good morning. breaking news. george zimmerman posts bail and walks out of a florida jail overnight. will he be forced to leave that state for his own safety? as he awaits his trial for the murder of trayvon martin. nasty nor'easter. a powerful spring storm causing misery for millions of people from virginia to mountain this morning. soaking rain, high winds, and in some places, up to a foot of snow. al has the forecast. and coming to america. prince harry tapped to receive a major award in washington, d.c. next month. but, it's his joke he made about his brother and sister-in-law over the weekend that has people talking "today," monday, april over the weekend that has people talking "today," monday, april 23rd, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. guess who's back? >> hey, hey, well i had a nice week off of vacation. wish i was coming back to better weather, though. it's kind of a mess outside. >> for a lot of people. it's good to have you back here. >> thank you so much. ann curry coming up this morning we'll be talking about this breaking news in florida. where officials are keeping george zimmerman's whereabouts a secret this morning following his release around midnight last night. >> they're keeping the information secret for a very good reason. this is the guy who's been the target of death threats, before he was let out zimmerman was fitted with an electronic monitoring device that can track him anywhere in the united states. under conditions of bail, he must observe a nightly curfew. he's not allowed to have guns. and he had to hand over his passport. we're going to have a report on

that coming up straight ahead. >> all right. and also coming up this morning the frantic search for a 6-year-old arizona girl who disappeared from her own bedroom in the middle of the night. her parents say they tucked her in friday night, the next morning she was gone. late last night fbi dogs were sent to the search the girls home but did they find anything that can help in the investigation? we're going to meet the man heading up that investigation. >> on a much lighter note, giuliana and bill rancic will join us this morning. they've been vocal about some of the things they have faced over the last several months, including giuliana's battle with breast cancer and their struggle to begin a family. this morning they'll be here to announce some very happy news in an exclusive live interview. >> will be a pleasure to talk to them. we begin with this breaking news in florida. george zimmerman out of jail, after posting bail overnight. nbc's kerry sanders is in sanford this morning with more on this. kerry, good morning. >> good morning, ann. george zimmerman walked out of that door here at the jail and disappeared.

and his attorney says that's exactly what he wanted. free on $150,000 bond. george zimmerman holding a brown paper bag and saying nothing to reporters as he got into a white bmw, was released from the seminole county jail just past midnight. what you can't see is the electronic monitor fixed to his ankle. which the sheriff's department will use to track his every movement via gps. even if he leaves the state. zimmerman's release comes just days after the dramatic face-to-face with the parents of trayvon martin. >> my client wants to make a statement to the court, your honor. >> reporter: at his bond hearing friday, a surprise move. zimmerman, hands shackled, took the stand to apologize. >> i wanted to say i am sorry for the loss of your son. i did not know how old he was. i thought he was a little bit younger than i am. and i did not know if he was armed or not. >> reporter: the attorney for trayvon martin's parents spoke out on their behalf. >> to have been in the same room

with the killer of your child, and then for him give that insincere, very self-serving, untruthful apology. >> reporter: zimmerman's attorney says that apology was his client's idea. and was meant specifically to answer questions, first asked by the parents on this broadcast earlier this month. >> i would ask him, did he know that that was a minor? that that was a teenager, and that he did not have a weapon. >> reporter: george zimmerman's father maintains his son was acting in self-defense, claiming it was trayvon martin who was the aggressor, smashing george zimmerman's head repeatedly into a concrete sidewalk. proof of that, he says, is captured in this photo, taken by a neighbor, and broadcast on abc news. >> he had a protective cover over his nose. his lip was swollen and cut and there were two vertical gashes on the back of his head. >> reporter: but the martin family attorney sees that photo differently. >> when you look at those pictures, you see the two cuts

in his head, that is not consistent with your head being pounded into the pavement. >> reporter: and while zimmerman, now out of jail, waits for his second degree murder trial, public opinion remains split here in sanford. >> for the charge he got, he shouldn't have gotten bail. >> he doesn't seem to be a flight risk. he seems to be a person who's going to stand up for his responsibilities. >> reporter: it's possible police documents from the earliest stages of this investigation could be made public later today. perhaps revealing more about what happened that day or that night in late february. ann? >> all right, kerry sanders keeping us up to date. it is now 7:05. now here's matt. >> all right, thank you. now some overnight breaking news, as well. a big nor'easter dumping much-needed rain on states from virginia to maine. even snow in a few places. the weather channel's eric fisher is in somerset, pennsylvania, this morning with more on this. eric, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you.

you know, here in western pennsylvania, highs in the 70s just a few days ago, this morning it is anything but. we can show you what we are most concerned about as this snow falls. you look down the street and you see some of those trees, leaves on those trees. three to four weeks ahead of schedule because of the exceptionally warm, winter and spring that we saw. that acts as a net to collect the heavy, wet snow and those tree limbs were not anywhere near the ground when we first arrived this morning, now touching the sidewalk. we're talking to the police department in somerset, trees are already starting to come down. that is bad news, with up to a foot of snow on the way in some of the higher elevations here in pennsylvania, and already nearly a foot reported in western new york just outside of ithaca. you remember back to october a very similar situation. we called the snowtober, some people lost power for days. that could be a concern here. looks like the story is going to be one of two ill-fated storms this winter season. one october. now one here in late april. >> eric fisher in pennsylvania this morning. thank you very much. >> i know al roker is upstairs

now with more on this storm and what we can expect today. good morning to you. >> good morning. in fact the national grid in upstate new york says they have about 1,000 customers without power in ithaca. almost 13,000 customers in pennsylvania, has about 7300 people. here's the deal. storm making its way up the coast. ahead of the storm we've got a lot of rain and wind. behind it we've got wind and snow. and, in fact, snow fall amounts going to be pretty good. we've got already winter storm warnings from the mountains of west virginia up to watertown, new york. winter weather advisories in effect through syracuse. the highest elevation snow will be above 1200 feet. we're basically looking at the heaviest snow from erie, pennsylvania, to just south of buffalo, about 12 to 18 inches of snow possible. the other part of this system, ahead of it, the warm air bringing in a lot of wet weather. from washington, d.c. up to boston, already we picked up some areas anywhere from 1 to 4 inches of rain, and we've got more on the way as the system makes its way to the north.

new england will be under the gun for the heavy rain, and wind. we're looking at anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain in downeast maine and on into new england. again the big problem is going to be power lines coming down because of trees all that early foliage out there causing big problems there. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. we'll get your local forecast in just a couple of minutes. we turn now to some new details in that prostitution scandal involving members of the u.s. secret service. there is concern from lawmakers now that this may not have been a one-time incident. nbc's mark potter is in cartagena, colombia, once again. mark, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. with the investigation still under way here in colombia, there are calls now for an expanded investigation, including a senate hearing. as the political response in washington heats up. with six agents now separating from the secret service, the scandal that began a week and a half ago in cartagena took up a

lot of air time on the sunday talk shows. senator joe lieberman was on fox news sunday. >> from what we know of what was happening in cartagena, they were not acting like secret service agents, they were acting like a bunch of college students away on spring weekend. >> reporter: lieberman says he's concerned that one of the 12 secret service agents under investigation stayed at the hilton hotel in cartagena, where the president stayed. the rest were at the hotel caribe. congressman peter king sent a letter with 50 questions about the scandal to secret service director mark sullivan. the incident has embarrassed both the u.s., and colombian governments. and has drawn attention to cartagena's legal prostitution trade. facebook pictures of the woman many believe may have sparked the scandal by arguing over money with a u.s. agent have been published worldwide. without official confirmation, though, nbc news continues to blur her image. cartagena attorney marlon betten court now says he represents the woman and is reportedly still trying to negotiate a deal to

