we're back now more of "today" on a tuesday morning. it's the third day of january, 2012. we never even flinched. a chilly morning in new york, temperature in the high 20s and we've got a nice group of people including some washington redskins fans. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker and tamron hall is joining us with a big scarf. that is a large scarf. >> remember the last time you saw this coat it was on the guard at the emerald city. >> exactly. >> i think it's beautiful. >> you have to come back!

>> thank you, my friends. >> stop it! ♪ la-dee-da it's nice. we like it. okay, let's move on. >> oh my lord, on national television. i know. >> it's a horse of a different color! >> moving on in this half hour, on a much, much more serious note -- >> boys are bad today. >> -- custody out in los angeles in connection with an arson spree. police say that man right there is responsible for about 50 fires over a four-day period. we're going to find out if there is a possible motive, again, this is just a suspect in the case. >> right. in "today's health" revving up your energy for 2012. we've got some great ways from short bursts of exercise to power foods to help you find the energy you need to get things done in 2012, whether it's finding a heart or a brain or courage.

>> i'm sorry, tamron. ♪ oh, ee, oh, yo, ho >> i can't believe i've subjected myself to this. >> i know, i know, okay. i love your coat by the way, tom ran. >> thank you. >> i love your scarf. what is the furry thing on your collar? >> i'm one of the monkeys. >> this is plaid. >> anyway, we also are going to be talking about losing weight and we have some pictures here of some women we've had on our broadcast who this last week who lost half their body weight as you can see the change is dramatic, well this morning, two more women who have combined, lost a combined 345 pounds. we'll be showing off how they did it. >> jill is back, with her steals and deals.

jeans, jewelry, hopefully a coat i can buy. >> these two guys were drinking a few moments ago, that's the only explanation. >> let's go inside, natalie morales standing by at the news desk with all the headlines. natalie, take it away. >> tamron i have a great bob marchly hat that would go great with the coat and the scarf. she's going in. in the news this morning, the race is on in iowa, where voters head to the first in the nation caucuses tonight, and most of the republican presidential hopefuls are predicting their own victories. front-runner mitt romney is declaring that iowa is just the beginning of his winning streak, and newt gingrich says he could still pull off one of the greatest upsets in the history of the iowa caucuses. gingrich is currently fourth in the polls and while ron paul is giving romney a run for his money at the top of the polls he doesn't see himself in the white house, calling his odds of winning slim, but possible. meantime, the president has returned this morning from his vacation in hawaii. a 24-year-old german man is in police custody in los angeles

with connection with some 50 suspected arson attacks over the weekend. nbc's mike taibbi is in north hollywood with the latest. mike good day to you. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. pick a word, frustrated, frightened, even terrorized, the folks in these apparently targeted neighborhoods have been feeling all of that, night after night. relentless police work and citizen work helped reel the suspect in. it was amazing good luck and quick response by firefighters that kept car fires like these, many scorched adjacent buildings where thousands lived and slept from leading to multiple tragedies. by late monday came the announcement, the man believed to be the sole arsonist for all of it had been formally charged. >> around 3:00 a.m. the sheriff's department detained a 24-year-old man named harry burkhart who has been subsequently charged with one count of arson, of an inhabited dwelling and currently being held without bail. we expect as the investigation

continues he will face additional charges. >> reporter: here's how authorities say the arrest came about. a business surveillance camera caught this video of a man believed to be the suspect, white man, pony tail, receding hairline and the police released the video. a member of the public called and said he knew who the suspect was, harry burkhart, a german national driving a canadian registered van. that information was circulated immediately to the huge task force working the case. >> literally thousands of law enforcement officials had the information when they needed to have it and that's what led to this arrest. >> reporter: and who made the traffic stop near sunset boulevard that ended with burkhart under arrest? a volunteer deputy sheriff working for $1 a year, named shervin lalezary. applause for a so-called citizen hero. >> i just want to say thank you to everybody. thank you to the two officers who backed me up, as soon as i put on my lights and initiated a traffic stop of the suspect

