e all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. good morning. breaking news -- nbc news has confirmed president obama will release ten states from the strict requirements of the bush-era no child left behind law today. we'll tell you what the impact could be on millions of students all across the country. intent to kill -- new details on the death of univiversity of virginia lacros player as her ex-boyfriend's murder trial gets under way. this morning, the threatening email that prosecutors say he sent to his alleged victim two days before she died. and today exclusive -- guns being bought legally without background checks in the middle of crowded parking lots. >> no paperwork, no background

checks. >> and it's completely legal -- the results of our hidden camera investigation today, thursday, the results of our hidden camera investigation today, thursday, february 9th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning, i'm ann curry. >> and i'm matt lauer. this decision by the obama administration to grant ten states waivers from no child left behind will be the strongest move yet to undermine the controversial education initiative. >> that's right. it was signed by president bush in 2002, and mandated that 100% of grade school students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. but opponents say it forces teachers to focus too much on test scores. and not enough on actually educating the students. we'll get the latest on this developing story, straight ahead.

also new investigation tied to the house fire that police say josh powell set, killing himself and his two young sons. officials now want to know why it took police more than 20 minutes to arrive at that scene. we'll have more on that story coming up as well. this morning straight ahead on wednesday, we brought you the story of the former white house intern who says she had an 18-month affair with jfk. well this morning, mimi alford will be joining us to reveal more of her story in the first live interview since coming forward. and kate middleton making the news, stepping out first solo appearance since joining the royal family. her first solo official appearance. we begin with the top story of the morning and savannah guthrie is at the news desk where natalie is on assignment. >> good morning, matt and ann. in the news this morning, president barack obama will exempt ten states from the no child left behind today. nbc news confirming that by dropping the bush-era policy to ten states, including colorado,

florida and new jersey. will get the leeway on student preparation and evaluation they've been requesting for years. the official announcement expected this morning. new questions this morning about the emergency response to the murder/suicide of josh powell and his two children. 911 call logs now show it took nearly eight minutes for a sheriffs deputy to be dispatched to powell's home after a social worker called to report an emergency. it took an additional 14 minutes for deputies to reach the house, which was engulfed in flames by then. the call was categorized as routine and a dispatcher told the social worker, quote, we have to respond to emergency-like threatening situations first. the reality television producer charged with killing his wife while on vacation in mexico has arrived in cancun after being ex-twa dieted from california. "survivor" producer bruce beresford was extradited. his wife found murdered in 2010.

indiana health officials say they've confirmed two cases of measles in that statd and at least one of the people infected is thought to have attended the super bowl festivities over the weekend. the tsa is expanding a preflight security screening program to 28 of the country's busiest airports. the program would speed frequent flyers and other eligible travelers through security without having to remove their shoes or pull laptops from their cases. the tsa says the move is part of an effort to make security intelligence-driven, instead of one size fits all. now to wall street, cnbc's courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange for more. >> greece is still the word and greece still an overhang on the market. the eurozone finance ministers are expected to meet today, potentially paving the way for another round of bailout funds for the country. meantime, investors will place

particular importance on the weekly unemployment claims today. after a better-than-expected january jobs report, as we continue to look for signs of improvement in the labor market. savannah, back to you. >> thank you. and could the loch ness monster be on vacation in iceland? we'll take a look. this video of what appears to be a sea creature on an icelandic river has monster watchers in a frenzy online. but zooologists say it's an elaborate hoax. the clip has racked up more than a million hits since it was posted this week. it is now 7:05, back to matt, ann and al. i don't think it's nessie, because i think she has a condo in miami. that's not where she likes to vacation. you guys were paying attention. >> it's thursday, try the veal. >> let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. we have a little storm moving into our area? >> not until the weekend. in the meantime, things fairly

quiet around a good portiwe hav find rain. pacific northwest lot of moisture streaming in. some of it will be heavy at times and you can see stretching from coastal oregon all the way into washington state. rainfall amounts anywhere from just about one to two inches but right along the coast. rest of the country, fairly quiet. we are expecting a few lake effect snow showers, western great lakes, showers of panhandle and sunny skies up and down the eastern seaboard. that's going a on around the country. >> good morning. moon setting in a pink and blue sky. western horizon live view from the sky watcher camera this morning. we are clear and cold. temperatures around the region are down below freezing. upper 20s to 30 degrees. much of the area. watch out for icy spots where the snow stuck yesterday. created wet spots of roads. later today with the sunshine into the 40s, tomorrow up near 50 with increasing clouds. friday night through midday and that's your latest

weather. matt? now to the gop presidential race, where rick santorum is trying to capitalize on momentum he picked up from his clean sweep if tuesday's contest. nbc's kelly o'donnell is traveling with his campaign and she's in oklahoma city this morning. hi, kelly. >> hi, good morning, matt. well trying to keep that excitement going, rick santorum is the only republican candidate holding rallies today. he's got two of them here in oklahoma. and he's trying to draw in new donors. santorum tells us he raised about $1 million in the 24 hours after the surprising wins. and that's of course bringing new expectations and drawing new criticism from his chief rival. >> give him a texas welcome! >> riding the clean sweep momentum into a tea party gathering in texas. >> i can't think of a better place to be, to celebrate the victory for conservatives that we had in minnesota and in missouri and in the state of colorado. >> notching four-state wins with

his scrappy, no-frills campaign, santorum rails against one of mitt romney's biggest strengths -- a deep, formidable money machine inside the romney campaign. >> how are you going to win an election if your greatest attribute is i'll spend more money than the other person? we need someone who has better ideas. who has a better vision. >> santorum's strength has been with social conservatives. who embraced him in prayer on wednesday. >> we pray that you would direct rick's steps as he campaigns for president. >> laying hands and lending support to his quest for the nomination. while jobs and the economy dominate, the catholic couldn contraception controversy turned red-hot on the trail. mitt romney's own work in the ministry, a role he seldom brings up. >> people asked to serve as the pastor of their congregation

frimt from time to time. i had that privilege for over ten years. >> he links that work to his understanding of everyday problems. an area where romney has struggled to connect. >> i found that those kinds of circumstances were not just about money or numbers this he were about lives and emotions. >> from softer side to new tactics, romney is trying to blunt this surprising surge by branding santorum, a big government spender. >> actually during senator santorum's time in washington, the government grew by 80%. and he voted to raise the debt ceiling five times. this, this may work in washington, or it may have worked in the past. it will not work in the future. >> and romney aides say they will go after santorum again today, hitting him on things like his history with earmarks, voting himself a pay raise while he was in washington. even using the phrase, he was cozy with some democrats then. all ways that mitt romney is trying to chip away at the santorum surge. matt? >> kelly o'donnell in oklahoma

city, thanks very much. laura ingram is a fox news contributor. good to see you. let's talk about the wins for rick santorum on tuesday. did he gain anything other than bragging rights for a couple of days? did he substantially change his chances in the race? >> i think so. look, right now the republican party is in a similar position to what the democrats were in in 2008, right? there was all these people who thought that the clintons, hillary, specifically had the right ideas. and then we had democrats emerging like ted kennedy saying no, barack obama is the future of the party. there's this period of working things out and that's happening now. rick santorum comes out of pretty much nowhere in these three states, matt, in fact, romney didn't spend a lot of money in minnesota, missouri or colorado. but at the same time, he did have momentum coming out of florida and nevada. he couldn't translate that. so rick santorum has the ability now to say, look, give me another look, let me make the case for my solutions to you. more than just spending money to

annihilate mitt romney. >> when you say mitt romney didn't spend a lot of money in minnesota. he finished third in that state with 17% of the vote. four years ago he won the state with 41% of the vote. >> credible point. >> if you've been doing nothing but running for president for five or six years, it isn't good news. >> it isn't good news. you hit on a key point, which is voter turn-out. republicans have to be careful about how they proceed here to not dampen the republican passion for defeating obama. and right now, in key contests, where mitt romney has won, and even obviously where santorum has won, the turn-out very low. considering the fervor that exists among conservatives to turn the obamas out of washington and start anew. i got to hold up something, matt, for you to look at. this is the "washington examiner "er cover.

he's having a mix and mingle this afternoon. with a another of conservative supporters and would-be donors perhaps and he really, he understands, i think now, that it's time to build bridges, not just to burn down the other side. >> do you agree with the conventional wisdom, which has seemed to be over the last couple of months, that at some point in this process, strict ideology, the conservatives wanting and needing their say in this will give way to electability? do you think there's no longer the case? >> i think the aura and the idea of electability, the invincibility of the romney campaign has generally dwindled away, right? so that argument has become weaker, not stronger as time has gone on. but nevertheless, rick santorum has enormous amount of work to do. he has to have a real presence in ohio. he's going to try to take down romney in michigan, where the last poll shows romney winning 2-1. what he has, matt, is he has the momentum of the conservative enthusiasts behind him right

now. romney does not have that. he has not been able to seal the deal yet in conservatives in romney care and what's happening with the hhs regulations, the whole debate is not helping romney. >> in the last 30 seconds, interesting in the entire discussion, we haven't mentioned one name and that is newt gingrich. what's the deal? >> well, look, he looked pretty defeated after florida. he, 5-1 negative advertising and it wasn't pretty in the end. nevada obviously didn't work out well for him and now people are talking about rick santorum as the conservative alternative to romney and obama. gingrich has to hope for big wins on super tuesday in the south. i think that's what he's banking on. it was not a good night for newt gingrich. worse for him than for mitt romney. >> thanks for giving me the time. 13 after the hour. now here's ann. >> now to important medical news for pregnant women. contrary to popular belief, a new study shows there are certain health risks for babies delivered by c-section.

nbc's krif medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman is here with more. this is a study in smaller, pre-term babies. >> this study looked at c-section risks to infants. we talked a lot about c-section risks to moms in the past. they looked at babies who weren't growing as quick also as doctors would have liked. the conventional wisdom has been, get the babies out and we'll treat them in an icu. they found that there was a 30% increase in complications. complications like difficulty breathing. difficulty feeding. difficulty in temperature control. these are classic and jaundice, which is a real problem in pre-term babies. but if you look beyond that, beyond the pre-term babies, the babies who weren't growing quickly enough and you start to look at maybe 37, 38 weeks, there's an increased belief now that the longer babies stay in the womb, up to 40 weeks, the better the outcome for the baby. >> we talked about the short-term health inpact.

could there be long-term impacts? >> no doubt. long-term impacts include the breathing problems can turn into asthma later in life. in the last few weeks of a pregnancy, that's when the lungs and the brain are really developing. so developmental problems. cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, all of those things become compounded if a baby is taken out prematurely. i think we have to look at a societal change. the rates of c-section are going up in this country. one reason may be invitro fertilization and multiple births. one part of it is women trying to put delivery into their own schedules. and you've heard this topic -- >> or doctors. >> sometimes, yes. too posh to push, i don't want the pain, please just let me do c-section. you have to remember, the ultimate outcome should be a healthy baby. >> a lot of women who have had c-sections want to know, does this mean that they have to have a c-section the second time? >> the great majority of women can safely have a regular

vaginal birth afterwards, it's called a v-back. vaginal birth after section. >> dr. nancy snyderman, thank you so much. here's matt. a popular news anchor in denver, colorado is recovering from reconstructive surgery this morning after she was bitten by a dog live on the air. it all started as a feel-good story about a dramatic ice rescue. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the details. kristen, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. yeah, kyle dyer seemed to be excited about the interview. enjoying petting the dog as she talked to his owner and then things turned. it started as a feel-good story. a dog who fell through the ice rescued in dramatic fashion. there was the heroic firefighter. >> can't write it any better. he recognized that he was going towards safety. and once we got him out, he was friendly and happy to be in a warmer place. >> the ecstatic owner.

