good morning. day deja blue. the giants made a spectacular comeback against the patriots to win super bowl xlvi as they gear up for the second victory p parade in five years. "i'm sorry. goodbye." that's the final e-mail from the husband of a missing utah mother moments before police say josh powell set his own house on fire, killing himself and his two young sons. this morning josh powell's brother-in-law speaks out in a live interview. "today" exclusive, president obama opens up about the heated presidential race, the economy

and what he says to voters who feel his presidency hasn't lived up to expectations. our exclusive interview today, up to expectations. our exclusive interview today, monday, february 6th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry. check it out. the empire state building is lit up in giant blue this morning. we have a lot of smiling faces on the crew because the new york giants are champs and we have a ticker tape parade tomorrow. did you enjoy the game? >> it was great. i got home for the second half. did you watch? >> all the way to the end. at the end it was a nail-biter. >> down to the last play. the teams played great super bowls.

luckily for new york giants fans it came out well for them. we'll check out more of the game. >> ahead we'll get more on the game and the commercials, and madonna's high energy halftime performance which i'm sure has a lot of people talking. certainly had twitter on fire. >> it was a gesture by m.i.a. seen by millions of viewers getting attention this morning. we'll have more on that as well. let's begin with the giants' thrilling win. al roker is in indianapolis. good morning to you. >> good morning, guys. giants fans including myself all very, very happy this morning because the giants are super bowl champs for the second time in four years. i tell you, it was a thrilling victory, an amazing spectacle and i got to be in the middle of it all. a giant celebration. the new york giants, super bowl champions, beating the new england patriots in football's biggest game for the second time in four years. we caught mvp eli manning in the

middle of the media mob after the final whistle sounded. how does it feel? >> feels great, al! great team in indianapolis. it's a lot of fun no matter where it is. great win, great game playing a great team. great effort by the guys. >> reporter: giants coach tom coughlin. >> when brady threw the last pass up, what did you think? >> knock the ball down! >> reporter: it was the high point of a night that began with a stirring national anthem performed by kelly clarkson. ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ >> reporter: and an leelectrifyg halftime show from madonna. this was not an easy win for the giants, trailing at the half and into the final minutes of the game. then giants running back ahmad

bradshaw put them ahead for good and almost stopped ahead of the goal line afraid they were leaving the giants too much time for a comeback. >> did you get tired and sit down? >> i tried to get down so we could run the clock down but momentum took me in. >> after the game he celebrated with his kids. >> best thing in the world. >> reporter: as did a number of his teammates. even new jersey governor chris christie got in on the celebration. >> it's a great day for the giants. great day for new jersey. >> reporter: did you ever doubt it? >> never did. >> reporter: eli manning's dad archie, a proud papa. >> very proud. we feel very blessed. >> reporter: he wasn't the only dad beaming. >> i just won the super bowl! that's every little boy's dream. i'm floating right now. >> reporter: it was quite a dream and the dream lives on. however, a little bit of controversy, as you alluded to, at the top of the program during

the madonna halftime show. british rapper/singer m.i.a. flipped people off, gave them the bird during the halftime performance with madonna and nicki minaj. i was talking to my wife, debra. she didn't see it. a lot of folks didn't see it, but the nfl issued a statement. there was a failure in nbc's delay system. the obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing and we apologize to our fans. nbc's statement, the nfl hired the talent and produced the halftime show. our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers. so just a little bit of controversy marring the celebration. all in all, everybody thinks things went pretty darn well if you're a giants fan. matt, ann? >> al roker in indianapolis. come on home. we miss you. thank you very much. it's five after the hour. here's ann. now a turn to a shocking

story in washington state. police say josh powell, the lone person of interest in the two-year-old disappearance of his wife deliberately set his house on fire, killing himself and the couple's two young sons. miguel almaguer has more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. police say the burned down home is a crime scene. they call it a double murder-suicide put into motion by josh powell. it happened days after a judge denied him custody of his children saying he'd have to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation. the fire broke out just moments after he left an e-mail with three words that read, "i'm sorry. goodbye." >> reporter: the house went up in flames just moments after powell's two young sons arrived with a social worker for their scheduled visit. a neighbor captured the aftermath in this home video. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: firefighters put out the blaze but had no chance

to save 7-year-old charlie and 5-year-old braden, the powell's young boys. >> we believe this was intentionally planned. it looks like ak century sel rant was used. >> reporter: police say powell opened the front door, let the bishops inside, blocked the social worker from entering, slamming the door in her face. she called the supervisor, said she smelled gas in the home. moments later an intense fire raged. >> it was definitely a gas boom. >> reporter: neighbors didn't know josh powell was living here. >> why couldn't he just do that to himself? why take those babies with him? >> reporter: in september, powell lost custody of his sons, a month after the arrest of his father steven powell on charges voyeurism and possessing child pornography. the family had been living together in steven's home where they found illicit pictures of susan cox powell, steven's daughter-in-law, the photos taken years earlier without her

knowledge. >> i am a fit and qualified father. i have had nothing to do with any kind of illegal pornography. >> reporter: despite powell's emotional appeal to a judge the boys were placed in the care of his missing wife's parents, chuck and judy cox. too distraught to be interviewed sunday in a statement the family said words cannot adequately express the grief. first susan and now charlie and braden. josh powell denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. utah police called him a person of interest but never charged him with a crime. susan cox powell vanished in december 2009, the same night josh told police he took his boys on a late night camping trip in freezing temperatures. her body has never been found. >> i could never hurt susan or my sons. >> reporter: according to police powell did exactly that. killing his children, two innocent boys whose short lives

had already been filled with incredible loss. >> this was something evil. this was not a tragedy. this was a horrible murder of two little kids. >> reporter: the attorney for the cox family says the young boys were just beginning to, quote, verbalize more about the night their mother disappeared. the oldest, charlie, saying when they went camping their mom was, quote, in the trunk and their mother and father disappeared and mother never came back. as for the e-mail that read, "i'm sorry. goodbye," sent by josh powell police call it a clear indication that he planned the double murder-suicide. ann? >> miguel almaguer, thank you for your reporting on the story. more on this in the next half hour. josh powell's brother-in-law joins us to speak out in a live interview. for now, once again, here's matt. >> our exclusive interview with president obama. before watching the super bowl he sat down with us for a wide-ranging interview at the white house. i started by asking the president if he's satisfied with

the intelligence we have on iran and their nuclear ambitions. >> i think we have a very good estimate of when they could potentially achieve breakout capacity. what stage they're at in terms of processing uranium. but do we know all the dynamics inside iran? absolutely not. one of the difficulties is iran itself is more divided than it was. knowing who is making decisions inside iran at any given time is tough. we do have a pretty good bead on what's happening with the nuclear program. >> one thing we know, i would imagine is they are conducting a lot of research and development far underground. i understand the united states is in the process of developing the next generation of bunker-busting bombs that can go far beneath the surface to take a site like that out. will the bombs be ready in time? would you use them against the sites? >> i'm not going to discuss specific military programs or go