vehicle, i had an lapd vehicle behind me ready to go. >> reporter: the siege of car fires continued right up to the time burkhart was arrested, one of its last fires waking eric jones of north hollywood. >> i smelled smoke, i'm like holy moses my place is on fire. >> reporter: when the last of the fires was extinguished, with no deaths and no injuries from any of them, the man allegedly responsible was off the streets. >> our long four-day nightmare is over. i haven't had a good night's sleep since last week and i'm looking forward to one tonight. >> as to the alleged motive for this arson spree, nothing official at this point, but reportedly burkhart had been in an escalating dispute with immigration officials over the deportation status of his mother, that dispute reached a head last week just before the fires started. >> great police work in north hollywood. mike taibbi thank you so much. mt. rainier national park remains closed while investigators finish their work in piecing together a bizarre

murder case. officials say 24-year-old benjamin colton barnes was found dead monday. he shot a park ranger margaret anderson. british police are investigating a possible murder there at sandringham estate. a local dog walker discovered the body there on new year's day, just two miles from the estate's main residence where the entire royal family, including prince william and catherine spent their christmas. an awe inspiring debut this weekend for two twin polar bears as a zoo in china. visitors couldn't get enough of the cuddly pair, born in finland two months ago and given to china as a gift of friendship and coming up a little bit later on in this hour, why the science

of cute -- why we can't help but gush over the cute animal babies. it's seven minutes after the hour. let's go over to al for a check of your weather. so cute. >> in nine months they'll kill you. >> so cute though. >> anyway, let's show you what's going on right now. we've got the temperatures in iowa awfully cold, teens and single digits right now, by the time people start caucusing we're talking about temperatures in the mid-30s, windchills though will be much colder, making it feel like below zero throughout much of iowa, and as we move to the pacific -- i should say to the northeast, we've got lake-effect snow from cleveland, buffalo, syracuse, as far south as elkins and beckley, >> good morning. another breezy and cold day today. wind chills in the low 20's.

there will be a chance now to "today's health" and boosts your energy in the new year. if you have a mile long list of things you want to do in 2012 you can hit the ground running with a few activities to get you moving. dr. raj is a "today" contributor and contributing editor to "health" magazine. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. >> everybody's resolution is to exercise more. you've got another reason why you need to do that. >> at health.com we did a poll that showed women who exercise feel more energized, the vast majority after just exercising a half hour, 45 minutes a day. >> even if you don't have that time you can still squeeze out something. >> absolutely, even ten minutes

a day helps you feel more energized for two to three hours. go for a brisk walk with a friend is better. even ten minutes a day makes a significant impact on your mood and energy level. >> something as simple as stretching can help. >> stretching is very important first of all it can prevent injuries, stretching before and after exercise but just stretching on its own can actually get the blood flowing through the muscles, get your nerves moving and energize you. you don't need to go to a gym. using your own doorway in the house, hold on to the doorway can get everything moving. >> during your workout, you should see red? >> it's interesting, a study showed that when you look at red, if you see something red it actually makes your muscles move more quickly and strongly so if you're wearing something red or if you have a red flower or something in the room exercising you'd get a more forceful workout and work out the muscles harder. >> if you do the workout you may have a better night's sleep which is important to be energized. you need a good night's sleep. >> yes.

>> how much are we talking to? >> seven to eight hours a day. if you are working out more than normal you need to rest your muscles at night. get that sleep. if you can't get it at night, taking short naps during the day to help revitalize and reboost. >> speaking about sleep and exercise, true or false, if you exercise before you go to bed, that's going to interfere with your sleep? >> it could. overall exercise helps you sleep better but you don't want to exercise after let's say 3:00 or 4:00 in the evening or in the afternoon, because if you're really revved up with exercise late at night you'll have a hard time falling asleep. >> as far as things that you can eat energy wise, i've been hearing about the chia seeds. is this the stuff like the hchi pet? >> these are the same seeds and they pack a lot of fiber and protein as well as many vitamins and omega threes which are great but they're a great stub institute for other unhealthy foods because they make you feel full and healthy. >> do you just eat them?