>> i'm beyond happy. our family member, he's like a son in a sense. he's a rock-solid dog. >> but when the 8 5-pound mastiff called max joined the morning show to share the story. things went terribly wrong. shortly after anchor kyle dyer knelt on the floor, petting max, the huge dog lunged and bit her. the anchor was rushed to the hospital and animal control was called. video of the bite went viral, but kusa fought to get it off the internet. adding the incident was traumatizing for staffers. nbc news is not showing video of the bite. now 3-year-old max is being quarantined at a denver animal shelter for ten days. his owner, michael robinson, has been cited for failure to have his dog on a leash, allowing a dog to bite and failure to have a vaccinated dog. dyer is known for a weekly feature spotlighting animals, at the denver zoo.

wednesday, she was operated on by surgeons. >> kyle went through reconstructive surgery and i think that from what i heard, the surgeon was pleased with the outcome of the surgery. >> in the moments before she was bitten. dyer's face was several inches from the dog's mouth. >> basically she did everything wrong. she went up to a dog she didn't know, who didn't know her and she either tried to kiss him, hug him on put her face much too close to his face, he felt threatened and bit her. >> a story that was supposed to have a very different ending. leaving a popular anchor recovering and the once-rescued dog now at an animal shelter. >> now dyer is expected back here at work within a few weeks. max's owner had no comment. but animal control said it's investigating and has found no evidence of any previous bites, so it's likely that max will go home. and the station says it plans to rewrite policies when it comes to interacting with animals. but matt pointed out it does not

plan to stop doing animal stories. >> we just hope she's okay, kristen dahlgren out in denver, thanks very much. it's 18 minutes after the hour. here's ann. >> kate middleton is keeping busy while her husband is away on a military deployment. the duchess of cambridge shined last night at her first sola public appearance as a royal. nbc's michelle kosinski is at buckingham palace with more. >> it's been evident from the beginning that kate is just good at this. and everywhere she goes, even out for the first time by herself, she's described as everything from kind and approachable, to dazzling and spectacular. this time, katherine wowed in glitzy, artsy crowd in a demur gray belted dress. but on her arm, she was at a art

reception. of course, katherine was the focus of the national portrait gallery. one of her newly-chosen charities. looking relaxed, showing how it's done. now that prince william or lieutenant william wales is on a six-week deployment to the faulkland islands. >> it was a very significant moment for her. a chance to express herself and represent herself on the world stage. >> he was not going to stay out of sight at the couple's remote cottage in wales. she's been seen out casually shopping with a simple gold wedding band, instead of her usual sapphire. now officially a royal in her own right. able to represent the firm on her own. and we saw her prove glitteringly during a trial run at a palace event in october. >> she's also got the sense of dew point that she's picking up from her grandmother-in-law, the queen, she's doing incredible research as to what charities she should be endorsing. because she knows that was one of diana's strengths. >> princess diana made her first

solo visit about a year after her wedding to a children's hospital which kate also recently visited with william. kate is a decade older than diana was. and wears her poise along with all of those fabulous gowns. hard to believe a few years ago, here she is doing her best to ignore the cameras. now, she owns them. so royal-watchers, watching kate navigate her first solo flight. >> the duchess of cambridge did wonderful last night. it was a freezing cold night in central london, the temperature shot up the minute she got out of the car. it was kind of electric. >> well, kate, who met her prince as an art history student in college, will soon have her own royal portrait made and she's expected to go on appearances with the queen. so she can learn from the best. ann? >> all right, michelle kosinski this morning, thank you. coming up up in an exclusive live interview with the woman who says she was jfk's mistress

for 18 months. her first, since breaking the silence after 50 years. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, new details on the murder of a university of virginia lacrosse player as her ex-boyfriend's trial gets under way. the disturbing email he sent to yeardley love just two days before her death. and just how easy it is to be criminals to get their hands on guns without background checks. the results of our hidden camera investigation after this. ♪ the wind is blowin' ♪ but i can weather the storm ♪ what do i care how much it may storm? ♪ ♪ ♪ i've got my love to keep me warm ♪

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♪ who knew being natural could be so delicious? coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally. good morning. i'm joe krebs. 7:26 on this thursday, 9th of pen and it is cold out there this morning. let's get a check on our forecast from meteorologist tom kierein. >> good morning. sun is up. and a clear sky, live view from the news4 sky watcher camera. temperatures are cold under this clear sky and now below freezing. most of the region, watch out for icy spots. those areas that have the accumulating snow yesterday, north and west of washington, where the roads were wet, they have frozen up this morning. and later today, sunshine into the mid 40s. increasing clouds friday. could get light snow friday night through midday saturday. cold weekend after that. >> tom, thanks very much. a look at our morning com

good morning. traveling in germantown, an accident in the intersection of ridge road and brink.

please follow police direction and use caution. crossing over -- i think we may have cleared it. no, still there. we have an accident outbound blocking the left lane. >> sunshine there.

it is 7:30 now on a thursday morning, february 9th, 2012. kind of a cold morning here in new york city. it will warm up though as the day goes on. nice day for these people to be out and about. 34 degrees on the plaza right now. we're going to get al's forecast coming up in just a little while. meanwhile, inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. just inside, a dangerous trade for guns. >> in a hidden camera investigation, we're going to be revealing what some say is a loophole that allows anyone, even criminals to use the internet to buy firearms. no background checks, no questions asked. and we're told, it is legal. coming up, jeff rossen is

sharing his eye-opening report with us. also ahead, a "today" exclusive, the woman who says she carried out an affair with president john f. kennedy while she was a white house intern. will have a first live interview, what's it like to keep that kind of a secret for 50 years? why does she say there was a darker side to jfk? we'll talk to her about that and more in just a little while. we begin with the trial of a former university of virginia lacrosse player, accused of killing his former girlfriend. nbc's janet shamlian is in charlotte, virginia with more. >> good morning to you. at this trial gets under way, we're learning the relationship between george huguely and je d yeardley love was tumt wous and sometimes violent and often fuelled by alcohol. the bar is set very high in the trial. they have to prove intent. as we learned in court on wednesday, it could all hinge on an email. george huguely walked into court in handcuffs and shackles.

now 24 and considerably thinner than when he was arrested in may of 2010. but the murder of his on again/off again girlfriend, yeardley love. huguely has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first-degree murder. in opening statements, prosecutors told jurors they have an email that huguely sent love two days before she died that will prove intent to kill. they say that the email reads in part -- i should have killed you. after learning love had slept with someone else. >> the prosecution is initially suggesting first-degree murder. this is, this is not only was he responsible for her death, but he had planned it and he had thought about it. he had threatened to do it before. >> it was by all accounts, a turbulent relationship with unfaithfulness on both sides, even before yeardley's roommate found her bloody and face-down on her bed. the cause of death was blunt force trauma to her head. the injuries so severe, the medical examiner had to dissect her brain to find the cause.

prosecutors said huguely went to her apartment that night, kicked open the door of her bedroom and shooked her until her head hit the wall. he left with her computer and tossed it in a dumpster, they allege because it had evidence of his email. yeardley's anguished mother broke down in tears. as prosecutors told jurors the young woman lay dieing in her bed for as long as two hours before she was found. for their part, defense attorneys called love's death a shattering tragedy, but not an intentional act. they said huguely went to yeardley's apartment after a day of heavy drinking only to talk about the relationship and to work it out. >> we see times wildfire the defense will claim intoxication on the part of one or both individuals, juries are, i think, have a hard time accepting that as a defense. because most look at if you're intoxicated, that's something you did to yourself. >> the defense said it would call a number of medical experts to testify. and suggested love could have died from an irregular heart

beat related to her prescription for adderol. in a statement that seemed to boo little his own client, his attorney said he was not capable of telling a lie, saying he was not complicated, not complex, he's a lacrosse player. love's mother, sister and roommates took the stand wednesday in what was often emotional testimony. there were also details of a prior incident just a couple of months before love died in which george huguely had choked her. this case has focused new attention on domestic violence and dating violence on college campuses. ann? back to you. >> janet shamlian, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> and good morning, everybody, we've got some young ladies here. wow, i like that, using your

iphone to show you love oregon. very cool. brighten it up a little bit. what's your name? >> ann. >> ava. >> you got a call coming in. only kidding. let's see what's going on for your day. we've gotday. we have cold air. arctic front has a big change -- will bring big changes. teens ask 20s in the plants. 30s throughout much of the country. friday, sub-zero readings in the plains. as far south as kansas. by saturday, that cold air makes it to new england the, the great lakes, all the way down to the south with 20s and 30s. rest of the day today, we are looking for plenty of rain in the pacific northwest and mountain snows and northern idaho. expect showers and snow in the panhandle of texas. eastern seaboard fantastic. gorgeous weather. exception showers and thunderstorms down into southern florida. and the bahamas, where kathie lee and hoda are, that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. a sub-freezing start under a

clear sky this thursday morning. watch out for icy spots with that snow accumulated yesterday. west and north of the metro area. we are going to stay below freezing much of the region here throughout the next couple of hours. wind chills are down into the 20s and hagerstown windchill 22 and later today, we will to the mid 40s and we will have quite a bit of sunshine. increasing clouds on friday, high near 50 tomorrow afternoon. then we could get some light accumulating snow late friday night into don't forget, you can get your weather any time of the day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com. coming up next, a hidden camera investigation on just how easy it can be to buy guns without a background check. and it's all legal. right after this. - i'll be hom. until then, i have my wingman helping me out. tommy? - i helped dad pick it out. - it's beautiful. - behind every open heart is a story. tell yours with my open heart collection at kay jewelers, the number one jewelry store in america.

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back now at 7:40, this morning we're kicking off a new series called "rossen reports." these stories come out of a new unit led by jeff rossen. we begin with a hidden camera investigation exposing how easy it is for anyone, even criminals, to buy guns. jeff, good morning. >> good morning to you. and some say this is a major loophole in the law. at gun stores you have to get a background check before you can buy a weapon. but online, in most states, anyone from law-abiding citizens to dangerous criminals, even terrorists, can get just about any weapon they want, no questions asked. our investigation shows the deals going down in broad

daylight in suburban mall parking lots. they are some of the most lethal weapons out there. and we were able to buy all of them in a single day. with no background checks, no questions asked. it's this easy. hundreds of thousands of guns for sale, on hundreds of websites. we responded, and set up meetings at popular shopping malls. >> how much was it that we agreed on? >> 500. >> we bought everything. from this police-grade pistol. to this semi automatic assault rifle. >> what if you went and shot somebody with it? >> we did it over and over again. our buyer even hinting he's a criminal. >> no paperwork, no background checks. probably couldn't pass the darn thing, anyway. >> within hours we bought eight guns. >> good god. >> even this 50-caliber weapon, so powerful, it could take down

a helicopter. >> the people you just sold it to could be terrorists and you sold it no questions asked. >> yeah. >> remember, at a gun store, a background check is required. but online? nothing. and believe it or not, in most states -- it's completely legal. >> is this like a candy store for criminals? >> it's a weapons bazaar for criminals. >> nbc hired former ntf adviser to help with our investigation. >> somebody even with a murder conviction can log on, email someone, meet them in a parking lot and buy an ak-47. >> 34 people are murdered ever are i day in gun violence, with many of the weapons traced back to private sales just like these. >> no one should have to die like that. these two women lost their best friend killed by a stalker. this canadian man who crossed into the u.s. bought a gun online in seattle and then shot

her 11 times. as she got into her car. >> no legitimate gun store would have sold this man a gun because he's not a u.s. citizen, he wouldn't have passed a background check. yet he was able to easily buy one online. >> there's not a doubt in my mind, had this man not been able to buy a gun online, she would still be here. >> what kind of dangerous weapons could we buy? to find out, we went online and responded to gun ads in phoenix, arizona. within minutes, we had meetings set up. our gun buyers, two arizona security experts we hired. posing as husband and wife. this man is about to sell us a tactical assault rifle. modified to use bullets for an ak-47. >> come over here real quick and i'll give you the money. >> we were watching from nearby vans as our buyers paid cash for the guns. no questions asked. >> hi, jeff rossen with nbc news, you just sold an assault rifle to a couple of people who you have no idea who they are.

or what they could do with that gun. they could go rob a bank or hurt somebody. does that ever weigh on you? >> it does, it does, but at the same time i'm not going to be responsible for what they choose to do with it. >> for our next meetings, we took it up a notch. telling the seller, point-blank, we probably can't pass a background check. will they still sell us the guns then? we're about to find out. this man is peddling a glock 23. with hollow-point bullets, made to inflict serious internal damage. >> we're not going to do any paperwork, no background checks, i probably couldn't pass it, anyway. >> i shouldn't be selling it to you. >> well anyway, i appreciate it. >> we shake on it. he told you he couldn't pass a background checks, did that raise any red flags for you? >> slightly, but in this economy, when you need the money, you need the money. >> it's all about the cash. people could get hurt, doth that matter? >> yes.

>> it didn't matter to you. >> i need the money. >> the twists and turns are just beginning. this seller shows up with a tactical shotgun and assault rifle and his 7-year-old son. remember, our buyers could be dangerous felons. >> i appreciate the fact no paperwork, no background check. 'cuz i probably couldn't pass it anyway, man. now watch as he hands the cash to his boy. jeff rossen with nbc news. how are you? >> i'm not interested in talking to you. >> we're just doing a story about online gun sales. he said he couldn't pass a background check and you still sold him the weapon. but the most scary transaction of all came after dark, in this pharmacy parking lot. the online ad was for this 50-caliber sniper rifle. the most powerful gun legally sold in the u.s. bullet range? five miles, it can pierce armored vehicles, even bring down a helicopter. >> this is set up. >> but the seller is so laid

back, you would think he's hawking a used bicycle. >> enjoy it, i know you're going to like it. >> once he got the cash, the gun was ours, no questions asked. but we had some for him. this is the gun of choice for the drug cartels worldwide this gun can take down a helicopter. >> it can take anything. it's a 50-caliber, i understand. >> you know how powerful this weapon is. >> oh, yeah. >> doesn't it concern you that you have no idea who these people are, they could be dangerous felons, terrorists. >> i never thought about it, to be honest. >> and it's happening nationwide. in new york, mayor michael bloomberg led another investigation, buying guns online in 14 states. even after their buyer said they couldn't pass a background check. >> i don't know what it takes, how many people, who has to get murdered before congress is going to stand up and say enough of this? >> so what's the government doing about did? it turns out there's a bill that would close this loophole. and require background checks for all gun sales.

even online. but that bill has been sitting in committee for nearly a year. >> maybe your report will motivate people to act. >> new york senator, chuck schumer is sponsoring the bill. >> with all due respect, as congress continues to debate this and play politics, authorities say criminals, dangerous criminals in many cases are buying guns online. >> the nra is one of the most powerful lobbies in washington and despite the overwhelming evidence, that we should do something, which your report buttresses, the odds of us being able to do something are not high. >> the nra says it opposes the bill because it has many serious flaws. but wouldn't comment about online gun sales. in the past, the nra has fought background checks for any private sales. but victims say, until the law is changed, more innocent people will die. >> all they care about is profit. profit over lives. and it's wrong. >> keep in mind, this is legal.

and lots of people in this country support private gun sales without background checks. they say it's not about making money or profit, it's about their individual rights. as for the eight guns we bought, we turned them over to the phoenix police department, where matt, that police department will actually destroy them. >> i mentioned going into the story, it's the first story coming out of this new unit that you've set up. what's the goal of the unit? >> we know how important these stories are, investigative journalism is incredibly important. we want to focus on consumer investigations, the world of finance, politics, the sky's the limit. we want to do more of these and dig in with hidden camera investigations and whatever else. >> we've got a website set up so people can get to you and give you story ideas? >> today.com, it's called rossen reports, click on it and send us whatever ideas you have. nothing is too small. >> jeff rossen, great story, thanks very much. still ahead, today's professionals weigh in on one college's controversial decision to make the morning after pill available to students in a vending machine. but first, these messages.