sell her story. late last week a witness shot this cell phone video of a police raid at a cartagena night club and told nbc news several officers said they were trying to find prostitutes, identified by investigators, for questioning. meantime, david chaney, a secret service supervisor who has put in for retirement in the wake of the scandal, faces scrutiny for this photo that reportedly surfaced on his facebook page, showing him on sarah palin's security detail. a comment posted there said, i was really checking her out, if you know what i mean. last week, the former governor fired back. >> well, check this out, bodyguard, you're fired. and i hope his wife sends him to the dog house. >> reporter: as the scandal unfolds "the washington post" profile credits secret service regional supervisor paula reed for quickly starting the investigation. on abc's "this week" she drew praise from senator susan collins. >> she acted decisively, appropriately, and i can't help

but wonder if there had been more women as part of that detail if this ever would have happened. >> reporter: now senator collins also said that with so many people allegedly involved in this scandal, more than 20, including a couple of supervisors, it's really hard for her to believe that this was just a one-time incident. matt? >> mark potter in colombia this morning on this story. new york republican congressman peter king is chairman of the house committee on homeland security, which oversees the secret service. congressman king, good to see you. good morning. >> good morning, matt. good to be with you. >> it's been just over a week now since this scandal broke. six people have left the secret service. others are on suspension while the investigation continues. are you comfortable and happy with the pace of the investigation so far? and how efficient or thorough it's been? >> matt, i really am. from the moment this scandal became known, beginning with paula reed, who is the special agent in charge in colombia to

mark sullivan ordering the men back to washington, the investigation has gone ahead, they right now have countless agents throughout colombia dealing with the colombian police, who are giving a tremendous amount of support. they've spoken with the maids, they've spoken to a number of the women involved. they've spoken to the other secret service personnel who were down there. >> right. >> they've spoken to the hotel employees, they've gone through the hotel videos, all of that. no, i am very, very confident, so far, that the investigation is moving ahead. six have been forced to leave. one has been exonerated and i think we expect in the next day or so see several more agents being forced to leave the agency. >> i want to ask you about this letter you wrote to the director of the secret service, mr. sullivan, mark sullivan, 50 questions included in that letter. you want answers in writing to those questions by friday. what's the most important question on the list, in your opinion? >> i would say the most important question, and so far it seems that there is not a real threat here, but to me the most important question is did any of those foreign nationals

have access at any time to any data, any information of any type that could have compromised the president of the united states or made an enemy force aware of the process and procedures of the secret service. >> the way you pose it in the letter, here's one of the questions, have any of the female foreign nationals, in other words the prostitutes, been linked to any foreign governments, foreign terror organizations, or to drug or human trafficking organizations. is that up to the secret service to be investigating right now? or should some other intelligence agency be handling that? >> i think it's important to have the secret service on the ground, doing that investigation. obviously my committee is going to be doing a parallel investigation. secret service is the one most equipped to do it, because they are there. they have the expertise, but again all their findings are going to be submitted to my committee, to others. they will be looked at by outside forces. and i would think, also, matt, it's important we're going to be talking about doing some

internally that as this goes forward that the secret service, depending on what their findings are about past incidents, that they actually appoint an outside panel, if you will, outside experts to take a look at the overall procedures of the secret service. which, by the way, i think is an outstanding organization, and i do have full faith and confidence in director mark sullivan. >> i know you've said that here. but when you mention perhaps past incidents and you look at the cavalier nature of what happened in colombia, with these women being met in a public bar, and then going to a second location in this hotel, where they would have had to register with the hotel to be allowed up to the rooms, when you look at how public and cavalier this behavior seems to be, do you get the impression this wasn't the first time something like this happened? >> matt, i really don't want to go on impressions. obviously, it may have happened in the past. but, again, it's a question of how often does it happen? is this really an aberration that happens once every, you know, thousand times or

whatever? or is it something that's condoned? and so that's why it's important to have the investigation. not just rely on hunches or suppositions, but really get as much factual data as we can. and a situation like this, with the investigators where you have so many past and current employees who will be willing to say something, this is an opportunity to get all the information we can. but at the same time, do it in a way that's not going to drag down the reputation of the secret service. we have to be fair, honest, objective. but again, leave no stone unturned. some may seem contradictory but i don't think it is if it's in the wrong hands. >> congressman peter kick, thanks for your time this morning. i appreciate it. >> matt, thank you. >> all right now let's get a check of the morning's other top stories from natalie morales at the news desk. >> welcome back, ann. good morning, everyone. retail giant walmart is conducting a probe into allegations that it engaged in widespread bribery in mexico to help the company's rapid expansion there. if proven the claims could lead to fines from the u.s. government.

michelle caruso-cabrera is in mexico city with the very latest. >> these allegations stem back to 2005 and before. but "the new york times" revealed them only this weekend. the investigations suggest that executives at walmart mexico at the time paid more than $24 million in bribes to local government officials in order to speed up the permitting process for their new stores to be built more quickly. walmart now employs more than 200,000 people in this country. only the government employs more people. many here shrug their shoulders and say they're not surprised, that's how business gets done here in mexico. regardless, it is illegal for u.s. companies to pay bribes to foreign officials, and if these allegations prove to be true, they will result in massive fines. the company says that they are deeply concerned about the allegations and are conducting an internal probe. back to you. >> all right michelle caruso cab remembero in mexico city this morning. thank you, michelle. two nato service members have been killed in a bomb attack in eastern afghanistan. this as u.s. and afghan officials finalize a strategy

for future cooperation after international troops begin to draw down. the search for missing boy etan patz resumes today in manhattan. investigators are digging up a basement on the street where patz disappeared back in 1979. no human remains have been found, but law enforcement sources tell nbc news that forensic evidence, including strands of hair and a piece of paper, have been recovered, and sent away for analysis. a stain was also found in the basement and is undergoing dna analysis. in chicago today, the murder trial begins for the man accused of killing singer jennifer hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew. hudson's former brother-in-law william balfour is charged with three counts of first degree murder in the 2008 slayings that took place in the american idol finalist's childhood home. jurors have been instructed to set aside sympathies for hudson, who could be called to testify. opening arguments begin today at the perjury trial for baseball star roger clemens.

clemens accused of lying to congress when he testified back in 2008 that he never took steroids or human growth hormones to better his game. and a dramatic crash caught on camera. 21-year-old female drag racer went flying last friday. amazingly, though, hard to believe, she walked away from that crash uninjured. meadow world peace might not be living up to his name. the lakers forward formerly known as ron artest, a concussion. world peace got a flagrant foul for the move and a one-way ticket out of the game. lakers managed to pull out a double overtime victory without him beating the thunder 114-106. as for world peace, well he apologized, said the blow was unintentional, but he could face suspension for the incident. all right. 18 minutes past the hour.

back over to matt, ann and al. >> that was a nasty blow. >> whoo. >> that was really nasty. >> ought to be charged -- >> he was saying he was celebrating. >> crazy. >> guy got in the way of his elbow? >> unintentional? right. >> what happened? >> that's an assault. that's what that is. >> ouch. >> mr. roker meanwhile, you've got some people waking up to some strange conditions. >> i'm telling you. it's april, look out. it's just crazy. out west we're talking about record heat on top of everything else. here in the east we've got a trough that brings in the colder air. but a strong upper level ridge in the southwest, and that means a lot of warm air to talk about. we're expecting records today in boise, also could be in denver, phoenix, las vegas, reno getting up to 87 degrees today. rest of the country we expect to see more of that wet weather here in the northeast. record highs in the plains into the southwest. clouds in the pacific northwest coast. >> good morning.

the heavy rain is got left behind is a taste of winter. it will be breezy and chilly today with a chance for rain or >> that's your late eest weather. ann? >> al, thanks. prince harry is making headlines this morning. it was just announced he'll travel to washington, d.c. next month to receive a prestigious award. and a comment he made over the weekend is also getting some buzz. nbc's michelle kosinski is at buckingham palace this morning. hey, michelle, good morning. >> good morning, ann. this is a nice surprise for prince harry. the atlantic council, focus on the relationship between the u.s. and the uk is presenting harry with its distinguished humanitarian leadership award.

