back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, the 14th day of march 2012. and just another chance to say hi to some of the people who have come to new york on perhaps one of the nicest weeks of weather we have had in years. three days in a row reaching 70 degrees in the month of march. that doesn't happen often. not a lot of complaints about it. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker and savannah guthrie. coming up, we're going to talk more about a case making big headlines not only in florida where it's happening but now all across the country. >> that's right. this involves a millionaire on trial accused of manslaughter in

a driving under the influence case. a young man perished in the accident. what's happening is there is a lot of controversy because he adopted his own girlfriend in an effort to shield some of his fortunes. now testimony is under way. the defense is claiming he was the victim. we're going to explain that coming up in a report. >> health news, you may or may not know march is colon cancer awareness month and there are a lot of misconceptions about the disease. it is not just a man's disease. other people worry that colonoscopies are painful. we'll find out the facts about colon health. >> and later on, with rising gas prices, millions of americans still unemployed, money is tight. we have our money 911 crew here to answer questions about whether to refinance your mortgage, close a store credit card and how to protect yourself from bouncing checks. >> sounds like we have a busy hour ahead. let's get started at the news

desk with natalie and the headlines. >> good morning. gop presidential hopeful rick santorum swept the south last night winning both the alabama and mississippi primaries. coming in second in both states was newt gingrich, pushing one-time front-runner mitt romney to third place. romney did have two smaller victories to celebrate this morning. he won the contests in american samoa and hawaii. leon panetta is in afghanistan today. the visit was planned months ago but has taken on new significance just days after a u.s. soldier allegedly went on a shooting rampage, killing 16 afghan civilians. meantime afghan officials say they have surveillance video of the lone soldier surrendering, proof he acted alone. an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 is jolted the tokyo area this morning. it came hours after a stronger magnitude 6.8 quake in northern japan in an area still recovering from the massive earthquake and tsunami a year ago.

there were no reports of injuries or significant damage from either of today's quakes. a bus carrying belgian students home from a swiss skiing holiday crashed overnight, killing at least 28 people including 22 kids. 24 other children were injured. police say they are investigating what caused the bus to veer directly into a tunnel wall. testimony is now under way at the dui manslaughter trial of a florida millionaire charged in an accident that killed a 23-year-old driver. it's a case that received a lot of attention because of an unusual move by the defendant. mark potter is in west palm beach with more. good morning, mark. >> good morning to you, natalie. the case drew national attention when the wealthy defendant adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend to protect some of that wealth. now john goodman is in a fight for his life. police say he was drunk and left the scene of the accident but the defense claims he was a victim.

>> the case of state of florida versus goodman. >> reporter: he's charged with dui manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident in which 23-year-old scott wilson was killed by drowning in a canal. in the opening statement the prosecutor said right after speeding through a stop sign and crashing his bentley into wilson's car, goodman left the victim to die. >> he hit scott wilson, pushed that hyundai across the street through the dirt and it rolled into the canal upside down. scott wilson didn't die from blunt trauma. he drowned. and what did the defendant do? he walked away. >> reporter: the prosecution says goodman who owns the international polo club in florida had been partying and drinking with friends before getting in his car. >> three hours after this crash the defendant's b.a.c. was .17, more than twice the legal limit. >> reporter: famed defense

attorney roy black offered another explanation. he told the jury the bentley malfunctioned and roared out of control through the stop sign. >> all of the sudden the car surges forward. you see him trying to control this enormously powerful car. unbeknownst to john goodman the throttles that run t fuel into the engine are not working properly. >> reporter: black said at the time of the accident goodman was not drunk and only drank heavily after leaving the scene to find a phone because his cell phone was dead. >> for the next hour, the only pain relief he was able to find comes from a bottle of alcohol. >> reporter: black says goodman didn't abandon wilson. in the dark he didn't know he had been pushed into the canal. he said before calling 911 he called his girlfriend because he was delirious from the accident and hers was the only number he could remember.

