we're back now with more "today" on thursday, july 12, 2012. as we thank these people for spending a good portion of their morning with us, we want to tell you that i'm matt lauer, along with savannah guthrie and al roker. we have one of the biggest superstars and. she's an extremely busy lady, the mother of four wins, she's got a new movie out tomorrow, she has tours and records. she makes all her own clothes -- maybe not all of her own clothes. we're going to catch up with

j-lo coming up in just a little while. >> and we have our in-house celebrities who are here to talk about the hot topic of the day, and morgan freeman, the famous actors, an obama supporter, has made comments about the president's race that some people say have raised some eyebrows. and then is it appropriate to hug in the workplace? >> only at times. >> well, we'll get into that. we voted yet. >> and the answer to a lot of wardrobe problems for ladies. the little white tee. we'll tell you how to dress it up and dress it down. and we are looking for today's best home chef. we want to you submit your best barbecue side dish, coleslaw,

beans, corn on the cobb. not a hard one -- >> potato salad. >> corn would be hard for me, i'm just saying. >> head to today.com and enter today's own chef challenge and we'll announce the winner on the "today" show. >> natalie has the headlines. >> good morning. tragedy in the french alps where an avalanche killed at least nine climbers. about a dozen others are missing, triggering a desperate rescue effort. nine climbers were injured. >> today penn state releases an eight-month internal investigation into the child sex abuse scandal. the investigation was led by former fbi director louis freeh and looked at the way penn state responded to warning signs about former football coach jerry sandusky. he hayes our most sad and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and

welfare bof sandusky's victims. joe paterno rejected the notion the scandal tarnished the reputation of his players. jesse jackson, jr. is receiving treatment for an undisclosed mood disorder. he's been on leave for the last month. his spokesman says he's responding positively to treatment. >> u.s. home floshiers are rising. the number of moments entering the process increased in june, rising for the second month in a row. california is up 18% from a year ago. >> massive flooding in western japan where at least 20 people are dead.

the flooding swept away cars, trucks and homes. >> dick cheney mosts a fund-raiser for republican mitt romney. on wednesday romney was booed as he addressed the naacp convention in houston whb he said he would repeal president obama's health care reform law. heap said if the goal is to create jobs, the u.s. has to stop spending over $1 trillion a year more than it takesin. >> and so to do that i'm going to eliminate non-essential program i can find. that includes obama care. >> and romney later did get a standing ovation. vice president joe biden meanwhile addresses the same group there today. >> the four-time olympic gold medal winner called the experience incredible and

phenomenal. >> the telecope -- telescopes shows that polluteio measures six to eight feet across. let's turn it back to al with a check of your weather. >> today's weather is brought to you by win the day with chobani champions. >> savannah teachers love savannah guthrie. that's very nice. we're not doing back-to-school makeovers today. we've got flash flooding in houston just to the west there. also just north of victoria, we've got flash flood watches all the way in to central luce

loose. rainfall amounts we're talking anywhere puerto rico 3 to 5 inches of rain, houston on into jackson, louisiana. we're looking at lot of wet weather there. we expect to see more heavy showers making their way along that stationary front. move heavy rain in florida. >> good morning. it is fairly comfortable. the dew points are in the low 60's. a mixture of sun and clouds. >> that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you.

in the new animated film "ice age: continental drift" jennifer lopez plays a sharp tooth tigris with an equally sharp toothed tongue. >> you guys are like the start of a bad joke. >> and we saved you. that makes you the punch light, kitty. >> don't call me kitty. >> okay, i won't. kitty. >> if they kiss, i'm going to puke. >> and jennifer lopez joins us now from philadelphia. jennifer, good morning. >> good morning. >> good to see you, doing this especially. i love this whole film series. it's been amazing up till now. why did you want to lend your voice to shira? >> i think having kids it's always kind of interesting to be involved in an animated project, a cartoon, something you know