into details in terms of what our planning is. i will say this. we have done extensive planning over the last several years about all our various options in the gulf and, you know, we are prepared to exercise these options should the need arise, but my goal is to try to resolve this diplomatically, mainly because the only way over the long term we can ensure iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon is by getting them to understand it's not in their interest. >> let's talk domestic politics. mitt romney is running for your job. he may eventually become the nominee. he's been incredibly successful in his life and career. he's made a lot of money. not a crime. part of the american dream. >> absolutely. >> do you think mitt romney can identify with the middle class and the underclass in this country? >> i'm not going to comment on a particular candidate until the republicans decide who their nominee is going to be. most people think of the

election nine months away, the last thing we need is to start it now when the other side hasn't determined its nominee. i do think the vast majority of american people understand, a, we want everybody to be successful. and nobody begrudges people who have been successful because they are making things, creating products, services. that's the american way. but what people also want to see is that everybody is doing their fair share. we are all pulling together. we're creating ladders of opportunity for all americans. whoever the republican nominee is. i disagree with a formula that would go back to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. >> this idea of reaching out to connect to the middle class and having the middle class reach out to a political candidate. friday you raised $900,000 in a couple hours. 25 wealthy individuals paid $36,000 apiece to spend a couple of hours with you. how do you think the guy

sitting, drinking a beer and eating chips watching the game today can identify with something like that? >> i think if you noticed about a month and a half ago i also had lunch with five folks who had given $25 each who were part of the huge base of supporters we have across the country. it's precisely because we have been able to create a grassroots movement that i was successful in 2008 and i think will be successful this time. if you ask me would i love to take some of the big money out of politics, i would. unfortunately right now because of supreme court rulings and a bunch of decisions out there it is hard to get your message out without having some resources. >> maybe the better question is how will you spend the money? by all accounts you can raise a lot of money for the campaign. some say up to a billion dollars. we have seen in florida a lot of money spent. about 100% spent on extremely

negative personal ads. if you raise a billion dollars to keep this job can we expect the same kind of negativity coming from the money? >> in 2008 part of the reason we were successful is we ran an affirmative campaign about my vision for where the united states should go. i think what americans want to hear more than anything else is how are you going to help me right now if they are securing a persuasive argument about how to create a solid path for middle class success in this country then i think i will win regardless. >> this may sound pollyanna but when a newsroom knominee is cho you get together with that person and talk about how the two of you plan to conduct yourselves over the course of the campaign? i think the american people would like that. would you agree to that?

>> i think you will be able to see how we conduct ourselves in the campaign. i think it will be consistent with how i conducted myself in 2008 and hopefully how i have conducted myself as president of the united states. one of the worries we have in the next campaign is that there are so many of these so-called super pacs, independent spic expenditures out there, there will be a lot of money floating around and i guarantee a bunch of it will be negative. it's not enough to say, "the other guy is a bum." you have to explain to the people what your plan is to make sure they are good jobs at good wages and the economy is growing over the long term. whoever wins that argument i think will be the next president. >> which leads me well into this next question. i have talked to so many people over the years who were huge supporters of yours back in 2008. >> right. >> today, they are not sure. i hear more that they are disappointed in you, that you aren't the transformational

political figure they hoped you would be. how does that make you feel when you hear that? >> oh, i think this is the nature of being president. what's disappointed people is i haven't been able to force congress to implement everything i said in 2008. well, it turns out our founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than i would like sometimes. what we have been able to do is move in the right direction. what i'm going to keep on doing is plodding away, very persistent. you know what? one of the things about being president is you get better as time goes on. >> why would a voter say, look, he wasn't able to fix washing n washington, which is a big job for any one man. perhaps there is more gridlock in washington now than there was has been in the past. why would he do it in the next four years and if he can't, isn't nothing going to get done?

>> even with a bunch of obstruction on capitol hill, we have been able to save an auto industry. we have been able to take 750,000 jobs being lost a month and move it so it's 250,000 jobs created this month. we have been able to make sure we ended the war in iraq on schedule. we have been able to make sure we ended policies like don't ask, don't tell. we have been able to get a lot done, not as fast as we want. sometimes it's messy and the process is frustrating. i do think this is going to be a critical election. having yanked ourselves out of the risk of a great depression, having stabilized the economy, we now have a broader question which is how do we take it to the next level. whoever comes in, both in congress and in this white house is going to have to take a strong message from the american people about which direction to go.

i think that will allow us to make more progress over the next couple of years. >> we'll have more with president obama this morning including how he feels about criticism of his wife. >> really interesting interview, matt. thank you. now a check of the top stories from natalie morales who's back at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning. we begin with neighborhoods and homes in syria under fire this morning. according to human rights groups an activist leaving dozens dead in the flash point city. the bombardment comes on the heels of saturday's heaviest strike in the uprising to date killing an estimated 200 people in a single day. matt asked the president why he hasn't done more to stop the escalating violence in syria. >> the kind of violence we have seen exercised against his own people this weekend and over the past several months is inexcusable. we're going to continue to put more pressure until hopefully we see a transition. this is not a matter of if but

when. >> the president said not every situation calls for u.s. military intervention similar to the response in libya. a busy week ahead for the republican presidential hopefuls. mitt romney heads to the prime ris in colorado, minnesota and maine with a major win over the weekend in nevada taking 48% of the vote. newt gingrich says he is staying in the race and looks forward to super tuesday in march. >> reporter: manuel noriega has been hospitalized for extreme hypertensi hypertension. he was transferred for high blood pressure nearly causing a stroke. he's serving a 60-year sentence for killing opponents while in power in the 1980s. mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. >> this week we'll see whether or not we can have a sixth straight weekly gain for stocks. a lot of it depends how the debt

crisis in europe, specifically greece and portugal pan out. as for what's happening with gas prices at home, u.s. consumption may be anemic. we are around the lowest levels since 2001. however we have seen average prices clock up 19 cents a gallon. moving into spring it could rise further. back to you. >> mandy drury, thank you. when we're not busy with breaking news at "today" sometimes we like to do a little song and dance routine with the rest of our nbc brothers. check it out. ♪ ♪ the brotherhood of man >> jazz hands. just a little fun for our tv family. except for jimmy fallon who was left out there in the end. it was a great time shooting. now back to matt, ann and of

course al is in indianapolis. but it took us 20 tries to get it right. >> no, no. first take. >> be honest. >> yeah. natalie, thank you very much. >> now let's go to indianapolis for al and a check of the weather. hey, al. >> hey. 26 shows, 100 of us all taking part. it was a lot of fun. a lot of fun in indianapolis. you guys have done a great job. this city did a spectacular job of hosting the super bowl. best super bowl i have been to. we had a great time. let's show you what's happening though. a warm weather city that's going to have problems. miami. we've got a disturbance getting together in western cuba. it may be named a tropical storm in february or subtropical. it would be alberto if it's named. up

>> after a little bit of light rain and snow over the weekend, the weather is chilly and quiet. the high and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. just ahead, much more on the deadly fire police believe was set by josh powell that killed him and his two young sons. reaction from powell's brother-in-law in a live interview. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

still to come this morning, we have real housewives taylor armstrong in studio opening up about her estranged husband's suicide and the relationship. we'll talk to her coming up. and on a different note did the super bowl ads live up to expectations? we'll take a look at the best of the bunch after your local news. but you go in pieces. [ female announcer ] you can't pass mom's inspection with lots of pieces left behind. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable so it holds up better. fewer pieces left behind. charmin ultra strong.

