good morning. day deja blue. the giants made a spectacular comeback against the patriots to win super bowl xlvi as they gear up for the second victory p parade in five years. "i'm sorry. goodbye." that's the final e-mail from the husband of a missing utah mother moments before police say josh powell set his own house on fire, killing himself and his two young sons. this morning josh powell's brother-in-law speaks out in a live interview. "today" exclusive, president obama opens up about the heated presidential race, the economy and what he says to voters who feel his presidency hasn't lived

up to expectations. our exclusive interview today, up to expectations. our exclusive interview today, monday, february 6th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry. check it out. the empire state building is lit up in giant blue this morning. we have a lot of smiling faces on the crew because the new york giants are champs and we have a ticker tape parade tomorrow. did you enjoy the game? >> it was great. i got home for the second half. did you watch? >> all the way to the end. at the end it was a nail-biter. >> down to the last play. the teams played great super bowls. luckily for new york giants fans it came out well for them. we'll check out more of the

game. >> ahead we'll get more on the game and the commercials, and madonna's high energy halftime performance which i'm sure has a lot of people talking. certainly had twitter on fire. >> it was a gesture by m.i.a. seen by millions of viewers getting attention this morning. we'll have more on that as well. let's begin with the giants' thrilling win. al roker is in indianapolis. good morning to you. >> good morning, guys. giants fans including myself all very, very happy this morning because the giants are super bowl champs for the second time in four years. i tell you, it was a thrilling victory, an amazing spectacle and i got to be in the middle of it all. a giant celebration. the new york giants, super bowl champions, beating the new england patriots in football's biggest game for the second time in four years. we caught mvp eli manning in the middle of the media mob after

the final whistle sounded. how does it feel? >> feels great, al! great team in indianapolis. it's a lot of fun no matter where it is. great win, great game playing a great team. great effort by the guys. >> reporter: giants coach tom coughlin. >> when brady threw the last pass up, what did you think? >> knock the ball down! >> reporter: it was the high point of a night that began with a stirring national anthem performed by kelly clarkson. ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ >> reporter: and an leelectrifyg halftime show from madonna. this was not an easy win for the giants, trailing at the half and into the final minutes of the game. then giants running back ahmad bradshaw put them ahead for good and almost stopped ahead of the

goal line afraid they were leaving the giants too much time for a comeback. >> did you get tired and sit down? >> i tried to get down so we could run the clock down but momentum took me in. >> after the game he celebrated with his kids. >> best thing in the world. >> reporter: as did a number of his teammates. even new jersey governor chris christie got in on the celebration. >> it's a great day for the giants. great day for new jersey. >> reporter: did you ever doubt it? >> never did. >> reporter: eli manning's dad archie, a proud papa. >> very proud. we feel very blessed. >> reporter: he wasn't the only dad beaming. >> i just won the super bowl! that's every little boy's dream. i'm floating right now. >> reporter: it was quite a dream and the dream lives on. however, a little bit of controversy, as you alluded to, at the top of the program during the madonna halftime show. british rapper/singer m.i.a.

flipped people off, gave them the bird during the halftime performance with madonna and nicki minaj. i was talking to my wife, debra. she didn't see it. a lot of folks didn't see it, but the nfl issued a statement. there was a failure in nbc's delay system. the obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing and we apologize to our fans. nbc's statement, the nfl hired the talent and produced the halftime show. our system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers. so just a little bit of controversy marring the celebration. all in all, everybody thinks things went pretty darn well if you're a giants fan. matt, ann? >> al roker in indianapolis. come on home. we miss you. thank you very much. it's five after the hour. here's ann. now a turn to a shocking story in washington state. police say josh powell, the lone

person of interest in the two-year-old disappearance of his wife deliberately set his house on fire, killing himself and the couple's two young sons. miguel almaguer has more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. police say the burned down home is a crime scene. they call it a double murder-suicide put into motion by josh powell. it happened days after a judge denied him custody of his children saying he'd have to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation. the fire broke out just moments after he left an e-mail with three words that read, "i'm sorry. goodbye." >> reporter: the house went up in flames just moments after powell's two young sons arrived with a social worker for their scheduled visit. a neighbor captured the aftermath in this home video. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: firefighters put out the blaze but had no chance to save 7-year-old charlie and 5-year-old braden, the powell's

young boys. >> we believe this was intentionally planned. it looks like ak century sel rant was used. >> reporter: police say powell opened the front door, let the bishops inside, blocked the social worker from entering, slamming the door in her face. she called the supervisor, said she smelled gas in the home. moments later an intense fire raged. >> it was definitely a gas boom. >> reporter: neighbors didn't know josh powell was living here. >> why couldn't he just do that to himself? why take those babies with him? >> reporter: in september, powell lost custody of his sons, a month after the arrest of his father steven powell on charges of voyeurism and possessing child pornography. the family had been living together in steven's home where they found illicit pictures of susan cox powell, steven's daughter-in-law, the photos taken years earlier without her knowledge. >> i am a fit and qualified father. i have had nothing to do with

any kind of illegal pornography. >> reporter: despite powell's emotional appeal to a judge the boys were placed in the care of his missing wife's parents, chuck and judy cox. too distraught to be interviewed sunday in a statement the family said words cannot adequately express the grief. first susan and now charlie and braden. josh powell denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. utah police called him a person of interest but never charged him with a crime. susan cox powell vanished in december 2009, the same night josh told police he took his boys on a late night camping trip in freezing temperatures. her body has never been found. >> i could never hurt susan or my sons. >> reporter: according to police powell did exactly that. killing his children, two innocent boys whose short lives had already been filled with incredible loss. >> this was something evil.

this was not a tragedy. this was a horrible murder of two little kids. >> reporter: the attorney for the cox family says the young boys were just beginning to, quote, verbalize more about the night their mother disappeared. the oldest, charlie, saying when they went camping their mom was, quote, in the trunk and their mother and father disappeared and mother never came back. as for the e-mail that read, "i'm sorry. goodbye," sent by josh powell police call it a clear indication that he planned the double murder-suicide. ann? >> miguel almaguer, thank you for your reporting on the story. more on this in the next half hour. josh powell's brother-in-law joins us to speak out in a live interview. for now, once again, here's matt. >> our exclusive interview with president obama. before watching the super bowl he sat down with us for a wide-ranging interview at the white house. i started by asking the president if he's satisfied with the intelligence we have on iran and their nuclear ambitions.

>> i think we have a very good estimate of when they could potentially achieve breakout capacity. what stage they're at in terms of processing uranium. but do we know all the dynamics inside iran? absolutely not. one of the difficulties is iran itself is more divided than it was. knowing who is making decisions inside iran at any given time is tough. we do have a pretty good bead on what's happening with the nuclear program. >> one thing we know, i would imagine is they are conducting a lot of research and development far underground. i understand the united states is in the process of developing the next generation of bunker-busting bombs that can go far beneath the surface to take a site like that out. will the bombs be ready in time? would you use them against the sites? >> i'm not going to discuss specific military programs or go into details in terms of what our planning is. i will say this.

we have done extensive planning over the last several years about all our various options in the gulf and, you know, we are prepared to exercise these options should the need arise, but my goal is to try to resolve this diplomatically, mainly because the only way over the long term we can ensure iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon is by getting them to understand it's not in their interest. >> let's talk domestic politics. mitt romney is running for your job. he may eventually become the nominee. he's been incredibly successful in his life and career. he's made a lot of money. not a crime. part of the american dream. >> absolutely. >> do you think mitt romney can identify with the middle class and the underclass in this country? >> i'm not going to comment on a particular candidate until the republicans decide who their nominee is going to be. most people think of the election nine months away, the last thing we need is to start it now when the other side

hasn't determined its nominee. i do think the vast majority of american people understand, a, we want everybody to be successful. and nobody begrudges people who have been successful because they are making things, creating products, services. that's the american way. but what people also want to see is that everybody is doing their fair share. we are all pulling together. we're creating ladders of opportunity for all americans. whoever the republican nominee is. i disagree with a formula that would go back to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. >> this idea of reaching out to connect to the middle class and having the middle class reach out to a political candidate. friday you raised $900,000 in a couple hours. 25 wealthy individuals paid $36,000 apiece to spend a couple of hours with you. how do you think the guy sitting, drinking a beer and eating chips watching the game today can identify with

something like that? >> i think if you noticed about a month and a half ago i also had lunch with five folks who had given $25 each who were part of the huge base of supporters we have across the country. it's precisely because we have been able to create a grassroots movement that i was successful in 2008 and i think will be successful this time. if you ask me would i love to take some of the big money out of politics, i would. unfortunately right now because of supreme court rulings and a bunch of decisions out there it is hard to get your message out without having some resources. >> maybe the better question is how will you spend the money? by all accounts you can raise a lot of money for the campaign. some say up to a billion dollars. we have seen in florida a lot of money spent. about 100% spent on extremely negative personal ads. if you raise a billion dollars to keep this job can we expect

the same kind of negativity coming from the money? >> in 2008 part of the reason we were successful is we ran an affirmative campaign about my vision for where the united states should go. i think what americans want to hear more than anything else is how are you going to help me right now if they are securing a persuasive argument about how to create a solid path for middle class success in this country then i think i will win regardless. >> this may sound pollyanna but when a newsroom knominee is cho you get together with that person and talk about how the two of you plan to conduct yourselves over the course of the campaign? i think the american people would like that. would you agree to that? >> i think you will be able to see how we conduct ourselves in the campaign. i think it will be consistent

with how i conducted myself in 2008 and hopefully how i have conducted myself as president of the united states. one of the worries we have in the next campaign is that there are so many of these so-called super pacs, independent spic expenditures out there, there will be a lot of money floating around and i guarantee a bunch of it will be negative. it's not enough to say, "the other guy is a bum." you have to explain to the people what your plan is to make sure they are good jobs at good wages and the economy is growing over the long term. whoever wins that argument i think will be the next president. >> which leads me well into this next question. i have talked to so many people over the years who were huge supporters of yours back in 2008. >> right. >> today, they are not sure. i hear more that they are disappointed in you, that you aren't the transformational political figure they hoped you would be. how does that make you feel when

you hear that? >> oh, i think this is the nature of being president. what's disappointed people is i haven't been able to force congress to implement everything i said in 2008. well, it turns out our founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than i would like sometimes. what we have been able to do is move in the right direction. what i'm going to keep on doing is plodding away, very persistent. you know what? one of the things about being president is you get better as time goes on. >> why would a voter say, look, he wasn't able to fix washing n washington, which is a big job for any one man. perhaps there is more gridlock in washington now than there was has been in the past. why would he do it in the next four years and if he can't, isn't nothing going to get done? >> even with a bunch of obstruction on capitol hill, we

have been able to save an auto industry. we have been able to take 750,000 jobs being lost a month and move it so it's 250,000 jobs created this month. we have been able to make sure we ended the war in iraq on schedule. we have been able to make sure we ended policies like don't ask, don't tell. we have been able to get a lot done, not as fast as we want. sometimes it's messy and the process is frustrating. i do think this is going to be a critical election. having yanked ourselves out of the risk of a great depression, having stabilized the economy, we now have a broader question which is how do we take it to the next level. whoever comes in, both in congress and in this white house is going to have to take a strong message from the american people about which direction to go. i think that will allow us to make more progress over the next couple of years.

