good morning. breaking news. six police officers shot, one fatally, while serving a search warrant in ogden, utah overnight. a suspect shot as well at a hospital. we're live on the scene. rick santorum raises a million dollars for his presidential campaign just the day after his strong finish in iowa as newt gingrich steps up his attack on gop front-runner mitt romney. is the former house speaker doing santorum's dirty work for him? and tracy speaks? a video shows up on youtube that appears to be casey anthony talking about her new life after being accused of murdering her daughter. >> how much things have changed since july.

>> we'll show it to you today, since july. >> we'll show it to you today, thursday, january 5th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry i'm carl quintanilla. matt is on assignment. six officers in utah were taking part in a drug strike force operation serving a search warrant when someone opened fire. >> as we've said, a suspect was also shot but his injuries are not life threatening. we'll have the very latest straight ahead this morning. >> also a funeral service is being held today for the three young sisters who died in the christmas morning fire in stanford, connecticut. this is after family and friends attended an emotional private wake on wednesday. we will have details on that tragic story. >> that's right. also we'll get more on the recovery of the young model who was battling injury after she

walked into a plane's propeller. we'll show you what she did for the very first time since that accident. kate middleton makes a big announcement tied to her work as a royal. we're live at buckingham palace with more on that. but we begin now with this breaking news. six police officers shot during an operation in ogden, utah. sheriff park from our salt lake city affiliate kfltv has the latest for us this morning. shara, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. four of the six officers shot during last night's shootout are here at mccady hospital. two wereaken to ogden regional medical center. the latest word from officials is one officer has died. the gunfire broke out wednesday night after police and a narcotics strike force team surrounded this home as they reportedly tried to serve a drug-related search warrant. >> we are involved in an incident. we had a search warrant in which six officers have been shot from the ogden police department and from the strike force. >> reporter: witnesses say they heard gunshots coming from outside the home.

>> we just heard multiple rounds going off, came outside to check it out and knew they were gunshots. >> the officer told us to go back in our house and there was a standoff. >> reporter: after a barrage of gunfire, neighbors say they heard police minutes later ordering a man hiking in a nearby shed to come out with his hands up. the wounded were taken to two nearby hospitals. >> whenever there is a big lump of patients that might come in we have protocols in the emergency department to respond to that. the nurses have been awesome and the doctors have been awesome. >> reporter: overnight word came that one officer has died, a veteran with the ogden police department, and he is survived by his wife and two young children. the gunman involved in last night's shooting was shot and remains at one of ogden's local hospitals under 24-hour guard. he is expected to survive. ann? >> all right. thank you so much. it is 7:03 now. here is matt or rather carl.

thanks. now to politics and the gop presidential candidates shifting their focus to new hampshire with that state's primary just five days away. nbc's peter alexander is in sail 'em where mitt romney is holding a town hall meeting with voters. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning you to. that town hall starts shortly. the campaign staff for rick santorum says for his part he raised more than a million dollars yesterday alone. that is significantly more than santorum has raised in the past several months. and mitt romney is again flexing his organizational and financial muscles with stops here in new hampshire and south carolina today where he'll campaign with the governor nikki haley. >> that is the key to america and what made america the greatest country in the history of the world. >> reporter: with just days to go before tuesday's new hampshire primary rick santorum has little time to waste trying to capitalize on his strong showing in iowa. >> we're doing okay right now. and if the people in new hampshire give us a shot my guess is we'll do a lot better. >> reporter: late wednesday in front of an energized crowd mitt

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

difference between somebody who spends their entire career as a reagan conservative and somebody who has spent their entire career as a massachusetts moderate. >> reporter: the only woman in the race, michele bachmann, will make the trip here. >> thank you. it's been a wonderful ride. >> reporter: wednesday following her sixth place finish in iowa she dropped out. >> i didn't try to spin you. i listened to the people of iowa and all across america and they agreed that president obama and his socialist policies must be stopped. >> reporter: but for her former rival the campaign goes on. despite long days and little sleep. >> we'll see you on the 10th of july -- june -- january. get out and vote. >> reporter: and rick perry said after the iowa caucuses that he would head home to texas and decide whether to reassess his campaign. he has apparently done that and said he is staying put. surprising even members of his own staff. ann, it is significant because it could actually according to analysts help mitt romney if it

