good morning. michigan man? a new poll shows rick santorum leading with primary voters in mitt romney's home state. can romney turn the tide in the next week and a half? and ha does it mean if he doesn't? we'll ask outspoken commentator, bill o'reilly. subpoenaed -- officials subpoena whitney houston's medical records, as her cause of death is listed as deferred for now. this morning, the latest on the investigation. and what's wrong with you, george? george huguely's roommates testify about how the lacrosse player was acting and what they asked him on the night his ex-girlfriend was murdered. their explosive testimony today, ex-girlfriend was murdered. their explosive testimony today, thursday, february 16th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, welcome to "today" on a thursday morning, i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone, i'm savannah guthrie, in for ann today who is on assignment. and rick santorum heads to michigan today, bolstered by a new poll that shows him with a lead in mitt romney's native state. >> he's going to deliver a speech in detroit that's miles from where romney went to high school. we'll discuss all of that with bill o'reilly. and we'll also talk to bill about some comments he's made recently, controversial comments about the death of whitney houston. >> speaking of whitney houston, new jersey's governor, chris christie is defending his plan to fly flags at half-staff on saturday as the singer is laid to rest in her native new jersey. we asked you to weigh in on our website. we got tens of thousands of

responses. let's say it was rather onesided. we're going to tell you the results and talk about it, too, as well as a few other topics with today's professionals. and dr. oz is here, he says he'll reveal the only grocery list you'll ever need to stay healthy and save a lot of money. we begin with a check of the day's top stories, amy robach is at the news desk with more. >> good morning, everyone. congressional negotiators have reached be a agreement to renew a payroll tax cut for some 160 million workers through the end of 2012. that deal also extends jobless benefits for millions of americans. now it heads to the house and senate for votes as early as friday. well mounting concerns about iran's nuclear program despite a renewal of diplomacy this morning. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell has the latest on that. >> good morning, amy, iran has agreed to return to nuclear talks after halting negotiations with the west a year ago. but that is not quieting fears that tehran is moving closer to

developing a nuclear weapon and engaging in suspected terror plots around the world. trying to show that sanctions and global pressure have not slowed iran down -- president mahmoud ahmadinejad unveiled new hardware at a research reactor. u.s. officials called it bluster. >> our view is it's not terribly new and it's not terribly impressive. >> the reason they say they're not worried? intelligence officials say the u.s. has penetrated iran's nuclear program and iran is still a year away from building nuclear weapons. >> the intelligence penetration of the iranian nuclear program has been quite remarkable. >> but israel fears iran may be reaching the point of no return. and must be stopped before it gets any closer to building a bomb. only last month, israel held military exercises for the first time in 12 years, simulating paratroopers invading a foreign country. >> what is significant, however, is the continuing ratcheting up

of tensions at this point. and it shows that right now, we're not going in the right direction. things are getting tenser. >> and israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu said iran launched a series of terror attacks against israeli diplomats this week. investigators say using the same type of magnetic bombs used in india and the former soviet republic of georgia. bombs found in a bangkok apartment rented by three iranians. possibly in response to assassination of iran's nuclear scientists. >> iran views this as a clear tit for tat. >> israel has denied involvement. at the same time, american jewish leaders were brief by top homeland security officials, who told congress there is no specific threat here. >> right now we have no specific or credible threat against any organization or target in the united states. but this is certainly a situation that bears watching. >> despite iran's denials, u.s.

officials agree with israel that iran is likely responsible for the latest series of attacks. iran has also been acting erratically, issuing threats to cut off some oil exports. a sign of increases tensions, perhaps inside the regime. amy? >> andrea mitchell, thank you. the family of josh powell wants him buried at the same cemetery as the two young sons he killed in a home explosion. but an anti-crime organization has purchased the two plots on either side of the boys, to make sure powell cannot be buried next to them. powell has been a long-time suspect in his wife's unsolved 2009 disappearance. well authorities in honduras are investigating why inmates were not properly evacuated from a burning prison, leaving many to die still locked in their overcrowded cells. at least 358 people died in wednesday's blaze. the world's deadliest prison fire in a century. more than 856 prisoners were packed into the prison. many still awaiting trial. never even convicted or charged. and outer space is getting a

little messy. junk from old satellites and discarded rocket parts are orbiting the earth. and all that trash poses a threat to our astronauts and our satellites. so a swiss space center is working on a vacuum lienor for space. scooping up debris and disposing of it or propelling it farther away. a launch date is still pending. it is 7:06. we'll head over to matt, savannah and al. >> apparently russians and americans not in a race to clean up space. >> they want to build eventually a lot of these things in the coming years. >> think of all the moms that can go there to run them. i can say that, you can't. >> savannah guthrie. >> all right, mr. roker, what's going on? >> five cents for every piece of junk? you know -- anyway. anyway. let's check it out and see what we've got for you. and we are looking at -- storm system that's rotating down in southern california. this thing is going to get itself together and make its way to the east and may cause a big snowstorm here in the northeast.

until then, we are talking about snow, 4 to 8 inches above 3,000 feet. 12 inches above 6,000 feet in the mountains of southern california. rest of the country, afternoon showers move into the northeast. mid atlantic states, showers into the pacific northwest and two storm systems will be converging, we think, along the mid atlantic sometime this weekend. keep an eye on that. meantime, sunshine from texas all the way into the northern plains. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> tom kierein in storm center 4. we have an area of some light rain that's just about to move into the metro area copping in out of the south and west across virginia and heading closer to the metro area. that's the moving area in marine. that's light rain. it is going to be getting into the metro area over the next hour. and so expect some wet pavement and have an umbrella with you. we will have temperatures hold steady in the upper 30s and low 40s where we are now for another couple of hours and later today into the low 50s. rain off and on into the afternoon and that's your latest weather. matt? >> thanks very much.

the gop presidential candidates are focusing heavily on michigan. both rick santorum and mitt romney are campaigning in that state today. and overnight, we got our first look at santorum's federal tax returns. nbc's peter alexander is in detroit. peter, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. this race is heating up. as you have noted with rick santorum arriving at a place that mitt romney considers his own back yard. santorum will give a speech today at the detroit economic club, on a topic that romney has made a centerpiece of his campaign -- fixing the american economy. >> we got lots of old friends here. there's an old high school, we lived across the hall from each other. chuck stoddard and others from grand rapids. >> trying to secure a badly needed win in michigan, mitt romney is emphasizing his roots in the state. >> any old girlfriends here? oh, i have to be careful. ann's not here today. don't tell.

>> the son of an auto executive who later became michigan's governor, romney has taken heat for opposing the obama administration's auto bailout. but he insists cars are in his bones. >> i care very deeply about the auto industry. i want to make sure we have good jobs, not just for a few weeks, but for many, many years. i want to see it come back in a big way. and i've taken on union bosses before. i'm happy to take them on again. >> but first, romney will have to take on rick santorum, who arrives in michigan today and whose blue collar background and socially conservative views may resonate with voters here, who want to defeat president obama. >> we will make this race about two visions for america. one, that believes in those core values that built the greatest society in the history of the world. and one that is modelled failed state after failed state. >> in a campaign heavily focused on the candidates' personal wealth and the taxes they pay, overnight santorum became the latest candidate to release his

federal tax returns. putting out the last four years. he and his wife's highest income in 2009, when the couple reported making who than $1.1 million. paying $310,000 in federal taxes. for a federal tax rate of 28%. and while romney is already heavily outspending santorum in michigan, romney's allies are focusing on the packed political calendar that lies ahead, investing more than $1.3 million in the airwaves in eight states, with this new ad targeting santorum. >> who has the right experience? mitt romney helped create thousands of jobs. >> rick santorum is called the ultimate washington insider. >> also today, mitt romney is hoping for a boost. he will get the endorsement of michigan's current governor, rick snyder. matt? >> peter alexander in detroit this morning, thanks very much. bill o'reilly is host of "the o'reilly factor" on fox news and the author of "killing lincoln."

hey bill, welcome back, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> let's talk about politics. rick santorum surging to the lead in four national polls, neck and neck in one. what's driving the surge? is it his strength as a candidate? or mitt romney's weaknesses? >> it's neither. it's ideology. conservatives are bouncing from one to the next. and they don't trust mitt romney at this point. so it's purely an ideological vote. and the polls right now don't mean very much. it's the next debate at the end of the month. after that debate, then the polls will start to sharpen. >> i know you're not a fan of the polls. but if you look in michigan right now, the home state of mitt romney. his father was the governor there. in that state, according to the recent polls, rick santorum has taken the lead. if rick santorum beats mitt romney in michigan, is romney done? >> romney's hair might even get disshelved if that happens. not a good thing. but romney hasn't lived there for 45 years. >> but he calls it his home state. >> he can call it whatever he wants. this is the first time they've seen him since the vietnam war.

come on. look, romney has been not been able to convince the right, conservative voters, that he's one of them, it's as simple as that. all the conservative voters who were split before between gingrich and santorum, gingrich has dissolved. they all voted santorum and that's why he's ahead. >> can you see rick santorum as the gop nominee? >> sure, why not? i mean he's a smart guy. he might do it. i still think romney's going to get it. but i've been wrong before. not much, but occasionally. >> in a head-to-head race between the gop nominee and barack obama, who has a better chance? mitt romney or santorum? >> you know this, it depends on the economy. gas prices, if they're $6 a gallon, you could get elected, all right? come on, obama's got problems on all fronts. >> i'm asking you, a generic republican against obama. i'm asking you whether mitt romney or rick santorum has the better chance against obama. >> i would say at this point in time, it's romney. because independents aren't right-wing idealogues, they're more comfortable in the middle

and that's where romney is. but it's all about the economy. >> kind of a hard turn here. but let's turn to the death of whitney houston. this is what you said on the show. whitney houston wanted to kill herself. nobody takes drugs for that long if they want to stay on the planet. the hard truth is that some people will always want to destroy themselves and there's nothing society can do about it. you know this has generated some controversy. people say wait, addiction is a disease. and if you are suffering from a disease, then you can't make the choice, you have no choice. >> well then they don't believe if free will. and i don't believe anyone is a slave to addiction. i believe it is a disease, it's a mental disease. but you have free will and you can get through the disease. as millions of people have chosen to do. it's a lot of free will. you don't have free will when you get lung cancer. you do have free will when you're a crack adigt. but it's very difficult. my point is there are self-destructive people and that society does not grapple with them. >> we, the media, look the other way on whitney houston.

everyone knew she was a drug adduct for two decades. >> you wrote this in your column. the meetia has no bleeping clue on how to cover whitney houston. that's because she was slowly dying for 20 years and the press averted their eyes. >> i have seen dozens of stories over the years, detailing the addiction, the erratic behavior, the denial of addiction on the part of whitney houston. >> they were sensationalized to exploit the woman's condition. not trying to help her. what's the last time you have seen a public service announcement from a famous person. a singer and actor, to say to the american public, you know, you don't want to be like whitney houston. don't be like elvis, don't be like janice joplin. you know what we do in the media? we wink-wink it, we willie nelson that. they're stoned, that's fine. what message does that send? it's okay. >> i think it's apples and oranges you're comparing. i think on the one hand, her media did detail her troubles.

>> at the same time, i would agree that they also celebrated her talent and her stardom. >> name me one media commentator outside of myself who said, hey, whitney, you better knock it o f offer you're going to be in the ground. give me one. >> maybe people don't come out and say it like you do, because that's the style of your show. but by covering her behavior -- >> they exploited it. >> and detailing her actions over the years -- in a way that's shining a very bright light on it. >> if everybody in the show business community had said to whitney houston, hey, you're going to kill yourself. >> but that's different than journalists say -- are journalists supposed to be in the position of conducting interventions? >> they're supposed to be in the business of telling truth. and the truth is if you get into hard drugs, you can go any time. and that message isn't getting out. >> by showing her behavior, didn't we shine the light on it? >> no, because it wasn't put in any kind of judgmental capacity at all. it was like a sideshow. >> you think she was poe trayed in a positive light?