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just ahead, we'll pose a question, did president kennedy have a darker side. a former white house intern says she was his teenaged mistress for 18 months opens up in her first live interview coming up. and i don't know if you've noticed it's extremely quiet around here because hoda and kathie lee are in the bahamas taking the bahamas by storm. we'll check in with them live. but first, these messages and a check of your local news and weather. i'd race down that hill without a helmet.

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good morning. i'm joe krebs. 7:56. and we have 33 degrees out will. it is cold. let's check in with storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> bright sun up and breezes coming out of the north and west bp gusting to 15 miles per hour. as a result, these temperatures that are below freezing feel even colder. we have icy spots, too, with the snow stuck yesterday off to the west and north and watch out for that. wind chills down into the 20s to low 20s right now and later today diminishing winds, lots of sun into the mid 40s. increasing clouds friday. friday night into saturday could get some light snow. cold after that. blustery. joe? >> thanks very much. we will take a break and come back to

traveling 295 southbound, suitland parkway have disabled vehicle blocking left lane. slow northbound at the naval research lab. 15 miles per hour as you head northbound at suitland parkway. and slow i-270 from shady grove as you make your way to the beltway. >> thanks very much. we will have another news update

8:00 now on a thursday morning, it's the 9th day of february, 2012. and we have stepped outside to join our new friends who are gathered in our corner of rockefeller plaza. we're glad to have them here. and it seems to be warming up slightly. i'm ann curry, along with matt lauer and al roker. coming up next, we'll be hearing in a live interview with mimi alford, she claimed she had an 18-month affair when she was a 19-year-old white house intern. and she's here to speak in her first live interview about the relationship that she said she had with president kennedy. and also about his darker side. matt? also ahead, who here is

actively trying to save for retirement? a couple of people? you may think you're doing everything right. but we're going to talk this morning about five things you could be doing right now, that could actually sabotage your financial future. we'll tell you more about that. >> the truth is we should all be raising our hands, everyone should be saving for retirement. >> including the grammy-nominated band, the friends. they are making hay now and put it away. but they're going to be in our studio, not only making money, but making music. >> they are so talented. also talented. savannah gulf guthrie in for natalie this morning. in the news, republicans are vowing an election-year fight over the obama administration's controversial contraception mandate. the rule would require catholic schools, charities and hospitals to provide contraception coverage in employee health care plans. even though catholic doctrine forbids contraception. on wednesday, house speaker john boehner said congress will take

action if the rule is not reversed. on the campaign trail, mitt romney has been criticizing the administration for the policy, but romney himself is under fire for requiring hospitals to provide the morning after pill to rape victims when romney was governor of massachusetts. indiana's top state fair official has testified that the country duo, sugarland resisted delaying their show last august, despite threatening weather before a stage scaffolding collapsed in a thunderstorm, killing seven people and injuring 58 others that testimony came from a deposition in a lawsuit that was released wednesday after the stage-rigging company, a stage hands union and the state fair commission were fined a total of $80,000 by state labor officials. suing arland was not fined. a representative for the band did not immediately respond to a request for comments from the "associated press." caught on tape in georgia, a 7-year-old girl foiled what police say was an attempted kidnapping in the toy aisle of a walmart store. the girl kicked and screamed and

the man let her go unharmed. police say the suspect, arrested a short time later is on parole for manslaughter. washington state lawmakers have cleared the way for the state to legalize gay marriage. the move will make washington the seventh state in the country it allow same-sex couples to wed. the governor is expected to sign the bill next week. that bill was passed just one day after a federal appeals court declared california's ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick round-up will have you talking online. texas model lauren scruggs has returned to her fashion blog for the first time since december. when she was disfigured after accidentally walking into a moving airplane propeller. she also tweeted that she's trying to find a replacement for her favorite jeans she lost with help from the true religion company. a story we told you about earlier is trending on yahoo. duchess of cambridge, kate middleton looked stunning last night in her first solo

engagement at a private showing at the national portrait gallery. and sports fans are tweeting little-known facts about nba players concocted by funnyman will ferrell when he introduced a bulls/hornets last night in new orleans. >> at forward, number 5, he still lives with his mother, carlos boozer. >> number one, his favorite movie is "the notebook" derek rose. >> at center, 6'10", from connecticut, where he majored in econ, but he minored in love, omeka okafor. >> ferrell is in new orleans to shoot the movie "die fight." it is 8:04, back to matt and ann. >> i wonder if they thought that was that funny. all those players. >> i don't know, they didn't seem like they were laughing. you're a big fan of "the notebook."

>> i knew you were going to say that. >> we both watched it and you shed a tear. >> buckets. mr. roker? >> how many people here liked that movie? see? no, not so much? you were looking for the car chase in it, weren't you? let's check your weather, see what's happening. for those of us who are a little more sensitive. more sensitive. pick city of the day, boise, idaho. idaho's news channel 7 cloudy and cool and 48 degrees. and we have rain making its way into oregon and washington today. sunny skies in the northeast. snow showers around the central great lakes. rain and snow in the panhandle. tomorrow some snow makes its way into the northeast and we have rain down to the gulf and heavy rain moves into the pacific northwest. and northern california and showers tall way down to the gulf coast with hit or miss thunderstorms. rain down throughout much of practice. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4. and this morning we have a clear sky and cold breeze. watch out for icy spots with

that snow north and west of the metro area. right now at or below freezing much of the region. winds gusting not as much as earlier. wind chills are still in the 20s. later today we will climb into mid 40s with that sunshine. tomorrow up towards 50. increasing clouds. cold air surges in friday night into saturday. we might get some light snow. and cold, al, thanks very much. when we come back, the former white house intern who claims she had an 18-month-long affair with jfk. we'll talk to her right after this. matoday is the day... ♪ ...you make a change with hellmann's. ♪ make parmesan-crusted chicken. ♪ surprisingly crispier... juicier...

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at the time, mimi wasn't offering details. she released a short statement confirming the affair, and then disappeared. now in a tell-all book, "once upon a secret," she reveals explicit details about her alleged affair with jfk, which include close encounters in this white house swimming pool, losing her virginity to the president in jackie kennedy's bedroom. sleep-overs at the white house and trips with the 35th president. mimi alford, good morning to you. and welcome. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> watching the interviews that meredith vieira did with you last night. you watched it as well -- >> i did. >> i was struck by how you are still sad after 50 years. by all that's happened. what makes you most sad? >> what really makes me most sad is not having been able to talk. not having been able to talk about what i was part of, what had happened to me. and that's what makes me the saddest.

>> you write -- >> and also that you know, going back and from hindsight, looking back as that relationship i had with president kennedy was, was so imbalanced. though there were lots of positive things about it for me. it was also imbalanced. so it wasn't, it didn't help me learn how to have a real relationship with a man. >> so you're sad in part for that 19-year-old, happy, joyful, fun-to-be around girl, who suddenly lost her innocence? >> yes. but she also had fun. i also had fun. so i'm sad for that, that she -- but i had a good time. i was there. >> you write that for years afterwards, you were quote emotionally crippled. and you were struggling to overcome the consequences of that relationship. do you think we would ever be sitting here if you had not been outed in 2003? >> i can't say for sure.

but i don't think so. because so many things would have been different in my life, and what's given me the confidence to tell my story and to talk about my story now, is that i have a life and a relationship that has given me space to be myself. all of me. and i think that that's, that's what changed. >> and so you tell the story now of this intern who on her fourth day as an intern at the white house, was invited to join the president, essentially, in a swimming pool. and then later on, being led then to private quarters, and then, invited by the president on a tour to mrs. kennedy's bedroom. what happened in that bedroom, mimi? >> well the president had invited me to take a tour of the white house. of the upstairs of the white house. and i followed along behind him. and as i say in my book, really feeling as if i was being pulled by a magnet.

and in the last room that we went into, was the bedroom. i learned that it was mrs. kennedy's bedroom. and the president came very close to me and put his hands on my shoulders. and guided me down to the edge of the bed. and i lost my virginity right there. i feel that i was, it wasn't something that i had planned. and certainly not something that i was expecting to have happen. on the other hand, i think i allowed it to happen. >> you didn't say no? >> i didn't say no. >> but at 19 years old, as you were in this situation, that you didn't expect, what did you think was happening to you? >> i'm not sure i knew what was going to happen. and i think i was taken by

surprise. and i think that i felt -- if i can recall my feelings from that moment, it would have been that it was almost what i was supposed to be doing. it's very odd to feel that way. but it was, i didn't, i didn't say no. and i didn't, i didn't feel like i was really being forced. >> but you were definitely in a state of shock afterward? >> i think i must have been, yes. >> were you in a state of shock, do you think, during? >> no. i don't think so. >> you didn't tell your parents. you went home. >> yes. >> you didn't want to be around anyone. you took a shower. >> well i went home, no the to my parents' home, but to where i was living in georgetown. and my roommate there, she wasn't home. and i did, i took a shower and i just tried to put my mind around what had happened. and i really, i didn't call my parents. >> why not? why didn't you call your parents

and tell them what had happened? >> i don't know. i think it was an era when we really, when i didn't really have that kind of a relationship with my parents, that i would have told them. and that makes me sad, and i regret that today. i regret that my parents don't know. maybe not even at that moment, if i hadn't told them. but later on, because they would have known more about me. >> but did you feel that they would have comforted you? do you think that would have understood? or do you think when you talk about this being that era, are you thinking that they would have condemned you? >> i think at the time, i didn't think that. i just thought, this has happened. and i was just trying to understand it myself. so i didn't reach out to them. >> after that, you were invited to another swim. >> yes. >> and there was a pivotal, you call it a pivotal moment.

>> uh-huh. >> because you were pretty shocked as you write about it in the book, but you said yes. >> i know. >> why did you say yes? >> well, you have to understand what it was like to be in the white house at that time. and this is president kennedy. and this was, i was being included in a small group of people that knew him. it was very, it was almost like being swept away. >> but at the same time, you say you always called him mr. president. you didn't call him jack. >> always mr. president. >> there was always a separation. he was an older man, you were 19. >> right. >> you didn't have conversations about world events. >> no. >> he never kissed you? >> that is right. the relationship was very imbalanced. i was 19, he was 45. but i accepted that imbalance. because i think i felt very special from having been

included. >> do you believe that if your story is true, do you believe that president john f. kennedy abused his power in having a relationship with a 19-year-old intern? >> you know, as i've said before, he was extremely powerful. he was very alluring. he was very, he made you feel, made me feel as if i was the only person in his presence. and if that's an abuse of power, yes. but i didn't ever feel abused. >> did you feel that you were in some ways being abusive, in the sense that he was married? did you think about mrs. kennedy? >> no. >> were you aware, i'm having an affair with the president of the united states, who is married? >> i hate to admit today, that i

didn't feel guilty. but i was 19 years old. and i was very young. and i was being included in something so glamorous and special, that i didn't feel guilty. and today, i regret that. >> do you feel guilty today? >> i feel guilty about not having felt guilty about mrs. kennedy, yes. >> what's also surprising is that at some point, you started to spend the night at, and you would actually walk past some of the president's i guess secret service agents on the way back downstairs to go back to work where you were an intern. how many people knew about this mimi? >> i don't know how many people knew. but certainly secret service that were there at the elevator on the second floor would have known. the thing that's so amazing to

me is that those, that all felt very natural. and that's what's so interesting to me. looking back. i didn't feel like i was really hiding. i felt like it was natural. >> so if what you're saying is true, it begs the question -- how was the president able to live in this kind of way? with a wife and children being present, being the united states and having as you put it, a relationship with a 19-year-old? there's something that mrs. kennedy said in some oral history just a few months after her husband's death. that it's interesting to listen to as we talk about this. let's take a listen to what she had to say. >> he really kept his life in compartments, and the wonderful thing is that everyone in every one of those compartments was ready to die for him. >> you wrote that the president's compartmentalizing allowed him to effectively segregate people in all areas of

his life. >> right. well that's how i felt and i also had read that. i hadn't heard mrs. kennedy's tapes. but i had read that in ted sorenson's book. a lot of people felt he compartmentalized. was good at that. and i think that's exactly what he did. >> an example of that would be what you write about the president, as he was dealing with the cuban missile crisis, having you upstairs, in his bedroom. >> yeah. >> while he was negotiating a standoff with khrushchev. describe that time? >> it's really ludicrous that i was there. i realized that today. but i wanted to be there. and obviously the president wanted me there, too. and i was there. >> you also write about some very tough stuff that meredith also asked you about last night.

let me ask you about, you say in the book, that the president encouraged you to try a drug at a party at bing crosby's house. that the president emotionally abused you by suggesting that you sexually service another person, and that at one point you thought you were pregnant and you called the president. and what was his reaction? >> it was to get help for me, to take care of that. but you know my, i included these dark, this dark side and these dark memories i have of the president in my book. because first, i had them in. then i would take them out, and then i would put them back in and take them out. and i really felt that i needed to do that. i needed to include them, because my book is about being honest. and i -- if i had kept all of that out, it would have been just another layer of a secret, really. >> at the same time, mimi, you

know that all the principles who principals are not around to defend themselves. what do you say to people who say look, you're profiting off a story. you're making money. >> i know. >> off of this. what do you say to that? >> i wrote this book because of the secret that i held. and that was the focus of my book. there's no way i could have separated the kennedy's name from the book. because that's part of the story. and that's how i feel. people will have their judgments. and they're entitled to them. >> what about caroline, who is still alive? she's going to have to deal at some point with the fact of this. did you think about, as you talk about, unburdening yourself? the idea that you burdened other people with this? >> well i don't intentionally burden someone else. i'm telling my story. and that is what i needed to do.