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

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

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

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

27 people and injuring dozens of others. these latest attacks have intensified fears that insurgents are increasing their violence following the u.s. troop withdrawal last month. the president is introducing a new summer jobs initiative for kids this morning as he pushes the private sector to help create employment opportunities for young people helping them learn skills and work ethics. president obama has republicans fired up. on wednesday he appointed a new consumer protection bureau head and three labor board members during the congressional recess side stepping senate approval. a widowed oklahoma mother will not face charges for shooting and killing an intruder at her house. 18-year-old sarah mckinley heard two men trying to break into her home on new year's eve. she grabbed her phone, her 3-month-old son, and a shotgun before she opened fire she asked the 911 dispatcher for permission. >> i've got two guns in my hand. is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door? >> you have to do whatever you

can do to protect yourself. i can't tell you that you can do that but you do what you have to do to protect your baby. >> she did shoot and killed one intruder. the other turned himself in and faces first-degree murder charges in the death. mckinley's husband meanwhile died of cancer on christmas day. she believes the intruders may have been after his prescription pain killers. mckinley said she did what any mother in her situation would do. a prison fight in northern mexico left 31 inmates dead overnight. the prisoners used makeshift knives in the brawl that left another 13 people wounded. an eighth grader shot dead by police in texas was aiming at a pellet gun at officers. police say the pellet gun looks like a real weapon and that they gave 15-year-old jamie gonzalez, quote, plenty of opportunities to lower the weapon but that he would not. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's mary thompson is at the new york stock exchange. mary, good morning to you. >> good morning, natalie.

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

willy." >> yes. a stunt double is even more impressive. we've got al roker here with a check of the weather. >> all right. thanks so much, ann. as we check it out it's a pretty quiet day weatherwise. there is not a lot of snow to talk about, lake effect snow around western new york and upstate ohio. we're also looking at showers in the pacific northwest. temperatures are moderating here in the east and down in florida where we started off with some freeze warnings. look for showers along the coast of texas. we've got wet weather moving into the pacific northwest. record highs from the plains all the way back into nevada. we've got again that lake effect snow and plenty of sunshine around the central and western great lakes. >> good morning.ing on w there is a cloud cover hanging around and a slight chance for a snow flurries. it will turn out mostly

that's your latest weather. carl? >> thanks. we have more good n news to share on the recovery of a texas model who walked into a plane's spinning propeller. lauren scruggs has now taken her first public outing since that accident. we go to plano texas for more. janet, good morning. >> reporter: carl, good morning to you. you can't blame her for wanting to get out of that rehab center if only for a few hours. and what better mood lifter than retail therapy? but no large shopping malls or even trendy little boutiques for her first outing. we are told she headed directly to her favorite food store. as her mother describes it it was lauren's first adventure since that awful accident just four and a half weeks ago. word of the 23-year-old model

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

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

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

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

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

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is today your day? talk to your doctor and go to cymbalta.com for a free trial offer. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. authorities in anne arundel county are investigating a case of house fire as arson and a hate crime. when firefighters got the flames under control, they said they found racial and sexual slurs painted on the outside the home. nobody was inside at the time the fire. here is kim dacey and traffic

pulse 11. >> we have a big delays on the west side. outer loop has cleared. these extend down to the outer loop of the west side. we have a fire activity at a quick note. with on boulevard. all lanes are at joppa road are closed between honeygo and new crest road. icy conditions. another crash at pulaski and ebenezer to watch for. on the inner loop, we have an accident that is moved to the right shoulder. a crash on the ramp from annapolis boulevard to northbound route 10. parksville and scaggsville road, we have a crash there as well. tony, over to you. >> quiet start this thursday morning. there are a couple of snow flurries earlier this morning. even that has dissipated. 27 degrees in parkton.

we are going to break up the clouds. this will turn mostly sunny as we head into the afternoon. high temperatures between 40 and 45. we had sunrise a few minutes ago. probably will not see much of that sunshine just yet. into the weekend, nice warmup. 52 on friday, 53 saturday. it looks like this will clear up for the weekend on sunday. for the weekend on sunday.

