good morning. bracing for more. a second wave of violent weather and possible tornadoes sets for the south and the midwest. in one area an 80% chance of more twisters. and the new storms are expected to be even stronger than the ones that kild 13 people earlier this week. >> gate crasher. an patient drunk driver arrested after smashing through a fence and driving down a runway with a passenger set seconds from landing. >> attention all aircraft, use caution. the vehicle is headed y'all's

correcti direction now. >> the breach that's raising questions about security. and too hot? the steamy novel heating up the suburbs. some women love it. some men are reaping the benefits. not everybody is happy to see it on the bestsellers list today, not everybody is happy to see it on the bestsellers list today, friday, march 2, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning. i'm savannah guthrie in for ann. another day of bad weather. some of the biggest cities in the south are in the path of strong storms today. >> many areas impacted by wednesday's deadly storms could be hit again today. al will have the latest on what you can expect straight ahead. >> also ahead, for the first time since monday's deadly

shooting, students at chardon high school returned to class after an emotional scene last night at a basketball game. the school's first event following the deaths of three students. more on that coming up. >> and an ugly turn in the battle over birth control rush limbaugh has ruffled feathers with choice words over a 23-year-old woman who supports contraception. she will respond in an exclusive live interview. we begin on this friday morning with the threat of severe storms and tornadoes. al roker is upstairs with the details. good morning. >> good morning, matt and savannah. this is a very dangerous situation. this is a potent, dangerous recipe. we've got very moist air, dewpoints in the low 60s. we have a strong low pressure system over the midwest and the jet stream all converging in the mid section of the country making it to the east. the low pressure lifts up, warm air lifting over cooler air

brings in storms. behind it we've got snow. what we are most concerned about is the area to the south. you can already see strong storms forming. we have a thunderstorm watch in effect from springfield to st. louis. these areas, these areas right to the west of st. louis have very strong storms. they are talking about golf ball size hail in them now. we've got the risk area that's going to be pretty much seeing activity happening in the afternoon into the evening hours. the strongest risk though, the area in red. this is where we are most concerned. stretching from central alabama all the way to central ohio. parts of west virginia. cities like huntsville, nashville, indianapolis, columbus, cincinnati are going to be looking at the possibility of strong thunderstorms and tornadoes. the ones that stay on the ground for a long time. we're going to continue to track this plus on the back side of the system we've got a lot of snow to talk about.

savannah? >> thank you, al. there are a lot of questions about a serious security breach at the airport in philadelphia. a man believed to be drunk crashed his jeep through a fence and onto an active runway just as a passenger jet was preparing to land. tom costello covers aviation for us. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. this could have been a very close call if it weren't for the quick action of the air traffic controllers watching the ground radar. all of the activity happening on the ground. it does raise questions about security at philly and perhaps elsewhere. it was just after 11:00 a.m. at philadelphia international airport. >> what's going on over on the right? >> i don't know. we're trying to figure that out now. >> reporter: u.s. airways flight was seconds from landing when controllers realized the flight could be headed for a runway collision. a rogue jeep was speeding down a runway with police in hot pursuit.

all of it capture on home video. air traffic controllers ordered the plane to abort the landing and all other planes to stay put. >> we have a rogue vehicle driving around. we're not talking to him. we're not moving anybody until we find this guy. >> reporter: the jeep crashed through a chain link fence driving to the active runways. for five minutes police chased the jeep with planes circling. >> let's use caution. the vehicle is on the run way. >> reporter: finally officers forced him to stop. the driver, 24-year-old kenneth richard mazik charged with driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, defiant trespass, criminal mischief and assault. he's not a terrorist, but in an age when every passenger must go through tsa checkpoints and pat-downs, how can a jeep crash through a fence onto a runway?

veteran aviation experts are concerned about such a serious breach. >> it could have been a disaster of epic proportion had it been someone with malintent who had a nexus to terrorism and a mission they were trying to perform. >> reporter: incredibly dangerous five minutes on the runway at philly. >> the airport, shut down right now. we had a rogue vehicle loose in the airport. stand by. >> reporter: if not for the quick actions of air traffic controllers it could have been far more serious. the airport was closed to air traffic for 35 minutes or so. airports around the country are required to ensure their perimeters are secure. lots of questions about how this happened. so far the airport said it is not planning any changes. >> tom costello, thank you. here's matt. >> now to ohio where classes at chardon high school are resuming for the first time since

monday's shooting. kevin tibbles, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the town wants the kids to recover, get back to being kids. regular activities are beginning to resume. everyone knows the healing will take time. the city of chardon is roaring back. carried by a sea of red, the high school boys basketball team scored an emotional victory thursday night. it was the school's first event since monday's tragic shootings. before the game, players from the rival team sported black chardon t-shirts and linked arms with chardon's players in prayer. earlier a march of solidarity and condolence as students came back together. >> it's going to be very sad. >> reporter: they came with their parents, while many others came out of their homes to stand with them. >> oh, how are you? >> reporter: each student got a

hug before going inside for discussion and counseling. classes resumed today. >> i think it's starting to set in on me. i'm not going to be able to go up to danny or demetrius, say hi. >> reporter: it was monday when a gunman opened fire killing three. hewlen would have turned 17 next week. >> his death wasn't in vain. he donated his organs. for him, he can change eight lives. >> reporter: t.j. lane was arrested moments after the shooting. he has been charged. >> the first charges were levied in court. lane was charged with three counts of aggravated murder for killing three of our children. >> reporter: lane had been living with his aunt and uncle. they released a statement saying each day we are walking through the fog of questions that we have no answers for with you.

>> i'm not a hero. just a football coach and a study hall teacher. >> reporter: in an emotional press conference thursday the assistant football coach credited with preventing further bloodshed spoke for the first time since the shootings. >> to the families of danny, demetrius and russell, i want you to know i was with them. i prayed with them. i wiped their tears. and i know god was with them. i don't know why this happened. i only wish i could have done more. >> reporter: t.j. lane's lawyer says his client is extremely distraught and remorseful. meanwhile this town wants to get these events behind it. it is determined never to forget those who have died. the first funeral is tomorrow, matt. >> kevin tibbles in chardon, ohio, for us. thank you very much. it's nine minutes after the

hour. here's savannah. >> now to politics. democrats narrowly blocked an effort by senate republicans to overturn president obama's policy on contraception insurance coverage. it is a heated issue that's led to controversial comments by rush limbaugh. kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill for us this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. this all starts with the president's health care law. then it gets into the fierce debate over personal issues like women's health and birth control and religious freedom. that can be volatile but add rush limbaugh and his harsh words toward a 30-year-old woman. >> i don't believe i am a pawn. >> reporter: sandra is a student and activist for women's reproductive health. >> so ms. fluke and the other feminazis -- >> reporter: limbaugh made her the target after she spoke out

on capitol hill in favor of a new obama administration rule that would require health insurance provide free birth control as preventative care. >> contraception can cost a woman over $3,000 during law school. for a lot of students who like me are on public interest scholarships that's practically an entire summer's salary. >> reporter: limbaugh who called her by the wrong first name then called her ugly things. >> what does it say about the college coed susan fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says she must be paid to have sex? what does that make her? it makes her a slut. a prostitute. she wants to be paid to have sex is. >> reporter: limbaugh amped up the shock factor. >> if we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. i'll tell you what it is.