>> we'll have more with president obama this morning including how he feels about criticism of his wife. >> really interesting interview, matt. thank you. now a check of the top stories from natalie morales who's back at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning. we begin with neighborhoods and homes in syria under fire this morning. according to human rights groups an activt leaving dozens dead in the flash point city. the bombardment comes on the heels of saturday's heaviest strike in the uprising to date killing an estimated 200 people in a single day. matt asked the president why he hasn't done more to stop the escalating violence in syria. >> the kind of violence we have seen exercised against his own people this weekend and over the past several months is inexcusable. we're going to continue to put more pressure until hopefully we see a transition. this is not a matter of if but when. >> the president said not every situation calls for u.s.

military intervention similar to the response in libya. a busy week ahead for the republican presidential hopefuls. mitt romney heads to the prime ris in colorado, minnesota and maine with a major win over the weekend in nevada taking 48% of the vote. newt gingrich says he is staying in the race and looks forward to super tuesday in march. >> reporter: manuel noriega has been hospitalized for extreme hypertensi hypertension. he was transferred for high blood pressure nearly causing a stroke. he's serving a 60-year sentence for killing opponents while in power in the 1980s. mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. >> this week we'll see whether or not we can have a sixth straight weekly gain for stocks. a lot of it depends how the debt crisis in europe, specifically greece and portugal pan out. as for what's happening with gas

prices at home, u.s. consumption may be anemic. we are around the lowest levels since 2001. however we have seen average prices clock up 19 cents a gallon. moving into spring it could rise further. back to you. >> mandy drury, thank you. when we're not busy with breaking news at "today" sometimes we like to do a little song and dance routine with the rest of our nbc brothers. check it out. ♪ ♪ the brotherhood of man >> jazz hands. just a little fun for our tv family. except for jimmy fallon who was left out there in the end. it was a great time shooting. now back to matt, ann and of course al is in indianapolis. but it took us 20 tries to get

it right. >> no, no. first take. >> be honest. >> yeah. natalie, thank you very much. >> now let's go to indianapolis for al and a check of the weather. hey, al. >> hey. 26 shows, 100 of us all taking part. it was a lot of fun. a lot of fun in indianapolis. you guys have done a great job. this city did a spectacular job of hosting the super bowl. best super bowl i have been to. we had a good morning, tom kierein in

storm center 4. sunrise on this frosty cold monday morning. live view from the nbc 4 sky watcher high-definition camera and as we take a look around the region, it is frosty cold, down into the low to mid 20s throughout most of west virginia, virginia and maryland and right around the bay, too. district of columbia near 30. later today though climbing into the 50s with sunshine and another cold start tomorrow morning but again into the 50s on tuesday. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. just ahead, much more on the deadly fire police believe was set by josh powell that killed him and his two young sons. reaction from powell's brother-in-law in a live interview. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

still to come this morning, we have real housewives taylor

armstrong in studio opening up about her estranged husband's suicide and the relationship. we'll talk to her coming up. and on a different note did the super bowl ads live up to expectations? we'll take a look at the best of the bunch after your local news. but you go in pieces. [ female announcer ] you can't pass mom's inspection with lots of pieces left behind. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable so it holds up better. fewer pieces left behind. charmin ultra strong. we gotta time this just right. okay. ready... mm-hmm.

happy valentine's day. [ female announcer ] save on select diamond fashion jewelry at kay -- the number one jewelry store in america. ready... [ camera flash ] ♪ every kiss begins with kay good morning. 7:26 on this monday, the 6th day of february. i'm joe krebs. we have kind of a chilly start this morning. let's get a look at our forecast for this day from tom kierein. >> quite frosty, too. we are cold around the region, west virginia, virginia, maryland, eastern shore, around the bay, low to mid 20s in most locations, near 30 in washington and right near the bay waters. later today with a southwesterly breeze and sunshine we should climb to the low andmy 50s this afternoon. highs again on tuesday afternoon into the low and mid 50s. cloudy, maybe sprinkles or flurries on wednesday, high mid 40s. 40s. time to look at

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7:30 now on this monday morning. it's the 6th day of february, 2012. a great morning to be in new york city on the day after the giants' super bowl win. and the temperature is pretty nice. if all these folks stick around tomorrow they can help us celebrate at the ticker tape parade in manhattan. >> tear up the signs and run to broadway and let them go. >> things will be floating down from the buildings alongside the parade. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. we'll talk about the super bowl's other big winners. >> we are talking about the

top-rated ad of the game where a 30-second spot cost $3.5 million. the top commercial was made on a budget of $20. we'll take a closer look at this year's crop of ads. >> i like that one. that one's fun. we'll show you more coming up. we have a new memoir from a woman who claims she had an affair with president john f. kennedy. she said it started when she was a 19-year-old white house intern. this morning we'll hear from her for the first time in an exclusive interview. >> and more of our exclusive interview with president obama coming up what he thinks about an unflattering comment written about first lady michelle obama. >> we begin with more on the horrific turn tied to the disappearance of utah mother susan powell. the powerful house explosion and fire killed her two sons and her husband on sunday, moments after the boys arrived for a superv e supervised visit with a social

worker. police say josh powell triggered it on purpose. the boys were just 5 and 7 years old. kirk graves and ed troyer from the pierce county sheriff's department join us this morning. good morning to you both. >> good morning. >> first, kirk, i'm so sorry. when you think about all that's happened, what sense are you making about why josh would want to take his own sons' lives as well as his own? >> that's a hard question. the only thing i have come up with so far is he took an opportunity to hurt everybody around him and used the boys as a tool to do that. >> you're quoted as having said yesterday about josh after what happened, quote, he's a narcicist and has no love for anyone but himself. what are you saying there about him that may have played a part in what happened? >> you know can, after knowing

him or as long as i have known him, i have a sense that he really only cared about himself. that's why he was able to do the things he did to susan and why he was able to do what he did yesterday. i don't think anybody that had em empathy or cared for anybody else, especially a father, could do it to their own children. >> sergeant, let me ask you about the mails. josh sent e-mails and texts yesterday before the fire, including, i understand, one to your team. what did the text to your team say? >> we didn't receive a text. the only information we received is we know it's out there. we have seen what it said. that came from his attorney. that's where the information came from. it didn't come to law enforcement. >> do you know what the text said, sir? >> well, we have the information that said he's sorry and good-bye. that was it. there wasn't much more to it. we're continuing to do search

warrants, gather information to see if there is more information like that out there. but at this point that's all we have confirmed. >> i see. okay. kirk, as you know, a.p. is quoting the attorney representing susan's parents, this attorney's name is steve downing and he's quoted as saying the boys were verbalizing more and, quote, the oldest boy talked about they went camping and mommy was in the trunk. mom and dad got out of the car and mom disappeared, end quote. were the boys more verbal, more ready to deal with what happened? could that have played a role in why josh decided to take their lives as well? >> what we saw over the last six months or so was a transition in charlie and braden where they were becoming more fun, more vocal. they were acting like little boyes again which we hadn't seen for a while.

the specific story you're talking about is one we were aware of. i imagine part of josh's motivation is what could he do to hide that story, to avoid having to deal with the consequences of the things he had done. >> sergeant troyer, susan's parents said, quote, they were always fearful of him doing something like this. do you believe that more should have been done to protect these boys? >> the boys were protected. the police and our people did a great job. what was done here was done on a court order. the visitation was ordered by the court, done with a social worker. it's happened before this way and was going to happen again. he went to court wednesday and lost custody, but they kept the supervision intact and that's what happened here. something he planned when the social worker came to drop off the kids. there is nothing she could have done different.

he was lying in wait. he had this preplanned. he had everything ready to go. this was going to happen no matter who dropped the boys off. we are lucky she's okay. it's a tragedy all around. this is a double murder-suicide. he's solely responsible for it. >> kirk, what do you want to say about this? do you think enough was done to protect charlie and braden? >> i'm convinced that josh was going to do something like this. there is nothing anyone could have done to stop him. there are a lot of people out there today looking back over the last few mons and wondering if they could have done something more. you know, the only person at fault, the only person who is to blame is josh. >> when you think about what we lost in these two boys, what you lost as a family, and i'm thinking of susan's parents and how many times we have spoken to them over this period of time since she's been missing and how much they were concerned for those children, what do you want

to say about those boys and who they were? kirk? >> they were very special to us. the coxes as well. the boys were all that was left of their daughter and in our case, a dear friend and a sister. they were fun-loving. they had a great attitude. we'd seen some of that disappear as they had been living with josh in steve's home. it was starting to come back. i fear for chuck and judy now and the pain they are going through. i can't imagine it. >> and also your wife, josh's sister. kirk, thank you so much for your perspective on all this. it's invaluable. sergeant ed troyer, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thanks. >> all right. now a check of the weather from al in indianapolis. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by jared, the

galleria of jewelry with five times the selection of ordinary jewelry stores. >> as we look ahead to what we've got coming up bright, clear sky. the sun is up and it is cold. temperatures around the region are in the mid 20s in fairfax,

al arlington, prince george's and right near the bay. low to mid 20s now and a little bit of patchy fog over the potomac river and in the highland of west virginia. later today we will be climbing into the low and mid 50s with lots of sun. again tomorrow into the mid 50s during the afternoon. could get some sprinkles and flurri don't forget. check your weather any time day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. ann? >> all right, al. in indianapolis, thank you so much. coming up next, the super bowl winners and losers when it comes to the commercials. right after this.

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introducing wild fruit fusion pop tarts all the fruit flavors you love... in a tasty new combination. [ laughing and cheering ] pop-tarts. joylicious. we're back now at 7:43 be more of "today at the super bowl." the game was exciting and so were the commercial breaks. which ads scored the best with viewers? donny deutsch is here from deutsch incorporated and we have the business reporter from usa today. so you had the focus group sitting there watching the commercials live and rating them as they go. any surprises? >> the thing this year was dogs ruled. the v.w. ad, skechers, bud light. they all featured dogs and did well. >> anything strike you in particular, donny?

>> i thought it was interesting. it was back to basics. i thought between g.e. and chrysler and budweiser, great americana. not a lot of technology. >> $3.5 million for a 30-second super bowl spot. the ad at number one had a budget of $20. >> $20. >> take a look. ♪ [ growling ] ♪ [ crunching ] >> first of all, i don't know how that had a budget of only $20. second, why did it work? >> first of all, it doesn't have a budget of $20. but it was done by a real person out there. it's fun. basically you can break these things down. >> it's dark humor.

>> it was cute. i was surprised you didn't get more anti-cat letters coming in. >> one of the reason the ad stood out is people relate to it. people try to bribe their dogs with treats. role reversal. >> full disclosure from deutsch l.a., this is a v.w. spot. take a look. ♪ [ whining ] ♪ ♪ get up off of that thing >> even as we watch this, we're going to say sooe the pay-off here in second. this struck me because if you don't remember last year's ad this doesn't make sense. >> hard not to remember last

year's. the darth vader hit last year. i think consume rs love when you poke fun at yourself, take a nod at where you were. advertisers sometimes climb into pop culture and this did. >> darth vader makes a guest appearance at the end reminding us in 2011 it was the little darth vader. animals again, laura. this one for skechers. >> and there's the favorite silver prince. >> we have a late entry named mr. quigley. >> is he wearing running shoes? >> it is legal, i believe. >> and they're off. silver prince on his heels but mr. quigley around the outside. look at that little guy go. it's quigley! >> laura, why does this work? >> because so many people root for the underdog. look at the giants from last night. the ad got lots of buzz before it ran. they replaced the lead from last year's ad kim kardashian with a dog. people had fun with the

headlines. >> kim was the model last year. >> you had much fewer celebrities this year. even the ads that had them didn't work. now you have dogs versus celebrities. perfect example. kim kardashian, that genre is moving away. >> wait. it's not moving away. did you see the teleflora ad? >> as a feminist i was offended. >> i'm sure. >> it basically said if you send a woman flowers you get what you want. i hate the objectification. >> what about the david beckham? >> did you have problems with that? >> give a woman flours and get what you want? >> it did imply that which is a problem. >> did you have an issue? >> it bothered me. >> let's move on. >> we were both offend bid that. >> we had nudity in the m & m's commercial. basically ms. brown was said to not be wearing her shell. clint eastwood made a splash with an ad for detroit and the

automakers. let's take a look at that. >> the people of detroit know a little something about this. they almost lost everything. but we all pulled together. now motor city is fighting again. i have seen a lot of tough areas, a lot of downturns in my life, times when we didn't understand each other. seems we have lost our heart at times. the fog of division, dischord and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. >> this obviously works. >> your focus group didn't rate it. it was a halftime ad. >> there was lots of buzz online. people said they wished it was a political ad because the message was so -- >> halftime in america. the great reagan ad, morning in america. it was a nod to that. what chrysler has gotten right, instead of waving the flag they are going for the grit of america. brilliant ad. >> this was more than chrysler, wasn't it?

>> interesting you said that. >> felt like the auto industry. >> they celebrated the rebirth of america, the auto industry. this year you will have references to that ad. chrysler is going through the roof. fantastic campaign. almost as good as volkswagen. >> thank you to both of you. still ahead, did madonna deliver during her halftime performance? first, these messages. hello, how can i deliver world-class service for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

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back now at 7:52 with the show within the show. how did you feel about the halftime performance by madonna? >> good and bad. >> yeah? >> i liked parts, but not other parts. >> i'm amazed at 53 what she pulled off. cartwheels on stage. she had a pulled hamstring and everything. it's amazing the energy she has. >> i liked the "like a prayer" part. i heard there were women, specifically, watching the halftime show dancing like crazy as she was performing. that it really was well received

by them. >> is al in indianapolis? what did you think? >> you know, in the stadium it got a great reaction. everybody was amazed they could set up a stage in eight minutes. that from the time they started to when they got everybody on stage it was eight minutes. the "like a prayer" thing was amazing. >> my favorite part. >> i liked "like a prayer." thank you very much. we'll be back. >> after your local news. is a big deal... thanks... so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement, college, or anything else, contact a fidelity investment professional today.

