good morning. final report. the l.a. county coroner's office released its official findings on whitney houston's death. this morning the white powdery substance found throughout her hotel room and the last-ditch effort to save her life. worse than we thought, a detailed new account of the cruise ship disaster off the coast of italy that killed 32 people. it tells of glaring mistakes made by the captain before and after that accident and the lies he allegedly ordered his crew to tell. a "today" exclusive. nadya suleman, single mother of 14 children including octuplets forced to take government assistance after vowing she never would. a decision that's made her the target of serious anger and has raised questions about her kids' future. she is here to talk about her

choice and what's next for her family in a live interview today thursday, april 5th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. >> and i'm matt lauer. that final coroner's report on whitney houston's death, it is 42 pages long. it details exactly what happened to the singer in her final moments. >> and some of the details are pretty disturbing, matt. as you know, houston drown face down in a tub in about a foot of water. at the time of her death, she had cocaine and other drugs in her system. police plan to use the findings to wrap up their investigation. we'll have the latest on this straight ahead. also ahead, we're going to talk about an article that has a lot of people talking. it was written by a woman who says because she is beautiful,

some other women hate her. she's even been held back at work by insecure female bosses. thousands of you commented on this article on our website. coming up, we'll take a look at the backlash, and we'll hear from the writer for the first time. and also coming up this morning, the latest on this case, this nfl cheerleader and former high school teacher who's been accused of sexually abusing a former student. and so the question is why she's now wearing a monitoring device and also has the text message function on her cell phone disabled. we'll get to that. let's begin on the final coroner's report on the death of whitney houston. we have rehema ellis here. >> well, the report does not change the coroner's initial determination that whitney houston's death was an accidental drowning. it provides many new details about what was found in houston's hotel room. and it confirms that the singer's death was also caused by heart disease and cocaine use. >> yes, this is the final report.

>> reporter: nearly two months after whitney houston was found dead in her suite at the beverly hilton hotel, the coroner's report reveals what was found the day she died. among the items in the bathroom, a small spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it, close to a rolled up piece a paper. toxicology reports show houston had used cocaine before she collapsed and drowned in her hotel bathtub. in a nearby drawer, remnants of a white powdery substance and a portable mirror that contained more white powdery substance. according to the report, which never specifically identifies that substance as cocaine. the report details a virtual pharmacy inside the superstar's hotel suite, along with an open bottle of champagne, a table filled with prescription medications. beyond cocaine, the report says other drugs found inside the singer's body included marijuana, xanax, benadryl and a muscle relaxant.

>> anytime that you're combining medications, prescription medications, with illicit drugs, cocaine, and also with the presence of alcohol, it's really unpredictable what could happen. it's a quite dangerous combination. >> reporter: the report indicates that when police arrived at the suite, they found houston's body had been moved from the bathtub to the living room floor and rigor mortis had begun. also revealed, the body showed signs that a defibrillator kit had been used. houston's nose had been bleeding, and she had superficial injuries to her face, torso, shoulders, knees and back. the coroner noted marks of recent scalding to her lower body, scars from breast implants, dental prosthesis and that houston was wearing a brown wig. ♪ when all my strength is gone >> reporter: the coroner's final report on the tragic end to the life of one of the world's brightest stars. >> cocaine can set somebody up to be in a dangerous situation like pass out and then be in the

wrong place at the wrong time. >> so far there's been no comment from houston's family. the beverly hills police department said they need more time to digest the findings and will release a statement later this week. >> thank you for your reporting this morning. let's get a check of the other top stories of the morning. savannah is over at the news desk while natalie is off this week. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt and ann. former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is due in court today where his lawyers are moving to have the child sex abuse charges against him dismissed. sandusky is set to go on trial two months from now. the 68-year-old faces 52 counts of alleged sex abuse. sandusky denies those charges. president obama signs the jobs act today. the legislation is designed to bolster small businesses and start-ups in a bid to create jobs. in the meantime, tonight the president is planning to host a screening of the film "to kill a mockingbird" at the white house in honor of the film's 50th anniversary.

five former new orleans police officers have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 65 years for their roles in the fatal shootings of unarmed residents in the chaos following hurricane katrina. the defendants were also convicted of civil rights violations and a cover-up. six unarmed civilians were shot, two were killed back in 2005. police in athens used tear gas and flash grenades to clear violent protests overnight. the fiery riots were touched off when an elderly greek man shot himself to death outside the greek parliament. he had said his pension was slashed amid the austerity measures there. now to wall street. cnbc's courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. courtney, good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. investors are looking to help lift sentiment after one of the worst performances of the year so far on wednesday. retailers are reporting their monthly same-store sales. many benefiting from one of the

warmest marches on record and an early easter. and while the stock market is closed tomorrow in observance of good friday, the bond market will be operating on a half-day schedule, and the government will be releasing its monthly jobs report. savannah, back to you. >> courtney reagan on wall street, thank you. well, local officials are calling it a miracle that not a single person died when as many as 13 tornadoes tore through the dallas area earlier this week, leveling hundreds of homes there. but amid the rubble came a ray of hope wednesday when one of our local reporters found a puppy in hard-hit lancaster, texas. with a little help from social media, we were able to reunite brownie with his owner. >> thank you! >> oh, you're welcome. >> thank you! oh, hi, baby! >> look, he's wagging his tail now. >> oh, i'm so glad to see you! >> his owner was not home when those tornadoes ripped through the neighborhood, but she says she believes the puppy rode out the storm outdoors. and is there a new fountain at the white house?

a construction crew hit a water main and sent a plume of water sky high. it was quickly contained, but the incident prompted some hard-hitting questions from reporters at the daily press briefing. >> you know, this would be a good chance for you to tell us what they're building over there. more than a year has gone by. >> we're drilling for oil. >> the so-called big dig has been a source of many conspiracy theories in washington. for years the construction project even features a mysterious tunnel, but we may never know. secret service is keeping details classified. it is now 7:08. back to matt, ann and al. i can tell you, reporters have been speculating for years. the leading theory, presidential man cave. >> in time for next year's super bowl. >> yeah. >> it's hard to hide it, though, when you walk by in the white house. it's a big, gaping construction project. >> never hire construction guys named howard fine and howard. >> back from arlington with a blast, mr. roker, what's going

on? >> geez! anyway, show you what we're looking at today. we've got more severe weather to talk about. that area that caused all the problems yesterday, it has shifted east. a lot more gulf moisture coming in. very vigorous low-pressure system, and that's causing risk of strong storms from new orleans up to knoxville and nashville and as far south as orlando and coastal florida. we already have, in fact, a few tornado watches and warnings out this morning that will continue on into the early afternoon hours. rainfall amounts anywhere from one to four inches of rain. that's what's going on around then

that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. now to presidential politics. mitt romney is taking aim at president obama on the heels of his sweep of tuesday's gop primaries, accusing the president of playing hide and seek with his agenda. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> mitt romney has said -- and i'm paraphrasing here -- that he would like to bring the primary season to an end so that he can start to focus on the general election. who can blame him? but it's easier said than done, isn't it? >> it is. right now rick soicantorum, he' like to sort of prove himself, win pennsylvania. it's a little bit of a redemption for him. remember, he got thumped out of office in pennsylvania by some 18 points. he'd like to have a little redemption there. but the problem for the romney folks is the reason they want santorum out now is not only do they want to focus on the general, but they want to avoid santorum being alive in the month of may because here they