we gotta time this just right. okay. ready... mm-hmm. happy valentine's day. [ female announcer ] save on select diamond fashion jewelry at kay -- the number one jewelry store in america. ready... [ camera flash ] ♪ every kiss begins with kay >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here's a look at one of our top stories this morning. jury selection is expected to begin later this morning in the george huguely murder trial. shhe is accused of killing at yeardley love, who was found dead in for off-campus apartment near the university of virginia.

get a check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> very busy ride out there, incident-wise. in hampstead, accident wrapping up at route 30. be careful there. delays on the house but express my. running slow with the slowest spots past 795. a lot of this is sun glare- related. if you want to travel at walther blvd. and white marsh boulevard, accident reported there. let's give you a live view of traffic. coming towards us is southbound traffic. those delays falling into place at northern parkway live view of traffic at 43 and pulaski highway. looks pretty good towards the

white marsh mall and beyond. walther blvd. is where you want to watch for the accident white marsh. >> quiet start for us. nothing going on this morning. a little bit of fog in some neighborhoods. frost out there as well. 28 at the airport. 27 in parkton. mostly sunny skies after the chilly start. we will make it into the upper 40's and low 50s.

7:30 now on this monday morning. it's the 6th day of february, 2012. a great morning to be in new york city on the day after the giants' super bowl win. and the temperature is pretty nice. if all these folks stick around tomorrow they can help us celebrate at the ticker tape parade in manhattan. >> tear up the signs and run to broadway and let them go. >> things will be floating down from the buildings alongside the parade. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. we'll talk about the super

bowl's other big winners. >> we are talking about the top-rated ad of the game where a 30-second spot cost $3.5 million. the top commercial was made on a budget of $20. we'll take a closer look at this year's crop of ads. >> i like that one. that one's fun. we'll show you more coming up. we have a new memoir from a woman who claims she had an affair with president john f. kennedy. she said it started when she was a 19-year-old white house intern. this morning we'll hear from her for the first time in an exclusive interview. >> and more of our exclusive interview with president obama coming up what he thinks about an unflattering comment written about first lady michelle obama. >> we begin with more on the horrific turn tied to the disappearance of utah mother susan powell. the powerful house explosion and fire killed her two sons and her husband on sunday, moments after the boys arrived for a superv e

supervised visit with a social worker. police say josh powell triggered it on purpose. the boys were just 5 and 7 years old. kirk graves and ed troyer from the pierce county sheriff's department join us this morning. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> first, kirk, i'm so sorry. when you think about all that's happened, what sense are you making about why josh would want to take his own sons' lives as well as his own? >> that's a hard question. the only thing i have come up with so far is he took an opportunity to hurt everybody around him and used the boys as a tool to do that. >> you're quoted as having said yesterday about josh after what happened, quote, he's a narcicist and has no love for anyone but himself. what are you saying there about

him that may have played a part in what happened? >> you know can, after knowing him or as long as i have known him, i have a sense that he really only cared about himself. that's why he was able to do the things he did to susan and why he was able to do what he did yesterday. i don't think anybody that had em empathy or cared for anybody else, especially a father, could do it to their own children. >> sergeant, let me ask you about the mails. josh sent e-mails and texts yesterday before the fire, including, i understand, one to your team. what did the text to your team say? >> we didn't receive a text. the only information we received is we know it's out there. we have seen what it said. that came from his attorney. that's where the information came from. it didn't come to law enforcement. >> do you know what the text said, sir? >> well, we have the information that said he's sorry and good-bye.

that was it. there wasn't much more to it. we're continuing to do search warrants, gather information to see if there is more information like that out there. but at this point that's all we have confirmed. >> i see. okay. kirk, as you know, a.p. is quoting the attorney representing susan's parents, this attorney's name is steve downing and he's quoted as saying the boys were verbalizing more and, quote, the oldest boy talked about they went camping and mommy was in the trunk. mom and dad got out of the car and mom disappeared, end quote. were the boys more verbal, more ready to deal with what happened? could that have played a role in why josh decided to take their lives as well? >> what we saw over the last six months or so was a transition in charlie and braden where they were becoming more fun, more vocal. they were acting like little

boyes again which we hadn't seen for a while. the specific story you're talking about is one we were aware of. i imagine part of josh's motivation is what could he do to hide that story, to avoid having to deal with the consequences of the things he had done. >> sergeant troyer, susan's parents said, quote, they were always fearful of him doing something like this. do you believe that more should have been done to protect these boys? >> the boys were protected. the police and our people did a great job. what was done here was done on a court order. the visitation was ordered by the court, done with a social worker. it's happened before this way and was going to happen again. he went to court wednesday and lost custody, but they kept the supervision intact and that's what happened here. something he planned when the

social worker came to drop off the kids. there is nothing she could have done different. he was lying in wait. he had this preplanned. he had everything ready to go. this was going to happen no matter who dropped the boys off. we are lucky she's okay. it's a tragedy all around. this is a double murder-suicide. he's solely responsible for it. >> kirk, what do you want to say about this? do you think enough was done to protect charlie and braden? >> i'm convinced that josh was going to do something like this. there is nothing anyone could have done to stop him. there are a lot of people out there today looking back over the last few months and wondering if they could have done something more. you know, the only person at fault, the only person who is to blame is josh. >> when you think about what we lost in these two boys, what you lost as a family, and i'm thinking of susan's parents and how many times we have spoken to them over this period of time since she's been missing and how

much they were concerned for those children, what do you want to say about those boys and who they were? kirk? >> they were very special to us. the coxes as well. the boys were all that was left of their daughter and in our case, a dear friend and a sister. they were fun-loving. they had a great attitude. we'd seen some of that disappear as they had been living with josh in steve's home. it was starting to come back. i fear for chuck and judy now and the pain they are going through. i can't imagine it. >> and also your wife, josh's sister. kirk, thank you so much for your perspective on all this. it's invaluable. sergeant ed troyer, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thanks. >> all right. now a check of the weather from al in indianapolis.

>> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by jared, the galleria of jewelry with five times the selection of ordinary jewelry stores. >> as we look ahead to what we've got coming up weatherwise for the week, things start off nicely along the eastern seaboard. we'll have clouds, showers. above normal temperature bus wet along the southeastern atlantic coast. much above normal temperatures. much below normal into the western plains around the texas area. rain in the southeast. rain and snow around the great lakes. pacific northwest with rain. chilly in the plains. in thereater part of the week the rain makes it east. we'll see more wet weather and snow up through the eastern great lakes. showers through the southeast. wet weather down through southern texas.

>> and good morning, everyone. a nice afternoon. high temperatures in the upper 40's and don't forget. check your weather any time day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. ann? >> all right, al. in indianapolis, thank you so much. coming up next, the super bowl winners and losers when it comes to the commercials. right after this.