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

look at that. isn't it amazing how talented they are. meantime, we'll be talking about kate middleton's life as a member of the royal family entering a new phase today. we'll explain in a live report from buckingham palace. she is about to make an announcement. we begin this half hour with casey anthony speaking out for the first time since being acquitted of murdering her daughter. natalie, good morning. >> good morning. that's right. nbc news has confirmed the video that is now on youtube is in fact the florida mother. it is less than five minutes long and in it casey anthony never mentions her daughter caylee. >> this is my first video diary. >> reporter: call it casey's confessional. >> i don't know whether to look directly at myself or look up or -- a little scary because i hate being on camera. >> reporter: casey anthony seen and heard for the first time since being cleared of killing her young daughter caylee last summer. in the nearly four and a half-minute video the 25-year-old never directly

mentions caylee, her parents, or her high profile murder trial. instead she at times seems at a loss for words taking stock of the dramatic reversal in her young life. >> hu, just a little surreal how much things have changed since july and how many things haven't changed. things are starting to look up and things are starting to change either way. if things stay good and that they only get better. only get better. >> reporter: casey, who says on the video that the recording took place in october, has been hiding since she was released from prison last july. sporting shorter, blonde locks,

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

mine. >> reporter: casey anthony hoping to rebuild her life one video diary at a time. and in that video casey anthony makes reference to what could be an additional video and tapes out there so could be more to come, carl and ann. i think a lot of people asking why she feels the need to put herself out there in this way. >> a good question. i'm sure we'll find out the answer. >> yeah. >> natalie, thanks. >> sure thing. let's check the weather this morning with al. >> thanks so much. we have a young man. you want to wish your dad a happy birthday? >> yes. >> what's your name? >> cab. >> where's your dad? >> right there. >> right there. happy birthday, dad. >> thank you, al. >> good to see you. let's check it out and show you what's happening for today. afternoon temperatures, well, we are looking at temperatures actually moderating a bit here in the east. we are going to see 20s, 30s, and 40s in the northeast. 30s in the great lakes. the plains actually warming up into the 50s and 60s. some record-setting

temperatures. you can see the record highs working their way into the plains. lake effect snow showers in eastern great lakes, rain moves into the pacific northwest. record highs also central california into central nevada. showers along the texas coast line. that's what's going ont' >> goodd morning. we're starting out chilly. we will see some cloud cover hang around for awhile. and that's your latest weather. ann? > thank you. a funeral service is being held today for three young sisters killed in that tragic christmas morning house fire in stamford, connecticut.

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

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

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

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back now at 7:40 with two guys who use their bare hands to catch one of the oldest predators on earth, alligators. we'll meet the stars of an exciting new reality tv show in one of their cold-blooded friends in a moment but first nbc's kerry sanders has a behind-the-scenes look at the new world of man vs. alligator. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, carl. they were almost wiped out by hunters, but today it's estimated there are more than a million alligators in the state of florida, which means sometimes those alligators get too close to people. but now there are two guys who have made it their mission to protect the alligators from being killed when those alligators get too close to civilization. gator trapping and wrestling is as old in florida as the seminole indians. >> every gator for himself. >> reporter: but not like this.

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

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

>> don't think. just go. >> oh! that hurt! ah! >> he's the king. >> how do i get out of here? >> we're going for lunch. we'll be back in about a half hour. >> reporter: hey! >> maybe an hour. >> reporter: did i forget to mention? the gator's jaws were sealed shut with tape before i ever started. okay. so i cheated. but certainly not going to go in the water with these, for good reason. nobody should try this. statistics gathered by the state of florida since 1948 show that there have been 300 plus unprovoked attacks in the state, 22 ending in death. so gators are not something to play around with. carl? >> kerry, i am not messing with you ever again. that was good stuff. nice pushup, too. kerry sanders in homestead, florida. as kerry said they are the stars of animal planet's "gator boys" and this as 3-year-old american gator named junior. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> i know you've been asked this

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

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

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

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for months kate middleton has dazzled at royal events and now the real work begins for the duchess of cambridge. she is about to devote a big portion of her life to charity as the new patron of several very grateful organizations. we have nbc's michelle koez

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

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

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

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a check of the morning commute with kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> pretty busy out there. we have a crash southbound j.f.x. ring ave. left lane is blocked there. security and with long, we have some fire activity there. in parksville, taylor and perring parkway, we have a crash reported there as well. joppa is completely shut down in both directions because of a crashed there. shut down between honeygo and a new crest wrote. that is because of a water main break and icy conditions there.