could be the de facto nominee in the month of may and lose a slew of primaries because the may primaries are a lot more conservative and a lot more southern. >> what you're saying, mitt romney cannot focus solely on barack obama. he can't ignore rick santorum, newt gingrich or even ron paul. >> well, the problem he's got is, the best thing he can do is to focus on president obama, is to focus on the general. he also needs to start uniting the party. so he can't do what he's done before, i think, in other primaries, which is to start going negative on santorum, trying to drive up his negatives and try to eke out a victory, say, in pennsylvania. does he want to do that? does he want to alienate conservatives, or is he trying to bring the party together? that's the problem the romney folks have right now. the good news for them is santorum's taking five days off the campaign trail, matt. four days for the easter holiday, one for his daughter's 21st birthday. there's been a lot of chatter that it's more than just taking

time off for the holiday. it's soul searching. >> as you were speaking, chuck, we're seeing images of mitt romney and paul ryan together. they've spent about five days together. some people are saying they've got pretty good chemistry, and they're starting to talk about paul ryan as a possible candidate for vice president. is it a viable choice? >> i think it's a very viable choice. what's funny about paul ryan is he not only excites some of the conservative and intellectual base, you've heard president obama use paul ryan as the sledgehammer on mitt romney in that speech a couple of days ago. so it's one of those that would fire up both campaigns. i do think ryan's near the top. i think you'll see that he gets officially vetted. he comes from a swing state but doesn't overshadow the nominee. for the midwest, would put the budget and deficit front and center. there's a lot of positives that ryan would bring to romney, i think. >> chuck todd in washington for us, thanks very much, appreciate it. 12 minutes afterhe hour. here's ann. >> thank you.

now to the latest on the trayvon martin case. investigators are trying to retrace what happened on the night of the deadly shooting, but they're running into a few roadblocks. our kerry sanders is in sanford, florida, with details. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the challenge for the special prosecutor is to determine what really happened on that rainy night more than a month ago. there is only one eyewitness to the shooting, and that is george zimmerman himself. he's the gunman. and according to his lawyers, he's now exercising his right to remain silent. so if the sanford police followed protocol and videotaped his initial interview with them, that leaves the special prosecutor with the opportunity to compare what he told them to csi forensics to see if zimmerman's versions of events holds up. investigators may have no eyewitnesses to the shooting other than george zimmerman himself. he says he fired in self-defense which leaves detectives with a puzzle of evidence including

earwitnesses. >> so you think he's yelling "help"? >> yes. >> what is your phone number? >> just -- there's gunshots. >> reporter: physical evidence and a scientific challenge. can csi explain what happened? >> without eyewitnesses to contradict george zimmerman, forensic evidence is going to be critical because if you can show that zimmerman lied about what really happened, you can perhaps show that he committed a homicide. >> reporter: veteran detectives in florida say if sanford's major crimes unit followed protocol, they should have gathered trayvon's clothes and analyzed it for gunpowder burns. that could reveal how close both trayvon and zimmerman were to each other when the shot was fired. microscopic blood spatter on george zimmerman which will likely reveal not only proximity but coupled with the autopsy report, it should reveal if zimmerman was standing over trayvon down on the ground or if trayvon was standing over him on the ground, or were both

standing? there are evidence photos of the crime scene that should reveal in florida's sandy soil if there really was a scuffle. hal uhrig is zimmerman's newest attorney. >> you're going to find the two of them were closely engaged. it was a basic point-blank shot, but there's going to be evidence that the police have, and they don't do their investigation by sharing it with you and i. >> reporter: jeff dean is a former florida prosecutor who says not having an eyewitness is not uncommon, which often leads to expectations that csi forensics can fill in the blanks. >> there's no magic bullet here. the evidence is what it is. there's no computer that holds all the answers. there's nothing here that they can go and push a button and get some print-out that says yeah, he's lying or no, he's not. >> reporter: while state agents are examining evidence, the fbi is running a parallel investigation. but the justice department is focused on a possible civil rights violation. the feds are trying to answer the question, was 17-year-old trayvon martin targeted by

george zimmerman because of racial prejudice? zimmerman's two attorneys tell me that he is not a racist, and if the grand jury decides to charge him, they welcome the opportunity to defend him. ann? >> kerry sanders this morning, thank you. it is now 7:16. here's matt. >> health officials in washington say that whooping cough has reached epidemic levels. hundreds of cases have been reported this year. six times, in fact, more than last year. nbc's mike taibbi is in seattle's children's hospital with the story. mike, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. here at seattle children's, they've seen 35 positive tests for whooping cough just in the past three months and hundreds statewide. now, if you think of whooping cough as something almost quaint, listen to and watch what follows. it's disturbing video, but it shows that this infectious disease is still with us and still a potential killer. it was whooping cough that landed 2 1/2-week-old natalie in intensive care.

>> can you hear me? >> reporter: where she spent 72 days struggling to breathe. to rest without pain to survive. she recovered, but her mom, michelle, says it was touch and go all those agonizing weeks, and natalie still needs follow-up care. >> you never, ever want to see your child go through something like this. it's definitely a parent's worst nightmare. >> reporter: it was the same nightmare for heidi who passed the disease to her newborn daughter, caroline. before giving birth, heidi thought she just had a cold. >> i was nursing her. and she started to have one of these coughing episodes. she stopped nursing, and she turned blue and was coughing and choking and gagging. >> reporter: in fact, four children have died in the current outbreak, and the skyrocketing number of newly reported cases led state officials to declare an epide c epidemic. >> so far this year 640 cases have been reported and confirmed as of march 31st. last year we had 94 in the same

period of time. >> reporter: this march of dimes public service announcement can tell you what it sounds like. but in the so-called hot pockets in washington, oregon, and across the country in vermont where the disease is spreading fastest, it's a race to get as many people vaccinated as possible, vaccinated against a foe our dr. nancy snyderman says will sneak up on you. >> runny nose, fever, but all of a sudden that cough becomes a barking cough and then a real struggle to get air. >> reporter: for health officials, it's all about vaccination and booster shots, if needed. especially for those who come in contact with toddlers or infants, the most vulnerable victims. >> i had inadvertently given my newborn a potentially life-threatening illness that was so easily preventable by just getting my booster shot which i was unaware i needed. >> not only does whooping cough vaccine work, it's safe and it can save your child's life. >> reporter: again, it's about vaccination.

the experts say that when 90% of those in high-impact area get vaccinated, the epidemic begins to recede. matt? >> mike taibbi in washington for us, thank you very much. it's 18 after the hour. here's ann. >> thanks. new details are coming to the light in the case of the costa con docord concordia disaster. it ran aground, and the may issue of "vanity fair" provides the most details account yet of what happened. our reporter joins us now with details. marra, good morning. >> when the costa concordia sank, with became the largest passenger shipwreck ever. now almost three months later, we're learning new information about what the ship's captain allegedly did wrong, turning a dream vacation into a nightmare. >> reporter: today the costa concordia is in the exact same position as the night ran aground off the italian coast, killing 32. now "vanity fair" magazine

provides an exhaustive account, focusing on a series of unbelievable blunders allegedly made by the ship's captain, 51-year-old francesco schettino. it reads like a laundry list of incompetence. the captain was allegedly going too fast, navigating by sight, talking on the phone when the accident happened and took a spectacular wrong turn before hitting the rock that left a 230-foot gash in the ship's hull. afterwards allegedly saying, expletive, i didn't see it! but that was just the beginning. >> the mistakes that the captain made after hitting the rock were worse than actually hitting the rock. >> reporter: in an attempt to stabilize the already lifting ship, schettino lowered the ship's two anchors. but according to the article, he released way too much chain, causing them to fall uselessly to the sea floor. >> that's what caused the ship to plop over, that's why a lot of people drowned. >> reporter: schettino is also accused of leaving the ship before all of the passengers had been rescued.