>> any push-back from the kennedy family? yes or no? >> no. >> all right. mimi alford, thank you so much. >> thank you, ann. back right after this. e park has been here since the early 50s. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well. [ ilona ] i come to ge after the plant i was working at closed after 33 years. ge's giving me the chance to start back over. [ cindy ] there's construction workers everywhere. so what does that mean? it means work. it means work for more people. [ brian ] there's a bright future here, and there's a chance to get on the ground floor of something big, something that will bring us back. not only this company, but this country. ♪ okay, we gotta time this just right.

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>> tom, thank you. a q okay, people, let's get started. pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen! (laughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little...

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a slow travel speed. 19 miles per hour as you travel northbound taking 34 minutes to get from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. outer loop of the beltway in montgomery county slow as well.

8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 9 th day of february, 2012. kind of a chilly morning in new york. 33 degrees or so. warming up, we're going to warm things up in a couple of minutes as we get a performance in our studio from the grammy-nominated band, the fray, celebrating ten years together. outside on the plaza, i'm matt

lauer, along with ann curry, al roker and savannah guthrie. >> and coming up, mark lipman who knows how to cook everything, he's going to take on root vegetables. he's going to make them taste good. and our families will love them. we'll find out how, coming up. today's professionals are also here with a lot of hot topics to discuss, including the controversy stirred up when jcpenney made ellen degeneres its national spokeswoman, there's a group called one million moms who protested. we'll get into that. we're going to head down to the bahamas, a beautiful paradise today, tomorrow, who knows. >> kathie lee and hoda will be there. >> paradise island, the bahamas. you look great. >> how is it? >> we thought it was a great place to come and air out ourc o cocon coconuts. >> we're excited for you, we hope you have a great time while

you're there. you're missing somebody who is in the house, pretty exciting here. >> on the plaza, an extraordinarily talented actor, gary oldman is here, he just picked up an oscar nomination for his work on "tinker, tailor, soldier, spy." for people who aren't familiar with the title, can you put it in perspective for us? >> well it's the name of the suspects, there is -- a double inside mi-5, mi-6. >> a mole. >> and he's giving secrets to the russians. and so it's sort of the title is really about a code name from the, taken from the child's nursery rhyme. are you familiar with it? >> absolutely. >> a throw-back, this is during the cold war and a different time. >> yes. a different time. i mean -- i don't know if much

has changed, really. the place has changed. the location changes. the enemy changes. but we're still, i think we're still dealing with some of the same things. you know we go through periods of sort of stability with the occasional promise of annihilation as we were dealing with back then. >> you know, you're getting this, you got this nomination for playing a mild-mannered spy. >> very mild mannered. >> which isn't the nature of the roles we've seen you in. many of them incredibly intense. isn't that sort of interesting? >> i mean i'm very proud of the movie. and i'm proud that, i'm delighted that there's the nomination for, particularly for george smiley. he is such a wonderful character and he's an iconic literary figure. and so all of that sort of crazy mad work i've done over the years, i get the nod for what

one good people have been calling minimalist role. >> they're also calling it a flawless performance and you've been called the best actor on the planet. you should get a t-shirt made with that. >> you remember who said those. peter traverse. >> congratulations. >> thank you. now mr. roker with a check ofweather. >> all right. let's find out what's going on as far as your weekend is concerned. we have snow showers here in the northeast on saturday, rain in the pacific northwest. and mild through the southwest. cooler around the gulf coast. snow showers around the great lakes that will continue on sunday, sunday. more frigid weather in new england. and lake-effect snow in the eastern great lakes. rain is west texas on into the southwest. with mountain snows there. and clouds along the coastal pacific northwest. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> dress warmly if you are about to head out. we have a blustery, cold breeze

congresswom coming in from the north. temperatures below freezing. throughout much of the region. we have icy spots where that snow stuck yesterday. and later today, getting above freezing into the low to mid 40s. sunshine. then increasing clouds, milder on friday. and late friday night into saturday cold air surges in and might get light snow. cloudy and blustery and cold saturday afternoon and even don't, you can get your weather any time of the day or night, you can go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. and now miss curry. >> well, al, i found some kids out here who look their root vegetables, especially carrots, that's great, because we'll find out how to cook them. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices

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with" how to cook everything." this morning we're going underground to cook root vegetables, mark pittman is our chef, his recipes also appear in the "new york times" magazine. i don't picture you as an underground guy. >> i was once an underground guy. >> some root vegetables are more familiar to people than others, why don't you point out a couple of them. >> this is bizarre to people, that's celeriac, it's related to celery, it's a celery root. and oddly enough, you can roast this thing with all of those weird, hairy things on there and it's quite good, but most people peel them. these are the kind of beets that are grown mostly for the greens, which are similar to chard. but they come in all colors, shapes a ss and sizes. and radishes, parsnips, carrots. >> now if you want to eat something that's in season or

close to root vegetables are where it's at. >> the rumor is that the more you cook them, the sweeter they become. >> some of them are sweet raw, but all of them are sweet cooked. >> what are we making? >> this is basically a saute of grated root vegetables. so i like for these, a u-shaped peeler. you can use whatever you want. and peel around like that. or whatever is comfortable for you. some people like to peel in strips. some people even like to peel right-handed, which i don't get. >> lefties, unite. >> and you can grate on a box grate or much quicker of course is a food processor. the joke when my grandmother, who made a lot of root vegetables was grating, is that nothing is any good unless there's a bit of a knuckle in there. >> you've got onions sautes in here with a little olive oil. >> and grated radish, turnip,

carrots and sweet potato. it goes in there with some garlic and salt and pepper. of course. >> how long is this going to saute? >> pretty quick, especially if you get the heat to the right level. ten or 15 minutes, you can cut this in chunks in a way, it's equally nice effect. we have a nicer chew when you're dow done. but if you're interested in speed, this is the way to go. this is what this looks like. >> you're not going to brown these, you're just kind of cooking them until they get nice and soft? >> and they're beautiful, and some scallions, a little bit of cayenne. and some fish sauce or sherry. >> why the fish sauce? >> we're doing sort of a vietnamese preparation. but you can flavor these, lemon and vinegar would give you sort of an italian kind of thing. or a tarragon. >> it turns out looking something like this.

>> it turns out looking exactly like that. >> let's come over here, i want to talk about this other one. you're going to do sauteed beets now? >> this is really great. this is, i just started at the end and show you. to get this beautiful glazed look on these beets, it's quite easy. you put beets in a pan with some butter. >> when you cook beets, they're going to bleed. i mean they tend this color beet, they tend to get the purple sauce all over everything. and yet i'm looking over here, for some reason you've managed to separate them. >> the real dangerous thing is cutting and peeling them. and i always do that in the sink. sort of because -- >> it really does stain. >> a little white wine, a little stock. the great thing, the thing i like most about these -- we should have a cover, but we don't. so anyway, we cook these, you know, i like that, you know what, you know what you're

doing. >> using your surroundings. >> you cook these until they start to boil and you cover them and you cook them for a few minutes. and you take the cover off and cook out all the liquid and what you have is this beautiful, buttery glaze on here. >> all right. >> and then they're really sweet. great at room temperature. >> they're really good. tell me about this potato nick? >> that's my grandmother's name. a recipe i learned from my grandmother. it is essentially one huge potato latka. grated potatoes, onions, eggs, cooked in a big pan, turned over. >> you know, technically potatoes are tubers, not vegetables. >> i do know that, i was waiting for you to say that. the entire segment is failure. >> mark bittman, thank you. up next, five things that could be ruining your retirement plans.

back now at 8:44, this morning on today's money, five things that will sabotage your retirement savings and how to avoid them. here with important advice is the money coach, lynnette cox. it's great to have you here. tell us first of all before we get to these ideas, the pitfalls. what are the pitfalls? >> there's a ton of pitfalls when it comes to saving for retirement. the biggest one is doing nothing whatsoever and just waiting until the very last minute. i talk to a lot of people who are in the 50-plus crowd and they say, i wish i had started saving earlier, i wish i had planned better. >> and when we talk about the five things you can do to sabotage. let's talk about the number one. you say following the herd. >> that's right. >> why is that a mistake? >> when you think about people who are investing and saving for the long-term, looking at their retirement game plan, they often try to do what ever else does. right now there's the idea about facebook going public, right?

and people thinking should i buy shares in facebook? and people have started asking me this question. listen, just because everybody is else is buying microsoft, google, intel, facebook, whatever -- that doesn't necessarily mean that that's the right investment for you. you really do have to think long-term about your own goals and needs and about your appropriate level of risk when it comes to investing. so don't always follow the herd. >> that's good advice. you also say that our kids can be also saboteurs. why? >> i'm not blaming the kids here, i blame us as the parents. let me make that very clear here. but frankly, it doesn't matter whether or not you have a newborn baby, a teenager or an adult child. so often parents go overboard when it comes to their children, and they sacrifice their own retirement. now, again, let me be clear, i've got three kids of my own and we're saving and planning for their college education, et cetera. but some people will for example, make the mistake of funding their children's say 529 plan and saving absolutely nothing for retirement.

others will go crazy with the gadgets and the toys. people are putting their kids in private school, they can't afford the college tuition, so they're borrowing from their 401(k). and when the kids get older, a lot of people in their 60s say they're supporting their adult children. at some point you have to learn when to draw the limit, when to say no and when to focus on your own retirement. >> you don't want your kids to feel the burden of having to take care of you financially. >> that's right. >> a reality check for homeowners, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. >> obviously we've seen a huge bust in the real estate market. so many people overimprove their homes or they did the bling-bling thing, they bought the mcmansions, added a sefl level. they got the granite countertops and the marble floors. by the time your kids are going to college, you might not need this big house and you might not even want to have a really

expensive note, a mortgage along with the property taxes, the insurance, maintenance, upkeep, when you're heading towards retirement. so think twice about that. >> don't have all of your money in your home is your bottom line. right. >> and you say tapping retirement early, that's a mistake. when should you be tapping your retirement. >> under federal law, if you're under 59 1/2 and you tap into your 401(k) prematurely, you have to pay two things, ordeinay income taxes on that and also a 10% penalty. some people try to get around it by not taking a straight withdrawal, but by taking a loan. problem is some people borrow year after year from your 401(k), you're depleting your nest egg. >> we don't have time for the other one, i can list it for you, and you say don't pay excessive fees, don't do it. >> people have asked me and the fees are big. so just avoid them when necessary is the short answer there. >> thank you for having some

very good information this morning. the biggest one is get started if you haven't. coming up, we've got a live performance from the hit band, the fray. we're excited to hear them. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota.

>> the denver-based rock band, the fray, formed in 2002, their debut album was an immediate success, now four grammy nominations later, they're celebrating ten years together with the release of their new album, it's called "scars and stories." guys, good morning, nice to have you here. "scars and stories." what's that about? >> i think scars are really sexy. they're kind of a map of who you are and where you've been and there was this moment in any relationship when you kind of have to show those and the girl leaves because it's too much or she stays and it gets very interesting. >> ten years together. is this the point where it's gotten interesting for you guys? when you look back at these ten years, is this the ride you thought you were about to take? >> i mean it's a trip. we were just writing songs in our basement, trying to quit our day job. do you have any suggestions on a ten-year gift? >> what's the gift on a ten-year anniversary? i don't know what it is. >> it's a vase?

