captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody, it is fun day monday, april the 23rd, 2012. kathie lee is on vacation, so guess who's come to visit? our good friend willie geist is here from msnbc. he apparently has a television show on very early in the morning called -- >> you just learned that today? "way too early." >> exactly. >> 5:30. >> it's on at 5:30. so you did your show -- >> i did my show, "morning joe." i will enter my fifth hour of

television at the midway point of this program. how about that? >> we know you're already fatigued and we think that you should have a little something to drink before we start. >> what have we got here? >> i don't know. we have some ice cold drinks. i have a glass of wine. usually -- >> that doesn't usually help with fatigue. >> it doesn't. but come on. let's see what you get to choose from. >> oh, my gosh! i choose from these? >> a martin ni. a red wine. a white wine -- >> is that bourbon? >> what is that martini? you might as well leave that. >> why don't you just leave the tray. it's a long show. we'll work through this. >> jerry always likes to test everything. pretty good? >> that's your tip, jerry. wonderful. you are a good hostess. >> do you like your welcome present? >> i do. thank you. >> good, good, good. >> i have one for you as well. it's going to be a long week, so i need to butter you up early on. i wanted to get a very subtle flower arrangement. >> okay. all right. >> just a couple little flowers i think will go nicely right here. it's going to provide should challenges for the director

probably if we put them down here. so we'll leave them in the back. >> this is ridiculous. >> i don't know what they are, but -- >> i like them. if you guys woke up this morning and you were on parts of the east coast you got slammed by some snow. it was shocking. it was -- i think in western pennsylvania, and two to four inches in some parts of pittsburgh. four to seven in buffalo. it seems so weird to look at these images in april. >> the irony of it is it wouldn't snow during the winter. i went o'on a ski trip in december and we sat inside and drank the whole time. now it is snowy in april and we want to go to the beach. >> we're not into that. all right, hi. is everything good? >> yeah. >> how was your weekend? what did you do? what do you do on your weekends? >> i'd rather not get into that. personal. i will tell you what i did.t 120

things called? >> power strips. >> power strips. because the way they make plugs -- >> these exotic power strips. what do you call these? >> fancy newfangled -- anyway, the way they make things, when you push them in you cover up a couple of the other ones. how about for blow dryers. you guys know from when you try to blow dry your hair the plug only goes in one way because it's got one big side and one little side, which i don't even know what the point of that is. so when you plug it in you can't plug anything in the bottom plug. >> the problem is you can cover as many as three of those and you lose the whole power strip. they have these weird things

with different arms that come off and you can stick it in. it spreads out the plugs. >> they do? i know nothing about this. >> do you have electricity in your home? i'm concerned about your lack of familiarity with the most basic of electronic devices. running water? >> this is rude. >> she doesn't know how to plug something in. >> so there's a new study out that talks about when you get photographed and you say to yourself, wow, i kind of like that picture and you don't know why, it's because you're being photographed from the correct way. and they say that the best way to be photographed for almost everybody is from the left side. i wonder why that is? >> i think i buy that, actually. what do you feel like? are you a left or righty? >> i don't notice enough. but we checked ourselves out because we do. which one do you like better of willie? which is your left? >> weird pursed lips on the left. >> the left is -- wait, wait, wait. i like the right one. >> that's the left. >> the right is the left side. >> are you sure?

>> it's like electricity. it's very simple. >> the right one is the left side. definitely better. but also because of the way you're holding your jaw. >> yeah, i didn't like that look. let's go with you. let's see what you like better. let's see hoda's. we have a nice smile on the right. a little solemn on the left. i think they're right. i go left too. i think the left side is the better side for both of us. >> how about a little beyonce. ♪ to the left, to the left >> this was just a ruse to get this song in, wasn't it? >> any way to get the song in is the best way to do it. >> you know i watch this show every day. truly. i notice that most days you just sing through this first segment. like kathie lee's got something she wants to talk about and you're sitting there going like this. ♪ to the left to the left >> you are totally on to me. it is time for our favorite things. yours is very special. now, i've heard a lot about your favorite thing. talk to us. >> i mean this very sincerely. i've eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the world from new york to paris. i've never had anything better than chili's southwestern egg roll.