claiming he fell into a lifeboat, then refusing to leave shore and go back, saying, "no, i want to stay here, to verify conditions on the ship." >> it's pretty clear he was stunned. he was startled. people talk about a deer in the headlights. it was that type of thing. >> reporter: but the article's most serious allegation is that schettino may have instructed officers to lie. one officer telling prosecutors the captain ordered us to say that everything was under control and that we were checking the damage, even though he knew that the ship was taking on water. in february, schettino's attorney defended the captain, saying he has been assaulted by the media and didn't do anything illegal that night but simply made a mistake. >> translator: he is a person who has worked for years with honor and competence. >> while captain schettino has not been charged, he remains under house arrest and could face multiple charges of manslaughter and illegally abandoning his ship. as for that ship itself, it

could be another year before it's removed from the shallow waters it's resting in. >> thank you so much. and still ahead, the octo-mom, nadya suleman, forced to go on public assistance. what does that mean for her family of 14 children? we'll talk to her about this live, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, we'll hear from the woman who's taking heat for her article on how other women hate her for being beautiful. >> after your local news. [ man ] get the 20 piece mcnuggets. what? that lovely girl, caught your eye? 20 piece mcnuggets are only $4.99. you offer to share them. a conversation begins. that's pretty smart. i been around. [ male announcer ] 20 piece chicken mcnuggets only $4.99, just one of the awesome tastes available only on mcdonald's new extra value menu. the simple joy of being extra smart.

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who knew being natural could be so delicious? coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. and jennifer franciotti. here is a look at one of our top stories. an alleged serial rapist heads to court in baltimore today. the defendant is charged with three rapes over the three-month period. the 33-year-old has been linked by dna to three rapes in baltimore city, but officials think there could be more victims out there. time for a check on your morning

commute with sarah caldwell. >> not that out there in terms of delays. tracking a few problems this hour. this one has been cleared. 36 at ellerslie avenue, no longer there. closures in effect at lexington st.. delay-wise, it has been a lot lighter because of spring break. delays on the outer loop. southbound 85, off to the right of your screen, on white marsh towards the beltway northeast. eastbound i-70, tapping the brakes a little towards 29. update on your camera on 83's from padonia road, moving from the maryland line down to the beltway. this is the pace of things heading towards baltimore national pike. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> on the traffic cameras, you can see that the sun is out, but you may want a light jacket if you step outdoors this morning.

43 currently in ridgely. 50 degrees downtown at the maryland science center. afternoon forecast will be around 60 today in central maryland. 57 along the eastern shore. 52 in the mountains. mixture of clouds this month, but overall, a fairly sunny day. any clout should be thin enough to let the sunshine in. maybe a sprinkle, not a major concern for the home opener at oriole what about over here? sure. no problem. ♪

you're ththank you, sweetie. oh... ♪ jeremiah. jeremiah. please, noah. >> that was what it was like in studio 1a last time nadya suleman was here. her octuplets in tow. this morning, things are a little less hectic for the mother of 14, but her life has taken a troubling twist. she is now on public assistance, something she promised would never happen. and that has made her the target of a lot of anger. she's taken other dramatic steps to make money for her children including posing for provocative photos. we're going to talk to her exclusively about that coming up. 7:30 now on a thursday morning. 5th day of april, 2012. i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. also ahead, another woman who's become the victim of some bitter

reaction. >> i know, we're talking about anger to some degree this half hour this morning because writer and blogger samantha brick is now being blasted by critics for claiming in a recent article that other women hate her for being beautiful. she says her looks have created problems for her personal and professional life. we'll talk about that. also an insider's view of one of the most tragic moments in american history, the assassination of president kennedy. in a rare interview, mrs. kennedy's secret service agent who reached out to her on the back of the president's car opens up about what he saw and heard on that fateful day. >> a very emotional interview also. and also we begin this half hour with the latest on the professional cheerleader and former high school teacher who has pleaded not guilt counterto sexually abusing one of her students. we've got nbc's john yang in covington, kentucky, with this story. john, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. sara jones is scheduled to go on trial in this courthouse at the end of june. that's almost two months away, but even with all that time, her

defense attorney says he may not be ready by then because of the prosecution's reliance on electronic evidence, e-mails and text messages. that's sara jones, the nfl cheerleading captain and bengals beauty now charged with a sex crime. the former high school english teacher faces felony sex abuse charges. prosecutors say she was involved in a sexual relationship with an underage teenage student. >> i'm sheryl jones. >> reporter: sara's mother, a school official herself, was also arrested, accused of covering it up. both women say they're not guilty. the mother and daughter are out on bond, but they're being closely monitored. they have to wear electronic bracelets. their computers confiscated and text messaging on both their phones disabled. sara jones has between now and june to prepare her defense. that's when her trial is set to begin. her lawyer says the teenager and his family are backing jones.

>> the alleged victim's family is here supporting these defendants today, your honor. >> reporter: but even without the teen's cooperation, prosecutors say they have forensic evidence of the sexual relationship including e-mails and texts between jones and the underage student. she's not the first teacher accused of using social media in an alleged inappropriate relationship with students. this past winter, a teacher in california was arrested for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy. police say the relationship began through social media including the popular online game "words with friends." she's pled not guilty. in january, this former theater teacher in colorado was arrested for sexually assaulting one of her students after police scoured through text messages. she's waived her preliminary hearing. as for jones, according to published reports, she was briefly married, but the couple is now seeking an annulment. her estranged husband told "the cincinnati ininquirer," to be honest with you, i don't want to talk about her.

jones is free on $15,000 bond, but she is subject to home confinement. ann? >> all right, john yang, thanks. savannah guthrie is "today's" legal correspondent and star jones is former prosecutor and veteran legal commentator. good morning. >> good morning. >> what are the chances a prosecutor can have a successful case when no one in this particular case is willing to testify that there was, in fact, sexual abuse, and it appears they're depending on e-mails and texts. >> well, that's the key question that this case really brings up. can they prove it? maybe they can. if they've got e-mails, if they have text messages, if they have phone calls, but let's not kid ourselves, it makes their task that much harder, that you don't have an alleged victim who's willing to testify. and then you have the possibility, i suppose, since the family supports sara jones that the alleged victim could come on the stand for the defense and say this never happened. it makes the prosecutor's task very difficult. >> i've prosecuted cases where i've had a reluctant complaining witness, but i have not prosecuted a sex abuse

allegation when the complaining witness does not want to testify. usually prosecutors tend to shy away from that. but remember, the victim is allegedly was a child. so a child abuse really outweighs what that kid would want to do. the state has a bigger interest. the state's interest is in protecting all the children. >> you had mentioned the words doesn't want to testify. the teenager may not cooperate, but isn't it possible he could be forced to testify? >> he could be forced to testify. he could also take the fifth and not -- and then refuse to testify. but as a practical matter, no prosecutor wants to put on a complaining witness in the case who's not complaining and risk that backlash with a jury saying, wait a minute, he's coming on, he's saying it didn't happen. so i don't think they'd do it. >> this alleged victim's family has shown up in support of sara jones and her mother. doesn't that also work against the prosecutor? >> and the judge specifically has now ordered the defendant not to have any contact with the alleged victim or their family. so i don't know how you do that when you're sitting in the exact same row in the courthouse.