>> they don't have much of a flavor so they're easy to springle on to things, salads, whatever you want or pop a few in your mouth and go. >> or put them on a paste on your head and poof! what about omega threes? >> omega threes are wonderful. they're great for your heart but they can help improve mood, energy level, we think they may ward off dementia, so you really want to go for the fatty fish, salmon is a perfect one, but walnuts and flaxseed as well. >> if you get caught at work watching the funny youtube video you can tell your boss this is good for me, this will help boost my energy. >> exactly. it's a little bit of laughter a day can really help improve your mood. we don't often have time to see a matinee full comedy but a youtube video, five, ten minutes can improve your energy level for the rest of the day. >> dr. raj, thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up next they transformed their bodies by losing more than half their weight. now two more women will show off

their dramatically smaller sizes. later on, on "steals and deals" speaking of smaller, exclusive discounts on everything from hoodies and jeans to jewelry after these messages. is this your normal? jamie lee curtis?? oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be.

to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free. those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. to have their close-ups taken by a fashion photographer. then we asked them to try dove visible care. a revolutionary line of body wash with the highest concentration of nutrium moisture. visible care makes skin visibly more beautiful in just 1 week.

♪ when they saw how much more beautiful and radiant their skin looked with dove visible care... there was only one question. ♪ dove visible care creme body wash. [ 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. ♪ when i'm out with my kids, my daughter's like, "mom, wait up!" and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat.

simple. effective. advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪ if you've resolved to lose weight in the new year we've got some success stories that will kick you into gear. "people" magazine found inspirational people starting 2012 half their size. we'll meet two of them in a moment. first michelle chen is senior editor at "people." good morning, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> this is the tenth year people have done this "half your size" issue. why is this popular i think for obvious reasons. >> it's always one of our most popular issues and it's providing inspiration, whether you want to lose five, ten or half your size we want to provide the inspiration and motivation that everybody can reach their goals. >> we meet marge and crystal in a minute. what drew you to their personal

stories of success? >> what we always try to do in half their size is profile everyday people. these are not celebrities with access to personal trainers or chefs. they have relatable stories, we have a mom of two, we have a grandmother, with effeteeur a bachelor, a teacher, we always want to provide relatable stories. >> you are successful at it every year. first we have waiting for us marge liese, largest was 378 pounds. that's her before picture and take a look at marge now. amazing. look at you. cue the music. ♪ marge, you lost 200 pounds. >> i lost 203 pounds. >> i don't want to overload you here but this is your waistline, your waistline is amazing. >> thank you. that's actually what i'm proudest of is my waistline. >> you should be. "eye of the tiger" is playing.

when you look in the mirror what do you think? >> i still don't believe it's me. i still see the old me but i'm really liking the new me. >> you should like it. what was the key for you? >> i got really sick at my cousin's anniversary party to where i got heat exhaustion because i was too embarrassed to take a blazer off to cool myself down as i was dancing and i woke up and i said i can't do this anymore. i can't have my kids see me like this anymore. >> what was behind the weight gain? what do you believe happened in your life? >> stress eating. i was always a larger kid. my mick name was king kong, my last name was king, so i was always heavy and it turned into large marge, and i'm like no, i'm not doing that. >> you took control. >> i took control. i made a promise to myself, which a lot of people don't do, they make promises to everybody else, but i promised myself that i would get healthy and do it. >> wow, you've done it. >> and i did. >> have a seat. you are not alone. congratulations. >> thank you. >> next up is crystal evans,

stay-at-home mom of two. see her before picture in her half top, brave woman then to put that on. look at how beautiful and brave she is now. come on out, crystal. ♪ fireworks >> amazing. twirl it, girl, twirl it. work it. i like that. how do you feel? >> amazing. >> you look amazing. what was the key for you? >> well, the main part of my weight gain was during my pregnancies so i had pregnancy related complications that caused it, and for me the key was realizing that i couldn't be the mother that i wanted to be at a large size. >> you lost 133 pounds. >> i did. >> you love wearing bikinis. i love that about you. >> that picture was in a locked file on my computer and i didn't let anybody see that, including myself. i took that as my progress picture, and hid it because i wasn't going to stay that way and that's for me to look back at and say i made this progress.

