good morning. breaking news -- nbc news has confirmed president obama will release ten states from the strict requirements of the bush-era no child left behind law today. we'll tell you what the impact could be on millions of students all across the country. intent to kill -- new details on the death of university of virginia lacrosse player as her ex-boyfriend's murder trial gets under way. this morning, the threatening email that prosecutors say he sent to his alleged victim two days before she died. and today exclusive -- guns being bought legally without background checks in the middle

of crowded parking lots. >> no paperwork, no background checks. >> and it's completely legal -- the results of our hidden camera investigation today, thursday, the results of our hidden camera investigation today, thursday, february 9th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning, i'm ann curry. >> and i'm matt lauer. this decision by the obama administration to grant ten states waivers from no child left behind will be the strongest move yet to undermine the controversial education initiative. >> that's right. it was signed by president bush in 2002, and mandated that 100% of grade school students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. but opponents say it forces teachers to focus too much on test scores.

and not enough on actually educating the students. we'll get the latest on this developing story, straight ahead. also new investigation tied to the house fire that police say josh powell set, killing himself and his two young sons. officials now want to know why it took police more than 20 minutes to arrive at that scene. we'll have more on that story coming up as well. this morning straight ahead on wednesday, we brought you the story of the former white house intern who says she had an 18-month affair with jfk. well this morning, mimi alford will be joining us to reveal more of her story in the first live interview since coming forward. and kate middleton making the news, stepping out first solo appearance since joining the royal family. her first solo official appearance. we begin with the top story of the morning and savannah guthrie is at the news desk where natalie is on assignment. >> good morning, matt and ann. in the news this morning, president barack obama will exempt ten states from the no

child left behind today. nbc news confirming that by dropping the bush-era policy to ten states, including colorado, florida and new jersey. will get the leeway on student preparation and evaluation they've been requesting for years. the official announcement expected this morning. new questions this morning about the emergency response to the murder/suicide of josh powell and his two children. 911 call logs now show it took nearly eight minutes for a sheriffs deputy to be dispatched to powell's home after a social worker called to report an emergency. it took an additional 14 minutes for deputies to reach the house, which was engulfed in flames by then. the call was categorized as routine and a dispatcher told the social worker, quote, we have to respond to emergency-like threatening situations first. the reality television producer charged with killing his wife while on vacation in mexico has arrived in cancun after being ex-twa dieted from california. "survivor" producer bruce

beresford was extradited. his wife found murdered in 2010. indiana health officials say they've confirmed two cases of measles in that statd and at least one of the people infected is thought to have attended the super bowl festivities over the weekend. the tsa is expanding a preflight security screening program to 28 of the country's busiest airports. the program would speed frequent flyers and other eligible travelers through security without having to remove their shoes or pull laptops from their cases. the tsa says the move is part of an effort to make security intelligence-driven, instead of one size fits all. now to wall street, cnbc's courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange for more. >> greece is still the word and greece still an overhang on the market. the eurozone finance ministers are expected to meet today,

potentially paving the way for another round of bailout funds for the country. meantime, investors will place particular importance on the weekly unemployment claims today. after a better-than-expected january jobs report, as we continue to look for signs of improvement in the labor market. savannah, back to you. >> thank you. and could the loch ness monster be on vacation in iceland? we'll take a look. this video of what appears to be a sea creature on an icelandic river has monster watchers in a frenzy online. but zooologists say it's an elaborate hoax. the clip has racked up more than a million hits since it was posted this week. it is now 7:05, back to matt, ann and al. i don't think it's nessie, because i think she has a condo in miami. that's not where she likes to vacation. you guys were paying attention. >> it's thursday, try the veal. >> let's get a check of the

weather from mr. roker. we have a little storm moving into our area? >> not until the weekend. in the meantime, things fairly quiet around a good portion of the country. we have to look far and wide to find the rain. the pacific northwest, a lot of moisture streaming in, some heavy stretching from coastal oregon to washington state. rainfall amounts anywhere from one to two inches, but right along the coast. rest of the country, fairly quiet. we're expecting a few light lake-effect snowshowers in the western great lakes, some showers in the panhandle of >> good morning.es up and down i there could be a few icy spots out there. we expect mostly sunny skies.

and that's your latest weather. matt? now to the gop presidential race, where rick santorum is trying to capitalize on momentum he picked up from his clean sweep if tuesday's contest. nbc's kelly o'donnell is traveling with his campaign and she's in oklahoma city this morning. hi, kelly. >> hi, good morning, matt. well trying to keep that excitement going, rick santorum is the only republican candidate holding rallies today. he's got two of them here in oklahoma. and he's trying to draw in new donors. santorum tells us he raised about $1 million in the 24 hours after the surprising wins. and that's of course bringing new expectations and drawing new criticism from his chief rival. >> give him a texas welcome! >> riding the clean sweep momentum into a tea party gathering in texas. >> i can't think of a better place to be, to celebrate the

victory for conservatives that we had in minnesota and in missouri and in the state of colorado. >> notching four-state wins with his scrappy, no-frills campaign, santorum rails against one of mitt romney's biggest strengths -- a deep, formidable money machine inside the romney campaign. >> how are you going to win an election if your greatest attribute is i'll spend more money than the other person? we need someone who has better ideas. who has a better vision. >> santorum's strength has been with social conservatives. who embraced him in prayer on wednesday. >> we pray that you would direct rick's steps as he campaigns for president. >> laying hands and lending support to his quest for the nomination. while jobs and the economy dominate, the catholic couldn contraception controversy turned red-hot on the trail. mitt romney's own work in the ministry, a role he seldom

brings up. >> people asked to serve as the pastor of their congregation frimt from time to time. i had that privilege for over ten years. >> he links that work to his understanding of everyday problems. an area where romney has struggled to connect. >> i found that those kinds of circumstances were not just about money or numbers this he were about lives and emotions. >> from softer side to new tactics, romney is trying to blunt this surprising surge by branding santorum, a big government spender. >> actually during senator santorum's time in washington, the government grew by 80%. and he voted to raise the debt ceiling five times. this, this may work in washington, or it may have worked in the past. it will not work in the future. >> and romney aides say they will go after santorum again today, hitting him on things like his history with earmarks, voting himself a pay raise while he was in washington. even using the phrase, he was cozy with some democrats then.