>> it was like oh, look at this, now she goes to rehab. it wasn't, hey, whitney, knock it off. it's never been that, ever. >> let's move on a little. because you and i could argue for hours. >> and i'd always be right, no matter how long it was. >> you would always think you're right. on the subject of the flags flying at half-staff in new jersey on saturday, the day she's laid to rest. governor christie has called for that. is that the right idea? >> yes. i think we should respect the life and talent of whitney houston. i said a prayer when i heard she died. this isn't a personal thing, this is a preventive thing. i want society and the media to tell the truth about drug and alcohol addiction. it's hell, it's a horror. let's stop exploiting it and start explaining it. >> let's talk about your book. "killing lincoln." >> i don't want to do that. >> i know. >> god forbid. >> 20 weeks on the best seller's list and you've got some other projects. >> we're announcing "killing kennedy" will be my next book coming out in october. it's in the vein of "killing

linco lincoln." very quick, this is what happened in the last knew months of john f. kennedy's life. we have stuff that's never been seen and heard before. the president's life was chaotic and there was a lot of similarities between lincoln and kennedy, in the weeks and months before they both were assassinated. >> i have a feeling you'll have the same success that you've had with this one. >> i appreciate that. 17 after the hour. here's savannah. to more on the death of whitney houston. subpoenas have been issued to doctors and pharmacists as officials try to figure out what killed the singer. nbc's kristen dahlgren is in los angeles with details. kristen, good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. at this point, this is not classified as a criminal investigation. but this morning, there is no new focus on those pills found in whitney houston's room. >> newly published photos show whitney houston lounging pool-side at the beverly hilton. and days later, she was dead.

on her death certificate, the cause of death is listed as deferred. toxicology results could take weeks to come back. the coroner said they didn't find an unusual amount of prescription pills in her hotel room. but subpoenas have gone out to doctors and pharmacists for houston's medical and prescription records. the coroner calls that routine. experts say investigators are looking to see if houston was taking pills as prescribed. >> you have a pill vial, for instance, that has sickened like 60 tablets that were there, three days ago. and there's two left. that would give me a good indicator that there may be something amiss or out of place. >> defense attorney ellen garrafolo has been involved in cases where a doctor was charged in a patient's death because of drugs prescribed. >> what we've seen in the anna nicole smith case and the michael jackson case, there could be information discovered that leads prosecutors or the coroner to conclude that there was conduct that is illegal in

the provision or prescribing of prescription medication. >> beverly hills police say so far, there is no obvious sign of criminal intent. even though the website tmz is reporting that officials say houston was not doctor-shopping or using aliases to get medication. in houston's home state of new jersey, governor chris christie is defending his position to fly flags at half-staff on saturday. >> her accomplishments in her life were a source of great pride for many in this state. >> christie's office said they've received complaints from many in the state who doesn't thing she deserves the honor. many who gathered at a memorial agreed she deserves the recognition. but fans will not be part of the star's invitation-only funeral saturday. a small church where whitney houston got her start in the choir, only her closest friends and family will now say good-bye. now, at that funeral, aretha franklin will sing, whitney's

mentor, clive davis is expected to speak. there's been some speculation that houston's ex-husband, bobby brown has been shut out of the funeral. a publicist tells nbc news that the rumors are false. and in a statement they say brown's daughter, bobbi kristina who was treated for stress, is doing much better. >> kristen dahlgren, thank you. just ahead, roommates of the university of virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his girlfriend, testify in his murder trial. and describe george huguely's strange behavior that night. this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, an exclusive inside look at popular rehab facilities that cater to stars. are they really just country clubs in disguise? and how do you eat better without breaking the bank? dr. oz is here and he'll share his grocery list to live by. but first, these messages and a check of your local news and weather. ♪

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it made my willpower a super hero. as for calories, it has zero. twinkle twinkle truvia® star natural sweetness, i love just what you are. truvia. honestly sweet. good morning. i'm joe krebs at 7:26. this thursday, 16th of february. shaping up to be a bit after soggy day. here is tom with what we can expect today. >> umbrella day. we will have light rain moving into washington here and another half hour from now right now that light rain is approaching. fairfax county and just now beginning to move into loudoun county. coming in from the south and west, initially a few sprinkles of light rain. later this morning and into the afternoon hours we will have some more moderate showers from time to time. only about a quarter of an inch of rain now, 30s and low 40s. sun back tomorrow and into saturday, wintry mix saturday night and sunday, joe. >> thanks very much. we will take a look at the we will take a look at the traffic trouble spots when we

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good morning. if you are traveling across the 14th street bridge, pretty

sluggish at this time. delays start as you make your way from edsall and head to the 14th street bridge and travel speed is about 30 miles per hour taking 22 minutes to make that trip. >> thanks very much. another news update in 25 minu

7:30 now on a thursday morning, it's the 16th of february, 2012. nice crowd gathered out on the plaza. we'll talk to them in just a little while. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer, alongside savannah guthrie while ann is on assignment. just ahead, what's it like inside a rehab center where celebrities go to treat their addictions. do the stars get the help they need? or are they using it as a posh way to escape their troubles? we'll take a closer look. and are you getting ready to take a trip to the grocery store? dr. oz is here with what he says is the only shopping list you

will ever need. not only will it have you eating more heathfully, he says it will help you save time and money. and do star, donny and dr. nancy have an idea about linsanity? they'll weigh in on a surprising new survey that says doctors don't always tell their patients the truth. we begin with the latest on the high profile murder trial of a former university of virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his former girlfriend. on wednesday, some of the defendant's best friends were called to the stand. nbc litty luciano is live with . >> the prosecution rested its murder case against george huguely with witness testimony strongly focused on his character, his behavior and his heavy drinking.

a gaunt george huguely arrived in court, barely fitting into his suit jacket. the one-time lacrosse star a accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, yeardley love. after testimony from dozens of witnesses, the prosecution finally rested, but not before calling into question huguely's character from those who knew him best. one by one, huguely's former roommates and lacrosse teammates told their accounts of what happened on that night in may, when prosecutors say huguely kicked down the door of love's bedroom and savagely beat her to death. one teammate, ken paulson, a paulbearer who said love was one of his best friends. testified that when huguely returned home, i had no doubt in my mind that his demeanor had changed. clausen said huguely lied about his whereabouts and had a blank stare. when he asked three times, what's wrong with you, george, huguely would not respond. on the stand, three women testified that huguely had contacted them, either by phone, text or instant message on the day love died. one described the messages as

playf playful, legal experts say the prosecution has a strong case. >> there's no question we have promiscuity, unfaithfulness, alcohol. the prosecution i'm sure feels they can put it together in a a mix that makes george huguely look really bad. >> huguely's heavy drinking featured prominently in court on wednesday. all his friends told of a young man with a serious alcohol problem. mike thompson testified that the drinking was out of control, it needed to stop. his friends spoke of an intervention, thompson spoke that on the night love died, huguely was so drunk he wasn't making sense. in the state of virginia, being drunk can be a defense against first-degree murder. >> if you're so drunk you can can't even form a conscious, coherent thought, then you can't be held to have formed the thought of, i'm going to kill. >> for their part, defense experts testified that love was also drunk that night. clinically intoxicated with impaired coordination and lack of judgment. a defense expert also testified that love's brain injuries could have been caused by cpr and not

the blunt-force trauma that prosecutors claim killed her. when the prosecution rested, the defense made a motion to strike five of the six charges against huguely. the judge denied that motion. this morning, the defense will put more experts on the stand, as they try to chip away the prosecution's cause of death. savannah? >> lilly luciano, with the latest from charlottesville, thanks. now let's check the weather with al. today's weather is brought to you by the u.s. postal service. >> and good morning, everybody. we're keeping an eye on a couple of systems getting themselves together. and will make their way east. here's what we're expecting. low pressure developing down in southern texas. continue to make its way to the east. and also, there's a secondary system that will be developing along the plains and coming across. these two systems may actually phase together. and then form off the coast now here's what we're looking at. the path a, greatest chance for rain and snow in the northeast.

path b,northeast. path "b" moves it off and no big problems. pads "c," cold and dry in the northeast. a lot of the computer models don't agree. we could be looking at some significant snow for the northeast. 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 on this thursday morning. we will be deal rain today. have an umbrella with you. we will have that rain getting a little bit steadier as we get into the late moerng hours. right now getting some light rain and advancing towards the metro area from the south and west. moving through off and on through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. all above freezing now, upper 30s and low 40s. chilly rain this morning and then climbing to near 50 this afternoon and rain ending tonight. sun back friday and saturday increasing clouds, w don't forget, you can get the latest on this system, go to the weather channel on cable, or weather.com online all weekend long. matt? all right, al. this morning on rossen reports,

celebrities and addiction, while we don't know the cause of whitney houston's death, we know she received treatment for drug and alcohol abuse several times over the years. why do so many stars relapse even after a pricey rehab? today national investigative correspondent jeff rossen has more on that. >> we see it over and over again. big-time star goes into rehab, comes out, messes up, goes back in again. so what's it really like inside these celebrity rehab centers? and when they do get out, why do so many stars keep falling off the wagon? this morning, we take you inside that exclusive world with the insiders who live it. from lindsay to britney to demi -- to charlie. it's rehab's revolving door. >> do you think these celebrity rehab facilities are too easy? are they too posh? >> well, they're certainly not difficult. >> child actor turned radio

host, danny bonaduce, has been to rehab centers three times, including this celebrity favorite, promises rehab in malibu. >> it was fun. it was a really good time. a lot of conversation. and a lot of swimming and a lot of hanging out with really cool movie stars. i met the most famous people i have ever met in my whole life. >> was there rehabilitation goings-on? >> oh, god no. not that i was aware of. there was country clubs that don't have the decency to have a bar. >> stars pay up to $90,000 a month to get in a stay that includes sweeping views. luxury suites. resort-style swimming pools. gourmet dining. >> so this is the room that we use for massage. >> yes, that, too. the ceo of promises, dr. david sach gave us full access. >> it's beautiful, i mean it resembles a five-star resort. there's something called the princess suite. there's gourmet food out everywhere. a massage room. how does this help with

recovery? >> we created an environment that was going to be recognizable to people as comfortable, welcoming, that was going to reduce their anxiety so that they would want to stay for treatment. >> you think it helps to calm them? >> i think it helps to respect them and to show them that respect in any number of ways. >> you make no apologies for how cush this is? >> absolutely not. >> he said it's not about recreation, it's a serious treatment facility. complete with therapy, meetings and mandatory drug testing and they have many success stories. but insiders say some stars go it rehab, not to get better, but to get out of trouble. >> you name a celebrity that's been to rehab, and i'll show you -- do you remember they were about to go to jail that day? i don't know a celebrity that's been to rehab, who wasn't either going to jail or fired off a movie set, or couldn't get insurance to do a movie. >> many of them use again. the national institute on drug abuse reports between 40% to 60% of patients relapse after treatment.

and addiction experts say this is part of the problem. it's glamourized. mess up and you make the cover. >> with celebrities, they get notoriety, they get attention. but we're not looking at their private lives. most of these individuals are suffering profoundly. >> i certainly find that cause to revoke probation. >> and as stars fall off the wagon, many get help from their entourages. full of yes men like this. >> and you supplied them drugs? >> yes. i did supply drugs to several famous women. >> chris gardner is a celebrity journalists who says he worked his way into the inner circle of several troubled a-list stars. becoming their enabler. >> you were giving drugs to celebrities who you knew were out of rehab and trying to stay clean. >> everyone in this town wants to be friends with a celebrity. it is an exciting life. you get access to places you would never normally go. you get a level of service. and the trade-up is that someone you're supplying them with the

drugs. >> if you say no? >> it's like see you later. if you don't agree with what that celebrity wants, you could be gone. there are dozens of, if not hundreds of people that are waiting to take your place. >> chris says he's now clean and sober and his days of enabling celebrities are in the past. he is speaking out now, hoping to change the dysfunctional hollywood culture. >> when you have people like whitney houston die, it should serve as a lesson to people, that hey, there's a problem here and something needs to be done about it. >> of course, there are success stories, stars who kick the habit for good after rehab. but addiction experts say it's getting harder and harder to stay clean in hollywood. like everywhere else, prescription pills are easy to get and legal to have and carry around. as one insider told me, they've become so popular, celebrities actually trade pills like mints at some events. matt? >> jeff rossen in los angeles this morning, thank you very much. up next, dr. oz on a new study, that's revealing arsenic

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and expensive sometimes. but dr. oz, host of "the dr. oz show" says it's no excuse to eat junk food. he's here with a shopping list that will keep us healthy and help us save money and time. >> you did the wagging finger. >> i did it. i want to start by asking you about some news this morning. dartmouth researchers have come out with a study that showed a sweetener, used in a lot of organic products, including baby formula, contains levels of arsenic. >> it's used a lot. and it does have arsenic. we've known for a while that it has a lot of arsenic, it tends to suck it from the soil readily and it's grown in a place where they used to grow cotton, which had pesticides. it's a big concern for me. there are several reports looking at the juice and arsenic. we need to be very strict on how much arsenic we're going to allow in our food supply. it's important for kids, it's in juices that kids are taking. >> these are organic items.