get ready to see prince harry on american soil once again. only this time it won't be military training or official duty for the queen, but he is being invited to be honored. he's done for soldiers. over the weekend we saw him congratulating people at the london marathon. and in his joking way signed up will and kate for the next marathon. >> my brother and his wife will be doing it next year, i think. >> reporter: but the military, and in particular wounded warriors, has been a cause very close to his heart. ever since he served in afghanistan back in 2007, with some of his fellow soldiers were hurt. he's raised money for charities that support soldiers, and most recently, those returning home from duty. he trekked in the arctic with wounded veterans. and the last time he was in the u.s., two years ago, he visited american soldiers, paid a visit to the aircraft carrier "intrep

"intrepid." in 2009, he talked to matt. >> out there with the boys -- >> does it change you? >> i think it changes every single person who comes back. >> reporter: and just earlier this year the dedicated soldier harry was in arizona and california for apache helicopter training which he passed with flying colors and really seemed to enjoy a bit of normal life in the states. now, on his return to america, in a matter of weeks, the young fun-loving prince will be in the spotlight, with the serious efforts he's made on his own. over the weekend when prince harry said oh, william and kate will run the marathon next year that really started a buzz of people saying oh, if they're going to be running they're definitely not going to have a baby then. which then led to talk of the palace possibly releasing a press release today saying no, no, no, harry was just joking. so far they have not done that. but it's understood that harry was only kidding, and that as far as we know, they will not be running the london marathon next year. >> all right. >> ann? >> michelle kosinski, thank you

so much for clearing that up. and coming up just ahead, new clues in the suspicious disappearance of a 6-year-old arizona girl who vanished from her own bedroom in the middle of the night. we're going to talk to the man who's heading the investigation. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, john edwards goes on trial today for allegedly using illegal campaign contributions to cover up an affair. why is there concern over the prosecution's star witness? we're live in court. and giuliana and bill rancic will be here to have some big announcement.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here's a look at one of our top stories. two brothers had to court today facing charges of second-degree assault, false imprisonment, and carrying a deadly weapon. eliyahu and avi werdesheim are accused of beating a teenager in 2010. the victim suffered a laceration to his head and a broken wrist. the attorney for the others says they were acting in self-

defense. i would imagine there are problems on the roadways, sarah caldwell. >> rain is creating problems on 295. bw parkway, when some five, watch for delays at there. long line of traffic at 195. around 17 miles per hour on average. slow go towards the harrisburg expressway. 15 on the west side outer loop beginning at 140. accident at white marsh boulevard. southbound from harford county line towards the 895 split, looking at delays. conaway particularly bypass, accident as well. no sign of delays on the beltway itself, but to under 95 southbound is heavy. coldspring lane, j.f.x., had the towards the construction zone. tony has a check on your forecast.

>> temperatures are in the upper 50's and 40's. it feels like it is around 30. we're just picking up a few light rain showers to start the day. not heavy rain. carolyn frederick counties, would not be a cut -- carroll and frederick counties, one that is why is it we saw a couple of snow flakes.

♪ 7:30 now on this monday morning. it's the 23rd of 2012. get ready for some fireworks around here because rosie o'donnell, a woman who is never shy about expressing her opinions, is joining "today's professionals" for one morning, and one morning only. we're going to get her thoughts as the host -- on a host of hot topics tomorrow here on "today." meantime inside studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. >> it makes my job tomorrow very easy. i say good morning, star, good morning, donny, good morning, rosie and then i just stop and she just goes for seven or eight minutes. which will be fun. >> it should be fun. >> also ahead, opening arguments begin today in the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards. he's accused of accepting

illegal campaign contributions to then cover up his affair with rielle hunter. will she be called to testify? live report from the courthouse coming up. >> and then also, then giuliana and bill rancic have talked openly about their struggle with infertility. and they dealt with the devastating news that she has breast cancer. well this morning, they're here to make a big announcement about their future in an exclusive live interview. >> and what's your best side? the new findings that show which side of your face people will find more appealing. >> pretty interesting. >> and it's the same for all of us apparently. >> so we're going to get to that. but we begin at the trial of former democratic presidential hopeful john edwards. nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers is at the federal courthouse in greensboro, north carolina. lisa, good morning. >> good morning, ann. john edwards has long had a reputation as a risk taker. as a trial lawyer, and certainly in his personal life. but this trial may be his ultimate gamble. because if he loses, he almost certainly faces time in prison,

away from his three young children. what began as a bid for the democratic presidential nomination in 2008, the denial of an extramarital affair, and a child -- >> the story is false. it's completely untrue. >> reporter: and then belatedly an admission. >> there's no question that i've done wrong. and i take full responsibility for having done wrong. >> reporter: has now come to this. >> do you think with the negative public opinion you can get a fair trial? >> i'm not going to say. >> reporter: john edwards is charged with accepting and receiving almost $1 million in illegal campaign contributions, to cover up his affair with campaign videographer rielle hunter, with whom he has a now 4-year-old daughter quinn. nbc news legal analyst hampton dillinger. >> the government is alleging something against john edwards that, as far as i can tell, has never been alleged before, as a federal crime. >> reporter: prosecutors say the money from two wealthy donors,

the late texas attorney fred barron and 101-year-old rachel bunny melon was used to hide his mistress in fancy homes and on private jets so he could remain a viable candidate for president. >> he didn't violate campaign laws, and i never, for a second, believed i was violating campaign laws. >> reporter: john edwards says the evidence will prove he did not know about the money, and that it was given to protect his wife elizabeth from public humiliation, as she struggled with cancer. the government says it may call hunter as a witness, and will use edwards' own words to try to prove he was part of a conspiracy. >> i had a wonderful conversation, a long and wonderful conversation with bunny. she will be there no matter what. and i just wanted you to hear that, and to once again to tell you i love you. i really love you, andrew. thank you. >> reporter: andrew is the government's star witness. andrew young, a campaign aide who wrote a tell-all book, and who says edwards orchestrated

the money and the cover-up. hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks from bunny mellon were sent to young through her decorator. one even hidden in a box of chocolates. but edwards' lawyer planned to vigorously challenge young's credibility. in court documents they say he kept much of the money for himself. >> the only winner in this case is andrew young who's lining his pockets, building a new home. >> reporter: this 5500 square foot, $1.2 million home. that's andrew young standing on the roof. he was not available for comment. >> it's an incredible human drama. john edwards, versus andrew young. this is a compelling human story. it's an important story about law and politics. >> reporter: on the legal aspect of this case, edwards has some unlikely allies. the conservative national review recently weighed in saying edwards is loathsome, but that

this prosecution is a stretch. ann? >> all right, lisa myers this morning. lisa, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thank you, so much, ann. got a little wet weather out here. not too bad. didn't dampen your spirits. you're 17 years old today. what's your name? >> samantha. >> where you from? >> vermont. >> well, happy birthday. >> thank you. >> got a lot of rain coming your way. let's show you what we've got as far as the week ahead. below normal temperatures in the northeast, the mid-atlantic states, down to the gulf coast. we're looking for some snow in the mountainous areas. out west, mostly above normal temperatures. midweek period, we're looking at normal conditions in the east, although colder up through the great lakes. a lot of wet weather and snowy weather out west. above normal temperatures in the midsection of the country and the latter part of the week, up in the northeast through the plains, above normal through the southeast. normal out west, and some showers and wet weather in the coastal pacific northwest region. >> good morning. it will feel like winter on this

monday. the temperatures will be in the 40's but it will feel like it is in the 30's >> that's your latest weather. don't forget you can get your weather any time, any time you need its, go to the weather channel on cable, and weather.com online. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next, hugh grant opens up in a live interview about his life as a first-time dad, and his new movie. but also coming up next, the search for a 6-year-old arizona girl who vanished from her own bedroom in the middle of the night. what her parents are saying to police right after this.