they're going to enjoy. everything else i do they really just don't care about. but this is something that we're to be able to enjoy together. one of my favorite things with them is just watching movies with them and so this is going to be a nice thing for us. >> i'm sure they're looking forward to it as much as my kids are. shira, as i understand, she's a bit of a tough girl female role for this. she's a bit of a rogue but manages to win over the love of the saber tooth tiger. >> yes. i think they kind of that instinct kind of -- i don't know. i don't want to reach too high here but kind of like hepburn and tracy kind of thing where right away they don't like each other but then they love each other later. and they have kind of that contentious relationship right from the beginning. but he kind of shows her what it

is to be part of a family, which she doesn't have. because they both have the fact that they left their packs in common and they find this kind of family somewhere else and heap shows her what that is. >> it's a sweet message. it really is about family. i got to ask you about "american idol." you said you've thought about it but are you any closer to making your decision on another season, your third? >> yeah, it's been on my mind a lot, as can you imagine. i signed on to "american idol" to do one year and i wound up -- i'm sorry, i heard something weird in my ear. but i kind on to just do the one year and i wound up doing the two years. do we fin on this journey, i

love the whole process of the show and the whole thing. so it's a tough decision either way. but i have to say that, you know, there are so many other things that i do and that i put on hold for that. at the end of the day, which ever way, it's a heart breaking decision. if i'm going to have to go. >> it sounds like you're making up your mind. it sounds like you're saying you're really going to leave. up. >> know, little by little i am. >> you are. oh, we've loved you there. >> everybody wants that definite yes or no and all i can say is -- all i can let you in on is my own thought process with it because that's where i truly am. and the truth is i love everybody, i love all the guys on the showed, i love the show

and i love it so much. but i am thinking maybe it's time for me to go and to do other things that i really love to do, mike films and right now i'm on tour and performing and all the things that i do. so this has been a great journey but at the same time, you know, but then again i really love the show. so i -- >> you're torn, i can tell. >> you are one busy lady. you're touring with enrique inglasias. >> it's going to be an amazing show. i just saw enrique's show, the whole setup the day before

yesterday. i'm excited about it. this is something i want to do for a long time. now that you have that facebook and twitter and you could -- i'm excited to be doing it and connected and performing my real show for them for the first time. >> is that a yes for you that you will come to the plaza? i'm going to write it down. yes? i'm booking you. >> that concert will be hotter than hot. >> wait, hold on! it lab lot of fun. >> we always love you. we're so looking forward to seeing the movie as well. jennifer lopez, you're a busy lady, i'm going to let you go. "ice age: continental drift"

starts tomorrow. >> coming up, our experts take on all the hottest topics. but first these messages. ho we . put a little pepper on that. i'm a typical mom. i go to amusement parks. and my kid's games. and just like any typical mom i'm thrilled when my champion loves to eat something nutritious, like chobani champions yogurt. it's a good source of protein, and most important, he loves it. so even though i'm an olympian, around here, i'm just another mom trying to help her champion win the day. chobani champions. win the day. [ alyson ] just keep walking... ♪ oh, come on! ♪ ugh, again! [ sniffs ] that's what i'm talkin' about. [ female announcer ] up to 100% flake-free, flirty hair. head & shoulders green apple.

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[ female announcer ] grab a roll and try it on your toughest mess. i think you got it. back now with our team of power players weighing in with the hottest headlines. star jones, donny deutsch and dr. nancy snyderman making her third appearance here this morning. we want to talk about race and politics. mitt romney before t naacp yesterday and he on a few different occasions got sustained boos from the audience but also later some applause. my question to you is do you think he was honestly trying to peel off some of the african-american vote or was this a smart decision by him to go in and speak before a crowd he knows largely doesn't agree with him?

star? >> i am actually encouraged that he went because i don't think that taking african-americans and our vote for granted is a smart thing. i think policeman a has the vast marnlts of african-americans who support him but we are a very divorce group of people. at any given time -- >> did you think it was rare they gave him boos? >> no. what's going to decide this election, this is what i'll call the demographic election, women, la tinos and african-americans are going to cost him the election. >> do you think, though, because went and state on me-- stay on

message. >> i think with vice president biden being there, the representation of this administration, he's not the black president. he's the president of the united states of america. you know. >> we want to touch on that because morgan freeman, a big supporter of the president did an interview and in context of defending the president against some of the berther controversy said he's actually not our first african-american president, he's our first black president. he said he's america's first mixed race president pointing out that president obama's mother was white. >> she was. >> if you believe in the origin of man, we're all black. >> no, we're all african. >> you know, at one point it does sometimes get tiresome to hold up the blood stained batter in these circumstances. i mean, i could care less.