all ways that mitt romney is trying to chip away at the santorum surge. matt? >> kelly o'donnell in oklahoma city, thanks very much. laura ingram is a fox news contributor. good to see you. let's talk about the wins for rick santorum on tuesday. did he gain anything other than bragging rights for a couple of days? did he substantially change his chances in the race? >> i think so. look, right now the republican party is in a similar position to what the democrats were in in 2008, right? there was all these people who thought that the clintons, hillary, specifically had the right ideas. and then we had democrats emerging like ted kennedy saying no, barack obama is the future of the party. there's this period of working things out and that's happening now. rick santorum comes out of pretty much nowhere in these three states, matt, in fact, romney didn't spend a lot of money in minnesota, missouri or colorado. but at the same time, he did have momentum coming out of florida and nevada. he couldn't translate that. so rick santorum has the ability

now to say, look, give me another look, let me make the case for my solutions to you. more than just spending money to annihilate mitt romney. >> when you say mitt romney didn't spend a lot of money in minnesota. he finished third in that state with 17% of the vote. four years ago he won the state with 41% of the vote. >> credible point. >> if you've been doing nothing but running for president for five or six years, it isn't good news. >> it isn't good news. you hit on a key point, which is voter turn-out. republicans have to be careful about how they proceed here to not dampen the republican passion for defeating obama. and right now, in key contests, where mitt romney has won, and even obviously where santorum has won, the turn-out very low. considering the fervor that exists among conservatives to turn the obamas out of washington and start anew. i got to hold up something, matt, for you to look at. this is the "washington examiner

"er cover. he's having a mix and mingle this afternoon. with a another of conservative supporters and would-be donors perhaps and he really, he understands, i think now, that it's time to build bridges, not just to burn down the other side. >> do you agree with the conventional wisdom, which has seemed to be over the last couple of months, that at some point in this process, strict ideology, the conservatives wanting and needing their say in this will give way to electability? do you think there's no longer the case? >> i think the aura and the idea of electability, the invincibility of the romney campaign has generally dwindled away, right? so that argument has become weaker, not stronger as time has gone on. but nevertheless, rick santorum has enormous amount of work to do. he has to have a real presence in ohio. he's going to try to take down romney in michigan, where the last poll shows romney winning

2-1. what he has, matt, is he has the momentum of the conservative enthusiasts behind him right now. romney does not have that. he has not been able to seal the deal yet in conservatives in romney care and what's happening with the hhs regulations, the whole debate is not helping romney. >> in the last 30 seconds, interesting in the entire discussion, we haven't mentioned one name and that is newt gingrich. what's the deal? >> well, look, he looked pretty defeated after florida. he, 5-1 negative advertising and it wasn't pretty in the end. nevada obviously didn't work out well for him and now people are talking about rick santorum as the conservative alternative to romney and obama. gingrich has to hope for big wins on super tuesday in the south. i think that's what he's banking on. it was not a good night for newt gingrich. worse for him than for mitt romney. >> thanks for giving me the time. 13 after the hour. now here's ann. >> now to important medical news for pregnant women.

contrary to popular belief, a new study shows there are certain health risks for babies delivered by c-section. nbc's krif medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman is here with more. this is a study in smaller, pre-term babies. >> this study looked at c-section risks to infants. we talked a lot about c-section risks to moms in the past. they looked at babies who weren't growing as quick also as doctors would have liked. the conventional wisdom has been, get the babies out and we'll treat them in an icu. they found that there was a 30% increase in complications. complications like difficulty breathing. difficulty feeding. difficulty in temperature control. these are classic and jaundice, which is a real problem in pre-term babies. but if you look beyond that, beyond the pre-term babies, the babies who weren't growing quickly enough and you start to look at maybe 37, 38 weeks, there's an increased belief now that the longer babies stay in

the womb, up to 40 weeks, the better the outcome for the baby. >> we talked about the short-term health inpact. could there be long-term impacts? >> no doubt. long-term impacts include the breathing problems can turn into asthma later in life. in the last few weeks of a pregnancy, that's when the lungs and the brain are really developing. so developmental problems. cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, all of those things become compounded if a baby is taken out prematurely. i think we have to look at a societal change. the rates of c-section are going up in this country. one reason may be invitro fertilization and multiple births. one part of it is women trying to put delivery into their own schedules. and you've heard this topic -- >> or doctors. >> sometimes, yes. too posh to push, i don't want the pain, please just let me do c-section. you have to remember, the ultimate outcome should be a healthy baby. >> a lot of women who have had c-sections want to know, does

this mean that they have to have a c-section the second time? >> the great majority of women can safely have a regular vaginal birth afterwards, it's called a v-back. vaginal birth after section. >> dr. nancy snyderman, thank you so much. here's matt. a popular news anchor in denver, colorado is recovering from reconstructive surgery this morning after she was bitten by a dog live on the air. it all started as a feel-good story about a dramatic ice rescue. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the details. kristen, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. yeah, kyle dyer seemed to be excited about the interview. enjoying petting the dog as she talked to his owner and then things turned. it started as a feel-good story. a dog who fell through the ice rescued in dramatic fashion. there was the heroic firefighter. >> can't write it any better. he recognized that he was going towards safety. and once we got him out, he was

friendly and happy to be in a warmer place. >> the ecstatic owner. >> i'm beyond happy. our family member, he's like a son in a sense. he's a rock-solid dog. >> but when the 8 5-pound mastiff called max joined the morning show to share the story. things went terribly wrong. shortly after anchor kyle dyer knelt on the floor, petting max, the huge dog lunged and bit her. the anchor was rushed to the hospital and animal control was called. video of the bite went viral, but kusa fought to get it off the internet. adding the incident was traumatizing for staffers. nbc news is not showing video of the bite. now 3-year-old max is being quarantined at a denver animal shelter for ten days. his owner, michael robinson, has been cited for failure to have his dog on a leash, allowing a dog to bite and failure to have a vaccinated dog.

dyer is known for a weekly feature spotlighting animals, at the denver zoo. wednesday, she was operated on by surgeons. >> kyle went through reconstructive surgery and i think that from what i heard, the surgeon was pleased with the outcome of the surgery. >> in the moments before she was bitten. dyer's face was several inches from the dog's mouth. >> basically she did everything wrong. she went up to a dog she didn't know, who didn't know her and she either tried to kiss him, hug him on put her face much too close to his face, he felt threatened and bit her. >> a story that was supposed to have a very different ending. leaving a popular anchor recovering and the once-rescued dog now at an animal shelter. >> now dyer is expected back here at work within a few weeks. max's owner had no comment. but animal control said it's investigating and has found no evidence of any previous bites, so it's likely that max will go

home. and the station says it plans to rewrite policies when it comes to interacting with animals. but matt pointed out it does not plan to stop doing animal stories. >> we just hope she's okay, kristen dahlgren out in denver, thanks very much. it's 18 minutes after the hour. here's ann. >> kate middleton is keeping busy while her husband is away on a military deployment. the duchess of cambridge shined last night at her first sola public appearance as a royal. nbc's michelle kosinski is at buckingham palace with more. >> it's been evident from the beginning that kate is just good at this. and everywhere she goes, even out for the first time by herself, she's described as everything from kind and approachable, to dazzling and spectacular. this time, katherine wowed in glitzy, artsy crowd in a demur gray belted dress. but on her arm, she was at a art

reception. of course, katherine was the focus of the national portrait gallery. one of her newly-chosen charities. looking relaxed, showing how it's done. now that prince william or lieutenant william wales is on a six-week deployment to the faulkland islands. >> it was a very significant moment for her. a chance to express herself and represent herself on the world stage. >> he was not going to stay out of sight at the couple's remote cottage in wales. she's been seen out casually shopping with a simple gold wedding band, instead of her usual sapphire. now officially a royal in her own right. able to represent the firm on her own. and we saw her prove glitteringly during a trial run at a palace event in october. >> she's also got the sense of dew point that she's picking up from her grandmother-in-law, the queen, she's doing incredible

