skin begins. only from venus & olay.

new extended moisture body lotion. extremely dry skin can hold you back. uncover more touchable skin with a nivea breakthrough. the first 48-hour moisturizing relief formula with hydraiq and provitamin b5 in a light, non-greasy lotion. love your skin. show it. share it. new extended moisture from nivea. touch and be touched. now bring the world a touch closer. join our million moments of touch movement and be entered in nivea's dly date night sweepstakes.

ni join our million moments of touch movement see lioutdoors, or in.ight. enses auy filter juste right amount o, ask for transitions adaptisit you local sigc transitiand lenses that fit your life. sight for sore eyes. you've begged for it and you got it. it is now time for "today's" style and taking your closet into spring. we're talking about the days between when it's freezing and it gets warmer as the day goes

on. you don't have anything to wear. >> you've got nada. we have someone to help you guys. gener jen is here with great tips. the past couple of days have underscored that weird in between time. >> the weather has been a little bit crazy. it seems to be that way everywhere. you never know what to wear. fashion brands have gotten really innovative and consumers are demanding things you can wear year round. we want the most bang for our fashion buck. there's spring innovations in style that are going to help you look great. >> let's start them off. gina's coming out. she's going to show us how to layer at the office. >> that's a tunic, huh. >> it's about layering smart. not just layering but layering in an intelligent way. underneath she has a button down. elizabeth daniel new york. it's actually a slim fitting t-shirt and it's sleeveless. really comfortable. a sweater over it. she can take that off. a sleeveless jacket from old

navy. a very hot trend right now. the skirt is elastic so she can pull it up or down. make it a pencil skirt. aerosole shoes. they're comfy, stylish. you can wear them with tights if you need to. an opaque stocking. you can pull it off. it has a wooden heel that feels a little more springy. >> i hate the shoes. other than that she's adorable. >> let's pretend we're running errands. we don't want to wear sweats. we want to look like katherine. what do we do? >> gym wear is ready to wear. fitness brands have come out with outfits you can wear to the gym but also cute to wear out. a brooks running infinity hoodie. it's water resistant. you get caught in a shower unexpectedly it will keep you nice and dry. the leggings from zoba. so cute. they slim you down. they're moisture wicking. if it does get hot you're still going to feel comfy. she has cute, bright sneakers on. we're working the whole color blocking thing. >> that is the color everybody is telling us. tangerine.

>> thanks, hon. >> thank you. >> let's pretend we want a good night out. who doesn't need one of those? know what i'm saying? we have kim coming out. tell us what she's got going on. >> what i love about this is this innovative illusion. see the pants. they look like they're leather pants. they're actually jeans. >> stop it, they're jeans? >> yeah. really comfy. cotto cotton/lycra blend. wax finish makes it look like they're leather. >> they're washable? >> they're washable. they're great. wear them a million times and they keep their fit. they're a little on the pricier side. $160. you're wearing them 12 months of the year. i love the sequin tank. it feels festive. this one is $19. her accessories. accessories can help make things seasonless. the bag is from beholden.com. sort of a raffia. very summery, very springry. the black bow dresses it up and makes it feel seasonless.

>> we want to siay hi to her da, nick. i had a nice conversation on the phone with. >> if we want to head out on the weekend we want to look like riya. what do we do? >> such a great look. basics with benefits. we're starting out with a technology developed for nasa. it keeps your body temperature controlled. special technologies. perfect first layer. gr crochet is a big trend from the gap. >> i love that. >> neon, big trend. also it's eyelet. breathable. >> i love that sweater. >> beautiful. >> the necklace, fun, lightweight. >> you're going to have to that that sweater off and give it to kathy. >> come on out, everybody. >> thanks, everybody. up next, into "today's"

kitchen for pork and placenta. >> don't say it! >> pork and placenta. >> no. it's polenta. first this is "today" on nbc. [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry 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. [ younger brother ] oh, do you want it?

yeah. ok, we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents?

time to find out what's cooking in "today's" kitchen. we've got gluten free meals on the stove. >> australia chef kim is here to show us how easy it is to make tasty gluten free food from her cook book. >> did you like your special song? >> that's all you need. "land down under." i haven't heard it for ages. thank you so much. >> what are we whipping up? >> looks like a pork chop. >> it is a pork chop, yes. we want to take your lovely pork chop that i bought on sale in my supermarket. infwreed ye

ingredients on sale, in season you'll save money. season lightly. >> a little olive oil. >> yeah. maybe about three to four minutes one side. turn once. >> my daddy loves pork chops. personally i love placenta better. >> stop saying that! >> i'm sorry. i meant polenta. >> while you're making your accompaniment -- >> that's one ingredient. >> tonight it's polenta. i've just got some stock. i had four cups of stock. a cup of polenta. into that we'll had some lovely parmesan cheese and mix it together. often when you have a gluten intolerance you often have a lactose intolerance. parmesan cheese is hard aged cheese. very little lactose in it. you can even with a lactose intolerance.

>> you want to try it, hodie? >> probably not. >> lactose is sugar. if you look at your nutritional information on your hard cheeses you'll often see your sugar is zero grams. it's definitely fine. with polenta, too, people say what do you do with the leftover? pop that into a lovely cake dish into your fridge and it makes a beautiful pizza base. don't throw it out. >> what are you talking about? >> four ingredients. saving time and money in the kitchen. leftovers, very important to use. >> i want to try this. which one? this one? >> plate it up. >> i'm sorry, but that looks delicious. >> it's really very simple. the whole point when you're cooking with a few infwreed yents, add an ingredient that generates flavor. in this dish you've got the beautiful parmesan cheese. you've caramelized your pork. food is first eaten with the eyes, ladies. if i'm presenting a home a little green from the garden goes a long way. >> that is delicious. >> i know. you'll be amazed what you can

make with so few ingredients. often they're ingredients you have in your cupboard. >> come back here. come back here. >> oh, right. i thought i scared her away. >> that will not be here in five seconds. >> we're sharing. we're here to spread the love. we had savory. we've got sweet now. two egg whites. we beat them. we're going to add to that lovely ricotta. very, very versatile. add a little bit of honey into that. mix it. you pop your nice meringue into that as well. >> folding it in nicely. >> folding it in beautifully like so. then you want to spoon it into your -- spoon it into your muffin cups. very, very simply. >> okay. >> then while that is baking -- >> we have about 30 seconds. you put a little of the -- >> a little bit of blueberries. a little bit more honey. that's what you're doing. you've got no added sugar in this whatsoever. >> thank you, sweetie.

>> thank you for having me. coming up tomorrow, jane seymour is going to come by and see us. >> ambush makeover thursday. thirsty thursday. >> thank you for watching. >> looks good!