it's scary. >> they're organic, but it doesn't mean there's not a natural process by which products absorb arsenic. why would we want to risk it? we should set a national standard for the amount of arsenic we want to have and less is better. >> thank you for that. let's move to your grocery list. first of all, what made you want to do this. you say 100 items that everybody should have. >> they're all on the "today" website. here's what i feel passionately about. people coming up saying i know when i walk into a grocery store, i'm walking into a grocery store. i don't have money to afford what's healthy. i don't have the time to make these products, either. we have taken it out of your hands, we've made it easy to do the right thing. this list will help you, print it out and take it to the grocery store. >> let's start with produce. we'll do our time-saving objection, what these are steamed vegetables? >> frozen steamed vegetables. one thing i find when i go into people's homes and investigate why they're wasting money. they buy fresh produce. i buy it, too. but unfortunately a lot of

folks -- >> you end up throwing it away. >> if you freeze it, you will never throw it away. these are microwaveable. in five minutes you've made the vegetables for the family. extremely affordable and don't get scared that it's frozen. fresh vegetables need to be harvested quickly and flash-frozen. >> microwaveable. you're speaking my language. a cheaper option, you say these canned tomatoes are fine. >> it turns out, maybe bamakingt better, regular tomatoes are fantastic. but the nutrient you want to get out of tomatoes is by heating it up. i've got tomato paste here as well. >> you say it should be our new ketchup? >> you love that idea. you know how much salt is in there, no sugar added. why pay extra if you don't have to. these will save you time and they have more nutrients. >> protein soy burger? >> these are big for the dr. oz

family. my kids love to have the patties, they have soy burgers, you throw it in the microwave and a minute later, you've made dinner, put with vegetables. and when you have a wonderful protein source and haven't laced it with a lot of saturated fats, you're doing well. >> and the cheaper option, skinless chicken thighs. >> get them with bones, less expensive that way. it's a great value it tastes fantastic and don't get tossed off by the fact that it's dark meat versus the white meat, it's fine. >> you say milk is something you should splurge for, organic milk. >> a little bit more expensive, not a lot more. but it's worth it. you cannot get pesticides, antibiotics, hormones out of all the things that edging their way into milk. why take a chance. we don't know if it's a problem, but if you drink organic, it's not an issue. >> what do you recommend if we want a snack? >> these sweet potato fries. i know you're going to eat

snacks, but you can make snacks that are good for you. sweet potato fries have vitamin a in them. the number one food to reduce cancer. make them in olive oil, bake them, they're not fried. but these are fantastic and you're not going to eat too many of them. >> and pop chips, it's like eating air. >> the less ingredients in these, the better. the fact that they're coming to you in a 100-calorie bag, you won't eat more than 100 calories. >> transformation nation, tell us about it? >> we just signed up our one millionth member. you can go to dr.oz.com to sign up. >> what are you signing up for? >> to take a seven-part life-changing program. eat smarter, and you'll get the 100 foods, no matter what you do today, this is your print-out. and join transformation nation and share it with your friends, you will change your life. >> and the 100 items are on our website, today.com. still ahead, what will you

be wearing this year? we explore the hottest trends from new york's fashion week. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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25 million hits, it's a father reacting to a scathing letter his daughter posted on her facebook page about her parents. and after a long rant about his daughter and her behavior, he actually shoots her laptop computer. take a look. >> kid, you got it easy. way easy. it's about to get harder. there was more curse words in that one post -- ridiculous. not happening. disrespectful to me, your mother. your step-mother. so, i'm going 0 put a stop to it. this right here is my .45. that was the first round. [ gunshots ] >> if you watch the entire video, the shooting of the laptop is almost the kicker. what we're asking is, is this appropriate tough love or parenting gone wrong? so we're going to post most of the entire video.

it's eight minutes long on today.com. go watch it and then we want to know what you think. we're going to share the result and talk about it in-depth tomorrow. >> a lot of people talking about it around here. we'll get into that. after your local news. why do we grow quaker oats? because there are mountains to climb. ♪ dreams to be realized. ♪ new worlds to be explored and hearts to be won. quaker oats. energy to get you going, fiber to help fill you up and help keep your heart healthy. super people eat super grains. dave, i've downloaded a virus. yeah. ♪ dave, where are we on the new laptop? it's so slow! i'm calling dave. [ telephone rings ] [ sighs ] i need a new i.t. guy. [ male announcer ] in a small business, technology is all you.

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7:56 is our time now. good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. changes moving in. let's get the forecast from meteorologist tom kierein. >> good morning. radar showing some areas of light rain now moving from the southwest to northeast across virginia. out of west virginia into maryland and the district of columbia, right now these areas in light green and those are areas of sprinkles around washington and nearby suburbs. that area of dark green and yellow is coming down a little bit harder. light rain there. temperatures are well above freezing in the upper 30s and low 40s now. reagan national at 43. later today up around 50 with occasional showers. then sun back on friday and saturday increasing clouds, wintry mix, possibly saturday night into sunday. >> tom, thanks very much. we will take a 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... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. in more ways than ever.

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good morning. seeing a crash along with serious delays as you travel southbound on gw parkway. crash is at spout run parkway and blocking the right lane. as you approach the accident you are at 22 miles per hour. your delays start right after route 123. use caution while you are traveling in the area. joe, over to you. >> thanks very much. we will have another news update in 25 minutes. now we will go back

we're back now at 8:00 on a thursday morning. the 16th day of february, 2012. a little overcast here in new york city. mr. roker, i believe is about to tell us that some rain might be on the way. >> yes, it is, but it's another day that we don't have to shovel. >> maybe sunday. >> i'm matt lauer, along with savannah guthrie. savannah is here while ann is on assignment. and we're joined by the aforementioned mr. roker as well. coming up, today's professionals are here. they're going to tackle a lot of subjects. including this one -- is it okay for a doctor to tell a patient,

an overly optimistic prognosis, even if medical records indicate something else? or should doctors always be truthful? and how about this one, chris christie, the governor of new jersey, ordering flags fly at half-staff on saturday for whitney houston's funeral. a lot of people think that's appropriate. some don't. we'll let them weigh in as well. >> "today" viewers had a lot of opinions about that as well. also ahead, what will be the hot fash looks that leave the runways and you'll see in stores soon? and we'll talk to donald trump, he's in the building, in the hallway to tell us about the new season of the "celebrity apprenti apprentice" and i bet he'll talk about politics, too. and tomorrow on "today," i'll have a chance to have a sit-down with aretha franklin. sit down for a rare interview to talk about as many people know, she is whitney houston's godmother. she's been asked to sing at whitney's funeral.

we'll talk to ms. franklin about that and more tomorrow on "today." before we go further, let's head into the news desk, amy robach is there while natalie is on assignment. >> good morning, everyone, we begin in michigan, where a new poll shows rick santorum leading in rival mitt romney's old back yard. santorum will be in detroit today to deliver a speech on the economy. the two candidates are spending heavily to win the republican primary in michigan on february 28th. subpoenas have been issued to doctors and pharmacists as the investigation moves forward into the cause of whitney houston's death. the los angeles county coroner's office released her death certificate wednesday, but it doesn't list a cause of death for the 48-year-old singer, saying it's deferred, pending the results of toxicology tests, which could take weeks. well another kennedy is running for congress, joseph kennedy iii, grandson of the late robert f. kennedy is jumping into the race for the massachusetts seat held by the

retiring barney frank. new regulations are cracking down on robo calls, those automated phone calls that have been a persistent pest to consumers, nbc's tom costello has more from washington, d.c. >> here's the bad news, you're still going to get some robo calls from political campaigns, nonprofit organizations. but it's the calls from companies, pitching everything from life insurance to mortgage refis, that you will hopefully get fewer calls from. despite no call rules that went into effect years ago, too many are apparently still getting through and dead air calls, as you know are particularly ann annoying. that's when a computer calls a bunch of phones, but when you answer you get silence because the operator is talking to somebody who picked up sooner than you did. the new rules will require telemarketers to obtain written consent, written consent from customers before placing a robo call to them. even if the telemarketer already has an existing business relationship with a person that they're calling. and customers can cancel or revoke their consent during the

call. and amy, as you and i know with kids, the calls always seem to come right at dinner time. >> or 8:00en a sunday morning, i know. now here's brian williams with what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian? >> good morning. coming up tonight, aging drivers, as our parents age, continue to cherish their independence, when is it time to step in and take the keys away? and how do you do it? a tough decision. we'll have more on that tonight. amy, for now, back to you. >> brian, thank you. and now for a look at what's trending today, a quick round-up of what has you talking online. tens of thousands of you are going to today.com to vote on whether or not dmj nj should honor whitney houston by flying flags at half-staff on saturday. the latest results show only 12.3% of you say yes. a whopping 87% say no. because most of houston's struggles are with drug abuse. supermodel cindy crawford's

decision to slam the brakes on her daughter's modeling career. crawford bass just 16 when she was discovered by a photographer. you can head to our website, today.com to vote on whether or not you think kiya is too young to hit the catwalk. and royal watchers are abuzz on twitter, over this one, mattel, the maker of barbie, plans to release will and kate royal wedding dolls in april to coincide with the couple's first wedding anniversary. now you can have your very own will and kate for $100. it is now 8:05 and let's head to al with a check of the weather. al? >> amy, thank you so much. you've got a heck of a bike ride going on. tell me about this? >> i'm going to bike from l.a. to boston. starting may 13th. raising awareness for children with dyslexia. >> that's terrific. >> a tour for dyslexia.org. good luck, we'll try to get you good weather for your trip. when do you start? >> may 13th.

>> fantastic. let's check your weather. for today, our pick of the day, catalina island, california. news4 partly sunny and cool. santa ana winds and 62 degrees. and you look at the temperatures, 30s and 40s in the northeast. fwhents the plains. nice and warm down in southern florida. temperatures in the 80s. we are looking for a risk of strong storms down through southern texas. we have wet weather moving into the northeast and mid land states, rain into the pacific northwest. those santa ana winds, southern california, some flurries around the western great lakes. plenty of shine for the plains down into northern texas. 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. we have rain advancing into the metro area now. it is very light rain. just getting sprinkles in washington and fairfax, arlington, prince george's counties, and areas of darker green and yellow further south and west. culpeper towards fredericksburg coming down harder. not real heavy rain. we will have maybe up to a quarter of an inch of rain by this time this ends later today. right now we are climbing into

the low 40s and upper zmirts later into near 50 degrees. raining tonight. sun back tomorrow and wintry mix saturday night and that's your latest weather. savannah. coming up, today's professionals weighen in on everything from the new jersey governor's decision, as well as the linsanity sweeping the nation, coming up right after this. ♪ i woke up to a light bulb

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we're back now at 8:10 with a brand new installment of today's professionals, star jones, donny deutsch and dr. nancy snyderman are here to break down the day's hottest headlines and trends. i like to have you guys weigh in on television commercials and ads.