we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch. >> reporter: furious democrats defended her and fired off a demand that republican leaders denounce limbaugh. >> there is no call for those kinds of comments. those are very inappropriate and they should be repudiated by lots of people. >> reporter: this all happened as senate republicans lost their battle thursday. >> the motion to table is agreed to. >> reporter: to allow employers to opt out of providing birth control coverage if they have a religious or moral objection. on the campaign trail, mitt romney fumbled, first saying he opposed the senate bill. >> i'm not for the bill. >> reporter: later corrected himself to say he supports it. rick santorum pounced. >> after his consultants talked to him he came back, oh, i didn't understand the question. >> reporter: reacting to limbaugh's fury some conservatives said he was crude but they agree with the larger point. >> it's absurd to suggest that

birth control should be a free product provided by taxpayers for all women no matter what their income. it's ridiculous. >> reporter: democrats in the obama administration say by providing that kind of service through insurance at no cost it reduces health care costs over time and republicans are telling me they will not let this go. they plan to bring up the issue of religious freedom and not have the government force employers to do something again. expect this to bubble up one more time. matt? >> kelly o'donnell on capitol hill for us. thank you very much. sandra is with us now exclusively. good morning. thanks for joining us. >> good morning. i used to be one of those people outside the studio screaming with my mom. it's interesting to be on this side of the camera. >> nice to have you here. you didn't start this debate but you spoke publically about this issue. before i get to the specifics of what happened in the last day or so do you feel you have gotten

more than you bargained for? >> well, yeah. it's certainly been a good bit, yes. >> the comments made by rush limbaugh about you, certainly derogatory. what was your first reaction when you heard the comments? >> i think my reaction was the reaction a lot of women have had when they have been called these names. really i think a lot of women across america have had this. it was initially to be stunned by it, but then to quickly feel outraged and upset that, again, on the first day of women's history month, on that day a woman is being called these names in an attempt to silence me, to silence all of us from speaking about the health care we need. >> he made the first comments about you a couple days ago. when given the opportunity to backtrack or apologize for them yesterday, instead he doubled down. having said this, this is rush limbaugh and this is what he does for a livinging. he makes comments, in my opinion, he hopes will get more

people to talk about him, to listen to his radio show or buy his books. this is his business model. but having said that, are you surprised at what seems to be a deafening silence coming from the right in standing up for you? >> well, i do want to make sure everyone understands that this wasn't just one man who said these things. there were many conservative commentators on several major broadcast networks who did make these types of comments. i would encourage people to look into that. i think it's an important thing to think about that in our society in certain sectors this is evidently still acceptable. that's really problematic. >> this issue has been described in different ways. as an issue of religious freedom, women's health, government intervention. how do you define it? >> is i think this is about women's health. that's what it's always been about for me. that's what it's about for the many, many americans e-mailing me constantly, telling me how

important it is to them. for them and for me this is about accessible affordable access to a service that prevents unplanned pregnancies. >> where do you see the issue going? >> it's fantastic that the blunt amendment was defeated. unfortunately there are still bills being discussed in the house and the senate as well as in the legislatures of many, many states to restrict women's access to this important health care need. so unfortunately it doesn't seem like this is an argument that is over. >> sandra, thank you for your time. it was nice to have you on the show. >> thank you for having me. >> david gregory will have more on the battle over birth control and the super tuesday races on "meet the press" sunday. his guests newt gingrich, house republican leader eric cantor and debbie wasser man schultz.

>> natalie morales at the news desk has more of the top stories. >> good morning. maryland has become the eighth state to legalize gay marriage as that state's governor signed the law praising the move as the way forward for equal rights. if challenges fail to put the issue to a public vote the law will go into effect on january 1, 2013. the new jersey funeral home that handled whitney houston's services is saying it didn't leak a photograph of whitney houston in an open casket published in the national enquirer, but they know who took the photo. they say it is up to the family to reveal it. the red cross and other aid groups head to homs, syria today. the syrian government gave the red cross permission to enter after security forces took the city from rebels on thursday. parliamentary elections are under way in iran. it's the first since the hotly contested election of mahmoud

ahmadinejad in 2009. that caused protests and violent crack downs. a terrifying police chase caught on tape. officer andrew olsson was trying to pull over cameron cook for allegedly driving a stolen vehicle. cook stops the car and jumps out to shoot at olsson. the officer survived with a gunshot wound to the leg and testified against cook on court on thursday. what do you get the boy who has everything? a $100,000 electric car, of course. at least that's what justin bieber's manager got him for his 18th birthday. the gift was revealed on the "ellen" show but the host got him a windshield sun strhade wi their picture on that he didn't know how to use. and a dashboard bobblehead of ellen herself. i can't believe he's 18. now back to matt, savannah and

al. he's growing up. >> not the boy who has everything anymore. the guy. >> young man. exactly. >> thanks, natalie. you're busy today. >> that's right. in fact, we'll be looking at the winter part of the storm in a little bit. >> good morning. a new storm is developing out west. we have some rain in the forecast. most of the day will be spent dry that's your latest weather. savannah. >> now to a rare opening of the so called doomsday vault that sits in norway and serves as a backup against disaster. it's a home for seeds from all

around the world. nbc's michelle kosinski is there this morning. good morning, michelle. >> reporter: hey, savannah. this forbidding place -- and it's been a warm winter -- is the perfect place for a global seed vault. built four years ago but now thriving, a place to keep humanity's treasure in seeds for crops just in case who knows what might happen. here we are in 2012. this strange monolith jutting from a frozen mountainside on the rooftop of the world. hi. >> hi. >> reporter: so this is the place. >> this is it. >> reporter: the vault. planted here by american scientist kerry fowler, the first global seed bank. >> this is a big long tunnel that leads us back to the coldest place in the mountain. >> reporter: drilled 400 feet straight through solid rock and

permafrost, through sets of frozen doors. >> brace yourself. >> reporter: the minus 4 degrees fahrenheit now with 700,000 varieties of our planet's food crops. more than 100,000 types of rice. north korea sits peacefully next to south korea's. just this week through a raging blizzard samples managed to come in from violence-ravaged syria. and from the u.s., hearty wheat, many amber waves worth. an enormous plant gene pool protected from any number of future disasters. >> this is what is going to allow agriculture to remain productive, to create food security, to adapt to climate change and water shortages. everything that we might want agriculture to be in the future. >> reporter: if i wanted to find the best tasting italian tomato. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: it would be in one of these boxes.

