the 13th day of june, 2012. the wind is picking up a little bit in rockefeller plaza, some rain perhaps throughout or in. an unsettled day but mr. roker will have his forecast coming up. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, mr. roker and tamron hall joins us. coming up, how about this for dramatic video. this is a one-year-old toddler being thrown from a carjacked suv that flips over. there's the little toddler right there to the back left. actually miraculously not really

injured that badly. kind of minor injuries. the people who carjacked that car are in serious trouble. we'll be talking more about that coming up. >> meantime some financial advice this morning. we're going to be talking about if you're considering a second marriage and wondering how to pool your finances or need health insurance while you're unemployed, our money 911 team has the answer to you this morning. >> plus we'll catch up with the woman behind the hugely popular blog, cupcakes and cashmere. who doesn't love those things. five must haves for the summer, what to wear and how to entertain and how to polish your nails. >> some vintage clips there, making broaches or something. looks pretty cool. i'm interested in that anyway. >> number five is a theme here because we're launching a brand-new serious called today's five facts. today's five facts will give you important information you need

to know. things you didn't know when you woke up this morning and things you'll want to share with your friends and family. >> with five friends. >> five friends. exact exactly. so today we're focusing on diet. things you need to know about protein. how much you should eat. >> let's go inside. natalie standing by at the news desk with a check of the headlines. >> day two in sex abuse trial of former penn state football coach jerry sandusky. tuesday mike mcqueary testified while he was a graduate assistant in 2001 he saw sandusky with a shower with a young boy. he said it was sexual and told joe paterno. another man known as victim one broke down and sobbed while he described being abused. a new twist in the case of george zimmerman who said he shot florida teen trayvon martin

in self-defense. shellie accused of lying about finances during a bond hearing in april. his bond was later revoked. an emotional win in arizona. an aide to former representative gabrielle giffords was elected to fill her seat. winner ron barber was wounded in the shooting that almost took giffords life. he told the crowd life takes unexpected turns. four suspects under arrest in lubbock tech texas after an suv chase came to a sudden and dramatic end. a toddler ejected from the back of a stolen suv that rolled over. amazingly she stood up and even tried to walk back to the vehicle. one of the suspects grabbed the girl and ran off but was later caught. police say two of the suspects were the little girl's parents. the child suffered only minor injuries. she's now in the care of other family members as her parents

face multiple charges. the trial in the brutal attack on florida teen michael brewer is now under way. he was doused with alcohol and set on fire by classmates back in 2009. nbc's thanh truong. >> reporter: the attack in 2009 left michael brewer severely burned, scarred more than half his body. he to endure a painful recovery. now he's in court to face the teenager accused of instigating the attack. matthew bent and michael brewer, now 17, were once friends. but in october of 2009, prosecutors say a group of boys, led by bent surrounded brewer. and at bent's suggestion doused him in rubbing alcohol and set him on fire. >> i'm going to tell you to hold matthew bent responsible for his actions. >> reporter: the defense argues bent was at the scene but never told anywhere to set brewer on fire.

>> the individuals who committed this crime pled guilty to this crime and have been sentenced for this crime. >> two other teens charged as adults in the attack. they pled no contest and are serving prison time. they are expected to testify against bent. the boys had a disagreement over a stolen bicycle and video game. brewer survived by jumping into a neighbor's pool. he suffered burns over 75% of his body. his mother recounted the moment after his attack. >> laying on the gurney. he's got blisters all over him. >> reporter: michael brewer will also take the stand. his family says he's anxious to tell his story. michael bent is being tried as an adult. if he's convicted of second degree murder, he could face up to 30 years in prison. one of the teens already serving time in this attack will take the stand later this morning.

natalie. >> thank you. a big step forward for stephanie decker, the mom who lost her legs while shielding her children from a tornado in march. she's walking again in rehab. her doctors told her it could be a year before she walked again. there she is with her prosthetics. a huge turn out for queen and duke and duchess of cambridge as they celebrated jubilee in nottingham. he joked with people at the station, are you waiting for the same train we are? cute. six minutes past the hour. let's go back to al with a check of the weather. >> i moved inside. no problem. let's see what we've got for you. we are looking at a risk of strong storms right over pierre, sioux falls, south dakota, occasional storms overnight that could develop into tornadoes, wet weather making its way through the area.