it's an appetizer. it's got the egg roll concept. see, it's like a flaky tortilla thing. >> looks delicious. >> inside we've got chicken, corn, beans, jalapeno peppers. then you get into here with some kind of dipping sauce, a ranch dipping sauce. i was on vacation in puerto rico two weeks ago. we went from the airport in exotic puerto rico with my two kids directly to chili's. >> you're kidding me. >> the chili's in umacao, puerto rico because i was craving the egg rolls. before we got to the hotel -- >> that's you? >> that's us in chili's. those are my people. that's us at the chili's in puerto rico. look how happy people are. >> they delivered this, by the way, today. >> they're better a little warmer than they are here. but man, are they good. >> they're really good! >> if i ever commit a felony punishable by death and i'm on death row and they say you get one meal -- >> this is it? >> that's it. >> got your meal? >> southwest egg rolls. >> here's mine. there's a store in new york called insomnia.

they deliver hot cookies until 3:00 a.m. [ doorbell ] >> no! >> yes! >> no! >> insomnia rocks. wait a second. look what happens. they come to your house warm. right? >> very warm. >> o', my gosh. warm cookies that are delivered. it's in 20 places around the country. it is $2.50 for a jumbo cookie, but it's coming to your door at 3:00 in the morning. >> what kind of person orders this? is anyone sober when they order these. >> yes, the majority. >> the majority are? they just wake up in the middle of the night and want a cookie? >> want our cookies. >> insomnia, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> can we give a shout out to the beautiful, beautiful girls behind the news desk? shana is a good friend of our show's. her sister is there with her and her best friend. we want to thank you guys for coming to see us. we love you coming to see us. a big round of applause for some cute girls who came to visit. hi, miss sara. >> bring out the young people. >> you can't eat my favorite thing. >> what is it? >> this is the coolest thing.

it's from fresh.com for about $20. it's a roll-on perfume that you carry. i tried to pronounce this french thing right. citron de vain. but you know how when you want something on when you go out -- i know you felt this before, willie. you want to have it in your purse and you just like freshen up, there might be a kiss. whoo. done. in the purse. >> it's also time for our fan of the week. >> okay. so our winner this week is ellen diamond from farmington, new mexico. she watches us on kob-tv channel 4. she tunes in to the fourth hour every day, no exceptions. not even on the morning her second child was born. she was watching our show the morning of her delivery and her son was born kind of towards the end of our show, at 10:54 a.m. her favorite part of the show is favorite things. her dog even perks up when he sees kathie lee's dog bambino. little love affair. congratulations, ellen, you are going to jamaica. >> wow. >> you have won a threenight stay for two in the jewel dun's

river beach resort and spa in ocho rios, jamaica. the trip includes daily meals, a couples massage, an excursion to dunn's river falls. >> ellen, congratulations. she's the best. >> that is so cool. >> know what else is cool? jack black is with us. he is in a new movie. it is called "bernie." he's sleeping. >> oh. >> you're almost on. >> little controversy. >> ooh! plus, little big town, as hoda said, is here with an announcement or two. but first, these messages. this is bobby. say hello bobby. hello bobby. do you know you could save hundreds on car insurance over the phone, online or at your local geico office? tell us bobby, what would you do with all those savings? hire a better ventriloquist. your lips are moving.

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5 gum. having one of those days? tired. groggy. can't seem to get anything done. it makes for one, lousy day. but when you're alert and energetic... that's different. you're more with it, sharper, getting stuff done. this is why people choose 5-hour energy over 9-million times a week. it gives them the alert, energetic feeling they need to get stuff done. 5-hour energy...when you gotta get stuff done. in the new dark comedy "bernie," which is based on a true story, jack black plays a beloved theater-loving funeral director who strikes up a relationship with a rich widow, mrs. nugent played by shirley maclaine. >> the word from the townfolk is that miss nugent is not so nice. though bernie befriends her, he

