♪ and i will always love you >> i just want to say to whitney up in heaven, we all love you, whitney houston. >> we've had a death in our family. >> back n with more of "today" on a monday morning. 13th of february 2012. those were some of the star tributes last night at the staples center in los angeles as the music world got together and remembered whitney houston. inside the studio i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker and savannah guthrie. whitney houston's untimely death is sinking in for a lot of

people, a lot of friends and family members and fans she had all around the world. >> that's right, matt. she was arguably one of the greatest singers of all time with a voice that was unparalleled for decades. tributes have been pouring in from around the world and especially through social media. also some of her greatest hits are once again topping the charts. >> houston was only 48 years old. she was found in a bathtub saturday in her room at the beverly hilton. an autopsy has been performed. it could be weeks before an official cause of death is determined. we'll have more on that in a live report from los angeles ahead. >> we'll talk with her long-time friend who was is last person to perform on stage with whitney houston on friday. kelly price will join us with more on whitney houston's life, legacy and impact on the music world. >> thousand for more on this and other top stories, natalie is at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with the latest into

whitney houston's death as we learn more about the troubled singer's final hours. nbc's jeff rossen is in los angeles with more. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: hey, natalie. good morning to you. the investigation certainly under way at this point. we are here at the l.a. county coroner's office. the autopsy on whitney houston's body is complete though they are not releasing the official cause of death yet awaiting toxicology reports which could take, by the way, six to eight weeks. it all comes down to the tox report now. basically to figure out was there drugs in whitney houston's body and what were they? ♪ and i >> reporter: the grammys sunday night weren't supposed to sound like this. a powerful tribute to whitney houston, care of jennifer hudson.

♪ love you [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: who knew it would end this way? inside a bathtub at the luxurious beverly hilton, whitney houston was reportedly in the bathroom for a while. tmz reports members of her entourage were hanging out on the other side of the door in her fourth floor suite. one of them finally went in and the coroner said discovered the singer's body in the bathtub. tmz reports she was under water and unresponsive. >> when officers arrived in the hotel room on the 4th floor, fire department and security were already attempting resuscitation measures. >> reporter: authorities found prescription pill bottles in her room including the powerful anti-anxiety drug xanax. it was too late for cpr. "the voice" was gone. >> no visible signs of trauma. foul play is not suspected at this time. >> reporter: whitney's

ex-husband bobby brown got word while performing in mississippi and reacted on stage. >> i just want to say, i love you, whitney. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: sunday the couple's only daughter bobbi kristina was rushed to the hospital for stress but was released hours later. some say the warning signs of whitney's deterioration were there, just 48 hours before her death. thursday night, her final performance. sounding like a shell of her former self and outside the club many say she looked like a shell of her former self. mismatched clothes with visible scratches and blood running down her leg. >> in my opinion she seemed like she was under the influence of something -- be it drugs or alcohol, i don't know. but she certainly seemed not to be all there. >> reporter: kelly carter is a journalist who spent time with the star. you interviewed whitney houston four months ago.

how did she look? >> great. she was polished, witty, engaging and funny. the narrative she had was clear -- i'm back, i'm better than ever. >> reporter: you saw her this past thursday. how did she look? >> clothing was dishevelled. she spoke in rapid fire succession which was odd and threw me off a little bit. just wasn't the whitney i had just talked to a few months before. >> reporter: whitney had been to rehab three times. so was this the end of a long battle with addiction or was it something else? this case is now on what's called a security hold here at the medical examiner's office. pretty common in these high profile situations. that way more information isn't re-reesed as police try to figure out what happened in the final hours for whitney houston at the beverly hilton. they are now interviewing