>> what did you do to lose the weight? >> i went on nutrisystem, amazing program, and it gave me the ability to be that mom that i wanted to be. because i always had the heart to do it but at that size i didn't have the endurance. >> what's been the reaction from your children? >> they -- i can actually participate with them, so they think it's amazing. >> have a seat. i'd love to have you stand up and let you flash your body again but let me get to you sit down. it has to be difficult as you mentioned being a parent and you're trying to be active and you also want to be a good role model. the first lady talked about being a role model for our children, who are dealing with obesity as well in large numbers. >> i didn't want my child to see me struggle with weight, and at that size, it was just, it limited me so much, in any activity that i tried to do. i couldn't walk upstairs without huffing and puffing, and at that age i shouldn't be doing that. i shouldn't be doing that ever. >> michelle, is there a common

thread you're seeing in the success stories year after year? >> absolutely. i think what it is, they never give up hope on themselves. they always feel a change is possible. that's what we try to provide a goal is always attainable. >> marge what tip do you want for people for similar success? >> i'm 52 years old, a grandmother and' never too late to change. >> i'm so proud of both of you. congratulations. i'm also proud of my mom, now dieting and she, i won't reveal how much she's lost but way to go, mom, i'm so proud of you, proud of all of you. michelle, thank you, marge and crystal as well. coming up, three kids trapped in a car trapped in an icy river and saved by these men. much more after these messages. that's why at h&r block... you could get money that's both fast and free on an emerald card. just bring in your tax information and get a refund anticipation check... in 7-14 days, for up to $9,999. you pay nothing out of pocket. hurry. this offer ends february 4th.

why pay for fast money when you can get it for free? call 1-800-hrblock to make an appointment. h&r block. never settle for less. you can now earn even more cash for your school with two box tops on brands like old el paso, go-gurt, and green giant. look for specially marked packages in stores now! [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ sniffling ] [ male announcer ] not sure what to take? now robitussin® makes finding the right relief simpler than ever. click on the robitussin® relief finder. click on your symptoms. get your right relief. ♪ makes the cold aisle easy. ♪ robitussin®. relief made simple. [ female announcer ] kleenex brand tissues

are america's softest... no wonder people want to share them with the ones they love. ♪ ♪ start your own chain of sharing. ♪ send a kleenex brand share package for free today at kleenex.com. kleenex. softness worth sharing. [ femala $100 cream. we were flattered when regenerist beat flabbergasted when we creamed a $500 cream. for about $30 regenerist micro-sculpting cream hydrates better than over 20 of america's most expensive luxury creams. fantastic. phenomenal. regenerist.

coming up, jill martin has her "steals and deals." plus detoxing your body with natural foods. and gluten-free cereals ind nutritious actually loves? well, the word "wow" comes to mind. and then a friend told me chex has five flavors that are gluten-free. even a cinnamon one the kids love. a nutritious cereal that makes everybody happy? like i said, wow. [ male announcer ] chex cereal. five flavors. good and gluten free. five flavors. ♪ i think i'll grab me a bowl and spoon now ♪ ♪ crispy flakes calling my name ♪ ♪ i'm hungry now. ♪ ♪ who can resist those honey kissed bunches. ♪ ♪ gotta get a bowl, get me some of that yaaaaay! ♪ ♪ everybody's... ♪ imagine nutrition in perfect harmony with great taste. that's honey bunches of oats. four healthy grains come together

in crispy flakes and crunchy granola bunches. honey bunches of oats.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> it is going to be another breezy and cold today. high temperatures in the upper 20's and low 30's. it will feel colder because of the wind. we could see snow showers and flurries. seven-day forecast, cold tomorrow morning. 34 in the afternoon.

the subway big hot pastrami melt. take a moment to ponder tender cuts of pastrami, piled sky high atop your favorite freshly baked bread with spicy mustard, pickles and melt-a-licious cheese. okay, enough imagining how this fresh toasted number would tantalize your taste buds -- it's time to actually experience the subway big hot pastrami melt, built by the sandwich experts the way you love -- to per-fec-tion. subway. eat fresh.