this one is a political ad for rick santorum. involved in a heated contest on the gop side of the presidential race. this one is one that uses humor, this ad. it starts with the "i'm rick santorum" and i approve this ad. and then this. >> meet romney, negative attack machine is back on full throttle. this time, romney is firing at rick santorum. romney and his super pac have set a staggering $20 million. attacking republicans. why? because romney is trying to hide from his big government romney care and his support for job-killing cap and trade. and in the end, mitt romney's ugly attacks are going to backfire. >> i'm sure rick santorum loves the fact that we just ran the whole ad. what do you think of the ad man, the message man, ha do you think of the spot? >> it's a fantastic commercial. what's brilliant is he knows he's going to be outspent 20-1. he's putting the image out there. so every time you see an anti

santorum ad, that's what clicks into your mind. this is a really effective ad. what's working for santorum is he's a human being and romney is seen as very robotic and they're playing on that. >> do you like the humor side of this? >> i get from the marketing standpoint why it's catchy and brilliant. i'm sick of guns. i'm sick of the violence. i'm sick of all of it. i know it's tongue in cheek. >> i don't like it. >> i think it does go to the whole larry, curly and moe mentality of the republican primary over the past few months. it's almost like joking. every other day, you've got a new -- >> i take it seriously, take it about negative ads in politics. >> it seems as if every other week we have a new front-runner. >> but that's something that's very important. it's robotic aspect of romney. and the fact that the sweater vest guy, whether you like his politics or not, is able to talk plain. >> the most important thing and this is what this is, matt was

touching on this, the supreme court decision which basically said, you can run billions of dollars of advertising, anonymously -- >> you can buy a president. >> turn the negative back on the person -- >> all right. let's move on to another subject. nancy, why don't you start with this one. a brand new survey in health affairs, 1900 doctors surveyed, 55% of the doctors admitted in the past year, they've been more positive in talking to a patient about their prognosis than the medical history of that patient warranted. in other words, 55% of doctors are saying, they often sugar-coat the news to their patients. is that what we want? >> i'm going to tell you a true story. a very famous publisher died at a very famous cancer hospital in this country and as she was dying, the doctors said to her, there's nothing i can do for you. nothing makes me madder than to hear that kind of story. for a physician to sit at a bedside and say, it's going to be okay. even if you're dying, that is

part of the hope aspect. so is there a fine line? it's just hope, that you have a good death, that it's part of the process. it's not necessarily lying. and let me just say one more thing -- it's a bell-shaped curve. somebody makes up the 2% of the survival. it's not my job to say the odds may be against you, but i'm not going say you're going to die. >> i told nancy i didn't see my entire operational report from the open-heart surgery and the doctor did not tell me the specifics of what he was going to do. he just said, it's going to be all right. you're going to come through this. and that's what i needed to hear. i didn't need to hear the other part. >> donny, the survey also found 10% of doctors admit they have have told a patient something that is flat-out untrue. >> that's wrong. >> well, you know -- my feeling is your job is to get somebody better. >> i can't lie to you. >> you never want to do something that's going to keep me from taking the proper medicine or things like that. but if you say, i think you have the fortitude to beat this, but

yet you know clinically it's impossible, that's okay. that's a lie and i think that's okay. i think your job is to deal with the human in every way possible to get them better. and it's a fine line, but that's, if i was a doctor, that's what i would do. >> i want the truth, by the way. but i'll just move on. >> you can't handle the truth. >> whitney houston is going to be laid to rest on saturday in newark, new jersey, her home state. the governor of that state, chris christie, has ordered flags be flown at half-staff. is that an appropriate honor for whitney houston? >> i have a -- >> i actually do like the fact that chris christie is standing in the position of saying, she was a native daughter of this state. we honored her and celebrated her and used her during her life. we can honor her and celebrate her in her death. >> i have a big issue with it. and obviously it's a tragedy, it has nothing to do with whitney houston. i think we elevate singers and celebrities -- why don't we fly the half-staff when a great policeman dies or a great teacher dies?

>> we do. >> a teacher? when steve jobs died, who changed peoples' lives, she's a wonderful singer, this is a tragedy. she was not in public service, i don't think it's appropriate. >> in some ways i think this discussion has been hijacked by the drug abuse issue. if we're going to drop the flag, we're honoring drug abuse, it has nothing to do with it. the question is, when do we do this. if we start doing it all the time, it takes special meaning out of it. it should be for presidents, astronauts, people who i think who have given their life. and i, look, i don't think film stars and celebrities and singers -- >> nancy, at some point, you have to make the rules for everybody. >> frank sinatra is a jersey boy, did they lower the flag for him? >> real quickly, raise your hand if you have a case of linsanity? >> absolutely. >> why do we love the story so much about the kid from harvard, cut by two teams and now absolutely becoming a sensation for the knicks.

>> econ major from harvard, cut from a up couple of teams. >> playing with heart. we've been missing the heart. >> just do bring into politics, the 1% and the 99% can degree. to the 1%, he's a harvard kid. to the 99%, he's an underdog it brings everybody together. i'm a huge -- it's magical. >> a quick reminder, even as i thank you for your opinions, we told but the father who reacted to a letter his daughter posted about her parents on facebook. it's a rant that ends with bullet holes in that girl's laptop computer. was that appropriate tough love or parenting gone wrong? log on to our website, watch it and weigh in. >> forget the fact that he shoots the computer. one of the most depressing things i've seen on the air. >> he's disgusting as a father. i would like to call him out. shame on you. >> i know that parents are going to identify with him and i think you guys are going to be in the minority. >> i hope child protective services is at their house today. >> star, donny, dr. nancy, thanks.

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[ male announcer ] introducing the reinvented 2012 camry hybrid. from toyota. ♪ back at 8:21, this morning on today's style. the highlights and trends from fashion week here in new york. this year, elegance and a nod to sports like things dominated the runway. here with details is june amber, a celebrity and fashion stylist. you're right on trend, i say pastels, but you say, sorbet. what's the big theme of fashion week? >> it's all about glamour. it was glamorous, you saw alligator, faux croc, faux fur, lots of real fur. fall is so strong for fashion. >> just so everyone understands, we're thinking about what we're going to wear about spring. but fashion week is previewing for fall look, right? >> it's tough to watch because you want it right away. >> let's talk about some of the

highlights. jason wu, now a household name. he's got a line for target. how did he do this week? >> he went back to his roots. he did this whole chinese ming dynasty thing, it was fantastic. there was lots of textures, lots of brocades, it was super-rich. a military influence, a lot of structure. but it was definitely different from the first time. kind of getting in touch with his roots again. >> beautiful stuff. what about victoria beckham? we know her as posh spice, but she's sort of become a design anywhere her own right. >> she was interesting, she was very structured and sporty. you saw her in the collection so much. had this fitted, very structured piece. >> kind of severe. >> but then she got a little sporty, which was nice, you could see her husband playing a part in it. flat motorcycle boots. the editors loved it. >> a lot of times celebrities start fashion lines and they don't always take off. hers certainly have.

another couple who have done well, mary kate and ashley with the row? >> object lens and decadence, they showed up at the carlyle for tea and crumpets, it was like chic urbanity, it was just stunning, a lot of workable pieces. beautiful colors, the tones are neutral. a lot of structure as well again. classic and timeless, the girls are making a statement that they're designers that really want to be taken seriously. >> they kind of had a slow start. they didn't try to burst on to the scene. they built support over a few seasons? >> they have an amazing empire. they have a high end, low end. all the way down to jcpenney. these girls are doing a lot. >> another new name on the horizon, christian siriano. he's becoming quite a designer to be reckoned with. he was on "project runway." >> the pieces were so wearable. he had beautiful long, flowy gowns, structure, but they were wearable. like the faux cropped jackets

and trench coat he did was genius. and he had a great celebrity turn-out at his fashion show as well. >> diane von furstenberg. doing beautiful, bright colors. >> if you're looking for bold, she's the person to go to. she's the daring diva. the woman who wants to stand out in the crowd. all the pieces were duly very timeless. this he were great for day into night. i loved her collection the most, it was genius. >> speaking of fabulous genius. anna wintour, editor in chief for "vogue," she always turns out looking fabulous and having someone interesting on her arm. >> senator gilda brant. it was interesting, a little political gravitas. i have to say. >> unusual for fashion week to bring a politician. >> i have to tell you with the state of the economy, fashion is still definitely driving lots of businesses. and making billions of dollars. so senator wanted to show her support. >> let's talk about the trends we'll see. metallics, tell us about this look here. >> i love me dalices, to me it's

the n metallics, it looks like sequin, it's h & m, $29. under $50 to look like you can go out to a nightclub or an expensive evening event. >> another trend i can't believe is coming back from the '80s, neon, really? >> i love the neon piece. it's punctuation, it's effortless, think about all your neutral pieces you may have. you want to add a pop effortlessly? add a neon accessory. >> so you don't do head to toe in neon. a little goes a long way. and the kimono look. you're calling it the new cardigan? >> you have no pressure when you wear it. it travels well. even when i'm dropping the kids off to school, i throw on a kimono and it makes my sweats look super-chic. >> thanks so much. just ahead, donald trump talks about the "celebrity apprentice" and politics, too.

8:26 is your time this thursday, february 16, 2012. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. let's check in with tom kierein for a look at your forecast for today. need the umbrella today? >> yeah, definitely. we are getting a few sprinkles right now, right in washington. and in fairfax, arlington, montgomery, prince george's counties, all this rain advancing southwest to northeast. ahead of a cool front sweeping through later tonight. an area of green and yellow around virginia, maryland, west virginia, light rain coming through and will be with us off and on the rest of the stay. 43 at reagan national. later today climbing into the upper fourth to near 50. then sun back tomorrow. could get a wintry mix saturday night into sunday. >> tom, thank you.

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in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum, we can empower more people to innovate, create jobs, and put momentum behind our economy. and a spectrum auction could raise as much as 30 billion dollars to help fund the payroll tax cut. it's simple. more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. good morning. traveling the outer loop of the belt way, making your way across the american legion bridge you are very slow. disabled vehicle in the right shoulder lane. it is not slowing down but your

delays continue as you head to the dulles toll road. traveling the inner loop in virginia, very slow. little river turnpike, those delays continue to the dulles toll road as well. >> thanks so much. coming up on "news4

8:30 now on a thursday morning, it's the 1t6th day of february, 2012. a nice chance to say hi to some of the good people who dropped by our studio this morning. by the way, that voice in the

background, you probably know that guy, that is grammy winner, jason mraz, and he's in our studio. and the girls in the plaza are all singing along. >> he's got another song ride be up the charts and he's going to sing that song for us in a little while. and also the trump meister is here. >> is that what we call him? >> he's got a new album out. >> okay. he's here, he's not going to sing, he will talk and tell us about the new season of celebrity "the apprentice" and his thoughts on the presidential race. >> the 18 contestants. >> 18 episodes? >> a lot of them. plus, are we in the mood for a bargain? >> always. >> jil martin is here with her latest round of steals and deals. jewelry to beautiful throws, to up to more than 70% off. and sometimes you may have some curious symptoms.

dr. nancy snyderman says some of these symptoms could be a precursor to more serious conditions, we'll run through some of those. >> you want to give us a check of the weather? >> why not? show you happening for today. we are -- tomorrow, i should say. looking at rain in the pacific northwest coast. sunny skies along the eastern seaboard. wet weather tomorrow. down through texas and then as we move into saturday, look for risk of strong storms and gulf coast into the southeast and atlantic coast. more rain moves into the pacific northwest, sunshine in new england. sunday, possible storm. moving along the northeast and we will keep an eye on that. more heavy rain along the mid atlantic states and showers as another system comes into the pacific northwest with snow in the central rockies. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> light rain is now moving into the metro area. good morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein. storm center 4 right now that rain picks up intensity where you see the darker greens and yellows. that's in through west central virginia into southern west

virginia and right now we are around the metro area, light rain. that light rain off and on through the rest of the day. temperatures right now if the upper 30s and low 40s. later in the afternoon, we will be up near 50. then sun back tomorrow increasing clouds saturday. there is a possibility of a wintry mix saturday night into sunday. with the big storm possible this weekend, you want to stay tuned to the weather channel on cable or check out weather.com online. >> 24/7. >> absolutely. coming up next, donald trump is here talking about politics, the economy and the new season of "celebrity apprentice." coming up. but first this is "today" on nbc.

the fifth season of nbc's "celebrity apprentice" begins on sunday. it features a mix of stars ranging from a grammy winner to a former talk show host ready to take on donald trump in the board room. take a look. ♪ >> welcome to the board room.

>> 18 celebrity, 18 egos, all fighting to become the "celebrity apprentice." >> donald trump, good morning, nice to see you. >> nice to see you, matt. >> as always when you're here, let's hold on the show and talk a little politics. you endorsed mitt romney with your usual flair. he held a series of fundraising calls, i think on yesterday, he did. you were a part of that. >> right. >> are you going to play a major role in mitt romney's campaign? >> i'll do what he wants me to do. they raised a lot of money yesterday, i raised a lot of money for him yesterday. he's a good man, working hard and i hope it all catches on, it should. >> what's with rick santorum. in the last 48 hours, rick santorum has surged into the lead or tied in four national polls. this is not good for the guy you've endorsed. why can't mitt romney close the deal? >> it's an amazing thing. but rick santorum, if you look at, he lost his election in pennsylvania, running as a sitting senator. by 19 points.

so the people that knew him best turned him out and let him go. locally, he did even worse. when you think of it, what's going on? it's hard to believe. mitt romney is a good man, he's got some great ideas, strong on china, strong on opec. i don't get it. i don't see why he's not catching on better. >> isn't any republican nominee going to have a problem, and that is by all indications, the economy is getting stronger. so if you're the republican nominee, how do you run against a recovering economic? how do you say, i'm not up with that. >> a lot of things will happen prior to november. gas prices could go through the roof based on what opec is doing to us and lots of other things. now the economy, they say is a little bit better now. but they also predict it's going to get worse before the election. i hope that's not true, frankly, because i love this country and i want the economy to do well. but you have to see what happens. and you see how fluid it is. someone is winning by 30 points, next week they're losing. that can also happen with obama and whoever ultimately runs against him.