>> you don't seem like the vase type to me for some reason. tell me about the new album. i mean you got a new producer on this and i've heard a lot of you think it's the best work you've done yet. >> yeah, brendan was massively helpful for us, he kind of turned up the confidence knob a bit. and we also pushed the piano away, which was fun for me. >> you guys are on tour with u2 and now going on your own tour, 25 cities this month? >> it's exciting to be out doing it, no offense against the tv stuff. >> we like having you here. >> come back in between shows, what are you going to play right now? >> a new single called heartbeat. >> ladies and gentlemen, the fray. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ stuck on a highway. ♪ ♪ trains coming down underground ♪ i can feel the breath of your body ♪ ♪ got to keep on moving until we see the sun ♪ ♪ oh you got a fire ♪ it's burning the same ♪ and ♪ ♪ i feel your heartbeat ♪ ♪ it's coming around ♪ you love somebody ♪ you gotta love somebody ♪ love them all the same ♪ i'm singing oh, i'm feeling

your heartbeat ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ oh you gotta fire and it's burning in the rain ♪ ♪ thought that it went out, but it's burnin' just the same ♪ ♪ and you don't look back ♪ not for anything ♪ 'cuz you love someone ♪ you love them all the same ♪ if you love someone ♪ you love them all the same ♪ oh, i feel your heartbeat ♪ and oh, you're comin' around ♪ comin' around, comin' around ♪ and you got love somebody ♪ love them all the same ♪ you gotta love somebody

♪ love them all the same ♪ i'm singing oh, i feel your heartbeat ♪ i know the memories rushing into my your mind ♪ ♪ i want to kiss your scars tonight ♪ ♪ i'm laying here ♪ cuss you gotta try ♪ you gotta let me in, let me in ♪ ♪ oh i feel your heartbeat and oh you're comin' around ♪ ♪ comin' around, comin' around ♪ you gotta love somebody ♪ you gotta, you gotta love somebody ♪ you gotta ♪ ♪ i'm singing oh

♪ i feel your heartbeat ♪ oh your heartbeat ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ oh yeah ♪ your heartbeat your heartbeat ♪ [ applause ] >> the fray, the album is called "scars and stories" we're back in a moment, but first these messages and your lo good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. 8:56 this sunny thursday, february 9. let's go to storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein for a look at the forecast. >> good morning. right now with the bright sun we have a bit of a bluster yind coming in out of the north. temperatures are just now beginning to get above freezing into the low 30s to mid 30s. and later today, into the low

and mid 40s, lots of sun diminishing wind and increasing clouds. friday, highs near 50. then cold air surging in friday night. may trigger light rain early on in the evening. changing to some perhaps wet snow. light snow after midnight friday night through midday saturday and cold after that into the week. >> all right. thank you, tom.

good morning. traveling northbound 295 you are slow from the beltway as you make your way to the 11th street bridge as you pass suitland parkway, 16 miles per hour. not seeing accidents in the roadway for you. inner loop in virginia, very slow at robinson terminal. delays continue to i-66 rig

we're back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning, february 9th, 2012. and we want to say hi to these people who stopped by this morning. we thank them for sticking around.. i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry. al roker and tamryn hall. you sat down with the woman who said she was an intern at the white house some 50 years ago and had an affair with jfk? >> yes and we talk with today's professionals who talk about how they think it will affect his

legacy and the thoughts about her speaking out 50 years later. and also, ellen degeneres, jcpenney's spokesperson, the company is standing behind their choice, despite calls to remove her. and then if you're in need of a little r&r, we've got great vacations, everything from spas to beach getaways, stress-free and more importantly, affordable vacations. >> you know what, it's pretty chilly today. please don't say that it's not. usually you disagree with me on the weather. it's pretty chilly today, but -- >> no, it's not. >> it's normally been a pretty mild winter, nonetheless, some people are speaking about spring, and that means spring fashion from the runway to real life. how to make them affordable -- stop it, al. >> what are we doing? >> i'm agreeing with you.

>> let's change the subject, what a beautiful set of shoes you've got on. don't you just love her shoes? >> don't you love the look? >> beautifully done. >> runway fashion, how to make them affordable and put them in your wardrobe. >> we got off the rails, here, let's go inside for savannah guthrie and the headlines. in the news today, president barack obama will exempt ten states from the no child left behind law, nbc news confirming it by dropping the bush-era policy. the ten states, including colorado, florida and new jersey will get the leeway on student preparation and evaluation. they've been requesting for years. the official announcement is expected this afternoon. attorney general eric holder announces a $26 billion settlement with the nation's largest banks for abuses during the nation's foreclosure crisis. the settlement could mean help for more than one million homeowners. new questions this morning about the emergency response to the

murder/suicide of josh powell and his two children. 911 call laws now show it took eight minutes for a sheriffs deputy to be dispatched to powell's home after a social worker called to report an emergency. it took an additional 14 minutes for deputies to reach the house, which was engulfed in flames by that time. the call was categorized as routine and the dispatcher told the social worker, quote, we have to respond to emergency, life-threatening situations first. the reality tv producer charged with killing his wife while on vacation in mexico has arrived in cancun this morning. after being extradited from california. "survivor" producer, bruce beresford-redman is now awaiting trial in mexican custody. his wife, monica, was found dead at a mexican resort where they were staying on a family vacation back in 2010. women could soon find new roles on the battlefield as the pentagon changes its rules to give female service members jobs closer to the front lines. officials say that the new rules

will not change the longstanding ban on women in infantry, armor and special operations forces. but it will allow them to serve in other battalion roles once considered too close to the line of fire. the tsa is expanding a preflight security screening program to 28 of the country's busiest airports. the program would speed frequent flyers and other eligible travelers through security without having to remove their shoes or pull laptops from their cases. the tsa says the move is part of an effort to make security intelligence-driven, instead of one size fits all. and a bear and a wolf might not immediately strike you as likely to be the best of friends. but this adorable video of a little bear and tala might make you change your mind. they are cute when they're young. but this is how they look today. the woodland zoo in seattle, washington, posted the clip to show how much the old friends have grown. it is now 9: 04, back to matt, ann, tamryn and al.

>> only one is left. >> come out and separate these two. for no reason, except that we love both of them, right? >> how about a check of the weather? >> great idea. let's see what's let's see what's happening and we will show you -- we have rain to talk about in the pacific northwest. it is going to be heavy at times especially along the puget sound coast. we are expecting heavier rain to work its way in. we are going to be looking at anywhere from two to three inches of rain before it is all over. but again, right along the coast of oregon and washington. rest of the country, we have fabulous weather. making its way along the eastern seaboard. little on the chilly side. all in all not too bad. snow showers in the western great lakes. that cold front pushes in. look for rain in central and northern texas p with mountain snows. i should say some snows in the northern plains. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. temperatures now right near a little bit above freezing. around the region. we have a bit of a blustery wind

northwe northwest. wind chills. lots of sun, temperatures climbing into the mid 40s. then tomorrow increasing clouds, high around 50. then cold air surges in friday night. could get light snow as it does move in late friday night. perhaps into mid day on saturday. does not look like any signature a -- significant accumulation. the big story over your latest weather. savannah? >> al, thanks, now to today's professionals, our panel of people weighing in on the news. starr jones is an attorney and thorn, and donny deutsch is the president of deutsche incorporated and dr. nancy snyder man is nbc's health chief. >> mimi alford coming forward after 50 years to reveal she had an 18-month affair with former president john f. kennedy. do you think it's okay she came out and told the story? >> i believe it's okay. i had a wonderful long conversation with her this

morning. i did tell her we would be talking about her in the 9:00 hour and from my position, she was raped. and i say this because he was the president. she was an intern. he was 45, she was 19. he took her to a bedroom, put his hands on her shoulders and guided her to a room. i think we remind ourselves you don't have to say no to be in a position where you have no power. however, i believe she wrote this book because she wanted to have her own narrative and to that, i say kudos to her. >> wait a minute, you told her in your opinion you said it was rape and what did she say? >> she understood why i said that and she said she has had other people tell her that. she understands the context of that. but that she never saw it okay and she found the entire atmosphere in which she was pulled up into the white house, intoxicating. she was in this intimate group and she looks back on it not as rape, but that as a part, it's part of her fabric. >> starr, what's your take on this? >> legally if someone came to me as a prosecutor and told me that

initial story, that they were guided to a bed with a secret service outside, i would say that they had been raped. >> she said she wasn't forced. >> i'm going to leave it at her own word. i think that you know, for me, i was a bit disappointed to hear some of the stories. i think -- >> why? >> i'm a 19262 baby. so my, you know, my fantasy, if you will, of the president has definitely been diminished. i'm telling the truth. >> let me go to donny. look, president kennedy ran around. i think we all know that by now. i think we all would acknowledge, there's something particularly shocking about this. do you think it tarnishes his legacy further? >> a little bit, it does. it's interesting. i was in agreement with her after. she was crying, mimi. she was so upset. this is obviously a very special woman. a couple of years ago, monica lewinsky wrote me, she was looking for a job. i met her more out of curiosity. she came up and i felt so bad. she was a victim. you know, bill clinton has moved on with his life. he's still a hero.

she can't get a job any place. and so, you know, i so empathize with these women. and i believe that 99.9% of women in that position would have done the same thing. it's intoxicating, a man of power. i don't know if i would call it rape. >> she was, as she said to me, he chose me. and i think to be chosen, when you're 19 and then to be in this very tight circle is phenomenally intoxicating. >> this woman, mimi, who is wonderful, maybe we should relook at monica lewinsky instead of making her a tart, and see her as a victim. >> in both scenarios, who has the power? >> we know who has the power. >> i think you stand at attention and there's a big band that plays when they walk into the room. >> there's a moment in which the president gave her away to someone else for someone else's sexual gratification. >> and then also -- >> that then becomes the part that you get the ooh factor. >>dy actually hear her say that the irish catholic president

suggested that she would need to take care of an alleged pregnancy? >> yes. >> that sounded very much like he was advocating an abortion to me. and that bothers me. it bothers me. >> there's a lot that's shocking and i think we all agree on that. it takes a lot of courage to come forward. jcpenney has a new spokesperson, and it's ellen degeneres. there's a group that's called one million moms that's asking for a boycott of jcpenney, because ellen is gay. and -- >> what does her being gay have to do with being in a jcpenney ad? gay people go to jcpenney. i don't understand that. >> i want to applaud jcpenney. there's something called corporate terrorism where basically a group doesn't like something and they all of a sudden get signatures and who even knows how many of those are real. i did the first campaign, my agency, in '93 for ikea for a gay couple shopping.

the first time gays had been -- the hate mail and they're, we're not going to shop at your store. these are people who weren't shopping at ikea, anyway. the real hero in the story is jcpenney, they're not being held up by these people. >> do we assume that jcpenney factored that into its decision and expected -- >> she's already done a major cosmetic company. >> cover girl, she's been hit before. she almost lost her career over coming out early on. the great thing about ellen degeneres, she is authentic. she's kind. and she preaches in how she acts of her day, this kindness. >> even in the way she handled to her response. these are my values, kindness. >> she is a very popular daytime talk show host. jcpenney could use a little popularity right now. >> exactly. >> the news here is that jcpenney did not buckle. and that's the break-through. >> i agree. >> another hot topic today, contraceptives in vending machines, there's a university

that has the morning after pill available in a vending machine. we talk about the morality of it. but first, let's get into the medical issue. i mean you don't -- >> i did see you hiding behind that. >> i still see you. medically you don't need a prescription for it. you need consultation with a doctor? >> i'm going to give a donny prelude. please do not write me today, please do not post the hate mail. >> send it to me. >> the egg and sperm meet, until they implant in the uterus, you are not pregnant. this stops implantation. so it is not an abortion. can you think of it like a condom or birth control pills, it stops pregnancy. now, right now, you get it, you have to be 18, you get it from your pharmacist. the whole idea is and we know college kids are having sex. that it stops pregnancy. and there's one less barrier you can get out of a machine, i must tell you as a mom and a physician, i'm fine with this. >> what's the other side of the argument? >> some people would say it makes it too readily available

and makes it seem like a flip decision like you're going to get a coke out of the machine. >> these are college students. >> i think the only thing that concerns me, and i have to bow to the doctor here, is whether or not we really want pharmaceuticals readily available that way on college campuses. >> it works -- >> without the interaction, with a doctor or a pharmacist. if you tell me that the risks are low enough, then i have to bow to that. but my instinct is, with what we lerm about pharmaceuticals, knowing the action with the medical interaction with a medical professional. >> it was in the heart of amish country. >> no one has pause about this being easily accessible? >> in it was in high school, it would be different. >> contraception needs to be accessible, that i do agree with. social media password privacy. in some companies, they're

asking for background checks, which would include asking applicants to hand over their social media password. there's a legislator in illinois trying to stop that. is this legal to ask for social media passwords? >> it is. you're an employer, you can take what you want to have your employees do. your employee or potential employee has a right to say no thank you and to explain why he may not get the job but a twitterer or a facebooker is not a protected class within the united states. >> if somebody is around a company, two thoughts, we say to our kids, what you put on facebook is out in the world. your employers will see it. number two, though, something as an employer that used to bug me, this is i think going to be a problem in our workplace productivity going forward. when you walk around now and people are on computers, you don't know whether they're working or facebooking or whatever they're doing and i think it is dropping the productivity in our workplace. in the old days, someone was reading a magazine you would walk by. >> would you be okay if a

prospective employer asked for your password? >> i think actually technically, no. but the lesson here is everything you put out there is available. >> nobody gets my password. i won't ask for it. >> i will ask you guys our final question, it comes out in time for valentine's day, a romance survey. what things to a man were the popular turn-ones. >> a sense of humor or a good smile. i ask you in closing, what are your turn-ones? >> i want a really intelligent guy, i like smart guys. >> i love the ability to cook. i have to tell you my guy's ability to cook. >> i'm going to be the honest one. i like really, really big -- brains. >> are these implanted brains? and do you have to pay for them? >> can we you like hot guys, stop it. >> no, i like smart guys!