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good morning. i'm joe krebs at 7:56, we have kind of a chilly start to this week. let's go to meteorologist tom kierein right now. >> yeah, it is frosty cold now, down into the low to mid 20s for most of the region this monday morning. reagan national is at 32. later today we should make it into the low and mid 50s. tomorrow another sunny day near 32 in the morning, afternoon highs mid 50s. cloudy wednesday, might get sprinkles of rain or a few flurries. sunshine back on thursday and friday, highs 40s. looks like a cold weekend coming up. take a break and come back and look at our monda

good morning. traveling 395 northbound at duke in the hov lanes we have a disabled bus blocking your right shoulder lane. if you're traveling on i-66 in virginia, you are seeing some delays as you make your way past route 50. as you head even to fairfax county parkway, travel speed 31 miles per hour. it will take you 19 minutes to

8:00 now on a monday morning, the 6th day of february, 2012. kind of a breezy, chilly morning here in the northeast. we've got a lot of happy people on the plaza. i would imagine a couple of new york giants fans here celebrating the big win in the super bowl. we have come outside to say hi to these people. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. ann back from indianapolis where she was handling the build-up to the big game and then watched it at home. it was fun. >> it was. it was exciting finish. it was a real nail-biter at the end. i had a lot of snax and drank a lot of beer. >> before the game i got to sit down with the president at the

white house. we'll have more with president obama including his response to comments his wife made as she responded to a label that was put in a book about her. we'll hear from the president about it coming up. >> also ahead we'll talk to taylor armstrong, one of the real housewives of beverly hills. she's out with a new memoir. she talks about her estranged husband's suicide and alleged abuse she suffered in the marriage. this morning she's here for an exclusive live interview. >> then we are going to hear from a former white house intern who now claims she had an affair with then president john f. kennedy. the question people are asking, why did she wait to come forward and why is she speaking now 50 years after the event? we'll hear from her coming up. >> first a check of the morning's top stories. hey, natalie. >> good morning, everyone. the husband of a utah woman who vanished two years ago killed himself and the couple's two

young sons in a fiery explosion sunday. officials say josh powell triggered the blast at his home in washington state after 7-year-old char landlie and 5-year-old braden arrived with a social worker for a supervised visit. the social worker wasn't hurt. a judge ordered powell to have a psycho-sexual evaluation. powell was the only person of interest in his wife susan's disappearance. in an exclusive interview before the super bowl president obama told matt the u.s. is prepared to exercise any option in the persian gulf as concerns intensify about iran's nuclear ambitions. however, the president still hopes diplomacy can convince iran to resolve the dispute peacefully. this half hour, more of matt's interview where the president addresses a certain criticism of his wife. an outbreak of stomach virus sickened more than 400 people on cruise ships this weekend.

royal caribbean's voyager of the seas from new orleans and two princess cruise line ships out of ft. lauderdale were hit by the norovirus which spreads quickly in closed quarters. now our quick round-up of what has you talking online. a rude move we told you about earlier is the talk of the internet. the nfl and nbc both apologized for m.i.a. flashing her middle finger during the halftime show. bloggers are discussing if madonna who stumbled and fell backwards won over the doubters or proved it was time to retire. and 12,000 tweets per second. that took the sting out of a blunder when the team's website declared the giants the winners of the super bowl a full 24 hours before the game. even though they lost the game patriots quarterback tom brady is buzzing on twitter and facebook because he still got to

go home to his supermodel wife gisele bundchen. lots of folks say the game should have had a gisele-cam. she was trying to console tommy, as she calls him, after the big game. >> now back to al with a check of the weather. al? >> thanks so much. we have justin tuck, defensive linem lineman, coming up and cee-lo green. let's see what's happening today. our pick c

good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4 on this monday morning. it is frosty cold. we're down into the mid to low 20s throughout most of west virginia, virginia and maryland. it is near 30 in washington and right near the chesapeake bay. later today though with the southwesterly breeze and sunshine, we should climb into the low and mid 50s and then tomorrow, not as cold in the morning. afternoon highs again mid 50s with sunshine. cloudy wednesday. might get flurries and sprinkles of light rain and sun back thursday and friday to b and that's your latest

weather. matt? >> we have lots of people celebrating birthdays here, but nol nolan's sign is right to the point. it's my birthday, i love french fries. happy birthday. way to go. >> yes! >> when we come back, real housewife taylor armstrong opens up about her relationship with her estranged husband and his death. first, these messages. [ female announcer ] to get a professional cleaning system

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the cast member of taylor armstrong committed suicide. now armstrong is opening up about the relationship away from the cameras in the new book hiding from reality. we'll talk to taylor exclusively in a moment. first, her story. >> why? >> because she's a crazy [ bleep ]. >> >> reporter: even before season two of the real housewives of beverly hills began we knew how it would end. >> i want to go home! >> reporter: armstrong's husband russell committed suicide. >> i think she's having a break down. >> reporter: taylor, whose behavior on the show became more erratic each week was in the midst of divorcing russell when his body was found hanging inside this hollywood hills home. taylor was there when the 911 call was made. >> it's all right. >> it's all right. >> it's not all right!

>> reporter: though the death was ruled a suicide, russell's sister has her doubts. >> from the moment i got the call i knew it wasn't suicide. he loves his kid too much. there was no note, nothing. i feel it in my bones. i know he didn't do it. >> reporter: police found no evidence of foul play but the show's producers faced criticism when the network went ahead with plans to air season two just weeks after the suicide. >> did the producers ever consider just not having the show continue because of this tragedy? >> we, along with the network, took a hard look at the show and looked at it thoroughly. we decided to make some adjustments in light of the circumstances. >> reporter: three members of the cast appeared on "today" to discuss the tragedy. >> did it come as a shock to you? >> it came as a complete shock to us. i always saw him as reserved, quiet. i knew they had their issues.

but no one could have anticipated that. >> reporter: off camera, taylor told cast members she was the victim of physical abuse at the hands of her husband. on camera they confronted her with doubts about her claims. >> because we don't say he broke your jaw or that he -- >> threw you. >> or hit you. we don't know fit's true because you come over and you don't have any signs of physical abuse on your body. >> really uncool. >> reporter: while the current season of the housewives airs tonight the drama is sure to continue tomorrow when her tell-all book "hiding from reality" goes on sale. in it taylor discusses the domestic violence that provided the show with an explosive plot line. we should mention we spoke to russell armstrong's sister who said her brother denied ever abusing taylor and asked, quote, why is she doing this when he's

dead and can't defend himself? taylors with us now exclusively. good to see you. >> thank you. >> why don't we start there. you hear what russell's sister says. he's not here to defend himself. what's your response? >> i don't feel his sister has much knowledge of what went on in our relationship. last time i saw her we had taken her out of rehab for meth. she had been a meth addict for about five years and we were married for about six. i'm not sure she had her finger on the pulse of what was going on. as far as writing the book i was journalling throughout my therapy. in the journals i saw patterns about me, not about russell. about having low self-esteem yishs and how from a very early age going back to the little girl in the blue zip-up footed pajamas on the bed, pulling my father's hair as he was beating my mother, from those days through my youth, my adolescence, i saw patterns of low self-esteem and how it can affect young people. >> you make horrific allegations

against your ex-husband. did you ever say, maybe i shouldn't make it public? not that it isn't true but maybe it shouldn't be in a book? >> i thought of that. what should i do? what's right? what's not? those raw moments are what's going to allow me to make a conversation that could end up helping somebody else out there. i got out way too late. i hope by others hearing the story they may get out sooner. when i wrote "hiding from reality" i wanted it real and honest. some of it was difficult to write. i love him to this day and miss him terribly. >> talk about real. during the season you seemed to unravel on camera. is it difficult to watch now? >> absolutely. i look at myself as someone who was clearly breaking down. when adrian said, you're having a nervous breakdown, that's how i felt. i was trying to keep a lid on a boiling pot. trying to hide the personal relationship while trying to be in front of the cameras.

it was seeping out too much. >> you talk about the relationship with your husband. like every relationship it was complicated. >> absolutely. >> you love him yet you describe terrible abuse. >> mm-hmm. >> what was your life with russell like? >> the good times were the best i ever had. the worst times were the worst i have ever had. i went as far as taking a polygraph test just to try to prove to him that i never had an affair on him. he just had a constant paranoia. as they were unstrapping me from the polygraph test i thought, why am i taking a polygraph for someone that i love? i was so desperate to keep it together that i would have gone to any extreme. >> you say there were times he was very physically abusive, that he broke your jaw. >> he knocked my jaw out of the socket, yeah. >> what was your lowest point? >> whenever i was on my knees over a toilet with my jaw not in the place it was supposed to be,

there was saliva running out of my mouth and i was thinking, how am i not going to call an ambulance? how do i protect him? i don't want him to go to jail. what if i can't get my jaw back in place. being over a toilet and the only thing i could think of was, forget my jaw, i want to protect him. >> a lot of people are thinking how on earth did you decide to do a reality show to shine a light on what was happening inside your marriage? why did you do it? >> i think sub consciously or consciously i thought the cameras would provide some protection. you know, when you're in a restaurant people don't act out. they act out at home. with millions of people watching he's never going to act out. maybe this will provide the protection we need to move forward. >> were you surprised he allowed it or agreed to it? >> no. he loved it. he loved being in the media. he would wake up every day and go to his blackberry and the first thing would look at google

alerts with his name in it. he loved his name in the news. that's the kind of person he was. >> your relationship with cast mates is also complicated. they were your friends and supported you. as we saw in the piece there were moments when they doubted you and a moment when camille grammar took what you said behind the scenes and brought it out on camera. you were angry about that. are you still? >> no. the one thing about the cycle of aburks it's so confusing to people on the outside. i wrote the book because women living with it, if you have a sister or a friend living with it they will know the cycle all too well. i want to make it a conversation so hopefully people will understand it better and get out. >> good to have you here. thank you for being here. the book is called "hiding from reality." we'll be right back after this. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb

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inexcusable. but not every situation is going to allow for the kind of military solution we saw -- >> would you consider military action with our allies without u.n. approval, especially considering that china and russia vetoed this one? >> it is important to resolve this without recourse to outside military intervention and i think that's possible. my sense is you are seeing more and more people inside of syria recognizing that they need to turn a chapter and the asad regime is feeling the noose tightening around them. this is not a matter of if but when. >> here we sit on super bowl sunday. the cover of the new yorker has a picture of you watching the big game on tv. there you are sitting there and up on screen it's not the patriots and giants. it's newt gingrich and mitt romney, same team pummelling each other. look at the smile on your face

there. is art imitating life here? >> well, look, i have been through these primaries. they're tough -- >> does this help you? >> i think ultimately this will be forgotten by the time they make a decision on who their nominee is. the american people will make a decision on my platform and where i want to take the country and where the republican does. a lot of this stuff is good for selling newspapers and boosting ratings on tv, but i think in the end what they are going to be asking about is not the horse race. they will ask how is this going to help me in my life? >> finally mrs. obama gave an interview reacting to something written in a book where she said the image that's been out there since you decided to run for president was she was some kind of angry black woman. she said, that's not me. the way to fight it is to be me and hopefully people will judge

me based on me. >> right. >> taking the fact that you're the president out of of it, as a husband, how does it make you feel when she's forced to address a characterization that upsets her? >> as a husband and a father, one of the things that's tou toughest for me is my family is brought into the political realm which isn't always very pleasant. that weighs on me. having said that, michelle has been as good a first lady as i think anybody can imagine. when i watch her making a difference across the country in terms of changing how kids are getting exercise and eating and the passion she brings to military families, i could not be prouder of her. i think she had reservations about taking on this whole process going on this journey at the beginning of it. she's admitted that. she's talked about it. she's turned out to be really good. >> is she ready for four more years? >> i think she is. she thinks the work is really

important. even those folks who wish that i was doing more of this or more of that or questioning me on these policies or those policies, when you ask them about michelle obama they give her a thumbs-up, and rightfully so. >> that's president obama. just ahead, more from the super bowl including new york giant justin tuck and cee-lo green. >> that's coming up after your local news.

8:26 is your time on this monday morning. tom kierein has a look at your forecast from storm center. >> it's been a frosty cold start this monday morning. much of the region we are still below freezing. sun's up and a bright blue sky. 32 at reagan national but still mid to upper 20s throughout the rest of the region though we will climb by noon time to upper 40s in the afternoon and lots of sunshine. another chilly start tuesday, mid 50s, could get sprinkles of rain an chillier.

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[ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. 8 tleelt:30 8:30 now on this monday morning, the 6th day of february, 2012. we have a nice crowd in the plaza saying hello to family and friends back home. i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer and natalie morales. look at that face, what a cutie. al is in indianapolis.

we'll go to him coming up. also ahead, a tell-all. >> this comes from a former intern at the white house who claimed she had a lengthy affair with president john f. kennedy when she was 19 years old. she sat down to do an interview with meredith vieira which will air on "rock center." we'll hear from her this morning. also ahead we have a star in the house. we have deborah messing in studio 1-a because she's a star in the cast of the new musical drama called "smash" premiering on nbc tonight. she will be filling us in on what drew her to the show. >> we look forward to that. also, valentine's day around the corner. just eight days to go. >> eight days? >> just eight, but who's counting? coming up, we have creative options to help tempt your special someone's sweet tooth. >> let's go to indy where al has a check of the weather. al?

