good morning. breaking news. at least seven people killed in terror attacks in afghanistan overnight, and the taliban is claiming they are in direct response to president obama's visit there just hours earlier. we're live in kabul as the president makes his way back to washington this morning. "today" exclusive, bobby brown's first intervie since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. >> fans, people who say they were close to whitney, say her life went downhill when she met bobby brown. how do you respond to that? >> his answer in a raw and revealing interview with matt.

and feeling the heat. a mother charged with child endangerment for taking her 5-year-old daughter to a tanning booth. but she claims it's all a big misunderstanding "today," but she claims it's all a big misunderstanding "today," wednesday, may 2nd, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this wednesday morning. i'm ann curry. >> good morning, everybody, i'm savannah guthrie. matt is on assignment. and this morning u.s. officials are casting doubt on the taliban's claim that those suicide bombings were tied to president obama's visit, saying it would be hard to pull together a complex attack on such short notice. >> the president used his trip on the one-year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden to outline the future role of the u.s. military in afghanistan. in a speech broadcast live from

bagram air base he announced u.s. troops will leave by the end of 2014 but the two countries will have a partnership until 2024. this is big news. we'll talk about what the president had to say with nbc's brian williams, coming up straight ahead. >> also ahead, are police any closer to finding the ft. bragg soldier who vanished more than two weeks ago? her mother will join us, along with her son-in-law, for her first live interview since her daughter's disappearance. >> also, rosie o'donnell made a lot of headlines about her comments on "today's professionals" last week and we've lined up another outspoken surprise guest to join star, donny and dr. nancy coming up this morning. we'll reveal who that person is coming up. >> all right. but we're going to begin with president obama's surprise visit to afghanistan, and those overnight attacks in kabul. nbc's atia abawi is there. atia, good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. the taliban have claimed responsibility for an attack on a western compound in kabul this morning that killed six afghan civilians and one nepalese

security guard. this came just hours after president obama departed afghanistan. the taliban do say that it was in response to the strategic partnership signed last night by the u.s. and afghan governments. >> my fellow americans, we've traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war, yet here, in the predawn darkness of afghanistan we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. >> reporter: in a nationally televised speech from bagram air base, president obama declared an end in sight for the u.s. war in afghanistan. >> one year ago, from a base here in afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed osama bin laden. the goal that i set to defeat al qaeda and deny it a chance to rebuild is now within our reach. >> reporter: earlier, the president was greeted by u.s. military and diplomatic officials here as he began his surprise visit to afghanistan. he then flew to the capital of kabul, where he met with afghan president hamid karzai.

the two signed a nine-page strategic partnership agreement, solidifying the u.s./afghan relationship and commitment through at least 2024. >> translator: -- the people of the united states, and to the people of afghanistan today, i thank you from the bottom of my heart. >> reporter: the partnership includes u.s. assurances to assist the afghans on security, economics, and governance. but it also guarantees afghan sovereignty. the contract doesn't pledge a specific troop presence, but it does allow the u.s. to keep troops in the country beyond 2014, and the official combat role comes to an end. those troops will be used to train the afghan forces and continue to fight on al qaeda. in his seven-hour stop, president obama also met with u.s. service members on base, and in the base's hospitals. thanking them for their service -- >> the final chapter of this war is written, historians will look

back and say, not only was this the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, but all of you also represented the values of america in an exemplary way. >> reporter: a key factor to the strategic agreement is to prove to the afghans, the americans, the international community and even the taliban that the u.s. is sticking to its word and that it will not abandon afghanistan after the combat role ends here. ann? >> atia abawi, thank you so much. brian williams now joins us. let's talk about this surprise visit by the president. this long-term partnership he announced locks us in until 2024, even after the war officially ends in 2014, so what are the practical implications of this? >> good news/bad news. we talk about a long-term partnership and how that will be viewed. i have friends in the military, some of them over there in country who will tell you the number one risk to the lives of

american servicemen and women right now is the afghan people. their soldiers and security forces. it was mostly to defend against leaks on that side that this trip was considered such a close hold in government parlance, such a secret. so this is going to continue to be fraught, fraught territory for us, a war that long ago exceeded world war ii in length for this country. >> meantime, by using the commander in chief mantel to make this visit, to extend an arm and hand to our troops, does he blunt any of the criticism that he is taking some sort of -- using -- making -- politicizing essentially a military victory. >> he either blunts it or increases it. presidents do get to use the machinery of the presidency to make their point. nine years ago last night we saw the carrier landing, and "mission accomplished" off the coast of southern california. that's something george w. bush got to do. and the white house is framing this one year anniversary of the death of bin laden the way they

want it framed. the republicans are counterpunching on that. and people get to decide. >> meantime on "rock center" tonight you're going to give us essentially a minute by minute sort of account on what happened on the night that osama bin laden was killed, and it's interesting because you discovered at what length everyone inside that national security team and the president went to keep this thing a secret and in fact the president talked about having to leave the white house correspondents' dinner the night before early without telling his wife. let's take a listen to what he had to say. >> first lady, she's at dinner. >> she's at dinner and i let her know, you know that i'm probably going to miss dinner because i've got a few other things going on tonight. it turns out we had a fairly important thing to announce. >> he didn't tell michelle. secretary clinton didn't tell her husband. >> no. it was the definition of a close hold. president obama had no one whose counsel he could seek. couldn't tell the former presidents. no one could tell anybody.

because if they missed the launch window, ann, of the moonless night, clear weather, they might have had to have waited another six months. you've got 50 lives on the line. 50 calls you have to make to these families. by the way, we're standing there in the corner of the situation room where he was seated in that small chair, which is just below him. we set it just the way it was. no television cameras have ever been allowed inside the white house situation room and that is just part of this hour we have on television. >> one of the most fascinating tidbits that you discovered was about how he described meeting the s.e.a.l. team 6 guys, that they have gray hair like he does, they could be walking down the street, they look like they work at home depot, he said. is that -- is that -- >> absolutely. he actually said gray hair like you and me and i meant to thank him for that. that's true. and he said they would surprise you. of course, as i reminded the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, there's one american walking around among us who knows he's the one who took the shot. that ended the life of osama bin

laden. and they insist the team did it. that's what they're all about. that's how they operate. they also operate like this, we'll never know their names to thank them. they're just out there. >> a matter of honor. brian williams, thank you so much. we're really looking forward to seeing this. you can catch "rock center" with brian williams inside the situation room tonight at 9:00 on nbc. >> now let's get a check of the other top stories of the morning. natalie morales over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. in the news this morning, the blind chinese dissident at the center of a diplomatic tug-of-war between the u.s. and beijing has left the u.s. embassy this morning. nbc's ian williams has the very latest now from beijing. good morning to you, ian. >> chen guangcheng left the u.s. embassy this afternoon, after six days under diplomatic protection. he was driven to a beijing hospital in the company of gary loch, the u.s. ambassador, for treatment for injuries incurred

during that dramatic escape. he also met at the embassy with his family, his wife and two children. now, chen will be staying in china. u.s. officials say that's his own decision. but assurances have been given about his safety, that he'll be treated as an ordinary citizen, and that his complaints, his allegations of mistreatment, will be investigated. those u.s. officials say he never requested to go into exile in the states. now, u.s. officials say this deal, which they will be overseeing, they will be watching, was struck after days of sleepless nights. they say that hillary clinton herself saw the blind dissident in hospital and he was very emotional. apparently in broken english he said to her, i want to kiss you. natalie? >> ian williams in beijing. thank you so much, ian. a plot to bomb a bridge in suburban cleveland has no links to tuesday's anniversary of bin laden's death. this according to federal prosecutors. five men were arrested and