>> fair enough. fifth series of "celebrity apprentice." >> that's right. >> what's different this time? >> we have a great group. we've gotten just fantastic reviews. today in the "daily news," we got four stars. we've been getting great reviews. people love it they love the guests. >> 18 people competing? that's the biggest ever, isn't it? >> that's the biggest number and 15 episodes, which is the biggest number. >> what makes a great contestant? >> toughness, intelligence, and i'm not just talking about from the viewers. i'm talking about to win. you've got to be tough. you can never, ever quit and you have to be really, really smart. you have to be cunning. maybe above all ens, you have to be cunning. and those seems to be the ones that go all the way. joan rivers was amazing. if you look at some of the winners we've had, piers morgan was amazing. >> this year's crop, who should viewers be marking on their score sheets already? >> well i have to tell you, they're all really good. but arsenio hall is terrific. and we're shooting it right now.

>> you don't want to give anything away. >> clay aiken is totally different than i thought. i thought he wasn't going to be that strong a player. he's a really strong player. great singer, and he's a tough guy and he's nasty. you wouldn't think it. we have victoria gotti, we have cheryl tiegs, we have so many people, lou ferigno. when you put them all together, it's been amazing. >> you mentioned victoria gotti. and you have theresa from "real housewives." which one of them is more likely to kill you? >> i'm afraid to fire either one of them. >> we'll save those until the end. >> they may go all the way. >> why do you think this works? >> we've had -- 14 copies of "the apprentice" and every one of them failed almost immediately. this works. so i assume it's because it's trump. >> but in terms of the genre and the format? it's just because people love to see others go at each other? >> i think so, to a certain

extent. i think the firing as opposed to the hiring. if i would have said, you're hired, it would have never worked. friends of mine come up and bring their son, they say would you do me a favor, on tape, fire my son, for a bar mitzvah, for a wedding. i say, what about hiring? they say no, no, you've got to fire him. it's been a lot of fun. >> you can catch the season premiere of "celebrity apprentice," sunday night, 9:00 p.m. here on nbc. up next, we've got a live performance from grammy winner, jason mraz, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota. >> back now at 8:42, with grammy-winning singer/songwriter, jason mraz, he released his debut album in

2002 and rose to international fame with his 2008 hit, "i'm yours." he's gearing up to release his new album, "love is a four-letter word." jason, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you've had such success with "i'm yours." to go back to write a new album, did you feel a lot of pressure. songwriter's fright? >> not fright, but i definitely became aware of a world audience i now have thanks to "i'm yours." it encouraged my voice to be a little more responsible. >> what's this i hear that you and a group of your fellow songwriters have a little game that you play where you ask each other to put words in songs? >> well we send each other a phrase and by friday you have to turn the phrase into a song. it's a game about integrity. one, to keep writing for the sake of writing and to be your word and to write the song. >> and do some of those phrases turn up in real songs? >> half of, the songs from my last album came out of the song game. it's a great practice. >> your new song already is a huge hit on youtube.

i think you've got eight million hits already? >> my mom clicks an awful lot. >> she's very busy, constantly refreshing the page? >> yes. she likes to keep the numbers up. >> it's sweet, kind of swoony. what's it about? >> you know, it's just that we all have something worth fighting for. we really do. and it happens throughout our lives again and again, whether we're fighting for a dream or someone in our lives. >> i know when you're not writing songs, working hard, you went to antarctica, with none other than former vice president gore. tell us about that? >> going to antarctica reminds me of how beautiful the world is, just stunning and to see the icebergs melting. >> the song is called "i won't give up." it's not going to be just mom watching this morning. jason mraz, take it away. ♪ ♪

♪ when i look into your eyes ♪ it's like watching the night sky ♪ or a beautiful sunrise ♪ there's so much they hold ♪ and just like them old stars ♪ i see that you've come so far ♪ to be right where you are ♪ how old is your soul ♪ well i won't give up on us ♪ even if the skies get rough ♪ i'm giving you all my love ♪

i'm still looking up ♪ and when you're needing your space ♪ to do some navigating ♪ i'll be here patiently waiting ♪ to see what you find ♪ 'cuz even the stars they burn ♪ some even fall to the earth ♪ ♪ we've got a lot to learn god knows we're worth it ♪ no, i won't give up ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ i don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily ♪ ♪ i'm here to stay and make the difference ♪ that i can make ♪ our differences they do a lot to teach us ♪ ♪ how to use the tools and gifts we got ♪ ♪ yeah, we got lot at stake and in the end ♪ ♪ you're still my friend ♪ at least we did intend for us to work ♪ ♪ we didn't break ♪ we didn't burn ♪ we had to learn how to bend ♪ without the world caving in ♪ i had to learn what i've got ♪ and what i'm not ♪ and who i am ♪ i won't give up on us ♪ even if the skies get rough ♪ i'm giving you all my love ♪ i'm still looking up ♪ no i won't give up on us

even if the skies get rough ♪ ♪ i'm giving you all my love ♪ i'm still looking up and we're worth it ♪ ♪ no i won't give up no ♪ ♪ >> jason mraz, thank you so much. sounding good, the new single is now on itunes, and jason will be back with more music later on "today." coming up, a special

performance on the rockefeller center rink. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ mom ] hey guys. guys... [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon are an irresistible sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. sunday morning ideas made easy. how to solve a brother-sister standoff. ♪ pillsbury chocolate chip cookies,

warm out of the oven. another sweet idea for bringing families together from pillsbury. today at the rink is brought to you by smucker's, with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. this morning in "today" at the rink, skating great, todd

eldridge, the six-time national champ ended his competitive career back at the winter games in salt lake city in 2002. well now he is set to take part in a great event this weekend, "stars on ice" celebrating their tenth anniversary, todd eldrige, nice to see you. what do they have planned for the 10-year anniversary? >> we've got a great show planned. it will be awesome. ten years from the time we were there for the olympics in 2002, it will be exciting. >> does it seem like a decade ago, salt lake city? >> it really doesn't. it seems like it was yesterday. i haven't been in the building since we competed there. so it's going to be interesting. >> it's interesting, because i was looking back at the notes last night and then i remember covering those olympic games and i remember talking to you about the honor you were given where you got to actually one of the american athletes got to carry the 9/11 flag. >> yeah. obviously tremendous honor. you know, i was here that day, i was going to do an interview with you that day and it was

just of a crazy thing. to get the honor of carrying, being one of the people to carry the flag was awesome. >> you get to do a lot of great performances. do you miss competitive skating? >> not at all. >> where do you find your competition now? >> on the golf course, most of the time now. but you know, i get out and still do shows. we've got eight shows left with "stars on ice" this season, it will end in march. and i get out and do other things. i mostly coaching now. >> we get a chance to see you out here on the rock center rink. if you want to get in your starting position. i'll do the honors by saying, ladies and gentlemen, todd eldridge. ♪ ♪ ♪ every time our eyes meet ♪ this feeling inside me almost more than i can take ♪

baby when you touch me ♪ i can feel how much you love me ♪ ♪ you just blow me away i've never been this close to anyone or anything ♪ ♪ i can hear your thoughts ♪ i can see your dreams ♪ i don't know how you do what you do ♪ ♪ i'm so in love with you ♪ it just keeps getting better i want to spend the rest of my life ♪ with you by my side ♪ ♪ forever and ever every little thing that you

do ♪ ♪ baby, i'm amazed by you the scent of your skin ♪ ♪ the taste of your kiss ♪ the way you whisper in the dark ♪ the air around me ♪ ♪ baby you surround me you touch every place in my heart ♪ it feels like the first time every time ♪ i want to spend my whole life ♪ ♪ in your arms ♪ i don't know how you do what you do ♪ ♪ i'm so in love with you ♪ it just keeps getting better

i want to spend the rest of my life ♪ ♪ with you by my side ♪ forever and ever ♪ every little thing that you do ♪ ♪ baby i'm amazed by you [ applause ] [ applause ] >> todd eldridge. todd, thank you very much. we'll be back in a moment right after these messages and your local news.

8:56 is your time now on this thursday, february 16, 2012. good morning. i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein with a look at your forecast today. is it raining? >> it is. light rain in washington now. nearby suburbs and fairfax, montgomery, arlington, prince george's counties. bulk of the rain is going to be

moving our way, though, is still about to arrive. it is now raining moderately to heavily in the one band there coming into the northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, temperatures around the region, though are above freezing in the 30s and low and mid 40s. it is a chilly rain. 45 at reagan nation april. rain ending tonight. might get that wintry mix. >> we will take a quick break and check for traffic when we

>> if if you are traveling i-66 westbound, slow at gallows. as you make your way to the beltway, delays start around fairfax county park way and 33 miles per hour. >> thank you. coming up on "news4 midday," we are giving wounded warri

we're back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning. it's the 16th day of february, 2012. a little breezy here in new york. rain moving in a little later. these people are going to skedaddle here in a couple of minutes. you haven't skedaddled in a long time. >> these people need to skedaddle right here. >> i'm matt lauer, along with savannah guthrie. she's here while ann is on assignment. we're joined by al roker and willie, sky hook geist as well. good to have you here. >> it's a little breezy up here. >> you doing well? >> i'm doing well. good to be back with you. >> coming up, more on the investigation into the death of

whitney houston. it seems like it's pointing now in the direction of the pills, the prescription drugs that were found in her hotel room. we're going to have details on that, coming up. and we're going to take a look at what we call curious medicine. dr. nancy snyderman will be stopping by. it is one where we talk about when you experience seemingly harmless symptoms. easy to ignore like excess saliva or even ice cravings. they may seem like nothing, but they could indicate a more serious condition. we'll talk with dr. nancy. and get the credit card out, jill martin, our good friend is going to be with us. steals and deals, deep discounts, as much as 77% off everything from zodiac bracelets, to luxurious wraps and skirts. exclusively for our "today" viewers. >> when you and joe and mika, you sit down and watch steals and deals? >> jill martin. >> with their credit card. >> maybe you could buy jill a tie? >> we're working on it. >> lots to get to. let's go inside, amy robach is

standing by at the news desk while natalie is on assignment. good morning, everyone, congressional negotiators have reached an agreement to renew a payroll tax cut for some 160 million workers through the end of 2012. that deal also extends jobless benefits for millions of americans. and it now heads to the house and senate for votes as early as friday. now to the latest on the investigation into the death of whitney houston. subpoenas have been issued to doctors and pharmacists as investigators try to figure out what killed the pop star. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the latest from los angeles. kristen? >> good morning, amy. at this point this is not classified as a criminal investigation, but this morning there's new focus on the pills found in houston's hotel room. new photos show whitney houston lounging pool-side at the beverly hilton. days later, she was dead. on her death certificate, the cause of death is listed as deferred. toxicology test results could still take weeks to come back. the coroner said they didn't

find an unusual amount of prescription pills in her hotel room. but subpoenas have gone out to doctors and pharmacists for houston's medical and prescription records. investigators are looking to see if houston was taking pills as prescribed. >> you have a pill vial, for instance, that has like 60 tablets that were there three days ago. and there's two left. that would give, be a good indicator that there may be something amiss or out of place. >> defense attorney ellen garrofolo has been involved in cases where a doctor was charged in a patient's dth because of drugs prescribed. >> what we've seen in the anna nicole smith case and the michael jackson case, there could be information discovered that leads prosecutors or the coroner to conclude that there was conduct that is illegal in the provision or prescribing of prescription medication. >> beverly hills police say so far, there is no obvious sign of

criminal intent. even the website tmz is reporting that officials say houston was not doctor-shopping or using aliases to get medication. in houston's home state of new jersey, governor chris christie is defending his decision to fly flags at half-staff on saturday. >> her accomplishments in her life were a source of great pride for many people in this state. >> christie says his office has received complaints from residents who say houston doesn't deserve the honor because of past drug use. >> i think she's entitled to have that recognition. >> many who gathered at a memorial agreed. >> i love her. absolutely. >> but fans will not be part of the star's invitation-only funeral saturday. a small church where whitney houston got her start in the choir, only her closest friends and family will now say good-bye. now at that funeral, aretha franklin will sing, clive davis is expected to speak. there's some speculation that houston's ex-husband, bobby brown has been shut out of the