>> before we get to that, matt, we have a special guest. justin tuck, defensive lineman of the new york giants. [ cheers and applause ] >> congratulations. >> thank you. thank you. >> have you been to sleep yet? >> not at all. >> as it sunk in? >> it's sunk in, man. we're very ecstatic, very blessed to be in the situation we are. this is my second super bowl. we happen to be bringing it back to new york city, baby. >> is it sweeter the second time around? >> i don't know yet. that was hard to beat. it's a great game. you give respect to the patriots for the season they had and how competitive they are. this year has been special for us. a lot of ups and downs. it seems this one was -- it might be a little bit sweeter. >> you were involved helping force tom brady to make that mistake that caused the safety to put points on the board to get the giant going first. there toward the end with the

sack of brady as well. when you saw his pass go up -- >> oh, man. >> what did you think? >> it seemed that ball was in the air for a couple of days. it seemed like i could have read a novel before it came down. luckily we made a play in the end zone, got the ball on the ground and the confetti flew. that's when you're a world champion. >> we have been hearing about tebowing. can you show us tucking? >> it's just a bow, man. that's all. >> very simple. >> very simple. >> just a thank you to the fansfanfans. >> i will tuck to you, sir. it was a heck of a game. congratulations. >> thank you. >> looking forward to the big parade in new york tomorrow? >> oh, my goodness. for the guys that wasn't with us in 2007 that's all i talked about.

they're getting the first ring. >> two rings. where do you wear the second ring? >> i don't wear either one. >> no? >> uh-uh. i put them in the house and walk by them every day as a reminder of how special the teams i have been a part of. >> congratula good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. it is a cold morning right now around the region. still in the twenties to near 30 degrees. later today though, we'll climb into the low and mid 50s. tomorrow, sunshine and highs mid 50s. then cloudy and cooler on wednesday, might get some flurries or sprinkles of light rain. then on thursday, sunny, 40s for highs in the afternoon. partly sunny friday but a cold weekend to follow. and that's the latest weather. of course, not only did we have

the super bowl last night. we had the season two premiere of "the voice." joining us now, a man who was involved with both. he's getting his picture taken with justin tuck. cee-lo green. good to see you. >> you, too. >> what was it like being part of the halftime show with madonna? >> oh, man. that was awesome. very, very wonderful monumental experience to be a part of. >> it was almost a religious experience. "like a prayer." you guys in choir robes. >> madonna knows how to put on a wonderful show. it was a great production. she did a great job. >> did you hear about the controversy with m.i.a.? >> i'm just hearing about it this morning as i get here. they asked me if i had an opinion about it. i was so caught up in the moment yesterday i had no idea. >> well, luckily we blurred it, i guess. but it was unfortunate. now the voice, big premiere after the super bowl.

probably the biggest viewed television event in history, the super bowl. you guys following it. are you excited about this season? >> i'm excited about this season. i think we put together a wonderful second season. the cast is on board and the chemistry is as good as it ever was. i think people will be definitely impressed with what we have to offer the show. >> so many people whether it's a record album, a movie, a tv show. the second time around is always in some ways harder than the first. the sophomore jinx. how do you avoid it? >> proper planning prevents poor performance. the integrity is intact. a new fresh idea. the blind auditions signifies us the most. i believe that has such infinite possibility. it's a show that appreciate it is under dog. it's organic and honest. that's what gives it flair.

>> tonight, super bowl monday, "the voice," 8:00 -- >> we're on again today. >> 7:00 central. thank you, cee-lo. good to see you. >> you, too. >> let's head to a man who didn't make the auditions for "the voice" but should have. willard scott. >> captiva island, florida, how sweet it is. i have a good contract. by george this is the way to live. happy birthday from smucker's. i'm a grateful man. take a look, if you will, at our first birthday buddy of the morning. this is glennie johnson. i have never heard that name before. wetumpka, alabama. i'm the mayor of slap out, alabama. anyway, likes to stay busy. really enjoys good times and took her first airplane ride at

99. how about that? she didn't jump out with a parachute or anything. take a look at our next birthday buddy, thomas kearney of boca raton, florida. attributes his longevity to being happily married to his lovely wife teresa for 75 years. that's very sweet, isn't it? i love romance. i'm a romantic slob. irene davey, attleboro, mass. the lovely irene is 104 years old. loves to write and has a published poetry book, i understand. that's good. that keeps the mind sharp. gilbert ingraham of haverhill, iowa. loves to eat oatmeal. any time of the day, you can't

beat it. good and healthy for you. cecil blanchard of cleveland, ohio. loves politics, sports and staying healthy. that's a good trio. can't beat that. a lovely anniversary wish today for james and arlene mack. they are from westfield, pennsylvania. they have been married 75 years and they say they love each other very much and they are happily married all these years. can't beat that. that's all. now back to the team in new york that's always happily married. >> thank you, willard. i found 87-year-old mildred here rooting for the giants. she's a long way from the smucker's jar. thank you for being here this morning. meantime a former white house intern complains that she had an 18-month old affair with president john f. kennedy. we'll hear from her coming up. first, this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn.

♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪

back now at 8:41 with an explosive claim from a former white house intern. mimi says she had an affair with president john f. kennedy that lasted some 18 months. she details the story in "once upon a secret." natalie is here with that. >> meredith sat down with ms. alford for an interview for "rock center" with brian williams which airs wednesday. they talked about the president's darker side and why she kept the story a secret for so long. >> most mornings when i woke up i thought, i don't want to get up and write this book. i want to hide under the covers. >> reporter: what made you get out from under the covers? >> when you keep silent you

think it's keeping you safe. in fact, it's deadly. >> reporter: the secret, claims alford started in the summer of 1962 when the 19-year-old debutante from a prominent new jersey family began what she says was an 18-month affair with president john f. kennedy. it was revealed in 2003 when it was written in a biography that a tall, slender, beautiful white house intern was rumored to be among the president's paramours. at the time mimi issued a short statement and then disappeared. now she is talking and says her first close encounter with the president took place in this indoor heated pool at the white house. the invitation came from the president's aide dave powers who asked her and two other staffers to join us for a swim, never mentioning the "us" included jfk. >> so you were 19, four days

into your internship at the white house and you're in the swimming pool with the president of the united states. >> it didn't seem unnatural. just because everybody was friendly. i went back to work afterward. >> you just dried off and went back. nobody blinked? >> no one said anything. >> she was invited back to the white house residence and then taken on a private tour of some of the rooms by the president where she then lost her virginity to him in jackie kennedy's room. >> you said, i wouldn't call it making love but i wouldn't call it nonconsensual. he manoeuvred me, so short of screaming i don't think i could have thwarted his intentions. it sounds like you did feel overpowered. >> i think overpowered in the sense that he was the president. he was this unbelievably handsome man, 45 years old. not overpowered physically that someone grabbed me and made me

do something that i wasn't really willing to do because i really think i was willing to do it. >> several people tied to the jfk administration confirm alford was an intern and had special access to the president. >> more on wednesday when meredith joins us in studio. you can catch the full interview on "rock center with brian williams" wednesday night at 9:00/8:00 central time here on nbc. by the way, ms. alford will be here live on thursday on "today." up next, deborah messing on her new nbc show smash. first, this is "today" on nbc.

deborah messing earned an emmy as grace adler on "will and grace." she returns to nbc tonight in a new series called smash. she plays a lyricist who's

taking a year off to adopt a baby with her husband. but when a chance to write a musical about marilyn monroe falls into her lap she can't resist the challenge. >> it's not a musical. it's one song. >> why can't tom do it with someone else? >> you know what she said in her last interview? she said, please, don't make a joke out of me. the way they treated her. that's not even it. it was just there's something about her. how much she wanted to love and be loved. she glows with it. reminds me of a saint. i don't want anyone else to do her. >> really interesting to watch you and hear you in that role, especially because when they offered you the script you kind of had a similar reaction. you felt you had to do this role. >> i did. >> why? >> i did. i think it tapped into something

very pure and fundamental for me. my first love was musical theater. my first love was the theater world. and so to spend my life outside of the theater really and then getting a script and reading about that world and a script that was so brilliantly written and characters i cared about and all e other things involved, to be able to do it. i put it down and i said, i have to do this. i have to be in this role. i have to play this character, i have to do this. >> steven spielberg had nothing to do with it? >> nothing! >> angelica houston being in the show had nothing to do with it? >> no, no. >> it's a big amazing group of people. >> the people behind the camera and in front of the camera are people that are inspiring and really sort of at the top of their game. it's great because it's

challenging and makes you stay on your toes. you want to do your best every day. it's exciting. >> that said, while it's been described as "glee" for grown-ups, it isn't, is it? >> no, i don't think so. we owe everything to "glee." there is no way we would be on television if "glee" hadn't been successful and shown music can be viable in primetime. but this is an adult show. it's a show that's naturalistic about the life of people living in new york, trying to get this thing done. but you're also following their life outside with people getting divorced, trying to adopt. you know, it's financial struggles, so it's very different. but i think there is room for all of us. >> what's amazing is it premieres tonight and there are already reviews out. but you are already shooting your 12th episode. you have been able to really be

in the beauty of doing the work. let's look at the reviews. the washington post calls "smash" engaging, quite a little sun beam. the holiday reporter says it has gravitasse. this all before it comes out. >> it's fantastic. i have never had the experience of having the protection of not being on the air while shooting. we have been holed up in our studio doing our work and feeling, you know, a growing sense of pride and excitement as the season has been going on. now finally it's being presented and we get to share it. it's exciting. >> all right, deborah messing, thank you so much. so great to see you. i can't wait. if you want to watch catch the series premiere of "smash" tonight at 10:00/9:00 central on nbc. up next, valentine's chocolates.

first, this is "today" on nbc. i just had it with cable. it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract. is change good? in this case, change is very good. [ male announcer ] visit verizon.com/greatprice. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's verizon.com/greatprice. at 800-974-6006 tty/v.

fios. a network ahead. whatcah, these new jeans i want. i've been looking everywhere. new blue jeans? oh, don't be crazy, i've got tons of blue jeans. frank! frank! get my jean bin, susie wants my jeans. no she doesn't. here we go. nice and loose. ohhh. those are loose, but i actually just ordered three pairs of this kind. ooooohhhh. oh. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. ♪ this morning on today celebrates valentine's day, we are talking chocolates. according to the national confectioners association more than 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates will be sold for valentine's day. christina tosi is a pastry chef

here in new york city and owner of momofuku milk bar. >> nice to see you, matt. >> how did chocolate become so associated with valentine's day? >> it was such a hot commodity that it became the most special thing that you could give to your loved one in celebrating your love. >> so many kinds of chocolate. how did you narrow it down to these selections? >> i tried to go through my history of chocolate. for me, it starts with the classic whitman's heart-shaped chocolate sampler. my grandmas gave it to me as a kid for valentine's day. it was the thing that sat on the coffee table at valentine's day. >> and all kind fs of different price points from the very inexpensive to the ridiculously expensive. >> absolutely. you can approach chocolate from a very basic simple classic standpoint, but i brought for you a ton of different places to

go with chocolate inside the box, outside the box. this is -- i would say whitman's is the classic approach. >> and affordable. >> john and kyra's is a great chocolate manufacturer in philadelphia. they are made by hand using ingredients from the community. a bunch of different flavors of ganaches. these are the love bugs. this is a mondo approach to the chocolates. this is a worldwide approach. >> these look exotic. >> these are gro fr the grocery store. >> so they are not as expensive. >> highly affordable. great approach. this is the do it yourself approach. >> dip a pretzel right in chocolate. >> you get your loved ones favorite snacks and dip them in chocolate. i grabbed crunches and crumbles.

that's miss attach attapistachi. there are single malt chocolates you can get from valerie and i brought brooklyn chocolates. >> we'll cut it off there but i like the men being included in the chocolate giving. >> i like that. >> just ahead, more about the super bowl. >> that's right. plus the best of the best when it comes to super bowl ads after your local news. good morning to you. let's check in with tom kierein with a look at your forecast for today. another cold start. >> a lot of frost around but now just as we approach 9:00 it is beginning to get above freezing. 35 at reagan national. elsewhere right near the freezing mark and we'll continue

to rapidly climb into the 40s over the next couple of hours. then we actually may hit low and mid 50s by the middle of the afternoon. lots of sunshine and a southwesterly breeze. tomorrow not as cold, afternoon sunshine with highs mid 50s. wednesday might get sprinkles

good morning. traveling 395 southbound at the 3rd street tunnel an accident has taken away two of the left lanes there. use caution in the area. telegraph road your left lane is blocked and you are jammed at van doran street. back to the "today" show after this short break.