>> i promise you, it's here. >> reporter: it's here? >> yes, it is. >> reporter: in this extraordinary environment, a magnificent isolation. maybe the safest place. so frequently guarded bipolar bears, it is illegal to venture outside town without a gun. so peaceful under the glow of northern lights -- wow -- it can rest unmanned. both a repository for the advancement of human farming over the last 10,000 years and a safe guard for the next thousands. one tiny seed at a time. it's not just catastrophe that worries scientists. they say commercial farming has reduced crop diversity. if everybody is planting the same type of wheat, a disease that affects it will do damage. there could be a time we say what's an older wheat that's

more resistant or more grow in a warmer, wetter place. some of the seeds are expected to still be viable 20,000 years from now. >> michelle, we're glad they're planning. thank you so much. coming up, an emotional day for nicollette sheridan as she takes the stand at her wrongful termination trial. first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, a warning to parents. day care center workers with violent criminal records. >> and a dirty little secret for a lot of women. the steamy novel causing quite a stir after your local news. standard in anti-aging.cerd roc® retinol. found in roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream. it's clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. now for maximum results, the power of roc® retinol is intensified with a serum to create retinol correxion® max.

it's clinically shown to be 4x better at smoothing lines and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. new roc® retinol correxion® max. nothing's better than gold. >> good morning, everybody. i am stan stovall. here's a look at one of our top stories. maryland is the eighth state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. gov. martin o'malley signed the measure into law yesterday. those opposed are working to collect signatures to bring the issue to a november referendum. let's get a check on the morning

commute. >> a few new accidents to badded to the list. marty neck boulevard, there is an accident. if you want to head out in the city, two more problems. southbound york road and stevenson lane. water main break repairs happening to there. this stretches from security down to edmondson. laughlin road and old philadelphia road in aberdeen, watch for an accident. coming towards us this southbound traffic. not bad it of making a way downtown. tapping the brakes every now and then between this point in the beltway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11.

>> we have sunshine this morning. off to the west, west of the mountains, it's you scattered showers and a rumble of thunder. conditions outside the airport, at temperatures so far are 32 degrees. barometer is up a little bit. weather system edges closer. later in the afternoon and evening, we could see showers moving through the area. moving through the area. mostly this is an angus steak and egg sandwich. it's a tremendous morning. angus, man! angus! dunkin's new angus steak and egg sandwich makes any morning special. try one today.

7:30 now on a friday morning, march 2, 2012. you can tell it's a friday with all those smiling faces on the plaza. we have a big crowd out there in rockefeller plaza. getting a jump start on the weekend. hopefully they've got great plans for the big apple. inside studio 1a i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie who is in while ann's off today. just ahead, drama in the courtroom as nicollette sheridan takes the stand at her "desperate housewives" wrongful termination trial. we'll have the latest. and do you know who's working at your child's day care center? only 11 states do fullback ground screenings on potential employees. you may be shocked to hear who

could be looking after your children. chris hansen will be here with the results of his investigation. and later, is it the new must-read for women? it's a racy novel that's sold more than 120 million copies. what message is it sending to readers? >> we begin with details on findset of a georgia man on trial for the murder of a father of two. thanh truong has the latest on the story and joins us from decatur, georgia. good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, matt. good morning. we have seen a lot of surprises in the first two weeks of this trial. the defendant is accused of shooting a father of two outside his son's day care. his defense claims an affair with the victim's wife drove him to insanity. now they are trying to shift attention to the wife herself. >> is the defense ready to continue? >> reporter: hemy newman's defense team doesn't deny he shot rusty snyderman outside

this day care in 2010. >> mr. newman is sick. >> reporter: they claim he was insane, driven to murder by visions of angels and demons resembling barry white and olivia newton-john. >> mr. newman didn't have the mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong. >> reporter: on thursday a forensic psychologist testifying for the defense said newman suffers from bipolar disorder with psychosis. he described a visit from the angel that told him to kill rusty snyderman to protect snyderman's children which he thought were his own. >> he said the angel appeared and told him, he's going to hurt them. you have to protect them. as he's driving he thought, i have to kill him. he said that from that point on he said, i got my marching orders. >> reporter: his delusional sickness was fuelled by a secret affair with the victim's wife, andrea snyderman. >> he has been manipulated by

andrea snyderman. >> reporter: newman was snyderman's boss at g.e. in earlier testimony snyderman denied the affair saying she tried to fend off his advances. >> none of those feelings were ever returned. i made myself completely clear where i stood. >> reporter: several witnesses have contradicted snyderman's denials including one of her closest friends who testified she suspected an affair. following this testimony, snyderman awkwardly hugged her friend. once outside the courtroom snyderman told her the friendship was over. >> ms. citron responded, i had to tell the drea snyderman resp well, then i have to do what i have to do. >> reporter: the judge found snyderman's actions highly inappropriate and banned her from the courthouse. >> andrea snyderman is playing each and every one of us for a

fool. >> reporter: her friend later returned to the stand saying the encounter caused her to worry for her children's safety. >> i was just more shocked and overwhelmed with a lot of different emotions. >> reporter: as thursday's testimony drew to a close, the psychologist told the jury snyderman's constant calls, texts and e-mails to newman in the months leading up to the murder further confused an unstable man. >> it's a pattern of pushing him away, pulling him toward her. the part that's dangerous about doing that at that time with mr. newman is that he was already delusional about his relationship with her. >> reporter: the prosecution doesn't buy the defendant's plea of not guilty by insanity. instead they say he spent weeks carefully planning the murder. to be clear, andrea snyderman is not on trial and she's not charged with a crime. she is on the defendant's witness list and may take the stand again when the trial

resumes today. matt? >> thanh truong for us in georgia today. thank you very much. now a check of the weather from al. >> thank you so much. where are you from? >> seattle, washington. >> you have hats made from new york city parking tickets? >> yes. >> you got a lot of tickets. >> my son lives here. he collects them. >> he got all of these? >> yes. >> no, not really. >> i was going to say, the sheriff will be after him. >> thank you very much. let's show you what's going on. this is the snowy part of the same system that will cause all the dangerous weather. we have an upper level low combining with the surface low pressure system. that will bring heavy snow and strong winds. snowfall amounts anywhere from five to eight inches of snow in green bay. 8 to 14 in traverse city, michigan. marquette, four to eight inches. blizzard watches and warnings later today. we have a strong risk of storms from the lower mississippi river

valley into the ohio river valley. windy conditions around the great lakes. we are looking for showers moving into the midatlantic states and into tomorrow. >> good morning. a new storm is developing at west lb getting closer to us. we will see an increase in clouds today. this is a cutie. where are you from? >> south bend, indiana. >> don't forget. get your weather day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. >> thanks. former "desperate housewives" star nicollette sheridan will be

on the stand at the trial to decide if she was wrongfully terminated from the show. miguel almaguer is in los angeles following the case. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. nicollette sheridan spent thursday on the stand. the actress told the jury she was struck in the head by an executive after a disagreement. she even demonstrated the blow to the jury. this after her character was killed off and she complained to network executives. nicollette sheridan left the los angeles county courthouse minutes after her first day of testimony. the actress, no stranger to cameras, but usually for scenes like this. >> you know someone else my age with a body like this. >> reporter: while the television temptress from "desperate housewives" didn't speak to reporters in court, she didn't hold back for the jury. during opening statements of her wrongful termination trial she openly wept. >> excuse me, everyone. >> reporter: on thursday, she reenacted a blow she says she took to the face from executive