generally a half an inch to an inch of rain. here in the northeast, most moved out of new york, concentrated along the new england coastline. we could see anywhere from a half an inch to an inch and a half from long isl >> good morning. a mixture of sun and clouds. humidity it will go down. ♪ >> on today's money 911 our team of experts is here to help solve your financial problems. jean chatzky, financial editor

and author of "money rules" david bach, author of "debt free for life" and sharon epperson, cnbc's personal -- feeling so frisky of a the wedding. >> a shout out, parents night for you guys. >> let's get started with a skype question. this one coming from dawn who lives in maryland. dawn, good morning and what's your question? >> good morning. i'm actually a single mom in a relationship with a wonderful man. i have two kids in college and he has one in middle school and one in high school. we have begun talks of the m word. i'm wondering what you can recommend for pooling finances in second marriages. >> when you start talking about m words in marriage, dawn, congratulations, i'm sure he's a fantastic guy. you have to start talking about a prenup, which i know is not

what you want to hear. you're coming to this relationship with kids, you're coming with kids, he's coming with kids, you have assets. it's going to guide how you handle the rest of your financial life. i am personally a fan of yours, mine, and ours accounts. that's how my husband and i do it and we are on our second marriage. we've got a prenup. if we can do it, anybody can do it. you want to sort of set it up before you head into the ceremony itself so you know how it's all going to work. >> congratulations, dawn, best of luck. >> thank you. >> now let's go to an e-mail question, a viewer named michelle. she writes, i was laid off from a company i invested with, they are offering $19,000 minus the taxes which would come out right away. i also have the option to wait five more years until i'm 65 and collect a monthly installment. which way is the bess way to go.

>> amortize or lump sum, that is the question. physical of all, if they give you the lump sum you don't have to pay taxes up front, can do an i.r.a. let's go over options, guaranteed income stream, $196 for life. if you were married you could do a survivor benefit, a little less money but cover both of you for your lifetime. or do what you call an i.r.a. rollover, take that $19,000 you rolled into an i.r.a. account, manage the money for the rest of your life and you pull the money out. the key here is what's better for you. it depends on you. if i give you that $19,000, is there a risk you'll go spend it all right away. if that's the case, then i'd recommend you take the annuity payments. the annuity probably has a return of 4% on this money. the next question if you took the money and managed it yourself could you earn over 4% in your lifetime, i would tell you you could. i would tell you you can outpace the annuity and control the money yourself. my recommendation, if you're

responsible, i would do the i.r.a. rollover, rollover money into an i.r.a. account, manage the money yourself. you're not responsible. take the annuity payment. >> sally from pennsylvania. good morning, sally. >> caller: good morning. >> hi, what's your question? >> caller: i am a 60-year-old female who has been unemployed for three years and is uninsured with a heart condition. next summer i will need a new defibrillator. i need to get health insurance. without income, i don't know what to do. i do not qualify for medicaid because i'm in my home. i'm using money from my retirement account to live. any suggestions. >> that's a tough situation sally. >> i'm so sorry to hear about your condition and your situation but there are options for you. let's start with what's probably the bess option and that's to look at the high-risk insurance pool in your state in pennsylvania called pennsylvania fair care. there you should be able to get some type of insurance. right now insurers don't want to

ensure you with a pre-existing condition. under this plan you will be able to do it. have you a pre-existing condition, a state resident, u.s. citizen and you've been unemployed for six months or more so you qualify for this. it will be about a $285 a month premium and $1,000 deductible. that may seem like a lot of money but being uninsured and having to pay for defibrillator and other costs yourself is going to be a lot more. the other thing to consider since you're 60 now is to look to see whether you can get early enrollment into medicare. look at social security disability benefits. see if you can qualify for those for two years. if you're able to do so you may get medicare at 62 instead of 65. go to ssa.gov for that. if you're able to work and with an employer they cannot deny you benefits because of a pre-existing benefit. get drug benefits, health insurance, discount drug card.