last year goodman adopted the 42-year-old to protect some of his wealth. over the weekend it was reported that goodman and the victim's family reached an undisclosed settlement in the civil case although none of the lawyers is talking about that. in the criminal case, goodman could get up to 30 years in prison if convicted. natalie, back to you. >> thank you, mark. restrooms are being restocked with toilet paper in the new jersey state capitol. supplies had dwindled to few rolls at more than a dozen city buildings in trenton. the city council refused to okay the contract for paper products because it included 4,000 dollars in paper cups. after negative publicity they approved the emergency purchase of a six-month toilet paper supply. that's a good thing. now six minutes past the hour. let's turn it over to al with a

check of the weather. >> now we know why they have been writing all those tickets -- extra paper. let's show you what we have for today. pacific northwest. it will get hammered. three storms back to back. they have more coming. we have rain from northern california into the pacific northwest. mountain snows as well. we're talking anywhere from two to four feet of snow in the cascades and the sierra. also looking at one to three inches of rain. some areas locally five inches. temperatures way above normal. 10 to 30 degrees above normal. today in minneapolis, a high of 72 degrees. 75 in detroit. 77 in chicago. >> good morning. it will be another beautiful day with temperatures well above average. the average high temperature is in the low 50's. will make it up

♪ money, money, money >> time for today's money 911. that's where our team of experts tackle your financial problems. today we have sharon epperson, cnbc's personal finance correspondent. david bach, founder of finish rich.com and author of "debt free for life" and farnoos farnoosh torabi, host of financially fit on yahoo finance. we have a lot of questions. we have a call-in from jamie, a young person in new mexico. good morning. what's your question? >> caller: good morning. i'm 59 years old. i still have 24 years left on my mortgage. my house payment goes up every year and i'm considering refinancing to lower the

payments. should i assume that i would never pay off my mortgage at this age and refinance for 30 years or should i refinance for 50 years and keep the higher monthly payment? i'm wondering if i should investment in retirement or pay off my house? >> what do you think? >> it comes down to how much her terms are for the mortgage. if she's able to shave off at least one percent or half a percent it makes sense to refinance. she has to find the break even point. you can look at a lot of calculators online to do that. the key will be whether or not you want to get the 30-year or 15-year. if you can shave off enough you can refinance. but make sure your monthly housing payments are less than what you are paying now. as long as you can do it with a 15-year go for that. if it's a higher payment, i'd say not to do that. in terms of retirement, unless you have enough money in emergency savings, eight months worth of living expenses, paid off your credit cards and you are already putting 15% away for

retirement i would not say to pay off the house before saving for retirement. at 59, the key is to make sure you have cash to pay your expenses including a mortgage. you want the flexibility to do that. a tax advantage retirement account would allow you to do that. if you put the money in the house it's tied up and you don't have access to it. don't do that. >> thank you, jamie. now an e-mail. james from rhode island writes, after several insufficient funds fees assessed to her account my wife was told she should deposit her checks as cash to avoid having the bank place a hold on those funds. she says this worked for her. i wonder how they make it work and if it's something others could take advantage of. >> i don't like that she's bouncing checks, living paycheck to paycheck. if it's the employment check she should not walk the check to the bank. she should have the money automatically deposited in the account. that way it clears instantly.

if she walk it is check to the bank it depends where the check is from. if it's the same bank. if you give me a check from your bank they will say, hey, i can clear al's check. from a different bank it could take 5 to 10 days. a government check takes two to three days. the bank manager can sometimes make exceptions. for the most part they don't unless there is money in your bank account. they don't want to take the risk of checks bouncing. >> enough money to cover the check you're depositing. >> she should opt for overdraft protection. if she's getting a fee every time. >> check link your checking and savings so the money can come from there. >> if she opts out for not having the check covered she'll get a late fee anyway. don't write a check you can't afford. >> good advice. now to skype. joined by jessica.