research as to what charities she should be endorsing. because she knows that was one of diana's strengths. >> princess diana made her first solo visit about a year after her wedding to a children's hospital which kate also recently visited with william. kate is a decade older than diana was. and wears her poise along with all of those fabulous gowns. hard to believe a few years ago, here she is doing her best to ignore the cameras. now, she owns them. so royal-watchers, watching kate navigate her first solo flight. >> the duchess of cambridge did wonderful last night. it was a freezing cold night in central london, the temperature shot up the minute she got out of the car. it was kind of electric. >> well, kate, who met her prince as an art history student in college, will soon have her own royal portrait made and she's expected to go on appearances with the queen. so she can learn from the best. ann? >> all right, michelle kosinski

this morning, thank you. coming up up in an exclusive live interview with the woman who says she was jfk's mistress for 18 months. her first, since breaking the silence after 50 years. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, new details on the murder of a university of virginia lacrosse player as her ex-boyfriend's trial gets under way. the disturbing email he sent to yeardley love just two days before her death. and just how easy it is to be criminals to get their hands on guns without background checks. the results of our hidden camera investigation after this. ♪ the wind is blowin' ♪ but i can weather the storm ♪ what do i care how much it may storm? ♪ ♪ ♪ i've got my love to keep me warm ♪

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a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. ♪ who knew being natural could be so delicious? coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. here's a look at one of our top stories. maryland lawmakers are trying to change the way the state deals with cases of sex abuse, shifting the focus to those who fail to report the crime nancy jacobs is pushing for a bill that would make it a misdemeanor

for someone to knowingly failed to report child abuse punishable by up to $1,000 fine and a year in jail. time for a look at the commute with sarah caldwell. >> plenty of problems to talk about this morning. we are dealing with an earlier vehicle fire near brokenland parkway. it is gone but there are delays around big area. washington boulevard but sulphur spring, accident at halethorpe. have the west side delays. backing up traffic on southbound 795 coming down from franklin boulevard. madison street and broadway in the city, a crash. another one at franklin square and hospital drive. brookside delays developing as well. sunshine is playing a role. coming towards us, outer loop traffic. looking at it back up, as i mentioned, all the way down the west side.

that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> you can see the sunshine out there on the traffic cameras. nice quiet start after the little storm yesterday. it is below freezing in the northwest suburbs. if you have snow on your house, there could be icing going on. high-temperature climbing to 45, above average for this time of year. another storm comes in towards the beginning of the weekend. clouds will come in on friday paid fairly decent chance of snow friday night and saturday morning. more significant snow fall in more significant snow fall in the

it is 7:30 now on a thursday morning, february 9th, 2012. kind of a cold morning here in new york city. it will warm up though as the day goes on. nice day for these people to be out and about. 34 degrees on the plaza right now. we're going to get al's forecast coming up in just a little while. meanwhile, inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. just inside, a dangerous trade for guns. >> in a hidden camera investigation, we're going to be revealing what some say is a loophole that allows anyone, even criminals to use the

internet to buy firearms. no background checks, no questions asked. and we're told, it is legal. coming up, jeff rossen is sharing his eye-opening report with us. also ahead, a "today" exclusive, the woman who says she carried out an affair with president john f. kennedy while she was a white house intern. will have a first live interview, what's it like to keep that kind of a secret for 50 years? why does she say there was a darker side to jfk? we'll talk to her about that and more in just a little while. we begin with the trial of a former university of virginia lacrosse player, accused of killing his former girlfriend. nbc's janet shamlian is in charlotte, virginia with more. >> good morning to you. at this trial gets under way, we're learning the relationship between george huguely and je d yeardley love was tumt wous and sometimes violent and often fuelled by alcohol. the bar is set very high in the trial. they have to prove intent.

as we learned in court on wednesday, it could all hinge on an email. george huguely walked into court in handcuffs and shackles. now 24 and considerably thinner than when he was arrested in may of 2010. but the murder of his on again/off again girlfriend, yeardley love. huguely has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first-degree murder. in opening statements, prosecutors told jurors they have an email that huguely sent love two days before she died that will prove intent to kill. they say that the email reads in part -- i should have killed you. after learning love had slept with someone else. >> the prosecution is initially suggesting first-degree murder. this is, this is not only was he responsible for her death, but he had planned it and he had thought about it. he had threatened to do it before. >> it was by all accounts, a turbulent relationship with unfaithfulness on both sides, even before yeardley's roommate found her bloody and face-down on her bed. the cause of death was blunt

force trauma to her head. the injuries so severe, the medical examiner had to dissect her brain to find the cause. prosecutors said huguely went to her apartment that night, kicked open the door of her bedroom and shooked her until her head hit the wall. he left with her computer and tossed it in a dumpster, they allege because it had evidence of his email. yeardley's anguished mother broke down in tears. as prosecutors told jurors the young woman lay dieing in her bed for as long as two hours before she was found. for their part, defense attorneys called love's death a shattering tragedy, but not an intentional act. they said huguely went to yeardley's apartment after a day of heavy drinking only to talk about the relationship and to work it out. >> we see times wildfire the defense will claim intoxication on the part of one or both individuals, juries are, i think, have a hard time accepting that as a defense. because most look at if you're intoxicated, that's something you did to yourself.

>> the defense said it would call a number of medical experts to testify. and suggested love could have died from an irregular heart beat related to her prescription for adderol. in a statement that seemed to boo little his own client, his attorney said he was not capable of telling a lie, saying he was not complicated, not complex, he's a lacrosse player. love's mother, sister and roommates took the stand wednesday in what was often emotional testimony. there were also details of a prior incident just a couple of months before love died in which george huguely had choked her. this case has focused new attention on domestic violence and dating violence on college campuses. ann? back to you. >> janet shamlian, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay.

>> and good morning, everybody, we've got some young ladies here. wow, i like that, using your iphone to show you love oregon. very cool. brighten it up a little bit. what's your name? >> ann. >> ava. >> you got a call coming in. only kidding. let's see what's going on for your day. we've got some cold air arctic front going to be bring big changes, teens and 20s in the plains, 30s throughout much of the country. by friday, subzero readings in the plains, teens and 20s as far south as kansas. by saturday, the cold air makes it into new england, the great lakes, all the way down to the south with 20s and 30s. rest of the day today, we're looking for plenty of rain in the pacific northwest, mountain snows in northern idaho. expect showers and snow in the panhandle of texas. eastern seaboard, fantastic. gorgeous weather, the exception, some showers and thunderstorms down in southern florida. and the bahamas, where kathie

lee and hoda are. that's wha >> good morning. it should to not to be a nice day today with temperatures around average for this time of year. don't forget, you can get your weather any time of the day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com. coming up next, a hidden camera investigation on just how easy it can be to buy guns without a background check. and it's all legal. right after this. - i'll be hom. until then, i have my wingman helping me out. tommy? - i helped dad pick it out.