i try to use it myself, get great deals on prescriptions there. that's another thing you need to look at in terms of what you do to look at costs. talk to the hospital for a payment plan about the did defibrillato defibrillator. best of luck to you. >> those on the east coast, mr. newlywed will be sticking around the next hour or so to answer questions about couples and money. up next, nail polish, outdoor entertaining. we'll tell you the five things you must have this summer according to the popular blog cupcakes. up next for parents, how to make dinner a home cooked family tradition every night of the week. first these messages. is gone. but what about your wrinkles. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it has the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to visibly reduce wrinkles in just one week.

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we're back now with the five must haves for summer. with the official start of the season a few weeks away we have the latest in everything from style to decorating to outdoor entertaining. fun and easy do it yourself ideas, emily shuman, creator of the blog cupcakes and cashmere. good morning. >> good morning. >> all the girls in the office are obsessed with the website. you have a book in august. it's about adding personal touches and do it yourself projects. >> it is. cupcakes and cashmere is my blog but i write daily about everything that inspires me from food and fashion to interior design and beauty. a little bit of everything. >> your five must haves for summer. the first one would be the chambray shirt which we see you wearing so beautifully here. you have a couple of different ways to dress up the look. >> chambray is great for summer. it's really versatile. you can throw it on over a bikini or dress it up a few

ways. i have some options here. the first you could wear to the office. buttoned up, pencil skirt, jewelry. you can dress it up at night. for a date, open it up a little bit, throw on a short sequinned mini skirt, cuff, heels. for daytime if you're going casual, straw hat, long skirt and short flat books that is great. >> what is it about chambray that says summer to you. >> it's a light fabric, the versatility is great. something you can take from day to night easily. >> casual yet elegant. >> next must have number two on the list, orange nail polish. orange is all the rage, definitely the hot trend of the season. a lot of people may think orange is not their color. can anyone wear it? >> i do. orange is a great color from summer. it's a great departure from your typical pink and red. i also realize it's a bit

intimidating. so there's a few different ways to go about it. first start with a pedicure. it's not as in your face as a manicure. it's fun at the pool, at the beach. you just see a pop of color. also there are variations. if you want to go with something a little more pastel or coral, coral is great for those that are just kind of making that transition. if you want to really go for it, really bright neon is also pretty. >> i'm going to show off your nails here because they look beautiful. >> thank you. >> using that nail polish it brings us to our next hot item. these are broaches. actually you have a little trick with brooches. you like to use nail polish to jazz them up a bit. >> exactly. this is a really easy do it yourself project. you take brooches, something you have lying around. these are from stores, flea markets, family heirlooms, not the time to play around. you pick a pallet. here i have one almost done,

summer colors and you paint directly onto the stone. if you want it subtle, it goes on easily. if you want to add on, another coat will make it opaque and brighter. >> makes it a little more modern as we see here. >> exactly. >> take that brooch and adding a fun pop to it. great idea. next must have for the summer. do it yourself bottle stoppers. what i love about this idea, actually it's great as a gift, too, right? >> it is. for summer entertaining, this is a perfect hosters gift. bar carts are beg now, not only good for entertaining but now being seen as part of your interior design, you're decor. in order to dress it up, i've made diy bottle stoppers. >> how do we do that? >> we have an assortment of stones. >> some gorilla glue. make sure you're finding the flat top of the stone.

tiny bit, less is more. >> just need pretty stones. >> pretty stones. amethyst, pyrite. let it rest. you can see here the finished product. >> move over to summer entertaining in style, the fifth thing you like to do, that is set up your table in a rustic outdoor sort of way for entertaining. you've done that here. i see you have a really nice theme with white. >> exactly. summer is about white, refreshing. it feels really crisp. you should keep it simple. i like to add rustic touches with raffia around the mason jars, burlap thrown down. for ambience make sure you have candles. i make sure it's unscented so it doesn't conflict with the scent of your food. flowers, keep them short so you can see your guests. >> i love it. i'm a fan of your website, too.