tests her patience when he makes an accusation about the gardener. >> i don't think he would ever do anything like -- >> why are you sticking up for his kind? >> marjorie, you're making it very hard to be your friend. i'm going to come back some other time. >> oh, just go ahead, dessert me! just like everybody else! go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. you hate me. >> marjorie, i am not going to take part in this argument. you know i don't hate you -- >> i know you hate me! >> no. >> oh! you and shirley maclaine. welcome. >> finally together at last. >> how much fun was that working with her, by the way? >> incredible. i mean, she's shirley maclaine. she's a hero of mine. one of the great actors of all time. and so yeah, it is an honor and a blast. you thought i was going to say privilege. it's an honor and a blast. >> you changed it. it's hard to look at you and not laugh just in general. >> i'm not going to take that as a compliment. >> is that a compliment? you are absurd. >> no, but we should point out this story, it's a serious

story, but it is a dark comedy, right? >> yeah. it can't decide what it is. is it a serious thing or is it a comedy? yeah. it's both. we're pushing the envelope. i don't know if you ever saw a little movie called "fargo," but that's the kind of flavor we're going for, which like it's dark, it's scary sometimes but it is also very funny. >> difference here, though, true story. some people in the state of texas, particularly in this town, who say this wasn't so funny at the time and there is a little controversy about it. explain the story just a little bit without giving too much away. >> well, it's about a fella named bernie tita, who is a mortician and is the most beloved man in the small town of carthage, texas. and he's mostly beloved because the old ladies love him because he gives their husbands these beautiful funerals and he pays attention to detail. and then after the funeral he will go and follow up with the old ladies, make sure they're doing okay. and so everyone loves him, and he's one of these guys that like

overachieves and like is the head of the musical theater department at the community college. he's doing -- just everyone loves him. and then he's the least likely to commit a murder, and yet it happened. >> and he did it. >> he did it. and the question is why? and then also the question is, why did you put her in the freezer for nine months? >> that's where the comedy part sort of comes in. a little bit. >> sort of. >> she's in the freezer with the flounder for a long time. >> yeah. yeah. underneath like the frozen peas and the -- >> the pot pies. >> i know a lot of people are going to say that's not funny, this is serious. but it's kind of funny. >> i told you. >> but you're right, it is "fargo." it's funny in that you're talking about a peculiar place on earth. the way people reacted to it was strange. not funny ha, ha. >> if "fargo" was a true story but also mixed documentary footage with like a narrative. >> how about the singing portion of the program here when you got up there and belted it out? >> yeah. >> little gospel?

what was happening? >> that was a big part of bernie's life, too. he was a musical man and he would sing in front of the congregation here. you can see, he's doing some musical theater here. yeah. he's a musical guy. and it was fun to sing some different kinds of music than what i usually do. usually i'm a rocker. you don't see me doing "76 trombones" with all the choreography. check my moves out, man. i got the moves like jagger. kind of. >> you look strong. you mentioned being a rocker. your old director pal from "school of rock" getting back together on this. was that fun? >> yeah, it was a blast. i have to clarify, though, this is not a sequel to "school of rock." don't take the kids to "bernie." that would be -- yeah, an eye-opener in the wrong way. >> jack, thanks for coming to see us. >> thanks for having me. >> good to see you, jack. >> "bernie" opens this friday in select theaters. and coming up next, little big town is here with an exclusive announcement. it's worth waiting for. right after this. ♪ follow the wings.

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♪ there you are, listening to the new single "pontoon" by little big town that hasn't even hit the radio stations yet. >> and while we could listen to this all day, the group itself is here with some very exciting news. the exclusive announcement of this year's 2012 country music television award nominees. guys, great to see you. welcome. >> how are you? we love that you guys are here. congrats on that song, by the way, "pontoon." that's a fun one. right? >> thank you. >> and you guys are going to be touring with rascal flatts, is that right? >> yes. >> okay. i love this time of year because when the cmt awards come out it's always fun. and last year we announced them here, and we're going to audience them again this year. and what makes this unique is the people vote, right? this is solely voted on by the fans. karen, are you ready? so the first category is the best male video of the year. and here are the nominees -- >> jason aldean, "dirt road