- the craving for chocolate... - ooh. - is all grown up. - ooh. - jared presents beautiful natural levian chocolate diamonds and chocolate cultured south sea pearls. levian is the only company on earth to make jewelry with chocolate diamonds. levian, the leading family in jewelry, from ancient royalty to today's red carpet. you will only find these styles at jared. levian chocolate diamonds: they're anything but vanilla. that's why he went to jared, the galleria of jewelry.

no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. hey, aren't you... shhh. i'm researching a role. today's special... the capital one venture card. you earn double miles on every purchase. impressive. chalk is a lost medium. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. was that really necessary? [ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? cover for me. i have an audition. ♪ you are me i'm jennifer hudson, and i believe. i was strong before weight watchers, but i'm stronger with it.

i believe weight watchers can do the same for you. i believe you have more power than you think you do. i believe because it works. ♪ if you want it, you got it your turn. your time. your year. join for free. weight watchers points plus 2012. because it works. [ 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. quaker oats. energy to get you going, fiber to help fill you up and help keep your heart healthy. super people eat super grains. [ male announcer ] take a dull morning... ♪ ...and make it wild.

♪ introducing wild fruit fusion pop tarts all the fruit flavors you love... in a tasty new combination. [ laughing and cheering ] pop-tarts. joylicious. we're back now at 7:43 be more of "today at the super bowl." the game was exciting and so were the commercial breaks. which ads scored the best with viewers? donny deutsch is here from deutsch incorporated and we have the business reporter from usa today. so you had the focus group sitting there watching the commercials live and rating them as they go. any surprises? >> the thing this year was dogs ruled. the v.w. ad, skechers, bud light. they all featured dogs and did

well. >> anything strike you in particular, donny? >> i thought it was interesting. it was back to basics. i thought between g.e. and chrysler and budweise great americana. not a lot of technology. >> $3.5 million for a 30-second super bowl spot. the ad at number one had a budget of $20. >> $20. >> take a look. ♪ [ growling ] ♪ [ crunching ] >> first of all, i don't know how that had a budget of only $20. second, why did it work? >> first of all, it doesn't have a budget of $20. but it was done by a real person out there.

it's fun. basically you can break these things down. >> it's dark humor. >> it was cute. i was surprised you didn't get more anti-cat letters coming in. >> one of the reason the ad stood out is people relate to it. people try to bribe their dogs with treats. role reversal. >> full disclosure from deutsch l.a., this is a v.w. spot. take a look. ♪ [ whining ] ♪ ♪ get up off of that thing >> even as we watch this, we're going to say sooe the pay-off here in second. this struck me because if you don't remember last year's ad this doesn't make sense.

>> hard not to remember last year's. the darth vader hit last year. i think consume rs love when you poke fun at yourself, take a nod at where you were. advertisers sometimes climb into pop culture and this did. >> darth vader makes a guest appearance at the end reminding us in 2011 it was the little darth vader. animals again, laura. this one for skechers. >> and there's the favorite silver prince. >> we have a late entry named mr. quigley. >> is he wearing running shoes? >> it is legal, i believe. >> and they're off. silver prince on his heels but mr. quigley around the outside. look at that little guy go. it's quigley! >> laura, why does this work? >> because so many people root for the underdog. look at the giants from last night. the ad got lots of buzz before it ran. they replaced the lead from last

year's ad kim kardashian with a dog. people had fun with the headlines. >> kim was the model last year. >> you had much fewer celebrities this year. even the ads that had them didn't work. now you have dogs versus celebrities. perfect example. kim kardashian, that genre is moving away. >> wait. it's not moving away. did you see the teleflora ad? >> as a feminist i was offended. >> i'm sure. >> it basically said if you send a woman flowers you get what you want. i hate the objectification. >> what about the david beckham? >> did you have problems with that? >> give a woman flours and get what you want? >> it did imply that which is a problem. >> did you have an issue? >> it bothered me. >> let's move on. >> we were both offend bid that. >> we had nudity in the m & m's commercial. basically ms. brown was said to not be wearing her shell.

clint eastwood made a splash with an ad for detroit and the automakers. let's take a look at that. >> the people of detroit know a little something about this. they almost lost everything. but we all pulled together. now motor city is fighting again. i have seen a lot of tough areas, a lot of downturns in my life, times when we didn't understand each other. seems we have lost our heart at times. the fog of division, dischord and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. >> this obviously works. >> your focus group didn't rate it. it was a halftime ad. >> there was lots of buzz online. people said they wished it was a political ad because the message was so -- >> halftime in america. the great reagan ad, morning in america. it was a nod to that. what chrysler has gotten right, instead of waving the flag they are going for the grit of

america. brilliant ad. >> this was more than chrysler, wasn't it? >> interesting you said that. >> felt like the auto industry. >> they celebrated the rebirth of america, the auto industry. this year you will have references to that ad. chrysler is going through the roof. fantastic campaign. almost as good as volkswagen. >> thank you to both of you. still ahead, did madonna deliver during her halftime performance? first, these messages. hello, how can i deliver world-class service for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

new chicken mcbites from mcdonald's. juicy, poppable, premium chicken breast with homestyle seasoning. but they're only here for a limited time. the simple joy of really big fun. ♪ what? with magic. you are? see the egg. uh huh. ♪ so, look at the orange. now close your eyes. ♪ alakazaam! you're good. and now i'm going to make this flower bloom. presto. "love you lots." do you want to see it again? yes, i want to see it again! [ female announcer ] hallmark blooming expressions delivers your love again and again.

you squashed my willpower like a fly. you looked so innocent and so sweet. convinced my lips that we should meet. you were a relentless flirt. oh no we had indecent dessert. twinkle twinkle hope appears. a stevia leaf erased my fears. it made my willpower a super hero. as for calories, it has zero. twinkle twinkle truvia® star natural sweetness, i love just what you are. truvia. honestly sweet. why se ttleia. honestly sweet. for a why se one-note cereal? ♪ more, more, more... get more with honey bunches of oats 4 nutritious grains come together for more taste, more healthy satisfaction. get more with honey bunches of oats.

back now at 7:52 with the show within the show. how did you feel about the halftime performance by madonna? >> good and bad. >> yeah? >> i liked parts, but not other parts. >> i'm amazed at 53 what she pulled off. cartwheels on stage. she had a pulled hamstring and everything. it's amazing the energy she has. >> i liked the "like a prayer" part. i heard there were women,

specifically, watching the halftime show dancing like crazy as she was performing. that it really was well received by them. >> is al in indianapolis? what did you think? >> you know, in the stadium it got a great reaction. everybody was amazed they could set up a stage in eight minutes. that from the time they started to when they got everybody on stage it was eight minutes. the "like a prayer" thing was amazing. >> my favorite part. >> i liked "like a prayer." thank you very much. we'll be back. >> after your local news. is a big deal... thanks... so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement, college, or anything else, contact a fidelity investment professional today.

[ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno.

i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol has stayed down. and here's another number you might be interested in. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. visit lipitor.com for details. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. if lipitor has been working for you, stay with it. don't wait. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month. get your lipitor co-pay card today at lipitor.com.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> lots of delays. 16 on average on the north side outer loop beginning at our ford towards the harrisburg expressway. dealing with a slow-go on eastbound i-78. if you want to travel on southbound 95, 24 miles per hour

from white marsh towards the 895 split. rossville and belair road, watch for an accident. just past generals highway, watch for delays developing there. northbound delays on 50 as a result just opposite the accident scene. here is what it looks like on 97 at 50. off ramp on no. 97, we are watching to see if it delays stretch back to 50. in the area to 83 on mount carmel, coming towards us is southbound traffic. looking a little slow. once you get closer to bodoni, that's where things slow approaching the beltway. >> we got off to a quiet start with a little bit of light rain and snow. it is cold, though. we have some frost out there. you might take a few minutes and scraper frost off of your windshield.

it will be a nice day with high temperatures in the upper 40's and low 50s. average high is 43. a mixture of rain and snow is possible on wednesday, especially in the afternoon. high temperatures in the low 40's. next chance was the beginning of the weekend. the weekend.

brad and jill in accounting? crazy! coffee and chocolate. mocha. ooh! who's mocha? for the perfect blend of coffee and chocolate, try a mocha coffee or latte today.

8:00 now on a monday morning, the 6th day of february, 2012. kind of a breezy, chilly morning here in the northeast. we've got a lot of happy people on the plaza. i would imagine a couple of new york giants fans here celebrating the big win in the super bowl. we have come outside to say hi to these people. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. ann back from indianapolis where she was handling the build-up to the big game and then watched it at home. it was fun. >> it was. it was exciting finish. it was a real nail-biter at the end. i had a lot of snax and drank a

lot of beer. >> before the game i got to sit down with the president at the white house. we'll have more with president obama including his response to comments his wife made as she responded to a label that was put in a book about her. we'll hear from the president about it coming up. >> also ahead we'll talk to taylor armstrong, one of the real housewives of beverly hills. she's out with a new memoir. she talks about her estranged husband's suicide and alleged abuse she suffered in the marriage. this morning she's here for an exclusive live interview. >> then we are going to hear from a former white house intern who now claims she had an affair with then president john f. kennedy. the question people are asking, why did she wait to come forward and why is she speaking now 50 years after the event? we'll hear from her coming up. >> first a check of the morning's top stories. hey, natalie. >> good morning, everyone. the husband of a utah woman who

vanished two years ago killed himself and the couple's two young sons in a fiery explosion sunday. officials say josh powell triggered the blast at his home in washington state after 7-year-old char landlie and 5-year-old braden arrived with a social worker for a supervised visit. the social worker wasn't hurt. a judge ordered powell to have a psycho-sexual evaluation. powell was the only person of interest in his wife susan's disappearance. in an exclusive interview before the super bowl president obama told matt the u.s. is prepared to exercise any option in the persian gulf as concerns intensify about iran's nuclear ambitions. however, the president still hopes diplomacy can convince iran to resolve the dispute peacefully. this half hour, more of matt's interview where the president addresses a certain criticism of his wife. an outbreak of stomach virus

sickened more than 400 people on cruise ships this weekend. royal caribbean's voyager of the seas from new orleans and two princess cruise line ships out of ft. lauderdale were hit by the norovirus which spreads quickly in closed quarters. now our quick round-up of what has you talking online. a rude move we told you about earlier is the talk of the internet. the nfl and nbc both apologized for m.i.a. flashing her middle finger during the halftime show. bloggers are discussing if madonna who stumbled and fell backwards won over the doubters or proved it was time to retire. and 12,000 tweets per second. that took the sting out of a blunder when the team's website declared the giants the winners of the super bowl a full 24 hours before the game. even though they lost the game

patriots quarterback tom brady is buzzing on twitter and facebook because he still got to go home to his supermodel wife gisele bundchen. lots of folks say the game should have had a gisele-cam. she was trying to console tommy, as she calls him, after the big game. >> now back to al with a check of the weather. al? >> thanks so much. we have justin tuck, defensive linem lineman, coming up and cee-lo green. let's see what's happening today. our pick city today, the epicenter of awesome, indianapolis, indiana, wthr nbc 13. morning fog burning off. we have sunshine. temperatures up into the upper 40s. check out your forecast for today. on the satellite we've got a disturbance around cuba bringing

heavy rain to southern florida. clouds moving into coastal california. light snow in coastal new england. 30 degrees up through parts of the dakotas. we have snowshowers around the great lakes. look for plenty of sunshine through the southwest. morning fog in the pacific northwest and the heavy rain this morning into tomorrow for southern florida. >> after a little bit of light rain and snow over the weekend, the weather is chilly and quiet. the high

and that's your latest weather. matt? >> we have lots of people celebrating birthdays here, but nol nolan's sign is right to the point. it's my birthday, i love french fries. happy birthday. way to go. >> yes! >> when we come back, real housewife taylor armstrong opens up about her relationship with her estranged husband and his death. first, these messages. [ female announcer ] to get a professional cleaning system

you could spend as much as $200. olay says challenge that with an instrument that cleanses

as effectively as what's sold by skin professionals for a whole lot less. new olay pro x advanced cleaning system. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

the cast member of taylor armstrong committed suicide. now armstrong is opening up about the relationship away from the cameras in the new book hiding from reality. we'll talk to taylor exclusively in a moment. first, her story. >> why? >> because she's a crazy [ bleep ]. >> >> reporter: even before season two of the real housewives of beverly hills began we knew how it would end. >> i want to go home! >> reporter: armstrong's husband russell committed suicide. >> i think she's having a break down. >> reporter: taylor, whose behavior on the show became more erratic each week was in the midst of divorcing russell when his body was found hanging inside this hollywood hills home. taylor was there when the 911

call was made. >> it's all right. >> it's all right. >> it's not all right! >> reporter: though the death was ruled a suicide, russell's sister has her doubts. >> from the moment i got the call i knew it wasn't suicide. he loves his kid too much. there was no note, nothing. i feel it in my bones. i know he didn't do it. >> reporter: police found no evidence of foul play but the show's producers faced criticism when the network went ahead with plans to air season two just weeks after the suicide. >> did the producers ever consider just not having the show continue because of this tragedy? >> we, along with the network, took a hard look at the show and looked at it thoroughly. we decided to make some adjustments in light of the circumstances. >> reporter: three members of the cast appeared on "today" to discuss the tragedy. >> did it come as a shock to you? >> it came as a complete shock

to us. i always saw him as reserved, quiet. i knew they had their issues. but no one could have anticipated that. >> reporter: off camera, taylor told cast members she was the victim of physical abuse at the hands of her husband. on camera they confronted her with doubts about her claims. >> because we don't say he broke your jaw or that he -- >> threw you. >> or hit you. we don't know fit's true because you come over and you don't have any signs of physical abuse on your body. >> really uncool. >> reporter: while the current season of the housewives airs tonight the drama is sure to continue tomorrow when her tell-all book "hiding from reality" goes on sale. in it taylor discusses the domestic violence that provided the show with an explosive plot line. we should mention we spoke to russell armstrong's sister who said her brother denied ever abusing taylor and asked, quote,