charged with attempting to plant and detonate bombs on the bridge. but the devices were fake. supplied by the fbi. undercover agents had been monitoring the men for months. they are described as anarchists. the occupy movement is having a violent resurgence. protests broke out nationwide on tuesday's may day but in oakland, california, police fired tear gas on protesters as clashes there heated up. despite those clashes there were only a handful of arrests and fewer people turned out to demonstrate than at the height of the movement last fall. the gop presidential contender newt gingrich is expected to officially end his run for the white house today. the former house speaker had disappointing finishes in five primaries last week, winning only two contests in the race. well the dow hit a four-year high during trading yesterday. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange with what we can expect today. mandy, good morning. >> good morning to you, natalie. you're absolutely right. the dow is now sitting around a four-year high. thanks to better than expected manufacturing data which has

helped to ease some of the recent jitters about the economic recovery slowing down. but it has also raised the bar for what we can expect on friday in terms of the jobs number. and the ipo we've all been waiting for, facebook. you all use it, now you're going to be able to trade it. the road show is kicking off on monday, which means it should start trading on may 18th. back to you, natalie. >> all right, mandy drury at the new york stock exchange. thank you. after all those false reports that she had already had her baby, now it is official. jessica simpson had a baby girl. the singer turned fashion mogul is now the proud mother of maxwell drew johnson, her first child with fiance and former pro football player eric johnson. the 9 pound 13 ounce baby maxwell with a pink banner on her website saying, quote, this has been the greatest experience of our lives. a huge congratulations to them. it is now 7:13. back over to ann, savannah and al. that's a big baby.

>> yeah. >> 9 pounds, 13 ounces. >> good for her. >> she's a toddler already. >> thank you so much. >> meantime mr. roker, what you got for us? >> some severe weather to talk about in the midsection of our country. we're looking at a strong risk of strong storm. we've got warm gulf moisture coming in. cold air, jet stream on top. and that's going to mean we've got some big weather to talk about. the strong risk of storms throughout central nebraska, into central iowa, a slight risk all the way to norfolk and washington, d.c., rainfall amounts anywhere from 1 to 2 inches stretching from waterloo, iowa, on up into central michigan and even some heavier rain into the northeast and the mid-atlantic states as well. >> good morning. we will see two chances for rain this morning. scattered showers and

that's your latest weather. new witnesses are expected to be called at the criminal trial of former democratic presidential candidate john edwards today. this after a contentious day in court on tuesday. nbc's lisa myers is at the courthouse in greensboro, north carolina this morning. lisa, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. this morning the wife of the government's star witness, cheri young, is back on the stand for a little while, defending her reasons for turning on john edwards. then prosecutors are expected to call the campaign aide who allegedly first confronted edwards about his affair. josh was known as john edwards' body man, always at the candidate's side. and there the fateful night john edwards met rielle hunter in a new york hotel. >> i think he will testify that he became aware of the affair

fairly early on, tried to talk some sense into john edwards. >> reporter: and according to the book "game change" edwards ultimately turned on bankrurum r saying why didn't you come to me like an expletive man and tell me to stop having sex with her. also back on the stand today, cheri young, wife of edwards' long time aide andrew young who testified tuesday she's disgusted by, but doesn't hate john edwards. defense lawyer allen duncan, mr. edwards was like a third person in your marriage and you had a great deal of anger. isn't it true you are trying to get john edwards? sir, that is a completely false statement, young shot back. i'm here to tell the truth about my experiences. there's no hatred. i can't live like that, sir. >> cheri young has been a steel magnolia. southern, slender physically, but unyielding, and putting the blame for this entire episode squarely on the shoulders of john edwards. >> reporter: she defended her husband's tell-all book.

insisting the only reason my husband had to write the book is because mr. edwards did not come forward and tell the truth. she pointed out that edwards only admitted paternity of hunter's child just two weeks before the book came out. the admission came in a statement to the "today" show. >> good morning, "today" exclusive. for the first time, former u.s. senator and presidential candidate john edwards admits he is the father of frances quinn hunter, the 22-month-old daughter of his former mistress. >> reporter: edwards is accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions to cover up the affair. a charge edwards denies. even though her husband testified that cheri young handled all the family's finances, she dodged many questions about the money. she testified she could not remember how much they made on a best-selling book, or on the movie rights for a hollywood film. savannah? >> lisa myers at the courthouse in greensboro, north carolina,

thank you. once again here's ann. >> savannah, thanks. tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary in the disappearance of british toddler madeleine mccann, a case that generated headlines around the world. well, just last week, british police said they believe mccann could still be alive. this morning we're hearing from her parents. nbc's stephanie gosk is in london with more. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning, ann. that's right. british police said there are still leads to explore and that they haven't given up hope that after five years madeleine is still -- or could still be alive. and neither have her parents. sweet-faced, smiling, and playing. some of the last images of madeleine before she disappeared on vacation in portugal five years ago. speaking today on british television, her parents say they haven't given up the search. >> we know there's a very good chance that she could be alive. there's no evidence to the contrary, and we know, you know, year after year, missing children, children that have been abducted, you know, are found alive. >> reporter: for the last year, british police have been

reviewing the case. 40,000 pieces of information. it's help, the mccanns say, they have been asking for for years. >> finally, someone in the authorities, the british authorities, are actually trying to find madeleine. >> it's probably as positive as we have been in a long time. >> reporter: last week, british police put out this image of what they think madeleine would look like now and say they have identified what they call 195 investigative possibilities. the mechanic cans still hopeful, try not to let themselves imagine what it would be like to see their daughter again. >> i don't thought often, it's so good, it's so beautiful but i don't want to take myself there, and for it not to be real. it would be amazing. >> reporter: they spoke about the effect the search has had on their two other children, twins

sean and amily who were only 2 years old when their sister disappeared. >> sean said to me, about 18 months now, he said you know, mommy, if you haven't found madeleine when you get older maybe me and amily will look for madeleine. i don't want them to have to be in a position where they're carrying around this kind of, you know, sadness and frustration. we want to find her now. >> reporter: the urgency, even after five years, can still be heard in a mother's voice. portuguese police closed the investigation in 2008 but they're looking at these 195 investigative possibilities, given to them by police in this country, and if they find something new, they say they may reopen the case. ann? >> all right. stephanie gosk this morning. stephanie, thanks. it is now 7:19. once again here's savannah. >> ann, thank you. this morning we're getting an exclusive first look at the septuplets born last week to a young couple in texas. nbc's janet shamlian is in houston this morning where she talked to those proud parents of six. janet, good morning.

>> hi, 56 savannah. the babies are here at texas children's civilian for women where the proud parents gave us a first and exclusive look at what's being called their new six-pack. the babies are tiny. but they are making big progress. >> the world's newest sextuplets belong to a remarkably calm young houston area couple, lauren and david perkins. after what lauren describes as an easy pregnancy, the couple became the proud parents of a six-pack. three boys and three girls, born in four minutes, by cesarean section. >> my heart was beating like crazy. and the first thing i noticed when i walked in and saw lauren was that she was shaking like crazy. i did not know that that was perfectly normal. >> reporter: some 35 doctors, nurses, and other specialists at texas children's civilian for women were in the delivery room, a team for each baby. >> baby "a" is out. i'm like, oh, we're starting. and they came out within four

minutes of -- total four minutes all six were out. >> reporter: andrew, ben, levi, allison, caroline, and leah. the largest was just 2 pounds 15 ounces. >> when the mom came in the hospital, we knew where the equipment was going to be. we knew which teams would be at which bed and with which baby. so again, it's being ready. you don't want to do that the first time that night. >> reporter: five of the perkins' six-pack are now breathing on their only. only leah is still on a ventilator and facing greater challenges. she had surgery monday and came through it well. >> get your blankie. >> reporter: after 18 months of trying on their own, lauren became pregnant with fertility drugs through a process known as iui. they made the decision not to selectively reduce. >> seeing your six babies and seeing their heartbeats and there's no sign of any problems, so you know, how do you choose? >> okay, buddy. >> reporter: and now, they're simply overjoyed. >> does it feel good?