>> thank you for having me. >> good luck with your book. still to come, is your diet making you cranky? five facts you absolutely need to know about protein, but first these messages. let's do this." how does it look? ridiculous. why don't you just try hugging the dirt off that floor? ha! that's silly! this dirt snuggler is gently cleaning and polishing the floors at the same time. and why would you want to treat dirt "gently"? honey? i'm thinking. don't overthink it. everything you need, and nothing you don't. that's cleanin' with the power of pine sol, baby. olivthe taste of tuscanyyou starting at just $10.95. new chicken with tortelloni or grilled sausage with orecchiette. and choose two tuscan extras. all served with unlimited salad and breadsticks. the taste of tuscany. at olive garden. to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids.

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now that's like sunblock before or sun burn cream later. oh, somebody out there's saying, now i get it! take beano before and there'll be no gas. still to come, how to make dinnertime family time. >> plus fun ways to follow the olympics with your kids. >> plus your local news and weather. ♪ i woke up to a feeling

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news update. >> all the way through the weekend, the weather will stay quiet. expect a mixture of sunshine and clouds. breezy and less humid than yesterday. seven-day forecast, 20% chance of sprinkles tomorrow. smooth sailing through father'sf

♪ >> that is catherine zeta-jones belting out the pat beni tar album featured in the new movie "rock of ages." she is going to be here to tell us all about it tomorrow on "today." oscar winner, tony winner, certainly sing and dance, which is amazing. looking forward to that movie. i'm natalie morales with al roker and tamron hall. coming up in the new half hour we're launch agnew series, five facts, giving you information that will improve your life on a wide range of topics. this morning we'll be telling you five things you need to know

about protein. how much do you need? does it help you lose weight? some surprising facts away. >> olympics 45 days away. we have fun ways to follow the action with your whole family and help your kids learn something along the way. learning about geography to reading to exercise. >> help for busy parents. if you find yourself having stress and guilt for dinner instead of meat and potatoes with your family, you are not alone. we'll get tips from working mom behind the popular blog, dinner, a love story. creative ideas about putting a home cooked meal on the table every single night. >> wow, that's daunting. >> that is. >> we see that a lot. i do it a lot. >> four out of seven. >> four out of seven ain't bad. >> see what we've got for you. looking ahead today, strong storms in the dakotas, some wet weather along the new england coastline, showers in the pacific northwest, sizzling in

the southwest. for tomorrow that heat continues in texas into the southwest, sunny and mild. the northern plains looking at mild conditions in the northeast, new england. it will even be warm up into the ohio river valley. in fact, chicago by the weekend, >> good morning.peratures in the it looks like it will turn out to be a nice day today. humidity will be going down as the system pushes off the coast. a mixture of sun and clouds. >> that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. coming up next, five facts maybe you didn't know about protein right after this.

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i love this idea, smarter by the end of the segment hopefully. >> we started with a little baseline. >> let's launch into the first fact about protein, how much of it i guess we should eat. >> most of it don't know how much to eat. you need a calculator to figure it out. easiest rule of thumb, take your body weight in pounds and divide it in half, that's how much you need. new weigh 180, you need 90 grams of protein. >> 90 pounds. >> this is in grams. this is how people think. it's something you need to really recognize this because everybody's needs are different. do you know how much protein? >> if i tell you, that means i'm telling my weight. i weigh 122 pounds. i don't know how to do math. >> 60 grams. >> for that. a larger steak, two chicken breasts. this is for the day. 60 grams. it's not a lot. but someone like you, with your

weight, you're going to have a little more. natalie, you're sports minded, an athlete so you have to pay attention to that as well. >> you need more because you're burning more. >> especially if you're active. fact number two, what happens if you don't eat enough protein. >> people don't worry saying low protein doesn't matter. it matters a lot, not just to fuel your muscles but important for running your body, especially your brain. the brain isn't something that sucks up everything you need. if you don't get enough protein, building blocks and amino acid affect chemistry, affect anxiety, mood, sexual interest, your hunger and fullness, all these things. >> that explains when al gets cranky during certain parts of the show, he needs protein. >> that's why i eat. >> fact number three, you say we need to get the right amount of protein on a daily basis. i guess the question, protein doesn't stay in your body. you need daily intake.