you let your team down. dennis, you're fired. hope, you're fired. carol you're fired. steven, you're fired. so jesse, you're fired. >> just when you thought you were out, he pulls you back in! the donald about to kick off a new season of "celebrity apprentice" he'll be here tomorrow on "today" to unveil a new group of contestants, live. could donald trump still be considering a presidential run, hmm? >> he's back in. >> hmm, all right. >> we'll see what he has to say. meanwhile coming up, amazing story, three children are lucky to be alive this morning, after they were rescued from an icy river in utah. the car they were riding in skidded off the road and into

the frigid waters and passers-by saved them. faces are adorable. >> thank goodness they knew what to do. you know how you find the best deals after christmas? for you we have great steals and deals on casual clothing, jewelry, even bedding. >> and a bed frame. >> and the bed frame, and add jill martin, too. exclusive for you our "today" viewers. >> jill martin says this is the first time she's actually made a bed. >> oh! >> it's true. >> all right! >> jill said it, not me. jill said it! starting 2012 with a clean slate, al. we've got the detox do's and don'ts to cleanse your body the right way with natural foods. >> al, you are in rare form. i don't know if it's rare. >> not rare form. >> weather? >> okay. >> now. >> i rarely do it well done. anyway, show you what's happening for today, heavy rain

moving into the pacific northwest, windy conditions of the plains, lake-effect snow around the great lakes, sunny and chilly throughout the southeast. tomorrow, the rain gets heavier in the pacific northwest, with strong winds, sunny and warm through the southwest, mild into texas, cold air continues in the mid-atlantic, southeast, frigid conditions in new england with lake >> good morning. a mixture of sun and clouds. there will be a chance for some snow showers or flurries. >> and that's your latest weather. >> it's a new year so how about a new wardrobe or new bedding?

jill martin has her first "steals and deals" of 2012, right after this. nice ring. knock it off. ignore him. with the capital one venture card you earn... double miles on every purchase. [ sharon ] 3d is so real larry. i'm right here larry. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. really? a plaid tie? what, are we in prep school? [ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? i was gonna say that. uh huh... just like me. and when i eat fruit rollups and enter my code online, i can help a kid in africa get a laptop. so they can learn about stuff. just like me. [ female announcer ] win one/give one. see boxes of specially marked betty crocker fruit flavored snacks for details. olive garden's new chicken & potato florentine soup made from scratch daily with roasted chicken. it's part of our $6.95 unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks lunch.

and it's only here for a limited time. that's why there's crest pro-health clinical gum protection. it helps eliminate plaque at the gum line, helping prevent gingivitis. it's even clinically proven to help reverse it in just 4 weeks. crest pro-health clinical gum protection. 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. to look at the screen and say, "yeah, i can do this." as a software designer, i try to take the complexity out of doing your taxes. we put it in a language you can understand.

simple questions like "did you get married?" makes it a little bit more conversational for the customer, easier to answer in the way that they might talk to an actual human. and all turbotax calculations are guaranteed accurate. i'm alan tifford, turbotax software designer. man: go to turbotax.com. creme body wash with nutrium moisture. after 1 week we took their close-ups. when they saw how much more beautiful their skin looked they had only one question... ♪ dove visible care creme body wash. fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to?

[ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. ♪ check it out, check it out, check it out, check it out ♪ back with our first "steals and deals" for the new year. jill martin is here with great discounts exclusively for you, our "today" viewers. good morning. >> good morning. just when you thought you were done shopping. >> yes, no but now is the time to do it because there are a lot of great deals. you found good ones for us. remind viewers how it works. >> go on today.com now, everything from your closet to your bedroom, this is a way to spruce yourself up and your house up for the new year. >> we've got these great hoodies

from suburban riot, nice sherpa lining. >> retail $98, men's and women's, available in a variety of colors and sizes, big hit on entourage. celeb fans including ryan gasseling, cameron diaz and mila kunis. $27, it's 72% off. this is a fun way to spruce up your sweats for 2012. >> let's move over to these adorable genes by ruff hune and little miss attitude. first the bigger kid sizes here. >> these brands exclusive to klausens.com. big kids available in multiple washes, fits and styles. retail $32, the deal $6.40. >> what? wow! >> 80% off, plus free shipping. >> that's huge. >> they're great jeans and

these, let's move on for little kids, retail $22, the deal is $4.40. they're really good, they have stretch. >> kids grow out of clothes so you never want to spend too much on that. gorgeous necklace by stars and stripes, they have these different inspirational words sayings. honor, courage, hope. >> love. >> i'm wearing the love now. retail $149. each necklace has a special meaning, 50 different combinations, choose from silver or gold plated with a genuine diamo diamond, good alone or you see with me to layer. the retail $149, the deal $29. >> beautiful. >> 80% off. >> inspired as well. >> you wear a classic item. >> exactly. let's get to making over our homes a little bit. always a good time to stock up on bedding options. we've got the reversible comforters by living quarters.