>> let's talk about the double standard. i mean, she's 26. he's a few years, really, a handful of years, younger. do you think that if this actually goes before a jury, as it looks like it probably will, that there's a double standard that the prosecutors may want to have to worry about? >> if it were a man who was 27 years old who was alleged to have abused a female student, i don't think that we'd even be questioning it. and that's where the double standard does come in. she's a beautiful, sexy teacher, female. the alleged victim is a young man. people giggle about that. but abuse is abuse. >> exactly, the law is the law. there's no evidence of a double standard in the prosecutor's mind. they're prosecuting this case and she's facing jail time. >> it sounds like you're both agreeing that the prosecutor has a mountain to climb on this one. >> a big one. >> thank you so much. good perspective. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thank you so much, ann. we've got some folks here, where are you from? >> chicago. >> chicago. so you couldn't get into jimmy

fallon? >> no, i'm not old enough. you have to be 17. i just turned 16. >> you couldn't get on the nbc tour? >> sold out. >> but you got on the "today" show. >> yep. >> forget about fallon. he's no fun anyway. all right. now let's check your weather. that's right. today for all here, ladies and gentlemen. hey, look at these temperatures. 18 degrees above normal in pierre. a little chilly out west. reno going to be 15 degrees below normal. the pacific northwest not looking too bad. 50s and 40s there. 80s from gulf coast on into florida. 90s in southern texas. 40s and 50s here in the northeast. risk of strong storms through the southeast. gulf coast. wet weather into the mid-atlantic states. showers into the pacific northwest. we may have problems tomorrow in augusta, actually starting today, playing the masters. look for windy conditions down in southern california. th

don't forget to get your weather anytime you want. go to the weather channel on table and weather.com. ann? >> duly noted, al. next, an exclusive interview with nude ya suleman, her 14 t kids, public assistance. coming up next, the woman facing major backlash on her article on how other women hate her for being beautiful. that's coming up right after this. ooh! hey, neighbor. hi. hi. that looks good. yeah, it's the new quaker cookie. oh, quaker's finally making cookies? yeah, this one has chocolate chips,

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it helps satisfy your hunger longer. [ telephone rings ] satisfaction. what will you gain when you lose? some of us may remember that ryan seacrest was here yesterday. it's hard to forget. he certainly made an impression, and matt's interview caught the eye of jay leno. take a look. >> this morning on the "today" show, matt lauer interviewed ryan seacrest about the rumor that seacrest might take over his job. here's a piece of the interview. take a look. >> ryan and i are friendly. we have talked about this, joked about this, there is no tension here. >> they went to commercial break. show what happened right at the commercial break. >> great to see you. >> thank you.

>> i think there's some tension. >> i can't believe they caught that! >> when you catch them off guard is when you have the best shot. >> high chair, it's easier for him to fall. you know, i don't know, whoever at leno, that editor, we need to hire that person. >> that's amazing. >> look at that! look at what a good job they did. >> we have never seen your catlike reflexes. >> like a gazelle. >> you're kind of like that deer kind of came across. >> he's like i am when they put that buffet out. >> i don't know about you guys, i really liked ryan seacrest. he was fun. >> yeah. >> but he wants my job, right? he and i are friendly. unless these rumors become true, then he's dead to me. up next, the huge backlash to a woman's article claiming other women hate her because she's beautiful. we'll hear from that writer for the first time right after this. ♪

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we're back now at 7:47. if you were alive in 1963, you probably remember where you were on november 22nd, the day of president john f. kennedy's assassination. clint hill remembers because he was there as jackie kennedy's secret service agent. savannah sat down with him for a rare interview. savannah? >> he has an amazing story to tell. in the last 50 years, clint hill has rarely spoken about the experience, but now he is breaking his silence in a remarkable new memoir called "mrs. kennedy and me."

>> that's the one thing that i can't get out of my mind, the picture of him lying in her lap with his head exposed to me, looking into the back of his head, into his brain, his eyes fixed, blood and brains and bone fragments all over the car over mrs. kennedy and myself. >> reporter: they are the iconic images of one of america's darkest days. the assassination of president john f. kennedy. but for former secret service agent clint hill, they are haunting and personal memories. >> i had problems sleeping. i had nightmares. i went into a very deep depression and went into seclusion, got myself with friends and family. >> reporter: for the last 50 years, clint hill resolved never to write the story as the time as jackie kennedy's secret service agent. why had you vowed never to write about your experiences? >> well, there were many, many happy times, but there were some

very, very sad times, very depressing and just painful to do it. >> reporter: in 1960, agent hill, code name dazzle, was assigned to protect the incoming first lady, jacqueline kennedy. from the birth of son, john -- >> well, i was facing the floor like an expectant father, and i had only known her for two weeks. >> reporter: to vacations in hyannis port. >> they were always active, no matter how young or how old. they were always busy doing something. >> reporter: to travels around the world. >> she was very down to earth. you would never have known that she came from the background that she did. >> reporter: dazzle was always one step behind with a watchful eye. there has been a lot written and reported about president kennedy philandering, having extramarital affairs sometimes right under her nose, as it were. what's your reaction to that? do you think it's true? >> well, nothing like that ever happened when i was present. and i'm not so sure that you can

believe everything you read. all i saw was a husband who loved his wife and children and a woman who loved her husband and kids, and they were very, very close. >> reporter: hill says president kennedy and the first lady were especially close the weeks leading up to that fateful trip to dallas. did you have any kind of uneasy felling as you set out on that motorcade? >> none whatsoever, no. just a normal, big-city motorcade that you go through when you're dealing with the presidency. >> reporter: clint hill was riding on the sideboard of the car following the president and first lady when he heard the first shot. what followed was one of the most terrible images of that tragic day, clint rushing to the presidential limo as the president was fatally shot in the head and jackie kennedy climbing out onto the trunk. >> what was she doing? >> there was some materiel from the president's head that had gone off to the right rear, and she had come up on the back of the car trying to retrieve that materiel. she didn't know i was there. i finally got ahold of her and helped her get it into the back

seat. when i did that, the president's body fell to its left into her lap. >> she said something in that moment. >> she said, "they shot his head off and oh, jack, what have they done?" >> reporter: you arrived at the hospital. there was a moment where mrs. kennedy refused to get out of the car. >> i recognized that the problem was she didn't want anybody to see him because it was very -- it was a gory situation. and so i took my coat off, my jacket. and i covered his head and his upper back, and then she let go. >> reporter: the following days, clint hill witnessed some of the most heartbreaking scenes americans have never known about including a private viewing of the fallen president. >> mrs. kennedy and bobby approached the casket and stood there. about that time she turned to me and she said, "mr. hill, will you get me a pair of scissors, please?" so i ran back to the usher's office and got a pair of scissors, gave them to her. and i stood there and i could hear clip, clip, clip.

i knew what was going on. >> reporter: what do you think she did with the scissors? >> she cut a piece of his hair, i'm sure. >> reporter: when you were there and your back was turned and they were with the president in the casket, what did you hear? >> crying, the sign of great remorse, very sad. it was just no words were spoken. >> reporter: to this day, agent hill is moved by the thought of the scene that came to symbolize the grief of a nation, little john john saluting his father. that must have broken your heart. >> it still does. >> reporter: when you read the book, you write about her with such admiration and affection and almost, dare i say it, love for her. >> i've been accused of that. i think that's a little bit too strong an emotion. yes, i admired her a great deal. i really respected her. i don't think you could really

say that i loved her. >> reporter: was she your friend? >> very close friend. yes, we shared a lot of things together. we had a very, very deep bond between the two of us. >> clint hill worked with jackie kennedy's secret service agent for one year following the president's assassination. following that he only saw mrs. kennedy one other time, at the funeral of robert f. kennedy. >> he was where he should have been during that motorcade, and yet i would imagine he feels some guilt. >> he to this day feel some guilt. he talked about that overwhelming feeling of wanting to be there, to do something, but of course he couldn't. >> again, the book is called "mrs. kennedy and me." we're back after your local news. tomorrow, kim kardashian from reality tv star to marketing mogul. she reveals all about life, love and what's next. a "today" exclusive tomorrow on nbc.