we're back now with more of "today" on a monday morning, the 6th of february 2012. a sunny day in rockefeller plaza. a nice crowd of people. a lot of these people happy in the wake of the super bowl. another win in the history book with the giants on top. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry and savannah guthrie. al is in indianapolis recovering and celebrating. al, good morning again. >> i like that. i'm recoverating. >> saves time that way. >> i tell you what, this city did a terrific job hosting the

super bowl. the epicenter of awesome. i've got to tell you, the lucas oil stadium really seemed like it was giants home turf. it was pretty cool. we've got highlights coming up and bringing you all the interviews. it's all coming up in a little bit. >> that's right. the patriots actually were the designated home team but because of the rivalry they were in enemy territory. we'll talk about that and also the super hype. how did you think about the high priced commercials, how did they fare on the big day? there were a lot of dogs. some fell short of the mark, we're told. we'll look at the good, the bad and the ugly super bowl ads coming up this morning. >> also ahead, now that football season is over, are you now hounding your spouse to get back to doing things on the long ignored honey-do list? don't. we'll look at how nagging can sink your marriage. some say it's as toxic to a

relationship as cheating. we'll get advice on how to stop nagging and start communicating. >> all right. let us get a check on the top stories of the day. natalie, good morning again. >> good morning, matt, ann and savannah. a scorching fire killed the husband of a missing utah woman and their two children. after years of police scrutiny for his alleged role in the disappearance of wife susan powell, officials say josh powell set his home on fire sunday intentionally in a murder-suicide. his two children were brought to the house by a social worker for a supervised visit. the social worker said she was blocked from entering. she called her superiors to report the smell of gasoline. moments later the house erupted into flames. powell's attorney said he received an e-mail just minutes before officials say the fire began. it said, quote, i'm sorry. good-bye. the president is addressing international concerns that israel is preparing to attack iran. president obama sat down with

matt on sunday saying he doesn't believe israel has decided whether or not it will attack iran. the president vowed the u.s. will work in lock step with israel to prevent a nuclear iran. at home, all eyes on the 2012 election. the president said he deserves to be re-elected as he still has work to do. neighborhoods in homs, syria, are under fire this morning. dozens dead in the flash point city. the latest deadly bombardment comes on the heels of saturday's heaviest strike to date killing an estimated 200 people in a single day. today marks 60 years since queen elizabeth took over the thrown of great britain. her six-decade reign is the second longest surpassed only by queen victoria. at 85 she's planning to celebrate her diamond jubilee year in style. this year she'll receive a 1,000 boat flotilla on the thames

river. she was greeted by a 21-gun salute and crowds of well wishers. the battle for the box office champ was almost as close as the super bowl. "krchronicle "chronicle" debuted ahead of "the woman in black" a thriller featuring daniel radcliffe. "the grey" fell from first to third. new york is celebrating after the giants beat the new england patriots at the super bowl winning the world championship 21-17. this is the giants' fourth super bowl title. on tuesday they will have a heroes welcome as they return to new york. a ticker tape parade through the streets of lower manhattan. b we'll welcome them home. let's go to al in indianapolis with a check of the weather. al roker, you're having a good time still. >> you know what, i lost that last part. >> i said you're having a great

time there still. >> you can tell by the crowd here on monument circle, before we get to the highlights let's show y good morning. a frosty cold start. tom kierein in stort center 4. right now temperatures are still struggling to get a little bit above freezing. just a little past 9:00 in the morning. 35 at reagan national. still right near freezing in montgomery, fairfax, arlington, prince george's county. later today some sunshine, into the low to mid 50s, mid 50s again tomorrow. cloudy and cooler wednesday kwob

get sprinkles or flurries. and that's your latest weather. well, super bowl xlvi is history, but what a history-making game. one of the best ever. in fact, maybe the best super bowl game ever. it is all done now, but while it was going on, a lot of nail biting, a lot of people rooting and i got to be in the middle of it all. a giant celebration. the new york giants, super bowl champions, beating the new england patriots in football's biggest game for the second time in four years. we caught mvp eli manning in the middle of the media mob after the final whistle sounded. how does it feel? >> feels great, al! big win. great team in indianapolis. it's a lot of fun no matter where it is. great win, great game playing a great team. great effort by the guys. >> reporter: giants coach tom coughlin. >> when brady threw the last pass up, what did you think? >> knock the ball down!

knock the ball down! >> reporter: it was the high point of a night that began with a stirring national anthem performed by kelly clarkson. ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ >> reporter: and an electrifying halftime show from madonna. this was not an easy win for the giants, trailing at the half and into the final minutes of the game. then giants running back ahmad bradshaw put them ahead for good and almost stopped ahead of the goal line afraid they were leaving the giants too much me -- the giants were leaving the patriots too much time for a comeback. >> did you get tired and sit down? >> i tried to get down so we could run the clock down but momentum took me in. all i can do after that. >> after the game he celebrated with his kids. >> best thing in the world.

>> reporter: as did a number of his teammates. even new jersey governor chris christie got in on the celebration. >> it's a great day for the giants. great day for new jersey. >> reporter: did you ever doubt it? >> never did. >> reporter: eli manning's dad archie, a proud papa. >> it's just special. very proud. we feel very blessed. >> reporter: he wasn't the only dad beaming. >> i just won the super bowl! that's every little boy's dream. i'm floating right now. >> not quite a dream for new england patriots fans but -- too bad! back to you guys. >> al, that's not good sportsmanship. >> yeah, you're right! >> a lot of us are talking about not just the game but the commercials. were they memorable or disappointing this year? >> let's ask donny deutsch from deutsch incorporated with a run down of what scored and what missed the mark. good morning. >> i'm looking for nancy and

star. >> i know! huge congratulations to deutsch l.a., you had one of the top viewed ads. it was the dog strikes back. take a look. [ whining ] ♪ get up off of that thing ♪ you can do better ♪ [ barks ] >> well, we get where this is going. there he is in top form again. we think of your ad last year, deutsch had the number one ad for volkswagen which was the mini darth vader. were you confident the dog trying to lose weight as people

eating chips at home would be a hit? >> what was a hit was when you pulled away and the "star wars" gang was watching with a nod to the darth vader ad. it's part of pop culture and it was smart. >> $3.5 million for 30 seconds. worth it? >> worth it for 10 million hits on youtube and it's played on "today." when you do an ad on the super bowl, if you do it right it's worth it. >> and sales for volkswagen. >> cars overall had a great showing. >> want to show a hyundai commercial. they invested in the super bowl. this is the cheetah commercial. let's take a look and talk about it. ♪ [ tires screech ] [ growling ]

[ screaming ] >> we get the point on that one. that's a fast car. effective? >> i thought it was effective. ak rarks chrysler. we'll talk about that later. all the hot technology businesses weren't really there. it was the industrial businesses. good news for obama going forward. it was stuff being made here, even the foreign companies. it was great. >> it speaks to the chrysler commercial, the clint eastwood which was a powerful message. everybody in my group got silent when it came on. >> it was called "halftime in america," a nod to the reagan ad "morning in america." it's about the soul of the country. in chrysler they have owned the grit of detroit. there is a great budweiser ad showing america celebrating. people looking backwards to go forward. it was pitch perfect. >> doritos had top hits. number one and two on them now

was this one, the baby slingshot. take a look. >> who has the doritos. want one? sorry! too bad you're down there and i'm up here. mm, smells so good. ♪ >> so that was a hit. the other one was the man's best friend ad which was apparently produced on a $20 budget. >> when you're selling cars you need a deep message. with chips, make people laugh. we can overintellectualize things. it ain't brain surgery. but the ads are compuute. it's fun. >> we saw so much in the way of kids and animals.

here's sketch chers with a dog theme. >> and there's the favorite silver prince. >> we have a late entry named mr. quigley. >> is he wearing running shoes? >> it is legal, i believe. >> and they're off. silver prince on his heels but mr. quigley around the outside. look at that little guy go. it's quigley! >> cute! >> he's moonwalking across the finish line! >> this is a commercial that you know what they are selling from the second it starts. >> which is smart. the celebrities this year were dogs versus real celebrities. it shows something happening in our culture. are we over celebretizez? that dog replaced kim kardashian. great celebrity ads are when they go like this. when you throw elton john in pepsi and you're not sure why. but we may have hit a turning

point where you -- enough. enough with the celebrities. enough with reality people. dogs, babies, pretty women. back to basics. >> we have to talk about the madonna halftime performance. >> yeah. >> did she help or hurt her brand? >> for her, just being there was great. i thought the last song was great. it was her singing. i thought it was overproduced. people want soulful music. i thought it missed. i didn't think she was a great choice for the super bowl. i don't think she's what families love or guys love. it was overproduced. too much. but at the end when she did "like a prayer" and it was her singing, that's what people want. it felt from a little bit of a different time. >> our time. >> boy, are we old? what happened to us? >> i love her because that's our heyday, right? >> she's able to do it. >> that's how frightening it is. >> she's not here to defend

herself. >> thank you, guys. >> coming up next, the toll nagging can take on a relationship and what to do instead and jill martin is here with special fun finds for your valentine's day shopping. >> oh, rollergirl! >> we'll be right back after these messages. the kids, brittany. so, how much do we owe you? that'll be... $973.42. you know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage with quicken loans, you'll find that our rates and fees are extremely competitive. because the last thing you want is to spend too much on your mortgage. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda.

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delicious, one of a kind kisses. ♪ >> this morning on today's relationships, nagging. do you have to constantly remind your spouse of what's on the honey-do list? does he just ignore you? your little nudges may be doing more harm than good. gail saltz and jeff gardier have tips to help you stop nagging for good. good morning. we all fall into the trap of nagging yet it can harm a relationship. >> it can be a cycle. so typically what happens is she nags. he stonewalls. yaerks ye yeah, yeah, yeah. so she feels she's not heard and she nags more. you can get into a vicious cycle. >> mostly a female problem? >> men tend to stay silent and they grow that resentment more than anything else. i would have to say i don't think nagging by itself is a dealbreaker. we talked about it backstage.

however if it is the modu modus operandi of the relationship and that's what you are dealing with it can destroy a marriage or a relationship. >> you have five tips on how to quit nagging. the first is to be mindful of your tone. it's not just what you're saying but also how you are saying it. >> and what you do while you are saying it. if you're showing contempt or disdain through either your words, tone or body language that's a bad way to go. things like rolling your eyes, making expressions. you know, gestures that uh show this is ridiculous and i am furious. >> how do you get them to really listen? sometimes you feel you're just having to say it over and over again because they are not listening to you. >> you have to set the tone. what you give at the beginning is what you get back. as gail says if you are rolling your eyes and you have all these attitudes with it, you won't get

anything back. if you want your partner to listen to you, come at it in a positive way. perhaps open up with a kindness or a compliment. be willing to give something back in return. if you do this for me, i will do this for you. >> be specific, as we talk about. being specific is important. >> be clear about expectations is the next tip. >> you're saying, i want you to do x. could you do x as opposed to, you know, you never cothis and opening it up to a variety of things. >> once you say "never" the conversation is over. >> guys like it concise and to the point. eye of the tiger, laser beam. get right there. what do you want? tell me what you wand and i will give it to you. >> it's important to articulate as well your emotions. let them know how you are feeling but without nagging. >> i think gail said it best when we were talking about these point. the tip of the iceberg is the

nagging. what's at the bottom of the iceberg is emotion. why are you nagging? why do you feel this way? >> talk about your emotions at a separate time. could you take out the garbage, honey? if he's not getting with the program, that's not the time to say, you know, i never feel you listen to me. that's not the moment. in a separate moment say, you know, i realize sometimes when i ask you to do something i sound angry. i realize i am angry, but i'm angry about this. at a separate time. do talk about emotions. >> you say to pick your battles. this is all about prioritizing. and stay calm through it all. >> it's so important that you don't pick on every little thing that you believe the person will be doing wrong. some of the stuff, you have to let it slide. >> in fairness to the guys, if he has to do it exactly the way you want it done which is a big, big problem then just do it yourself. otherwise if you're asking him to do something, let him do it his way. >> i agree!

>> when they do it, we complain because it's not done the way we like it. >> you have to let him do it his way. >> that's why i stopped washing dishes. don't get me started. >> thank you. coming up, classic desserts that you can have fun making with your kids. first, these messages. lisa's new normal hi jamie. here's my activia video. love this stuff. i'm starting to feel a change no longer feeling slow. i can't believe i thought irregularity was my normal. now i don't miss a beat. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. hi jamie! i knew lisa would love her new normal. ♪ activia love your new normal or its free.

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coming up, sweet treats to enjoy with your kids. >> and jill martin is here with deals for valentine's day. be careful! >> don't roll out of here!