>> from carstens.com. retail $120 to $160, king to twin sizers, with down hypoallergenic fill. the deal $19.20, up to 88% off. you could actually see them on our next item, here are the comforters. >> the reversible, so there's a plain and you've got different patterns on the other side. really sweet. >> and then the bed. here's the bed if you want to spruce up your bedroom. >> the bed frame, not the mattress. >> retail $1,350. this is the full bed. hand crafted from solid pine, it's a regal old hollywood design t will spruce up any bedroom with a plush padded headboard. also deals on the queen and the king, check our website for that. the retail again for the prime and the head board for this full bed is $1,350.

the deal is $270. >> wow! >> that's 80% off. >> wow! >> bed furniture, it's very expensive, so that's a good deal. >> delivery and shipping is affordable. >> the queen and king sizes also they have separate deals for that. >> yes. >> jill martin thank you for starting off the new year just right. the sub urban hoodies, the ruff jeans and little miss attitude, stars and skripz necklaces, and living quarters comforters, and joss and main head board. coming up next a car plunges upside down into an icy river in utah with three kids inside but their lives are saved by some amazing samaritans, amazing rescue, right after this.

t 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.

[ female announcer ] cheeserburger macaroni hamburger helper. now even cheesier and tastier. helpers. forty dishes, all delicious. would they switch? notice a difference? it feels a bit tight. [ female announcer ] soap leaves behind soap residue that can cause a tight draggy feeling. with 1/4 moisturizing cream, dove cleansers rinse cleaner than soap.

with 1/4 moisturizing cream, fresher less processed foods introducing freshpet recipes so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. sensitivity is a chronic condition. if you have worn away that outer layer of the tooth it opens up small little channels, that's what transmits that pain signal... and it requires on-going protection. when it comes to sensitivity, dentists recommend sensodyne. the active ingredient in sensodyne travels to the inside of the tooth where it will block that pain signal. simply brushing with sensodyne twice a day every day is going to give you that long-lasting 24/7 protection against sensitivity. now you can eat and drink the things that you want to.

now to a terrible accident in utah that could have ended in tragedy. a car carrying four people, three of them children, plunged into an icy river. their lives saved because of some quick thinking strangers. janet shamlian is in logan, utah, with more. janet, a great story. >> god, al, isn't it to start the new year? this was a horrendous accident and could easily have ended with the deaths of three small children had it not been for a small team of strangers. together they waded literally into danger and put their own lives at risk. even as they were doing so they were afraid the children were not going to make it but they fought for those kids' lives and they won.

the icy logan river on new year's eve was well on its way to becoming a frigid liquid tomb to three young children after the car they were riding in skidded off the road, slid ten feet down an embankment and landed upside down in the bitterly cold water. >> the first thought was, so this is how it ends, which is kind of, you know, not a good thought. this very easily could have been, you know, a funeral for four of us. >> reporter: roger anderson was able froo to free himself from his honda accord, but the children, his 4-year-old son baylor, 9-year-old daughter mia and her friend 9-year-old kenya wildman were trapped inside. it was a moment when seconds would make the difference between life and death. >> i was gone in a second. i was completely off the road and then sliding down the embankment.

within a second the entire cabin of the vehicle was full of water. >> reporter: and just as quickly, anderson says, help appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. >> these people that were there at the scene, without hesitation, they just did what they had to do. and that for our family, made all the difference. >> reporter: his own two children were by now floating lifeless in the river water that was filling the car, little baylor still strapped into his child seat. kenya had found an air pocket but she couldn't get out of her seat belt. the men tried opening the car windows or another door but the water was rising and nothing would move. then one of them, chris willden, pulled out his handgun and shot out a window. the group of strangers turned rescuers quickly pulled the kids from the car, passing them up the icy riverbank, where others performed life-saving cpr. almost against the odds, all three children would live to see

the new year. >> it was greater than just the physical hands and the hearts, it was something more divine that went on that day. >> reporter: two families and three children who are doing just fine today, thanks to a random act of kindness, and courage. >> i love them. i will be forever grateful. they are my heroes in every sense of the word. really. they are the reason i have my children. >> reporter: those kids are doing just terrific today. they were released from the hospital yesterday morning and spent the rest of monday enjoying what was their last day of holiday vacation, in fact one family member said they are more traumatized by the fact they have to go back to school today than they were by what happened on new year's eve. al, ladies, back to you. >> amazing. >> janet, thanks so much. a great story. >> thank goodness for the good samaritans and they had the

whe wherewithal, the handgun and the tools. up next a way to detox your body for the new year. if, this is "today" on nbc.