producer mark cherry while they were rehearsing off stage in 2008. she demonstrated the hit by slapping her attorney when asked to do so. he stepped toward me and took his right hand and hit me across the head. it was a nice wallop across the head. >> ow! >> reporter: for the desperate housewives there was a lot of slapping on tv, but sheridan said it was a real life smack down. >> it stunned me. i was hit hard. >> i think what mr. cherry did, no surprise to anyone. that's who he is. i'm going to argue the case that way. >> reporter: paid $175,000 per episode, sheridan is seeking $6 million in damages. in court she claimed the physical altercation happened after she questioned cherry about a script. sheridan said cherry later tried to apologize saying, i'm on bended knee begging your forgiveness. though cherry and his lawyers made no public comment and have yet to cross examine sheridan it

was said in court documents, mark gave her a tap on the side of the head for the sole purpose of providing directions for a scene they were rehearsing. abc says there was a full investigation and found the actress was not mistreated. law professor laurie levinson. >> the case boils down to he said/she said. the jury has to decide who to believe. >> reporter: sheridan starred in the first five seasons, but five months after the incident with cher cherry, sheridan said she was shocked -- [ electric sizzling ] -- when her character was killed off. though those with the show say it was planned for months before the dispute. in court sheridan said she was hu humiliated. it was demeaning. now in the final season, there may be more drama off screen than on.

sheridan will be cross-examined later today. the witnesses could be a who's who from the show. actresses like eva longoria could take the stand. savannah? >> miguel almaguer in los angeles, thank you. up next, how are people with extensive criminal records working at licensed day care centers? an undercover investigation right after this. i wouldn't do that. get married? no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. nice ring. knock it off. ignore him. with the capital one venture card you earn... double miles on every purchase. [ sharon ] 3d is so real larry. i'm right here larry. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. really? a plaid tie? what, are we in prep school? [ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? i was gonna say that. uh huh... ♪

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show the yard who's boss, with this cordless black and decker trimmer, just $84.97. back now at 7:43 with a cautionary tale for parents. how much do you know about who owns and operates your child's day care center? chris hansen is here with his investigation. chris, good morning. >> good morning. when it comes to the people who care for our children every day you may think the state does a thorough background check but as our investigation shows, in most places it's up to the parents. when that doesn't happen it can have tragic consequences. when it comes to day care, what parents wouldn't want to know their child is in safe hands

like katie and robert minton. >> we did our research on the internet. we did pop-in visits. >> we thought as parents we were doing all we could. >> investigators are not releasing details about what they think happened to a 2-year-old boy inside this home today. >> reporter: tragically it was after their son joshua was asphyxiated by his caregiver they learned the woman had a criminal record and was being investigated by the state. for slapping a child, leaving children unsupervised yet she was allowed to continue to operate the day care center. >> we didn't know anything about it. >> we trusted the state to make sure this was a good working facility. >> reporter: it turns out only 11 states do fullback ground screenings on potential day care workers. we found thousands of day care workers with criminal records. from vehicular homicide to grand theft to domestic violence, child abuse, even manslaughter.

the owner of this day care center in florida, melissa van cleeve has an arrest for battery. we had an under cover family ask her whether anyone working at the center has a criminal record. >> no, no. >> nothing? >> uh-uh. >> reporter: later, i came by. >> do you have a criminal history? >> no. >> reporter: none at all? >> no. >> reporter: there is something you need to know. i'm chris hansen with "dateline". >> you need to go. i have a business to run. thank you. >> reporter: you do have convictions in your past. >> thank you. >> reporter: let me show you. >> no. thank you. bye-bye. >> reporter: dui, battery, domestic violence. >> bye-bye. >> reporter: debra giles runs a day care center in orlando, florida, never told our family about her background. in 1995 you were accused of aggravated battery -- >> i forgot about that. >> reporter: you forgot. >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: she's one of

several day care operators who wasn't happy to bring up the past. >> you're the evil one. you're the demon. i have watched your shows. you're a piece of [ bleep ]. >> reporter: i came here to give you chance to talk about this. >> you can go and [ bleep ] a rope and pay money to get information from me. i'm embarrassed for you. you're a slug. >> to be fair that day care operator lost his cool after several minutes of questioning. he has had a clean record since earlier problems, but you will see tonight in the investigation we found out a lot of disturbing things including a woman running a day care center who shot and killed her husband. >> chris hansen, people can watch the full report on "dateline" tonight at 10:00/9:00 central on nbc. up next, the late night comics take on the week that was right after this. ♪ get, get up and go ♪ dress up the sun ♪ ooh, 'cause it makes me feel so ♪

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what do mitt romney, angelina jolie and snooki have this common? they were the brunt of jokes on late night television this week. take a look. [ laughter ] >> i spent last night with hollywood. watching the three-hour liberal cluster fart known as the oscars. >> everyone is talking about how angelina jolie showed off her leg. >> i think she stole that move. >> it's well known in washington. >> let's begin with a long winding bumpy [ bleep ] road to the white house. >> big win for romney. taking his home state of michigan by a whopping 3.2%. >> that's his native state -- >> fine! >> mitt charged us up. >> we didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough. >> yes! [ applause ] >> there's your battle cry. romney 2012 -- enough. >> president obama recently changed course in regards to super pacs.

♪ >> oh, yes. ♪ sounds like the president goes both ways on this issue. >> mitt romney said he doesn't follow nascar as much as some of the fans. >> i have some great friends that are nascar -- team owners. [ applause ] >> is there anything that comes out of this guy's mouth that couldn't come out of thurston howe howell, iii's mouth? ♪ it's a super pac yow ♪ >> there are reports that snooki is pregnant. >> she was spotted reading over the weekend. "what to drink when you're expecting". >> snooki's first sonogram. ♪ >> you know who's back? lindsay lohan, ladies and gentlemen. [ applause ] >> she was on the "today" show today for her first interview in some time. went well. only one camera missing.

>> but the one we lost we weren't really caring about anyway. it's all right. they had a lot of material over the last couple of weeks. >> strong stuff. >> just writes itself. the punch lines are happening in the real world. >> the red carpet. there was a lot there. >> i'm amazed at technology available for the leno people to do that stuff that looks so real. we're back with a racy novel making the rounds in the suburbs apparently. >> we'll find out after your local news. (bell rings) hi. good morning. big news. we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry... and banana/blueberry. we're telling everyone. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake.