morgan freeman is in charge of what he wants to say. however, he's wrong factually. president obama may be more black than anybody walking around. he is truly african-american. >> i interviewed charles barically once, he said when you have one black parent, you define yourself as black. number two, he said a black person hasn't arisen yet. i think he's stirring the race card. if i'm app person american we - we -- -- if i'm an african-american -- >> no, you only read part of the -- >> they said the first black president hasn't risen yet. >> you only read a portion of

it. read the whole thing. >> we will revisit this topic. there's a study in the journal of pediatrics that when teen-agers see smoking depicted in movies, they are more likely to smoke. should smoking alone be enough to get an rev rating? >> yes. yes. there is no reason for character development in a movie that m might -- >> cigarettes have no business being in television. >> i have to go with drt on this one. unless the character is seen as a negative character -- >> no, you know what that is -- >> i don't know even know why you need it. >> you give an r rating because they have sexin but not because they're smoking?

>> rob reiner was trying to do this, get cigarettes out of movies or get them r rated. according to a staffing agency, 7 in 10 executives interviewed said hugging your co-workers in a business setting is inappropriate. >> okay. i'm going to now defin appropriate and inrip. -- define an inappropriate hug. >> that's a lousy hug! >> step away from the hug. >> would you hug your boss like that? >> no. >> how would you hug me if you were on the street? >> that is so creepy! >> no, creepy is!

>> all right, star save us. >> in a professional environment maintain a professional demeanor and that was not an example. >> my god. >> star jones, donnie deutsche, who used to work with us and dr. nancy snyderman, thank you. >> coming up, stress free summer party planning. but first, these messages. g of ? it can be the side effect of many medications. g of ? dry mouth can be frustrating... and ignoring it can lead to... sipping water can help, but dentists recommend biotene. biotene moisturizes and helps supplement some of saliva's enzymes, providing soothing relief when you need it most. don't ignore dry mouth... look for biotene in your oral care section today. this has been medifacts for biotene.

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different ways to wear a basic white tee. and for dinner tonight, braised st. louis pork steaks. si zzli ng news from chili's lunch break combos. try our new lunch-size grilled chicken fajitas, with sauteed onions and peppers, served with soup or salad. lunch break combos, starting at 6 bucks.

enjoy them with friends, because a lunch together feeds the friendship.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv. 11 news. >> we are off to a nice start this thursday. dew points are in the low 60s. very comfortable for this time of year. a mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. 20% chance for thunderstorms. same forecast for fri

♪ ♪ ♪ somewhere down the road you might get lonely ♪ keep me in mind >> the zac brown band isn't your typical country band, they perform square dance to country and samba. i'm sufficient sufficient along with al roker and natalie morales. >> and coming up, easy summer style. all up need is a basic white t. we'll show you five different ways to dress it up or down,

making it perfect for the office or a night out. >> you better maybe sure you paput a bib over that white shirt. we're going to be sinking our teeth into a braised pork rib from a city or two that knows a thing about ribs, st. louis. >> whether it's the food or decor, planning a party can be kind of stressful. we have some ideas to keep it simple and keep it fun, like lemonade. >> talking of keeping it fun "america's got talent" moved four more people on last night, including big barry. >> big barry. >> it's great to be here. >> tough break, you didn't make it. howie mandel, great fan. he says you're not the greatest singer but you'd be a great

novelty singer. >> on the way out each said maybe we can do something together. would you mind? i said wow, would i mind? >> howard stern was tough on you. he said you're not funny and you have more talent in his big toe. >> that's howard being howard. i take it with a grain of salt. i got a thick skin. it doesn't bother me that much. that's what started the brouhaha between the two of them. >> i love the height differential between you and howard. >> that was great. he and i had fun. i mean, you know, off camera he's really a fun guy. >> so you've come between howard and howie. >> yes. >> you're kind of a howard sandwich at this point. >> i know you sing at your home in florida. what are some of your favorite songs? >> i like to sing "new york, new york."