several members, all of them, in fact, of whitney's entourage that were in the room to find out what did happen. >> thank you, jeff. president obama is sending a new budget to congress today in a bid to reduce the deficit by some $4 trillion over the next decade. the spending blueprint outlines plans to cut government spending and raise taxes on the wealthiest americans. mitt romney got back on track this weekend in the republican presidential race. he won the maine caucuses and a straw poll of conservative activists at a cpac event in washington. on sunday, rick santorum suggested romney's staff rigged the cpac vote by purchasing tickets for supporters. romney's campfired back that santorum has a history of making statements not grounded in the truth. love conquered all at the box office in the weekend before valentine's day. "the vow" with rachel mcadams and channing tatum took in more than $41 million dollars and

took the top spot. then "safe house" with ryan reynolds and denzel washington while "journey 2: the mysterious island" was in third. in nagano japan, each year people watch monkeys relax. they munch on apples and groom each other before returning to the forest. looks like he's enjoying it there. seven minutes past the hour. back to you. i wasn't going to say anything. >> i don't know if it's weird that you would touch my hair or you think i look like those monkeys. that you even found hair. no hair. nothing. >> no worries. >> let's check on the weather from al. >> wow. for today we have a system coming out of the plains bringing rain to the gulf coast and an icy mix to the mid

mississippi river valley. snow to the north. as the system pushes east it will spread snow from omaha to chicago, detroit. look for rain through new orleans and the gulf coast. snowfall amounts fairly light. anywhere from one to three inches. locally heavier amounts of four to six before it's over in the next 24 hours. >> good morning. things are settling down today. still a little chilly this morning but the weather should be quiet. >> and that's your latest weather. savannah? >> more now on the life and legacy of whitney houston. recently her battle with

addiction and personal struggles took center stage. but whitney houston will be remembered, of course, for her voice. ji joe levy is here from rolling stone and "weekends of bellevue" author julie holland join us. in the end, won't whitney houston be remembered as the amazing voice? >> sure. absolutely. you know, her struggles were her struggles. the only person she hurt and the only person we talk about her possibly having hurt is herself. so when we find out what happened, of course we'll remember the music. that's what a lot of us are focused on now. one of the greatest singers in popular music. certainly one of the greatest in the last 20, 30 years. someone who influenced so many singers from the next generation and established a way of singing. >> you know, it's hard to remember a time for a certain generation when there wasn't

whitney houston on the scene. what did she bring to this industry? how did she transform it? >> well, you know, she established a way of approaching a song vocally. when you hear mariah carey, beyonce, jennifer hudson, anyone on "american idol" or talent shows take a vocal run where they are breaking up one syllable into many, many parts and playing with the melody, that's a whitney houston style. it's a church style, but she brought it into pop r & b soul and codified it. she influenced everyone from maria carey to lady gaga. >> you look at somebody like whitney houston who just reached the heights of success absolutely but obviously something was ultimately so shattering for her to be in that limelight. what do you think it is about that kind of fame that can be so trying for some of our brightest stars? >> i don't know. when she started in the early '90s she was very strong and

before she met bobbybrown had these problems. not everyone in the limelight ends up taking drugs. >> we see the pattern repeated time and again. you hate to lump people together, but you think of amy winehouse, michael jackson. >> yeah. you see this pattern in the entertainment industry. of course many of us know a family member or friend who has also struggled with addiction. addiction doesn't care whether you are famous or not. we talk about pressures when you're a star and we don't talk about the sense of entitlement when you're a star. the sense that i can do anything, nothing can hurt me. everyone is here to protect me. >> and people don't say no to you. they don't cut you off, confront you, say, i think you have a problem. they are enabling you. you have more enablers in that situation. also something i want to comment on about her hurting no one but herself. she has a daughter. so i don't agree. there is another victim here. >> absolutely a fair point. >> when i'm drunk and there are

kids around you're not fully attending to them. >> it's early on in the investigation and we don't get toxicology back for weeks but it was reported that xanax, the anti-anxiety medicine was found in her hotel room. that's a legal drug but we hear it time and again. >> it is highly abusable. it creates tolerance and dependent. there is withdrawal syndrome. it's a controlled substance. it's one of the most popular prescriptions in america. millions of americans, especially women are taking anti-anxiety meds. over a hundred million prescriptions for these benzodyazapimes. they are cutting into the market for illicit drugs. prescription drug abuse is the new most popular thing to be abused in america. >> the withdrawal is tremendously painful and difficult. >> the most important take-home message is that combining the sedatives with alcohol is deadly.