good morning. >> my question is i opened a credit card through one of the furniture companies to have no interest for a year. i paid it off within two months. now i have this credit card i no longer need to use. is it possible for me to close it or will that affect my credit? >> you can close the account. in general we have talked ad nauseam about how it's important to keep credit cards open even after you have paid them off because having the line of credit helps your credit score. calculators like to see that you have ample sufficient credit in your name, even if you are not using it. a little bit of difference with store credit cards. they are structured differently. the limit on store cards is generally little compared to a bank issued major credit card. a lot of times they start you with $1 ,000 or $1,500 at most.

assuming you have other credit cards in the mix, closing a store card is not as negative as closing a card with a $10,000 limit. if this is not your only credit card and it does have a small limit in the grand scheme of things this is not going to hurt your score. if you want to get rid of it and it's keeping you up at night. >> thanks so much. we have lee anne from texas. good morning. >> good morning. my question is one of our credit cards went to collections. we have been working with them for the last six months on a payment plan. they recently offered to let us settle for half the amount owed. my husband wants to hire a lawyer and let them work with the company to help us settle the debt and remove it from our credit. >> i don't think the lawyers will do what they say they can. my husband thinks if we settle the collection agency will still owe the remaining amount due. what should we do? >> i think her husband wants the certainty that this will get

done. you can have that by getting everything in writing. that's the key. of course this is a negative entry on your credit report and it could stay for seven years. the good thing is it counts less along the way. look for a paid for delete letter. figure out a sample form of that. you want to contact the collection agency, come up with an agreement to the terms you decide on whether it's paying half the amount, the full amount. even if it's a settlement for half the amount that it says paid in full in your agreement. don't pay anything, not one dime until you get it in writing. send everything certified mail so you have a receipt for all the information. check your credit report. make sure it's gone or at least says paid in full. your credit score should improve. on the right track. >> best of luck. sharon, david and n the east co.

that's at today.com. up next, we are talking about colon cancer. we have important health advice. later on, is nicollette sheridan's case crumbling? poor baby. the latest twist in the "desperate housewives" trial. first, these messages. family together for breakfaste might seem... ♪ ...impossible. no, no... well how about the purp? ew! ♪ yeah. wow. unless you have eggo® waffles. they're quick and easy to make, and there's something about them... that just makes people move. [ male announcer ] golden crispy outside, warm and fluffy inside. who says breakfast together can't be done? [ male announcer ] eggo® waffles. simply delicious.

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super for the oats that are so good for our hearts. ♪ super for how it makes us... super. quaker oats. energy. fiber. heart health. super people eat super grains. >> announcer: today's health is brought to you by the american cancer society, the official respon sponsor of birthdays. >> this morning on today's health, the truth about your colon. march is colon cancer awareness month. it's a good time to separate fact from fiction. dr. raj is a "today" contributor and a gastroenterologist at nyu medical center in new york city. good morning. you're the perfect person to talk to about this. >> that's right. >> you can't say enough about the importance of colon health in general. >> absolutely. your colon or large intestine

helps you eliminate waste, toxins. it's a site of one of the most common cancers worldwide. we need to know everything about colon cancer. >> let's do myth versus fact. a lot of people think colon cancer is a man's disease. not true? >> absolutely not. colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer and cancer death for men and women. it happens almost as equal for men and women. >> the next myth or fact. if you have no family history of colon cancer you don't need to be screened. >> not true at all. most cases of colon cancer occur in people that don't have relatives who had colon cancer. even if you have no family history at the appropriate age which is 50 for most people you need to be screened. >> if you have it in the family should you get an earlier screening? >> most likely, yes. it depends what age the relative was when they got colon cancer and how close the relative is. discuss it with your doctor. >> our next myth or fact.

colonoscopies are painful. >> this is one a lot of people worry about and it prevents people from going to get this life-saving test. you get sedation for a colonoscopy. you should not feel pain. most of the time you're totally asleep. you may be in a twilight state, groggy. not painful at all. >> the truth is it's what you have to do to prepare that isn't painful but it is uncomfortable. >> annoying. the preparation is what you're talking about. yes, you need to have a laxative solution the day before. clear everything out. it's annoying. you have to go to the bathroom several times. it's not painful. it's a necessary evil of the test, but not so bad. >> myths and facts. i want to get the facts out there. our next one. colon cancer is curable. >> it is true. colon cancer is both preventable and curable. most colon cancers start in polyps, precancerous growths we can remove during a colonoscopy