anthem." luke brian, "i don't want this night to end." eric church, "drink in my hand." >> that's willie's favorite. >> toby keith, "red solo cup." you." "god gave me you." and keith urban, "long hot summer." >> wow, those are all great ones. >> you got some heavy hitters in there. >> you guys have a favorite in there? >> they're all our friends so -- >> which one would you bet on? >> i can't get the blake song out of my head. >> i love "drink in my hand," though. >> of course you do. >> here's the blake shelton video. this is such a great song. it's written about his own brother, right? that's miranda's song, right? >> that's miranda's song. this is "god gave me you." >> we're going to get to female video of the year. i'm going to read these, okay? here are the nominees. sara evans, "my heart can't tell you no." miranda lambert, "over you." martina mcbride, "i'm going to love you through it." kellie pickler, "tough." taylor swift, "ours," and carrie underwood, "good girl." and you guys like miranda

lambert's song. this is the one, again, that was written about blake's brother who passed away. >> precious. look at that video. >> so emotional. >> beautiful sentiment to the love in that family. >> i mean, this song is just haunting. and one of our favorites around here, too, martina mcbride -- >> because you're in it. >> you're in the video? >> what? >> it's a beautiful song. it's a breast cancer song but she has a lot of people in it, robin roberts from abc is in it, katie's in it, and it's a beautiful, beautiful video. >> she's got my vote if you're in it. all right. let's move on here. cmt performance of the year. >> okay! >> this is the best musical performance on a tv show. jason aldean "tattoos on this time," lady antebellum, "dancing away with my heart." and lookie here. little big town, "fix you." >> let's say that one more time. >> little big town, "fix you." nominated. >> we're not playing favorites. but little big town, "fix you."

>> you guys didn't know about this. did you? >> no. fantastic. >> blake shelton and the group as well, sting and vince gill, steven tyler, carrie underwood -- but who are they? >> that's great! >> what does it mean to be nominated? >> oh, man, that's so cool. >> can we tell everybody they can vote for us now? >> we are encouraging all of our viewers at home. >> this is a really special moment for us. >> and it's a cover of the coldplay song. i listened to it right before we came on again. it's just beautiful. good luck to you. >> thanks. >> congrats. we're voting for you. so you want to take care of the last category? this is the best video of the year. probably the biggest category. >> jason aldean, "dirt road anthem." kenny chesney featuring grace potter, "you and tequila." toby keith, "red solo cup." lady antebellum, "we own the night." miranda lambert, "over you."

brad paisley "remind me." rascal flatts featuring natasha bedingfield "easy." blake shelton god gave me you, taylor swift "safe and sound" and carrie underwood, "good girl." >> that's a great category. thank you for coming to see us and congrats on your nominations. thanks, guys. thanks for coming. >> thank you. >> all the nominees are on our website, klgandhoda.com. again, june 6th is the big day. >> 2012 cmt awards.

♪ ♪ i'm on the floor, floor we're back on this fun day monday with "today's buzz," from kim kardashian's romance with kanye west to the weekend's best movie box office. >> maureen o'connor here with answers to all your burning, buzzworthy questions. >> hey. >> let's start off with some good news, shall we? robin gibb -- we've been hearing some terrible news about him in the hospital but now we hear the good news that he's out of the coma. >> he was in a coma for a week. he was suffering from bowel

cancer, pneumonia and liver failure. and he actually came out of it. he's on oxygen still but his doctors seem to think he could make it out of the icu. >> that's good news. there were some dire reports. let's hope it holds up. next topic -- this is big. kanye meets the kardashians. kanye west has been photographed all around new york city and other places with kim kardashian now. meeting bruce jenner and the mom. what's going on? >> they had yet another weekend of endless dates, paparazzi friendly dates. of course. and then he went out to dinner with kim, her mother, kris jenner, khloe and lamar. and of course you know, they met the parents. except he had met them before. he's known them for a long time. even just last night khloe was on andy cohen's show and she said, well, i met him before. but it was the first time since this sort of dating hoopla that they all -- >> what's the real story? are they dating or is it something for the press? >> well, it is probably the only guy she could date that could get even more press than her previous wedding. except i do think it is real. it had been rumored for quite a long time that kanye had been after her. amber rose had hinted about it, too, his ex.