funeral. but a spokesperson says those rumors are farce. in a statement, brown says the couple's daughter, bobbi kristina, who was treated for stress this weekend, is doing much better. >> thanks so much. new regulations are cracking down on robo calls, those automated phone calls that are a persistent pest to consumers. the fcc says it will require the telemarketers will be required to get written consent from people before the call. well a candy maker is putting its products on a diet. mars, the maker of snickers, twix and m & ms, say it will stop selling chocolate products with more than 250 calories in them before the end of next year. it says their goal is to improve the nutritional goal of their products. youtube decided to hook his iphone video camera up to a tiny hole in a mirror so he could see

some curious simians checking themselves out. and they can't get enough of it. even an entire family of orangutans got in on the action, mother, father and baby. all right. it is six minutes past the hour. let's head back to al with a check of the weather. al? >> thanks so much, aimy. let's see what's happening, we've happening. we've got this low-pressure area developing down south and pushing to the east over the weekend. starting friday into saturday. sunday, secondary storm coming down out of the great lakes. the two may actually merge or not. we are still waiting to see what happens there. brings heavy rain along the mid atlantic coast. sunday it could take one of lee paths. if it takes the a path off the coast, that's rain and snow and inland a lot of snow. fit goes to the sea course, while it means basically try and cold in the northeast. still too early to tell. don't forget to check the weather channel all weekend. you will have the latest information on that. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your

neck of the woods. >> that storm could affect us, too. growing confidence we may get accumulating snow here on sunday. stay tuned. right now, though, getting rain. radar showing rain moving across west west virginia, virginia, maryland,ing the district of columbia. right now light rain here but a little bit heavier around winchester and martinsburg and hagerstown. passing north and west of the metro area. right now we are in the low and mid 40s around the metro region. therts farther west and north. near 50 today rain ending tonight. sun back tomorrow. wintry mix saturday night today's daily notes is brought to you by cheerios cereal. >> this morning on today's daily dose, curious medicine. nbc's chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman is here to talk about some curious symptoms you could be experiencing, like tingling or cravings for ice, but they could be a sign of a more serious health problem. >> these are curious, weird, rare, but they do happen and

we're going to talk about them this morning. >> we start off with excessive saliva. which sounds disgusting. >> you make a point or two a day, which your glands produce it and you swallow it. until you ancan't swallow it. it could be a sign of gurd. it's gastro, esophageal bad heartburn. it comes up into the esophagus and it can cause problems like classic heartburn. sometimes chest pain. people can think they're having a heart attack. sore threat and acid reflux, very important, because if you have them long-term, it can erode your esophagus and lead to precancerous lesions. >> are there foods you need to avoid? >> there are. some classics, caffeine is one of the worst offenders and the chocolate mints you get in restaurants? terrible because they relax the

connection between the throat and esophagus and stomach. and fried and fatty foods and things that are citrusy. >> and peppermint? >> peppermint is notorious. >> let's move onto the tingling in the arms and legs. >> right. >> we all get that numbness sometimes. you say especially it could be hiding a serious back problem. >> for most of us, if you get numbness or tingling, it's because you've been sitting in one position for too long, it's compressing the nerve. but for aging baby boomers, it can mean that you have a herniated disc in your neck or lower back. these discs are like little marshmallows, they're cushions and the problem is as we get older, they get flatter and flatter and they can push out. and as they push out, these herniated discs push on the nerves, primarily found in people 35 to 45. and obesity plays a role and real jocks, or people with strenuous jobs.

>> talk about sciatica? >> classic. one of your lower back discs is pushing and that means that the nerve is going all the way down your leg. >> how do you treat this? >> a lot of times it's simple things like losing 30 pounds, changing your job or how you lift things. conserve things, massage, acupunctu acupuncture. most cases, you reserve surgery to things that don't respond to other things. >> constipation. >> people like to poop. let's be real. and it's a natural thing. and when you can't do it, suddenly you're a miserable person. we define constipation as someone who can't have a bowel movement, usually it's less than three times a week. why is it important to have a bowel movement at least three times a week? moving the toxins out of your body. >> sure. >> it cuts down on things like colon cancer. a lot of times it's simple things like you're not drinking enough water. you're not taking in enough fiber. if you don't eat a decent diet,

at least buy the fiber supplements you can get at the pharmacy. increasingly, i want to say to people, look at your medications, too. because in baby boomer populations, we've talked about it a lot with the whitney houston stuff, a lot of people take medication that can slow down the bowel. >> or your supplements. >> look at what your eating, your lifestyle. butç constipation matters and sometimes for people, it means your thyroid isn't working well. >> hypothyroidism. >> a low thyroid. it's the little butterfly gland in your neck. it's the power house for the entire body. so if constipation is a chronic problem and all those other things you've checked out, go see your doctor about getting a basic thyroid problem. you may have these other things and you don't even realize it. the constipation may be just the thing. most women who have problems with hypothyroidism and some very underdiagnosed problem with women, especially around menopause and after pregnancy, it's the fatigue and depression and weight gain will draw women

into the doctor's offices. >> the next one is curious, yellow tongue. >> the weird of the weird. the reason we brought this up, in some people who are jaundiced, you may notice you have a yellow tongue. for most people it's because you're taking weird supplements or there can be thrush or weird bacteria in your mouth. but in some cases if you've noticed that the whites of your eyes are turned yellow, it can be a sign of jaundice it can be congenital problems, problems with your bile tract. liver. but if you notice that, it means a trip to the doctor immediately. because any one of these things can be life-threatening and you need, those are not good. easy to diagnose. >> last one we want to get to, ice cravings. i know people who have this. led to anemia. >> yeah, an indicator of anemia. >> it can be a sign of iron deficiency, anemia. we don't know why people crave ice, some call it pica.

you want it. it may be because your tongue feels weird and ice soothe it is. if you have that, simple test, go in. a lot of women will end up with iron deficiency and anemia, because of heavy blood loss from menstrual periods or they're not eating iron-rich food. which is basically red meat. gri green, leafy vegetables. >> weird, but true. see your doctor. >> very much like myself. dr. nancy snyderman, good to see you. >> you bet. >> still to come, the stars of "little people big world" try to follow their dreams, leads to a little tension on the farm. but up next, steals and deals, 75% off everything from jewelry to leggings and throws. -[ beep ] -15 seconds and counting. [ male announcer ] at kfc we have one mission: and t-10... serve the world's best tasting chicken. 9...8... that's why our whole chicken

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back with another edition of jill's steals and deals. we have great items today, deeply discounted prices. exclusively for you. "today show" viewer. "today" and "us weekly" contributor, jill martin is here with the steals and deals. run us through the rules again. >> i don't believe you haven't heard it. >> we know it well. >> go on to today.com right now. these items are limited. we'll link you to the retailers'

websites. some will ship immediately. but some will take some time. we want everyone to be clear when they'll get the items. deeply discounted prices only for "the today show" viewers. >> leggings by lissee. tell us about these? >> the retail is $58 to $78. every style has a five-inch waistband with a hidden control panel. smooths you out. five styles to choose from and known to eliminate the roll. >> what roll? >> sure, we don't know what you're talking about. >> if you have the roll. we all know the roll. certain amount available for shipping within one week. and after that, you can still get it, but it will take longer. the retail is 58 to 78. the deal, $18. that's up to 77% off. just feel right here, it really does -- hold you in. it's like -- >> it's shapewear but you wear it on the outside, not like spanx. >> exactly.

>> next one is airbrushing like the professionals do. >> luminess airbrush. the retail, $213. it has a dvd and a guide, i can't stress that enough, that you need the dvd and the guide. i tried it and it does work. but you have to be a makeup connoisseur and want to do it and try. and you get the smoothed-out finish. >> you want to watch the dvd it shows you how to do it? >> yes. and it comes, the whole starter kit. you see everything here. dermatologist tested. and the retail, $213. the deal, $69.99. 67% off. the blush, the bronzer, the moisturizer to get the flawless look at home. it's fun to try. i did it and i loved the way it looked. >> it gives awe choice of whatever color to match your skin? >> exactly, there's ways to mix it. >> up next, it wouldn't be steals and deals without jewels, what do we have here? >> you tell me you're capricorn. it's all about the signs for this one. this is zodiac bracelet.

the retail, $78, available in 12 signs of the zodiac. 14-karat gold and silver finish. hand-made in new york using recycled metal. neiman marcus, henry bendel. the retail is 78, the deal, $18. that's 77% off. and it's just really a dainty, beautiful bracelet. >> when guys ask you, what's your sign, do you just flash that bracelet? >> you wink and show your bracelet. >> the next one are the luxury throw, the blankets. >> everyone is coming over trying to take these. the pure fiber, herringbone throws. $140. they're finished with hand-turned fringe on each end. the retail, $140. the deal, $35, 75% off and it's big. >> and organic cotton, nice, soft fabric. to watch a game with your significant other.

>> we have a theme going here. >> you can watch linsanity. >> and the wrap sweaters from fluxus. the retail, $99, you see them here, it's really just that comfy piece to throw over a tank or a t-shirt. available in a variety of colors, celeb fans include nicole ritchie and jessica alba. >> it will be great for traveling. >> the retail is 99, the deal 30, that's 70% off. >> jill, thank you so much. we want to run through our products again. the lissee leggings and skirt. the luminess airbrush starter kit. and the nissa zodiac bracelet and the pure fiber throws and the fluxus wrap. go to our website and submit any questions to jill on steals and deals. coming up, another song by grammy-winner jason mraz. ♪

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have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then get lunesta for $0 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta.

a popular food network host is getting some heat in the kitsch thn morning. >> sources tell "the new york post" that pastry chef an thornton's show was canceled after sources discovered startling similarities between her recipes and others like martha stewart. >> ann thornton said to "the new york post" this is all news to me, i get inspiration from all my heroes, you take what you learn from them and you rip on that as from lemon squares, there's only so many ways you can make them. of course there will be similarities. at food network, we run over all of our recipes. the food network said that ann's show was not renewed after the second season only because of performance and ratings, not because of originality. >> it doesn't make sense, there you guys are, i know you remember that. >> fourth of july. >> pretty cool.

>> chocolate chip is a chocolate chip cookie. >> there's only so many ways can you do did. >> i love that "the new york post" went all woodward and bernstein. >> the luscious lemon squares were very similar to a 1999 recipe they dug up. >> dug deep. >> investigating all aspects of the story. >> in this case, the smoking gun was a cupcake or something. >> still to come, the stars of "little people big world." >> plus the hottest toys your kids don't even know about yet. do you want to tell them? >> no. >> they won't be able to live without them. >> from the toy fair recently. i was there this week and some of the things are amazing. a lot of app-based toys. >> there's spider-man. >> he's literally crawling on the wall. so which one tasted better?

[ shark 1 ] uh, steve. [ shark 2 ] yeah, the guy. with steve i tasted peanut butter and uh snickers. yeah, that's it! steve had just eaten snickers peanut butter squared. ohhhhh! steve was delicious. [ male announcer ] if you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love peanut butter and snickers. try snickers peanut butter squared. not financially. so we switched to the bargain detergent and i found myself using three times more than they say to and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. that's my tide. what's yours? but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms,

plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! good morning. meteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4. we have some light rain now falling in washington and as well as in montgomery, arlington, prince george's counties. there's more moderate rain where you see the pockets of yellow and orange coming into southwestern virginia as well as north and west of washington and near winchester, northern shenandoah valley. that's advancing north and east. elsewhere just scattered light rain showers. those will be with us here from time to time as we get into the afternoon hours. right now temperatures are into the low to mid 40s throughout much of the region. 30s farther west and north. all above freezing. now 45 at reagan national. high today later into the low 50s. rain ending tonight. we will get the sun back tomorrow. highs mid 50s.

then increasing clouds saturday and will ises a growing confidence that we may get accumulating snow. maybe a bit of a mix saturday night changing to perhaps some snow on sunday. so stay tuned.

a two-car crash blocking the left lane. this is as you are travel kag

natural road just prior to foxhole. traveling outer loop of the beltway in montgomery county, still a little slow. your travel speed is 29 miles per hour. now back to the "today" show.