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as part of the walgreens way to well commitment. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. back now at 7:40, this morning we're kicking off a new series called "rossen reports." these stories come out of a new unit led by jeff rossen. we begin with a hidden camera investigation exposing how easy it is for anyone, even criminals, to buy guns. jeff, good morning. >> good morning to you. and some say this is a major loophole in the law. at gun stores you have to get a background check before you can buy a weapon. but online, in most states, anyone from law-abiding citizens to dangerous criminals, even

terrorists, can get just about any weapon they want, no questions asked. our investigation shows the deals going down in broad daylight in suburban mall parking lots. they are some of the most lethal weapons out there. and we were able to buy all of them in a single day. with no background checks, no questions asked. it's this easy. hundreds of thousands of guns for sale, on hundreds of websites. we responded, and set up meetings at popular shopping malls. >> how much was it that we agreed on? >> 500. >> we bought everything. from this police-grade pistol. to this semi automatic assault rifle. >> what if you went and shot somebody with it? >> we did it over and over again. our buyer even hinting he's a criminal. >> no paperwork, no background checks. probably couldn't pass the darn thing, anyway. >> within hours we bought eight

guns. >> good god. >> even this 50-caliber weapon, so powerful, it could take down a helicopter. >> the people you just sold it to could be terrorists and you sold it no questions asked. >> yeah. >> remember, at a gun store, a background check is required. but online? nothing. and believe it or not, in most states -- it's completely legal. >> is this like a candy store for criminals? >> it's a weapons bazaar for criminals. >> nbc hired former ntf adviser to help with our investigation. >> somebody even with a murder conviction can log on, email someone, meet them in a parking lot and buy an ak-47. >> 34 people are murdered ever are i day in gun violence, with many of the weapons traced back to private sales just like these. >> no one should have to die like that. these two women lost their bes

friend killed by a stalker. this canadian man who crossed into the u.s. bought a gun online in seattle and then shot her 11 times. as she got into her car. >> no legitimate gun store would have sold this man a gun because he's not a u.s. citizen, he wouldn't have passed a background check. yet he was able to easily buy one online. >> there's not a doubt in my mind, had this man not been able to buy a gun online, she would still be here. >> what kind of dangerous weapons could we buy? to find out, we went online and responded to gun ads in phoenix, arizona. within minutes, we had meetings set up. our gun buyers, two arizona security experts we hired. posing as husband and wife. this man is about to sell us a tactical assault rifle. modified to use bullets for an ak-47. >> come over here real quick and i'll give you the money. >> we were watching from nearby vans as our buyers paid cash for

the guns. no questions asked. >> hi, jeff rossen with nbc news, you just sold an assault rifle to a couple of people who you have no idea who they are. or what they could do with that gun. they could go rob a bank or hurt somebody. does that ever weigh on you? >> it does, it does, but at the same time i'm not going to be responsible for what they choose to do with it. >> for our next meetings, we took it up a notch. telling the seller, point-blank, we probably can't pass a background check. will they still sell us the guns then? we're about to find out. this man is peddling a glock 23. with hollow-point bullets, made to inflict serious internal damage. >> we're not going to do any paperwork, no background checks, i probably couldn't pass it, anyway. >> i shouldn't be selling it to you. >> well anyway, i appreciate it. >> we shake on it. he told you he couldn't pass a background checks, did that raise any red flags for you? >> slightly, but in this

economy, when you need the money, you need the money. >> it's all about the cash. people could get hurt, doth that matter? >> yes. >> it didn't matter to you. >> i need the money. >> the twists and turns are just beginning. this seller shows up with a tactical shotgun and assault rifle and his 7-year-old son. remember, our buyers could be dangerous felons. >> i appreciate the fact no paperwork, no background check. 'cuz i probably couldn't pass it anyway, man. now watch as he hands the cash to his boy. jeff rossen with nbc news. how are you? >> i'm not interested in talking to you. >> we're just doing a story about online gun sales. he said he couldn't pass a background check and you still sold him the weapon. but the most scary transaction of all came after dark, in this pharmacy parking lot. the online ad was for this 50-caliber sniper rifle. the most powerful gun legally sold in the u.s. bullet range? five miles, it can pierce

armored vehicles, even bring down a helicopter. >> this is set up. >> but the seller is so laid back, you would think he's hawking a used bicycle. >> enjoy it, i know you're going to like it. >> once he got the cash, the gun was ours, no questions asked. but we had some for him. this is the gun of choice for the drug cartels worldwide this gun can take down a helicopter. >> it can take anything. it's a 50-caliber, i understand. >> you know how powerful this weapon is. >> oh, yeah. >> doesn't it concern you that you have no idea who these people are, they could be dangerous felons, terrorists. >> i never thought about it, to be honest. >> and it's happening nationwide. in new york, mayor michael bloomberg led another investigation, buying guns online in 14 states. even after their buyer said they couldn't pass a background check. >> i don't know what it takes, how many people, who has to get murdered before congress is going to stand up and say enough of this? >> so what's the government

doing about did? it turns out there's a bill that would close this loophole. and require background checks for all gun sales. even online. but that bill has been sitting in committee for nearly a year. >> maybe your report will motivate people to act. >> new york senator, chuck schumer is sponsoring the bill. >> with all due respect, as congress continues to debate this and play politics, authorities say criminals, dangerous criminals in many cases are buying guns online. >> the nra is one of the most powerful lobbies in washington and despite the overwhelming evidence, that we should do something, which your report buttresses, the odds of us being able to do something are not high. >> the nra says it opposes the bill because it has many serious flaws. but wouldn't comment about online gun sales. in the past, the nra has fought background checks for any private sales. but victims say, until the law is changed, more innocent people will die. >> all they care about is

profit. profit over lives. and it's wrong. >> keep in mind, this is legal. and lots of people in this country support private gun sales without background checks. they say it's not about making money or profit, it's about their individual rights. as for the eight guns we bought, we turned them over to the phoenix police department, where matt, that police department will actually destroy them. >> i mentioned going into the story, it's the first story coming out of this new unit that you've set up. what's the goal of the unit? >> we know how important these stories are, investigative journalism is incredibly important. we want to focus on consumer investigations, the world of finance, politics, the sky's the limit. we want to do more of these and dig in with hidden camera investigations and whatever else. >> we've got a website set up so people can get to you and give you story ideas? >> today.com, it's called rossen reports, click on it and send us whatever ideas you have. nothing is too small. >> jeff rossen, great story, thanks very much. still ahead, today's professionals weigh in on one

