we're back with more of "today" wednesday morning the 11th of july, 2012. nice day in new york, get up into the mid-80s a couple of clouds overhead but nothing too serious. >> a little human will creep up. >> all right. they can handle it. i'm matt lauer with savannah guthrie and al roker. coming up we see teens and tweens with cell phones and smart phones and ereaders, but what is the appropriate age for kids to get those devices. how much time should they be spending on them? we'll take a look at that. also mom-approved apps and gadgets courtesy of aka. >> punky brewster.

>> also ahead giving a gift is wonderful. giving a personalized gift even better. jill martin here with fun finds. she has everything from wedding presents to bubbles. iphone cases all can be tailored to the individual. going to do a little christmas shopping right now. >> and then can't be regifted. >> exactly. also we kicked off a couple weeks ago "today's" pleasures, "today's" hashtag. we wanted to find out what your guilty pleasure was. twitter verse has a lot to say about it. we want you to tweet us your guilty pleasure. >> we do. if you're not familiar with twitter, sign up for twitter, then give your guilty pleasure to #guiltypleasure. we'll some of your responses on the air. >> good morning, natalie. >> good morning, everyone. a fiery train wreck explosion in ohio forced the evacuation of

homes and businesses within a mile of the crash site. at least two people were injured in the derailment. officials say the burning cars contain ethanol and they plan to let it burn off over the next several hours before reassessing this situation. the jetblue pilot who disrupted his own flight by ranting about religion and terrorists suffered a brief psychotic disorder due to a lack of sleep, according to psychologists who testified at his trial this monday. a judge found clayton osbon not guilty by reason of insanity. he's currently at a mental health facility awaiting another court hearing. the flight from new york to las vegas was safely diverted to texas after passengers subdued the pilot. officials in san bernardino voted last night to file for bankruptcy protection making theirs the second largest city to do so after stockton, california. san bernardino has already stopped paying some bills and may not be able to make payroll over the next few weeks.

meanwhile january don't mayor defied a judge's order and slashed wages to minimum wage. the police, firefighters and mayor will lose 75% of their paychecks. scranton has a $16 million budget gap. republican mitt romney presents his case to black voters today at the annual meeting of the naacp of houston. he'll pick up where he left off tuesday in colorado hammering away at president obama's record on job creation. president obama was in the battleground state of iowa tuesday pushing his plan to extend tax cuts for lower and middle coin americans. lance armstrong's legal team filed a revised lawsuit to block anti-doping agency's doping case against him. on monday armstrong's initial lawsuit was rejected. the cycling legend faces charges that could strip him of his seven tour de france titles. he has declared he's innocent. meantime three of armstrong's former staff members have been banned for life from competitive

sports after the u.s. ada accused them of doping violations related to armstrong's tour de france victory. our young pal, max page, got to meet one of his biggest supporters as he recovers from surgery to correct a congenital heart problem. he spent some private time with james earl jones, the voice of darth vader in the original "star wars" trilogy. max gained fame playing the pint-sized darth vader in a volkswagen commercial. a florida teen is recovering today after losing part of his arm in a vicious encounter with an alligator on monday. this morning officials released the call to 911. his friend placed just moments after that attack. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> hello? >> yes, this is 911. do you have an emergency? >> yes, ma'am. a gator just got my friend in the water. >> are you all right, fred? i'm calling.

fred, just get out of the water! >> fred langdale said he was just cooling off with some friends by taking a dip in the river when he was attacked. doctors say his arm cannot be reattached. hours after the attack the alligator was captured and killed. a bouncing baby girl in china beats the odds as this chimp is born to a 40-year-old mother. in the wild it's rare that chimps make it to the age of 40. the little female is hand fed by keepers for now. she's cute. you think the president has millions of problems, but according to this spoof by youtube, he's only got 99. >> i don't know what you take me as or understand intelligence be had i've got 99 problems but men ain't one 99 problems but men ain't one campaign problems i've got 99 problems but mitt

ain't one. >> it's a parody of jay-z's hit song "99 problems." let's turn it over to al roker with a check of your weather. >> a pretty good imitation. >> thanks so much. show you a risk of strong storms, corpus christi to key west, heavy rain. in fact, some areas may pick up anywhere from three to five inches of rain. we've got flash flood warnings for parts of southern texas and just outside of houston. rainfall amounts, again, three to five inches in the next 24 hours. the heat continues out west where temperatures are anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees above normal. boise getting up to 102 degrees today, the >> good morning. temperatures in the 70's spirit we expect upper 80's for highs.