so it does seem pretty genuine. >> all right. we have a wedding. neil diamond married his manager. he's 71 and she's 42. and this makes for -- congrats to him, by the way. >> yeah. >> how many marriages is this for him? >> this is his third marriage, it's her first. >> that's pretty much a wrap on that. >> all right. let me ask you about jessica simpson. i have complete sympathy for this. my wife has had two children. but it does feel like she's been pregnant for like three years. >> some of it is that she hasn't -- everybody keeps asking when she's due. she's been saying it is going to be a spring baby. as of march she's going i've got a couple weeks left. and everyone keeps saying when are you due? are you going to pop any moment now? and she keeps saying soon. >> there were reports she had the baby, she had to go on twitter and say i'm still pregnant, don't believe what you read, ladies and gentlemen. >> still pregnant. >> okay. i'm sure we'll hear about it when it happens. the weekend box office. tyler perry can do no wrong when it comes to movies. i think he was one of those guys that people never really thought that his movies would be huge,

and every time he does one it ends up hitting. and this is a big one. >> another surprise. "think like a man," which is based on a comedian's dating book. >> steve harvey. >> steve harvey. it is an ensemble cast. gabrielle union. turtle from "entourage." taraji p. henson. altogether it made $33 million, number one. it was the first weekend "the hunger games" wasn't number one. so that was number one. 33 million. 22 million number two was "lucky one." zac efron's nicholas sparks movie. number three finally "hunger games" moved off the mantle. >> the zac efron movie did very well. didn't have the greatest reviews but a lot of people obviously love, love seeing him. right? >> well, any -- you know, nicholas sparks is just like a machine for these like weepy movies. and yet another one. and they always do well. >> tyler perry is unreal. >> he's unbelievable. he's really amazing. >> midas touch. >> he's got it. >> maureen, good to see you. >> next, "joy fit club" members who took it off and kept it off. they're going to share a secret in a special book. right after this.

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♪ time for a special edition of "look at me now," the "joy fit club." believe it or not more than 141 members have been inducted into joy's club. >> which means each has lost at least 100 pounds through diet and exercise. >> our favorite nutritionist joy bauer is celebrating their success. take a look. ♪ time for joy in my life >> 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 show regular people who have lost more than 100 pounds without fancy trainers or chefs or expensive gyms. it was hugely motivational. i was overwhelmed by how many people had 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 prevailed. >> 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 because we ate for a living. >> 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 struggled 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 past -- >> keith and i both loved food and used it to fix all of life's problems. >> -- and then lost weight together. >> whoo! >> they have all had past failed

attempts at dieting, but this time it stuck. to people out there that have tried diets in the past and have failed, you know, one time it's going to work and it could be this time. these people are brave. they help 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 reveal. 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 that door opens up and they walk out, it's pure joy. it's pure joy. >> wow. joy's new book is out today, it is called "the joy fit club," and it is a collection of very, very inspiring stories. >> joy has brought along so members of her club. they're greg mcbride, jamie francisco and rosie coates. welcome to you all. >> hey!

>> i want to say that my name is on the front of the cover as the author but really i wrote this book together with 150 "joy fit club" members. it is our book. >> and it's a collaboration with the "today" show. and i tell you, you could read any one of these stories and be completely inspired, can't you, joy? >> oh, my gosh. you guys really have overcome every single obstacle in the book and they prove that anybody can lose weight and keep it off. >> and rosie was a little excited to see you when she got here, hoda. there were some shrieks in the studio. rosie, you look fantastic. how do you feel? >> i feel awesome, great, stupendous. >> you lost 107 pounds. is that right? >> yes. >> 105 for you, jamie, right? >> yes. >> i think the cool thing, too, jamie, is we saw you sometimes months ago, sometimes years ago. and you've maintained it. because that's one of the hardest things to do, isn't it, to keep it off? >> very. >> it was harder than losing it, i think, actively losing. >> how did you lose it, remind us. >> it was very slow and steady, taking away little things and amping up the exercise as i went.