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♪ just ahead, we'll pose a question, did president kennedy have a darker side. a former white house intern says she was his teenaged mistress for 18 months opens up in her first live interview coming up. and i don't know if you've noticed it's extremely quiet around here because hoda and kathie lee are in the bahamas taking the bahamas by storm. we'll check in with them live. but first, these messages and a check of your local news and weather. i'd race down that hill without a helmet.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a check on the morning commute. >> trying to wrap up the rush hour. not happening soon enough. we accident in bel air at henderson wrote. if you travel there, watch for possible delays. breaks in the white marsh area. topside outer the, the same situation for belair all the way towards the harrisburg

expressway. 13 miles per hour on the west side outer loop. washington boulevard and silver spring, watch for crash. that's give you a quick live look at traffic. here is what it looks like at greenspring, and a traffic towards the j.f.x. idea of traffic in the area of old court. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony, over to you. >> fairly nice start this morning. plenty of sunshine to start the day. 28 in randallstown, 27 in parkton. if you have snow in our house, you could have a touch of ic ing going on. sunshine will help us warm quickly into the afternoon. high temperatures will raise between 42 and 47. average height is 44. things will change as we go into

the weekend. and others from developing perhaps for friday night and saturday morning. -- another storm developing perhaps for friday night and saturday morning. a decent chance for more snow friday night and saturday morning. it should clear up in the afternoon on saturday. 36 on sunday. 36 on sunday. it will

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8:00 now on a thursday morning, it's the 9th day of february, 2012. and we have stepped outside to join our new friends who are gathered in our corner of rockefeller plaza. we're glad to have them here. and it seems to be warming up slightly. i'm ann curry, along with matt lauer and al roker. coming up next, we'll be hearing in a live interview with mimi alford, she claimed she had an 18-month affair when she was a 19-year-old white house intern. and she's here to speak in her first live interview about the

relationship that she said she had with president kennedy. and also about his darker side. matt? also ahead, who here is actively trying to save for retirement? a couple of people? you may think you're doing everything right. morning about five things you could be doing right now, that could actually sabotage your financial future. we'll tell you more about that. >> the truth is we should all be raising our hands, everyone should be saving for retirement. >> including the grammy-nominated band, the friends. they are making hay now and put it away. but they're going to be in our studio, not only making money, but making music. >> they are so talented. also talented. savannah gulf guthrie in for natalie this morning. in the news, republicans are vowing an election-year fight over the obama administration's controversial contraception mandate. the rule would require catholic schools, charities and hospitals to provide contraception coverage in employee health care plans.

even though catholic doctrine forbids contraception. on wednesday, house speaker john boehner said congress will take action if the rule is not reversed. on the campaign trail, mitt romney has been criticizing the administration for the policy, but romney himself is under fire for requiring hospitals to provide the morning after pill to rape victims when romney was governor of massachusetts. indiana's top state fair official has testified that the country duo, sugarland resisted delaying their show last august, despite threatening weather before a stage scaffolding collapsed in a thunderstorm, killing seven people and injuring 58 others that testimony came from a deposition in a lawsuit that was released wednesday after the stage-rigging company, a stage hands union and the state fair commission were fined a total of $80,000 by state labor officials. suing arland was not fined. a representative for the band did not immediately respond to a request for comments from the "associated press." caught on tape in georgia, a

7-year-old girl foiled what police say was an attempted kidnapping in the toy aisle of a walmart store. the girl kicked and screamed and the man let her go unharmed. police say the suspect, arrested a short time later is on parole for manslaughter. washington state lawmakers have cleared the way for the state to legalize gay marriage. the move will make washington the seventh state in the country it allow same-sex couples to wed. the governor is expected to sign the bill next week. that bill was passed just one day after a federal appeals court declared california's ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick round-up will have you talking online. texas model lauren scruggs has returned to her fashion blog for the first time since december. when she was disfigured after accidentally walking into a moving airplane propeller. she also tweeted that she's trying to find a replacement for her favorite jeans she lost with help from the true religion company. a story we told you about

earlier is trending on yahoo. duchess of cambridge, kate middleton looked stunning last night in her first solo engagement at a private showing at the national portrait gallery. and sports fans are tweeting little-known facts about nba players concocted by funnyman will ferrell when he introduced a bulls/hornets last night in new orleans. >> at forward, number 5, he still lives with his mother, carlos boozer. >> number one, his favorite movie is "the notebook" derek rose. >> at center, 6'10", from connecticut, where he majored in econ, but he minored in love, omeka okafor. >> ferrell is in new orleans to shoot the movie "die fight." it is 8:04, back to matt and ann. >> i wonder if they thought that was that funny.

all those players. >> i don't know, they didn't seem like they were laughing. you're a big fan of "the notebook." >> i knew you were going to say that. >> we both watched it and you shed a tear. >> buckets. mr. roker? >> how many people here liked that movie? see? no, not so much? you were looking for the car chase in it, weren't you? let's check your weather, see what's happening. for those of us who are a little more sensitive. our pick city of the day, boise, idaho, idaho news channel 7, cloudy, cool, 48 degrees. we've got rain making its way into oregon and washington today, sunny skies in the northeast. some snowshowers around the central great lakes. rain and snow in the panhandle. tomorrow, some snow makes its way into the northeast. we've got rain down to the gulf. heavy rain moves into the pacific northwest. northern california, showers all the way down to the gulf coast. with some hit-and-miss thunderstorms, rain throughout much of florida. >> good morning.ing on around

there could be a few icy spots out there. we expect mostly sunny skies. al, thanks very much. when we come back, the former white house intern who claims she had an 18-month-long affair with jfk. we'll talk to her right after this. matoday is the day... ♪ ...you make a change with hellmann's. ♪

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jfk ha a tall, slender, beautiful white house intern was rumored to be among the president's many paramours. at the time, mimi wasn't offering details. she released a short statement confirming the affair, and then disappeared. now in a tell-all book, "once upon a secret," she reveals explicit details about her alleged affair with jfk, which include close encounters in this white house swimming pool, losing her virginity to the president in jackie kennedy's bedroom. sleep-overs at the white house and trips with the 35th president. mimi alford, good morning to you. and welcome. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> watching the interviews that meredith vieira did with you last night. you watched it as well -- >> i did. >> i was struck by how you are still sad after 50 years. by all that's happened. what makes you most sad? >> what really makes me most sad is not having been able to talk.

not having been able to talk about what i was part of, what had happened to me. and that's what makes me the saddest. >> you write -- >> and also that you know, going back and from hindsight, looking back as that relationship i had with president kennedy was, was so imbalanced. though there were lots of positive things about it for me. it was also imbalanced. so it wasn't, it didn't help me learn how to have a real relationship with a man. >> so you're sad in part for that 19-year-old, happy, joyful, fun-to-be around girl, who suddenly lost her innocence? >> yes. but she also had fun. i also had fun. so i'm sad for that, that she -- but i had a good time. i was there. >> you write that for years afterwards, you were quote emotionally crippled. and you were struggling to overcome the consequences of that relationship.