this morning our get started today, technology for toddlers, tweens, and teens. so what are the must have approved gadgets and apps for the kids. mommy blogger and actress soleil moon frye, happy chaos. a loveable kid actress punky brewster. >> good to see you. i love being here. >> you're not only a mom of two gorgeous little girls bah blogger, 1.4 million twitter followers, 500,000 friends on facebook. so you know about this stuff. in a sense, some people think, especially for toddlers, maybe

we're pushing technology a little too soon. >> it's incredible. i really truly believe they are born with this dna. my 4-year-old can operate an ipad better than i can. the truth is technology is here to stay. so instead of running away from it, how can we embrace it and embrace educational apps and make sure it's safe and monitor it. human interaction is key. >> 50% said they felt kids between 8 and 12 should be interacting with technology for two to four hours. >> i think that can be on the long side actually. i think it's really important that we're monitoring what they are doing and that we still talk to our kids and communicate with them. >> don't use it as a babysitter. >> don't use it as a babysitter, don't sit them in front of something, make sure it's educational, something they are learning from. >> let's start off with toddlers. some of your favorite tech apps for toddlers and gadgets. >> my girls love this.

they were playing with it on the plane. it's fantastic. they are reading with it. remember when we had simon says. it goes over the words with them. it's fun, interactive. they take this gadget, put it over the words. it's a great reading tool. >> reading frog has been around a while. >> absolutely, love it. >> an app. >> color in smart. this is so fun. my girls absolutely love it. you match the colors. match it here. make these incredible designs. it's also showing them classic, engaging, number games. the girls are loving to learn math on this and drawing all these beautiful pieces at the same time. >> that's cute. let's move onto tweens. what is the good age you think, at least, for a cell phone. we didn't give our daughter, who is 13 now. she finally got hers last year. >> i am so literally taking my time with when is the right time to get a cell phone. i really think it's important to

monitor their cell phone use. this is great because it allows you the opportunity to really monitor what they are doing, the calls coming in, going out. this is a great device where you can be aware of what they are doing. my social community was adamant that being a teenager was important, really monitoring it. i don't want my kids texting all the time. how do we monitor and make sure they are using it for good. the other thing, using your old cell phone, making sure you're aware of what's on there, features on there. my niece uses it for photos, taking pictures, educational app. >> for tweens you like fantastic books. >> this one of the coolest apps. animation was incredible. it was inspired after katrina, wizard of oz. a great reading app, interactive. the graphics of mind blowing. >> another app you like, stack the country. >> geography is a big issue in

this country and around the world. absolutely. it's also good for us parents. i was doing this with my girls and my girls were better at the geography than i was. stack the country is a really fun app. it allows you to stack the different places and also learn about geography at the same time, which is great. >> that's pretty cool. i like for teens, the resource. especially a teen entering college, a company called cheg. >> it's amazing. the opportunity to rent textbook, buy used and save so much money. at a time when we're already stressed with our kids going off to college and how it could break the bank, a fantastic as far as, chegg.com. i highly recommend it. >> words with friends. >> i love it. all ages. words with friends is so much fun. it's like scrabble in an app. it's so much fun. i have a blast playing with it. we have a great time. >> can you play it on a plane, the runway?

>> all day long. also helps vocabulary. >> always good to see you. >> so good to see you. >> for more information on this topic and the survey head to today.com. still to come, organic, what's behind labels of beauty products to tell you what they really mean. up next, our pal jill has the fun finds. this time, it's personal. first, these messages. [ feedback ] attention, well, everyone. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good driving can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. sfx: can opening

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there's special k chocolatey delight cereal. an unguilty pleasure. what will you gain when you lose? ♪ ♪ >> this morning on jill's fun finds, a very personal addition from house warming presents.

jill, good morning. >> good morning. >> i know you've got a special personalized gift and that's what got you started thinking about all this. >> i did. no regifting. these are from nike. my friend john got me these because he said what do i get you. jm. all the different colors and pat earnings. if i like them or didn't like them, i have to keep them. and i happen to like them, so it worked out. >> can't miss you from a mile away. >> over to the belts, some great ideas. >> this is all from sea wonder. you buy just the belt buckle. put it on your belt or buy the band. they reversible, which i love. this is a great gift to give somebody. the cutting board comes with the knife, $10 to $88. everything here is under $100. mugs. also these trace i gave as a gift. put your jewelry or junk, you need something to throw things in. beautiful house warming gift. >> perfect. next, shoes for the summer. good pair of flip flops,