>> surprisingly we don't store protein. you eat protein and it goes to the muscles. it's not stored, it's passive, active use. if you don't get enough protein it gets sucked out of your muscles, not good for your body. every day protein, lean protein, animal, vegetable protein but you need to refuel with protein every day. >> fact five, how does protein intake impact weight loss. does it have an impact on weight loss? >> for years, a calorie is a calorie, doesn't really matter. but looks like when you have a higher protein diet, not excluding other things, it's easier for you to lose weight. a signal to your brain to stay full longer, slower emptying of your stomach. you stay fuller longer. protein is double duty when losing weight. >> is it important to when you eat other foods to include protein with it. >> protein for each meal, breakfast especially. it's not natural for people to

turn to protein. do you do that? >> i do. i try to. the different kinds of protein. people think protein they think meat. >> you're not talking backin. >> talking lean protein, mix and match, amino acid building blocks are different in every food, stick with lean proteins when it's animal proteins. >> when you want to lose weight, do you want to eat a higher protein diet? >> you do but don't exclude carbohydrate, just include protein at every meal. >> what about bacon. >> canadian bacon. >> when you get older should you change the amount of protein you bring in the body. >> things change. when you're older you need more. muscles deteriorate, not as efficient translating into muflgs. not just aging. an athlete. you do a lot of that. >> i eat every day, almonds. >> a quick rundown of what people might not think of as

protein is. >> dairy is going to be great. yogurt always good. vegetable protein not as filling for many people but chick peas, poultry, fish, these are all great. lean meat. people think red meat is back, more than 20 cuts you can have, vege burgers that taste like meat. mix and match proteins thinking i'm going to be eating egg whites all day long. >> what about bacon? >> bacon, you know what, now and then. that's an occasional treat if you don't like canadian bacon. real bacon is a treat and you should have it on occasion. >> i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs. >> see, smarter already. natalie thank you so much. up next, team usa chasing the gold. ways to enjoy with your kids and teach them reading and learning at the same time right after these messages. it's an amazing service that lets you watch as many tv episodes and movies as you want instantly.

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on today's moms, olympics. when the games get under way parents will have a unique opportunity to reenforce school skills, stop the summer slide and have fun watching with kids. some mental worthy activities. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> it's a great idea. it never dawned on me to use the olympics as a teachable moment. >> this is the opportunity to make those skills come to life. fractions make a difference when you're swimming. you can win by a fraction of a second. reading about athletes or learning what team sports are every night. and geography. we were talking about geography before. it's something we both liked as kids. our suggestion is to throw a map up on your family kitchen wall for the olympics, so when your kids are learning about where their athletes are from, this is united states, where is china, where are those athletes from.

it really starts to make geography come alive. this is one of the first opportunities kids have to think about themselves as part of a larger global community in a positive way. chris and dante both told me geography isn't their favorite but they have been enjoying the leap frog map, a puzzle they put together. then use the pen. it becomes like a talking interactive atlas they look at. >> you don't have to go digital but analog with a fun ball. >> this ball. how can geography not be fun when it's a beachball. you can do this every time you hear about a country watching together, color it in. older kids keep the mental count. at the end of the day this becomes your family memento of the 2012 london games. >> really fun. using reading skills. >> we know kids stop reading a lot during the summer. they usually slide about a

month. olympics another great opportunity. this is a classic series, magic tree house series. here they travel back in time to original olympic games. we have a whole reading list on our site of olympic tie-in books to do. look at this. going to london. now look at the pop-up book. things they can look at the landmark as well. sports magazines. we love "sports illustrated" for kids. our recommendation working on reading comprehension, read an article today and discuss it at the dinner table. a great way to check in where your kids are in terms of comprehending. this is not just fun for kids, you'll enjoy this as well. usain bolt, the fasters man in the world, a whole article how he compares to other runners like carl lewis. >> the internet. >> dante here looking at the internet site. one thing we found you can look up your own hometown heroes. dante is from the new york, new