especially if you're in a bathtub. it's possible if she were just in her bed we wouldn't be having this conversation. when you're combining benzo and alcohol you get sedated and you won't wake up if your face is covered with water. >> you mentioned her influence. it seemed she was hoping to be poised for a comeback with the new movie coming out. there was a record with critical success. >> not the best of her records but there were moments. in 2010 she went on tour. several of the tour dates were cancelled. people walked out of some dates, wanted their money back. it was clear her voice wasn't there. i worry about the pressure that creates on people with incredible instruments who has to step on stage. >> incredible expectations. it would be overwhelming indeed. thank you for your time and perspective. much more on the tributes to whitney houston as we remember

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sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain. whitney houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night, the grammys. last night the show did go on with heart felt tributes to the music superstar. now more from nbc's kristen dahlgren.

♪ and i will always love you >> reporter: from the start there was no ignoring the magnitude of the loss. >> we have had a death in our family. >> reporter: the audience, full of music royalty bowed their heads and joined in prayer. >> although she is gone too soon we remain truly blessed to have been touched by her beautiful spirit. >> reporter: on a stage houston graced many times throughout the years as she picked up six grammys of her own -- ♪ i will always love you >> reporter: the stars honored houston. >> i just want to say to whitney up in heaven, we all love you, whitney houston. [ applause ] >> reporter: the highlight, a moving rendition from jennifer hudson who was awarded her first grammy by whitney houston and considered the star her longtime idol. ♪ please don't cry >> jennifer delivered a really controlled performance. it was personal and yet it was

big and we see who jennifer is. we also see who whitney houston was. >> reporter: tears weren't far from the surface, but from the moment the stars arrived there seemed to be an effort to celebrate houston's life instead of mourning her death. there were still reasons to celebrate. ♪ we could have had it all ♪ rolling in the deep >> reporter: adele returned to the stage after vocal chord surgery. but there was no denying the night was about whitney. the 48-year-old music legend who will never take the grammy stage again. >> tonight we celebrate music! tonight we celebrate the beautiful ms. whitney houston. >> reporter: but can never be far from the countless musicians she inspired. ♪ we love you [ applause ]

>> nbc's kristen dahlgren. next we'll speak to whitney's friend kelly price who shared the stage with her for the final time friday night. that's right after these messages. out of landfills each year?ks ♪ 6.5 million pounds of plastic, gone. by using new glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can. ♪ it's a small change that can make a big difference. ♪ ♪ dress up the sun ♪ ooh, 'cause it makes me feel so ♪ ♪ beautiful outside in ♪ there's no hidin' ♪ the look of love, love [ female announcer ] women who eat breakfast, like the special k breakfast, actually weigh less. a closet that feels like a candy store

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well, thursday night singer kelly price was performing in los angeles when she got a big surprise. >> her friend whitney houston got on stage and started singing with her. sadly it turned out to be houston's final performance. ♪ >> ms. whitney houston! >> kelly price, good morning. thanks for joining us. >> good morning. >> you know, kelly, that obviously was a happy moment there. you had no idea what would happen 48 hours later.