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>> i am jennifer franciotti. 7:56. time for a check of your morning commute. we will toss it over to sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. because it is spring break, not a lot of traffic on the roads, i am imagining. >> you are absolutely right. we are tracking accident on southbound 83 at middletown road. possible crash there. lexington street at fulton avenue, fire activity in the city. 24 miles on the west side, 24 miles per hour. 24 on the north side.

25 on southbound 95 out of the northeast. update on 83 tanyard road. no delays showing here, but may be closer to middletown you will see it slowing down. west side delay in place towards edmondson. ava, over to you. >> cooler out there by now. 47 at b.w.i. thurgood marshall. at least at the sun is out. a few thin clouds of to our north and west. still a lot of sunshine. cooler, with a height of 58 to 63 degrees. around 50 for the high in downtown baltimore. seven-day forecast puts us in the upper 50s tomorrow. cannot rule out a sprinkle tomorrow. don't think it will be a big issue at all for the game.

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8:00 now on a thursday morning. it is the 5th day of april, 2012. we made our way outside to the plaza to hang out with our huge crowd this morning. there's a banana in the audience. i don't know what that's about, apparently it's on his bucket list. anyway, we've got a lot of great people out here in the heart of midtown manhattan along with matt lauer and al roker. and i happen to be ann curry. this morning we'll be talking with nadya suleman. >> that's right, they've called her the octo-mom. i'm not sure if she likes that very much. she's in our studio this morning. when those eight babies were born, she received a lot of critici criticism. she had six other children at

the time. people said there was no way she could support them. she vowed not to go on public assistance. now her life, in particular her financial life, has taken a dramatic turn. she is, in fact, taking public assistance. and that has caused some more angry reaction. we're going to be talking to nadya suleman about what she's facing and how she's trying to deal with it. she's also made some other fairly controversial decisions in terms of trying to support those children. that's all going to come up in just a couple of minutes. >> a lot to get to. also, we should have probably mentioned this earlier in the broadcast, but a legend has returned to studio 1a. of course, we're talking about meredith vieira. she's back with a great story about deception. it was borne out of one of the most tragic days in america, so she's here to talk about that. >> it's a wild story, wild story. and talk about wild, have you heard of this woman who wrote this article that other women hate her because she is so beautiful. somebody over here said, "that's me."

well, we are going to talk about this very interesting story and find out what the backlash is all about. >> all right. meantime, let's now go inside and get a check of the morning's top stories with savannah who's in for natalie. >> fwood morning. in the news, the final autopsy report on whitney houston confirms the singer drowned accidentally in a hotel bathtub in february. and it provides new details about the cocaine use that contributed to her death. it says houston had cocaine throughout her system and that detectives found white crystals and powder residue in her room, although the report does not specifically identify it as cocaine. new concerns from the medical community this morning as sales of prescription painkillers soar. analysts say the pharmaceutical boom is fueling addiction. the connecticut state senate voted this morning to abolish the state's death penalty. the bill is expected to pass the state house and governor dan malloy, a democrat, has said he will sign it. california prison officials have released the latest photos

of the notorious mass killer charles manson. ahead of his parole hearing next week. the 77-year-old is serving a life sentence for the 1969 murders of actress sharon tate and six others. in politics, mitt romney stepped up his attacks on president obama wednesday, calling him, quote, a hide-and-seek candidate who does not want to share his real plans before the election. in the meantime, challenger rick santorum who's under some pressure to leave the race says his campaign is taking an easter break to spend time with family and friends. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. burger king has pulled a controversial ad for a new crispy chicken wrap and apologized to singer mary j. blige. the ad drew outrage from twitter users who says it reinforced stereotypes about african-americans and fried chicken. blige says she never signed off on that version of the spot which burger king says was released prematurely. google is out with a sneak

peek at its augmented reality glasses on youtube. the so-called google goggles are connected to the internet so that you can stay in touch with your social network while navigating the real world. parodies are already popping up including one that views google goggles as just another dangerous distraction. and matt lauer and ryan seacrest have the search engines chugging in high gear. seacrest visited the show on wednesday and goofed on those rumors that he was in discussion to take over matt's job. he will, however, be part of nbc's primetime coverage of the london olympics this summer. it is now 8:04. back to al for a check of the weather. >> that seacrest, he is so crafty. thanks so much, savannah. we've got some honeymooners here. when did you guys get married? >> in august but we're here now celebrating. >> better late than never. and young lady, this is your first time with your family here in new york city. what's your name? >> fumi.

>> where are you from? >> maryland. >> having a good time? >> mm-hmm. >> jacksonville, florida, wtlv jacksonville, afternoon thunderstorms, 87 degrees for a high today. looking pretty good. and as we look around the rest of the country, you can see we've got some heavier showers and thunderstorms firing up along the gulf coast. wet weather making its way through the mid-mississippi and ohio river valleys. wet weather also in the pacific northwest. some showers there. windy conditions down through southern california. breezy here in the northeast with plenty of sunshine. temperatures nice and mild as you get your way up into the upper plains. that's what's going on a

and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next, we're going to hear from nadya suleman right after this. sears one day sale is this saturday, with friday preview. find the huge savings you've been hunting for throughout the store.

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in a delicious special k protein shake. with 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, it helps satisfy your hunger longer. [ telephone rings ] satisfaction. what will you gain when you lose? back at 8:09, when nadya suleman gave birth to octuplets back in 2009, she insisted she

would never take help to support her 14 children. but now the single mother is receiving assistance from the state of california and making headlines for her latest money-making venture. we'll talk to nadya exclusively in a moment. first, nbc's kristen dahlgren brings us up to date on her story. >> reporter: she's the woman known worldwide as octo-mom. famous in the tabloids, often vilified in the press. nadya suleman has always defended her decision to give birth to octuplets through in vitro fertilization. >> hi, maria. >> reporter: adding them to the six children she already had. >> i've chosen never to go on welfare. i feel as though it is my responsibility to do what i can to provide for my children. >> reporter: but recently suleman admitted to nbc news that she is receiving about $2,000 a month in aid from a state of california program that provides assistance to large families making less than $119,000 a year. and now suleman has a new source of income.

she says the latest public exposure in the british magazine "closer" isn't about fame. >> we've been in for "closure" for many nos now. >> reporter: she received $8,000 for the photo spread, a fraction of what it cost to raise her kids. according to the department of agriculture, the average cost of raising 14 children is an estimated $9,000 a month. >> whoa! >> reporter: "today" viewers witnessed suleman's hectic life firsthand last summer. >> jeremiah. freeze, noah. >> this is for the celebrity wrestling federation bing bang championsh championship. >> reporter: suleman has traded in on her feign before, turned down lucrative offers to do pornography but said she had to do this shoot. >> i can't allow my kids to be homeless. i've never been so terrified in my life. >> reporter: with her attorney saying possible eviction is only weeks away and 14 little ones depending on her.