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back now at 7:40 with the frantic search for a 6-year-old girl in tucson, arizona, who disappeared from her bedroom in the middle of the night over the weekend. nbc's miguel almaguer is in tucson with more. miguel, good morning. >> ann, good morning. isabel was last seen by her parents sleeping in her bedroom friday night. police call it a suspicious

disappearance, with no suspect, and few clues. >> we love you. i know we will find you. and we won't give up. >> reporter: at a candlelight vigil for missing 6-year-old isabel celis, prayers, hope and tears sunday night as police struggled to find any leads. >> isabel is a blessing we need to give back to the celis family. please help us. >> reporter: investigators say the first grader, known as isa, was last seen by her parents friday night when they tucked her in to bed at 11:00 p.m. by 8:00 a.m. saturday her father realized isa was gone and called 911. last night police spoke for the first time about possible clues. >> -- we have a location where we think that could be a possible location. >> reporter: within hours authorities scoured and sealed off isa's neighborhood. local police, the fbi, and u.s.

marshalls combed a 2 1/2 mile radius canvassing nearby neighborhoods, businesses, and tucson's deserts. police are calling the case a suspicious disappearance, a possible abduction. investigators have no suspect. heck for rodriguez is isa's grandfather. >> translator: it's still something i can't believe. i can't believe it. i wish it was a dream. >> reporter: detectives say isa's parents are cooperating. family friends say the doting mother and father were high school sweethearts, and have two other young children. isa's parents were questioned separately by police for hours. >> just no possible way that the family would have anything to do with this. the window was knocked out in her room -- the screen, rather, so there's just no possibility that she ran away. >> reporter: with 150 officers working isa's disappearance, police say they won't rule anything out. >> we're sending every resource that we can to try and bring this investigation to a

successful conclusion. >> reporter: a desperate search for a little girl who vanished from her bedroom. police never issued an amber alert in this case because they had no suspect or car description. isa stands just under 4 feet tall and 44 pounds. police say they are nowhere close at this point to bringing her home. ann? >> all right, miguel almaguer, thank you so much. well, tucson police chief roberto is now joining us. chief, good morning to you, and welcome. >> good morning. >> more than 72 hours now since this little girl was last seen. where exactly is your investigation? >> well, we seized about over 100 investigative leads that we have followed up on. we're current on that. we've canvassed the area at least three times going door to door contacting merchants, looking for video surveillance in any of the businesses that might give us a clue. we're looking through the

landfill and the transfer station where trash from the neighborhood was taken earlier in the morning on saturday to make sure that we didn't miss anything there. so we are continuing through our investigation. >> the celis family seems to have no doubt that isa was kidnapped by a stranger. i understand investigators spoke to parents -- the parents late in the evening. what are the parents telling you? >> well, i don't want to talk about the details of the investigation. but we are not closing our mind to any possibility. if you start to do that too early, you start to try and focus on one particular path, you run the risk of losing other investigative leads, or not recognizing those leads. so we're keeping our mind open to any possibility at this point. >> i -- i need to ask you about this point of entry, because so much has been made about it. this idea that there was a window that could have been a port of -- point of entry. what can you tell us about that? >> well, that is correct. there's a window to the little girl's room that was open, and a screen removed.

but we aren't saying that that is a definitive point of entry. there are other issues that we're looking at involved around that location, and so, once again, we -- we still are open in our approach. >> it -- it -- is it possible that she could have gotten outside on her own? >> almost anything is possible at this point. the fact is, that right now we're -- we've been focusing on trying to find isabel, and also working with the people who know her and have information, and interviewing them and trying to gather all the information possible. >> the fbi, federal marshals are on the case, joining with your police department, to try to find isa and i also understand that fbi dogs have now arrived. talk to us about the amount of resources you're able to put on this case. >> the cooperation has been fantastic from local, state and federal agencies. we've had members of the fbi with us almost from the beginning, as well as the u.s.

marshal service, border patrol has been there. county sheriff's, our own fire department, we've had search and rescue teams. the fbi even flew in a couple of k-9s last night to assist usthe search, and we are still following up on information that they have helped provide. >> well, a lot of people are hopefully -- are hoping that you find isa soon. we thank you so much. tucson police chief roberto villasenor this morning. >> thank you. >> and coming up we're going to switch gears and get some happier news from giuliana and bill rancic when they join us for an exclusive live interview. [ male announcer ] josh and joannie and curtis went to college in one. ♪ kevin and carla grew old in one. chloe was born in one, then learned to drive in one. ♪ veronica said yes in one. anna wept in one; joey lost his first tooth in one; rusty and mr. sprinkles came home in one.

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are packed with 8 grams of whole grains. give them quaker chewy. do you have a favorite side of your face? it pushes out it may not be vanity but in fact science. >> researchers at wake forest university showed people photos of right and left sides of faces. and they found that when -- people were asked which side is more appealing or attractive, the winner was -- >> the left. >> the left side. >> of people's faces. >> basically corroborated that finding by gauging the pupil size of the study's participants in their eyes. >> and they took images and i guess the mirror reverse of the images -- >> that's the good side. >> now coming over here. >> bad side. >> but they flipped them over. >> so they basically would have people look at them and judge them and rate them. al looks good on all sides. >> i get al's good side.

matt, i don't get your good side. >> and i get your good side. >> you get my good side. >> and the audience would then get my -- and get your worse side. >> are you confused? >> wow. >> it's all in heigh def. >> celebrities have often said, barbra streisand likes to be shot showing her left side. >> donald trump. >> mariah carey. >> which way does he comb his hair? >> that explains the combover is on the left. >> left to right. >> i don't know. >> does he have a good side, donald trump? >> absolutely. >> how about celine dion? >> celine dion? can we have that picture? >> also the left. >> and what they're saying is when you get a picture taken or you meet someone you should casually kind of just turn slightly -- >> but that -- >> so they're turning. >> keep turning. keep turning. >> keep turning. >> he's got every good side. [ laughs ]

[ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ laughs ] that's awesome. you can read that?

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. time for a check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> dealing with what roads creating problems around big area an additional delays. possible accident at coldspring lane, getting reports of it as we speak. mlk boulevard, another crash coming in to the city. outer loop of frederick, disabled vehicle adding to the delays on the west side. back up as a result on southbound 795 out of owings mills. this one looks like it has gone

north on 95 at white marsh. heavy delays southbound from the harford county line to the 95 split. essex, accident involving a pedestrian. hearing that ordnance road, another crash has come in. update on the j.f.x., looks like leading up to the construction zone, you may have an accident did reported in the area of coldspring lane. live view of traffic in 295. this layer is all due to a possible accident we are hearing at the arundel mills boulevard. tony has a check on your forecast. >> at least the heavy rain we had yesterday is gone. 42 at the airport. west winds at 10. take off maybe 10 degrees. wind chills in the low-to-mid- thirties. a few scattered, light showers out there. a few snowflakes in frederick.

breezy, chilly, a chance for breezy, chilly, a chance for rain or snow shower.

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we're back now 8:00 on a monday morning. it's the 23rd day of april, 2012. a rainy morning and overnight here in the northeast we've had heavy, heavy rain. as al told us earlier, we're getting snow in some places. we've got about 53 degrees and a big crowd out on the plaza. we thank them for stopping by. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, who is back from vacation, dressed a little like a toon this morning. but i like the colors. >> it's a rainy day and monday but it's not going to get us down. >> jessica rabbit -- >> she's just drawn that way. mr. roker is here, as well. and we've got two familiar faces

in our studio this morning. >> that's right. we've got bill and giuliana rancic. and they are joining us live in our studio to give us some news that i think is going to make a lot of people very happy. you can see their smiles right there. that's coming up. >> all right. also ahead, things that make you nervous as a morning show host. i just saw hugh grant, he walked by and i said hey, hugh how are you? because he's coming up in the next half hour. and i said, how you doing? he said lousy. i'm pretty sure he was kidding. >> he looks okay. >> he shouldn't be lousy because he's got a great new children's movie out. it's an animated film and he plays a pirate in this one. >> yeah. >> we're going to talk to hugh grant about that. >> hugh i can give you a little back massage right now -- >> okay. >> that might make you a little happier. he got a smile. >> i don't think we want to do that. >> okay. >> okay. giada de laurentiis is here. >> on a lighter note. >> on the menu, some of her favorite crowd pleasing family style dishes.