>> okay. >> and she gives all these strategies within the book, how she did it, what she used to eat, what she's eating now. >> greg, i said you were hot last time, and i mean it again today. you really have -- you lost an incredible amount of weight. what was the total? >> 275. >> astonishing. right? has it been difficult to keep off or have you had an easy time with that? >> well, my big joke is there's no diet like the "today" show diet. but you know what? it is difficult, as my counterparts have told you, it's hard to keep it off and you really can never lose sight of it. every day you have to remember it. but one thing that i've come to learn, and you read this in all the stories in the book, is that the minute you embrace the work it starts to work for you. like there's nothing wrong with being committed to this and, no, you can't let your guard down, but it's so worth it. >> rosie, a lot of people are watching this thing and they want to do it and they want to try but they don't think it's in them to lose the weight. it's just too big of a mountain to climb. what advice do you have? >> just keep doing it until you

get to where you're going. i tried for like 18, 20 years it seemed until i finally got it. and to figure out a program that's going to work for you. >> what worked for you? >> what worked for me was scaling back, scaling back on what i normally ate, learning about nutrition and definitely exercise. >> joy, what a labor of love. huh? >> whether you need to lose 5 pounds or 500 pounds, these strategies work. >> inspiring book. joy, thanks. >> congratulations. >> thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> there's rosie. >> if you have a weight loss recipe that you love, we want to see it. for more information you can read an excerpt from joy's book. go to klgandhoda.com. >> up next, if you can't make it to the zoo, stay right here. the zoo has come to us. thank you, guys. ♪ animal city good morning. i'm meteorologist paul goode lowe. time now for your forecast for the next several days. we start you off with later on today still watching some scattered showers throughout the

ohio valley but more snow will continue to fall across the interior of the northeast. some rain showers still moving on through boston, even new york city. as for heavier rain like we had yesterday and also more rain and thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon across portions of the northern rockies into the intermountain west. let's move on toward your wednesday. and we're still watching the temperatures here. well, look at this. temperatures well above average. 90 still. a few degrees cooler than you have been. but it's still a very warm day for you. on toward wednesday. we're still holding on to a few snow showers. so the bulk of the snow is over. that event is going to wrap up on your wednesday with more showers, though, across the upper midwest. and the west coast, well, gone are the record highs. back in, cloud cover and rain showers all the way down toward southern california. now, in terms of temperatures, phoenix, you set a record of, what, 105 on sunday? 93 and colder still as we head toward the end of the week. now, texas starting to see the triple digits as we head on

toward the middle of this week. thursday, more rain for the west including the inar mountain west moving on to even denver seeing some showers just west of you and some rain showers here across the northeast as temperatures cool down. only 75 in phoenix. we head toward the end of the week. friday, tgif, and temperatures still stay chilly across the northeast. warming up in the southeast. hot in texas. the southeast starts to rebound with more rain showers here across the northern plains. more thunderstorms, though, break out as we head into the weekend. and temperatures rapidly rising out toward the west. hey, stick around. wake up with al every weekday morning at 6:00 a.m. on the weather channel. have a great day. hey, is the table finished?

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♪ wild thing we're back with "today's call of the wild" and animals from south america to africa, malaysia and new guinea.

>> san diego zoo ambassador rick swartz is here with some of the fascinating friends with all over the world. hoda and i have our heads on a swivel. we don't know what's coming. >> like you said, we're all over the world. we actually have conservation efforts all over the globe. so we thought it would be fun to bring animals from all over the world. we're going to start with jambo, our pig ni falcon. this is a full-grown 8-year-old female falcon, weighing in at a whopping 78 grams. >> you're kidding. >> so you look at her, she's not much larger than a -- look at the attitude on the glove there. as far as she's concerned, she is the biggest bird of prey there is and you better watch out. >> what does she eat? >> this animal would eat a wide variety of insects and small rodents. they're known for catching bugs while flying with their talons. the original in-flight meal. it works out quite well. they're art 68 little dodgers when it comes to flight. and they're very vocal. it's fun talking to people from africa. they hear them all the time but rarely see them because they're so small. >> tell us about this big bird. >> we thought it would be great to do compare and contrast.

this is taruq, our harpy eagle. they're the largest of the eagle species you will ever find in the americas. taruq is an amazing predator. like jambo here, they have all the same features in the sense of excellent eyesight. the structure of the face is all for flight and for being able to see well. the talons, she'll use hers here for catching small bugs, this big boy takes monkeys and sloths right out of trees. >> sloths? >> yes. you don't mess with taruq. >> where do we find this bird? >> mostly in the rain forest areas of south america and a little bit into central america also. and that's why although he is a very large and considered the largest eagle species in the americas, he only has a five-foot wingspan. a long wingspan while going through -- just like that. a long wing span while going through the forest is basically going to clip on trees and that's not going to work out so well. >> look at those talons. >> yeah, the talons you see on the back is about the same size as a grizzly bear's claw. about three to five inches. i'm going to take jambo over here. we have a cute and cuddly coming for you guys.