it seems to be new york songs. >> give as you little "new york, new york." ♪ i'm leaving today, i'm going to be be a part of it, new york, new york ♪ >> big barry, bring it. >> we'll be looking for you and howie mandel together, an act soon to come. thank you. and 12 more contestants compete for their chance to win the million prize on "america's got talent," tuesday at 8:00 right here on nbc. >> let's see what we have for you starting off. tomorrow we have sizzling weather through the southwest. more thundershowers continue through the southeast, mid-atlantic states. moving on into saturday, sunny and warm as you make your way from the ohio river valley, mississippi all the way on down into texas. some thundershowers making their way through the interior >> good morning.

humidity is in the comfortable range. partly cloudy skies. >> that's your latest weather. >> thank you, al. coming up next, five ways to wear that little white t right after this. nual bonus. and who doesn't want 50% more cash? ugh, the baby. huh! and then the baby bear said, "i want 50% more cash in my bed!" phhht! 50% more cash is good ri... what's that. ♪ you can spell.

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can you believe the twin did it? ♪ [ female announcer ] swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. ♪ this morning on "today's style," five ways to wear a little white tee. most of us spend more time than we liked standing in front of the closet wondering what the wear. if you have a white tee, you have the makings for an outfit. you say the white t is like a little white dress, right? >> exactly. it's a crew neck, from the gap and you can use it on all open cases. >> the first look is for work.

cheryl is modelling for us. the basics, $15 as you said. >> she's really wearing it as a shell. it's not something someone would look at and say, "oh, look at your tee shirt." we have a long blazer from lulu's. because it's tubd in, she's showing off her waist and her silhouette. you just throw in some neutral accessories like the shoes and bag and a few bangels. if she wanted to wear it for night, take off the jacket and add a necklace. >> thank you so much. cheryl, white tee for a barbecue look. for this we have our model lauren. this is paired up with the bermudas. it keeps it more casual for the barbecue but do you add some jazz to it with the accessories. >> this is a great color. the white is so clean. it's a nice counterpoint to that

great tomato red. the shorts are only $30. then you add in a statement. the necklace is actually from all the rage online. >> great. love that necklace. now for our nightous look, here's the way you can really dress up that white tee. come on out for us, kate. >> she looks so sweet and funky, she's ready to paint the town. the white echos in the blazer. it's only $25. we're seeing a lot of tight black pants. that's something that's very on trend but it's also a fashion basic that is easy to dress around. >> the look is only $40. you add in the gladiator sandals, and add in the accessories and nice chunky bracelet and watch and she's

ready to go. black and white is always in. thank you, kate. and now our weekend look, annalynn, she looks fun. >> we don't know where she's going. but she looks appropriate but casual in the most sophisticated way. she's and then some cute shoes and then the bracelets and she's all set to go. >> i love that. >> and now lorna, tell me about her outfit. >> this is something that might surprise a lot of people. if you're going to a daytime wedding, you think i have to go through a department store spending a day or two going

through expensive dresses. no. this says it all. this is from forever 21, the skirt is pleated. if you're not into the pleats, you can do the maxi skirt but with a great color, a great pattern. this is under $20, the skirt. can you splurge on the accessories like the necklace and shoes which up the glam factor. >> ladies come back out for one last look here. great job. fantastic. you really showed us the power of that little white shirt. thank you. >> coming up next, we're sinking our teeth into a midwestern favorite, braised st. louis pork steak. that's right after this. by what's getting done. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious.