>> all right. lots to get to. let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk. she's got a check of all the headlines. take it away. >> all right, matt, ann and al. good morning, everyone. george zimmerman the man accused of killing trayvon martin is at an undisclosed location this morning following his release on bail. a judge ruled he could be freed on $150,000 bond while he awaiting trial for fatally shooting the unarmed teen. winter storm warnings were posted this morning from west virginia in to new york, as a late-season nor'easter moves its way up the coast. it could dump more than a foot of snow in parts of pennsylvania and upstate new york, after a windy, rainy sunday that left thousands without power. congress is digging deeper into the secret service prostitution scandal. representative peter king, who heads the house investigation, has sent a letter with 50 questions to the secret service director. and his senate counterpart joe lieberman said he aims to find out if the alleged cavorting with prostitutes in colombia was part of a larger pat earn of

misconduct. a dog attack caught on tape has left a washington, d.c. man with bites on his arms and hands. the hero came to the rescue of neighborhood children who were chased on to the roof of a car by two large dogs on friday night. you see they're caught on surveillance tape. the dogs eventually ran away and police are now investigating. now for a look at what's trending today our quick roundup of what has you talking online. singer neil diamond tweeted that his marriage saturday to his manager music documentary producer katie mcneil was magical. it's diamond's third time tying the knot. justin bieber used what he calls his random twitter hour on saturday to mention the woman who had falsely accused him of fathering a child. he tweeted we have never met, so from the heart i just wanted to say and he posted this clip. you will never get this. you will never get this. la la la la la. he posted that from obviously the character borat. bieber's fans retweeted the original message tens of thousands of times.

and singer lisa gail got scathing reviews when she posted this video of the three second rule. but when she tried to take it down others kept reposting it. ♪ when you're walking down the street oh, oh, oh, ♪ ♪ just stay behind the line and within the time frame ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm all you need >> well, her three-second rule means it's okay for a man who's taken to look at another woman but only for three seconds. got that, guys? 8:04 right now. let's go out to al with a check of your weather. three seconds. that's it, al. >> okay, time's up. >> that's right. >> and some nice young ladies here and even younger lady there. who is that? >> this is alexandria. >> where are you from? >> arizona. >> very nice. beautiful young lady. beautiful young ladies here, as well. let's show you what we got as far as our weather as i try to

not violate the three second rule. big low pressure system. ahead of it, we've got a lot of rain. behind it wind and snow bringing down power lines. we've got winter storm warnings from as far south as elkins, west virginia. far north as watertown, new york. anywhere from 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour, especially in western new york. and we may even hear some thunder snow in there. we're talking about 12 to 18 inches of snow before it's all over. we've already picked up anywhere from an inch and a half to four inches of rain from the mid-atlantic states into the northeast. we've got more rain coming. look for it especially in new england, anywhere from 1 to 5 inches of rain before it's all >> good morning. 24 hours. the heavy rain is got left behind is a taste of winter. it will be breezy and chilly today with a chance for rain or

>> that's your latest weather. now back to matt. >> all right, al, thank you very much. still to come this morning, hugh grant is live in our studio. we'll talk to him about his new movie. but up next, bill and giuliana rancic share some really nice news. we'll talk to them. but first these messages. troduc! [ woman ] i got it. where's your brother? [ dog barking ] ♪ [ telephone rings ] [ dad ] hello. [ female announcer ] quality everyday products at a way better price. [ boy ] mom? ♪ [ female announcer ] now that's nice. come in now and get $2 off your next purchase when you spend $10 on nice products. sold only at walgreens. gives you a 50% annual bonus.

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back now at 8:08 with a big announcement from giuliana and bill rancic. they have been through some very open about their dramatic events in their lives, including the dual challenges of infertility and breast cancer. they're talking exclusively in just a moment. but first, their story. for years she's been a familiar face to fans who followed her on television as a co-anchor on e! news. >> they say their biggest secrets for us. >> reporter: in gracing the red carpets for major hollywood events. >> how are you? >> reporter: giuliana rancic's infectious smile captured the attention of another well-known celebrity, season one winner of the apprentice, bill rancic. >> bill, you're hired. >> reporter: the two were married and have chronicled their lives together in the style network reality show "giuliana & bill." >> how you feeling? >> reporter: on the show the couple shared their struggle to have a family, while undergoing fertility treatments giuliana learned something stunning about

her health, something she revealed on "today" last october. >> i have early stages of breast cancer. >> reporter: giuliana underwent a lumpectomy but a short time later in december came the news that more treatment was needed. >> i'm going to go ahead and move forward with a double mastectomy. all it came down to was just choosing to live and not looking over my shoulder. >> reporter: just a few weeks after undergoing a double mastectomy, giuliana returned to her post on e! news. >> it's so good to be back. >> reporter: through all their medical troubles the couple has never given up hope of having a baby. >> a lot of people who watch your show came in to your lives knowing about your wish to have a baby. >> right. >> has -- has -- do you have a sense based on how long these treatments may go about how long you may still have to wait for those fertility treatments that will make that dream come true? >> well, right now we're exploring all of our options. and the main thing is we still have options out there. >> we are definitely having to explore other options. >> wait a minute -- >> absolute want a child.

but -- >> -- but >> -- pregnant myself with the medication that i'm starting, is probably not, you know, as far as myself, not going to happen any time soon. but, as bill mentioned, you know, we have definitely looking at other options. so hopefully we'll have some good news soon. >> adoption possibly? >> possibly adoption, surrogacy. so, listen, at the end of the day, whether you have a baby naturally, for adoption, surrogacy, it's your baby, you know, you're going to love that baby, and that's all that matters. >> so now joining us, giuliana and bill rancic. good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> so let's not keep people waiting any longer. what is your announcement? >> well, we said last time it was the year of the rancics. it really has turned out to be that way. >> so we are finally having a baby. finally. after years of trying. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> and -- and -- when is the baby due? >> late summer. >> late summer. >> late summer. >> do you know if it's a boy or a girl? >> we actually, we do. but we're not telling anyone.

we're seeing how long we can keep it a secret so we haven't told anyone yet. >> you've known for some time that the baby is due in late summer and you're using a -- having a baby via a gestational carrier, is that right? rather an a surrogate which means this baby is biologically your baby. >> yes, it's our embryo and we're using a gestational carrier to help bring it to term. >> was it hard to find a baby momma? >> i love that. i call her my baby momma, too, i love it. you know, it -- we -- where we got ivf the last time, remember where i found my breast cancer, it's this place in colorado. and our doctor there said to us, i have this great agency and he hooked us up with the agency and they helped us find her. and she's just -- she's a dream come true. >> so two embryos were implanted. one of them took. describe that moment when you discovered that after all you have been through, giuliana -- >> yes. >> you're going to be a mother. >> it was pretty much the -- one

of the best moments of my life. if not the best moment of my life. i mean it was incredible. we've been trying for so long. we've been through so much. we just had such a hard year last year with the breast cancer and everything, and to finally get that call from the doctor, that you know, you're pregnant. or you're having a baby. i'm not quite pregnant. but you know what i mean. we're pregnant. it was just -- it was -- it was just another world. like on another level. >> how did you -- you -- you must have been facing your own reactions but watching your wife -- >> it was pretty emotional. because this was our last stop. i mean this was it. we had those two embryos that we had banked, you know, prior to learning about the breast cancer, and you know, with the medicine she's going on, this was our last effort. so, the prayers were answered and we really want to thank all the folks who watched you, because they've been praying for us and they've been with us on this journey and we're very thankful for all the prayers. >> and now you are getting to see this baby grow. >> yes. >> are you able to spend time with the baby momma. >> yes.