>> we've got to go! >> reporter: the desperate mom says she'll do what it takes. for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> nadya suleman, good morning. good to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> i remember talking to you shortly after the babies were born. at that point i said, a lot of people are angry about this decision because they don't think there's any obvious way that you can support these children. and you said, "i'll prove them wrong." >> right. >> what happened? >> well, i have for over three years, and i was working, and still am, working as hard as i possibly can to support them. i made that call reluctantly, emotional support from family and friends and professionals saying they deserve it. they deserve it. you need to remove your pride. and i'm, like, it wasn't really just pride because i'm admitting part of it was pride. it was fear. i was absolutely terrified and

receiving thousands upon thousands of death threats. >> i'll get to that in a second. when you looked at this long term and thought you could handle this, do you think you were naive? were you in denial? >> all of the above. i didn't think i could handle -- i need to do prove to myself that i could. i was doing, in my mind, i was doing well. i really was, with the six. it's like three books in and of itself to get back to what my rationalization was where i wanted one more after six. but nonetheless, they're here, and i was -- i still do and i feel ashamed, but, you know, who cares how i feel? who cares about me? it's 100% about my children. they deserve everything. they deserve the best. and it's temporary. and if you don't -- there are so many people -- it's unfortunate how puzzling it is how many people do abuse the system, but if it is used temporarily -- >> you don't feel you're abusing it? >> i just started it. >> right. >> it's only food stamps. and if you do it temporarily,

it's a resource. >> and yet, nadya, as you know, there has been an angry response. almost an "i told you so" response. go ahead. >> it's incessant. it's nonstop. people are saying, you know, nadya, people think you have been on it. who cares if you even do this? they thought you were on it already. >> you say it's temporary. what are you seeing on the horizon that allows you to think you can reverse this? >> it's a priority. regardless of anything, priority is my children. their health, their well-being, their safety. that's number one always. the embarrassing thing i do, it's embarrassing to me. >> i understand. but you say it's temporary that you're taking food assistance and food stamps. >> that's not my thing. >> it's temporary. what do you see on your financial horizon that will allow you to reverse this? >> i'm giving myself -- i'm hoping it won't be more than another two months to be on it. and right now i'm doing octo-mom tv and getting some

advertisements, getting a little revenue that way. i'm also -- i was fortunate enough to do a little movie, and that's going to come out in the fall, "millennium." in addition to that, appearances. in addition to that, there's something called star, i'm far from a star, but i'm someone in the public people can call. >> you have received hate mail. >> thousands upon thousands, unfortunately. >> you have received death threats. what has it been like to go through this and still caring for your 14 children? >> it would take 10 -- it would take 14 books to even begin to tell you a few layers of the onion. there's multiple onions to my life. people -- not only do they not even know about one or two layers of what's really going on in my life, my family's life, but 95% of what's been out from the beginning has been erroneous. lies and rumors. >> these pictures that we showed earlier, you posed topless for this women's magazine. >> i didn't see it until just a few days ago. >> in britain.

you got $8,000 for it. >> $10,000, but 20% -- >> you ended up with $8,000 for it. it raises the question, what else would you be willing to do to make money? you have said you will never touch another person. >> i won't touch another human flesh. the only flesh i was touching was my own. >> pornography, off the table. >> $100 million, nothing. i would never, ever accept anything. >> what kind of other offers are you receiving? >> i will not lose the grip of my deeply indoctrinated morals and values. every choice we parents make is going to significantly affect our children for the rest of their lives. and it's going to haunt them forever. and also, they will interject our values as parents. so i have to be the ultimate positive role model. now, they know -- i raise them with 100% honesty and authenticity. and they know everything. so it's not like in 10, 20 years it's going to be a shock. yeah, i'm raising them openly. >> you're saying to these children as they get older -- >> communication. >> -- your mother was willing to

do what it took. >> not when they get older. now. >> but your mom is willing to do what it takes to support you. >> yes. as long as i can. >> and you say that's something to be applauded. >> i believe in the future, people in retrospect will look back and that it will unfortunately take many, many years to get respect and to actually be -- because i have received many, many e-mails, you know, letters. i'm not -- from women and men -- saying they actually look up to me and i'm a role model and inspiration in regard to how to remain strong and being faced with such incredible impediments and adversity. >> in the 30 seconds i have left, nadya, are you at all worried this situation financially could deteriorate to the point where social services has to step in and break up this family? >> they -- that will never happen, and i can guarantee you on that. and the child protective services, they're open-minded. we talk. we've talked for years. they laugh at the situation, the hundreds of people, random people, call on a daily basis,

and it's sick and sad. and to me, unbelievably fascinating in regards to huchlity how many people are foaming at the mouth for my children to be taken away from me. and thriving, healthy, advanced, and i potty trained all eight on my own. i've had no help for a year and a half. nonetheless, i guarantee you this is the saddest part, 15 years from now when they're 18 and legal and in college, people will still be foaming at the mouth for them to be taken and they'll be legal. that's what's sad. >> nadya suleman, thank you. >> thank you for talking to me. 18 minutes after the hour. up next, we'll hear from the woman who's taking heat for her article on how other women hate her for being beautiful. it's right after this. [ female announcer ] it's 9:00 pm...

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[ chuckles ] isn't easter fun, red? [ grunts ] not from my perspective! ♪ back now at 8:21 with a woman who has set off a firestorm online and even some discussion here in our studio. she wrote an article entitled "there are down sides to looking this pretty. why women hate me for being beautiful." it seems that everyone has an

opinion about this. nbc's tamron hall first join says us with details. >> good morning. the reaction has been swift and emotional. some people saying, i wish i had her confidence. others slamming her. ♪ don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me ♪ >> reporter: you know the saying about beauty being in the eye of the beholder. well, this woman claims she is beautiful and has found herself in the eye of the storm after writing in a widely read article that she is hated for being beautiful. in the last few days, millions of women have read, forwarded, commented on and often criticized samantha brick's article in britain's "daily mail" newspaper. in it, brick writes that she is so beautiful that on a recent flight to new york, i was delighted when a stewardess came over and gave me a bottle of champagne. this is from the captain. he wants to welcome you on board. as i was walking through london's portobello road market, i was tapped on the shoulder and presented with a beautiful bunch

of flowers. even bartenders frequently shoo my credit card away when i try to settle my bill. nice perks of beauty? no, samantha who is 41 says she can't wait for some wrinkles and some gray because "other women hate me for no other reason than my lovely looks. i've been dropped by countless friends who felt threatened if i was merely in the presence of their other halves. insecure female bosses have also barred me from promotions at work." in an interview on british tv today, samantha had this to say. >> women do not like attractive women. and that has been proved to me by the messages i've had on twitter. there are thousands of vile e-mails of my personal account, the messages i've had on my iphone. >> did you ever think that maybe there's more to life than being really, really, really ridiculously good-looking? >> reporter: samantha, a british woman who lives with her husband in france, may or may not be beautiful, but her remarks have caused a cascade of comments. over 5,000 on "the mail" website

a alone. from supportive, this woman has everything. she has a face like a bulldog chewing on a watch. and even "i've heard of beer-goggles. samantha brick would appear to possess a beer mirror." that one got retweeted over 2,000 times. >> why is it in england that it's so outrageous to say you are attractive? she's attractive. >> you're dreaming. >> reporter: everyone, it seems, has an opinion. sfwhoo her pie >> even if you are the most beautiful woman in the world or the least beautiful woman in the world, if you write a piece like that, people are going to respond very poorly. >> reporter: samantha maintains the internet storm just proves she's right, showing that maybe you can be too beautiful, after all. ♪ to me in a follow-up piece, brick said she never could have imagined the fury she would spawn.

she add the the day after her article appeared was among the most horrendous of her life. >> tamron hall, thank you so much. my sense is when i first was hearing some of these comments that she wrote, i thought she was doing it sort of tongue in cheek. >> satire? >> yeah, that's what i was thinking. >> i think it was probably april fool's day. >> it was but then she hasn't backed off in further interviews and blogs. in a follow-up article, tamron mentioned one. in another, she said that this is not only a gender issue, it's a geographic one. she wrote, "i've lived and worked in los angeles. i doubt that such reaction to my piece would have happened there. for in the u.s. you're expected to look good and you're rightly applauded for it." so do you think this is geographical in any way? >> no. because there have been comments here, too. people thought it was offensive because she talked about how beautiful she was. >> i'm surrounded by beauty right here. coming up, prince william has opened up in a rare interview about his grandmother after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. thanks for joining us. let's start with a check of your morning commute. not too bad on the area roads. fire activity along lexington street. we are looking at delays on 95 out of the white marsh area. 24 miles per hour on average. north side, slow spots on the outer loop approaching the harrisburg expressway. inner loop from greenspring towards the j.f.x., outer loop traffic is slow again on the west side. eastbound i-70, marriottsville

to its 29, slow going there as well. 83 the king good at the moment. earlier accident and middletown has been cleared. traffic at the area beltway, baltimore national pike, starting to ease up there. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. john collins as a look at the forecast. >> we are really greening up. rain the southwest during the day. we will probably pick up a few clouds during the day. temperatures are a little bit on the elite side. 50% 8 humidity. a little bubble of high pressure over us. storms off to the north east. this looks like it will be held to the south.