>> my guy is hot and he can cook. >> gilbert gottfried -- >> you were doing so well. >> no, he wasn't. >> star jones, donny deutsch, dr. nancy, thanks. coming up, if your idea of a great vacation is lounging and relaxing, we've got great getaways to help you recharge. and later behind the scenes at fashion week, we check out the spring trends. ♪ [ female announcer ] gross -- i'll tell you what's really gross: used dishcloths. they can have a history that they drag around with them. for a cleaner way to clean try bounty extra soft. in this lab demo, one sheet of bounty extra soft leaves this surface 3 times cleaner than a dishcloth. it's super durable too. it's the cleaner way to clean. bring it with bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. and try bounty napkins.

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this morning on today's travel destinations that relax, refresh and revive. want to get away from it all and not worry about putting too much on your charge card as you recharge? we have the features director of "travel & leisure" magazine. let's get started. first of all, westlake village in california. >> this is a four seasons property. that combines the idea of a luxury resort and a state-of-the-art medical facility. so not only can you go there and get your shiatsu and your swedish massage. >> isn't that a small dog? >> no, it's not. it's a kind of massage. you can also get your health check. so you can get cholesterol checks, and see how your dna is doing. cardiac health checks. after all of this indulgence that we've done for the last, since thanksgiving, a lot of us are needing to reboot a little bit and feel a little bit healthful. >> what's it going to cost us? >> it's under $260 a night.

this is $210 a night. >> that's pretty cool. let's head to tucson, arizona. >> i love a dude ranch, i know you do, too. so the tanke verde ranch, in the middle of the sonoran desert. this is all about horseback riding. they have 18 0 horses for 200 guests. it's like a one-to-one ratio. can you do lots of riding, get back to nature, recharge, regroup and they have $225 per couple. >> that's nice. >> a good rate. >> and you get your horse. >> and i don't think they let you take it home. >> now we'll go to rhode island. a beautiful part of the country. >> i love places that are summer destinations off-season. you get the place to yourself. ocean house is one of the grand old estates that's just been redone to the tune of $146 million i believe. you can go there, they have an amazing ocean house spa and they have something fun, which is

in-house forager. somebody who is a food expert and all about locavore food. she does three cooking classes a week that you can participate in for free. >> you can go forging for food? >> she forages for it and you get to eat it. >> let's go to north carolina, blowing rock. >> it says blowing rock. >> you're saying it's in blowing rock? >> yes. >> the hotel is called west bow in the blue ridge mountains, in the town of blowing rock, apparently. thank you. what's great about this hotel, which i love is the chateau, super luxurious, they're focusing not just on fitness, but also on wellness. they have things like burn-out prevention classes and trying to get you feel a little more spiritually centered, which we're all looking for.

they're having a great deal, $225 a night including, it's mid-week through april, it includes breakfast as well. >> last spot, st. george, utah. i assume st. george, utah, i don't know. >> it is. >> it says it on the map, but who knows. >> this is the red mountain resort. stunning, you're right by zion. it's amazing, bryce. this value is unbelievable. $175 a night. they're getting three meals, very healthful meals and you're hiking and your activities and your stay. and this is an amazing property. i think anyone who is looking for a little bit of r&r, this is the place to go. >> spectacular. >> and you're not njila? >> no, i'm not. you're part of the witness protection program? >> it's out now. >> for more on destinations, go to todayshow.com.

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with special pricing on select furniture and a terrific savings offer on accessories and more, your design aspirations are delightfully attainable. the drawer closes on these offers february 29th. good morning. it is 9:26 on this thursday, february 9. i'm aaron gilchrist. let's start with your forecast. tom kierein is in storm center 4 with that. tom? >> good morning. we have bright sun but still a bit of a cold wind coming in out of the north. temperatures now in the mid 30s. later today low and mid 40s. lots of sun. then increasing clouds on friday. high near 50. then on friday night, cold air surges in. could trigger some passing snow showers that may linger into midday saturday. just a very cold weekend to follow. down into the teens by sunday morning. blustery cold day sunday. with the sunshine highs only into the mid 30s. >> all right. thank you, tom.

good morning. if you are traveling on metro, delays on the green line due to a switch problem at the navy yard. you are going to see your delays continue as you head to greenbelt. also, in bethesda, accident old georgetown road at wingate drive

taking away your lane. in virginia, still jammed. 26 miles per hour as you head to the dulles toll road. back over to you, aaron. >> thank you. we are back with more in about 25 minutes. 25 minutes. now back to never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this.

we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. ♪ ♪ check out these bahamas matc mamas, no program. hoda and kathie lee, soaking up the sun. guys, we've got to get there. >> take us with you! >> all i hear is music. >> i think they said take us with you. >> that's right. >> i think there is just a bit of jealousy back in that studio. >> what exactly is the temperature right now in new york city? >> it's 33 degrees.

>> that's a shame. >> aw. what is it here, everybody? 81! >> wow, so sad. >> so what are you guys going to be doing? >> it's a quick two and a half-hour flight from new york. you know what, al, you could pack your thong and be here by noon. >> my family is from the bahamas. it doesn't seem fair, you're there and i'm here. >> we've been hearing a lot about that, al. but we've had to do a lot of things. one of the more unattractive things we did is we went down a water slide and when you're doing it feels joyful and free and when you look at the photos after. you want to cringe and shoot yourself. >> oh, my goodness. >> look who is in the lead! >> it was al, we had a flackback of you and matt. >> we almost had a flash of something else there. >> no. >> we told you it was not pretty. >> wow, that's a good look.

>> look at those faces. >> you guys look like you really enjoyed it. >> i wish i would have had my bunions done. i have beautiful feet now. >> we can't wait to see that and more. it sounds like a great adventure. >> the fun begins in a short time for you. bye, guys. >> looking forward to it. meantime, coming up from here, if you've always dreamed of hitting fashion week. how do you follow that? we're going to have the next best thing. hitting the runways, taking you behind the scenes to check out what all the stylish women will be wearing this spring and how to incorporate the style into your wardrobe. we'll show you how to rock it. and we'll be having fall for fun, make being meatballs three ways, whether you like them for the main attraction, or an appetizer, they're yummy and everyone loves them. first let's show you what's happening as far as your weather is concerned. for today, we have rain in the

pacific northwest. snow showers. rain showers in northern texas. sunny skies but chillier than usual along the eastern seaboard. hit or miss showers down through florida. con tomorrow. snow showers move into the northeast, great lakes, frigid conditions in the plains. more heavy rain along the pacific northwest coast. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. clear, cold and breezy on this thursday morning. later today into the low and mid 40s. lots of sunshine. then tomorrow increasing clouds with a high around 50 and cold air moves in friday night. might trigger snow showers. maybe a light accumulation of some new snow on friday night and late through midday saturday. cold weekend to follow. blustery winds on saturday afternoon. teens sunday morning. and blustery and coldr latest weather. >> al. thank you before we go further, let's bring in james cromwell in the hit movie "the artist" which has earned a whopping ten oscar

nominations. james, good to see you. i assume this is your first silent film? >> definitely. it may be my last as well. >> was it fun or was it frightening? to take on a role with no dialogue? >> well actually we have dialogue. we speak to each other and we hear each other. the only difference is it's not recorded so the audience doesn't hear it. so they have to create the story for themselves. every person in the audience creates their own story. and it's a wonderful contemporary fairly simple story. only all the different layers it's on and the idea that you are participating in the film is what makes it so wonderful. >> you're george valentine's driver in this. and at the end of the day, you're probably his only real friend in this? >> actually there are three of us, the dog, his girlfriend and his chauffer. >> what is that like? >> to make the film? >> yes. >> it's a wonderful process. because michelle haznavicius is

such a brilliant director. i didn't know what the effect of the picture was until i sat in a theater watching it with an audience, and you listen to the audience. the recognition that they have. that they are the 1920s audience. and that they are creating the story and there's a moment at the end of the film, which is completely silent. because the audience has gotten right to the end of the plot that they've created and they have no idea where it goes next. and they wait and it's silent. like a pin drop and then suddenly the music comes on and all the joy comes back into the film and that's what you leave with. >> it's a beautiful film. >> it is, james cromwell, congratulations, the film is "the artist" in theaters now, and one of james' co-stars, penelope ann miller willen joining us tomorrow. the trends you'll be seeing in spring straight from the runway.

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this morning on today's style, a sneak peek at fashion week. glamour magazine's editor in chief went behind the scenes to check out the spring trends that rock the runway. >> hi, everybody we're here at lincoln center for the spring 2012 fashion show. full fashion industry congregates here and tries to figure out exactly what american women are going to want to wear and going to want to shop for when spring rolls around. it's loud, it's mod, but the clothes get super cute, so we've got to get in there. come on, let's take a look. one of the big trends we're seeing already even early into the week is the rise of athletic and sporty stuff. we're talking about little bomber jackets, little shorts. we saw the trend big-time at alexander wang. who basically modelled his entire showed on bmx racing and

even has a girl carry a bmx helmet down the runway. we saw a lot of little sweet anorak touches with jason wu. he used them quite a bit in his show and overwhelming theme so far this fashion week has been prints. floral prints, geometric prints, pop art prints, it's all about an explosion of prints in so many ways to wear them. another trend right now is the return of the sleeve. some spring seasons it's all about bare arms and pleated cut-downs and right now we're seeing a more demure look. a lot of the sexiest dresses have sleeves with little short cap sleeves or long sleeves. i think of this as the kate middleton he can. the idea that you know what, you can look fantastic without letting it all hang out. >> wow. cindy levy is here to show us how to pull off some of these hot spring looks.

good morning. >> good morning. >> i love the list, so let's get to it. the sporty look is intriguing to me. >> there was a lot of that stuff out there. some seasons there's just one trend that takes over the runways and this was it. i think women are going to love it sporty stuff tends to be comfortable and any time you can wear something comfy and call it fashion, you're in heaven. >> this is look that inspired it all. how do you wear it, without looking like too much of a tomboy. >> i think you don't want to wear it head to toe with sneakers. something with mesh or racing stripes and combine it with heels or something. >> here's our first model, elaine. i love that skirt. >> it's a wonderful skirt. the vertical stripes down the side are incredibly flattering. they look great on any body type. what i love about the top is it's a leather mesh. by the way, only $40. >> that's fantastic. >> and so this look can be found at all price points. i love that she's carrying a little backpack style bag. it kind of emphasizes the trend.

>> dell me a little about the black on the sides, does that slim down your hips? >> 100%. a great look. >> that's good for any body type. >> a pencil skirt tends to be flattering for almost any body type and i love the great traffic cone orange we're seeing anywhere. if you're going to go with a sporty neon, that's great. >> up next is the print look. bigger, bolder when it comes to prints? that's hard to wear. >> this has its own thing we're looking at right now is only for the most adventurous. a more realistic way to wear it in your daily life is, my choice this season is the printed pant. >> a major wear. most of us have a printed top in our wardrobe. what you might not have yet is the skinny printed pant. you could wear it something very daring, like a striped top but you could go with more conservative pieces. >> denise looks great in these pants. how do you avoid. when you're wearing a patterned pant that draws attention to your bottom part? >> you can wear a long top,

always a great choice and there are all different have a rirts o have a rirts of prin s s s ss v prints. >> and up next, the demure look with kate middleton. nobody does it better. >> absolutely. shockingly fashion has rediscovered the sleeve this season. i personally didn't get the memo today. but i think it's a wonderful look we're seeing on elise, it's very feminine, she looks absolutely womanly. it's got a bit of sex appeal. but it's very covered up, it's proper. elise is a finance manager and she could wear it to work. the color blocking, a big trend from last season. could you do it with something in your wardrobe. take two complementary colors and wearing them together. >> even though that skirt is demure, you could put a sexier top on with it if you want to go out after work. >> you could just switch out the

shoes to black strappy sandals and put a motorcycle jacket over it. >> you all look amazing. this is how you take it from the runway to real life. >> and everything here is under $100 and most of it under 50. >> cindy, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> i'm going to take that skirt off her. we're making meatballs in today's kitchen right after this. nne ] appliance park has been here since the early 50s. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out the door, it's us that work out here. [ michael ] we're on the forefront of revitalizing manufacturing. we're proving that it can be done here, and it can be done well. [ ilona ] i come to ge after the plant i was working at closed after 33 years. ge's giving me the chance to start back over. [ cindy ] there's construction workers everywhere. so what does that mean? it means work. it means work for more people. [ brian ] there's a bright future here, and there's a chance to get on the ground floor of something big,

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yes, i want to see it again! [ female announcer ] hallmark blooming expressions delivers your love again and again. today's cooking school is brought to you by hellmann's. this morning on today's cooking school, meatballs, not one, not two, three ways. easy to make and everybody loves them. >> and here to get the ball rolling is chris kimball. host of "america's best kitchen" and one of the authors of "cook's illustrated cookbook." >> not all balls are created equal. let's start with our first, this is the traditional recipe, spaghetti and meatballs, it's a little different. >> we're doing 40 meatballs, we usually roast them in the oven.

there's a few trick, we're using a panade, bread soaked in milk. an italian grandmother would always do that with any kind of meat product. keeps the meat nice and moist. >> we add it to our meat, what kind of meat? >> two pounds of ground meat, pork, beef and parsley, and pancetta. >> and that adds flavor. >> and angelica. >> did has a dense texture, a sticky hard texture and a teaspoon and a half of gelatin and it gives you a nice texture and it helps to retain some moisture. now we're going to use my favorite cooking tool. uppen and we're going to make fairly large meatballs, they go into a 450 oven for about 30 minutes. >> so they also are on a rack, which means that they cook nice and evenly.