>> how -- how is that working? what are you -- what are you doing? >> i love when you say baby momma. >> i love that. >> we love it. yeah, she actually lives out of state. she doesn't live where we live. so we go visit her every month. we go to all the doctor's appointnesses. so we see the baby growing and it's very exciting. >> very, very exciting. and you know, after all of this you've been through, i mean, all of the ups and downs, you always try to stay positive. >> yes. >> and it's brought you to this moment. i mean -- what is it -- what have you learned going through this entire process? >> one of the things we've always tried 20 do is help others with our story. you know, whether it's with the infertility issues, whether it's with the breast cancer and we said we're going to turn negatives into positives and if we can help others by sharing our story then it's worth it. >> you know what i think it is, too, i was able to find the positive in all of this. through breast cancer, which is so difficult to deal with, and the more you focus on the positive, the more you are grateful for the good things in your life, the more good things come to you.

and i've really seen that. so listen, i have a great husband, i have a wonderful family, now i have a baby on the way, and what more can i ask for, really? >> congratulations. >> so we're excited. >> thanks for sharing the news with us this morning. >> thank you. >> and coming up next, hugh grant on his new movie, and becoming a dad for the first time. that's right after this. i'd like to tell you about netflix. it's an amazing service that lets you watch unlimited movies and tv episodes instantly over the internet. you watch netflix on your pc or on your tv.

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we want to bring a little piece of the boutique experience to target. a real taste of luxury. it's pretty special for us to imagine this little nook of polka dog will be in target stores all around the country. the shops we fell in love with, collected and curated for you. exclusively at target. bac now at 89:18. awarding winning actor hugh grant is known for making women swoon. but in his latest movie, "the pirates! band of misfits," he plays a pirate who's crazy for his bird. take a look. >> behind every captain, glittering eyes and a luxurious beard -- >> luxurious. >> a briny rogue, the crew of captains. >> don't forget -- >> i'm not forgetting. never forgetting. the fearless -- come on, girls.

is it you? is it you? it's you. yes it is. it's definitely you, isn't it? >> it's the problem. hugh grant, welcome back. nice to see you. >> oh, thank you. >> you are someone who's notoriously critical of your own roles yet i even watched you watching that clip and you get a big smile on your face. you like this movie. >> yes, well i feel a quarter responsible. three quarters of it is done by genius animators, and so i think i'm entitled to laugh at my own performance. >> i was reading some stuff you said about this. you call it the most historically inaccurate film in history. and i think you meant that as a compliment. >> yes, yes, if you take your children they will learn nothing about history. it has queen victoria, the elephant man, jane austen, all in the same time frame -- >> you mean their lives didn't normally intersect? >> not even slightly. >> i thought you're too suave, you're so suave and debonair,

how do you play a pirate? pirates are smelly, they are unkempt, they're rakish characters, how do you fit into a pirate's role? >> well i panicked when they asked me to do it because i saw the puppet. you know the barrel chested fellow. and i thought my god, i'm actually going to have to act. i can't just be me, which is my normal recourse. so, yeah, i just did a silly voice. >> it's not that silly. do you think if people were not to know that you were the voice, would they recognize it? >> well, yeah, a lot of my young cousins who've seen the film in england say it's not me. but it is. >> it truly is. now i want to clear something up. because danny devito was on the show not long ago, he'd just done an animated film and he said they shouldn't even pay actors to do this. it's that easy. and then chris rock got up at the oscars, he said u.p.s. is hard, doing voiceovers for animation is the easiest thing in the world. where do you fall in this? >> oh, i couldn't disagree more. but then i find every job fun. i love to panic and i had a big panic on this one.

but i suppose in the end, they've got a point. because as i said at the beginning most of the work is done by the animators. you think, was i good? was that funny? and then three months later they show you how they animated your voice and they've put in so much humor, you know, physical stuff, jokes in the background, you think oh, i can relax. >> but they sent you a dvd for this, again i mention you're usually the type who gets nervous watching yourself. you waited a long time before you actually popped it in to watch it. >> no, no, no. while i was making it they told me it was going to take a few months, but actually took three years. >> these geniuses you've just talked about. >> the famous lie when they ask you to do an animated film. for the kids, we're not paying you much, but it's for the kids. all right. as long as it doesn't take too long. and it takes three years. but yeah you do a bit, then they go away and animate those ten minutes and then three months later they show it to you and then you do another bit. so that's how it works. >> you have a co-star in this, and because it's animation you don't sit there and shoot anything with these people but this guy behind us is al roker

and al actually has a part in here, he's the pirates who likes sunsets and kittens. >> thaerkt. that's correct. yes. he's the american version of that character. there's a different one in england. so we've -- >> so he didn't even get international rights? >> no, no, he didn't deserve them. he's wonderful. >> you took your own test audience to see the movie, i understand, you took elizabeth hurley's son? >> i did, yes. >> how did he like it? >> i forced him to like it. no, he genuinely liked it. it was a big, big hit in england. so fingers crossed in america. >> i want to mention congratulations. since the last time we saw you, and i'll talk about the reason you were on the show in the last time in just a second, you've had a daughter. you're now a daughter for the first time. tabitha is how old? >> about seven or eight months now. >> how is fatherhood going? >> it's nice. i've enjoyed it. >> is tabitha could speak would she agree that fatherhood is going well? >> yes, i think she's learned to

like me. i mean, i see her more and more and i, she's just great. i love the way she smiles at me. and swirl around my head perhaps excessively. i'm absolutely thrilled. couldn't love her more. >> let me read something you said to london's daily mail about being a father. there are a few things in life i believe in 100%. one is not giving your children money. i see nothing but blanking ups among my trust fund friends. >> well, one is the daily mail. >> that's what it says here. >> -- speak to another newspaper. but i yes, i'm not a fan of leaving enormous amounts of money to children. i can see why one wants to, and of course i may relent on this. but, not from a self-ish point of view, but purely because i see kids who are about to get, you know, a million dollars or something, are a little demote voted in life. >> but that's one thing to leave a lot of money to children.

you are someone who has certain amount of personal wealth. how do you go about not raising kids with that expectation? >> well, i'm not quite sure what you mean. tabitha will have whatever she needs. >> she's going to grow up in an affluent world because of you. yet you don't want to impose an austerity program on your own children yet you want them to be level headed. how hard do you think it's going to be? >> i think it isn't that hard. i'll just try and keep her comfortable but nothing vulgar or excessive. i just don't want her to at the age of 18 think all right i'm about to get a good check so i can go back and relax. i want her to think, i have to earn a living. >> last time you were in london and we were talking it was really in the wake of the inquiries in parliament over the phone hacking scandal among the tabloid press in the uk. there have been arrests in connection with that, resignations in connection with that. do you think real change has come to the tabloid news industry as a result?

>> well, yes. in the sense that one newspaper has closed down already, been resignations and the rest, as you said. but the big thing was to get this huge public inquiry happening. and that is now happening. it's halfway through. rupert murdoch himself is up in front of it this week, which will be interesting television. and then at the end of that we'll see what the judge recommends and whether the government have the guts to put it into law. >> hope that maybe the culture has shifted a little bit. >> maybe. >> that's a tough one. hugh grant, always good to have you here. "the pirates! band of misfits" opens nationwide on friday. good to see you. >> thanks, matt.