>> reporter: yeah, that's when i feel like a mom. >> reporter: for at least a few months the babies will remain here. and even with all the challenges ahead and leah's fragile condition their proud dad looks forward to the day they will all be home. >> i don't think that we'd be taken this far just to have something not go home with us. we're very confident in that. >> reporter: the perkins are a little shell-shocked by all the attention they're getting. but savannah, even multiple births are on the rise, sextuplets are still extremely rare. >> and they are remarkbly calm. janet shamlian, thank you. still to come, bobby brown sits down with matt for his first interview since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. what he has to say may surprise you. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

and just ahead a surprise guest joins "today's professionals." >> and a mom arrested for allegedly taking her 5-year-old daughter tanning at a salon. down here, folks measure commitment by what's getting done. the twenty billion dollars bp committed

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mcdonald's all-white meat premium chicken sandwich and the juicy 100% angus third pounder. it's your lunch. take it. the simple joy of lunch. ♪ >> this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is a look at one of our top stories. two boys charged in the shooting death of a baltimore girl pleaded guilty for their part in the crime. a 13-year-old boy pleaded guilty in juvenile court to involuntary manslaughter, while a 12-year- old candidaadmitted to helping e money carnage's body at an alley

way. body in annage's alleyway. >> it has been very busy since early this morning. the latest accident, and in in howard county. shaker drive, watch for delays developing. average speeds of 18 miles per hour for franklin to the beltway. accident on the southbound side is taking up the left lane. outer loop of york road, crash off to the side. outer loop northeast side, 18 miles per hour on average towards the accident scene. long line of a volume that stretches from harford county all the way down to the 895 split. rohrbaugh 24, 95, 795 at owings mills. route 1 at the conowingo dam is shut down due to a tractor- trailer accident. >> the weather around baltimore

has quieted down in the pit. thunderstorms to our south across the the work eastern shore. some of the showers may catch up to us over the next half hour or 45 minutes. we will keep a chance for a shower or thunderstorm in the forecast. 62 degrees at the airport. mixture of clouds and a little bit of sunshine. chance for a shower or thunderstorm. high-temperature around 76. going to feel like summer on thursday and friday, with high temperatures in the 80's. another round of storms

maybe i could have done something different, you know. to ensure that she had a longer life. but, like i said, you know, you have to want -- you have to want it. >> and that's bobby brown talking to matt about the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. brown had some surprising things to say about their relationship, their drug use, and how he saw her a week before she died. matt's exclusive interview is coming up this morning. 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, it's the 2nd day of may, 2012. i'm ann curry sitting alongside savannah guthrie. matt is on assignment so chicks rule this morning. >> they always rule.

particularly today. also ahead a great chick dr. nancy is back with "today's professionals." this morning we are adding a special guest to the mix. who will it be? we will tell you. and then the topic we'll discuss, what ryan o'neal had to say about his children during an interview on tuesday right here on "today." >> that's right. and also, did this mom take her 5-year-old daughter tanning at a salon? well, police say that she did. now, she's charged with child endangerment. but she says they have it all wrong. so we're going to find out the lowdown from her coming up. >> all right. but we're going to begin this half hour with the search for a ft. bragg soldier who disappeared more than two weeks ago. in a moment we'll talk to her mother and her husband exclusively. but first, the latest on this case. this is the last known image of army private first class kelli bordeaux. she took the photo herself just before heading to the froggy bottoms bar. >> it's a neighborhood bar. it's within walking distance of her apartment. i couldn't sit here and tell you that she was a regular there,

you know. of course that term is relative. she had been in the bar before. >> reporter: police say bordeaux was seen at the bar singing karaoke in the early morning hours of april 14th, reportedly drinking with nicolas holbert, a registered sex offender who lived in a tent behind the bar. 25-year-old holbert, who worked as a bar hand, told a local abc station he simply offered bordeaux a ride home. >> i have nothing to do with this. i picked her up and took her home that night. that's it. >> reporter: holbert has since been jailed and charged for an unrelated offense, failing to report his address as a sex offender. investigators have not named holbert a person of interest. kelli's husband, mike, was visiting his parents in florida at the time of her disappearance. he was called when she failed to show up to work. >> she's a very responsible person. she wouldn't -- she would not just call in and say she's not coming in to work or anything like that. >> reporter: mike bordeaux and kelli's family joined hundreds of volunteers posting flyers, searching land and water near the cape fear river. but so far, no trace of kelli.

>> she wouldn't disappear from her family like this. she wouldn't just leave us. >> reporter: kelli's mother johnna said she hasn't given up hope that kelly is out there somewhere alive. >> kelli, baby, i'll see you soon. and i know you can get through this. >> kelli's mom, johnna henson and her husband mike bordeaux are with us exclusively. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> we know this is an incredibly difficult time and we really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us. jonna, i want to start with you, ask how you are doing? how you and your family are holding up this morning. >> we're not doing great. obviously, but, you know, we're in constant communication with each other and, you know, helping each other. >> and i know you're keeping hope alive, that she will be found. >> oh, yes, ma'am. i mean until i know differently

from detective locklear or the fayetteville police department yes, ma'am, i'm definitely keeping hope alive. >> i know you were spending some time in north carolina recently helping with that search. police seem to have scaled back some of the searching. what are they telling you about where the investigation is focused now? >> they're having to do a lot more, instead of the searching, they still have a lot of volunteers and organizations that do the searches, and you know, things like that, so they can actually get out and talk to the people, and you know, the people to find out what happened to kelli. >> mike, what do you make of this investigation? i'm sure you're frustrated as everyone is about the lack of progress. do you think the police have a working theory and they're keeping it quiet or are they truly at a dead end here? >> no, i believe they're doing everything they can to find her safe, bring her back home. i don't doubt what they're doing. >> johnna we just mentioned that

the investigation has focused somewhat on this nicolas holbert who said that he gave a ride home, almost home, to your daughter on that night. police have said he is not a person of interest. what do you think of his involvement in this? >> i really don't have a comment on mr. nick. >> i know, mike, you've said to us before that you don't believe a thing he says. are you suspicious of him? and this disappearance? >> yeah, i mean, he was the last one with her. she wouldn't just disappear. >> mike, have police said anything to you privately about their suspicions? >> no. >> do you -- is there anything you'd want to say, mike, to the person you believe may be holding kelli or have kelli or involved in this disappearance? >> if anyone knows anything, anything at all, please contact the fayetteville police, or

detective locklear. i just want her to come home. >> and we all are hoping for that. johnna, last thoughts. what would you want people to know about your daughter kelli? >> she's a wonderful young lady, and she needs to be with her family. >> johnna henson and mike bordeaux, thank you so much for your time this morning. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's weather" to brought to you by the seven bold flavors of bush's grillin' beans. the bolder side of bush's. >> and good morning. we've got some friends here from san diego. >> hello. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. >> you know our pals marianne and whit out there. >> jason. >> yes. >> okay. there you go. close personal friends right there. let's check it out, see what we've got for you today. afternoon temperatures a little on the chilly side here in the northeast and new england. 50s and 60s, 90s along the

mid-atlantic coast. 90s also back through texas. we've also got some instability that's going to be causing some strong storms, iowa on into nebraska. risk of strong storms stretching all the way to the mid-atlantic states. rain in the pacific northwest with some mountain snows in western montana and northern idaho. >> good morning. it could be enacted weather day -- could be an active weather day. >> that's your latest weather. savannah? >> all right, al, thank you. up next a "today" exclusive, bobby brown opens up about the death of his ex-wife whitney