so it doesn't grow into cancer. if we find it at an early stage you can have surgery to remove it. basically you have an excellent survival after that. it's a cure. >> so doctors see polyps in the colonoscopy, they can remove it? >> absolutely. you don't feel a thing. we have it analyzed. >> only older people get colon cancer? >> not true. your risk increases as you get older. at age 50 you should start. i have seen younger people with colon cancer. it's important to be aware of the symptoms of colon cancer. rectal bleeding, a change in bowel habits. diarrhea or constipation, abdominal pain, weight loss. check with your doctor. >> good information. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> coming up, luscious locks for spring inspired by red carpet celebrity hair styles. first, these messages. (bell rings)

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. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> lots of sunshine in the forecast. temperatures way above average. average high is 53. we will make it to 76 this afternoon. thickening clouds tomorrow. chance for rain coming in thursday

♪ i'm sexy and i know it wave good-bye to your old hair style. wave? did you get it? >> yes. >> the hottest new dos for spring. waves are all the rage and the glossy pony as well. how to get a red carpet look at home with four sexy styles from jonathan antin. >> the glossy pony, huh? >> sandra bullock had it. it's sleek. >> sounds like something else. i don't know what. >> like what, al? >> i don't know. it sounds like more than a hair style. >> go with it, al. >> speaking of hair styles there was a dramatic twist wor athy oa

primetime soap at the trial brought by nicollette sheridan. part of the case was thrown out. we'll have the latest. >> all right. we'll have a bit of nostalgia in today's kitchen today with desserts that will bring you back to your childhood whether it's the classic black and white cookie of new york city or southern style banana pudding. we'll get a lesson in three classic sweet treats. >> that was the strawberry poke cake. >> we'll find out why it's called the poke e i think we got a hint. poking holes in it. >> do you think? wow! >> speaking of sweets, our s swt weather man, al. >> oh! let's show you what's happening. for today we have plenty of sunshine up and down the sweet coast. this is a sweet forecast for the eastern two-thirds of the country. record highs in the plains. not so hot for the pacific northwest and california. heavy rain continues. record highs in the plains. a risk of strong storms in the upper mississippi river valley

and ohio river valley. sunny up and down the east coast with chilly conditions in northern new england. >> good morning. the temperatures are way above average. the average high is 53. we'll make it into the mid to upper 70's. and that's your latatest weather. >> al, thank you. up next, more drama than any scripted tv series. the "desperate housewives" trial takes a surprising turn after this. time out. sweet. [ female announcer ] with charmin ultra soft, you can get that cushiony feeling you love

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sheridan against the show's creator. craig melvin has the twists and turns. hey, craig. >> reporter: thanks, al. good morning to you. in about three hours closing arguments are set to start here at the l.a. county courthouse. yesterday inside the courtroom, all the makings of a classic housewives episode. there were plot twists. even a cliff hanger. >> why did you have to do this? >> reporter: surprises and suspense were once the staples of "desperate housewives." what happened in court tuesday could have been easily one of the season ending shockers. >> it was a bombshell. nobody saw it coming. >> reporter: first a mystery witness was revealed. we learned it was longtime staffer michael reinhart who left a voicemail for nicollette sheridan's attorney over the weekend. >> i received an e-mail soon after nicolette filed suit that regarded having i.t. come in to

wipe clean the hard drives of the producers in response to correspondence that they have had, e-mailwise, about firing her. >> reporter: reinhart helped build the colorfully suburban set and has been with the show since the beginning. he said he came forward to get the truth out. sheridan's lawyers hoped his testimony would help prove her character was killed off when she complained executive producer marc cherry hit her in the head. but hollywood reporter inside the courtroom said it didn't go well. the problem was ultimately he wasn't that credible. even he couldn't be sure of exactly what he read and he couldn't remember who it was sent to. he didn't have a copy of it. he had very little detail. then 48-year-old sheridan took the stand and gave a brief version of what she said happened on set in 2008. in a trembling voice she said, quote, he was dismissive and he hit me. shortly after her testimony the judge threw out the battery complaint saying there was not