why is she doing this when he's dead and can't defend himself? taylor is with us now exclusively. good to see you. >> thank you. >> why don't we start there. you hear what russell's sister says. he's not here to defend himself. what's your response? >> i don't feel his sister has much knowledge of what went on in our relationship. last time i saw her we had taken her out of rehab for meth. she had been a meth addict for about five years and we were married for about six. i'm not sure she had her finger on the pulse of what was going on. as far as writing the book i was journalling throughout my therapy. in the journals i saw patterns about me, not about russell. about having low self-esteem yishs and how from a very early age going back to the little girl in the blue zip-up footed pajamas on the bed, pulling my father's hair as he was beating my mother, from those days through my youth, my adolescence, i saw patterns of

low self-esteem and how it can affect young people. >> you make horrific allegations against your ex-husband. did you ever say, maybe i shouldn't make it public? not that it isn't true but maybe it shouldn't be in a book? >> i thought of that. what should i do? what's right? what's not? those raw moments are what's going to allow me to make a conversation that could end up helping somebody else out there. i got out way too late. i hope by others hearing the story they may get out sooner. when i wrote "hiding from reality" i wanted it real and honest. some of it was difficult to write. i love him to this day and miss him terribly. >> talk about real. during the season you seemed to unravel on camera. is it difficult to watch now? >> absolutely. i look at myself as someone who was clearly breaking down. when adrian said, you're having a nervous breakdown, that's how i felt. i was trying to keep a lid on a

boiling pot. trying to hide the personal relationship while trying to be in front of the cameras. it was seeping out too much. >> you talk about the relationship with your husband. like every relationship it was complicated. >> absolutely. >> you love him yet you describe terrible abuse. >> mm-hmm. >> what was your life with russell like? >> the good times were the best i ever had. the worst times were the worst i have ever had. i went as far as taking a polygraph test just to try to prove to him that i never had an affair on him. he just had a constant paranoia. as they were unstrapping me from the polygraph test i thought, why am i taking a polygraph for someone that i love? i was so desperate to keep it together that i would have gone to any extreme. >> you say there were times he was very physically abusive, that he broke your jaw. >> he knocked my jaw out of the socket, yeah. >> what was your lowest point? >> whenever i was on my knees over a toilet with my jaw not in

the place it was supposed to be, there was saliva running out of my mouth and i was thinking, how am i not going to call an ambulance? how do i protect him? i don't want him to go to jail. what if i can't get my jaw back in place. being over a toilet and the only thing i could think of was, forget my jaw, i want to protect him. >> a lot of people are thinking how on earth did you decide to do a reality show to shine a light on what was happening inside your marriage? why did you do it? >> i think sub consciously or consciously i thought the cameras would provide some protection. you know, when you're in a restaurant people don't act out. they act out at home. with millions of people watching he's never going to act out. maybe this will provide the protection we need to move forward. >> were you surprised he allowed it or agreed to it? >> no. he loved it. he loved being in the media. he would wake up every day and

go to his blackberry and the first thing would look at google alerts with his name in it. he loved his name in the news. that's the kind of person he was. >> your relationship with cast mates is also complicated. they were your friends and supported you. as we saw in the piece there were moments when they doubted you and a moment when camille grammar took what you said behind the scenes and brought it out on camera. you were angry about that. are you still? >> no. the one thing about the cycle of aburks it's so confusing to people on the outside. i wrote the book because women living with it, if you have a sister or a friend living with it they will know the cycle all too well. i want to make it a conversation so hopefully people will understand it better and get out. >> good to have you here. thank you for being here. the book is called "hiding from reality." we'll be right back after this. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health.

i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. he's my success story. [ laughs ] did somebody just...? impossible. ♪ yes. yes. yes. noooooooo! [ male announcer ] yep, subway broke the 200-calorie breakfast barrier with delicious subway fresh fit breakfast sandwiches.

like the black forest ham, egg white & cheese on mornin' melt flatbread. subway. build your better breakfast. okay, we gotta time this just right. okay. ready... happy valentine's day. [ female announcer ] the charmed memories collection from kay -- the number one jewelry store in america. ready... [ camera flash ] ♪ every kiss begins with kay but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover.

can your makeup remover do that? why se ttle can your makeup remover do that? for a why se one-note cereal? ♪ more, more, more... get more with honey bunches of oats 4 nutritious grains come together for more taste, more healthy satisfaction. get more with honey bunches of oats. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boardg. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. [ water runs from statue ] [ water sprays from hose ] ♪

[ door slams ] ♪ [ pounds on door ] ♪ [ sprinkler hitting window ] [ washtub water gushes ] [ teakettle whistles ] [ male announcer ] totally free. feels good. taxact federal return. totally free. go to taxact.com and feel the free. back now at 8:21 with more of our exclusive interview with president obama. we touched on topics including why his administration hasn't done more to stop the escalating violence in syria like they did in libya. >> i said at the time with respect to libya that we would be making these decisions on a case-by-case basis based on how unified the community was, what our capacities were. we have been relentless in sending a message that it is time for asad to go. that the kind of violence we

have seen exercised against his own people this weekend and over the past several months is inexcusable. but not every situation is going to allow for the kind of military solution we saw -- >> would you consider military action with our allies without u.n. approval, especially considering that china and russia vetoed this one? >> it is important to resolve this without recourse to outside military intervention and i think that's possible. my sense is you are seeing more and more people inside of syria recognizing that they need to turn a chapter and the asad regime is feeling the noose tightening around them. this is not a matter of if but when. >> here we sit on super bowl sunday. the cover of the new yorker has a picture of you watching the big game on tv. there you are sitting there and up on screen it's not the patriots and giants.

it's newt gingrich and mitt romney, same team pummelling each other. look at the smile on your face there. is art imitating life here? >> well, look, i have been through these primaries. they're tough -- >> does this help you? >> i think ultimately this will be forgotten by the time they make a decision on who their nominee is. the american people will make a decision on my platform and where i want to take the country and where the republican does. a lot of this stuff is good for selling newspapers and boosting ratings on tv, but i think in the end what they are going to be asking about is not the horse race. they will ask how is this going to help me in my life? >> finally mrs. obama gave an interview reacting to something written in a book where she said the image that's been out there since you decided to run for president was she was some kind of angry black woman. she said, that's not me.

the way to fight it is to be me and hopefully people will judge me based on me. >> right. >> taking the fact that you're the president out of of it, as a husband, how does it make you feel when she's forced to address a characterization that upsets her? >> as a husband and a father, one of the things that's tou toughest for me is my family is brought into the political realm which isn't always very pleasant. that weighs on me. having said that, michelle has been as good a first lady as i think anybody can imagine. when i watch her making a difference across the country in terms of changing how kids are getting exercise and eating and the passion she brings to military families, i could not be prouder of her. i think she had reservations about taking on this whole process going on this journey at the beginning of it. she's admitted that. she's talked about it. she's turned out to be really good. >> is she ready for four more

years? >> i think she is. she thinks the work is really important. even those folks who wish that i was doing more of this or more of that or questioning me on these policies or those policies, when you ask them about michelle obama they give her a thumbs-up, and rightfully so. >> that's president obama. just ahead, more from the super bowl including new york giant justin tuck and cee-lo green. >> that's coming up after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> busy morning rush, continues to be that way. just past generals highway, you can see delays are leading up to a crash that we have and still clearing. westbound 100 at telegraph road, watch for an accident with delays behind it. slow on the north and west side. all this is volume-related. eastbound i-70 tapping the

brakes towards 40. 14 miles per hour on the sap and j.f.x. all the way down towards 28 street. 27 miles per hour on average, out of the north east. 50 and 97, coming towards us as westbound traffic. bit of a delay getting on to the ramp to northbound 97. let's switch over to live view of traffic at 83 and mount carmel. easing up just a bit when to get closer to padonia down to the beltway. tony has a check on your forecast. >> we had an active weekend with a little rain and snow on saturday night. it is quiet now. temperatures are in the upper 20's and low 30's. 29 in taneytown. forecast for today, mostly sunny skies. temperatures will climb into the upper 40's and low 50s.

partly cloudy tomorrow. it looks like a pretty good chance for rain or snow. kind of like what happened over the weekend. >> we will have another update at 8:55.