you know, we are hearing from people who were there, who saw afterwards she seemed dishevelled, disoriented, maybe had been drinking. what did you see on stage with whitney houston that night? >> what i saw on stage with whitney is exactly what you just witnessed. a friend who was celebrating another friend for having made some accomplishments in achieving what the ultimate almost is to be a musician in this business, to get grammy nominations. she was happy, joyful. she was congratulating me all night long. what people are saying, i didn't see. from what i understand they are making those judgments based on the way she looked when she left the club. it was the wee hours of the morning. after being on her feet for over three hours, standing at the side of the stage and rooting me on and every singer that took the stage that night. i performed that night. anthony hamilton performed that night. a host of other artists

performed and she was just a part of the moment and rather than going and sitting in a vip area she was to the side of the stage so every artist that touched the stage she got a chance to speak to them as they got on or off. it's a little disappointing. i get that people understand or know there have been challenges in the past and they would like to tribute that moment to that, but that's not what that moment was about. we all left true hollywood that night or early that morning on friday and we all looked like, for lack of a better phrase, like we had just walked through a car wash. we were sweaty. we had been dancing, celebrating. we had a really, really good time. it saddens me so much. now that we don't have her anymore, the memory i get to walk away with is that on thursday night she came out to celebrate her friend for achieving three grammy nominations after putting out a record independently. we did just that. we celebrated.

we danced. we laughed, we tried. >> all right. >> we were worn out at the end of the evening, but for nothing other than that. >> kelly price, thank you for your remembrances. we'll be right back after your local news and weather. security would be like --hat, 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 boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. united mileageplus explorer card. try olive garden's new three course italian dinner for $12.95. start with all the homemade soup or salad and breadsticks you want. next choose from five new entrees like smoked mozzarella chicken. finally a delicious dessert. the new three course italian dinner. from olive garden.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> after a wintry weekend, settling down today. still a little bit on the chilly side, but not too bad. high temperatures between 40 and 45. no big deal could better

♪ >> that, of course, is grammy winner taylor smith who added to her total last night with two more statues for bescountry song and best country solo performance. today we'll hear from taylor about her new project voicing a character in the upcoming dr. seuss movie "the lorax." i can't wait for that one. meanwhile coming up this half hour, with valentine's day tomorrow it's never too late to find love. coming up, dating advice for singles in their 60s. >> later on in today's kitchen a

warm winter soup that's a mexican classic. it's called pozole. we'll show you how to give it a modern american twist. >> that salad looks good, too. yum. >> hungry! we should eat but let's do the weather first. >> as we look ahead, wet weather along the west coast. light snow through the ohio river valley. above normal temperatures in texas. mid-week period, warmer for the eastern half of the country. a little on the damp side with below normal temperatures out west. the latter part of the week, we look for normal conditions around much of the country. lake effect snows around the great lakes. >> good morning. the weather will stay nice and quiet going into the afternoon. it could be little breezy today.

that's your latest weather. >> now we want to say hi to musician tony luca whose silky vocals had owl four judges on "the voice" begging to work with him. nice to see you. >> it's a pleasure to be here. >> watching you sing and watching each judge turn around one by one was so exciting. how was it for you? >> the whole thing is surreal. it's a very unnatural setting going out to get people to turn around that aren't watching you play. but, you know, i saw adam's chair turn around and then i didn't have to worry anymore. i could just unleash and do what i have been doing for so long.

>> they were all fiegin ingfigh you. you chose to go with adam levine from maroon 5. >> yeah. >> how will he help you in the battle round? >> we come from similar backgrounds. singer/songwriters, rock band leaders, doing the club thing, slowly working our way up. there is a shorthand there, think, that will come in handy. obviously i would have given anything to work with -- >> any of them. >> you talk about the club. you were in a club early on. the mickey mouse club. britney spears, justin timberlake. >> christina ago ago. >> it's amazing. the story has been 20 years in the making now. this would be the window of opportunity that it would actually make it to the surface. yeah. just an incredible family to call the club.

how intense the relationships were that we formed so long ago let alone the talent. it's always been crazy when another story unfolds. wow. i remember when i was in the checkout aisle and kerri russell was on entertainment weekly. 'n sync had tv guide. brittany on rolling stone and christina. i thought, wow, that would be weird if i were on a show like that. >> now you are. >> i was on that show. that's weird. >> there can be no question about your talent. how do you think "the voice" will bring you to the next level of success? >> it's definitely a stage like no other. you know, it's really a huge forum and especially playing after the super bowl. that's a once in a lifetime -- several lifetimes -- opportunity. i'm hoping this really helps push things along. >> our stage, not so big. a little taste? >> okay.