further north, crashes at 145, route 165. belair road at route 152, southbound 24 at 9-95. at the other spectrum, a howard county, clarksville and scaggsville road, we have a crash to watch for. crash reported to us on southbound i-95 and 195. over to you. >> we are starting out with a little bit of cloud cover, but no precipitation. temperatures in the upper 20's and low 30's. warmer than yesterday. 27 in taneytown. 29 and a rising sun. we are going to start out with clouds early this morning. it is going to turn mostly sunny this afternoon, with high temperatures between 40 and 45. right around averaged this time of year. 53 on saturday. 30% chance for some rain.

it should clear up on sunday. the site the next chance for significant precipitation is going to hold off until tuesday going to hold off until tuesday night and

why doint don't we raise a glass and toast the people who have the privilege of being part of "today" over the next 50 years. >> 8:00 now on a thursday morning. the first day of january, 2012. and that is how it looked ten years ago as we gathered all of our hosts to pay a host to the 50 years of "today." my how time has flown because next week we're celebrating our 60th anniversary. you might want to tune in next friday on the 13th of january to see what surprises we have in store this time around. we'll have more anchors in our

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

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

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

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

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

digits, what's your name? >> caylee. >> happy birthday. >> good morning.ing's there is a cloud cover hanging around and a slight chance for a snow flurries. it will turn out mostly that's your latest weather. carl? >> al, thanks. coming up next fallout from a startling s.a.t. cheating scandal. why one critic says it's time to give the college entrance exam process a complete overhaul. right after this. ♪ [ woman ] we didn't know where to go next with eric's adhd. his stimulant medicine was helping, but some symptoms were still in his way.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

playing field. >> all right. some valuable perspective this morning. it affects every family. thanks so much this morning. >> thank you. coming up next, do you have to be super human to lose weight? the new science behind shedding pounds and keeping them off. that's right after this. [ other merv ] welcome back to the cleaning games.

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

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

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

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

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

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check on the morning commute with kim dacey. >> busy morning on the roads. we have an accident southbound on the j.f.x., blocking the left lane just past coldspring. that is causing some slow traffic from the beltway down at there. in parksville, a crash at taylor and perring parkway. perring parkway is closed in both directions at joppa road for a crash at there and the cleanup associated with that. joppa road is closed between honeygo and new crash road. southbound 95 and white marsh, reported a crash at there as

well. another at belair road and rte. 162. further south, we have an accident southbound on 95 at 195. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. john, over to you. >> we look at the radar- satellite, nation. clouds overhead and a little disturbance to our south with the shower activity. there is snow to the north and we expect sunshine to break through today. temperatures are a lot warmer than they have been for a while. humidity is 79%. forecast for today, clouds earlier this month, then the sky is bright in a little bit. 40 to 45, the high. by saturday, we can expect a little rain shower activity.

partly cloudy skies otherwise. >> thank you for joining us. we will have another update at 8:55.

8:30 now on this thursday morning the 5th day of january, 2012. it's a slightly warmer start this morning here in rockefeller plaza but it is still pretty chilly. i'm not going to complain because i would be told by al roker that it's called winter. but luckily, our enthusiastic crowd doesn't seem to mind this morning. meantime, i'm ann curry alongside carl quintanilla in for gnat, natalie morales and

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

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

northwest with some windy conditions. record highs in the plains. all the way back into the central california area. look for some snow around the eastern great lakes. tomorrow sunny but cool in the northeast. mild through the gulf coast. rain moves into the pacific northwest. look for flurries from the central great lakes into the plains. that's what's >> good morning. we're starting out chilly. we will see some cloud cover hang around for awhile. don't forget you can check your weather any time of the day or night. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online.

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

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

college student a head start on landing a job. e so-called intern queen answers your questions. but first this is "today" on nbc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

2012. but first -- this is "today" on nbc. hold on!

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

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

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

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

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

healthier spin on paula deen's recipes. you'll need it after this. first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's kitchen" what's for dinner? something healthy in the new cooking channel show "not my mama's meals."

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

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

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

bring out the nutty flavors. we'll turn it up a little bit and then add the water. got some hot water here. we'll get the pawlenta going. >> and there isn't a faster version of pawlenta. >> just like grits. >> in 20 seconds? >> no. the good news is -- >> this one is done. you thought ahead. >> the good news it is's done if we only have 20 seconds. >> we actually have five. we're going to eat really hearty. >> thank you. bobby deen thank you so much. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. testimony is expected to continue today in the trial of a 26-year-old man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl at

what on skating rink. police officers who were working security testified wednesday, and jurors were shown surveillance video of the day of the alleged 2010 attack. the attorneys for the defendant argues there is no dna evidence

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