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back now at 7:40 with matt's exclusive interview with bobby brown. his first since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. they were married for 14 years.

brown spoke candidly about their time together and he started by telling matt how he learned of houston's death from one of his new edition bandmates. >> i heard the news, actually through ralph. he had his phone in his hand and he said he just got a text, and just pulled me to the side, and pulled me outside and said, you know, i just heard this, you know, that whitney had just passed. and i was like, what? and i -- i immediately got on the phone and i called my daughter, and -- >> did you get through? >> yes, i did. but someone else answered her phone, because, you know, she couldn't talk at the time, and told me that whitney was gone. and i was -- i mean, i -- i just started crying. it was just like, you know, you never expect someone close to you to just, you know, die, you know.

it was really hard. i don't know. >> how long was it before you actually got to speak to bobbi kristina? >> i spoke to her right after. she told me to get there, and she needed me to be there with her. >> you said you were shocked. i'm wondering if there wasn't a small part of you, bobby, that didn't say, i'd always feared it would end this way. based on the troubles she had faced. >> no, i wouldn't -- i didn't think that way. because i know how hard the struggle is to, you know, maintain sobriety. but she was doing wonderful. everything about her was, you know, going on the upward. >> you had actually seen her about a week or so before she died. you were having dinner with your daughter, bobbi kristina. >> yes. >> and whitney came to the restaurant? >> yes. >> so tell me how she appeared at that time. what was her demeanor? what was her emotional state? >> she was really -- she had this, this glow about her that was just, you know, incredible. you know.

and i'm -- i'm thinking to myself, you know, she must be -- she must be doing really well. because she looked really well. >> according to the korcoroner' report, bobby, there was cocaine in her system. there was white powder found in a variety of places throughout her hotel room. there were some other prescription drugs found, although not in excessive amounts. >> mm-hmm. >> but when you heard the word cocaine, that that was a likely contributor to her death, how did you respond? >> i was hurt. me being off of narcotics for the last seven years. i felt that she was -- you know, i didn't know she was struggling with it still. but at the same time, you know, it's a hard fight. it's a hard fight to, you know, maintain sobriety that way. >> i would imagine that in the hours and days after she passed away, you said to yourself on a couple of occasions, what else could i have done?

could i have picked up the phone one time -- >> i still say that today, matt. maybe i could have done something different. you know. to ensure that she had a longer life. but you have to want it. you know, some things just happen. god probably needed her for the quiet up there in heaven. and that's the biggest role she has. >> after whitney passed away, bobby, if i heard it once, i heard it a hundred times, and i know you heard it, too, fans, people who say they were close to whitney >> mm-hmm. >> say her life went downhill when she met bobby brown. how do you respond to it? and how does it make you feel when you hear it? >> it makes me feel terrible. but, you know, i know differently. i think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us, instead of time

looking through the bubble, they would know how we felt about each other. the reality show gave us a wake-up because we were able to see what other people were saying about us. you know. we were able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship, had affected the love that we felt for each other. >> but why do you think you got the blame? i was read being some blogs after her death. one said bobby brown killed whitney. not in the literal way, but in the figurative way. bobby brown is responsible for getting her hooked on drugs. everyone seems to point the finger at you. >> no. >> and they say, whitney was more of a -- an innocent victim in this. >> no. that's not true. i didn't get high before i met whitney. >> on narcotics. >> on narcotics, no. no. i smoked weed. i drank the beer.

but, no, i wasn't the one that got whitney on drugs. at all. >> so this was a part of her life before -- >> way before. >> -- you and she got together. did you talk about it? did you worry about it? >> i worried about it when, you know, we first got together, until i tried it. and when i tried it, for some reason i have an addictive personality. unexplainable. but i know i wasn't the one that, you know, got her addicted to drugs or i'm not the reason she's gone. >> you've said to me point-blank, i am not responsible for whitney getting hooked on drugs. >> right. >> would it be fair to say that if you didn't harm her in that way, your relationship didn't help her in that way? >> our relationship was great. i had 14 beautiful, beautiful years with that woman. >> and that's not revisionist history? that's not a chance of, after the fact, setting the record straight in bobby brown's way? >> no.

i can -- i can honestly say that i loved that woman with everything that i am. and i believe she loved me the same way. >> the night she passed away, bobby, you continued and did your performance in mississippi. in all the years that you guys had been together, you got up onstage and you said simply, i love you. >> mm-hmm. >> i love you, whitney. i truly, genuinely loved that woman. and i still love her today. even though i'm getting married sometime soon, my fiancee knows how i felt about that woman. my kids know how i feel -- how i felt about whitney. it's no secret, you know. i was in love with her, deeply. >> and we'll have more of matt's exclusive interview tomorrow on "today," as bobby brown talks about what happened at houston's

funeral, and their daughter bobbi kristina. just ahead this morning, the mom arrested for allegedly taking her 5-year-old daughter tanning at a salon. what she has to say about the charges she's facing that's right after this. i went to a small high school. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us. doing project with different stores is a really cool idea. we want to bring a little piece of the boutique experience to target. a real taste of luxury.

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♪ [ female announcer ] now that's nice. right now nice pistachios and other select nuts are just $2.99. sold only at walgreens. well, a new jersey mom is due in court today to face second degree child endangerment charges, and what she allegedly did is making headlines nationwide. natalie's here with details. >> good morning, savannah. that mom is accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter tanning at a salon after police say the girl showed up to school with a severe sunburn. but she claims it was all a big misunderstanding. >> this whole thing has been blown out of proportion. >> reporter: patricia krenzell denies she took her daughter anna tanning with her and said she just brought the 5-year-old to the tanning salon and made her wait next to the bed while she herself tanned. >> she's my little girl. i'm not going to bring my little daughter into a 90 degree bed. i mean, that's not normal.

>> reporter: anna's parents say when anna went to school the next day, she told her friends she went tanning with her mom. they think a teacher overheard and called police. new jersey law prohibits persons under the age of 14 from going tanning. >> she got sunburned. that's it. >> i tan. she doesn't tan. it's called a tanning booth. and a tanning room. >> reporter: anna's parents say it was a misunderstanding and she got a sunburn from playing in the yard. >> it's traumatizing for a little girl who did nothing wrong, but got a little sunburnt. >> the tanning salon deny that the little girl was ever there. the mother, though, pretty much said she has been tanning her whole life but she did say she would never take her fair-skinned daughter and have her be in a tanning bed. >> it is so, so dangerous. you hear from dr. nancy coming up. >> that's right. >> on "today's professionals." >> just ahead. "today's professionals" with a special guest. to build my family.d and also to build my career.

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>> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> busy especially for motorists on westbound 100. that ithe latest accident, i- 95, backing up traffic quickly. westbound 32 is closed at shaker drive. that is due to an accident in howard county. one of loop because the liberty road, past few minutes, getting the reports there. j.f.x., delays forming southbound on the construction zone. this ramp is closed due to an overturned vehicle.

in aberdeen, 715 and old philadelphia road, due to a truck fire. 795 and owings mills, looking a lot better than last check. live view of route 1 and the conowingo dam, the thing is getting by. we will let you know when that is reopened. right now everything shut down there. >> we had heavy rain through the baltimore area. dry at the airport. 61 degrees. east winds at 12 miles per hour. another batch of rain may cross over the baltimore region in the next half hour, 45 minutes. after that, more thunderstorms develop late in the afternoon. mixture of clouds and a little bit of sunshine. chance for a shower or thunderstorm. high temperatures in the mid- 70's later on today. summer on thursday or friday. temperatures jump into the 80s. another front on friday night.

that should cool things off over the weekend. high temperatures on the loan- to-mid-70's.