personalize them. >> havianas for the kids and adults, too, skulls, peace signs, only $2.50. a little gift. great to send to camp. we can't send candy or pretend we can't send candy. >> next, name plates. we're going to talk about jewelry and name plates and tringette trace. >> look how different, acrylic from knickknacks. i love this in the bright colors. again, beautiful trace to put it in. it's a unique gift and below $50. for kids and adults, these bright colors, if you want to wear something to the beach, i love these. >> that's nice. >> i love this idea of picnicking and giving a personal gift. >> for the family that loves to picnic like -- >> al roker. >> the rokers. comes with a blanket, red envelope.com. >> perfect. >> for the family my family loves to drink wine. my dad's initials.

i don't know if you can see it. >> belated father's day gift. >> stick it in the sand, grass, comes with the wine. we love this. red envelope.com. it's great. anybody who loves sangria, see my initials, i happen to love sangria, back from vacation, still thain mode. a beautiful gift not to only give your family but if you're going to someone's home. >> fantastic. next we have these beautiful personalized vases as well. >> cargo, $62 to 70. look how beautiful even if you buy flowers at the local supermarket and give it to someone. a lot less expensive than flowers to send to somebody. >> i love this. i have a lot of kids who have done this, personalize it with kids pictures. >> inexpensive, $35. lower than that if you're doing pictures. the olympics, if you're going.

my subway.com. our producer had a baby. what a beautiful gift. name, when he was born. over here, they made this for me. give somebody my entire resume. >> that's why it's so big. >> hopefully it stays and doesn't get longer. >> keep adding onto it. >> what a beautiful gift starting at $75. >> games. >> a place to sit, little beach. >> starting at $10, bubbles. anything you think you couldn't have personalized you can. >> water balloons. >> people who play this. send kids to camp, frisbees, what a nice gift brf we love it. jill martin, lots of fun finds as always. for more fun finds, pick up the issue of "us weekly."

pra up next our guilty pleasures and yours. start with all the fresh salad and warm breadsticks you want. choose 2 appetizers made for sharing. then 2 entrées from 6 of our favorites. classics like eggplant parmigiana and new favorites like smoked mozzarella chicken and spaghetti with four cheese meat sauce & meatballs. 3 courses, 2 people, just $25. but only for a limited time, at olive garden. nice'n easy colorblend foam is winning top beauty awards hands down! with beautiful tones and highlights... no other foam lasts longer. and no other foam is product of the year. check out colorblend foam. only from nice'n easy. fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one.

taste so uniquely fresh and delicious? is it the rich florida soil? or the perfect blend of sunshine, rain, and temperature? maybe it's the fact that florida's natural oranges are never imported. they're raised right here in florida, and passed with care from our hands to yours. 100% pure. 100% florida. florida's natural. with our babysitter. no. these work, right? no. all right. mom! look what i found in the shed! no! no! no! ♪ ew! were you guys just making out in here? what? no! is it okay if i quit my job and start a blog? no. really? cold cuts from a package? yes. [ male announcer ] in a world filled with "no," it's nice to finally say "yes." new oscar mayer selects deli meat. the tastes you love and no artificial preservatives. it's yes food. the tastes you love and no artificial preservatives.

hey, becky. hey....uncle steve. for life's bleachable moments.

well, a few minutes ago we asked to you tweet telling us your guilty pleasures and clearly tweeting is one of them because the responses have been rolling in. >> of course we, as always, like to play along as well. al, what was your guilty pleasure. >> it was an ice cold glass of milk and a packet of lorna dunes, vanilla wafers or honey maid graham crackers. >> get all mushy. >> yours. >> fresh bread, cheese and wine. needy say any more. beats a chocolate cake any day. >> all of ours are food related. brownie sund, ae with hot fudge and nuts. >> i love this by justin. screaming pop music in my car when nobody is around. i've done that love it. >> you see people driving.

>> or the shower for that matter. eating whole pizzas. >> after my long heart, a long hot bubble bath in the middle of the day with a lush bath bomb, face mask and hair treatment. >> i like that. our own studio 1a, erica, speaks for all of us. sleep without an alarm. that's for all of us. >> i'm impressed most people kept it clean or we've blocked all the perverts now. >> we -- it's not too late, tweet us on the the "today" show, your guilty pleasures. what labels like all natural mean when it comes to your

makeup. >> the school scotto family helping us beat the heat in the kitchen. >> first your local news and weather. here you go little man. [ humming ] [ babbling ] the cheerios bandit got you again? [ both laugh ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> partly cloudy skies. temperatures up until yesterday were rather wanted close to normal the next few days. upper 80s for highs. partly cloudy skies. maybe an isolated [ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen in the black forest. [ metallic bell toll ] [ car speeding down the road, lightning strikes ] where things aren't always what they seem. [ wolves howling ] because thrills hide in the shadows just waiting at every turn.