8 tleelt:30 8:30 now on this monday morning, the 6th day of february, 2012. we have a nice crowd in the plaza saying hello to family and friends back home. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer and natalie morales. look at that face, what a cutie.

al is in indianapolis. we'll go to him coming up. also ahead, a tell-all. >> this comes from a former intern at the white house who claimed she had a lengthy affair with president john f. kennedy when she was 19 years old. she sat down to do an interview with meredith vieira which will air on "rock center." we'll hear from her this morning. also ahead we have a star in the house. we have deborah messing in studio 1-a because she's a star in the cast of the new musical drama called "smash" premiering on nbc tonight. she will be filling us in on what drew her to the show. >> we look forward to that. also, valentine's day around the corner. just eight days to go. >> eight days? >> just eight, but who's counting? coming up, we have creative options to help tempt your special someone's sweet tooth. >> let's go to indy where al has

a check of the weather. al? >> before we get to that, matt, we have a special guest. justin tuck, defensive lineman of the new york giants. [ cheers and applause ] >> congratulations. >> thank you. thank you. >> have you been to sleep yet? >> not at all. >> as it sunk in? >> it's sunk in, man. we're very ecstatic, very blessed to be in the situation we are. this is my second super bowl. we happen to be bringing it back to new york city, baby. >> is it sweeter the second time around? >> i don't know yet. that was hard to beat. it's a great game. you give respect to the patriots for the season they had and how competitive they are. this year has been special for us. a lot of ups and downs. it seems this one was -- it might be a little bit sweeter. >> you were involved helping force tom brady to make that mistake that caused the safety to put points on the board to

get the giant going first. there toward the end with the sack of brady as well. when you saw his pass go up -- >> oh, man. >> what did you think? >> it seemed that ball was in the air for a couple of days. it seemed like i could have read a novel before it came down. luckily we made a play in the end zone, got the ball on the ground and the confetti flew. that's when you're a world champion. >> we have been hearing about tebowing. can you show us tucking? >> it's just a bow, man. that's all. >> very simple. >> very simple. >> just a thank you to the fansfanfans. >> i will tuck to you, sir. it was a heck of a game. congratulations. >> thank you. >> looking forward to the big parade in new york tomorrow? >> oh, my goodness. for the guys that wasn't with us in 2007 that's all i talked

about. they're getting the first ring. >> two rings. where do you wear the second ring? >> i don't wear either one. >> no? >> uh-uh. i put them in the house and walk by them every day as a reminder of how special the teams i have been a part of. >> congratulations, justin tuck. >> thank you, >> and good morning, everyone. a nice afternoon. high temperatures in the upper 40's and

and that's the latest weather. of course, not only did we have the super bowl last night. we had the season two premiere of "the voice." joining us now, a man who was involved with both. he's getting his picture taken with justin tuck. cee-lo green. good to see you. >> you, too. >> what was it like being part of the halftime show with madonna? >> oh, man. that was awesome. very, very wonderful monumental experience to be a part of. >> it was almost a religious experience. "like a prayer." you guys in choir robes. >> madonna knows how to put on a wonderful show. it was a great production. she did a great job. >> did you hear about the controversy with m.i.a.? >> i'm just hearing about it this morning as i get here. they asked me if i had an opinion about it. i was so caught up in the moment yesterday i had no idea. >> well, luckily we blurred it, i guess. but it was unfortunate.

now the voice, big premiere after the super bowl. probably the biggest viewed television event in history, the super bowl. you guys following it. are you excited about this season? >> i'm excited about this season. i think we put together a wonderful second season. the cast is on board and the chemistry is as good as it ever was. i think people will be definitely impressed with what we have to offer the show. >> so many people whether it's a record album, a movie, a tv show. the second time around is always in some ways harder than the first. the sophomore jinx. how do you avoid it? >> proper planning prevents poor performance. the integrity is intact. a new fresh idea. the blind auditions signifies us the most. i believe that has such infinite possibility. it's a show that appreciate it is under dog.

it's organic and honest. that's what gives it flair. >> tonight, super bowl monday, "the voice," 8:00 -- >> we're on again today. >> 7:00 central. thank you, cee-lo. good to see you. >> you, too. >> let's head to a man who didn't make the auditions for "the voice" but should have. willard scott. >> captiva island, florida, how sweet it is. i have a good . by george this is the way to live. happy birthday from smucker's. i'm a grateful man. take a look, if you will, at our first birthday buddy of the morning. this is glennie johnson. i have never heard that name before. wetumpka, alabama. i'm the mayor of slap out, alabama. anyway, likes to stay busy. really enjoys good times and

took her first airplane ride at 99. how about that? she didn't jump out with a parachute or anything. take a look at our next birthday buddy, thomas kearney of boca raton, florida. attributes his longevity to being happily married to his lovely wife teresa for 75 years. that's very sweet, isn't it? i love romance. i'm a romantic slob. irene davey, attleboro, mass. the lovely irene is 104 years old. loves to write and has a published poetry book, i understand. that's good. that keeps the mind sharp. gilbert ingraham of haverhill,

iowa. loves to eat oatmeal. any time of the day, you can't beat it. good and healthy for you. cecil blanchard of cleveland, ohio. loves politics, sports and staying healthy. that's a good trio. can't beat that. a lovely anniversary wish today for james and arlene mack. they are from westfield, pennsylvania. they have been married 75 years and they say they love each other very much and they are happily married all these years. can't beat that. that's all. now back to the team in new york that's always happily married. >> thank you, willard. i found 87-year-old mildred here rooting for the giants. she's a long way from the smucker's jar. thank you for being here this morning. meantime a former white house intern complains that she had an 18-month old affair with

president john f. kennedy. we'll hear from her coming up. first, this is "today" on nbc. whee wheeeeeeeeeeeee! wheeeeeeeeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! pure adrenaline. whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee!

everything you love about geico, now mobile. download the new geico app today. whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee!