do you think we would ever be sitting here if you had not been outed in 2003? >> i can't say for sure. but i don't think so. because so many things would have been different in my life, and what's given me the confidence to tell my story and to talk about my story now, is that i have a life and a relationship that has given me space to be myself. all of me. and i think that that's, that's what changed. >> and so you tell the story now of this intern who on her fourth day as an intern at the white house, was invited to join the president, essentially, in a swimming pool. and then later on, being led then to private quarters, and then, invited by the president on a tour to mrs. kennedy's bedroom. what happened in that bedroom, mimi? >> well the president had invited me to take a tour of the white house. of the upstairs of the white

house. and i followed along behind him. and as i say in my book, really feeling as if i was being pulled by a magnet. and in the last room that we went into, was the bedroom. i learned that it was mrs. kennedy's bedroom. and the president came very close to me and put his hands on my shoulders. and guided me down to the edge of the bed. and i lost my virginity right there. i feel that i was, it wasn't something that i had planned. and certainly not something that i was expecting to have happen. on the other hand, i think i allowed it to happen. >> you didn't say no? >> i didn't say no. >> but at 19 years old, as you were in this situation, that you didn't expect, what did you

think was happening to you? >> i'm not sure i knew what was going to happen. and i think i was taken by surprise. and i think that i felt -- if i can recall my feelings from that moment, it would have been that it was almost what i was supposed to be doing. it's very odd to feel that way. but it was, i didn't, i didn't say no. and i didn't, i didn't feel like i was really being forced. >> but you were definitely in a state of shock afterward? >> i think i must have been, yes. >> were you in a state of shock, do you think, during? >> no. i don't think so. >> you didn't tell your parents. you went home. >> yes. >> you didn't want to be around anyone. you took a shower. >> well i went home, no the to my parents' home, but to where i was living in georgetown. and my roommate there, she wasn't home. and i did, i took a shower and i just tried to put my mind around what had happened.

and i really, i didn't call my parents. >> why not? why didn't you call your parents and tell them what had happened? >> i don't know. i think it was an era when we really, when i didn't really have that kind of a relationship with my parents, that i would have told them. and that makes me sad, and i regret that today. i regret that my parents don't know. maybe not even at that moment, if i hadn't told them. but later on, because they would have known more about me. >> but did you feel that they would have comforted you? do you think that would have understood? or do you think when you talk about this being that era, are you thinking that they would have condemned you? >> i think at the time, i didn't think that. i just thought, this has happened. and i was just trying to understand it myself. so i didn't reach out to them. >> after that, you were invited

to another swim. >> yes. >> and there was a pivotal, you call it a pivotal moment. >> uh-huh. >> because you were pretty shocked as you write about it in the book, but you said yes. >> i know. >> why did you say yes? >> well, you have to understand what it was like to be in the white house at that time. and this is president kennedy. and this was, i was being included in a small group of people that knew him. it was very, it was almost like being swept away. >> but at the same time, you say you always called him mr. president. you didn't call him jack. >> always mr. president. >> there was always a separation. he was an older man, you were 19. >> right. >> you didn't have conversations about world events. >> no. >> he never kissed you? >> that is right. the relationship was very imbalanced. i was 19, he was 45. but i accepted that imbalance.

because i think i felt very special from having been included. >> do you believe that if your story is true, do you believe that president john f. kennedy abused his power in having a relationship with a 19-year-old intern? >> you know, as i've said before, he was extremely powerful. he was very alluring. he was very, he made you feel, made me feel as if i was the only person in his presence. and if that's an abuse of power, yes. but i didn't ever feel abused. >> did you feel that you were in some ways being abusive, in the sense that he was married? did you think about mrs. kennedy? >> no. >> were you aware, i'm having an

affair with the president of the united states, who is married? >> i hate to admit today, that i didn't feel guilty. but i was 19 years old. and i was very young. and i was being included in something so glamorous and special, that i didn't feel guilty. and today, i regret that. >> do you feel guilty today? >> i feel guilty about not having felt guilty about mrs. kennedy, yes. >> what's also surprising is that at some point, you started to spend the night at, and you would actually walk past some of the president's i guess secret service agents on the way back downstairs to go back to work where you were an intern. how many people knew about this mimi? >> i don't know how many people knew. but certainly secret service that were there at the elevator

on the second floor would have known. the thing that's so amazing to me is that those, that all felt very natural. and that's what's so interesting to me. looking back. i didn't feel like i was really hiding. i felt like it was natural. >> so if what you're saying is true, it begs the question -- how was the president able to live i this kind of way? with a wife and children being present, being the united states and having as you put it, a relationship with a 19-year-old? there's something that mrs. kennedy said in some oral history just a few months after her husband's death. that it's interesting to listen to as we talk about this. let's take a listen to what she had to say. >> he really kept his life in compartments, and the wonderful thing is that everyone in every one of those compartments was ready to die for him.

>> you wrote that the president's compartmentalizing allowed him to effectively segregate people in all areas of his life. >> right. well that's how i felt and i also had read that. i hadn't heard mrs. kennedy's tapes. but i had read that in ted sorenson's book. a lot of people felt he compartmentalized. was good at that. and i think that's exactly what he did. >> an example of that would be what you write about the president, as he was dealing with the cuban missile crisis, having you upstairs, in his bedroom. >> yeah. >> while he was negotiating a standoff with khrushchev. describe that time? >> it's really ludicrous that i was there. i realized that today. but i wanted to be there. and obviously the president wanted me there, too. and i was there.

>> you also write about some very tough stuff that meredith also asked you about last night. let me ask you about, you say in the book, that the president encouraged you to try a drug at a party at bing crosby's house. that the president emotionally abused you by suggesting that you sexually service another person, and that at one point you thought you were pregnant and you called the president. and what was his reaction? >> it was to get help for me, to take care of that. but you know my, i included these dark, this dark side and these dark memories i have of the president in my book. because first, i had them in. then i would take them out, and then i would put them back in and take them out. and i really felt that i needed to do that. i needed to include them, because my book is about being honest. and i -- if i had kept all of

that out, it would have been just another layer of a secret, really. >> at the same time, mimi, you know that all the principles who principals are not around to defend themselves. what do you say to people who say look, you're profiting off a story. you're making money. >> i know. >> off of this. what do you say to that? >> i wrote this book because of the secret that i held. and that was the focus of my book. there's no way i could have separated the kennedy's name from the book. because that's part of the story. and that's how i feel. people will have their judgments. and they're entitled to them. >> what about caroline, who is still alive? she's going to have to deal at some point with the fact of this. did you think about, as you talk about, unburdening yourself? the idea that you burdened other

people with this? >> well i don't intentionally burden someone else. i'm telling my story. and that is what i needed to do. >> any push-back from the kennedy family? yes or no? >> no. >> all right. mimi alford, thank you so much. >> thank you, ann. back right after this. e park has been here since the early 50s. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well. [ ilona ] i come to ge after the plant i was working at closed after 33 years. ge's giving me the chance to start back over. [ cindy ] there's construction workers everywhere. so what does that mean? it means work. it means work for more people. [ brian ] there's a bright future here, and there's a chance to get on the ground floor of something big, something that will bring us back. not only this company, but this country.