>> the sauce? >> the sauce has an interesting ingredient. it uses six cups of tomato juice, which has a much nicer flavor. so the meatballs come out. they go into the sauce. we put it into the oven for about an hour. and the meatiness comes out of the meatballs and flavors the sauce, which is a classic italian cuisine. >> tamron you're up. >> an interesting twist, chicken meatballs and spaghetti. >> the problem is that the texture gets a little soft. it's a good idea to refrigerate them once you make them. for about an hour so they stick together and they put them in and we're going it fry them. >> why frying, does it add more flavor? >> first of all, we only have a few. with 40, it would have been hard. and it gives a nice texture and helps them hold together. >> you cut them small as opposed to the other, why? >> it's chicken and you would like bigger chicken meatballs?

>> yes. >> she feels shorted here. >> i have a hearty appetite. >> they are a little small, but i could eat more of them. >> just wait until we get to al. >> when you're cooking with chicken, are you worried that it's going to a dry meatball? >> no, we have the panade, the bread soaked in milk. >> how long do you fry them? >> ten minutes. >> and we'll finish up with a little sauce, a little garlic, a little bit of parsley. >> finish up our sauce here. >> the sauce there. put them in. >> and we finish with the sauce, they go into the sauce for five minutes. >> al is waiting for you. >> here we go. we're making cocktail meatballs? >> abondegas. >> if someone said that to you, you would hit them in the face. >> it's tough to do a segment with you, i have to say that. >> why? >> because you're so funny. >> what's the combination? >> beef and pork, very similar. we'll make a quick sauce which we made with a little bit of onion, a little tomato, chicken

stock and a little bit of white wine. we cooked it for about five minutes, transfer these into the sauce to finish. then we have a piccata. >> a piccata? >> a piccata, traditional spanish cooking, thicken sauce, flavor them, parsley, chopped almonds, a little bit of garlic. >> and saffron. >> and we've got a bonus for that. >> gotcha. >> and we mash it up and put it in. >> and you end up with something like this. >> thank you, chris kimball, thank you so much. if you want the recipes, you can find them on today.com and click on food. >> we're back but first this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, hoda and kathie lee, out in the bahamas at paradise resort. >> they're having such a good time. >> after your local news and weather.

good morning, everyone. 9:57 is the time. thursday, february 9. i'm barbara harrison. a tractor trailer accident in prince george's county is causing big delays this morning. we are going right to danella sealock with more on that. >> good morning. chopper shot just a few moments ago. this is as you are travel 301 northbound. just prior to route 50. all of your northbound lanes are blocked. tractor trailer has a car pinned as you can see up against the

guardrail. northbound all your lanes are blocked. southbound your left lane is blocked by emergency response. if you are traveling on 395 i-i am seeing some delays four. travel speed now is 32 miles per hour. as you make your way northbound now over to tom with a look at our weather. >> we have the sunshine and we have a bit of a blustery wind coming out of the north. temperatures in the 30s and feeling like the 20s with that wind. later today the wind dies down and highs mid 40s increasing clouds tomorrow. could get some passing snow showers friday might through midday. very little accumulation. cold weekend after that. barbara? >> all right. thank you, tom. thank you, tom. coming up on "news4

captions paid for by nbc-universal television all right. here we go! ♪

♪ ♪ >> great to see you! all right!p> all right!p> >> oh, my gosh. whooo! >> whooo! thank you! >> whooo!

>> all right. oh, my gosh. oh! wow. >> kwhoo! >> and thank you! >> wow. oh my -- >> wow. wow. >> now that -- >> whooo! >> all righty, then. hi, everybody! >> hi, you guys! >> welcome. >> okay. you guys, that incredible show that was just put on is called -- >> all right? >> a way of life in the bahamas. you haven't lived until you've gotten lost in a junkanoo. we were back there for about five minutes. >> shaking our you know what. we don't want to brag because it's not nice to brag. >> it's rude. >> and unkind and not thoughtful. >> but we do know that in new york today it's 31 degrees. >> yeah.

>> so sad. >> we heard it was snowing a little bit in new york. >> mm-hmm. >> it's gorgeous, about 81 degrees here. we are at the atlantis resort on paradise island in nassau, the bahamas. and we have been here since tuesday having the time of our lives. we really have. >> picture this. you can be in new york in 31-degree weather, 2 1/2 hours later, all right, you land in the bahamas. you're with the palm trees and the sand. it's such a difference. a lot of people think of the bahamas as nassau and a couple other islands. but there are 700 of them. >> hello. >> and what i didn't realize is that there are 50 international airplanes with their own customs and everything else. so people are flying into the bahamas from all over the world. guess how they're getting here? >> this is so bad. >> great. there has been a merger of two major airlines. it's on the cover of the bloomberg magazine. look at this.

this is how they're getting here. >> we want you to look at it closely. >> let's get it on. ♪ let's get it on >> that's what it says. >> that's what we call the friendly skies. >> all right. you guys, we've had so much fun since we arrived here at the atlantis. so much fun. there are a lot of water activities. i know you guys who are from here and the ones visiting here -- >> water scares you. philosophically you don't like water. >> i don't like it because i am terrified. you know. okay. anyway, we decided to risk beauty and we snapped on these beautiful caps. >> yes. they told us they were beautiful. >> yeah. you know how you don't realize how hideously ugly you look until you look at the picture? look at that. anyway, we went down the mayan temple and had a good competition to see who won. we'll let you decide. it wasn't even close. >> look how ugly. by the way, that's a lot of fun.

>> look at my hips. >> that's frightening. look a that. >> i don't know who won it. oh, it's obvious. >> not even close. >> you did. it was a blowout. here's the other thing we had fun with. we have kissed a lot of people in our lives. >> well, you have. yeah. you've had a much more illustrious kissing career than i have. >> you know what happened yesterday? we kissed a girl and we liked it. ♪ i kissed a girl and i liked it ♪ >> her name is sasha. >> and she was so cute. >> she's beautiful! oh, my gosh. you know, i used to bring our kids down here all the time when they were little to the bahamas, and they have been swimming with the dolphins a lot. but we had never done it. neither of us have done it before. boy, was that special. you'll see a little of that. >> and we swam with them, too, which is one of those things when you see other people do it, it looks fun but a little scary. >> to -- so strong and powerful.

>> they're like rocketships. think put their nose on the heel of your foot and push you, propel you through the water. that's call eed sheer the terro. it was such fun. one of those things you don't forget. how about the atlantis being so great to us? >> you guy, when we got here the first night, we went straight to work when we got here, shooting some of the stuff you'll see. that night they were very sneaky. >> very. >> they came to our gorgeous hotel suites and said we're going to be cleaning some windows so please, we're going to close the drapes for a little while. inside i'm thinking i want to look out on -- they go, no, no, no, we don't want anybody -- i was about to take a bath. i was, like, you're right. if anybody sees me naked they're dead. i let them close it. and then you go out on this gorgeous terrace and we look down and what we saw. >> in candle, they spent three hours putting this together. hard to see. >> 300 candles in six hours. >> it says the cove loves kathie

lee and hoda. when you open your blinds and see something like that, this place -- >> we're feeling the love. >> we're feeling the love big time. we also, you guys, we've been tae tasting your drinks. >> just because we don't want to be rude. >> we like to be kind. they are crazy -- >> drinking again. >> i like you, lady! security! actually, we were at the tiki hut yesterday shooting and we'd been shooting all day long, right? >> yeah. >> they bring us over bahama mama. all right? we're thirsty. we're working. it's at least noon or something like that by then. i hear a lady from albany, new york, say, very loudly, wow, look at her slurp those things down! >> yeah. exactly. >> you are dead to me. she was right. she was right. >> you know how much i love you. i'm going to get those for you. >> the cards? >> yeah. >> maybe not. >> so here's the thing.

here are some -- what did you do? >> i don't know. there's something there. anyway, keep talking. don't worry about me, hoda. i'm your slave. >> stop. we've got to show the crowd because we can't thank you enough. we had a bunch of tickets to come watch the show. we had no idea how quickly they would go. if you could show our crowd. we had more than 300 people who came at the crack of dawn. the tickets went in 14 minutes. now they tell me it's up to 400 withi with a waiting list. >> they came with signs. we are going to ring our cowbells. >> and we're going to shake and bake and -- what's the name of the band? >> it is call rake and grape. >> these three lovely people have flown in from a different -- >> play a little? >> play a little music for us. >> they're called rake and scrape because they just recorded something together. go ahead. >> basically, you pick up

whatever's around and start making music out-it. and that's the way you feel in the bahamas. >> you really feel like you're in a great mood. these guys are terrific. we actually got on board yesterday, you guys, a little bit of a booze cruise. >> yes. >> have you ever been on the booze cruise here? >> yes. the bahamian queen i. we didn't want to do it but our tour was contractually obligated to go on the booze cruise. we went. >> we did. >> there were a lot of loving couples, a lot of people on their honeymoon. hoda and i are a loving couple. there was one particular lady that was alone. she was from oklahoma, and we were a little concerned about her. >> she had on a blue hat and she was totally -- >> straw hat. >> she was smashed. i mean, she was gone. but there she is. nyway, we want to show her because she was fun. she was dancing and letting it go. it just shows you, you know what, when you want to go have fun, there is a place to have

fun and this is the spot. >> we just hope she made it back to her cruise ship okay. >> we do. i, hoda, get to pick a song every thursday. >> even in the bahamas? >> this is an island song. it puts me in a good mood instantly when i start hearing the words. it's laid back. it's by my good friend in my heart -- i don't even know him -- jimmy buffett. crank it! >> really loud. "margaritaville"? >> you got it. >> come on. ♪ watching the sun bake all of us covered with oil strumming my six string ♪ ♪ on my front porch swing

♪ ♪ >> all right, guys. >> okay. good one. good one, hoda. >> all right. we've got a great show coming up, you guys. we are going to get wet coming up. oh! we have to do those. >> what? >> those two -- we have to. >> we are going to blow a conk later in the show. what are you talking about? >> this is the aphrodisiac part of the conk.

you know what it is? it's the the aphrodisiac part of it. like sushi. ready? >> go. >> you promised. >> no! >> i'll do it if you do it. go.

everywhere you look here it is water, water, water. we're surrounded by the ocean. couldn't be more beautiful. >> yeah. so we decided to get our feet wet. so this involves, as you may imagine, a booze cruise. >> hmm. >> looking forward to today. >> you like to fish. >> yes. we're going not just fishing. we're going deep-sea fishing. >> it will probably be a grouper. that's the big fish down here or out there. >> i want barracuda. >> barracuda. >> careful. >> thank you. hardest part's over. >> hoda did it! >> this is the part we don't like. >> la, la, la, la, la. >> so i don't like this. no, no, no, no. >> you're going to do the other one. >> we're not touching it. >> get the grouper! come on, baby! come here, fishy.

come to mama. i don't like to wait for anything. ♪ tired of waiting tired of waiting for you ♪ >> fish on! >> what? whooo! >> we got work to do. >> come to me! come to mama! what did you get? >> mine's bigger. i can feel it. >> ew! >> ew. >> fess up. >> yeah. >> we had a little help. >> a little help. because we got bored waiting. >> so, mike, what did you do? >> pulled one out of the cooler. >> hoda woman, what? you ready for an adventure? does it involve getting my hair wet? >> yes. >> but it's going to be worth it. >> there's a cute guy involved. >> i'm in. >> and some slick creatures

known as dolphins we're going to be swimming with. let's swim with the dolphins. >> i love my suit. >> oh, my gosh! [ dolphin noises ] ♪ i wouldn't have it any other way ♪ >> oh, my gosh! >> oh, my gosh! >> oh, he's pushing your foot. your foot. >> i didn't even know what that was. >> you know what, we've been meaning to dance. and we haven't danced yet since we've been in the bahamas. it's almost time. >> this is for the booze cruise. i'm up for it if you are, hoda. >> i'm ready. >> are we ready! ♪ until the sunlight

♪ dancing in the moonlight >> so this is called the mayan temple. and you've got to -- you have to go up a whole bunch of steps. but at the top, there is a challenger slide. two slides side by side. it's a contest to see who gets down there first. >> that's what i smell. i smell contest. >> isn't it true that the person that weighs the most usually goes the fast snes. >> that's rude! >> protect at all costs. >> you look lovely. >> oh, my god. oh, okay. >> warm water. feels good. i think hoda's going to win not on style point, of course. i've got a lot on that. >> she has no chance to win in this competition. zero. i'm like a bullet. i'm like a bullet going down. >>ly get extra style points for this. and i will do that all the way down. >> let's go. >> okay. i'm ready.