8:00 now on this wednesday morning. the 2nd day of may, 2012. we've come outside to hey hello to all the fine folks who've gathered here in rockefeller plaza. even though it's a bit of a blustery morning and 52 degrees but the wind is making it feel a lot colder here. >> it's going to rain today. >> it is going to rain. we have al roker joining ann curry, me, alongside savannah guthrie. coming up this morning we want to talk about "today's professionals" because we've got a special guest. >> first of all dr. nancy is back. there's very exciting. there's star and donny. and drumroll please our special guest professional kelly

osbourne will join us. and since we have a professional fashionista in the house we will answer the question, once and for all, who wore it better, matt, or al? kelly osbourne will weigh in in a couple of minutes. >> all right. >> i don't want to -- >> also, last time we talked to lisa rinna it was kind of interesting. >> that's right. because be prepared for some whiplash. last time she was on our broadcast to talk about depends. well this morning, she's going to talk about sex. >> wow. >> and a book that she's written. there you go. it's a guide on how to keep the fires burning. and so -- we like that. >> that's right. >> coming up. >> and a 6-year-old with an amazing talent, discovered on youtube. quickly mastered on the piano. he's going to show us what he can do. >> by the way, have we mentioned matt son assignment this morning

and tomorrow here on "today" he's going to be actually live from kensington palace, la-di-da which is the london home of the duke and duchess of cambridge and also prince harry and she's going to show us around and preview the two big events the queen's diamond jubilee and of course the london olympics which we're all getting excited about coming up. >> we'll see matt in london tomorrow. for now let's head over to natalie morales who is at the news desk this morning. >> good morning, savannah, ann and al. good morning, everyone. taliban till mants in afghanistan warned this morning that their annual spring offensive will begin on thursday. this after a major attack in kabul today that left at least seven people dead. u.s. officials dismissed claims that the assault was a direct response to president obama's surprise visit to afghanistan last night. the president, meanwhile, marks the first anniversary of osama bin laden's death by thanking u.s. troops and delivering a live televised address to americans. he also signed an agreement extending american involvement for a decade beyond the end of u.s. combat roles in 2014. a shocking new video of the

fatal boat accident that killed two hungarian students in philadelphia and dumped dozens of others into the delaware river back in 2010. these new images of an 80 foot barge slamming into the tourist duck boat will be shown at the civil wrongful death lawsuit that goes to federal court this week. lawmakers for the victims' families say the video offers evidence that passengers were not told to put on life vests until just moments before impact. the barge's pilot was sentenced to a year in prison on a maritime involuntary manslaughter charge. homeland security secretary janet napolitano says the secret service has found no basis to allegations that its agents hired strippers and prostitutes in el salvador last year. the allegations from an anonymous source emerged after the prostitution scandal involving agents in colombia last month. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. jessica simpson's website is announcing the birth of the

singer and fashion mogul's first child on tuesday. it's a 9 pound 13 pounce baby girl named maxwell drew johnson. simpson and her fiance, former pro football player eric johnson, posted that the birth has been the best experience of their lives. congratulations. and secretary of state hillary clinton hasn't completely closed the door on an open invitation from one of her biggest fans. actor jason segel. in a letter obtained by politico.com, mrs. clinton tells the muppets movie star she's too busy to appear on screen with him right now but hints it could happen in the future, with her only condition that there are muppets involved. i think he can make that happen. and jerry seinfeld has twitter abuzz with hints about an upcoming project. he's been tweeting lots of pictures featuring classic cars and -- that stars -- stars alec baldwin and ricky gear vase. one clue was shot of jerry with a vintage 1952 volkswagen bug and larry david.

hmm, i wonder what they're up to. 8:04 right now. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's weather" is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> and good morning, everybody. got some friends here. brain tumor awareness month. courtney rose foundation? >> yes. >> well, good to see you. thank you so much. what do you have going on? >> we're trying to raise that awareness and raise research funding. >> that's terrific. >> the courtney rose foundation dot org. >> you bet. let's see what we've got for you. pick city of the day happens to be mobile, obama. nbc 15. we're going to be looking at strong thunderstorms, temperatures in the low 80s. we've got a lot of rain making its way into the mid-atlantic states in the northeast. a strong line of storms stretching from wisconsin back into iowa and nebraska, where we have a strong risk of rain. showers in northern california, into oregon.

also some wet weather in the central gulf coast. hit or miss thunderstorms down through southern florida. sunny and hot through the southeast. and it -- your -- your -- your daughter, your birthday. and your mom's -- your grandmother's -- where's your grandmother? >> she's at the bakery. >> oh, that's her in the purple. is that her in the purple. >> yeah. she's having a conversation. >> can you see mom? >> hi, mom. there you go. all right. that's what's going on around >> good morning. we will see two chances for rain this morning. scattered showers and

>> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next we've got kelly osbourne joining "today's professionals." having a lot of topics, including matt and al's recent fashion choices right after this. i'm so happy to be marrying your mom. and i'm really happy that you're in my life too. it's just like yours, mom! [ jane ] behind every open heart is a story. tell yours with my open hearts collection at kay jewelers. keep your heart open and love will always find its way in. ♪ every kiss begins with kay

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and our special guest panelist today kelly osbourne, co-host of e!'s fashion police. good morning to all of you. welcome kelly. >> thank you so much for having me. >> we're going to start with ryan o'neal who was on our program yesterday. and what he said to matt about child rearing and how he sees himself as being a bad parent really raised a lot of eyebrows with our viewers. let's play a portion of what he had to say. >> but these are not children anymore, you know. griffin is 45. tatum is 49. who's the other one? oh, yeah, redmond is 27. at some point they have to take hold of their own existence. >> that got a lot of people talking, because they thought well, wait a minute, this father is maybe responsible for some of the troubles that his children have had. who wants to jump in here, kelly? >> i went to school with redmond. so, for him to turn around and say, "and who's the other one again"? you are a father. you have to know his name. and the thing is, you know,

children are a reflection of their parents. and from my own experience i know this, i went to my own troubles. but, and my father severely blamed himself. even though i know that there's nothing that could have stopped me if i wanted to do it. nothing can. but having said that, you know, you need that support group, you need to know that the people around you love and support you, and want the best for you. >> at some point, kelly, though, don't you have to take responsibility? >> of course. >> because what you've done -- i have to step away. it's not like somebody else is going to do it. i have to do it. >> there is a window into the dysfunctionality and sad parenting and frankly what seemed like a very traumatic childhoods for these kids. and also i don't know why you come on television with a band-aid on your nose. >> i think it's interesting, i've had -- i have two wonderful parents. i'm going to call the continuum.

i think we all grow up at some point as adults you have to let go and take responsibility. having said that, though, i do think there are certain parents and clearly this gentleman look like one of them, that have done such damage that sometimes it's hard for kids to ever recover. when there's a range of abuses, and clearly these kids are so messed up, and that is clearly a guy that should not have had -- >> you think that's what struck the nerve with people, the way he said at some point they have to take responsibility for themselves. >> it was so cavalier for kids who've obviously struggled. let's not discount the genetic hit. this may have been the -- >> one of the few as a man -- >> tatum's contemporary, we're both the same age, i have to tell you, you need to make your decision to let that go or you're going to die in it. >> all right. want to note before we move on. he had the band-aid on his nose because he had melanoma and had something removed. >> don't you feel bad now?! >> no. i think you reschedule the interview. >> i agree.