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>> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a check on your friday morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> a few things to watch for. we have an accident possibly involving an overturned ago. 95 is not too bad. tapping the brakes to the beltway northeast. 25 on the northeast side as you make your way towards the harrisburg expressway. these delays start to build a little late this morning. left lane is closed by a water main break.

greenmount avenue, closed at chaichase st. st. paul and saratoga, greene street and mulberry. northwest corner, not too bad until you get to write around at liberty. white marsh area, not bad either. looking good all the way to the beltway. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> sunny here, but out to the west, there are clouds and rain. scattered showers and thunderstorms. our rain chance will be increasing later. 33 degrees at the airport. it was 32 earlier. barometer at the moment, winds are calm. we picked up cloud and by afternoon, mostly cloudy skies. southeast winds at 6 to 12 miles

an hour. tomorrow, near 64 the high. highest rain chance will be overnight tonight. rain chance tapers off tomorrow

we're back now. 8:00 on a friday morning. the second day of march, 2012. we've got an enormous crowd gathered here on rockefeller plaza. taking in the sight and sounds and saying hi to their friends and family live from rockefeller plaza. is this a school vacation? >> i don't know, but wow. nice. >> i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie here while ann is taking time off. mr. roker joins us as well. what's coming up? >> it will be an interesting segment. we have a new novel that's out. a lot of women are picking it

up. it's called "fifty shades of grey" and how do i put this delicately? it's descriptive and explicit. a lot of women say it's invigorating their marriage. it's racy. others say it crosses a line. we'll get into the controversy. >> and we aren't far away from the summer olympic games in london 2012. 149 days, i think. this morning we'll talk about one of the most hotly anticipated events at any summer olympics, the women's gymnastics competition. do you know only three american women have ever won the all around gold? we have all three in our studio this morning talking about what we can expect to see in london. >> that's cool. also on another note some 30 million americans take the popular cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins. the fda has announced it will require additional warnings on the labels. dr. nancy snyderman will be here to put it in perspective.

>> it has a lot to do with memory issues that could be a side effect of the drugs. natalie has the headlines from the news desk. >> good morning. a new round of violent storms and possible tornadoes threatening the south and midwest today from alabama to ohio. those storms could hit some of the same areas where tornadoes killed at least 13 people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes two days ago. a startling security breach led to a dramatic scene thursday at philadelphia international airport. police say a drunk driver crashed through a construction fence and led officers on a chase along two runways. the airport was shut down for a half hour and several incoming flights had to delay landings. the suspect has been ordered to undergo psychiatric testing. the senate upheld the birth control policy voting down the republican's blunt amendment which would have let employers

deny birth control and other services on religious or moral ground. court any reagan is at the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> good morning. at & t is ending unlimited data plans. customers will have to pay more to stream music and videos if you exceed the caps. meantime the last continental flight takes off today from phoenix to cleveland. united and continental merged in 2010. last but certainly not least, yelp shares begin trading today at the new york stock exchange for the first time. back to you. >> have a great weekend. >> you, too. >> thank you. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick round-up of what has you talking online. andrew breitbart cast a large shadow. he died thursday of natural causes. he was just 43.

his death is as polarizing as his politics apparently with a twitter war breaking out between harsh critics and admirers. do it yourselfers are going online to see if the flat pack house is something they can tackle. for 2k4r$80,000 you get to set p yourself and you get help installing the floors and counters. and sprinkles will have a 24-hour cup cake atm. a favorite with sweet toothed celebrities. it will dispense fresh cup cakes at $4 apiece and even dog treats for the late night walkers. wow. that's something. 8:04. now back out to matt and savannah. that says a lot about convenience. >> i think somebody who invents that, that's nobel peace prize stuff. it is. >> if they could get one that dispensed wine it would be greater. >> ♪ getting to know you

let's go to mr. roker with a check of the weather. >> with we have the birthday girl -- [ screeching ] >> it's my birthday! >> al! we love you! >> that's all the time we've got. let's show you what's going on. [ screaming ] >> we have severe weather to talk about. we're talking severe thunderstorm watch now from central missouri all the way into central indiana just to the west of indianapolis. they have hail reported in some storms, up to two inches in indictment. we have a strong risk of storms from central alabama up to central ohio. a strong risk. these could be long track tornadoes. they stay on the ground a long time. from birmingham, lexington, indianapolis, columbus. and the north side of the storm has snow. we're talking anywhere from two to eight inches of snow in the

u.p. of michigan. parts of wisconsin as well and a risk of strong storms making it to the east overnight. wet in the pacific northwest. >> good morning. a new storm is developing out west. we have some rain in the forecast. most of the day will be spent dry >> i'm going to tinglkle in my pants! i'm so excited. >> matt? >> wow.

wow, wow. how do you follow that? when we come back, the book that is making the rounds. it's a guilty pleasure for women. some people aren't happy it's on the bestseller list. we'll talk about it right after these messages. right off the street to help us with an experiment for the febreze set & refresh. they agreed. [ facilitator ] take a deep breath. what do you smell? there's a freshness. actually it takes me outdoors. apples and pears. sort of a crisp, fresh feeling. it's a friendly environment. [ facilitator ] go ahead and take your blindfold off. [ laughs ] no... [ male announcer ] the febreze set & refresh with scented oils that eliminate odors for 30 days so you can breathe happy, guaranteed. but we still may suffer from nasal allergy symptoms. they can hit you year round... indoors or out. achoo! oh to have relief. prescription nasonex is clinically proven to help relieve nasal allergy symptoms... including congestion, runny and itchy nose and sneezing.

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back now at 8:10. what started as a whisper among friends has turned into a loud roar in book clubs across the country. we are talking about a racy novel called "fifty shades of grey." be warned. it contains graphic subject matter and language. but with more than 120,000 copies sold now it's appealing to more women than you might imagine. "today" national correspondent amy robach has more. >> good morning to you. there are entire industries devoted to telling men how to satisfy a woman. who would have thought a romance novel would answer the age old question what do women really want? ♪ >> reporter: there is a dirty little secret in the suburbs. >> i was like -- ooh! >> reporter: and it's not the change of a diaper. >> it was captivating, i have to say. things are going around. i could not stop. >> reporter: the truth may shock you. >> amazing.

>> reporter: the fantasy isn't in a tropical paradise. ♪ >> reporter: it's in a book club. >> fastest read ever. nine years, haven't read a book. >> john saw the light of the ipad. what are you doing? nothing! >> do you think it's an issue that i downloaded it to my daughter's kindle? >> reporter: what's going on between the covers has to do with the story between the sheets. it's called "fifty shades of grey." if you're thinking fabio, forget it. this story, which is part of a trilogy by e.l. james, a 40-something british woman, is not a tender romance. it's a submission sex fantasy. >> the most common female fantasy is a domination fantasy or a submission fantasy where she's swept off her feet, it's out of her control. >> reporter: sex therapist laura berman said she's not surprised the bodice-ripper is back. >> if we look at history we have the women's movement which was

really about empowering women not to be submissive to men anymore. now we have a new generation where women are more empowered than ever before. the glass ceiling has been broken. we have as much control as we want. what are we longing for? a little bodice-ripping. >> reporter: even the women in this boca raton book club agree. although they like control in the board room they would like less in the bedroom. >> it's nice for a man to take over in the bedroom than you having to please the man after you have just made dinner and did everything else. >> reporter: a word of caution about taking the fantasy into reality. >> it's one thing to fantasize about your neighbor when they're mowing the lawn. it's another to actually really want to act on that fantasy. >> reporter: although these "50 shades" fans say their husbands aren't complaining. >> my husband and i shared some very good times together because of this book. >> reporter: and maybe the book should land on the other side of