enough evidence. >> obviously i'm thrilled by the judge's decision. but i'm going to withhold commentary on this matter until the entire case is resolved. i'm going to lunch now and i'm a happy man. >> reporter: the judge didn't toss the wrongful termination claim against the show. sheridan's lawyers say that was the main focus all along. >> the case is about being fired for being hit and complaining a about it at work which is worth $5.7 million. chase what it's about. >> reporter: sheridan often battled the other stars on the show. felicity huffman, eva longoria and teri hatcher. in this cliffhanger, it's abc and touchstone. abc and touchstone airs and distributes the show. they conducted an investigation and found sheridan was not mistreated. we should note here that sheridan's lawyers will continue to scour reinhart's computer. the judge said if they find something she should stop closing arguments.

al? >> craig, thanks so much. up next, you'll be desperate for these hair styles. we have the hottest styles for spring with celebrity hair stylist jonathan antin right after these messages. what's this? [ male announcer ] quaker oatmeal squares

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this morning, the hottest hair styles for spring from penelope cruz to jessica chastain, waves are all the wage. celebrity hair stylist jonathan antin is here with easy styles to do at home. let's get started. i love the looks today. we are starting with retro chic. our first model has long beautiful flowy locks. >> yeah. >> and the inspiration here is the penelope cruz look. let's see how she looks now here in the live picture. you have the up do we saw at the oscars. >> they did waves on her and just rolled her under really easy. the great thing is it's just a couple of pins to roll her up. >> she didn't cut her hair or anything. >> no, no. it's a simple. i will take out a few pins to

show you. >> so you see it's all there. just tucked under. >> a couple pins. a little rubber band. watch. a little rubber band. at night she can take her hair out and style have these beautiful sexy waves. >> right. >> do you have to have length to to do? >> yeah. all it is is a curling iron and rolled up and pinned underneath. that's it. a little bit of spray and shine. at the end of going out she could just take this out all the way around her head and have all of her length back and great curl. >> is this a look everyone can wear, even if you're older? >> you could do it, too. look. you grab this hair, pin it up. >> '40s. >> retro chic. the classic a-frame bob.

>> looks great. >> exactly. >> on the next one, next we have the one-sided wave we saw on stacy keebler. this is our model beforehand. here is how she looks now. absolutely gorgeous. it doesn't look like it takes a lot of effort. the hard part is to keep it all on one side. curling iron, brush through. a little bit of shine product. >> how do you get this perfect wave? >> it's a curling iron and a good brushing makes all the curls blend into each other for this kind of veronica lake wave. >> it is veronica lake. >> spray on one side of her head all the way to the other side. but this isn't glued together. >> it still moves. >> she can run her hands through this at the end of the night, get her curls back and have it

looser. >> she looks like stacy keebler. gorgeous girl. >> very stacy keebler. >> anyone can do this? >> even hotter. >> anyone can do this look? >> anyone. >> you have to have long hair or can you do clip-ons? >> you can have the extensions. >> you can still use the curling iron. brush it all to one side and have that finger wave. >> lots of hair spray on this side to keep it down. >> or you can do a bobby pin or a hair pin. >> a nice broach. >> let's move over for our next look. this is the half do. this is our before picture of our model. let's see the before and after. it's the half twist on top. >> this is like what jessica chastain did at the awards. she had length down in front.

the waves again, you know. the waves right now are in. >> right. >> it's not about straight anymore. it's not necessarily about curly. >> very romantic. >> retro, clean. >> how did you do the twist on top? >> really simple. i just take a ponytail at the top of the back of the crown. ponytail here and then the pieces around her face i just grab them, wrap them around the ponytail. you can see the pin underneath. >> elegant. >> it's classic and clean. it pulls really tight on the face here. it's still sexy with the length, you know? >> she wears it well. finally, the full ponytail. >> the full tail. >> here is the model beforehand and here she is live. gorgeous. >> you can see the type of ponytail, again. >> the glossy pony. >> it has a pretty, classic wave inside the ponytail.