>> okay fair enough. we have another topic to discuss, the new political ad released by a conservative super pac called american crossroads. take a look at the cool factor, president obama. >> oh, yeah. >> the president -- ♪ i >> oh, yeah. >> donny, you're our ad guy. is this a strategy worth taking, the likability issue that some people feel is a strength for obama and trying to turn it into a weakness? >> it's a fantastic ad. romney has been painted as the guy who's out of touch. they're flipping it around going, oh, this guy is such a ro star and the commercial ends with, half people college kids are unemployed. they end with a somber kind of contrast. what they're setting up is that vanilla and boring is the new black. and i actually think it's a brilliant ad. >> you know, on this, just from

an ad perspective what worries me is that it's another attempt to point obama as an other. you know they tried that with oh, he ate dog meat when he was a boy. and mccain tried -- excuse me, wait. >> i hope this is not a black/white issue. >> you're the one that just said vanilla. >> i didn't mean it that way. >> let me make my point. in 2008 mccain did this ad, he was the american americans were waiting for. and it didn't work in 2008. and when you're pointing the finger saying he's different than us in some way, i think -- >> no, sorry, you're missing -- >> -- it seems to -- >> no, no, no. >> -- differentiate from the rest. >> as the voice of the youth, to me, i look at it, and i find it empowering because, you know, it might -- we have to grow with the times. >> empowering in which way? >> that you know, he's getting the youth interested in politics again. and that really is happening. >> what the ad is basically saying is --

>> i'm saying that they're wrong in what they're doing, because you have to grow with the times. >> no. but listen to me, they understand that somebody like you is voting for obama. it's actually for people above a certain age -- >> i'm not going to vote. i'm english. >> it's basically them saying have all the young groovy people, it's time for the grown-ups to take over. >> but really grown-ups haven't really done that good of a job so far, have they? so why don't you give the youth a chance? educate them. >> he's been in there for four years. >> it's going to take a lot more than four years to fix things. >> jessica simpson who just had her baby, congratulations go out to her. as we all know we talked about it, actually, there was some criticism about her weight gain during pregnancy. so i guess the question is, will she now then be held to this ideal that people seem to hold celebrities to that they've got to lose the baby weight in like two weeks? >> the answer is yes. if she's trotted out too chubby they're going to say oh, my god, she's too fat or they're going

to say oh, my god, she got her real body back. i think the pressure is ridiculously offensive. and i think it's misogynist. let a pregnant woman gain weight. look, she had a big baby. i think the bigger she is -- >> she exploited her pregnancy. by the way, obviously a pregnant woman is beautiful. >> how did she exploit her pregnancy? >> if you're going to go on a magazine cover. and in the sunday style section this week was talking about all these women who get pregnant, i don't want to say to help their careers but it's an interesting bump they use, once you put yourself out there that way you're going to be subject to criticism, skepticism. >> there is this kind of unrealistic ideal that other women who may be pregnant have to look at, that they're supposed to look -- >> jessica's going to have a tremendous amount of help. she's going to have resources that other women will never have. >> that's right. >> and i want women to just get into their own heads, enjoy their baby, and stop trying to be something that you'll never be. >> her job right now will be the personal trainer, the perfect diet, exercise her fanny off. >> everybody else has to go to

their operating job. she gets to go to the gym. that's it. >> we cannot let you go without getting into a pressing fashion issue of the day. >> yes. >> kelly, there's a trend going around here at the "today" show, plaid sports jackets. okay? matt lauer started the trend with this blue number. and then al doubled down the other day with this pink number. and we ask you, our fashion expert, kelly, who wore it best? matt or al? >> it's so hard to say this, because i love them both so much but i have to say matt because it's so classic. >> oh. >> i want you to know i was in italy last week, matt's jacket made news in italy. >> did it really? >> i wore that jacket last year. i wore that to the royal wedding. >> oh. >> so, he's a johnny come lately. >> sorry. >> i thought you were just a salmon fishing upstream. >> i would like to come and spawn with you. >> all right! >> people don't appreciate the

palm beach touch. mr. roker, pulled it off brilliantly. >> can i just show our today.com poll, what our viewers thought? >> yeah. >> because it was an overwhelming response, pro-al. >> oh, yeah! >> the "today" viewers loved the salmon. right on. >> al roker. >> check out the lining. >> oh! >> al is wearing the salmon whether you see it or not. >> star, donny, nancy, kelly osbourne, i know we're going to talk to you in a little bit about fashion coming up. all right coming up next, lisa rinna is here to tell us how to spice up your marriage.

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and somebody asks me a question about the volt. what really blows them away is when i tell them i almost never go to the gas station, despite the fact that they see me driving to work every day. i fill the volt up once every -- maybe once every couple of months. and that feels absolutely wonderful. i'm hardly using gas, but it's there when i need it. anybody that thinks that this car doesn't have solid performance, hasn't driven it. there's no other car like this on the road. ♪ back now at 8:22 with a secret to keeping the spark alive in your marriage. actress lisa rinna and sex counselor ian kerner are out with a new book called "the big, fun, sexy sex book." it's a road map to finding true intimacy with your partner. lisa and ian, good morning to both of you.

>> good morning. >> hi, ann. >> suffice it to say i learned something from your book. >> you did? >> i did, a lot. in fact i didn't know for example that women have a g-spot, men have a g-spot but enough about that, because we cannot really talk about here on morning television. why did you decide to write this book about sex? >> it's funny, i met ian, and of course being a sex therapist i was very fascinated. i'm in a longtime marriage with my husband. i wrote a book back in 2008 called rin-o vation and had a chapter about losing my sex drive and how terrifying that was and what i did to get it back. and that chapter hit a chord with many women and men and they kept asking me about it, opening up to me. and when i met ian i thought, hey, maybe we should write a book together a he said/she said, and he's an expert and so let's go for it. let's get people connected. let's get the intimacy going again. i know living in the relationship i live in how important sex is to being married and staying healthy. >> and feeling connected and all

those things. >> yes. >> you're the expert -- >> you know, there's a lot of information, you know, nearly 40 million americans say that they're in sex-starved relationships and marriages. i mean, sex is our academic but when i met lisa and started talking to her, in the end if you want to talk to americans about sex, make it sexy, make it fun. so who else to have more fun with. you know? >> exactly right. and you know -- your suggestions are things like hugging three times a day for at least 30 seconds. >> how about that. >> you do that a lot. >> i do it a lot because you know what it does? it gets the oxytocin is released and that's that feel-good drug that when you're breast-feeding and whatnot you feel great. >> yeah. >> so if you hug your husband for -- harry thinks i'm crazy. he's like let go now, let go now. i'm like you're lucky i'm hugging you -- >> you're not just hugging you're kissing. we actually couldn't find a photograph of the two of you together without kissing. >> i guess we kiss a lot. you'd kiss him, too. >> now, listen, ian you said chore play is a new foreplay.

>> this is brilliant. >> basically, that men need to get with the groove of chore play and that's studies show that, you know, especially for women, they need to -- their brains need to deactivate. they can't be focused on stress and focused on all the things outside of the bedroom that are stressing them out. men, we can. we can be totally stressed out, the house can be a mess, you know, and we're still ready to go. >> they want to do it all the time. >> so really, i hear from a lot of men, what do i need to do to help get my wife or my partner in the mood? so one of the first things, chore play. >> do the dishes? >> help them out with the kids. >> change the diaper. >> all of a sudden the woman is relaxed. exactly. she doesn't make it a chore like oh, now i have to have sex. >> yeah, exactly right. and she's -- you also say take five, exercise, take a bath, breathe deeply, have a sip of wine, read a book, maybe give your bedroom a makeover. what do you want people to take away from this book above all? >> i think above all start talking to your partner. be open. reconnect sexually. have those moments.

be open. have a lot of sex. it feels good. why not? >> why not. you deserve it. lisa rinna, ian kerner. thank you both. and again the book is called "the big, fun, >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. . >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a check of the commute with sarah caldwell. >> a lot of problems we are tracking. westbound 100 at i-95, we have an accident. heading towards 95, you can see the red and there. heavy delays extend from 100 down to 32. westbound to shut down at shaker drive to to an accident. outer loop west side, that one of to the side.

belair and north avenue, coldspring and greenspring. southbound j.f.x. is filling up quickly through the construction zone. watch for accident blocking the ramp to the beltway. just a mess down to the harford county line could route 1 remains closed at the conowingo dam. take 95 or pulaski highway as your alternate. here is i-95. this is just crawling from 152 to the 895 split. we will switch over to an live view or 41 at the conowingo dam. the thing getting by north -- and getting by north or southbound. >> we have thunderstorms earlier this morning. things have settled down. cloudy at the airport, but dry. another batch of rain out of the mountains. this will arrive around baltimore in the next hour or so. a few more showers possible between now and about 11:00.

then we will get central to break through the cloud deck. more storms possible late in the afternoon. it will feel like summer on thursday and friday. >> another update at 8:00 at 56.