back now at 8:4141 with an explosive claim from a former white house intern. mimi says she had an affair with president john f. kennedy that lasted some 18 months. she details the story in "once upon a secret." natalie is here with that. >> meredith sat down with ms. alford for an interview for "rock center" with brian williams which airs wednesday. they talked about the president's darker side and why she kept the story a secret for so long. >> most mornings when i woke up i thought, i don't want to get up and write this book. i want to hide under the covers. >> reporter: what made you get

out from under the covers? >> when you keep silent you think it's keeping you safe. in fact, it's deadly. >> reporter: the secret, claims alford started in the summer of 1962 when the 19-year-old debutante from a prominent new jersey family began what she says was an 18-month affair with president john f. kennedy. it was revealed in 2003 when it was written in a biography that a tall, slender, beautiful white house intern was rumored to be among the president's paramours. at the time mimi issued a short statement and then disappeared. now she is talking and says her first close encounter with the president took place in this indoor heated pool at the white house. the invitation came from the president's aide dave powers who asked her and two other staffers to join us for a swim, never mentioning the "us" included

jfk. >> so you were 19, four days into your internship at the white house and you're in the swimming pool with the president of the united states. >> it didn't seem unnatural. just because everybody was friendly. i went back to work afterward. >> you just dried off and went back. nobody blinked? >> no one said anything. >> she was invited back to the white house residence and then taken on a private tour of some of the rooms by the president where she then lost her virginity to him in jackie kennedy's room. >> you said, i wouldn't call it making love but i wouldn't call it nonconsensual.onsensual. he manoeuvred me, so short of screaming i don't think i could have thwarted his inintentions. it sounds like you did feel overpowered. >> i think overpowered in the sense that he was the president. he was this unbelievably handsome man, 45 years old.

not overpowered physically that someone grabbed me and made me do something that i wasn't really willing to do because i really think i was willing to do it. >> several people tied to the jfk administration confirm alford was an intern and had special access to the president. >> more on wednesday when meredith joins us in studio. you can catch the full interview on "rock center with brian williams" wednesday night at 9:00/8:00 central time here on nbc. by the way, ms. alford will be here live on thursday on "today." up next, deborah messing on her new nbc show smash. first, this is "today" on nbc.

deborah messing earned an emmy as grace adler on "will and grace." she returns to nbc tonight in a

new series called smash. she plays a lyricist who's taking a year off to adopt a baby with her husband. but when a chance to write a musical about marilyn monroe falls into her lap she can't resist the challenge. >> it's not a musical. it's one song. >> why can't tom do it with someone else? >> you know what she said in her last interview? she said, please, don't make a joke out of me. the way they treated her. that's not even it. it was just there's something about her. how much she wanted to love and be loved. she glows with it. reminds me of a saint. i don't want anyone else to do her. >> really interesting to watch you and hear you in that role, especially because when they offered you the script you kind of had a similar reaction. you felt you had to do this

role. >> i did. >> why? >> i did. i think it tapped into something very pure and fundamental for me. my first love was musical theater. my first love was the theater world. and so to spend my life outside of the theater really and then getting a script and reading about that world and a script that was so brilliantly written and characters i cared about and all the other things involved, to be able to do it. i put it down and i said, i have to do this. i have to be in this role. i have to play this character, i have to do this. >> steven spielberg had nothing to do with it? >> nothing! >> angelica houston being in the show had nothing to do with it? >> no, no. >> it's a big amazing group of people. >> the people behind the camera and in front of the camera are people that are inspiring and

really sort of at the top of their game. it's great because it's challenging and makes you stay on your toes. you want to do your best every day. it's exciting. >> that said, while it's been described as "glee" for grown-ups, it isn't, is it? >> no, i don't think so. we owe everything to "glee." there is no way we would be on television if "glee" hadn't been successful and shown music can be viable in primetime. but this is an adult show. it's a show that's naturalistic about the life of people living in new york, trying to get this thing done. but you're also following their life outside with people getting divorced, trying to adopt. you know, it's financial struggles, so it's very different. but i think there is room for all of us. >> what's amazing is it premieres tonight and there are already reviews out.

but you are already shooting your 12th episode. you have been able to really be in the beauty of doing the work. let's look at the reviews. the washington post calls "smash" engaging, quite a little sun beam. the holiday reporter says it has gravitasse. this all before it comes out. >> it's fantastic. i have never had the experience of having the protection of not being on the air while shooting. we have been holed up in our studio doing our work and feeling, you know, a growing sense of pride and excitement as the season has been going on. now finally it's being presented and we get to share it. it's exciting. >> all right, deborah messing, thank you so much. so great to see you. i can't wait. if you want to watch catch the series premiere of "smash" tonight at 10:00/9:00 central on

nbc. up next, valentine's chocolates. first, this is "today" on nbc. i'm in a tricky situation here.

i'm bidding on a 1979 dukes of hazzard lunchbox, but my auction ends in 15 seconds ! even worse, my buddy's bidding on the same lunchbox. it's airbrushed ! but i've got verizon 4g lte. it's so fast that i can outbid him at the last second. i got it ! yes, i won ! woo hoo ! it's got a thermos ! rely on verizon 4g lte. because only the fastest survive. ♪ this morning on today celebrates valentine's day, we are talking chocolates. according to the national confectioners association more than 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates will be sold

for valentine's day. christina tosi is a pastry chef here in new york city and owner of momofuku milk bar. >> nice to see you, matt. >> how did chocolate become so associated with valentine's day? >> it was such a hot commodity that it became the most special thing that you could give to your loved one in celebrating your love. >> so many kinds of chocolate. how did you narrow it down to these selections? >> i tried to go through my history of chocolate. for me, it starts with the classic whitman's heart-shaped chocolate sampler. my grandmas gave it to me as a kid for valentine's day. it was the thing that sat on the coffee table at valentine's day. >> and all kind fs of different price points from the very inexpensive to the ridiculously expensive. >> absolutely. you can approach chocolate from

a very basic simple classic standpoint, but i brought for you a ton of different places to go with chocolate inside the box, outside the box. this is -- i would say whitman's is the classic approach. >> and affordable. >> john and kyra's is a great chocolate manufacturer in philadelphia. they are made by hand using ingredients from the community. a bunch of different flavors of ganaches. these are the love bugs. this is a mondo approach to the chocolates. this is a worldwide approach. >> these look exotic. >> these are gro fr the grocery store. >> so they are not as expensive. >> highly affordable. great approach. this is the do it yourself approach. >> dip a pretzel right in chocolate. >> you get your loved ones favorite snacks and dip them in

chocolate. i grabbed crunches and crumbles. that's miss attach attapistachi. there are single malt chocolates you can get from valerie and i brought brooklyn chocolates. >> we'll cut it off there but i like the men being included in the chocolate giving. >> i like that. >> just ahead, more about the super bowl. >> that's right. plus the best of the best when it comes to super bowl ads after your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. baltimore county police are trying to figure out whether alcohol was involved in a single-vehicle accident in

cockeysville on saturday. it did vehicle crashed oyork road. no one else was injured, but the driver was killed in the crash.

>> after a chilly start this monday, it will be a nice day. high temperatures will sneak into the upper 40's and low 50s. into the upper 40's and low 50s. could be some rain or snow on i'm drinkin' dunkin'. definitely dunkin'. you know, i need to get that jolt in the morning,

but i want something good to do that. you can't mistake the flavor. i run on dunkin'. tell us what you're drinkin' for a chance to be famous. america runs on dunkin' coffee.