>> the live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. final check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> still very busy out there as you make your way around the area. at the delays. start on the j.f.x. southbound. there is an accident with that the lake, where the construction zone is. lombard and mlk, we have an accident. down to 15 mi. on the west side. 795 backed up out of owings mills. 26 miles per hour on the outer

loop north side. alpine road in essex, we have an accident with heavy delays on 95 out of the northeast. telegraph road, there is a crash coming in. further south, on ritchie highway, watch for an accident. here is what it looks like on the j.f.x. will switch over to pickwick live look at 295. tony has a check on your forecast. >> at least of the heavy rain is gone. 42 at the airport. it will feel like i guess in the 30's. -- it is in the 30's. mixture of light rain and snow showers. even a couple snowflakes around baltimore. will not be steady, though.

high temperatures in the 40's, wind chills in the 30's. >> another update at 8:56. your home and auto policies and save. don't worry, tiny people. flo is a gentle giant. bundle home and auto at progressive.com.

8:30 on this monday morning. the 23rd of april, 2012. what a happy crowd this morning. it's a little warm outside. as you can see, that is not dampening the spirits of our crowd here at rockefeller plaza. they're saying hello to none other than jack black. he'll be coming up in this half hour. we'll tell you more about that coming up. i'm ann curry alongside al roker, matt lauer and natalie

morales. >> apparently this movie is a dark comedy based on a true story. he plays a mortician who ends up killing a wealthy widow. we're going to talk to him about that role and some of the controversy surrounding it. >> you want to feed the crowd. not to fear, giada de laurentiis is here. she's going to show us what we can make. she's got some family favorites she's cooking up for us as well as a classic dish with a twist. >> hard to believe, but it has been four years, joy has been running the joy fit club. >> really? >> we are going to look back so the some of the remarkable stories she's broken. >> oh, great. >> great. >> but first let's get a check of the weather. it's supposed to be brutal. >> it's going to be like that in the northeast but all in all not too shabby. as we look ahead for today, wet weather here, heavy snow back

through western new york and western p.a. all the way down to west virginia. record highs in the plains down to the southwest. some clouds in the pacific northwest. for tomorrow, we look for the rain to be banked up along northern new england, we look for hit or miss showers and thunderstorms back through the inner mountain regions. record highs continue in the central plains. sizzling hot weather, southwest, southern california, nice and mild through the gulf coast with plenty of sunshine and a few snow showers left over in western new york and western p.a. somebody got too much sleep on their vacation! >> good morning. it will feel like winter on this monday. the temperatures will be in the 40's but it will feel like it is in the 30's

>> go to weather channel on cable and weather.com online. >> that's right. coming up next we've got giada de laurentiis whipping up some family favorites. first this is "today" on nbc.

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de laurentiis is here with her arsenal. good morning. good morning, nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> family style. how do you define family style? >> i think everybody defines it a little differently. i think a big pot of something that everybody will enjoy in your family. so, i'm starting out with my noodle paella. >> i think family style is triple the recipe, serve it on a big platter? >> it doesn't have to be triple the recipe. this one i wrote so you can serve it right out of your dutch oven. put it center on the table, it looks good and everybody can enjoy it with everything in it. >> you talk about noodle paella. basically it's an italian twist on the spanish dish. >> growing up my grandmother spent a lot of time in spain. when we went to visit she would make a lot of paella's. i tried to make it when jade was born and she wouldn't touch anything. >> most kids love rice. >> she's not a big rice person. guess what? she's a big pasta girl. so i started making it up with broken up spaghetti.

>> you're doing a little bit of sauteing the sausage. >> just browning it a little bit. breaking it up into little bits. sweet italian sausage. >> to that you're going to add chicken. >> i just have a little bit of chicken. i use breast meat but you could use thigh meat. i have the fat from the sausage so i don't feel i need it. you want to leave it in there for a couple of minutes or less and just kind of brown it up a little bit then you're going to add all of your vegetables. >> you also need liquid for this. what are we using for the actual liquid? otherwise it's going to be a little dry. >> we're going to use chicken broth, and we're going to use a mixture of chicken actually and clam broth right there and tomatoes. >> so you take the sausage and the chicken out. >> yeah. >> you want to dump it or should we -- >> if you want to lift this hot pan you can but i'm that going to. >> but you still have the little browned ingredients in there. >> which is where all the flavor lies. >> okay. >> now -- >> now in go --

>> the vegs. so we're going to do onions, fennel. i like fennel because it's nice and fresh, red pepper, and garlic. if you can get all your stuff fresh, awesome. this is something you can kind of make. you can even make this the day before and just don't add the fish until right before you're going to serve it. >> all right, fine. >> so you start doing that. and then we're going to add the canned tomatoes in there. we're going to add the mixture of chicken broth and a little bit of clam juice. the only reason you're adding clam juice is because we're going to add clams in here. if you're going to omit the clams, you can omit the clam juice, as well. you give that a nice little stir. we're going to add some bay leaf. >> the herbs here. >> some paprika. a little paprika. a little saffron and smoked paprika which i think is fabulous. gives it a nice, smoky flavor which works really well with the chicken and the sausage. >> do you have to bring that to a boil before you add the pasta? >> no. >> is that necessary?

>> nope. dump it all in there. and then i just take -- you break it up. but you can use any style of pasta. only 8 ounces of it. so technically, if you have a few boxes of pasta, you know sometimes you don't use the whole box. mix it. mix it all together. makes it more fun for the kids, too. >> the seafood is going to go in this last. >> yeah. >> why is that? because it takes the shortest time to cook. >> correct. this one you want to let this cook for about nine to ten minutes until the pasta has absorbed all the liquid pretty much and it's nice and thick. so you want to do that. and then we kind of close the top. >> so you're using shrimp. >> we're using some shrimp, some clams, and some halibut. i like some white meat fish in there. you could use salmon if you wanted to or any fish. and you can omit or substitute anything that your family likes or doesn't like. >> get a little bit. and use my script as -- >> as your napkin. how is it? >> it's really good. it's got great flavor. >> right? it's the smoked paprika, all of that. >> it's really good. nice family dish.

family style. >> mm-hmm. >> you have a couple of other dishes you brought with you. >> pork very big in italian families. ate a lot of pork chops when i was growing up. spiced pork chops and a little bit of red pepper. you cook them in a pan. you can finish them in the oven. then i make the sweet and sour glaze, balsamic vinegar, honey, shallots and rosemary. you reduce it down and cook it for about eight minutes and you get this nice syrupy sort of consistency and you just pour it right over. this is the rice. you're good. >> and we have a steak dish over pasta which is going to make me very happy. what's this? >> so this is my spaghetti with smoked almonds, and basil. and you have some grilled steak over the top. and the deal is here, that you can make this all the day before, and you can just serve it the next day for lunch, as well. so i give this to jade for lunch as well. >> great family style recipes. giada, thank you. part of your arsenal that you brought with us -- or with you, sorry about that. coming up, she's going to be answering your cooking questions during a live web chat. that's today at 12:30 eastern,

9:30 pacific time. to take part head to today.com. and you can ask a question. up next, jack black on the controversy surrounding his new movie. >> controversy? >> you'll figure it out. first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:42 with jack black. he stars in the new and dark comedy "bernie" about a smalltown funeral director and his relationship with the wealthy widow played by shirley maclaine, a woman who ends up getting on his very last nerve. take a look. >> i can understand 25 times like the chicken fried steak but i don't think you have to chew your refried beans that many times. doesn't really make sense. it's unnecessary additional work for your jaws. think of your muscles.

couldn't be good for it. it's inefficient. think about it. you know this drives me crazy. please stop. this is like nails on a chalkboard. go ahead. chew like that. chew like that. oh! >> jack black, good morning. that must have been so fun to shoot that with her. >> it was a blast. we had a great time. yeah. >> her jaw probably started getting sore after awhile. hopefully that was only one take. that did seem like -- >> no, we did it all day. she was chewing the beans all day. but she's a pro, you know. she knows how to pace herself. >> and chewing the beans all day. that could have side effects. but anyway, let's move on, this is a story that basically is based on a true story from the 1990s. your character bernie actually was convicted of murdering marjorie nugent, who's played as we just saw by shirley mcclain. you just took a deep breath. >> yeah. >> the question is how do you make a comedy about a real-life murder? >> it's true.