the night stand. >> every man should read the book. >> if men read it, maybe it wouldn't be such a fantasy. >> well, we have already been getting a huge viewer response about "fifty shades of grey" on the website. some viewers have been writing in concerned that the author plagiarized from a story called "master of the universe" on a twilight fan fiction site. we can confirm that e.l. james was also the author of the same story. back to you. >> amy, thank you. dr. drew pinske and logan lebcock join us. we have a doozy here. this is snot harlequin or jackie collins. it's explicit, graphic and parts of it are disturbing. what is the appeal, logan? >> first of all, i think we differ. i don't think it's disturbing. i think it taps into a fantasy women have in terms of role

playing, getting out of the comfort zone. it's about women being able to turn on their imagination. with erotica it's not visual. we explore things we could not explore in real life. >> it's not just steamy sex scenes. the context is bondage and submission and, stripped bare, violence against women. the man take as a young woman, a virgin, college age and introduces her to a world of, in some cases, physical pain. does this disturb you at all? >> it does actually. we are going beyond the issue of when people often start by saying men are aroused with visual material. women are aroused by using more of the brain. but this is going beyond that. as laura berman said in the piece, the swept away fantasy is common. but it's going beyond that into

actual violence against women. i have to tell you. this is the part maybe i'll get heat for. but there is a lot of violence against children in this country. there are various kinds of physical abuse. people subjected to those experiences are especially aroused by these images. i'm not saying the average women can't be, but it's especially arousing for them. >> i have read the books. as a woman and also as a professional from two different lenses. i don't see this particular book as violence against women. i really don't. >> hold it there. women being taken out of control, held against their will? >> the girl does have different control and senses. i want us to be clear. the particular community has very orchestrated rules and negotiations. this is, you know, a romant romanticized version of that. >> this is consensual. it doesn't depict rape.

>> why would that be arousing? >> that's the question. do women really want to fantasize about someone causing them physical pain? the book deals with that. >> the answer is people are doing it. >> but in some cases, different sensations. it's not as simple as pleasure versus pain. it's not that women want to fantasize about these things. >> they are. >> sometimes we do. sometimes we can be turned on and it doesn't mean we are acting it out or have a desire to. >> the books are selling. bottom line. they seem to be interested in this material and they seem not to be able to put it down. >> i couldn't put it down. >> you were disturbed by it. you liked it. i think i would be disturbed. >> one ochf the women said it spiced up her relationship. >> that's good. particularly women who may be having a drop in libido, don't take medication, read a book. it says something socially about

us that's a little bit disturbing. >> is that where we have come after 50 years? >> i don't think it's political. we have to get out of it. sometimes fantasies are ways to explore things we wouldn't tap into. what's important to me is women's story telling. being able to say something enhanced my marital sex life and i want to share it with you. that's interesting. >> it gets people talking. >> here we are. >> thank you so much. we appreciate it. up next, important medical news. new warnings associated with popular cholesterol lowering drugs coming up after this. [ sniffs ] i have a cold. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil

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[ kareem ] it's a dream, honestly. there it is. oh, wow. that's so cool! yeah, that was awesome! [ cheering ] [ tom ] i wanna see that again. ♪

we are back at 8:21. this morning on today's health a warning for americans who take statin drugs. the fda has issued new guidelines based on research which suggests there is a slight increased risk of memory loss and other medical problems associated with the drugs. nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is here with us. >> hey, matt. >> good morning. people have been talking about side effects with statins for a long time. >> right. >> it's the first time the fda has taken the step to link statins -- >> it's all about transparency. >> how severe are the problems we are talking about? >> it depends if you get them. it's more common in women. i get those and the fda changed the label this is week to look at three things.

memory loss which can be fuzziness, not being able to do problems, remember where your keys are. changes in blood sugar and for some people, aches and pains in the muscles. doctors say don't necessarily get off the medicine if you have them. but be aware of the fact that if you do experience them, at least let your doctor know. these are real. >> let me get to things i need to say. >> sure. >> the research and manufacturers of america issued a statement that reads in part statins have impacted the health of millions of americans. the cdc has tributed the declines in cardiovascular death rates in part to better treatments. >> absolutely right. these are proven medications that have reduced the risk of stroke and heart disease, may have cancer prevention effects. maybe more in men than in women. i think the jury is still out. but women may have slightly increased risk. we have talked about taking the medications. a lot of doctors take statins and a baby aspirin and believe,

laughingly, it should be in the water for everyone. >> i have had doctors say they should put statins in the water. there is no down side. clearly there is. >> i'm a classic person for whom there is a down side. on a small dose of lipitor i get nightmares, foggy memory and muscle aches. i have had to figure out the cost benefit ratio for me. for people with cholesterol between 200 and 240. that's where doctors will say, yes or no. >> right. >> if i sit there and say, i'm having certain memory issues, they are not debilitating. i'm having fuzziness but my cholesterol has been reduced significantly which is going to reduce my chance of a heart attack. >> right. >> i'm going to say, you know, that's going to save my life and memory problems won't threaten my life. >> you're the kind of person for whom a doctor will say, stay on it, matt. we know it will lower your bad cholesterol, the risk of heart disease and stroke. if you can live with fuzzy

memory which is probably not a longstanding event then live wit. >> all right. >> it comes down to the cost benefit of every individual patient. sometimes if you have problems with one drug you can try -- >> i was going to ask. these drugs aren't all created equal. >> they are cousins. they're related. the compounds are different. if you have a b proon one, try another. >> do you tend to develop these problems with side effects early on in taking this or might you develop these years after you start taking them? >> there is a group of people who have complications more than others, side effects. people over 65. women. people who take multiple medications. even something as simple as antibiotic or anti-viral. if you have liver problems or type 2 diabetes you may see a change in liver enzymes or blood sugar. maybe not enough to get off the medication. if you are on the list you might see yourself having more medications. and normally we monitor liver

enzymes all the way through. now they are saying get them checked before you start. >> consult with your physician before you do anything. >> these medications are staying. >> thank you. >> you bet. >> just ah >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> if you want to take a harbor tunnel in the northbound direction, avoid it for the next few minutes. all lanes closed northbound to to the disabled vehicle. fort mchenry a better bet. another one of dundalk avenue and boston street. york road and stevenson lane, watch for a left lane closure with roadwork happening. a couple of other things to get to.

watch for lane closures and goat hill road. one more accident to avoid in cleveland did middletown road and beckleysville road. here is the west side of the ramp from southbound 795. live view of traffic in white marsh. beltway to the 895 split. southbound it delays. >> we have sunshine right now. scattered showers, thunder. beginning to move into west virginia. later on today, that will be an issue here. right now it is nice outside. temperature at the airport 38 degrees. humidity up and little bit. winds are calm. sunshine this morning, but the clouds moved in. late afternoon or so, somebody could see some showers.