9:26 is your time now on this monday, february 6, 2012. good morning to you. let's check in with tom kierein in the storm center for a look at your forecast for today. >> good morning. got the bright sun and a bit of a southwesterly wreez bbreeze br today quickly climbing to the 40s, maybe lower 50s. tomorrow afternoon highs mid 50s. cloudy wednesday, maybe a few flurries or sprinkles of light rain. thursday into friday we'll be mostly sunny thursday, partly sunny friday, highs 40 but turning colder for the weekend with sunshine. we'll take a quick break now and check

good morning. traveling 395 southbound at the 3rd street tunnel, at last check and accident was blocking left side of the roadway. use caution if the area. outer loop of the beltway still seeing accident at telegraph road blocking your left lane and are you still pretty jammed at

this time at van doran street. thank you. more weather an traffic and news in 25 [ male announcer ] for some reason those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. fantastic! pro-gresso ] they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

♪ that's country star dirks bentley with his hit "home" from his new album of the same name. it hits stores tomorrow and he'll sing live in studio 1a tomorrow on "today." i like that song. in a little while kathie lee and hoda will talk with him about the new cd as well. >> also coming up a special valentine's e edition of jill's fun finds from candles to underwear to unique jewelry, great items you can buy for yourself, a friend or your sweetie. jill has great gift ideas and, yes, she still has the roller

skates on. she smells, good, too. >> plus in today's kitchen, doughnuts, cook i didn't sies a shakes. favorites you can make with your kids. easy to do. we'll show you how. first a check of the weather from al in indianapolis. hello, mr. roker. >> ooh, doughnuts! ooh. let's show you what's going on. folks in indy would

we certainly had a cold start this monday morning. good morning. right now around the region we're still struggling to get a little bit above freezing. low to mid 30s right now most of the area. reagan national now 35, later today climbing to the low andmy 50s with a southwesterly breeze and lots of sunshine. tonight partly cloudy near freezing by dawn on tuesday. tomorrow afternoon again into the mid 50s. cloudy on wednesday, might get a few sprinkles of light rain. sun back thursday, friday. a cold weekend. and that's your latest weather. we'd like you to meet james gale, the young man, 11 years old, got to run the first football onto the field they played super bowl xlvi with. you're a national winner of the play 60 super kid contest. what was that like, running out on the field like that?

>> it was really cool. but it's also scarry. i got used to it. it was awesome. >> this is a culmination of great stuff. you got to meet first lady michelle obama? >> yeah. >> what was that like? >> it was cool, too. she was really nice. i also got to meet their dog. >> you got to meet bo? >> yeah. >> that's neat. the idea that kids need to get out and play for 60 minutes a day, is that something you do? play at least 60 minutes a day? >> yeah. >> what's your favorite sport? >> football. >> what team do you want to play for? >> i haven't decided yet. >> okay. james gale, congratulations. who were you rooting for in the super bowl? >> i was rooting for the patriots. >> oh, sorry to hear that. well, you got on the field and you got a great jersey and everything. congratulations, james. nice meeting you. >> you, too.

>> james gale, winner of the play 60. nice kid. >> all right, thanks, al. still to come on "today" we'll be getting ready for the next segment, gifts to wow your sweetheart. jill martin has fun finds for valentine's day. first, these messages. why se ttle for a why se one-note cereal? ♪ more, more, more... get more with honey bunches of oats 4 nutritious grains come together for more taste, more healthy satisfaction. get more with honey bunches of oats.

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i've discovered gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol... the gold standard in anti-aging. clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. nothing's better than gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream. it was a crime that shocked a college campus and made headlines across the country when a university of virginia lacrosse player was charged with the murder of his former

girlfriend, a member of the women's lacrosse team. emotions are running high at uva as the trial is set to begin. janet shamlian is there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. jury selection has started this morning in charlottesville. university officials are bracing for another wave of emotion because the death of yeardley love rocked the campus, rocked the community. authorities are concerned how it will play out here saying there is still a very deep wound. love was 22 and just weeks from graduating from uva when she was found dead in her apartment in may of 2010. one day later george hughley, a lacrosse player and love's former boyfriend was charged in her murder. for the campus and the community it was almost beyond belief. could it be the death of a student athlete had come at the hands of another? >> we are greatly distraught and

unsettled to have lost yeardley in such a tragic, violent and haunting manner. >> reporter: it was haunting. yeardley was found face down on a pillow in a pool of her own blood. her roommate originally reported it as an alcohol overdose and love had spent time at a campus bar earlier in the day. but the medical examiner ruled she died of blunt force trauma to the head. hughley was arrested within hours. he told investigators he fought with her, shook love and her head repeatedly hit the wall. his attorneys said love's death was, quote, an accident with a tragic outcome but not an intentional act. he's charged with first-degree murder with which carries a possible life sentence. jury selection begins this morning. it could take as long as two days to seat the jury in a trial that's expected to last about two weeks. natalie, the families of both

yeardley love and george huguely are here and are expected to stay here for the duration. >> janet shamlian, thank you. we'll be right back with more of "today" after these messages. rt. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles

or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. what are you lookin' at? i wasn't... not looking at anything... we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves? brad, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little angry when you're hungry. better? [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies. those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. some aerosols may just mix with them. can febreze remove it. [ moderator ] describe the smell.

it's very pleasant. some kind of flower maybe? awww, oh yuck! [ male announcer ] febreze air effects doesn't mix, it actually removes odors. so you can breathe happy. ♪ ...you make a change with hellmann's. ♪ make parmesan-crusted chicken. ♪ surprisingly crispier... juicier... mmm. yummier. made with real simple ingredients.

find this and other recipes at hellmanns.com. hellmann's. make it real. make it different. tell me we'll grow old together. tell me that i'm still the one. that you need me. that i'm your superhero. tell me you'll never let me go. tell me you miss me. tell me you love me. it's all i want to hear. [ female announcer ] everyone has something they need to hear. vow to tell them this valentine's day. ♪ >> announcer: today celebrates valentine's day is brought to you by snicker. you're not you when you're hungry. snickers satisfies. >> this morning on today celebrates valentine's day, a special edition of jill's fun finds. it's a week away and if you

haven't planned a thing don't worry. "today" and us weekly contributor jill martin is here with all the must haves for a perfect valentine's day with your sweetie. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> happy valentine's day. >> early. i'm dressed and ready to go. >> and you're wearing the first item. >> i actually own this item from armani exchange. i don't think you should buy a red dress just for valentine's day. invest in something you will wear. it's important with the outfit to wear roller skates. >> i agree. so i, too, am on roller skates. >> my first date on valentine's day was on roller skates. when i saw these retros. >> i didn't know how much i wanted some until this minute. this is next on your list. this is a fun gift. >> from fred flair and to top off the outfit from melissa & doug, the teddy bear. this is a great jumbo teddy bear

for a loved one. and you have to talk about champag champagne. this is veuv clicqot. it's an ice bucket that comes like this and it's origami. >> i actually did this. >> so it's easy to assemble. >> we move to another must have for valentine's day. >> we skate on. >> we skate on. this is lingerie from the american eagle sister line of apparel. this is a special thing they do. i think it's nice to send something to your single friends. pajamas are a nice touch. >> even if you're single it's a treat for a friend. >> something. just a treat. aerie.com. and i love these eye masks. but men may not.

hot tonight or not tonight. >> hopefully for valentine's day it will fall on the side of hot tonight. >> that covers everything. >> it's nice on valentine's day to give yourself the gift of working out. this is prism sport.com. they want you to get up, work out and go on with the day in your workout wear. they have hoodies and things to take you throughout the day. starting at $65. >> that matches your roller skates. >> everything goes with the roller skates. next, to rings. if you are not getting an engagement ring -- not you in particular. diamond rings in 19 dollars. $98. i love from jennifer miller the love bracelets. >> those are pretty. >> and pretty to layer. they are $76. pave crystal love bracelets. >> cute. >> lisa perry style.com. we have wallets, pillows, coin

purses great for year round and nice for valentine's day. i love the wallets. >> very cute. they're retro. we love lisa perry here. >> ann is an excellent model. she looks cute in those dresses. >> great pillows. smaller ones to put in your lingerie drawers but a great gift for somebody. $65 a. >> okay. >> my favorite candle. love light aromatherapy candle. $60. >> lavender? >> yes. a calming candle. next is mood lip gloss. hope ur fli you are in a good mood. it reacts to each person's skin tone. >> is it supposed to put you in the mood? >> it reacts to skin tone. depending on the mood you're in it should bring it out. hopefully it's a happy one. look what vasoline is doing on valentine's day. it's a bedazzled vasoline bottle

with a lip on the top. >> one of the things you really didn't think you needed but you do. >> you want it now in your makeup game. >> don't you want the bejewelled vasoline bottle s? >> i'm not going there. you have to go on valentine's day, only day it's available. >> and $40, scents to throw in the bag. you can smell lovely. >> haes what's that? >> it's a mixture of oils. last is my favorite. dior beauty. great lipsticks to spruce up a look for the day. tops off the outfit. >> smells good. >> shall we roll out? let's get a last look at the roller skates. let's roll. jill martin, thanks. for more ideas check out the latest issue of "us weekly."

up next, desserts fun to make with the kids. up next, desserts fun to make with the kids. first, this is " we're gonna erase breast cancer once and for all. walking 60 miles... in three days. (woman) we're united. (woman) a family. (woman) a coming together of thousands.

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♪ this morning in today's kitchen, delicious desserts. classic yet kid friendly sweets. former "top chef just desserts" matthew peterson has some rescues he likes to make with his own daughter, 3-year-old kaylie. >> thanks for having me. >> these are things your daughter helps you make? >> yeah. we made this last weekend. when i got the call from y'all to come to the show i said, why not do donuts? >> apple doughnuts. >> let's throw some apple filling in there and make it simple. >> we're starting off -- i saw you scraping the vanilla bean. >> i like to infuse the vanilla

in the butter. get it going. >> perfect. you leave the whole bean in there. >> there is a ton of flavor in the pod. >> don't throw it away. >> of course not. you could even save it, ground it up in sugar after you dry it out. >> great. >> we'll start with the vanilla bean, add the apples. >> this is for the filling. >> yep. we'll do the quick version here. >> made for television. >> we have some made already, of course. you get the ams going. we'll sweat those for a few minutes, add sugar. just stir it up. again, sweat that and just let a lot of the natural juices come out of the ampple. a loft of the natural pectins will thicken it up. >> this is easy, too. >> we went to the pantry, oh, apples, let's throw them in there. cinnamon, sugar. >> what else? >> ginger for a kick. cinnamon, nutmeg.

>> okay. >> then you throw it all together. again, we'll let it cook for a little bit. >> mm-hmm. >> and we'll finish with salt and lemon juice to brighten it up. >> salt? why salt? >> pinch of salt, please. >> and the lemon juice. perfect. >> awesome. >> as the filling is going and we've got it made already, let's show people how to make the dough here. >> of course. >> what was involved? >> we started with milk, knead it with sugar, flour, salt and yeast. knead it for ten minutes and finish it with butter until it's incorporated. then proof at room temperature for two hours. >> what do you mean proof? >> we allow the yeast to feed on the natural sugars. taking the sugar out of the dough. >> how do you know it's ready? >> it will double, triple in size. you just punch it down. put it in the refrigerator overnight. take it out the next day.

>> flour so you can roll it out. >> yep. >> so you can make it ahead and keep the dough in the fridge. >> that's what we did. you can do it the same day. >> great. >> but to allow for better flavor. >> we have a minute. let's do the speedy version. >> cut them out. put a little bit of apple filling on there. >> put it right in the middle? >> yeah, a teaspoon. you don't need egg wash or anything. then take the other circle of dough. there is so much butter in there. just pinch it like that. super easy. >> into hot oil. >> 350 degrees. >> let's hope mine turns out okay. >> just drop it in. >> how long does it take? >> two, three minutes. >> here we have them done. >> already finished, of course. they continue have to be fancy. >> savannah, try one. >> these look great. we'll let it cook. and back here you have other

at-home treats. a shake. >> vanilla milk shake, yep. >> delicious. >> and fresh whipped cream on top. >> and cookies. >> coming up, kathie lee and hoda. first your local news and weather. so, this is delicious

okay...

is this where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there-- it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. good morning, everyone. 9:57. it is monday, february 6th. i'm barbara harrison. tom kierein has what we can expect today from storm center 4. it's been a frosty cold start on this monday but right now temperatures are approaching 40 degrees as why approach 10:00 and have plenty of sunshine, a bit of a southwesterly breeze should warm us up today into the

low to mid 50s. cloudy on wednesday, maybe some sprinkles of rain, small chance of flurries farther west. then sunshine back on thursday and into friday, but a cold weekend to follow. traveling the inner loop of the beltway, a zaent blobbing the right lane and two left lanes causing you to be jammed an van doran. coming up on "news4 midday" we'll get you ready for we'll get you ready for valent