jersey area. how many olympians have you found? >> eight. >> eight and counting, more people qualifying. can you find twitter feeds. go on the internet with the kids and look up scores every day. >> activities. >> banana grams, they did a 2012 version with olympic wild card tie-in. >> american girl. >> this is american girl mikena, not quite ready but practice, practice, practice. she has books. bringing kids back to reading and gig them a wonderful prop for building language. >> some crafty stuff. >> this is loopty do, brand-new friendship making they are working on. thumbs-up but does require parental involvement once you get started. make your own team usa bracelets. we made a couple for you. >> that's awfully nice. >> your own bracelets. >> your own sports, family olympics, franklin sports

products, badminton, bocce. >> ribbons. >> from target. university games. girls practice with me as well. rhythmic olympics. first time there. there we go, tamron. >> the girls are good. >> the u.s. will be represented in rhythmic ribbons. >> al has had years of traffic. >> wait. >> we are twisted. all right. stephanie, thank you so much. coming up next, families gathering around the table. first on nbc.

this morning in today's kitchen, family dinners made simple. a mom who cooks dinner for her family every night.

can you do it, too. she's the author of the new cookbook named after her website, "dinner, a love story." good morning. >> good morning. >> great to have you here. you really are cooking most nights of the week. >> yes. i have a theory about family dinner. if you can prioritize dinner, a lot of very good happy things trickle down from that. >> so true. we do that at my house, too. get around the dinner and talk about your day. >> that's the most important thing. >> it helps me to get up and get to work on time. if i'm prioritizing dinner, i'm working more efficiently, saving money, not spending on takeout. i get to treat myself to a restaurant at the end of the week. i'm not cooking homemade food every night. that's important. i want to take the pressure off because i feel like a lot of us. >> don't guilt up too much. >> have too much pressure already. >> take us through. we're going to make a salmon salad, one of the favorites in your home. >> this is a classic family

dinner in my house. we've been making it 15 years before we had kids, with new babies and with picky eaters now, what it is, it works because it's so flexible. >> starting with the salmon, a nice cut. >> a fillet, a pound. >> salt and pepper. >> throw it into the oven. >> olive oil. >> drizzle. pop it in the oven. how long in the oven. >> about 15 minutes. in that 15 minutes doing the other things. boil the potatoes. these are new potatoes. if you find purple potatoes that's great because the kids love them. they are fun and colorful. the beauty of this, again, all my recipes are strategy driven. all of these -- all the vegetables cooked are cooked in the same pot. as soon as the potatoes come out -- >> do it in steps. >> put the corn right in. >> couple minutes. >> three or four minutes. then the beans in. you don't have to clean a million pots. >> you've taken the corn.

>> this is where we deconstruct dinner. this is key for feeding kids. as every parent knows not what you're making but how. >> the trick to get them to eat the vegetables. in my house i have a hard time. >> any vegetables? >> corn and cucumber. >> put that on there. >> that's about it. >> that's fine. do not discount exposure to these, there's power in that, too. they say the way you're eating it and all of that is very important. >> getting a little more adventurous, kale chips. >> that's a big deal. for kids do it. be artless, break it up. >> looks so pretty. >> does look pretty. >> kids get to pick exactly has they want. no pressure to pick everything. >> hi, guys. >> hi. >> then you're topping it with fresh herbs. >> unless you think that's going to cause a revolt for the kids, do that later. >> kids sometimes do that. >> for the parents, you know, we

put the rest of it there, chock it up. the beautiful think about this, everyone is eating the same meal even though -- >> the vinegarette. >> point out quickly we don't have much time, have you a great recipe, yogurt marinaded ch chicken. >> marinading, drop that in the yogurt before you go to work. >> all the recipes on the website. again, "dinner, a love story." website. again, "dinner, a love story." >> local news next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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