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>> you and your friends better batten down the hatches because when it hits, you're going to wonder how you ever thought you could leave with the large and leave so little with the rest of us. >> that is anne hathaway in the new chapter of the batman saga, ""the dark knight rises."" what is she hiding behind the mask. she's the elusive "catwoman." she's so bad she's good. we're going to talk to the new oscar nominated star about her feline role. she was awesome in that role. >> she was amazing.

girl crushes all around. >> girl crushes. >> you like the catsuit we know. good morning, i'm savannah guthrie alongside al roker and savannah guthrie. coming up, the truth behind the labels. >> that's right. we're not talking about food products but beauty products with catchphrases like cruelty-free, all natural, hypoallergy lrallergeni hypoallergenic. what do those mean? we'll break it down. >> 911, tackle refinancing or consolidate loans. refinance can be confusing. our expert will give you straight answers. we'll cool off with the coolest crew in the kitchen, scottos, easy summer recipes that will cut down your time. cooking over a hot stove so you don't have to spend it with family. >> hot peppers, too. first usa series "political animals" takes you into the high-stakes world of sex, greed,

politics. a pulitzer prize winning journalist made her name with scathing articles about the family and develops an interesting relationship with the first lady played by sigourney weaver. carla is here. good morning. >> good morning. >> we are very excited about this new series. lots of twists and turns. >> yeah. >> you've done a lot of tv. how is this different? how does it compare? >> this really felt like we were making a movie interestingly enough, in terms of the fact we were all in philadelphia together for three months. you do feel like you're in summer camp together. also it was like 119 or whatever it was. also you get to create this world separate from your life. it's amazing, doesn't happen with series. what was great on the level of a tv show, we have these six episodes to explore our characters. it's a lot. you get juicy and deep. you have more time to do it. >> working opposite sigourney

weaver who plays elaine. talk about developing an interesting relationship. what was the basis of that relationship? >> well, i play a journalist who works for the washington globe, a "washington post" like paper. i won a pulitzer early on writing about thethe escapades husband. from my perspective telling the truth. they were two women birds of a feather more than they like to admit. because of their positions, they are on the opposite side of the tracks. they start to get to know each other in the first episode. it remains equally complicated but there's an appreciation that starts to build that's unusual. you don't see in film or television. it's been really fun to play. >> you got to do a little writing on the series. >> what kind of writing. >> you had a little input. >> definitely.

what's really nice is greg berlanti, the creator, has a vision for us. as he see things filmed he'll start to adjust what we're doing. it does become a collaborative environment. he does the writing. definitely he'll take from what we give and ends up this great back and forth, which, again, you don't get to do in a movie, a defined piece of material. >> we're on the edge of our seat. >> thank you so much. "political animals" begins on our sister network at 10:00 usa, 9:00 central time. al roker with a check of our weather now. >> show you what we've got. starting off today, hot again as we head up into the pacific northwest. temperatures in the 80s there. salt lake city today going to get up to 102. risk of strong storms with heavy rain. that will continue tomorrow. the sizzling west will continue unfortunately. more heat through the great lakes and starts getting warmer

>> beautiful morning on tv hill. a beautiful start today. into the 80's once and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al. thank you. coming up next, your financial questions answered by our money 911 team. they are here right after this. i've discovered gold.

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>> back with money 911 where we answer financial questions. our panel of experts, jean

chatzky, david bach, death free for life." good morning, everybody. let's get started and go to skype and say hi to tiffany from nevada. what's your question? tiffany? >> would you recommend -- [ inaudible ] >> we're having a little technical difficulty. >> i think, tiffany, what you're asking is whether you should consolidate your credit card debt on a debt consolidation loan, an unsecured personal line. the question is having that short sale in your background whether or not you or your husband will actually qualify for that. if you do qualify, it's a great thing to do because you will lower all of your interest rates whether you do it under your name or his name.