i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case, change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities

that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. ♪ it's a new day this morning on "new year new you ♪ ♪ cleansing your body the natural way. nutritionist keri glassman is a contributor tos "women's health." good morning. >> happy new year. >> you can detox with things already in their home. >> many people are doing extreme diets and cleanses and you just need to follow a few simple rules to get extreme results. >> before we get to the rules and the right way to do it, what are the things we should avoid? >> we should not have any packaged foods so get rid of the packaged foods as much as possible. you'll avoid sodium, sugar and many artificial ingredients and

also don't put the salt shaker on the table. sodium holds on to water and can make us puffy. most of us want to depuff and avoid the sugar and alcohol. you probably o.d.'d on that over the past few months. >> what should you do while detoxing? >> the first thing we should do is eat. this is not about not eating. you should eat and when you eat a healthy, balanced diet like i'm going to show you, your body, your liver, your kidneys, g.i. tract will take care of the rest and naturally help cleanse you. you should also focus on anti-oxidant rich foods, drink water and definitely get your sleep in. >> stay hydrated, very important. typical meal we start off with the water which i mentioned, you like to put lemon in that. >> you want to stay hydrated throughout the day. when you drink throughout the day you won't mistake hunger for thirst. also, water helps flush you out, helps eliminate toxins naturally. >> green tea? >> green tea is processed differently than other teas, higher in anti-oxidants,

associated with burning more calories. >> you can drink green tea twice a day? >> with your snack. it makes it more of a mini meal, it's calming, soothing, you eat slow per >> breakfast, what do you suggest? >> grapefruit is 90% water so high water volume foods another example would be oranges or cantaloupe will help fill you without a lot of calories. then we have some eggs so protein at breakfast has also been associated with less calories eaten throughout the day so very important when you're trying to lose weight or start your diet to get protein in. then i have some kiwa, brown rice or fiber helps keeps us full. if the whole grain and the grapefruit is too much, get one or the other in. >> moving on to our snack. >> you want a snack to keep your energy levels up but also to help tame your cravings so you're not ravenous at the next meal. an example, almond butter on

celery, another high volume food and the almond butter, healthy fat helps keep you full. looking at the labels on peanut butter or almond butter make sure it just says peanut butter or almond butter, without any sugar, sodium or transfats. another example cucumber and ga ba guacamole. a little bit of fat and fiber helps keep you full. >> another lunch example? >> load up on the veggies. the veggies are again going to be high in water volume, high in anti-oxidants. veggies are your friend but also the fiber in there. i said how fiber helps keep you full and also helps your g.i. tract stay in motion and helps you eliminate waste naturally, thoepg cleanse you naturally. >> you have salomon on here. >> important to get protein in to keep you full so you're not too hungry later in the day. people often skimp on lunch and

then they overindulge. >> in the latter part of the day. you say a midday or another snack for the day. >> in the afternoon the reason i said before, keep your energy up but think about what you're craving. don't try to eat around the craving. if you want something crunchy, go for nuts. if you want something sweet go for an apple but make sure you have something that has some fiber, protein or healthy fat or a combo of those. >> with the apples you sprinkled a little cinnamon on there as you did with our grapefruit for breakfast. >> and oregano on the eggs as well. >> tell us what we're having for din per. >> then for dinner a rule we should follow all the time, two vegetables, either a soup, homemade, so we don't have to have the sodium or find a low sodium brand or big salad and another veggie, asparagus and protein, grilled chicken with turmeric on here. anti-oxidants, low calories. >> thank you very much. >> have a good day.

>> coming up, we have hoda and kathie lee, hollywood buzz of the new year. >> first your local news and weather. have a great day, guys. see you.

i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me.

[ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case, change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.