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and fuel efficiency that respects the earth. gimme 43 miles per gallon. and the rush of 200 horsepower. what i want is the best of both worlds. [ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 camry hybrid. from toyota. ♪ >> 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 one to commit sarah caldwell. >> holding onto a lot of delays this morning. fountain green road and henderson road, an accident still mopping up. these delays continue down to the 895 split. 14 miles per hour on average

approaching 795 bit southbound 795, backed up as a result. j.f.x., looking at delays southbound from the beltway all the way into town. let's give you a live view of some of those delays this morning. that is the pace of things all the way into town. there is an accident just into fayette street that could be adding to those delays. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. john collins joins us with a look at the forecast. >> really nice morning. barometer is up. northwest breeze at a miles per hour. " out to the north. storm system developing to the southwest. high-pressure overhead. that will be the case during the day. and much of tomorrow. mostly sunny forecast today. every few clouds except in the

mountains. chilly conditions, though. northwest winds at about 10 miles an hour. tomorrow is a good day, too. we will still be in the 40's. perhaps it near 50 in a couple of cases. rain-snow mix on saturday, maybe some flurries and sunday. >> another update

8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 9 th day of february, 2012. kind of a chilly morning in new york. 33 degrees or so. warming up, we're going to warm things up in a couple of minutes as we get a performance in our studio from the grammy-nominated

band, the fray, celebrating ten years together. outside on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry, al roker and savannah guthrie. >> and coming up, mark lipman who knows how to cook everything, he's going to take on root vegetables. he's going to make them taste good. and our families will love them. we'll find out how, coming up. today's professionals are also here with a lot of hot topics to discuss, including the controversy stirred up when jcpenney made ellen degeneres its national spokeswoman, there's a group called one million moms who protested. we'll get into that. we're going to head down to the bahamas, a beautiful paradise today, tomorrow, who knows. >> kathie lee and hoda will be there. >> paradise island, the bahamas. you look great. >> how is it? >> we thought it was a great place to come and air out ourc o

cocon coconuts. >> we're excited for you, we hope you have a great time while you're there. you're missing somebody who is in the house, pretty exciting here. >> on the plaza, an extraordinarily talented actor, gary oldman is here, he just picked up an oscar nomination for his work on "tinker, tailor, soldier, spy." for people who aren't familiar with the title, can you put it in perspective for us? >> well it's the name of the suspects, there is -- a double inside mi-5, mi-6. >> a mole. >> and he's giving secrets to the russians. and so it's sort of the title is really about a code name from the, taken from the child's nursery rhyme. are you familiar with it? >> absolutely. >> a throw-back, this is during

the cold war and a different time. >> yes. a different time. i mean -- i don't know if much has changed, really. the place has changed. the location changes. the enemy changes. but we're still, i think we're still dealing with some of the same things. you know we go through periods of sort of stability with the occasional promise of annihilation as we were dealing with back then. >> you know, you're getting this, you got this nomination for playing a mild-mannered spy. >> very mild mannered. >> which isn't the nature of the roles we've seen you in. many of them incredibly intense. isn't that sort of interesting? >> i mean i'm very proud of the movie. and i'm proud that, i'm delighted that there's the nomination for, particularly for george smiley. he is such a wonderful character and he's an iconic literary

figure. and so all of that sort of crazy mad work i've done over the years, i get the nod for what one good people have been calling minimalist role. >> they're also calling it a flawless performance and you've been called the best actor on the planet. you should get a t-shirt made with that. >> you remember who said those. peter traverse. >> congratulations. >> thank you. now mr. roker with a check of the weather. >> let's find out what's going on as far as your weekend is concerned. we've got snowshowers here in the northeast on saturday, rain in the pacific northwest. mild in the southwest, cool around the gulf coast, snowshowers around the great lakes which will continue on sunday -- sunday! more frigid weather in new england, lake-effect snow in the eastern great lakes, rain west texas on into the southwest with some mountain snows there. and some clouds along coastal pacific northwest. that's what'

>> good morning. it should to not to be a nice day today with temperatures around average for this time of year. don't, you can get your weather any time of the day or night, you can go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. and now miss curry. >> well, al, i found some kids out here who look their root vegetables, especially carrots, that's great, because we'll find out how to cook them.

we're back now at 8:37, with" how to cook everything." this morning we're going underground to cook root vegetables, mark pittman is our chef, his recipes also appear in the "new york times" magazine. i don't picture you as an underground guy. >> i was once an underground guy. >> some root vegetables are more familiar to people than others, why don't you point out a couple of them. >> this is bizarre to people, that's celeriac, it's related to celery, it's a celery root. and oddly enough, you can roast this thing with all of those weird, hairy things on there and it's quite good, but most people peel them. these are the kind of beets that are grown mostly for the greens, which are similar to chard. but they come in all colors, shapes a ss and sizes.

and radishes, parsnips, carrots. >> now if you want to eat something that's in season or close to root vegetables are where it's at. >> the rumor is that the more you cook them, the sweeter they become. >> some of them are sweet raw, but all of them are sweet cooked. >> what are we making? >> this is basically a saute of grated root vegetables. so i like for these, a u-shaped peeler. you can use whatever you want. and peel around like that. or whatever is comfortable for you. some people like to peel in strips. some people even like to peel right-handed, which i don't get. >> lefties, unite. >> and you can grate on a box grate or much quicker of course is a food processor. the joke when my grandmother, who made a lot of root vegetables was grating, is that nothing is any good unless

there's a bit of a knuckle in there. >> you've got onions sautes in here with a little olive oil. >> and grated radish, turnip, carrots and sweet potato. it goes in there with some garlic and salt and pepper. of course. >> how long is this going to saute? >> pretty quick, especially if you get the heat to the right level. ten or 15 minutes, you can cut this in chunks in a way, it's equally nice effect. we have a nicer chew when you're dow done. but if you're interested in speed, this is the way to go. this is what this looks like. >> you're not going to brown these, you're just kind of cooking them until they get nice and soft? >> and they're beautiful, and some scallions, a little bit of cayenne. and some fish sauce or sherry. >> why the fish sauce? >> we're doing sort of a vietnamese preparation. but you can flavor these, lemon and vinegar would give you sort

of an italian kind of thing. or a tarragon. >> it turns out looking something like this. >> it turns out looking exactly like that. >> let's come over here, i want to talk about this other one. you're going to do sauteed beets now? >> this is really great. this is, i just started at the end and show you. to get this beautiful glazed look on these beets, it's quite easy. you put beets in a pan with some butter. >> when you cook beets, they're going to bleed. i mean they tend this color beet, they tend to get the purple sauce all over everything. and yet i'm looking over here, for some reason you've managed to separate them. >> the real dangerous thing is cutting and peeling them. and i always do that in the sink. sort of because -- >> it really does stain. >> a little white wine, a little stock. the great thing, the thing i like most about these -- we should have a cover, but we

don't. so anyway, we cook these, you know, i like that, you know what, you know what you're doing. >> using your surroundings. >> you cook these until they start to boil and you cover them and you cook them for a few minutes. and you take the cover off and cook out all the liquid and what you have is this beautiful, buttery glaze on here. >> all right. >> and then they're really sweet. great at room temperature. >> they're really good. tell me about this potato nick? >> that's my grandmother's name. a recipe i learned from my grandmother. it is essentially one huge potato latka. grated potatoes, onions, eggs, cooked in a big pan, turned over. >> you know, technically potatoes are tubers, not vegetables. >> i do know that, i was waiting for you to say that. the entire segment is failure. >> mark bittman, thank you. up next, five things that

could be ruining your retirement plans.