♪ r-e-s-p-e-c-t ♪ find out what it means to me ♪ r-e-s-p-e-c-t take care of t-c-b ♪ >> the incomparable queen of soul, aretha franklin, also godmother to whitney houston. we'll have the honor of sitting down and talking to her tomorrow on "today" as she prepares to perform as her goddaughter's funeral, whitney houston. coming up, we'll catch off with matt and amy rolloff, stars of "little people big world" they're facing new drama as the reality show returns to the airwave, they're here to tell us

about it, that's coming up. and toy makers are going all out this year to get you to part with your hard-earned cash. everything from tablet-based games to smartphone apps, dolls and construction toys. we're going to get a preview of the hottest trends in toys coming up. >> that looks cool. and channel your inner iron chef, everybody. we'll have the winner of the next iron chef, he'll show us how to dress up a delicious pork chop with some winter veggies. >> and take it out for a meal. >> dress it up and take it out for a night on the town. but first, take us out for some weather. >> let's look at our long president's day weekend. tomorrow, rain showers along the northeast coast. afternoon rain moves into the pacific northwest. wet weather down through texas, that storm may be affecting the northeast, through the latter part of the weekend. as the storm moves east, a risk of strong storms from the gulf into the southeastern atlantic states. more rain and snow in the pacific northwest. snowshowers across the great lakes. and then sunday -- sunday -- a possible major storm developing

along the northeast coast. heavy rain coast. heavy rain along the mid atlantic coast. showers in the pacific northwest. and that's your latest weather. >> all right. al, thanks. coming up, next they're back, stars of the reality show, "little people big world" will join us right after this. what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins

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the equivalent of 140 million trash bags, gone. by using new glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can. ♪ it's a small change that can make a big difference. ♪ the stars of tlc's "little people big world" are back sharing their big lives on small screen and not everything seems to be going smoothly. as they disagree whether or not to expand their sprawling oregon farm. >> we've been talking about buying this property for ten or 15 years. would that be a reasonable -- i figured i wasn't even thinking about it because i had four kids. >> we never thought about the fact that it was connected to our farm. that will become the commercial side of our world. >> what do you want me to say? this is a big, huge financial investment at this stage in our

lives. >> matt and amy rolloff. good morning. i've got to know, did you buy the land? >> you got to wait until this sunday and you'll be able to see for yourself. >> are you going to let him buy the land? america wants to know. >> what do you want me to say? >> it's interesting watching the clip, because you were on for six seasons, went away in 2010 and you're back for four special episodes, you've been up front, you've been candid, there's some give and take, ups and downs in your marriage, how are you guys doing right now? >> i think the length of time we've been married, like any relationship, there are ups and downs, i think in the long run we're doing great. we'll be celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. >> congratulations. >> you know, there's something to be said about that. >> we're still sitting here together on your couch. >> that's enough for me. >> there's a space here. i don't know what that is. >> smart man, matt. i'll ask you, matt, the question that we ask a lot of reality stars. and that is the question of having cameras in your lives. good for the relationship?

or does it add an extra strain. >> i think it does add a strain. it's definitely hard. but sometimes through diversity or through adversity you can build strength. so i think in the end we're saying we're stronger because of it. but definitely there is a toll that it takes, sharing your life. there will be things on camera sometimes and i would see it on tv and go, did you actually say that? and later on, we would be watching the show, did you really talk about that? >> i think the hardest thing being on reality tv, when we see these episodes for us, that happened a little bit ago. so is it like we're reliving this again? we're over it, we're past it. >> you get to relive every fight four times. when you're watching it on preview, when it comes out on tv and talk about it on media. >> should i still be angry or mad or happy? >> you can't run away from it. >> can i ask about the kids, you have four kids, three of average height, one is a little person. he's a twin. his twin brother is now off at school in california. how is zach doing with his twin brother away?

>> i think zach is doing good. he's got his own life. he's working. you know, he's still going to school. still figuring out what he's doing. jeremy is doing great down in california. going to school. so to tell you the truth, i think with them being separated and jeremy gone, it's a lot harder on me than it may be on either of them. >> it's an interesting point, matt. there was some emotional moments for you on the show when you were getting ready to prepare to say good-bye. how are you holding up? >> i'm doing better than i expected. the day he left, i thought i can't live, i can't go on. but i was very emotional as you saw, now i'm feeling like this is good. i get to see him and he texts me, and never fails, dad, i love you. >> very, very good about keeping in touch with us and you know, we skype and talk on facebook and everything. so it's great to be in touch with him. we miss him, but -- >> you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy. >> we have a pretty good hunch

he'll be back. he'll sow his oats in santa barbara and come back. >> i think it's harder on jacob not having his brothers around, involved in his life with all the guy thing going on. >> matt, you've set out in part when you started the show as advocates for little people, to change the way that little people are perceived. do you think you've achieved that goal over the seasons? >> we think we've made a lot of progress. and then you know, we saw some stuff the other day and thought, gosh, you know we've still got work to do and there's still people out there that are afraid of little people and having fears. but i think we've made a ton of progress and i think our show has just been one of many, a lot of people have done a lot of work over the years. little people of america. we've got the bill and jen, the little couple's show. and a number of little people out there doing great work to help educate people and desensitized to the differences. >> matt is talking about rosie o'donnell. she has a mild fear or anxiety around little people.

is that an attitude you've encountered? >> yeah, it really is. it has been an attitude. to think of yourself in one way and to have someone else think of you that way, it plays on you. i was taken back. i was sad, really. to hear that from someone. but you know, like matt and i have talked about, it does give us an opportunity to validate what we have done, what other little people have done. there's still work to do. you're never going to get rid of it, totally. but if we can continue to open that door up more, i think it's great. >> keep up the good work, guys, great to see you. and congratulations on the show. matt and amy. you can catch a special hour-long episode of "little people big world" this sunday, 8:00 on tlc. up next, the hottest new toys of the year, they aren't even out yet. we've got a sneak peek for you after this. everywhere you go, america, i see your cup of joe goes with you. how nice of joe to, how you say, have your back. try something different. a delicious gevalia kaffe,

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will be asking for later this year. what's a big trend? >> so many. but i have to disclaim, none of these are toy portfolio winners yet. because a lot of these are just prototypes, just coming out. we're starting our process and we'll be testing these toys with our testers all over the country. >> a little controversy with the girl-themed legos. >> lego friends has come out, taken a hit with having very typical hair play, girl play, shopping. what i found is this is olivia's workshop. she's an inventor, she has a microscope and power tools and a vet set. so that's nice as well. and the key will be whether kids find this to be satisfying building. we want our girls to build. we want them to grow up to be -- >> get the spatial relationship. >> math, so important for engineers and architects. if the only way they'll play with it is make it pink, go for it. the other big news from lego "lord of the rings" is going to be a big hit. i think it will be a hit with

the teen and 'tween and even some adult testers. >> you know i love things that glow in the dark. i was so psyched, we found city blocks and wonderland, that have glow in the dark wooden blocks, it will be fun for the testers to look at. >> now we get into the app world. >> this is the biggest take-away trend for this year's toy fair. everyone has apps and toys for apps. and it makes sense. the app market by 2015 is going to be $25 billion. and toy makers don't want to be left out. so everywhere we went this week, we found toys that work with apps. so this fisher-price laugh and learn monkey has the iphone in the middle with games you can put inside. it's safer than handing off your phone. mattel has a whole line of app activities, angry birds, you can hold on to. and fruit ninja. there's barbie, hot wheels and the fashionista line of barbies

has an endless closet. where you can make countless outfits, like 21st century paper dolls. we're going to have to take a look at this. because we usually look to see whether the technology is enhancing the play. now we're looking to see whether the toys enhance the digital experience and whether parents want to pay for it. kids want to work on it as well. and there's a developmental issue which isn't very popular. we all know that kids love to play with their parents' iphones and i-pads, it's remarkable to watch an 18-month-old. but we haven't done enough research to know, we don't know what the impact is. and we know that young children learn best from real-life experiences with real people. these are crafts that are really fun. this is the crayola digital lights design studio. you're coloring with -- you're coloring with the l.e.d. lights and you can animate it as well. so really a lot of fun activities for kids it play with. now here's one i probably don't think you know about. duct tape is huge in the craft

world. >> duct tape? >> duct tape. all over etsy. all lex has a duct tape tote, fashion angels as well. now i really love banana gram and scrabble. now last year everything seemed to be small, small toys and now upsized. novelty dolls, always big, this is dora the gymnast, here thee goes, she's going to do her handstand, maybe. what's mickey doing? >> mickey wants to be in the act. he is a -- break dancer. >> that's freaky. that's like the exorcist meets mickey. >> and this one i love, this is their spider-man, going to come out from the movies and he really does climb the walls.

>> kind of like spider-man meets a vacuum. >> yes. >> i think the real thing probably won't be quite as noisy. >> stephanie oppenheim, thanks so much for freaking me out! >> any time, al. coming up, how to cook like an iron chef. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ clanking ]

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only from verizon. this morning on today's kitchen, step by step, how to cook like an iron chef. who would know better than the winner of the food network's "the next iron chef" jeffrey najarian owner of the lamb's club in new york and the tudor house in miami. nice to see you. >> nice to be here. >> pork chops. >> i love pork chops and thank god pork has sort of come back and what's great about these pork chops is they have amazing flavor because they're fat and pork needs fat. there was a phase when pork was, they made skinny pigs, now

they're eating again. we've marinated them in rosemary and shallot. we're going to do the entire recipe on top. i'm going to take a little butter. cook them a few minutes, we're going to baste them which is very important to get a nice color out of them. this is not going to cook them, we'll put them on a high heat, season them. do you see what i'm doing with the butter? >> what kind of butter? >> french butter with rosemary and thyme. and then we're going do let the heat come down a bit and we're going to cook it to 155 internal, about 12 to 15 minutes. we're going to make a quick sauce. into that. we're going to add some calvados. apple, winter. >> a little tumeric and creme fraiche. and while that's reducing -- that smells amazing. that's going to reduce for about ten minutes. a little chicken stock.

>> ten minutes, altogether? >> yes. not that long. and what's going do happen, it's going to look like this sauce right here. we take these beautiful puppies -- if you want to take one. >> sure. >> we'll gb tgoing to reheat thm in this sauce. >> how long? >> 15, 20 minutes total time. it's delicious and so pim tell. a little warming vegetable salad. we have simply savoy cabbage, and beautiful endive. >> i don't like to do use potato, i prefer vegetables. >> what's in the winter bounty. endive, turnip, radishes, kale and apples. >> and pork and apple, what's better than that. that's the endive in here. we're just warming it, okay. we're not going it like carmelize it too much. >> a separate pan on this? >> yes. >> if you wanted to, you could wash the pan and use it again.

just beautiful saute here. turn the pan off. >> how are we doing over here? >> you want to flip those for me? >> yup. >> creating your own sauce. >> and i'm going to plate up. >> is there a winter bounty in here anywhere? >> oh, great. >> you can have one, savannah. >> look how beautiful those are, al. >> we just center it on the plate. >> how long did you cook the vegetables? >> three minutes. >> this is all very quick. >> it's great because it's a raw, warm and a little bit winter and it's fresh, because the apple is not quite cooked. let's get that, pork. >> please! >> good morning. >> you come to the party, you stay for the pork. >> what i serve with this on the side is a beautiful broccoli rabe and lemon, chili and pickled garlic. >> jeffrey

>> we have a few pockets of moderate rain. areas we are getting a few pockets of some moderate rain,

culpeper county, panhandle of west virginia, washington, northern frederick. elsewhere light rain coming through. we will have this off and on into the afternoon. right now we are in the low and mid 40s around the metro area. reagan nation atwater 45. later today may get hit the low 50s. sun back tomorrow. wintry mix possible saturday night into sunday. stay tuned. danella, how is traffic? >> if you are traveling beyond canal road, accident blocking the left lane as you make your way to fox hall. be aware of that caution in the area. outer loop of the beltway, montgomery county moving much better for you. travel speed 34 miles per hour. you are still slow but not that slow, barbara, back to you. >> thank you, danella. >> thank you, danella. comi

captions paid for by nbc-universal television it is thirst day thursday, february 16th. i am 58 1/2 years old. do you ever mark the half ones? >> no. >> i never used to. but i do now. because i'm approaching 60. how are you, baby girl? >> i'm great. >> hope you're happy to be with us like we're happy to be with you today. >> look at us. if you were up late last night, you got a taste of us on the

jimmy fallon show. >> whether you wanted to or not. i wouldn't call it a love affair. >> i wouldn't either. >> let's see. >> pros, in new orleans, it's time for partying, drunken revelry and public intoxication. [ applause ] >> cons, also known in new york, the fourth hour of the "today" show. thank you. get complaint letters from hoda and kathie tomorrow. >> no, you won't, jimmy, because you know why? you're dead to us. >> yes. d-e-a-d. fat tuesday coming up. mardi gras. there cannot be cons for mardi gras. >> e love you, jimmy. >> this has caused controversy. the governor of new jersey, governor chris christie, decided he wanted to fly the state flags at half-staff on saturday for --