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody. it's fun day monday, the 6th of february, also known as the day after the super bowl. and the day before the ticker tape parade here in new york. >> new york! >> what a game. >> people were up 5:00 a.m. already selling these shirts at model's. 5:00 a.m. apparently these are going to be the hot ticket. >> well, of course. we want to thank everybody in the boston area for letting us

celebrate just a little bit. it was a great game, wasn't it? >> well, even if you just watched like the last ten minutes of the entire super bowl, you really got to see it all because there's always that moment when you think to yourself this game could go one way or the other way. eli manning threw that great catch to manningham, i think, the guy -- look at us. >> manningham. manning to manningham. easy to remember. what's his first name? mario manningham. >> just showing off because you're married to a legend. >>ç i just read it in the pape this morning. first time i knew it was mario. >> that last pass, tom brady, crazy pass at the last second, watching it bobble up in the air and thinking this could be the game changer. >> and it wasn't. >> wasn't. >> yeah. you know, right before that, they got a close-up on tom brady's face. and he looked -- it looked -- you could -- it was like -- he realized with the clock the way

it was it was not going to happen. >> i like more cutaways of the family members. >> you want to know what giselle thinks. >> i want to see giselle or eli's mom or wife right in that moment. drama. yes. i want to see that. because i feel it and i don't always need to see the coach because we know what they're feeling. i want to se the family wringing their hands. >> i'm with you. when somebody's singing the anthem, i like to see the person singing the anthem, not all -- they didn't show kelly clarkson -- >> she killed it. >> she killed it. she was so great. ♪ o, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪

>> so great. >> she stuck pretty much to the melody and sang her heart out. awesome. >> madonna's halftime show got a little bit ofç mixed reviews. >> everything i was reading they were saying how fantastic it was. i thought it was not very exciting. >> this is my take on it. when i watched her, i remember she said in her news conference before she was extremely ne lly nervous. >> yes. >> something about vulnerability you like. then had that stumble up in the bleachers. >> yeah. >> well, anyway, when i was watching, i thought she didn't dress -- she dressed, like, i don't know, i thought she should. i loved lmfao, these guys. this is where it got a little controversial. nicki minaj shows up on her left and then m.i.a. people were like -- >> she was not missing in

action, that's for sure. yeah. there's some controversy about the fact she said a curse word and gave a certain finger gesture. and i didn't see it. >> it's the one on the right. >> i think a lot of people didn't know who she was, quite frankly. i know a lot of people know her, but many were like, who's the one with -- >> you felt maybe she needed to do something -- >> i don't know that was -- okay. we got it. >> i never heard of her before, but that's not unusual for me. you know, i love that kind of music so much. >> you rock out to it. >> i do. the nfl accused nbc, the nbc accused the nfl. forget it. the game is going to have the highest ratings probably ever, ever, ever. >> ever. >> it was good for madonna. she's got a tour coming up, a new album, a movie. >> if you stuck around after the game and you watched "the voice," you were in for a treat. but they had one kind of funny commercial and it was all the judges of the voice, you know the ideas the judges are looking for the right singer. >> çright.

>> in this one commercial all the judges are chasing after this singer and there's this explosion in a hotel. did you see this? >> no. >> let's watch. >> oh. it's about time somebody wanted me for my voice and not my body. >> the battle to find the voice begins right after the super bowl. >> my eyes are up here. >> on nbc. >> once again, she -- >> you know what, she steals it. >> she does. >> just showing up and being who she is. love her to pieces. >> can we talk about this for a second. then we'll get to the weekend. we have to show this because it is rare we have so many magazines that we're not involved in at all. but guess who is. >> cassidy. >> your girl cassidy. >> her first cover. >> i have to say she looks gorgeous on the front. but check out this picture. come on. >> she is.

she is such a sweetie. >> looks absolutely gorgeous. >> i like in her interview what she says because she's an 18-year-old girl and sometimes they don't make much sense. >> love who you are, surround yourself great people and have faith so you can build a foundation. this is truly her and how she is. and if you happen to pick up teen vogue, hello. >> kylie on the cover of that one. but then this. >> yep. >> she's got a thing coming out this week. it's called growing up hollywood. it's on the e channel. and it premieres tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m., 7:00 central. let's take a listen. >> and i just think it's so funny because they know so many details about me. i'm jusáç so grateful for that. >> i have two children. one of them is perfect and it's not cody. half angel and talent. she knows what she wants to do with her life. when she first told me she wanted to be an actress, i said,

cass, i think it's a noble profession. >> it's a big week for her. >> fun. >> so nice to her over at e! >> and she was on page 6. >> i know. then she stayed home and studied for tests all weekend long. she's doing all of that as a full-time student too, and that's hard. but anyway, it was a fun weekend for frank and i. frank and me? yeah. we went up to western massachusetts where a dear friend of ours, mike kit ridge, was celebrating his 60th birthday. you all know him from yankee candle. he was the founder and creator of yankee candle. sold it a long time ago and now it's a new company called cringe l candle. anyway, we'll get to that in a little bit. >> what are you people doing? >> we had so much fun. look at these. singing my brains out. that's his architect, john kuhn i believe it's pronounced and mike on the right. mike is an unbelievable guitarist and singer. they have this lodge and frank and i -- >> crazy. >> that was friday night.

want to wish him a great happy birthday. but he's the kind of guy, you know, you hear so much about how terrible the economy is. when he started crinkle candle in massachusetts, a sleepy little massachusetts town. you go there now, he's put 150 people -- he's changed the entire town. >> right. >> everybody's got a job. everybody's working there. >> right. >> i went last spring. >> yeah. >> and we don't have time. >> really don't.ç >> phenomenal restaurant there called the farm table. they grow all the food and the animals, the whole thing. genius. they've come out with a man's fragrance line. don't these look like -- >> gorgeous. gorgeous fabric. >> very manly. they all have different scents. they're only known by their number. >> that smells great. >> you may pick one for james. >> oh. >> and i have one for you, donny deutschman. yes. >> i'm taking this one. >> i love that one. >> you have to do your favorite thing. we're running out of time. >> if you want a workout shirt

that fits like a glove and is flattering, under-armour. >> you love this. >> it feels like butter. they're v-neck. >> oh, my gosh. >> do you not love the fabric? the texture. come here. you can try it on. i'm telling you, they fit every woman in the right way. >> cute. >> they're 40 bucks and worth it. >> they look like they hold up in the wash really well because boy can you sweat. nice, nice nishgs. sara, what have you got? >> i'm obsessed with personalized necklaces and stuff. i found one for my mom over christmas at this company that means three sisters. it's about $65. hard to find something gold without spending a gazillion. i've gotten them for my sister and dear friends. >> tres soeurs. i had italian in my ear. >> french. okay. thank you.

>> joy bauer, remember she promised she would jump rope through an entire show if we reached the goal of whatever it is, 25,000 pounds? >> well, we went over it. >> she'[ç going to do it. she's been jumping for nine minutes. we'll keep checking in to make sure she's not cheating. >> this is hard. >> yes, it is. >> nope, you cannot stop during commercials. you have 50 minutes to go. >> good luck, joy. >> thank you. >> we have the joy fit club. how is she going to do it? >> i don't know. how is she? >> during the joy fit club. >> time for our fan of the week. >> okay. >> yeah. this week it's kelly from elkhart, indiana, who watches on channel 16. her favorite part of the show is "today's talk" because she loves to hear your stories, opinions, ideas, what's going on with your life. she's had some health difficulties this year but the show helped keep her positive and offered a much-needed distraction. congratulations. sending you and a friend to san antonio, texas. >> we were there. >> the trip includes a three

night stay at the a hotel, spa treatments for two, a barge cruise along the river walk, an alamo helicopter tour for two, one breakfast and dinner, passes to seaworld and six flags as well as roundtrip air fare for two. the package is provided by visit san antonio dotcom. remember to log in. >> yes. >> terrific. all right. end up going somewhere great. coming up, we'll talk about the super bowl commercials that everybody's talking about. >> then country star dirk bentley is here. >> singing a new tune.

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whether you watched the super bowl for the games or the commercials, chances are today you' you'll be spending more time talking about the ads than the plays p. >> when advertisers pay more than a half million dollars for a 30-second spot, they better pay off. donny deutsch, deutsch, inc., and rebecca. hello, everybody. >> so people are talking. that's all they want to talk about. we know who won the game. who won the ad campaign thing? >> they all sucked. no. >> you actually said that to me earlier. >> i did not. i'm kidding. >> you had a couple of your own. >> i thought chrysler was fantastic, clint eastwood, deutsch l.a. did for volkswagen. >> let's showman's best friend, the one that was the number-one

commercial according to voters. ♪ ♪ç >> that was kind of effective but not nice to cats. >> they didn't get the gag in it. a dog trying to bribe a human. humans always trying to bribe dogs. very funny. >> glad you explained it to me. what about the dog concept? >> they're heroes. dog versuses celebrities. i think as a country we're going more back to basic, kind of a little tired of celebrities so that was interesting. >> it shows dogs tend to do bert than celebrities. >> dogs, babies, pretty women. >> that was cute with the little

dog beating out the great dane. >> this one's yours, donnie, i think. this is the vw ad with the chunky dog? is that yours? >> yes. >> let's watch that one. >> or not. >> let us tell you about it. >> here it comes. ♪ ♪ get up off of that thing get up off of that thing and dance ♪ ♪ sing it now get up off of that thing and dance until you feel better ♪ ♪ woof feel good ♪ >> "star wars," which is kind of obviously -- >> the cafe.

>> a nod to loost year's darth vader d% with tremendous success. the guys at volkswagen did a fantastic job. >> a great job feeding the ad out before the game. >> we had the dog here. and there's video of him getting in his fat suit because it was a fat suit he was wearing. >> you got to use all the medias. you have to take advantage of the social medias, the youtubes of the world. that's when the $3.5 million makes sense. the smart advertisers did that. >> do people buy more, donnie? >> you can't make a straight line. it becomes part of the consciousness, builds awareness, makes you feel better about a brand. otherwise there would be no advertisers because people don't react that way. >> on a scale of 1 to 10, how did you think -- >> i didn't think it was one of the best years. >> i loved the ads before the game. jerry seinfeld. the videos we watched over and over. >> because people had seen them before? >> you have to be careful you

don't oversaturate before because people want the surprise factor. what are you mad about me about? >> no, that's for us after. >> no worries. >> interesting you guys didn't talk about, i thought there was a very sexist ad from teleflora, where it basically said you buy a woman flowers, do right by her, she'll be right by you. >> this is different. >> you guys know i'm very kind of like puritanical so i was insulted by this. but it literally said, you know, if he scratches your back, you'll scratch his. >> we get it. we get it. >> you guys are women. that wasn't bad? >> the teleflora ads from years ago,ç insulted women, you thout that was okay. >> martina mcbride tweeted last night, this is the most sexist ad ever. >> i was really surprised with that ad.

>> you're in trouble. >> let's do it on air. >> no, no, no. >> oh, yeah. to nashville. dirk bentley introduces his special little girl on his new cd. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ birds chirping ] ♪ [ female announcer ] oikos greek yogurt. possibly the best yogurt in the world. ♪ there's an easy way to fix that. lubriderm® men's 3-in-1. the first and only body, face, post shave lotion all in one bottle. it's that easy. ♪ lubriderm® men's 3-in-1.

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new newtons fruit thins. real cranberries and cranberry citrus oat... crispy whole grain. newtons fruit thins, one unique cookie. the multi-award-winning dierks bentley has been making music in nashville for almost ten years. >> tomorrow he releases his seventh album. doesn't even look 17.

his new hit "am i the only one" off "home." you're not home that often. >> no. >> we're glad you're here with us again. congratulations. >> thank you. >> thank you. well, this cd is really a labor of love. you worked so hard on getting the right mix of songs, right? >> i did. every record you make, the one after is a little more important than the one before and you put a little moreç time into it trying to hone in on your sound and make it interesting for your fans. >> last thing you want to be is a one-hit wonder but after the eighth number one, doesn't it just get a little old? >> no. it's better every time. you take less for granted. just being here with you guys is amazing, so much fun being in the city and having a chance to celebrate the record coming out tomorrow. i'll go to the store and pick it up. >> best cd of your career. do you agree with that? >> yeah. one of my top seven favorite. >> am i the only one -- that song caught on with people. >> yeah. >> something about that one. what was it? >> just fans.

sometimes you write songs that are a little more heavy, like "home," a patriotic thing. but fun songs, the crowd breaks free, pretend they're in the bahamas because you can't go to the bahamas. >> beautiful. look at your different haircuts. i like the short one, the one you've got going now. you're rocking it. >> change it up from time to time. tv, a lot easier. >> you were in indy and performing there. how was that? >> i was cold. there was a week of shows leading up to the super bowl and they were outside. it was, like, 17 degrees on stage. i had, like, six layers of clothing on, walked out like the michelin man. >> fans don't care. >> no, beers raised in the air going crazy. all about the fans. the interaction of our fans for a live show. makes us go crazy. >> what's fun, it's been a little family affair with you and your youngest daughter, ebby, right? >> yeah. she loves music and singing and dancing around the house and

being in the studio. i'm so busy that whenever i get a chance to bring her to the studio or do something with me on the road, i alwum grab the girls. >> she's on this cd a little. >> she is. i was up on the roof about eight days straight and in washington, d.c., for my birthday. i was alone in a hotel room, pretty lonesome. and my wife and producer sent me a video clip of her singing one of my songs back to me. it was so painful. it wasn't like this is a good thing. it was, like, ouch. >> you missed her. >> but she ended up kind of making it onto the track in the record and we kept threat. shenise the album. >> she was on stage with you last week. >> yeah. it was a really special show. she was in the wings and i brought her out for a song. >> we wish you great success. >> we love you. >> you're singing tomorrow on the show. >> back here tomorrow. >> yeah. >> thanks, sweetheart. still to come, all the news that has hollywood buzzing. >> plus what you really get when you order those valentine's day

flowers online. i don't think you get the model. >> no. and the 47-year-old mom who lost more than 200 pounds. and joy is still jumping. >> good for her. >> we think. >> go, go, go! does that answer your question? absolutely. thank you so much. no problem. man: do your simple return with the turbotax federal free edition, and now get our free, one-on-one, expert tax advice, live by phone or chat. get the federal free edition, at turbotax.com. needs long term relief.