♪ >> 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 2nd day of may, 2012, and you're looking at a true prodigy at work. this is 6-year-old ethan wallmark and he can play anything from beethoven to billy joel on the piano, just by listening. just within days.

he can pick up songs. in fact, i understand he knows every single song written by the beatles. he loves music and started when he was very young. he's become a hit on youtube, and he wowed us in rehearsal earlier this morning. we're going to hear more from this amazing piano player. can you see him coming up this morning. >> very cute. >> quite the showman. >> welcome back, everybody. >> ann? >> we have kelly osbourne in the house. she was just with us in "today's professionals." well now the fashion police co-host is coming back and she will talk some fashion dos and don'ts. >> and we are going to make a real big loser. in fact, the biggest loser, a young man who dropped literally just shy of 200 pounds. >> wow. >> that's amazing. >> amazing. >> half his former self. that's for sure. >> and then coming up this morning, adventure bare. remember he helped matt out with where in the world. this morning barrett is going to

teach us a thing or two about surviving in the wild because we all need to know that. >> right. >> and the man versus wild host is going to talk for the first time about his falling out with the discovery channel as well. >> that's sure to spark some controversy. >> absolutely. >> you been planning that one all morning? >> it's a little breezy out here. >> it is. we've got a little spritz going on here and there because we've got some rain getting ready to move in. risk of strong storms central iowa into central nebraska. wet weather on the pacific northwest coast. mountain snows. western montana. look for some rain in the central gulf coast. tomorrow we've got a pretty wide area of risky weather, stretching from northern oklahoma, into western new york and pennsylvania. cool and showery in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot through the southwest. slight risk of strong storms in central texas and wet weather in the lower mississippi river valley. >> good morning. it could be enacted weather day -- could be an active weather

day. >> and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. now we want to say hello to the guy who is proud to be called the biggest loser. we're talking about 23-year-old jeremy. he was the winner of the 13th season of the hit nbc show last night. you dropped a whopping 199 pounds, jeremy. >> yeah. >> congratulations. >> thank you, thank you. >> good morning. >> you lost half your size. >> i did. a little over half my size. >> how's that feel? >> it's amazing. i just am just starting to live my life. it's truly amazing. >> so emotional to have you standing up there, and for you, even more so because you were competing against your sister. >> yeah.

i lost my voice screaming last night i'm so excited. there's no one i want to beat more than my sister, to be honest. >> a little rivalry. >> bring it on. >> yeah. >> how do you think this will now change your life? you're only 22 years old. and you've got a whole bunch -- >> that's right. i just turned 23 the other day. so you're right, i'm just starting my life. i'm very fortunate to have this opportunity at such a young age, and for me, the rest of my life is just going to be great from here on out. i'm very thankful for the show. >> i was reading that what really convinced you to go out for this show was when a friend called you up and said, i got to go to the beach and you didn't want to go because you didn't want to be seen without a shirt. >> absolutely. at that point i just realized that, you know, there was things my weight was holding me back from in life and i didn't want to be held back from doing anything that i wanted to do. of course you want to go to the weech. of course you want to be an active person. you're just like, you know, i didn't want my weight to hold me back from anything else again. >> now you can go to the beach and be fabulous.

is there a favorite kind of exercise that really worked for you? >> for me honestly was running. i hated running. >> oh. >> yeah. >> now i really enjoy it. it's great. >> all right. well jeremy, congratulations. >> yeah, thank you. go really inspiring. good luck to you all ahead. now we're going to go inside and say hi to al. >> all right, ann, thanks so much. it's down to the final four on nbc's "the voice." we're joined by the singers who were eliminated in last night's semifinals, lindsay, katrina, eric and jamar. welcome to all of you. >> thank you. >> hi. >> and jamar let's start with you. you're on team cee lo. you have been a favorite really during this whole competition. so what do you think happened last night? >> well, you know, i think that it was democracy at its best, you know. i never really set out to win the show. i already won what's in my heart. and i also said that if -- if i

didn't do as well as somebody else, maybe i did deserve to go home. juliette had a phenomenal night. i couldn't have lost to a better 3er7b. >> team christina, lindsay, you and your teammates have really opposite styles. so it came down to a choice. what, what do you think that choice ultimately was? >> i think that, you know, voters just, just really love what chris offered. and he did, his voice was like crystal like the other night just so beautiful. and i adore him as a singer. and i'm so excited to see him go to the finale. to be honest i'm really excited for him. i'm grateful to be a part of it. >> katrina you're on team adam and the coaches had 100 votes to split. if adam had voted 50/50, you would have won. it was that close. >> yeah. i mean, it's -- once i figured

that out and did the math, that was -- that was a little tough. but you know, that's why adam is in that chair, it's his decision to make. and he has to do what he thinks he needs to do to win this competition. so i'm just happy that i stayed as long as i did. i didn't think i was going to make it to 48, much less 8. so it's pretty amazing. i'm grateful. >> erin, first of all you're team blake and a happy belated birthday. >> thank you. >> this obviously a bittersweet experience given that you lost your dad to cancer during this. were you, were you feeling him during your performance? >> yeah, i definitely had him with me the other night. it was really incredible. basically taking in the entire moment. it kind of was an overcome with emotion type of situation, and it's just incredible. i mean, to be part of the top eight and to be a part of this show, and as far as i've come, i can only be proud of myself. and really just ready for the journey ahead, i guess. >> all right.

well lindsay, katrina, erin, jamar, thank you so much. we loved your performances. and of course, the final performance is next monday night, winner of "the voice" crowned next tuesday, may 8th right here on nbc. coming up next, style dos and don'ts, kelly osbourne. first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:40. kelly osbourne entered the spot light thanks to her famous parents ozzy and sharon osbourne and she's gone on to a successful career there hollywood all on her own. she's the cohost of e!'s fashion police and she can be a tough critic of celebrity style, including her own. >> all right. >> i think that mine should be like for an anti-drug campaign. don't be judged because you'll end up like this.

i'm not joking. >> kelly osbourne, good morning. again it's good to see you. >> good to see you. >> you've been doing "fashion police" two years now. is it still fun to do? >> there's never a dull moment when we're at work. joan is the most amazing person to work with. and giuliana and i have become really, really, really close. and then george, who is like my fashion brother, and so people think it's serious but we're just play fighting on set. we all love each other so much. >> you mention joan. the other day on the red carpet, something happened. you want to explain this photo? >> yes, okay. so on "fashion police," this whole thing where they're like, they know that if they dare me to do something i'll do anything. >> so this is a dare? >> no. joan did this whole thing with alicia silverstone feeding her baby like a bird, and they bet that i wouldn't do it. and joan fed me like a bird. the only reason i did it because they knew that if i did it then giuliana and george have to do it as well.