♪ >> this is rich! >> good job, baby. awesome. >> it wa legit. >> the one who weighs the most did go down the fastest. we'll try not to blow this, but hoda and i are about to get lessons in how to blow a conch. >> i'm not saying anything. >> stick around. ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart is playing tricks on me ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing new special k granola bars. ♪ i can't break through with 4 grams of protein.

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season of joy here in the bahamas. you can eat the conch or use the shell to play. >> a crash course on learning to play. make it sing a little bit. from chris. this guy, you'd never know to look at him. i'm just telling you. he's a lecturer in musicology and all things music at the college in the bahamas. right? >> yes, ma'am. >> and you were the founding member of the band we just heard. right? >> yes. i love being happy. the only way to be. >> hard to be serious with your hat on. >> professor. >> tell us about blowing the

conch. >> well, the conch shell is a very old instrument. and we use it for communicating. >> okay. >> in the early days. you could sound the shell for different alarms, if you wanted people to get out of bed or time to go to church or arrival of a bride. >> different sounds it made for different occasions or the same hold conch shell sound? >> the same conch shell sound. we can make it do different sounds. >> let's hear it. >> what i'm going to do, i'm going to put this modified version of a conch shell down. these are the original right out of the water. >> this has been for centuries. >> yes. >> show us what it sounds like. okay. ready? >> wow. >> so you blow it like you blow a trumpet kind of thing. >> yes. >> your lips are pursed. how come this one has a mouthpiece? >> i perform a j onkanoo.

and the cob is actually a stone. >> that's why it's a mao piece. >> tord to save your lips, you know, i've modified this and put a mouthpiece. i'm actual lay trombone player. >> chris, will you show us how you do it? >> you can put your lips on that one. >> do your lips like -- >> and do you hold it like -- >> no, no, not so loose. you're too loose. >> i'm loose. i've been told that. >> okay. one minute. >> into the mao piece. >> okay. let us do it. go. you go. >> there you go. >> wow! >> there you go! >> i lost my grip. >> i did, too. >> there you go. >> this is fun. do it. >> o say can you see!

>> hodie, we got another thing we got do. we got to go. all right. >> we have a lot coming up, you guys. sara haines takes a lap around the island. the word is swapportunity.

can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity. that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today.

welcome back to this very special edition of "today" here at the gorgeous atlantis resort on paradise island in nassau. >> loving it. >> in honor of our friend, thomas thomas, we just want to say what a lovely pair of coconuts. >> hi, ladies. >> we did this instead of a drink. that's how much we love you. >> our style editor. everything but the bikini. >> let's face it, after your 20s, that's a function. you really have to pack what you're going to wear all day. we all claim to cover up some more. >> beautiful. >> what you have on is very

cute. >> thank you. >> the lace and d -- >> i love these crocheted pants. >> see through. >> these crochet pants are one of those things you see on the hanger and think you couldn't wear. this is the perfect place to wear them. >> let's talk about cover-ups. >> i am so excited. a producer from our show is bahamian. she helped me find the most beautiful ba bahama mamas and we have michelle, lisa, and lisa's mother, angela, all wearing cover-ups from echo design. what i love is this resource has become one of my favorites over the year because they start around $40. the most expensive is $140. but really affordable and everybody's personality. >> and they have to be washable. >> washable. >> easy care. >> light weight. look at the colors. michelle has the matching bag if you want to find accessories. >> fit everybody's coconuts so beautifully. one size fits all. >> lisa's could even be a dress at night.

>> really pretty. you guys look great. thank you, ladies. >> that's fun about koumps. consider them the gown on the beach like the red carpet. >> glamorous. >> i like this next group because if you're lounging around, you grab for a pair of sweats and want to chill out. >> not today. >> you want to feel good and look good on vacation. i love the high look on andrea. everything in the sizes extra small to triple xl. only around $30. >> i love that. >> pair it with a knit top even though you think a sweater, but an open knit is comfortable. the set -- sorry. we have christy, who's gorgeous. she's got a cover-up on from dinas only $39 and $35 for a white linen pant. >> is that turquoise or white? >> you know, right from the beach all of them can go to lunch or shopping. >> they might get arrested. >> thank you so much. >> thanks, guys. >> thank you, ladies. >> you want to be able to have one outfit that will take you from the morning to the night so

you don't have to pack multiple things. >> you want the versatility. donna and alycia are great examples of day and night dresses. donna, a swim coach and a great yogi, has a fantastic shape. you can go looser in the day. she has a belt that comes with the dress. i'm going to help her out. if you belt the silhouette it looks more polished for evening. and alycia is like the secret peekaboo cover-up. during the day, it opens up, but at night, you let it hang like a dress and with the jewelry, you're ready to go to drink. >> what is the price? >> very affordable. $70 for the dress approximately and then this is ribina, again, about $70-ish dollars. double duty. all the prices are on our website, klgandhoda.com. >> thank you, everybody. >> come on out. >> bobbie, nice job. we'll see you tomorrow, too. >> and later for a little drinky

poo by the pool. >> of course we will. >> coming up next, we'll seal the deal with our animal segment. >> uh-oh. >> sea lions. allegedly. ú?÷ú

whooo! >> we are back here live in the bahamas.@? it's time for today's "call of the wild." a lot of interesting creatures.

>> this interesting creature i actually met years ago when you showed my sonko di at the pp stingray @q@q experience. >> that's right. he's become the curator.@q@wú excuse me. good for you. i knew you'd go tar. >> great looking in your little starfish, by hisú the way, was over here and made its way there. tell us about the starfish. >> it has two feet. that's why it can walk along the bottom. >> are you kidding? >> if you look real close, sticking out, that's the two feet. that's how he walks along the bottom. like little suction cups on the end. they can climb on the walls. >> they don't have a brain, right? >> they don't have a brain. >> why do they exist? >> why do we exist? >> i wonder the same thing. but i wonder what god had in mind when he made the starfish. >> they're the cleaners of the ocean. they clean the bottom of the ocean. >> can they eat something outside of their bodies? >> they push the stomach outside of their bodies and digest the

food externally. >> this is the cucumber. >> yes. >> tell us about this guy. >> he does like you. >> he can't hear you. >> can you touch it? >> you can be gentle. >> i don't know. what do you think? >> it's related to the starfish, in the same group of animals. >> like peat moss. >> they have a unique thing they do to protect themselves against predators. >> i'm scared. what do they do? >> they can expel byes of their intestines out of their part. or@@?@? >> they need to see a doctor. >> all right.p÷ sea urchin.> that's the sea urchin. another relative of the starfish. >> that is a delicacy in japan but here not a food stuff. >> no. we don't eat sea urchins. >> take us to this mini shark. >> as adults they can get up to agent eight to ten feet. the record has been 14 feet long. from that little thing, you can get up to a 14-foot shark. >> dangerously close to the posterior of the cucumber.

does he know what could happen to him? you, sweetie. >> thank you very much. >> we are going to shift gears because we have a sea lion in the house. with him is russell morgan. >> hi, russell. >> hello, ladies. how are you? >> hi. how are you? >> say hello. >> hello. >> so a sea lion, russell, and a seal. completely different? >> not completely different. they are very closely related. five major differences between the two. easiest way to tell the difference is the ears. see the ears? see those? >> i have those, too. that's an ear. okay. >> more fish! >> yes, she does. there are four other differences. the way she walks. see walks around on land very, very easily. >> wow. >> a seal can't do that. they move like this. >> that's kra is si. >> showing off that he's better than a seal. >> she doesn't like to show off like that. >> she doesn't. >> what other tricks does she

do? >> she can dance. >> can she? >> yeah. >> play some music? >> yeah. got some music going? >> some music, please! >> ready? >> oh, my gosh. >> yeah!@ >> yeah! >> very cool. >> wow. >> whoa. we did not want to see that. >> how do you like that? >> that is talent. >> oh, my gosh. >> good. >> how long can she be out of water before she needs to get back in? >> these animals need the water for two different thing, one, the food they eat, obviously with a big fish. but also for body temperature regulation. days like today where it's not too hot -- >> 81. >> 81. not too hot for her. water ld stay out of theúw for weeks on end. >> she could take a booze cruise. >> whoa. >> she could. >> could you?

you want to? >> russell, thank you very much. >> thank you, guys. bye! >> sara is taking a tour of the islands. @

we are having an absolute ball here @lan tis. but the bahamas are so much more. in fact, there are 700 islands more. >> and guess who went on a little plane over the last couple days and managed to island hop around? >> our little sister sara? >> our little sister sara. take a look. begin my exploration of the bahamas in andros, a lilt peace of tranquility.

my first stop, learning to make the national fabric of the bahamas. >> i made a special design for you. put it in the wax. >> one, two, three. take it out. oh, that was good. a few more wax stamps and the fabric is ready to be dyed. >> that's how it looks. >> it looks pretty, huh? >> andros is also dotted with blue holes, vertical underwater caves. here goes nothing. like this one called captain bill's. what an adrenaline rush. next on my itinerary,er toing the at-bbacos, touring the isla chain that's a paradise for boaters. there i made a visit to the historic lighthouse, which has served as a beacon for sailors since 1864. this is the best view, like, maybe ever. >> see that piece of breaking water right there? >> yeah. >> that's the reef that this

lighthouse is to protect people from running up on. there are no other lighthouses that are kerosene lit and hand wound in the entire world. >> like a lantern. a big -- >> big coleman lantern. >> daddy lantern. >> yes. >> from there to turtle key, a fells tif little island. i guess i got hair and makeup for this shoot. inside miss emily's blue bar, owner violet smith show med how to shake up their fay mmous cocktail. my mother created the smash. no, no, no. it's a secret. >> a little coconut rum, pineapple juice and a few mystery ingredients later. >> shake well. do it like your mom. you take it and you just move it. >> whoa. >> move it. >> whoa.

>> how is this for my own little piece of paradise? i landed in the middle of the bahamas in the exumas which consist of 365 islands. most of them are uninhabited. here, visitors can take in a gorgeous round of golf at the sandals emerald reef golf club. how easy do you think that was, 18 to 20? >> a 4. i think you parred it. >> par. that's my final answer. my next adventure at big major key, you have to see to believe. swimming pigs. oh, my gosh! look at his little tail! >> no one's sure how it started but i think some locals put them here so they could visit. >> okey-dokey. and we got a special glimpse at the newest members of the beach club. that was so cool. those pigs were -- whoa.

my trip would not be complete without hitting the beach party chat n chill. >> boaters and wanderers from all over the world show up and enjoy the bells. >> the centerpiece of the festivity assign post created by customers from arnold the globe. >> i feel like there's something missing. >> really? >> i do. i do. >> a "today" sign. wonderful! >> it has been so much fun island hopping but really exhausting. just another day at the office. >> we're modeling the fabric. >> yeah. it pays to be here. >> yesterday we were swimming with the dolphins instead of the pigs. >> up next, we are going to play beach volleyball with some olympic hopefuls. >> yes.

well, our time here bahamas wouldn't be complete without hitting the beach and we're here. >> we're very excited because the gentlemen playing behind us are members of the bahamas national beach volleyball team and they have high hopes of going to the olympics this summer. for the first time ever. >> definitely. it would be a big placcomplishmt for the bahamas and these guys. >> first nicaragua. >> next week we go to nicaragua and we play the central american countries. >> of course you do. >> we have to win that round in order to qualify. >> who's your biggest competition in the caribbean besides us? >> right now it's trinidad. we play trinidad in the first and second round. >> and? >> we won the first round in trinidad, but unfortunately we lost to them, we came second.

>> you learn playing them first. >> exactly. >> you know their weak spots. >> exactly. >> i know it's not an easy sport to learn because beach voll volleyball is tough, difficult. >> unlike indoor, only two man aside so you have a lot to execute in order to be competitive. >> and harder because of the sand. you can't bounce in the sand. >> we can bounce anywhere. >> i can see that. >> that's your motivation. we're going three-on-three? is that how ice going to work? >> that's fine. pick a side and let's go to work. >> i'm going over here. >> hi, guys. hi, guys. we're ready! >> hi! how are you? hi, sweetie. we're ready. where should i stand? here? show me where to stand. >> have yoever played volleyball? >> no. >> i want to be opposite klg. i'm opposite you. let's go. >> ready? >> all right. do it.

>> get it! get it! >> hoda! >> get it over! >> come on, kathie. >> i'm sorry. i thought it was yours. sorry. i should have gone for that. >> we got it. >> that won't happen again. >> right here. i dare you. so sad. >> does that count? >> not really. no. >> well -- >> ready? >> oh, oh. oh. >> come on. >> oh, yeah. >> nice touch. >> good, hoda! >> oh, crap! >> come on, hoda. i got it. >> way to go! >> oh! >> good try. >> thanks, guys!

>> we're huffing and puffing. >> we'll be back tomorrow. we have so much other great stuff. it's going to be a blast. we might get in a little trouble tonight we get to tell you about tomorrow. have a great thursday. @@púú

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