>> but it's very tight. >> very, very tight. the secret behind this type of ponytail is i take one ponytail in the center. then i take a few extra ponytails from around it and wrap those into the main ponytail. >> wrapped it around. >> and then just a little bit of curling iron for this nice wave. >> as we saw on sandra bullock at the oscars. >> just like sandra. >> these are gorgeous ladies. thank you. jonathan antin thank you as well. >> you're very welcome. >> up next, desserts to remind you of your grandmother's kitchen. first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in today's kitchen, delicious desserts, old fashioned favorites. >> we'll bring back sweet childhood memories of grandma's house with three classic recipes for a cookie and a cake.

>> chris, good morning. >> good morning. my grandma was a terrible cook. >> oh! >> but a lovely grandma. this is memories of somebody else's grandma's house. >> the grandma you wish you had. >> if you're not from new york city you probably don't know from the black & white cookie. >> they were made a hundred years ago in a secret location in brooklyn and they're stored. every year, they are doled out and they taste like they were made in 1911. that's the story of the black & white cookie. did you know? >> i didn't know that. if you don't have a supply and want to start your own. >> a recently baked one. we'll make a cake cookie dough. we use a quarter cup which is a lot. we put them on a sheet tray and bake them for about 15 minutes at 350. >> you scoop them out. >> yeah. it's a cross between a cake dough. you want it softer. >> you don't want to cook it too long. >> 15 to 18 minutes.

it's done when it's brown around the edges. most people overcook their cookies. we have a glaze of confectioner's sugar, corn syrup which makes it glossy and doesn't make the cookie soggy which is nice. we'll mix this up. you can put half of that in here and we'll add cocoa powder and more milk. we have done that. >> this is more of a glaze than icing. >> this is a glaze. it has a nice softness to it. also nice and bright. >> i will start with the white and go to the chocolate. >> there you go. i'll start with chocolate and go to white. you put the glaze on like that. doing a good job? >> trying. how long does it take to set? >> i let them sit for about 15 minutes. they'll be fine. >> delicious. >> there you go. you did it well. you didn't lick it or anything.

>> he ate the cookie dough beforehand. >> such control. >> i have none. >> from a new york classic to a southern classic. banana pudding. >> 1920 it was invented to sell a box of vanilla wafers. this is vanilla pudding but called banana pudding. so we put -- >> bananas in it. i'm on to you. >> so is everybody else. >> these are roasted bananas. >> roasted for 20 minutes. we start with -- >> very ripe? >> no, not that ripe. if they are too ripe they exude. >> ew. >> that would be a runny pudding. so we take the roasted bananas out. >> 20 minutes in a 350 oven. >> and a regular vanilla pudding. >> we have the pudding we also made. >> blend it all up.

>> and now we have banana pudding. >> okay. >> now we have layers of cookies, pudding and bananas. some of the bananas, a little bit of lemon juice so they don't turn brown. >> banana pudding is always better the next day when it sets in a little bit. what are you laughing at? >> i was looking at savannah over your shoulder. >> it's creepy. >> i found it calming. >> this is performance art. we should go on the road. we assemble that, put this on and we have the top layer. >> put it in the fridge? >> let it set about an hour. we made this a year ago in the kitchen and i made fun of it. >> looks good for a year old. >> this one was made just today. >> like the black & white cookies. >> i'm trying it. >> savannah. >> we have strawberry poke cake. why, chris, do they call it strawberry poke cake?

>> is i bet you know the answer. you poke exactly 50 holes in there. >> can you poke them anywhere? >> five rows of ten. >> what's the purpose? >> we really lost this segment. this was done by kraft in 1969 to use the gelatin. we cooked strawberries for ten minutes. we made our own mixture here. we're going to take strawberry gel and put it in. put this in the food processor. mix it up. we're going to put this over our own jello mixer. we'll put it over the cake. originally this was a boxed cake. it was too soft and got soggy. we made our own. >> it looks like this. >> looks like that. >> your local news is next.