it will be cooler today than yesterday. longer-term forecasts, things look dry for opening day on friday. saturday looks dry. >> thank you

we are back now at 8:30 on a thursday morning, 5th day of april, 2012. start of the easter break for a lot of people. we've got a big crowd out on the plaza. happy to have these people here. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. savannah guthrie and mr. al roker. and meredith vieira's back this morning, and she's bringing us the story that i think is absolutely unbelievable. it's a story about a woman who in some ways became the face of the 9/11 attacks.

she told an emotional story of her personal loss and recovery. the only problem, none of it was true. meredith is going to shed some light on why she did this coming up in just a little while. >> my goodness, it does sound like a head turner. by the way, i just want to make sure we all notice that meredith would no longer like to be called a legend. she wants to be called an icon. >> thank you. >> the word "icon," people. also, we're going to be talking about a book that's just come out about the queen. it marks her jubilee in her position in the royal family. and for this book, the author actually got the first interview for a book with prince william. we're going to find out what he had to say to the author who's going to be in our studio coming up. and then, if you're already still planning your easter menu, we've got some great suggestions from chef danielle bellews to bring you the perfect lamb dinner.

oh, my goodness. >> my segment. that is mine. i will be locking the door. >> we're all coming in on this one. >> easter spirit? >> that's my easter spirit. also, "today's professionals" are here. among the topics, parents making other parents sign waivers before playdates. so you can't be sued. >> you are kidding me. >> i kid you not. i think the professionals will have opinions about this. >> i do myself. i've got an opinion about that myself. meantime, let's find out about the weather. >> i think that's a good idea, but i'm going to make you sign a waiver before i give you the forecast. for tomorrow, looking at wet weather in the pacific northwest. much of the country looking pretty good. a few morning shower as long the southeastern atlantic coast. then on saturday, we've got sunny but cool conditions in the northeast, ohio river valley, showers down in southern florida. cloud says in the pacific northwest coast. showers in central texas. on easter sunday, look for rain

northern california into the pacific northwest. hit-or-miss showers and thunderstorms in central texas. nice and mild for your easter bonnet and mid-atlantic states into the northeast and the southeast. and don't forget, you can get your weather anytime of the day or night whenever you need it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com. >> i love that. that's very useful. thanks so much, al. coming up, we want to mention that kim kardashian is going to be on our broadcast tomorrow. we want to make sure people mark their calendars.

there's a lot to ask her about including that flower donning as they call it. we've got a real icon in our studio, meredith vieira. >> she's actually the queen. she's the queen. >> with an important story coming up. but first, this is "today" on o

back now at 8:36. of all the survivor stories to emerge from the 9/11 attacks, tanya heads became well known. she described how she escaped from the 78th floor of the south tower of the world trade center but lost her fiance in the north tower. she became an outspoken leader of the world trade center survivors network. even giving a tour of ground zero to new york politicians like mayors giuliani and bloomberg and governor pataki. but it turns out head's story was completely fabricated. now her tale of deception is

outlined in a new book and documentary called "the woman who wasn't there." the documentary produced by meredith vieira productions, meredith serves as an executive producer. she's here along with rob and gaby fisher and the director who co-authored the book. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> i read this and shook my head over and over again that how could this have happened? how did you find out about the story? >> it was funny, when this story was first reported in 2007 in "the new york times," i guess it passed over me. i did not remember it at all. angelo came to us with basically a promo reel, a trailer, for this documentary he was working on. and it blew me away. and immediately we thought, this is a psychological suspense thriller. >> the lengths that this woman went to to convince people that she was the center of this american tragedy, where exactly was she? did she say she was when these planes hit the world trade center? >> she said that she was in the

south tower, and she said she was on the 78th floor sky lobby, and she goes into great detail about how she walks the wing of the united airliner go through and how her assistant was beheaded. everyone around her was burned. >> she says she lost her fiance in the north tower. >> yeah. >> she talked about meeting a dying man on her way out of the building who gave her his wedding ring. >> yes. >> and asked her to return it to his wife. she told about a young man in a red bandana who helped her escape but died himself. turns out there was such a guy. but she never met him. she even contacted that young man's family and was invited to speak at his memorial service. the detail, angelo, is extraordinary. >> oh, it was -- it's hard to believe even to this day, even with knowing her and going through the process of writing the book and making the film, you still can't believe that she actually was never who she said she was. >> best guess right now, from all the information you have,

where was she, actually, on the day of those 9/11 attacks? >> my best guess is that she was in barcelona, spain. she was about to enter her -- >> thousands of miles away. >> oh, yeah, yeah. she was about to enter her second year of graduate school in the mba program at a very prominent school in barcelona. classes began on the 19th, so she made no mention of being in the towers or having suffered the attacks. >> she got a lot of these details by reading the newspaper, basically. so let's take a look at the clip from the documentary. here is tanya head. >> every year when i go to the grave, i bring a new york city cab and put it in the reflection pool so that he knows i remember him. >> you guys say this wasn't about money. this was about acceptance.

>> this was about -- i think it's about acceptance. why else would she do it? when she was growing up, she had a real craving, a real need for attention. and that just got bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. she wanted celebrity. >> she was the person who created the world trade center survivors network. she became the voice of survivors of this tragedy. >> and she gave them a voice, which is why it's so confusing to them afterwards. then you find out she's lying. >> but she had no business being in that role. >> none. absolutely none. >> no. she really wanted to help. you know, to know tanya, there were two sides of her. there was this authentic humanitarian side that wanted to help people. and then she had another side where she had to be not just a survivor but the survivor. >> she was finally brought down by a reporter for "the new york times" who was researching a profile on her and realized this

story just didn't add up. what was her reaction when she was exposed? >> well, you know, i went to her apartment -- >> you got to know her. >> -- about the time the article came out, because we were good friends. and she could not believe what was happening at that point. and i saw the two sides of her. you know, there was a side that was completely disoriented and completely just -- she just could not believe that this was actually happening. and then there was the other side where she knew what was happening and knew that she was trapped. >> and she basically disappeared. however, you ran into her on the street a couple of times. the last scene in the documentary, you start with just the very beginning of an encounter where you took a camera and confronted that. that turned that encounter into a bit of rage on her part, yet you didn't put it in the documentary. why? >> well, you know, in the book, the character of the filmmaker, my relationship with tanya was well documented. in the movie, there's just no time for that. and we felt like bringing it in at the very end would have posed

more questions than answers. >> meredith, real quickly in the ten seconds i have left, what's the lesson? what should we take away from it? >> you know, i hope it's not to distrust everybody. what i notice with the survivors talking after the fact when they realize tanya had been lying to them, many were angry. many were hurt. but the capacity for forgiveness was also there. and i thought that was fascinating. >> a remarkable story. remarkable. meredith, thank you, robin, angelo. >> thank you. >> and again, the book is "the woman who wasn't there." you can catch the premiere of the documentary on april 17th on "investigation discovery." up next, prince william opens up in a rare interview about his grandmother, the queen. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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back now at 8:44. the queen is celebrating her diamond jubilee this year, 60