it's heavy. but you know, we were pushing the envelope. we're going some places no one's gone before. and the truth is, inside every story, no matter how dark, there's always going to be some kernel of comedy, i think. there's always a funny angle you can take on any story. you know what's funny about this story is how peculiar it is. there's some elements to it that are so strange that are -- that are hard to believe. and that's where we went for the dark comedy. >> the story line or in the character? >> this isn't going to sound funny now. >> okay. >> but it's a typical thing to say but the fact that her body was hidden in a freezer for nine months, and nobody noticed, it's very dark. but some people could find it funny. >> okay. okay. apparently some people involved in this film find that funny. but anyway -- >> can we talk about that other movie? the pirates one? i think i'd like to talk about that one right now. >> you know, this one is a hard bit, no question, dark comedies

tend to be. in fact, you had to -- you -- not in real life to meet the man you played. that must have been an interesting experience. >> and for making this movie. they sent me to prison for awhile. i did some hard time. i went to a maximum security prison to meet bernie and just get his blessing to make the movie. when you're making a movie about a real person you want to meet them face-to-face and just let them know that we're doing it, as honestly as possible. you know, we're just trying to tell this interesting tale. >> mm-hmm. >> and also just wanted to meet him to get his voice, his accent, see his behavior and how he walked and try to get his personality down. >> must have been -- >> it was scary. i've never been to a prison before and there's a lot of rough customers and you would expect. a lot of tattoos. >> people look at you -- >> a lot of violence behind the eyes. but the krcraziest part was jus

seeing bernie there because he's such a soft, gentle guy. he doesn't really fit there. and it was quite surreal. >> you know i have to ask you the movie has created as you well know some controversial -- controversy because of the real district attorney who is played by matthew mcconaughey in this movie, which i looks like from the clip because this movie is not historically accurate and that in terms of mrs. nugent the movie does not tell her side of the story. you want to respond to that? >> well, i guess he's not portrayed as super heroic. but he is -- he is portrayed pretty humorously but matthew mcconaughey. you know, everyone's going to have their take on any given story. everyone's got a different perspective. we did the best we could to present it honestly, and humorously. >> and on top of that you got to work with shirley mcclain who was your date at the premiere i understand. >> yeah. >> date, nice. >> she's my date. >> was it fun? >> it was fun. it was a blast. we had a great time the whole time. my wife was a little jealous

that shirley was dominating my time. but she just has to understand me and shirley had something special. >> oh, yeah. >> yeah. >> yes and that's clearly as we saw from the clip. >> on the side. >> on the side. okay. and speaking of people who have something special, you are a friend of angelina jolie, that they're -- she's getting married to brad. >> mm-hmm. >> i was wondering if you are going to be -- >> if i'm jealous? >> or whether you're going to be the best man >> did you say speaking of something on the side? i've never had anything on the side with angelina. >> i said -- >> i don't want to get in trouble here. every time i open my mouth about angelina, something wrong pops out. and there's a huge firestorm around me. so i'm not going to fall into your trap. >> oh, okay, okay. i'm sorry i said it. >> but i'm happy for them. they're wonderful peeps and i wish them the best nuptials. >> okay, good. all right. jack black. we wish you the best. with "bernie." >> thank you. >> in theaters on friday.

what a pleasure. >> pleasure is mine. >> i love having you in our studio. please come back, soon. coming up next our most inspiring joy fit club weight loss success stories. but first, this is "today" on nbc. guys, i'm home!

sara lee one hundred percent whole wheat bread. with thirteen grams of whole grain in every slice, and delicious taste in every last bite. sara lee. so good, it's gone. of the joy fit club.

over the past four years we've introduced you to more than 140 people who each has lost 100 pounds or more. a total of nearly 25,000 pounds shed. and "today" nutritionist joy bauer helps us celebrate their success. >> time for another installment of "look at me now the joy fit club." >> we came up with the joy fit club because we wanted to inspire people at home that were struggling with their weight to feature and film regular people who have lost more than 100 pounds without fancy trainers or sets or expensive dinner was hugely motivational. i was overwhelmed by how many people have lost more than 100 pounds, and wanted to share their story. >> in august, 2008, i weighed in at my all-time high of 278 pounds. >> what's so great about watching these everyday people lose weight and keep it off is they face all the same obstacles that everybody out there faces, yet they prevail.

>> hi, i'm rosie. weight has always been an issue for me. >> my name is carrie, i'm 34 years old and have been overweight my entire life. >> for me, these stories are so incredibly emotional. >> my husband suffered a massive heart attack. he died. >> each story is very different. and i become emotionally attached to each and every fit club member. this is 9,000 calories in just one day. >> greg is a guy who struggles with weight his entire life. he had a horrible childhood. >> you look hot, baby! >> well, yeah. >> jen and keith are a couple who gained weight together in the bath past. >> keith and i both loved food. >> and then lost weight together. >> whoo! >> they have all had past failed attempts at dieting but this time, it stuck. people out there who have tried diets in the past and have failed, one time it's going to

work, and it could be this time. these people are brave. they helped me to understand what it's really like to walk in their shoes. it's hard. and i really cannot describe the feeling that i get when each and every one of them walk out for their reveals. i just get the chills throughout my body. because the studio is cold. i know that they're behind that door, and they're super nervous, and when the door opens up and they walk out, it's pure joy. it's pure joy. >> some of the most inspiring weight loss stories are featured in the new book "the joy fit club." joy bauer, nice to see you. good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> do you want people to read this book and look for the nutritional information or more of the inspirational side of each story? >> the book has everything. everything wrapped up in one. so we provide these inspirational stories. people that have lost 200, 100, 300, there's even a woman who lost more than 400 pounds. but also i provide an

easy-to-follow diet plan for anyone, whether you need to lose five pounds or 500 pounds, and delicious, slimming recipes. no diets with creamy pasta, decadent chocolate mousse. >> i was scanning through some of the stories and one thing is clear immediately, these people all have issued with their weight, they all dieted, which is important, they all took on exercise programs, but in other ways they also tackled their lifestyle. they made significant changes in the way they lived their lives. >> but you're right. we talk about that to an extent in the book. dieting and losing weight is 50% attitude. and there are a few steps that you definitely have to take if you want to lose it and keep it off. the first is, to find a meaningful reason for wanting to lose the weight. >> isn't it meaningful enough to say i want to live a long, healthy life? >> yes. and you need to have that ah-ha moment. and all of these joy fit club members, either they had a health scare or they wanted to be around for their kids and their grand kids or they just finally wanted to feel more

comfortable in their own skin. but you need your own reason. >> you also say you need to set up a tracking system. >> yes. because there is nothing more encouraging than watching a downward trend. so set up a computer spread sheet or graph a homemade little chart on paper and then weigh yourself regularly and chart it. get a flexible tape measure and measure and record the inches lost. and a lot of them had success tracking their food. because you're much more accountable when you know it's going down on paper, you're going to think twice before you pop something in your mouth. >> almost all the people had slip-ups. >> yes. >> and you say it's crucial to forgive them. >> right. >> for them to forgive themselves. >> we are human. it's going to happen. and that nobody gains weight from a few slices of pizza or a decadent rich, pasta meal. you can't let a temporary setback turn in to a whole full-out binge. instead, shake it off and get right back on track. when you forgive yourself for the slip-ups, that's when you're going to lotz weight and you're

going to keep it 06. >> joy bauer, congratulations on the book. >> thank you. >> again it's called "the joy fit club." you're going to be back with kathie lee and hoda catching up with some of the people joy just met over the years. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. baltimore city police are looking for a suspect in connection with a deadly overnight shooting in northwest baltimore. officers arrived at the corner of park heights and gorman ave. they found an unidentified victim shot

>> it will feel like winter this monday. chance for rain or snow showers. we will make it back into the 50s on tuesday. >> another weather update at 9:25.