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s. we're back on this fun day monday with "today ease bust" with super bowl details and demi moore. news coming, folks. >> here with the sizzling scoop is "huffington post's" celebrity writer, rob. >> hello. >> just got back, four days with mark cuban and his network, hd net. i had a blast, went to every party but didn't go to the game. >> of course you did. >> tell us what it was like behind the scenes. who cares about the game anyway? >> tell us about madonna. >> the rumors are tricky. the rumors are she didn't even stay in indianapolis because the room they offered her was not

suitable. she stayed in chicago and drove in for the show. paper she had like 40 rooms or something. >> her people did. they were at the marriott, which was charging $1,500 a night at the marriott hotel. so her people were at the marriott next door to the stadium. but she herself couldn't find that presidential suite so she drove in. she's madonna. always about month maa donna. she knew the whole city was about her. what was fascinating is she did bring a new crowd of people to the super bowl. i actually spent a little private with neal patrick harris, who was there. >> he came because of madonna. >> tate katy perry there becau madonna. people who don't know anything about football. >> how did her performance rate? i liked the part with cee lo at the end. >> they say there's not a secret left. >> the most unattractive outfit. i really did.

>> what i loved is the party girl turned into a queen. she entered with a crown on her head and did enter like very cleopatra. very grand. a lot of people were a little dispinted that there was a lot going on around her and maybe not much she was doing herself. >> there's manning and tom brady, another kind of scene stealer, quarterback. >> never seen anything like it. at the espn party and the place erupted -- i thought brad andening li na had arrived. >> but it was? >> tim tebow. sent the crowd into a frenzy. people couldn't get enough of him. he shook hands with everybody. so charming. took photographs. every girl inç town was chasin tim tebow. >> including katy i hear. >> yes. katy perry also at the super bowl, her first concert. she did it at a party and she was fantastic.

she was. in the audience, madonna's daughter was there and tom cruise's son was there, too. >> a whole new generation. >> it was wild. she put on a great show and sang live. >> the anthem they usually prerecord. but it sounded like kelly clarkson -- >> she did it live. she tweeted she'd never been more scared in her life. >> it's terrifying. terrifying. >> last year weren't the black eyed peas live? they didn't sound good. >> they were. they synced to a little but kelly was totally live. >> she was sensational. >> tell me about demi moore. >> she has checked into rehab. the place she's reported to be is the circle lodge in utah. this is a very serious facility. it's not one of those hollywood place where is you go to rest. it's a place you go to get well. >> good. >> she's reportedly there. she's disappeared, hoda. >> yeah. >> she -- she misses her

daughters, whom she adores. >> she's always been a very, very good mom. >> great mom. >> thanks, robin. >> coming up, a great segment. sending flowers for valentine's day. we're going to show you what you get compared to what you order online. introducing olive garden's new three course italian dinner for $12.95. start with either unlimited homemade soup or our fresh crisp salad, and all the warm breadsticks you want. then, enjoy one of five new specially created entrees, like our smoked mozzarella chicken or five cheese marinara with shrimp. finish up with one of five desserts. like our chocolate mousse. our new three course italian dinner, just $12.95. try it tonight at your olive garden when you're here, you're family. you make a change with hellmann's. make parmesan crusted chicken

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spend almost $2 billion on valentine's day flowers next week, and a lot of that spending will be done online. >> so we had one of our staffers order flowers from a bunch of different floral delivery companies to see what you order is what you get. right? >> let's find out. >> today's financial editor jean chatzky is here with the results. from what we can see, they vary. >> they do. they vary greatly. absolutely. >> you're going to order for valentine's day. get it out of the way. >> get it out of the way because prices will continue to probably go up. >> i'm fascinated by this segment. starting off with 1-800-flowers. they come in a big box. >> no. 1-800-flowers actually outsource to a local florist. they look very much like the flowers you see on the website. >> that's good because you'll probably get a fresh rose. >> yeah. i would give this company aood grade. >> okay. >> they get an a. next group. >> they send it directly to you.

you don't get it from the local florist. in the picture they're tightly together. >> if you cut them down, it would be better. >> well, that's what they say. because each order is styled by the recipient we prefer to ship flowers at longer length to allow for maximum design, creativity. the consumer benefit fifth is longer lasting. our product does require some involvement. yes. i should point out these were all delivered on saturday. so these are already two days old and, you know, you should take that into consideration. >> pretty good.ç >> let's move on down the line. >> again, these come directly from pro flowers. you'll notice here we had a couple of not so great flowers. >> yeah. >> unfoj gnat. this one's drooping. this one looks like a bite maybe was taken out of it. >> okay. >> pro flowers said they apologize.

orders are backed by a seven-day freshness 100% satisfaction guarantee. >> they give you some more. >> they would probably do something about it. that's good to note. if you're unhappy with any of these things, call immediately. >> because you'd never use them again. if you get them, don't call and say the flower was wilted and the other -- >> yes. >> let's go to the empty -- there's a reason this is -- >> everyone has a story. >> this is complicated. >> tell us. >> this is from ftd. we were told our original request was not available so we ordered something else, the blooming masterpiece. ray in props followed up on that missing order that he paid for by personal credit card and was told the order was canceled and no information given. then we told them we were from nbc news and we got some flowers a little later in the day. in fairness to the other companies, because these didn't arrive on time, we chose not to

show that bouquet. >> they sent something else after. >> they say they cancelled the original and issued a new order number but delivery took place later in the day than we would have liked. they apologize it was not delivered earlier in the day but during peak holiday periods this occasionally happens. so there you go. >> okay. >> there you go. there you go. and finally -- >> these look beautifully. >> these areç the ones we're a walking around saying if we got flowers we'd want these. >> teleflora. >> they actually were originally delivered to the wrong address. these come from a local florist. but they quickly remedied the situation, got them here in the time frame. look beautiful. just like the picture. >> are these the ones that the sexy ad? >> they are. >> oh. >> they are. >> it is the sexy ad. >> are they all comparable in price? >> pretty much. they all were around $100, some a little less, some a little more. >> thanks to your investigation, jean chatzky. it's the thought that counts. >> up next, joy fit club inducts

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look at me now. >> look at joy bauer go. >> go, go, go! >> she's been doing this because she said she would do it for the entire hour if we went -- if we met our goal. >> of 25,000 pounds, and we did. so we are going to induct our newest member into the joy fit club. she's a 47-year-old stay-at-home mom from lubbock, texas, lost a whopping 221 pounds. >> her name is christy. let's take a look at her story while joy continues to jump rope. >> hi. my name is christy and i have spent most of my life fighting with my weight. for so many years, my weight won the fight. i grew up in an italian family and developed a love for cooking from my grandmother. after i had a baby in 1995, my

weight soared. i was told by several doctors that my yo-yo dieting had caused my thyroid glands to stop functioning correctly and that i would probably have a difficult time losing weight. three years ago, i attended both my niece's sweet 16 party and a family union. when i looked at myself in the photos from those event, i could actually see the pain in my eyes. my weight had reached 325 pounds. i realized i wanted to be free of the pounds that were preventing me from truly living my life. i decided my will was stronger than any analysis and i began counting calories, keeping a food diary and exercising. a year and a half later i had lost a total of 221 pounds. i still love to cook and i spend lots of time in the kitchen, but now my relationship with food is a love affair and not a fight. nothing is stronger than a strong will. and nothing, nothing tastes as

good as that feels. >> oh, wow. >> before we bring her out, we're going to talk to joy, who's hyperventilating. >> i'm going to try to get this out. this is a phenomenal transformation, really. i think one of the things that really stood out to me, is breakfast. before she had 400 calories worth, which is not that much. >> right. >> of pure carb. >> cream cheese. >> it made herç hungry an hour later. now she has a high-protein, nonfat greek yogurt with fiber-filling fruit so it keeps her full for hours. >> i love it. you run half marathons and you're hyperventilating. this is a difficult exercise. >> i had no idea how tough jump roping was going to be. saturday morning one hour long i thought. five minutes in i was gasping. >> amazing. >> here's christy's before picture. all right. christy, let's see the new you! >> wow. >> whooo!

>> that is just not possible. >> but it is. >> a year and a half? >> year and a half. >> that's it? >> yes. >> didn't just fall off. >> started doing the right things? >> yes. i ate very little and tried to eat all the right things and exercise. the pounds fell off. >> the doctors were wrong about your thyroid. >> yes. >> you showed them. >> good. >> i like how you said it turned into a love affair. you're fighting with food versus a love affair. everything changed. >> i loved to cook and i didn't want to let that change. you know, you have to be. >> how about exercise like what joy's doing? do you do some? >> every day. >> she's going to join me. >> yeah. jump for joy. >> she doesn't have sneakers. >> congratulations. >> this is miraculous story. >> i'm almost done! >> spring's must haves for all you fashionistas coming up.

get out your notepads. time for "today's style" and all those buzz-worthy trends for spring. >> people's style, miss kate bennett. >> hi, kate. >> how are you? >> doing quell. >> we have new trends. >> we do, indeed. if you're going to take one thing away today it's color. >> good. >> very welcome this time of

year. >> one interesting color i wasn't aware of, this mint green color we have on our first lovely model. >> what could be fresher? pastels in general are very big. as you can see in this look on lauren, mixing pastels is also a trend. but if you're only getting one item in a pastel color, mint green feels so fresh. >> fresh. >> any age can wear mint green? >> yeah. absolutely. >> come on. >> you might not do it in a jean, but i will find you a pant. >> all right. >> warm colors you said are in. we're looking at bernadette. she's got a great yellow on. >> doesn't she look amazing? >> with the red shoes. >> i know. right? we went for it. >> sure. >> but again, bright colors are super duper important and yellow is a real standout. that just feels really new. and this is a great dress. i love length of this dress, too, on bernadette. >> sort of "mad men." >> exactly. this is a very chic length as well. so overall great look.

>> okay. we move one down and we have this interesting hem. >> high-low. high-low. i heard people calling it a mullet hem line. but isn't it great? >> very feminine, i think. >> we love the at people style watch because it's very flirty. and this skirt is from forever 21 so it's less than $20. >> oh, myç gosh. >> jump in this trend and not spend a lot of money. what's really lovely about this is it's great for going out at night but, you know, you could wear this pretty much any time. i love another big trend in makeup is going back to the smoky eyes. >> good. >> but this time with a little bit of a metallic sheen to it. >> okay. >> we didn't talk about bernadette's lip color. >> the red lip, super duper big. what bernadette's wearing, christian dior, a little bit of an orange tinge to it, but anybody can wear it. >> let's look at our -- sorry, sweetie. >> thank you, ladies. >> love that skirt. you can leave that in my

dressing room. thank you. >> the shades. >> a real '50s moment is happening. >> i think it's just -- you know -- >> it looks awful on me. >> let's do it. >> it's a little cooler, '50s. >> this is a great way to get a little touch of that into your wardrobe. both glasses are great price points. >> okay. >> just a way to dip your toe in. >> look at that jewelry. >> isn't this gorgeous? >> blue-green ocean-inspired jewelry. a great example was that amazing necklace heidi klum wore to the golden globes. >> i loved that. that was beautiful. >> that is kind of the look we're going for here, this sort of little bit ocean feeling. >> we have 30 seconds. this ankle strap, it mixes things. >> here's a great way to try it. these are both from 9 west but a skinnier ankle, any hesitation, a skinnier ankle strap will work for you probably better. however, this wide ankle strap,

it's just very sexy. adds a little shot of sexiness to any look you have going. >> and these bags. >> this is your go-to bag, a boxy shape but the great shoulder strap that makes it a little more functional. >> okay. >> excellent. thank you very much. >> before we say good-bye, we want to give joy a pat on the back she deserves. she's jumped for almost an entire hour. she's jumping right now. this is because we lost 26,000 pounds. >> see you tomorrow.