>> looking forward to that. >> now, this is a ground cuss cuss. the ground cuss cuss is pretty cool because they have all sorts of adaptations. they're found in new guinea. this one is just a year old, just starting out with our ambassador program. she is a real sweet -- the thing is, though, her name, it does translate to the goddess of death and destruction. but don't worry, hoda -- >> why? >> because when she first came to us she was pretty much following that name quite well. >> i'm a little disturbed because the eagle is eye balling your little guy -- there's no problem? >> the nice thing is we've worked with these animals all the time. they're used to working with each other. if anything, he's wondering why are you eating a banana and not something like a rat or a mouse maybe. but the ground cuss cuss has great adaptations for climbing around in the trees. although it's a ground cuss cuss, because they do nest on the ground. they're found in new guinea. their numbers are stable. similar adaptations to our opossum here in the united states. the difference between opossum and possum, though, we say possum sometimes, but in the states we have opossum.

possum are found in new guinea and australia, which this animal here is related to. >> that eagle's looking at this cuss cuss like you looking at the 3:00 a.m. cookie. >> not only do we have a very endangered plant called the alula from hawaii but inside this plant sitting here patiently is a giant katydid. this is about the same size as the falcon i had earlier but this is an herbivore. the most important message i can say about bugs sometimes, it gives people the willies, every animal relies on them to some degree because they're a big catalyst from getting the sun to the plant the plant to the food. >> thanks for coming to see us. >> coming up some of america's most popular comfort foods go healthy. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

now in "today's kitchen," what's cooking? we're going back to basics with some all-american family favorites. >> "prevention" magazine's contributing chef is here. >> we like these kind of comfort foods. >> the usda has come up with a new food icon called my plate making it easier for families to put together their meal. half of the plate should be fruits and veggies. then you've got your grains, your proteins, and your dairy. so we are making -- at "prevention" we have taken some classics and made them healthier. so we're starting with a mac and cheese muffin. also we are making them kid friendly to get the kids involved. >> mac and cheese muffin. all right. sounds interesting. >> carrots and onions. tiny bit of olive oil. just going to sweat them out. we're going to add peas. >> those look like they're frozen. >> yep. which are fine. frozen is way better than canned. >> okay. >> we've got some squash. all right? so we've got our little squash. and then we're just going to

sweat this out a little bit. i have a 2% monterey jack and cheddar mix. >> okay. >> we're adding milk, 2% milk. >> of course you are. >> dijon mustard. >> this is like the medicine in the peanut butter thing, right? you're getting all these good foods in there. >> exactly. then dijon and worcestershire to really just get that tang in. and then hey, bring the kids in. just have them spray the pan, a little olive oil spray. >> okay? >> and then we're going to downhill here. this is what it looks like. see how nice and creamy? whole wheat pasta. al dente, whole wheat pasta. willie, would you bring the pan down? and then what we're just going to do, mix it, and in -- >> scoop it in there. >> in it goes. and then -- >> how long do you cook these? >> these are going to go 375 for about 20 minutes. and whole wheat breadcrumbs. >> those are them? >> yes. those are them all finished. let me just put that -- >> anywhere. >> anywhere. >> beautiful.

>> how is it? >> they're fun. don't they look fun for the kids? >> they are fun. >> now, crispy fish and chips. we've got some beautiful tilapia here. feel free to use cod or whatever white flaky fish. we'll first drop these breadcrumbs with a little southwest seasoning. and again, this is adding flavor. you want to -- it's important to add flavor. and it's a sodium-free. right in your egg batter. right in your breadcrumbs. >> yeah. >> on -- we sprayed it with a little olive oil cooking spray. >> how long do you cook that for? >> this is going to be about seven minutes in the oven because you want it nice and tender. and here we go, we made a great -- fish sticks. fun for the kids again. our tartar sauce. yogurt, garlic, lemon. >> thank you for coming to see us. all on our website. >> and cookies and milk to finish it off. >> one great correction, the great movie "think like a man," i thought it was a tyler perry movie because he makes such great movies. this one isn't. this one again is