>> cold vocals, early morning? ♪ how long did you say ♪ you'd love me ♪ forever takes too long ♪ if i had my best ♪ you'd be the death of me >> wow! [ applause ] >> that is very good. >> that's what i say about savannah all the time. you're going to be the death of me. tony, thank you so much. >> the blind auditions continue tonight on "the voice" at 8:00/7:00 central here on nbc. >> all right. we are rooting for you. keep it going. up next, love and romance for the senior set right after this.

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♪ >> this morning on today's relationships, finding love after 60. according to a new survey by match.com you are more likely to be happy, romantic and know what you want from a partner in your golden years. psychotherapist robbi ludwig is a "today" contributor and helen fisher is a boiological anthropologist and works with match.com. you surveyed people on match.com -- >> based on the u.s. census. we didn't poll people on the site. it was based on the u.s. census, so we got the right number of ethnic people, every ethnic group, every religious background, every age group -- gay, straight, men, women, et cetera. it's representative of the american population. >> what did you find about 60-year-olds and over? >> my favorite question was -- and i put this question in the study. would you make a long-term commitment to somebody who had everything you were looking for

but you were not in love with them and another question was would you make a long-term commitment to someone who had everything you were looking for in a person but you were not -- you did not find them sexually exciting. over 60 was the least likely to compromise. the least likely. the most -- to that group it's most important to have romance and sex. i understand that. i'm over 60. would i move to oshkosh with somebody i was not in love with? with all due respect to oshkosh. but by this age you're embedded in your social world and business world. you're not going off to china, unless you are madly in love and really sexually interested in somebody. >> interesting. >> robbi has tips for people looking for love after 60. first you say to expand your social circle. besides online dating what can older singles do? >> you need to follow your interests. if you love cooking, wine

tasting, you want to learn a new language, join a class where you can learn more and meet other people with similar interests. very often when people have similar interests they have a very strong relationship. you can also use a matchmaker or join a church. or travel. >> big travel groups. >> and cruises, too, for singles. look at the age to make sure you are not surrounded by people much younger than you, but getting yourself out there so you're not in a rut is a way to meet other people which is great. >> i think two things when you meet people, think of reasons to say yes. when you just have met somebody you have very little information. so you overweight that information. in fact, on this study of singles in america we asked the question, did you ever meet somebody that you really did not think would be right and then much later fall madly in love with them? 35% of people said yes. you have to give people a chance.

>> to that point you said to think character, maybe not so much about the first chemical attraction then. >> right. in fact, what older people are looking for is somebody who respects them, somebody they can trust, somebody who they can confide in and very different among older people than younger people, they have to have somebody who has a sense of humor. >> right. >> and somebody who's not stubborn, doesn't watch too much television and doesn't talk too much. >> that should be easy to find. >> yeah! >> speaking to that also it's the idea of companionship. that's one of your tips as well. look for a good companion and not necessarily thinking about marriage. >> right. a lot of people who are over 60, marriage is not the angle. they are not looking to have kids. they're not necessarily interested in combining their finances. in fact, many are a little bit leery about that, understandably so. so it frees up a couple to enjoy one another and have freedom in a way that maybe younger people

don't have. >> right. >> younger people have to reproduce. they have to find the person to have their baby and build a family. so they are more constrained. in fact, when we asked the question, do you want to marry? pretty clear question. 12% of men and 14% of women over 60 said yes. >> it's not important at that point. they have been there, done that. >> also, know thyself. is it okay to have deal breakers at this point? can you be picky? >> they're more picky. >> sex was top of the list. >> and romance. but it's nice to know yourself, but it's really important to like yourself. when you like yourself and when you're smiling and people are near you, they imitate your smile just naturally. trigger that brain chemistry for feelings of pleasure. if you're happy, you will make people around you happy. in fact, people want to be around happy people.