years on the throne. now a new book is shedding light on the long-reigning monarch through the eyes of some of her closest family members and staff. and the book is called "her majesty." and the author is now joining us. his name is robert hardin. good morning. >> good morning. >> you call this not a life story as much as it is a portrait based on your unprecedented access to the queen's staff. who is the woman they reveal? >> what we see is someone who behind the veneer, a very traditional, very conservative figure is someone who's really been an extraordinary royal radical who's changed this institution on the inside more than anyone, really, in the last 100 years. >> how did she change it? >> she listened. the monarchy went through a bad patch in the '90s, no question. and rather than retreating, she decided we've got to change the way we do things, cut the staff in half, the public is different. and we're seeing the results now. she's much happier. she's smiling now. she's got the younger generation

coming on. we've seen some great events over the last year or so. it's really coming together just in time for this great anniversary celebration. >> just at a time when you think she might want to have a kwoi eter liet quieter life. did you get the sense that given you got this green light, that there was a story that the royal family, the institution itself, wanted you to tell? >> well, i've been a royal correspondent for a number of years. it always struck me that the public persona is different from the private persona. i wanted to see more of that. i tried to get inside. luckily i was lucky enough to get two years of privileged access interviewing everybody from the prime ministers and the top officials all the way down to cooks and footmen and chauffeurs and members of the family. >> in fact, that's the most, i think, important moment, important point to make here is that you notably interviewed prince william for his first-ever interview for a book. were there any restrictions? >> no, not at all. he was very relaxed. i wrote it him after the wedding. look, i have been writing this book about your grandmother for

two years. i'd love to talk to you. as you say, the queen's never given an interview. i wanted to find out what it would be like as a 25-year-old. you can't ask the queen, but here's a guy in his 20s who could probably answer that question better than anyone else. i had a lot chat in his remarkably small office, actually, quite a modest office. he shares it with kate, the duchess, and prince harry, almost like an episode of "friends." this little study, three desks, but they're never all there at the same time. >> where is this? >> st. james's palace, a very cozy setup. we had a really good chat and covered all sorts of ground. >> you talked for about an hour? >> yeah, we had a wonderful chat about the royal wedding because when he went to his first wedding-planning meeting, he was handed this long his of 777 people he had to invite. he said, i don't know any of this people. what do i do? he said, i know. he rang up the queen. he said, what do i do?

she said this is your big day. does your friends first and then we'll worry about it. >> he said she did tell him what to wear. >> there was some thing he couldn't negotiate. she was adamant on the uniform, the irish guard. >> you asked him about what sense of history he's getting from his grandmother who knew winston churchill, who's spoken to nelson mandela, clinton, obama. you also asked him about how he thinks about himself as being the future king. what was your sense about what he takes from her and his sense about whether he will take over after her? >> mm-hmm. he certainly has a sense that she really is the exemplar. he's very proud of the way she's handled her reign. he really looks up to her as, you know, he said if i could do it as well as her, i'd just be delighted. but he's in no hurry. this idea that somehow that monarchs these days are itching to get their hands on the throne, once you're a monarch

these days, you're constrained much more than the old days. he said these days i'm very happy flying my helicopter. he's with the royal air force. he's very happy, building a family life. he's got no desire to get stuck into state affairs for a very long time. >> so did he actually say that he would be fine if his father became king first? >> well, he's accepted it. there's no issue in the royal family. it's absolutely what will happen. those are the rules. those are the rules of monarchy. you go from one monarch to the next. you don't skip a generation. and prince charles does get a very good sense of what he needs to do. so no, there will be no jumping a generation. he's going to wait, william. and when his time comes, i'm sure he'll be willing. >> after two years, the book is called "your majesty," thank you very much. coming up next, preparing a classic easter feast for your family. oh, salivate. let's do that after your local news.

this is "today" on nbc.

"today celebrates easter" is brought to you by m&ms. bring m&m's home this easter. >> this morning on "today celebrates easter," a classic holiday dinner. chef daniel is here with great recipes that he features at his

restaurant here in new york city. daniel, good to see you. good morning. >> good morning to you. >> happy holidays. >> how are you? >> thank you. we're making a classic leg of lamb provincial, and that is a huge hunk of meat. >> yes, it's beautiful, and that would feed a family for easter. first you take a leg of lamb about seven to nine pounds. >> can you get something like that at a supermarket? >> you can get that at the supermarket. you can ask and make sure you get that. >> all right. >> and then you season it the day before. >> with what? >> salt, pepper, rosemary, spice, a little bit of fennel, a little bit of cracked pepper. >> okay. >> and then you roast it. then you take it out. like you roast it on both sides. you take it out. then you put a nice vegetable, celery, onion, carrots and garlic. so this year we're celebrating 11th anniversary at the bearee .

>> congratulations. >> in midtown. and we have a wonderful chef from provence there. that's why i'm making leg of lamb. >> once you've herbed that, it sits in the refrigerator overnight in. >> yes. >> six hours or so. >> you take it out for an hour. >> get it back to room temperature. >> exactly. and then you roast it. and then you put the vegetable, you put that back. and now it's going to be between a roast and a braise. and then the leg of lamb gets deglazed with white wine around. like that. >> is this a really slow process in terms of this process? >> exactly. and the leg of lamb gets cooked at about 280 degrees for, i will say, between five and six hours. so when you get up in the morning, you stuff your lamb and you put it in the refrigerator. you have time to go to church, or you have time to do what you want in the morning, play golf. >> how do you know when this is actually done? do you use a meat thermometer? >> well, look at this beautiful leg of lamb here. this is braised. what you do is you keep basting

it while it's cooking. every half hour you baste it with the white wine and the chicken stocky put around. >> but you don't want to overcook this. how do you know you're not overcooking it? >> because you have the oven at 280 degrees which will carry slowly rather than too fast. >> okay. >> i mean, if you want to cook a leg of lamb like this in, let's say, an hour and a half, then you count about ten minutes per pound on the roast and about five minutes resting per pound. so that's kind of a good gauging. and you put the oven at 445 in that case. >> okay. >> but here it's twice the time. >> half the temperature. okay, good. >> absolutely. i have a beautiful vegetable. so this you see after five to six hours of cooking, it's really, really beautiful. >> that's my piece. i like the outside piece. >> and you want the lamb to be sightly pink but also totally cooked to the bone. >> okay. >> and that's the beauty of that

preparation. >> so you just mentioned the vegetable real quickly. so just talk about some of the vegetables. sundried tomatoes. >> it's springtime. so we have baby tomatoes, carrots, spring onion, and, of course, we have beautiful peas, asparagus and snow peas, tomatoes and zucchini. each vegetable on its own. >> oh, guys, gosh, i'm sorry. >> unlock the door! >> he looked the door! >> unlock the door. >> i don't think i'm supposed to remove that. sorry. let me go back to trying this. daniel -- >> so you can have that leg of lamb at b.b. bistro for easter. oh, look at that! my lamb. i want to give you the best part, al. >> oh, yes! >> it's what we call in french the suree, the little mouth. >> that's what we call matt,

actually. >> that's the rat. >> we never call you a rat. >> happy easter, everyone. just ahead, "today's professionals" are here. but first, your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am at sarah caldwell. maryland senator barbara mikulski will be recognized later today at the dedication ceremony of the barbara mikulski archive for space telescopes. the archive is one of the

largest in the world. it houses thousands of images gathered in a senator mikulski will be presented with a photograph of a distant supernova.

>> today a lot of sunshine, a few scattered clouds around baltimore. temperatures today will be in the 50's to near 60.