back now at 8:44, this morning on today's money, five things that will sabotage your retirement savings and how to avoid them. here with important advice is the money coach, lynnette cox. it's great to have you here. tell us first of all before we get to these ideas, the pitfalls. what are the pitfalls? >> there's a ton of pitfalls when it comes to saving for retirement. the biggest one is doing nothing whatsoever and just waiting until the very last minute. i talk to a lot of people who are in the 50-plus crowd and they say, i wish i had started saving earlier, i wish i had planned better. >> and when we talk about the five things you can do to sabotage. let's talk about the number one. you say following the herd. >> that's right. >> why is that a mistake? >> when you think about people who are investing and saving for the long-term, looking at their

retirement game plan, they often try to do what ever else does. right now there's the idea about facebook going public, right? and people thinking should i buy shares in facebook? and people have started asking me this question. listen, just because everybody is else is buying microsoft, google, intel, facebook, whatever -- that doesn't necessarily mean that that's the right investment for you. you really do have to think long-term about your own goals and needs and about your appropriate level of risk when it comes to investing. so don't always follow the herd. >> that's good advice. you also say that our kids can be also saboteurs. why? >> i'm not blaming the kids here, i blame us as the parents. let me make that very clear here. but frankly, it doesn't matter whether or not you have a newborn baby, a teenager or an adult child. so often parents go overboard when it comes to their children, and they sacrifice their own retirement. now, again, let me be clear, i've got three kids of my own and we're saving and planning for their college education, et cetera. but some people will for

example, make the mistake of funding their children's say 529 plan and saving absolutely nothing for retirement. others will go crazy with the gadgets and the toys. people are putting their kids in private school, they can't afford the college tuition, so they're borrowing from their 401(k). and when the kids get older, a lot of people in their 60s say they're supporting their adult children. at some point you have to learn when to draw the limit, when to say no and when to focus on your own retirement. >> you don't want your kids to feel the burden of having to take care of you financially. >> that's right. >> a reality check for homeowners, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. >> obviously we've seen a huge bust in the real estate market. so many people overimprove their homes or they did the bling-bling thing, they bought the mcmansions, added a sefl level. they got the granite countertops and the marble floors. by the time your kids are going

to college, you might not need this big house and you might not even want to have a really expensive note, a mortgage along with the property taxes, the insurance, maintenance, upkeep, when you're heading towards retirement. so think twice about that. >> don't have all of your money in your home is your bottom line. right. >> and you say tapping retirement early, that's a mistake. when should you be tapping your retirement. >> under federal law, if you're under 59 1/2 and you tap into your 401(k) prematurely, you have to pay two things, ordeinay income taxes on that and also a 10% penalty. some people try to get around it by not taking a straight withdrawal, but by taking a loan. problem is some people borrow year after year from your 401(k), you're depleting your nest egg. >> we don't have time for the other one, i can list it for you, and you say don't pay excessive fees, don't do it. >> people have asked me and the

fees are big. so just avoid them when necessary is the short answer there. >> thank you for having some very good information this morning. the biggest one is get started if you haven't. coming up, we've got a live performance from the hit band, the fray. we're excited to hear them. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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.

the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota. >> the denver-based rock band, the fray, formed in 2002, their debut album was an immediate success, now four grammy nominations later, they're celebrating ten years together with the release of their new album, it's called "scars and stories." guys, good morning, nice to have you here. "scars and stories." what's that about? >> i think scars are really sexy. they're kind of a map of who you are and where you've been and there was this moment in any relationship when you kind of have to show those and the girl leaves because it's too much or she stays and it gets very interesting. >> ten years together. is this the point where it's gotten interesting for you guys? when you look back at these ten years, is this the ride you thought you were about to take? >> i mean it's a trip. we were just writing songs in our basement, trying to quit our

day job. do you have any suggestions on a ten-year gift? >> what's the gift on a ten-year anniversary? i don't know what it is. >> it's a vase? >> you don't seem like the vase type to me for some reason. tell me about the new album. i mean you got a new producer on this and i've heard a lot of you think it's the best work you've done yet. >> yeah, brendan was massively helpful for us, he kind of turned up the confidence knob a bit. and we also pushed the piano away, which was fun for me. >> you guys are on tour with u2 and now going on your own tour, 25 cities this month? >> it's exciting to be out doing it, no offense against the tv stuff. >> we like having you here. >> come back in between shows, what are you going to play right now? >> a new single called heartbeat. >> ladies and gentlemen, the fray. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ stuck on a highway. ♪ ♪ trains coming down underground ♪ i can feel the breath of your body ♪ ♪ got to keep on moving until we see the sun ♪ ♪ oh you got a fire ♪ it's burning the same ♪ and ♪ ♪ i feel your heartbeat ♪ ♪ it's coming around ♪ you love somebody ♪ you gotta love somebody

♪ love them all the same ♪ i'm singing oh, i'm feeling your heartbeat ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ oh you gotta fire and it's burning in the rain ♪ ♪ thought that it went out, but it's burnin' just the same ♪ ♪ and you don't look back ♪ not for anything ♪ 'cuz you love someone ♪ you love them all the same ♪ if you love someone ♪ you love them all the same ♪ oh, i feel your heartbeat ♪ and oh, you're comin' around ♪ comin' around, comin' around

♪ and you got love somebody ♪ love them all the same ♪ you gotta love somebody ♪ love them all the same ♪ i'm singing oh, i feel your heartbeat ♪ i know the memories rushing into my your mind ♪ ♪ i want to kiss your scars tonight ♪ ♪ i'm laying here ♪ cuss you gotta try ♪ you gotta let me in, let me in ♪ ♪ oh i feel your heartbeat and oh you're comin' around ♪ ♪ comin' around, comin' around ♪ you gotta love somebody ♪ you gotta, you gotta love

somebody ♪ you gotta ♪ ♪ i'm singing oh ♪ i feel your heartbeat ♪ oh your heartbeat ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ oh yeah ♪ your heartbeat your heartbeat ♪ [ applause ] >> the fray, the album is called "scars and stories" we're back in a moment, but first these messages and your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. maryland students proved they are on top once again.

for the fourth year in a row, state students have earned the highest advanced placement scores in the nation. students who take college level courses rece

>> after kind of a wintry day yesterday with an anemic snowfall at light rainfall, a different flavor. lots of sunshine. temperatures 42 to 47. close to normal for this time of year sunset is later each day. it means we're getting closer to. --