i'm like, i'll get you back. i'm on the red carpet, this is my moment. >> i knew there was a story behind that note toe. i had no idea that would be the story. in all seriousness this is a tough business and celebrity fashion is something that a lot of people like to comment on. do you ever feel like it's difficult to be a top critic on celebrity style? >> of course, you know. i mean, to a certain extent, you know, sometimes i do, too. but i realize that if i give it i've got to take it. you know what i'm saying? not everyone's going to like everything everyone wears. you've just got to wear what you like, that's all that matters. in the end who really cares what i think of what you're wearing it. >> how do celebrities handle it? >> you know what? you'd be shocked to find that the beyond a-listers that come up to like me and joan and even brad pitt came up to me and said something about the show. and they love it. and they think it's funny. but then people who, i hate to say this because it sounds so mean, but are just lucky that

we're talking about them, if you know what i mean, because no one else really is, that sounds awful to say, but those are the ones that freak out. and that's my whole thing is if you're in the wrong industry if you can't laugh at yourself. >> we want to talk some fashion trends with you. first of all you're wearing one. gray hair it looks a little purple to me. >> no, it's got old lady-like. >> you said you love the golden girls. >> yes. >> that's your inspiration? >> plus dame edna. >> okay let's get some trends that we're going to see this spring. you like the cutout. >> i do. >> and you have to have a really good figure for this. >> the thing is it is one of my favorites. i love the cutouts. but it's great if you're -- you know how some figures are skinnier up at the ribs and you go down and it's a little low cut like for example the one that halle berry is wearing here wouldn't necessarily be one that i would wear. if the cut was higher it's more flattering and it gives you more of a waist. >> okay. you've got to be confident, though. neon. the '80s are calling.

>> i love it. bright colors. i'm wearing an orange skirt. >> just a little pop of color? >> the key, it's a great way just to -- >> for furry boots for example? >> yeah. i mean, come on. nicki minaj, i love the way she dresses. it's one of these things it's an easy, simple way to add a pop of color throughout. you've got black pants, white buttonup shirt and neon jacket on and it's fun. you know, you can wear it to the office. you can wear it out. >> and i hear pointy shoes are coming back in. >> yes. >> okay. we like that. the witch look i guess. >> yes. >> kelly osbourne, thanks so much. >> thank you so much. >> you can catch "fashion police" friday nights at 10:00, 9:00 central time on e! coming up neex the 6-year-old piano broadny who masters songs just by listening to them.

back now at 8:46, with a 6-year-old piano prodigy. ethan learns to play songs just by listening to them and his rendition of billy joel's "piano man" was posted on youtube last weekend. it already has more than 750,000 hits. that's right. take a look. ♪ ♪ >> ethan is now joining us exclusively along with his parents, allison and mike -- >> yeah. >> that's right. and his sister eliza and also ethan's behavioral musical

therapist. >> that's right. >> that's right, tom crowley. >> ethan, how do you know how to play the piano so well? how did you learn? >> i just get good grades because i liked it. >> liked it? >> and kids, i like it so much. >> i know. but -- i know but you know what -- >> i like schubert. >> well, and also -- >> but you know what, ethan, billy joel who wrote that song, he says you play it so well he says i think his intro to piano man is better than mine. he said that, he said this kid plays with more energy than me. maybe he could teach me a few things. that's the guy who wrote the song. >> but it's billy joel like not elton john. >> but allison i understand ethan knows elton john songs all the beatles songs, he learned to play clarks by cold play in three days. >> yes. >> how do you explain this? >> wish we could. >> yeah, i wish we could.

i come from a musical family. but, what he has, it's a gift. you're born with it. you can't learn it. it's in your soul. >> and it takes just a few days for him to learn a song. >> yes. tom and i were talking we wanted him to play something with a good straumtal and i suggested cold play. >> i know. >> i know. ethan you want to play? ethan come on in here. go ahead. hit the piano. go for it. >> can i look -- can i look? >> you -- well, why don't you actually -- why don't you play piano man. >> all right. >> ready buddy? >> all right. >> all right. >> one, two, three, four -- ♪ it's a pretty big crowd for a saturday ♪ ♪ and the manager gives me a smile ♪ ♪ cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see ♪ ♪ to forget about life for awhile ♪ ♪

♪ and the piano sounds like a carnival ♪ ♪ and the microphone and he sits at the bar saying man what are you doing here ♪ >> louder now. ♪ here we go. nice and loud. ♪ sing us a song you're the piano man ♪ ♪ sing us a song tonight ♪ ♪ we're all in the mood for a melody ♪ ♪ and you've got us feeling all right ♪ >> you know what we want to also mention that ethan has autism so this is a great inspiration for

so many people. thank you. ♪ >> on that note we thank all of you. we've got much more coming up in just a moment. but first::.

the last time we visited with adventure other barrett he was rappelling down the side of a mountain in switzerland with matt as part of his where in the world adventure. he had a fallingout with the discovery and he's out with a new book called "mud, sweat and tears." bear, a lot of people wondered what was happening with the discovery channel? >> does coverry's been great partners over seven years of the show. my grandfather always used to say you've got to finish strong and maybe finish five minutes early than two late, and there were lots of new shows, and may have picked the one to make sure the brand of adventure, pushing boundaries and empowering other people out there. >> you've got the new book coming out. you're going to show us some survival techniques this morning. what are we doing?

>> we've got whole elements of survival. water, fire, food and all of this. you've got to be resourceful. so, like to start, take a sock. >> a dirty sock? >> that will do. you hold that. >> okay. >> this is how to filter horrible water like this. >> oh. >> pour some of that in there, go, go, go. >> oh, sorry, sorry. >> that will teach you to get me involved. >> charcoal. and that will take away a lot of the bacteria. >> hold that. >> okay. so pour some in there. >> pour the dirty water? >> yes. >> so this is what it looks like before, and then >> we're going to -- pour it in the top. all right. >> okay that will do. that will do. you put a lot of sand in. >> that looks yummy. >> the thing is it's never -- it's taken out all the big particles. >> okay. >> and that black is the charcoal and it's going to be pretty well bacteria free. that's enough. >> all right.

>> and that's bloody good drink. >> no, no, no! >> whoa! >> oh, no. >> so we're moving on. >> the humble credit card. a lot you can do with that. not only can you use to reflect and signal. can you see that over there? >> yeah, i can. that's smart. >> get that on there. people have been rescued from up to 50 miles away, reflective holograms spotted by an airline. you can also use as a knife. cut your things with it. >> you can. >> cut your meat or apples or whatever. >> all right. okay. thank you, bear for that little tip. >> also talk about being resourceful. >> any rapids and water falls you say don't underestimate the garbage bag. >> i got my sock back up. >> you'll get your sock in a minute. >> the humble trash bag. you can make water serve. tie up your food to keep the bears away. fill it with air and you've got

an improvised flotation device. >> perfect. >> okay. >> fire, fire. >> here we go. fire! >> this is the ultimate survival. >> everybody should learn how to start fire. without -- >> yeah! >> okay. go, go, go, go. keep going. you've got to work hard. >> come on. here we go, look, it's on fire. >> we can drink water! >> okay. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. city police are investigating an overnight shooting in southwest baltimore. two people were shot at frederick avenue just before 11:30 last night. one unidentified victim was rushed to the hospital and a

second was treated for a graze second was treated for a graze wound. is this right? right here, like this? ♪ turn that off! plants can smell our fear then miracle-gro expand'n gro made things a lot easier for us. it expands when you water it. and improves your soil.

for big beautiful plants that grow up to three times the flowers and vegetables. guaranteed. we were so bad at this before. particularly you. [ laughs ] everyone grows with miracle-gro. >> things have settled down a little bit. thunderstorms earlier in the morning. now just some scattered rain showers. late in the day, more thunderstorms. high near 76.