>> that's a good last point. finally, happiness is the key here really. remember that laughter is the key. important not to take yourself or others too seriously. >> you have to have a sense of humor about yourself. really, that helps a person gain objectivity in terms of how they see themselves in relation to other people. it also prevents burnout. if you're going to take everything so seriously, it really makes it hard to stay in the trenches because part of dating is frustrating. part of it is exciting. if you can just keep a fresh mind about it, that's really the best way to go. >> very interesting information. thank you so much for bringing it to us. thank you. coming up next in today's kitchen, modern mexican cuisine. first, these messages. race down that hill without a helmet. 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.

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♪ oh, mexico >> this morning in today's kitchen, what's on the menu? an american spin on a traditional mexican soup, pozole. chef andrew caramelini is owner of the dutch and la conda verde. in your book you talk about a

lot of different experiences that have colored your world. >> i love to travel. i love to travel in america and do road trips. that's what american flavor is about. it's about, you know, eating on the road and learning what my grandmother cooked, what your grandmother cooked. that's what i think american cuisine is these days. >> we are making a mexican soup called pozole. >> i have good friends in san antonio. it's a mexican-american staple, mexican staple of hominy. same thing as grits. dried corn that's cooked a little bit. we have a chicken pozole. healthy and simple. season the chicken with ground cumin. we have chili powder. i like to season the chicken before it goes into the soup a little bit. we have a little mexican oregano and sauteed onions inside the pot. some olive oil in there. very, very simple. just chicken broth over the top. and a little tiny bit of water. you bring it up to a simmer.

it cooks like 45 minutes, just until the chicken is nice and tender, falls off the bone. that's what it looks like. you have the mexican oregano and everything inside. that gives it a brown flavor. >> that's the brian. >> -- brine. >> this is the pozole flavor. nutty, tastes like grain and i like the chopped green chilies. >> where do you get hominy. >> the store around my mom's house in cleveland has it. very easy to find. >> so now you have shredded the chicken? >> yes, the chicken comes out, shred it with your hands. put it back in the soup so you don't have to deal with the bones. cook it to get all the flavors together and then the condiments. the fun thing is the condiments. i like a simple fresh salsa with chopped tomatoes, lime juice, a lot of onion. i love red onion inside.

a good handful of salt. don't be afraid of putting salt in there. your favorite hot sauce. >> louisiana -- >> yeah, whatever you like. i like to make it the day before, let it marinate a little bit. get the flavors together. >> i can smell it. >> you get hot sauce, lime juice and all the flavors. >> let's go back here. >> pozole is super, super flavorful and super healthy. great for a sunday supper because you can put this big bowl in the middle of the table and you have all the condiments on the outside you can add to the soup. >> whatever you want. >> squeeze of lime inside, you can put chopped up radish, cilantro. i love chopped up lettuce, salsa on top. if you want, put a little bit more hot sauce on top. >> i'm good like this. >> i like a lot of hot sauce. my favorite part, put tostada on

top, like a little cracker. >> almost like saltines. and we have cornbread? >> with chipotle pepper inside and we have a gazpacho salad. healthy stuff. >> still ahead, the star of nbc's big hit "smash," cakathare mcphee. first, this is "today" on

coming up, more on the life and legacy of whitney houston with hoda and kathie lee. >> plus, we'll have the call of the wild with some valentine's day animals. >> and if you want to spice things up a little bit for your sweet heart we have sexy lingerie. >> ooh! >> after your local news and weather. [ male announcer ] at pepperidge farm,

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