53 to 58. high temperatures today will be closer to 60 tomorrow. highest rain chance as overnight tonight, and and during the morning on sunday. morning on sunday. >> will have another upd 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. i love the aroma, i love the taste. you can't mistake the flavor. i run on dunkin'! america runs on dunkin' coffee.

we're back now. 8:30 on the 2nd day of march 2012. it's breezy in the northeast. a little bit overcast. we have rain on the way. >> and our severe weather has gotten worse. they have upped the risk area to a high risk area. central tennessee, central kentucky. not a lot of good news out there. >> if you are in one of those

areas stay tuned to your nbc station. get the latest information or -- >> the weather channel or weather.com. >> i'm out on the plaza. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie here while ann is off today. natalie morales and al roker here as well. who's ready for the olympics in london? [ cheers ] >> it's counting down. >> we are going to get ready. as woe we count down we'll look at women's gymnastics with three of the best americans ever. they were the wholesome incredible competitors when they were in there. i will tell you something. sitting on the couch, i walked over to say hi. they were cheating, looking at my questions. >> whoa! >> reading them before the segment. >> scandal! >> scandal in the jim gngymnast world. >> also ahead, a lot of us just got iphones trying to figure out how to use them. siri is a personal assistance on the iphone that's taken the

country by storm. >> i'm sorry, i can't do that. >> i don't love you back. >> we ask it some important questions, see what siri has to say. >> i wonder what siri looks like. >> don't we all? >> plus, are you starting to plan your summer getaway? a lot of families are choosing whether to rent rooms or homes instead of going to a hotel. we'll tell you the best places to look online and how to protect yourself from getting scammed. >> and a cross-country open house. if you're thinking of buying instead of renting barbara corcoran will be along to show us some of the great homes for sale around this country for $300,000 or less. >> great. lots to get to. weather, a big story. >> it is. we're scared about this situation that's developing. this is the latest radar. we have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect in central missouri into central indiana. dangerous hail reported right now. this is the latest in from the national weather service. there is now a high risk of

severe storms that will spawn tornadoes. we are not just talking hit or miss tornadoes but what we call long track tornadoes. we are talking about louisville, lexington and nashville, in that bull's eye. but the strong risk also from columbus all the way down to birmingham. this will be for later this afternoon into this evening. a volatile, dangerous situation. we'll continue to track it on your nbc situation and on weather.com. >> good morning. a new storm is developing at west lb getting closer to us. we will see an increase in clouds today.

>> and that's your latest weather. now let's get caught up on our friends on the smucker's jar with our good buddy uncle willy. >> the great game of shuffleboard, one of my specialties. i love to play shuffleboard. i know everything about the game and i have a smucker's peanut butter & jelly sandwich at halftime. take a look at our birthday buddies today. we have the lovely mildred kinnarney from framingham, mass. 105 years old. henry goldbaum from san diego, california. 100 years old. enjoys spending time with his family. how nice that is. and keeping up with world events. today that's quite a job. my gosh. remember when you were a kid? history was one page.

sweet judy klugerman from lauderhill, florida. 100 today. her secret is paying bridge and an occasional martini. harold potter, take a look at this handsome fellow from hartsgrove, ohio. goes to church every sunday and doesn't mean being confused with harry potter. if he made that much money he'd be with us in florida now. good old helen chinn of san francisco, california. 1 is 00. walks the hills of san francisco every day. you know she's got to be in great shape. happy birthday. this is my game. watch this. nobody ever beats me. send it down, baby. hmm, a hole in one. what do you know? >> all right, willard, thanks. up next, we look ahead to the

london olympics with the only three american women to win all-around gymnastics gold. first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:38 with today's countdown to london. the summer olympics just 147 days away. some of the world's top gymnasts are in town gearing up for the at&t american cup. but of course the ultimate goal is to be crowned the olympic all-around champion, a title only three american women have ever won. >> the gold medal goes to mary lou retton. >> and the united states has swept the gold medals. wow! stunning! the best. >> with grace, poise and perfect form mary lou retton, carly patterson and nastia liukin have won a combined 13 olympic medals. >> there it is! >> she did it.

>> a 10. >> at the 1984 summer games in los angeles mary lou became the first american woman to ever win olympic gold in gymnastics. >> look out for mary lou. >> it took two decades for the next mary lou to be crowned in athens, greece, when carly patterson took gold. >> nastia liukin joins mary lou and carly. >> four years later in beijing, nastia liukin added her name to the elite group of all-around champions. all three ladies are with us this morning. it is the first time in history that they have been in the same place at the same time. >> yes. >> we're happy about that. nastia liukin, mary lou retton and carly patterson. good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> you had the first picture ever together taken. i had no idea that this was so historic. >> it's already on twitter. >> really? you sent it out? >> we're as excited as everybody else. >> let's bring people up to date.

nastia, you have only competed once since beijing in 2009. you made the decision to get back into training and go for the 2012 team. was it a hard call? >> it was a little card, but at the same time i knew in the back of my mind that i wasn't done. because i wasn't able to tell myself that i was done with gymnastics and i think i had a vision of me being in london sitting in the stands, not knowing if -- you know, if i could have tried and been on the team. i didn't want to have those thought or so regrets. >> i was reading last night and i remember that your dad, your coach in beijing, will still be your coach, but he's also coaching another olympic hopeful. what's her name? >> rebecca bross. how is that going? >> it's different this year. last time four years ago she was just a junior. she didn't factor into anything. now having somebody right by my side every day makes it more competitive. but i think it's good. i am older now, so she's younger than me.

she has the energy and fire every day. >> mary lou, 1984 when you won olympic gold and you're also in training for 2012. congratulations! that's great news. >> thanks, matt. that would be history. >> can you imagine? >> four daughters? >> yes. four. 16, 14, 11 and 9. god bless me. but really just getting my priorities straight being a full-time mom now. still traveling, doing some things. very involved in gymnastics. three are competitive gymnasts. >> do you love that the young girls mention your name and want to be like you? >> it's an honor. 28 years ago. it was 28 years ago for my olympics. one of the greatest moments of my life, being able to represent the usa in the olympic games. to pave the way for these wonderful women. you know, back in my day there was no expectation. americans had never done

anything in olympic history. >> and obviously you set the pace. >> carly, you're in college now. >> yes. i'm a full-time student. >> and engaged. >> yeah. i just got engaged to my wonderful fiance mark. wedding planning and all that fun stuff now. >> do you miss competing? >> i do. it was one of those highs you can only get from competing in gymnastics or in a high level sport. i definitely miss the feeling. >> can we go over a couple of the other hopefuls. here's one. but some of the other people we may be seeing in london. jordan wieber from dewitt, michigan. what should we know? >> reigning world champion. >> she's the one to beat. >> not only did the u.s. win the team gold medal but jordan came away at her first world championships to win the title. that definitely gives you the confidence you need to go out in the olympic stage. >> she's stayed healthy and

she'll be the one to beat. she's the front-runner. >> you can see her gymnastics is amazing, dynamic, powerful. she's confident. >> another name is ali raizman from massachusetts. >> she's been on two world championship teams along with jordan in tokyo. as you can see, she's a powerhouse. on vault and floor especially. she does some tumbling nobody in the world does. she does it with ease and confidence. so it makes it look easy. i can tell you that it's not. >> having that power and having those big competitions under her belt, she's just a huge asset to the team. >> again, it's great to have the three of you on the same couch in the same room, cheating, looking at my questions. we're pleased. we can't wait to see you in london and cross paths with you down the road. thanks again. >> thanks for having us. >> our pleasure. you can watch the at&t american

cup gymnastics competition tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern on nbc. up next, planning your summer getaway. the next sites for vacation rentals. first, this is "today" on nbc.