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[ female announcer ] betty crocker fruit flavored snacks. pleeeeeeeease... less than 100 calories and made with real fruit pleeeeeeeease... thanks mom! [ female announcer ] betty crocker fruit flavored snacks. ian italian dinner for 2r $25. where choice is on the menu. 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. ♪ you came a long way from st. louis ♪ >> good morning. on "today's kitchen," our chef

is here from st. louis to show us how to make up a st. louis braised pork steak. >> good to see you. >> when i got this recipe, i never heard of a pork steak. >> i never did until i moved to st. louis. i'd been cooking a long time and never heard of that. >> when you go to the butcher, do you tell them you want a pork steak? >> you might have to tell them you want to cut up the pork shoulder. >> we take roasted pepper, cumin and let it sit for a few hours. >> that's starting to draw out the liquid. >> so that's actually liquid from the steak? >> yes. we'll take it out and pat it dry. i'm guessing because it's relatively thing it will cook

rather quickly. >> depending on your butcher, it can be thin. hear that? on both sides, gets nice and brown. >> what goes into the brazing liquid? >> i'm just using water, some ginger and some cgarlic today. >> could you add something else? >> you could use beer, black kardamin, cinnamon stick. >> once you get this in, do you have to get to a boil? >> get it up to a simmer and then keep an eye on it. steak that size is going to be about two hours. >> do we put these right there? >> yes. do you want to throw them in? >> and you great lot of nice stock out of this, you can cook it down, strain it and use that as a sauce also. >> how long are we going to keep this in there? >> probably two hours. >> on the stove top or in the oven? >> can you put the lid on it and put it in the oven or leave it

on the stove top and cook real low. >> that will braze for -- >> a couple of hours. >> what are you dheerg? >> baby spinnish with fried cash us a -- cashews and raisins. you have to be careful with your salt to begin with. >> are we going to throw that all in together? >> add some of our cashews, some of our raisins to that. i always say toss, toss, mix. >> we have some of that finished back here. let's check it out. >> we do. we have this nice potato salad we use on the plate. >> a warm potato salad, it's got

cumin and turmeric. you want to put the spinach on the plate? and drain that off. we have a coriander chut any. >> everybody knows how to eat in st. louis. we're going to try this in just a little bit. thanks so much. coming up, w

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throwing a party always sounds like a good idea at first but when you get down to the planning, it can be a lot of work. if you're looking to get cool, calm and party on, the folks at real simple have come up with a

plan. what do you suggest to keep people on track and having fun at the same time? >> we came up with a whole no-sweat scheme because sum ever entertaining should be easy. there's a bunch of things you can do to have a good time and keep everybody happy. >> first on the invitation, there are three things to make sure of there. >> first of all, tell them when you're grilling. there's nothing worse than slinging burgers at 5 to 7 and someone showing up at 9. if you have a rain date, put it on the invite. a lot of people just do rain or shine. be specific so you won't be fielding calls the day off. and the third thing is attire. just be specific. is it flip flop casual? >> let people know. also you like to create the mood. a pun thing to do is include a pinata. this is a pinata for all age,

right? >> that's right. it'sn adult pinata. it's not elmo. this is a fancy one from confetti systems. it's beautiful and really fun. can you get anything from a party supply store. the key is what you put in it. if you want to do a little more adult, do a monochromeatic situation. >> over here, what to serve. i don't want to be cooking all d day. so you suggest keeping it simple. >> summer food is so delicious, why bother trying to make it gourmet. burgers, dogs. just make sure you are keep things on ice, don't keep it out all day. but keep it basic. you can get fancy when you go to

drinks and desserts. >> let's move on and get fancy and go to the drinks. >> a signature cocktail is a good idea. this is a lime aid margarita. you're just using lime aid instead of using fresh lime. don't put the ice in the pitcher. keep it to the side. if you have don't have a cooler, can you use things like a planter. line the bottom with plastic or it will start to leak. >> and desserts. >> this is simple. pistachio ice cream, hot fun and cookies. just layer it and freeze it. >> and this on the end. >> this is if you're at a party in the sweltering heat. give your guests the cold towels. roll them up, put them in ice water and they can put them on

the backs of their necks. >> still ahead we got kathie lee and hoda. [ crows cawing ] [ male announcer ] strange things happen

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