just be really careful that you don't go and charge those credit cards right back up again. because about 40% of people do. i want them in the freezer or with your mother or someplace you cannot touch them. >> cut them up. >> cut them up. don't close them but cut them up. >> tiffany, thank you so much. going to phones, melissa from stewartsville, new jersey on the line. hi, melissa. >> caller: good morning. >> what's your question? >> caller: my husband and i would like to take advantage of the low interest mortgage rates currently being offered. our credit scores are great and our home is worth more than we owe. we are having a difficult time finding a bank to refinance with because there's presently a lawsuit against our condo association. can you tell us what our options are? >> you're bonged. that's a technical term. it's not that your bank is being mean. the situation is this, due to fannie mae guidelines, your loan

is eligible for a refinance. first you need to do the following. what the details of the lawsuit, who is the point person, have they hired an attorney. once you know the facts, go to a mortgage broker, go to the mortgage broker and say here is the situation with a lawsuit, shop this to a community bank, private lender. you'll have a difficult time refinancing until the lawsuit is settled. get on the board and figure out how to settle that lawsuit. that will help you, then you can refinance. good job on the high credit and the fact your property is up in value. >> two out of three. good luck. now let's go back to skype, give that another shot. laura from new jersey. good morning, laura. >> good morning. >> what's your question? >> my 15-year-old daughter would like to earn some extra cash by filling out online surveys. how do i find out which websites are safe and reputable. >> all right, sharon. >> of course, this is a time a lot of kids haven't been able to find summer jobs and are looking for them.

i would be wary about online survey firms. there are some out there to offer cash and awards. you're not going to make a lot of money. i'd be careful. i'd go back to the tried and true go around the neighborhood and see what jobs are available, baby-sitting, pet sitting, doing chores for neighbors. a lot will end july and august. maybe your daughter can create a camp in your backyard and do that. if you're looking at a traditional company, there are going to be age requirements to look into, fast-food or retailer, between 14 and 18 is the minimum age. you really want to be careful and verify that before applying. again, snag a job.com is a great website to go to for hourly jobs to find information. the best place to start is right at home. >> thank you. >> good luck. jean, david, sharon, thanks so much. appreciate it. coming up next, what buzzwords like organic and natural really mean on your

beauty products right after these messages. be kidding me. sweetie, help us settle this. i say this and this is called southern hospitality. well, i call it the clean getaway. [ scoffs ] you're both wrong. it's the freshy fresh. everyone knows that. i didn't know that. oh yeah, that's what they're saying now. [ female announcer ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. try them together. then name it on facebook. try them together. i feel likeo having that's normal. if you are not feeling like trying this on, that's not normal. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. feeling regular to me was a new feeling... activia

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food you love is a blt with hellmann's. it's made with real ingredients like cage-free eggs for the unmistakable taste that can only be hellmann's. bring out the best. yes, you do! don't! do! whoa, kitchen counselor here. see cascade complete pacs work like micro-scrubbing brushes to help power away tough foods even in corners and edges. hmm! cascade. love it or your money back. not a good time right now, guys. not a good time? you sit down here all day shooting goblins. try zombies. i mean look at your food, jerry. nuggets? they're kfc bites, dad. mmm, real chicken. that's right. honey, let's leave this man to his business. thanks hun. good talk, guys. [ male announcer ] bite-sized chicken's grown up. new kfc bites. freshly hand-breaded, big bites of 100 percent premium breast meat, seasoned in the colonel's original recipe. try 6 bites, a side and a drink for just $3.99. today tastes so good.

this morning on "today's" beauty, behind the labels. we've all seen the makeup bottles that use catchphrases like all natural and fragrance-free but what do they mean. good morning, debra. i'm confused. can't figure out if it's better for me or not. let's break it down. first start with the labor organic. what does it mean when it says organic. >> should mean living matter, products or ingredients without pesticides, genetic manipulation. unfortunately the cosmetic companies can take advantage of using that word because the certification levels are so different. even if only one or two ingredients are certified organic, they can right with organic ingredients and that's misleading. >> next, all natural, along the same lines.

tons of products say all natural. >> it's not defined by any agency. companies can yit for whatever they want to mean. it should mean no man made products, derived from plants or algae or mineral but unfortunately doesn't mean that. >> any benefit to using all natural or wholly organic product. >> the perception is organic is better and people looking for those types of products. there's really no science behind it to say synthetic is worse or better than anything natural or organic. what's important products do what they are supposed to do. efficacy behind it, they are done in the lab. the research shows done what it's supposed to do. >> next label, hypoallergenic. what does that mean? >> should mean less allergealle less likely to cause an allergy, but doesn't mean you won't be allergy to it.