>> announcer: brought to you by expedia. save by booking flight and hotel together. expedia. >> this morning on today's travel vacation rentals. whether you are looking to rent a room, apartment or a villa there is a site out there to suit your needs. >> good morning. >> this is the way to go. it's a $24 billion industry. rather than staying in a hotel people are booking homes, apartments or rooms. >> one-fifth of all the revenue for u.s. hotel room bookings come from this. not only can people save money

but they can make money if they want to put their apartment or houses on the market. >> is it just semantics? what's the difference between renting a room versus a hotel room? >> some websites have you crash at someone's house. you take their apartment over or rent one room in the apartment. others have full amenities, spas, concierge. depends on if you want the chocolate on your bedside when you have turn down. >> i do. >> or not. >> chocolate always. for most people the big hesitation is at a hotel you know what you're going to get. if you're not happy you can go to the hotel manager and have it addressed. you book someone's home, what recourse do you have? how do you avoid getting scammed? >> the main thing is you have to do your due diligence. set a budget. know what location you want to be in. it sounds obvious but they will say "new york." new york has the catskills,

staten island, manhattan. if you want to be in manhattan, be in manhattan. also, if you want an ocean view, make sure it is provided. and you may want to consider getting travel insurance to be safe. >> and there are fishy words when they see sleeps six. it may not be six bedrooms. >> a reputable site saves you heartache. >> if you want to rent your home and possibly make cash how do you go about it? >> this is a genius thing people are doing. when they are on vacation their house is making them money. this is fantastic. first of all, make sure you are using a reputable site. you either pay a commission or pay a fee per year. also make sure to have a contract. a lot of websites offer important questions that you should ask people. also really think about what you want and what's right for you just because you're going to make money doesn't mean it' e's going to work for you.

>> first we have rental companies. we have -- i don't know how to say it. >> air b & b. >> i was trying to say it like a word. >> they have had 4 million guest nights booked in the last year. this is great to stay in a city and you have everything from staying in someone's spare bedroom to renting the whole place. >> we have home away. >> home away has a lot of different price points. it's associated with vrbo. >> we have luxury hotel rooms. red week.com. >> it's great because they are affiliated with hotels and resorts. this is almost like a timeshare or a condo. you can get the amenity-filled experience while doing it at a vacation rental. >> there is a house rental agency. >> wimco. luxury villas. we'll see one in turks and

caicos. if you want luxury, this is it. >> and the traditional house swap. i love the idea. >> i love a house swap, too. a lot of people do. the reason is you are literally barely spending any money and you get a vacation out of the deal. there are websites like i love home swap and home exchange that are great. home exchange has 41,000 listings. you won't be short of places to go. pick one and do it again and again. >> and can you talk to the other owner to manage expectations? >> it's all about doing your advance work, talking to people whether it is a representative or the owner. asking a million questions, probably too many. and get it in writing. >> pictures. it's easier these days with e-mail. >> you feel like you get a tour with how in depth the websites are. >> good way to look at summer vacations. thank you. up next, fun with the country's newest "it" girl, siri, the

virtual personal assistant. first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ oh, her eyes, her eyes, ♪ make the stars look like they're not shinin'. ♪ ♪ her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying.♪ ♪ she's so beautiful, and i tell her everyday. ♪ ♪ you're amazing, just the way you are. ♪ people love people. pick up your copy.

we are back now at 8:52 with the hottest new trend in personal assistants. >> they are not human. for years we have been talking on our phones. now for the first time they are talking back, trying to make life a little bit easier. there are few people in the world famous enough to go by one

name. madonna, cher, beyonce and now -- siri. >> okay. i'll send your message. >> reporter: first released by apple back in october -- >> this is really cool. >> reporter: siri is the virtual personal assistant who has become a worldwide phenomenon. you can ask her anything. >> what's the weather like in chicago. >> remind me to pick up the wedding invitations. >> siri is an interesting technology. it's the voice activation that can do anything for you. >> reporter: just six months old, siri is seeping into pop culture. from music -- ♪ siri, sometimes your words hypnotize me ♪ >> reporter: to horror movies. >> do you think you can outsmart me. >> reporter: to morning television. >> text kathie lee. >> i don't have a phone number or e-mail address. >> yes you do. text kathie gifford.

>> i'm sorry. i didn't find that. >> no! >> reporter: a technology company created the virtual assistant in 2010. so apple didn't invent siri, but it made her famous and is keeping her mysterious. >> we don't know how siri came about or why they kept the name. we don't know if it's a computer generated voice or who the female is. >> reporter: we may not know siri, but siri knows us. what's my name? >> you're savannah. that's what you told me anyway. >> reporter: attitude. she takes all kinds of questions. >> find me a starbucks. >> reporter: what's with the urge to ask her -- well -- >> siri, where should we bring dead bodies. >> if you ask where she's from she says she's from another planet, sent to earth to be a personal assistant. >> reporter: siri may ignore you. make sure she can understand you. >>. [ strong accent ] how many miles are in ten

kilometers. >> i don't see e-mails for yesterday. >> reporter: we have it bad for siri. >> do you love me? >> reporter: when you put her to the test, does she know the answer to life's important questions? >> where in the world is matt lauer? >> here he's matt. nbc universal's work address. >> whoa. >> reporter: what is al roker's middle name? >> okay. here goes. >> reporter: albert lincoln roker? [ bell ringing ] >> reporter: what's your favorite morning show? >> i prefer not to say. >> reporter: what's the number one morning show in america? she's giving me something on the internet. there's your answer! siri is smart. do we love siri? >> i have mixed feelings. >> i turned her off. not the first woman i have turned off. >> i was going to say. >> you know, i was hitting the buttons. i just got it.

she would just start talking when i didn't want her to. >> let's be honest. you're not mr. technology. >> you have to set it. you can turn it off so it doesn't do it. >> ask her the meaning of life, al. >> let's see. >> hold on. she's working. >> what's the meaning of life, siri? >> this is why i turned her off. >> we're hanging on her -- >> get back to us. >> i got nothing. >> the answer after your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. city police are investigating an early-morning shooting. we are told that the man is winning for a bus at greenmount avenue when he was shot twice. that was around 5:30 this

morning. the man was taken to hospital, where he is in critical

>> sun is out now, but a storm is developing to the west. we will average it out and say mostly cloudy. by this afternoon, totally overcast. showers moving in in the afternoon. afternoon.