make sure you test the product. don't use on your whole face and have an allergy reaction, a small place, wrist, ears a good spot, user for a few days. only start one product at a time as opposed to multiple at the same time. >> next fragrance-free, also misleading in some cases. >> fragrance-free doesn't mean the product has no scent. that's confusing. they can have masking scents in the product. what it means is the manufacturer didn't put an ingredient in acting as a fragrance but they put in other products that have a smell to them. have you to be careful about that. >> more and more you see the label cruelty-free. does that mean it's not tested on animals? >> often cruelty-free means not tested on animal but doesn't mean active ingredients aren't tested on animals. many cosmetic companies buy it from companies testing on animals and write cruelty-free

on labels. >> collagen boosting. >> also a casual phrase. it doesn't mean anything. collagen is the main part of the skin. collagen boosting product can do anything from making your skin look less dry, an acid in collagen like retin a or retinol, vitamin c, vitamin e can do collagen boosting. but the word collagen boosting is something the agencies will use to sell the product, not necessarily something working to make the product better. >> nothing that can really cure wrinkles. >> no sure things. you need to be smart. if a product says 100% guaranteed, going to get rid of dark circles overnight, eliminate cellulite immediately. >> too good to be true. thank you so much, appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up next, if you can't stand the heat, well, get out of the kitchen. the scottos keeping it cool for summer. first "today" on nbc. hmmm, i don't think i took my pill today.

there's birth control you don't have to think about taking every day or even every year. i'm painting my arms. i want another child, but not for a while. it's mirena, a small intrauterine contraceptive that's over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy for as long as you want, for up to five years. then again, i'm not sure i want to wait. don't use mirena if you have a pelvic infection, get infections easily or have certain cancers. less than 1% of users get a serious infection called pelvic inflammatory disease. if you have persistent pelvic or stomach pain, or if mirena comes out, tell your healthcare provider. if it comes out, use back-up birth control. mirena may attach to or go through the uterine wall and cause other problems. although uncommon, pregnancy while using mirena can be life threatening and may result in

loss of pregnancy or fertility. ovarian cysts may occur, but usually disappear. bleeding and spotting may increase in the first few months and continue to be irregular. periods over time may become shorter, lighter, or even stop. mirena does not protect against hiv or stds. oh, i can wait a little longer. ask about mirena. when you have time. did you know ? if you choose mirena to prevent pregnancy, it's also approved to treat heavy periods.

enjoy the new kfc original recipe bites. this morning on keeping it cool, cooking with the scotto family with the help of marion, anthony and elaina of new york's restaurant. with these recipes, less time in the kitchen and less time on the stove. >> true, al. >> tomatoes, really great right now. >> this is the season right now. so here on a platter to begin your dinner, there's the small tomatoes, cherry toemts roasted. beef steak tomatoes and tomatoes stuffed. a wonderful way. >> an italian chicken. >> you know what makes it italian, pasta. >> that's right.

>> but al, with our chicken cob, we pull it off the bone. >> you could get a rotisserie chicken, save time. >> yes. but it's not cut so it's juicier. let's start. this is precooked. then we start with the chicken, grilled chicken. >> i notice you grilled corn on the cob. >> you don't have to if you don't want to be bothered with the heat. >> don't want to lose any bacon. >> and al, string beans. >> have you cooked them already? >> yes, they are precooked. then we're going to surround it with some avocado and gorgonzola cheese. this is a red wine vinegarette. pour it all on. i like dressing. mix it and this is -- >> very nice. >> you can't ask for anything better. >> i could. >> that would be better right here, seared tuna.

>> instead of chicken, ton ark, all these things you can use from your garden or in your refrigerator. the tuna what we're doing, taking the center cut, coriander, paprika, black pepper. we're going to sear it. the pan has to be burning hot. sear it all the way around. satellite slice it. do that for me. >> the plate, tomatoes. >> do thin slices. >> thin slices. avocado. then tomatoes, corn. >> i'm slow with my slicing. >> no problem. heirloom cherry vinegarette, which i think is terrific. that's on the website. >> serve it up. see it on the platter there. >> that's what it's going to look like and you're done. >> back here, granitea. >> what better way to cool off. espresso, sugar, make sure it

dissolves. add water. put it in the pan, every two hours break off and scrape. >> chunky. >> put it in a dish. we top it off with marscapone cream and chocolate. >> nicely done. >> she brings it home, baby. brings it home. today.com. >> happy summer. thank you. hoda and kathie lee after your local weather. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com