>> whitney houston's funeral. >> the day of her funeral. first i thought, sure, jersey girl from new jersey. why not? >> from new york. >> they did a nationwide poll and polled almost 70,000 people. i found this shocking. they said 88% of the people said it was not a good idea to have the flags at half-staff. >> and was there a box for the reason that they thought so? >> i don't know the why. they said it should be reserved for military and public service, things like that. what do you think? >> oh, gosh. you know, this is such a sad situation because, i mean, i don't think there's anybody in the world who didn't love and respect her talent. >> mm-hmm. sure. >> you know, and the jury is still completely out on her cause of death, no matter what you're hearing. we're not going to know that for a while. we have to be fair about that. some people are saying we don't want to honor a drug addict, is is what i was hearing. you know, she was honest with -- eventually became honest about her battle with substance abuse.

but that's -- a lot of people are struggling with that. >> sure. >> i don't know. she was a hometown girl that they were very, very proud of. >> yes. yes. >> she brought so much joy to people for an awful long time. i think the people of newark should be able to decide that. the people of her hometown, let them decide. it's nobody else's business. >> i agree with that. so there have been a couple stories that have been floating out in the news on parents who have this thing called extreme parenting. one example is of this memphis girl. she had stolen something. and her aunt had her hold a sign that said, "i steal from my family." what happened was she took a debit card from her aunt to pay -- to restart her cell phone up again. apparently her cell phone was cut off. >> an ongoing problem that we have here. >> the aunt wanted her to feel what it feels like to be embarrassed. the other story north carolina dad who was very, very upset because his daughter posted

something on facebook and basically the -- >> to task about -- >> requiring her to do chores or something. they should pay her or something. >> she was a little extreme on them. >> but anyway, the father followed up after reading this post by doing this to his daughter's computer. >> kid, you got it easy. way easy. there was more curse words in that one post, just ridiculous. not happy. disrespectful to me, your mother, your stepmother. so, i'm going to put a stop to it. this right here is my .45. that was the first round. >> and then the last one he said, this one's for your mother. here's the thing. there was more to the story than i thought. there always is. apparently he had set up her

computer the day before, gone to all kinds of trouble to put extra things into it, do all kinds of things, whatever you do. like i know. and he was thinking, well, this is the way she thanks me? she goes on the very thing i set up for her and she -- >> the way he disciplines her was going down to her level and take a gun, though, and shoot -- like, that's ridiculous. >> you said earlier, if he -- >> if he had taken a sledge hammer to it i think i would have felt differently or thrown it off the bridge. >> it's still violent. >> something about pointing a gun at it and blowing holes in it,icy. >> look at the way the man was dressed. that's part of his culture. we have to understand this, hoda. i'm not saying what he did was right. i'm just saying -- here's the thing. on both situations, he's the grown-up and he should handle things better, absolutely. but in both situations there is an ongoing problem. and we don't know how many other things happen in each individual instance.

this is what so many people done understand. frank and i battled about that early on. not that i'm the perfect mother. close, but -- no. by this time it's too late. you've got to start eaching kids right from wrong before they know how to say right and wrong. >> right. >> i use an example, and frank and i used to fight over this because i'm a maniac about manners, as you know. when cody was like 2 years old, wouldn't give him something unless he made an attempt to say please. if he didn't say thank you, i took it back. this was hours we did this. frank was, like, he's a kid, leave him alone. i go, that's when you get them. >> i want to know if this type of discipline, whether blowing holes in a computer or having a kid stand out with a sign -- >> does it work. >> are there results. does the kid get embarrassed from standing out there it has a whole bunch of other rerp cushions or you say i don't want to stand on a street corner again, i'll never do that again. >> that's what we were talking about earlier. can somebody do a follow-up on

that. >> please. get on it. because we say these things and throw them out there, you don't know if anything came out as a result. i'd love to know if one of those kids who stood on a corner five or ten years later, if it helped them. >> you believe in strong discipline. >> definitely, but to a point. >> we agree on that. >> how about this -- >> i'm not picking sides. just trying to be fair and think things through. >> in brooklyn, and apparently this trend started in australia. they have something called baby chinums. >> everybody needs one. >> cappuccinos for babies. they're decaf. they've become the rage in brooklyn. a barista is serving a handful of them every day, they're $2. . a tiny cup with steamed milk and sprinkles. some are steamed milk only. >> a lot of people recoil at that and go, wait a minute, babies -- first of all, there's less caffeine in it than there is in a soda, which many people

give their children in m times a day. >> yeah. >> and she wants more sprinkles. here's the thing. how many times have we as parents gone out to dinner -- hopefully they're not too hot. >> yeah. >> uh-oh. >> i would say so. >> that's okay. you can drink it now. >> he sounds like a nice daddy. >> uh-oh. >> uh-oh. >> looks a little grown-up with the coffee cup. >> let's be honest. how many times have parents gone out to dinner, ordered a cocktail and asked their daughter, would you like a shirtshirt shirtly shirley temple? they get their mock cocktails mommy and tad di are having. >> they say it's mostly steamed milk and nothing unusual about steamed milk in a cup for a kid. >> i have more of a problem with little babies wearing high heels and things like that, before their foot has a chance to develop. >> i agree. >> it can alter -- >> yeah.

>> enjoy your childhood. wouldn't you love to be a kid again reading a book? >> reading a book. >> when you were a little kid. >> yes. alread all right. the scholastic group did the top books of all time. >> all time. >> and what's fun about these, they're books most of us have read when we were kids, some older, some newer. harry potter. >> on the cover. may we point out scholastic books did put out that book. >> that is a great book. >> no question. place in history. "where the wild things are." >> "the snowy day." number three. >> "a wrinkle in time." >> number two is "good night mo moon." >> and number one, "charlotte's web." >> "green eggs and ham" is on there, too. >> one that i loved that was off there, e.b. white as well, the call of the trumper?

"the trumpeter swan." my favorite book of all time, the only one cassidy said when she was little, mommy, can we read that again, "the family under the bridge," which i loved so much i wrote a whole musical. do yourself a favor and raet read "the family under the bridge." what was your favorite? >> i loved curious george and all that and all the dr. seuss things. simple kid. >> you turned out all right. >> hey, hey, hey. ready for a little music? >> oh. that's right, it's thursday. >> this one is for everybody. rude that you drink before my segment. this one is just one i've loved for a long, long time. it's called "i'll be." by edwin mccain. you'll love it. ♪ color them wonderful

>> you know what? ♪ >> i've actually heard this one before. yes. nice, hodie. ♪ i'll be captivated >> here it comes. right here. ♪ i'll be your cryin' shoulder >> that's where we need to start these in the future. ♪ i'll be the love suicide >> so beautiful. down load it. you'll love it. >> okay or not okay? what do you think? >> is it okay to wear your

wedding band after you split? i said -- you say no one know what is goals on with two people in a marriage. if someone chooses to continue a ring, they must have a good reason and they are welcome to it. >> i haven't changed my mind. hoda says some things you need to ease out of slowly, although you didn't. but you may be keeping it on because there is still hope. >> maybe. i'm going to go to sara in one second but -- >> last night -- >> the red dress awards. such a fun event by the american heart association. >> you did find something nice to wear. >> i did. i borrowed it. that's javier colon. they had great music. they had sugarland, javier colon, three great bands. >> the whole event, and i'm sure you were magnificent. >> hi, guys. i'm here to remind everybody about getting out of your 'eight rut. go to klgandhoda.com, post a

picture of yourself stuck in the '80s and why you deserve this makeover and we'll make you over. >> thanks. >> thank you. >> up next, how to check your emotional baggage and pack it away forever. >> if you have some. and the best new ways to keep your kids busy. we've got them. here's to my pants not leaving marks on my waist. achieve small wins with a healthy lifestyle and dannon light & fit. the light fresh yogurt with 80 calories vs. 100 in the other leading brand. here's to 80 calories tasting crazy good.

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time for "toou's" woman and how to get rid of that emotional baggage if you've had a relationship or several. there are some carry-ons worth of hurt you could be taking from your past into your present. >> why do we hold onto it and how to we move past it? here is the editor in chief of women's health magazine and psychologist michelle callahan, contributor to the same magazine. >> hey, ladies. >> hi. >> do you hang out together? >> we're in sync.

>> sometimes we follow patterns. you know, we date the same sort of guy, good and bad traits, often. >> absolutely. we do that all the time. i mean, we have a tendency to bring past hurts into new relationships and that can really jettison that new union. >> you want a clean slate, don't you? >> but your old union -- let's pretend your boyfriend cheated on you. >> yeah. that's a huge one. absolutely. you're going to have trust issues. the way you might deal with that is with the new guy is they're guilty before being proven innocent. >> aren't lots of them anyway? >> you can't assume that. can't assume that. >> you can't help it, though. you are going to be more careful the next time arnold. >> but if you're accusatory and you're suspicious and. >>ing around, not a good thing. >> if you treat him as if he has done that. >> right. you don't want to blame him or make him feel like he has to pay for the other guy's sins. ultimately, you want to go ahead and let him know, not on your first date but once you've started to have a relationship, let him know, i went through a

difficult relationship before. sometimes when you're vague or not clear about what's going on, it makes me feel that feeling of something going on and i think you're cheating when you probably aren't. if you could help me out being a little more clear with your communication -- >> not all the time. >> but don't off like you're a psycho. >> exactly. >> guys don't like that. >> all right. what if you were with a man who had one of those hot tempers that you were used to always kind of backpedalling. >> absolutely. if you were with a screamer, you're probably going to try to avoid confrontation. but disagreement and conflict are normal parts of a healthy relationship as long as you express it appropriately. >> how should you do it in the new one? >> it's okay. don't panic. sweat off some of that stress first before you have the conversation because that tension makes you nervous because of your past experiences, take a walk, take a jog, agree to come back when you're both calmer and you'll feel more comfortable communicating as opposed to shutting down and not saying how

you feel. >> you need to be in an environment where you feel like you can air grievances. >> what about critical of you, like, you going to wear that? >> ouch. >> red flag. >> thatcuts to the core. on an intellectual level we know any guy who does that is dealing with deep insecurities himself but it still stings. you might go into the new thing feeling bad about yourself and wanting to avoid intimacy, maybe not wanting to eat in front of the guys. >> creates problems. >> can cause problems. >> know that stuff is about him, not about you, so don't bring that into the new relationship. realize he was dealing with his own securities. people like to put themselves up to put you down. >> things are not going to change with a person like that, is it? that would be a red flag to say this is not going to work. go the other way. >> but if a good guy, learn to accept thatcompliment.

don't prubrush it off. accept it graciously and move forward. >> that's the hardest part, reconditioning yourself. >> take the compliment when it's given. >> exactly. >> don't say, no, you don't really mean that. >> thanks very much. >> up next, what's cuter than dogs and babies? >> nothing. >> sara has both. scrubbologists have made a remarkable leap forward in hands-free toilet cleaning. introducing the one-step toilet bowl cleaner from scrubbing bubbles. just step on the pedal. the 360 degree sprayer delivers a powerful cleaner to tackle lime scale, toilet rings, and even cleans under the rim. it's a remarkable leap forward in hands-free toilet cleaning. guaranteed to work or it's free! [ female announcer ] s.c. johnson. a family company. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins

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>> time for "webtastic." a search of the next internet video that will have you singing a happy tune. >> that was madonna's new single. >> yes. >> still sounds 16 years old. >> unbelievable. >> we found a very happy pooch, milo, a golden doodle, sure to make you smile. >> smile. oh, look at that nice toothy grin. >> oh, my gosh! >> they came home from a trip and he was doing that. he's done it since he was 1 and he's 3 1/2. >> that's a good boy. >> hysterical. oh, my gosh. >> look how hard he's trying. >> no gingivitis on him. >> you're a funny boy. a nice big smile. yeah. >> from california. >> how cute is that. >> we can't make that up. >> never seen her do that. >> one more today. baby ashton, who does not like to be kissed by his mother.

>> here we are. going to give you a big kiss. mwah. >> he doesn't like it. they said he's really express soif whenever there's something like his little lips pop out. >> why is she still doing it? >> they wanted it on video for family and friends. he was only 5 months old but now he's 8. >> is it just her or -- >> no. whenever he doesn't like something that happens that day -- >> just his mom's kisses is what she's asking. >> i think it was just that day. >> no means no. >> still ahead, how to throw a red carpet oscar party. >> plus the toy fair's in town and we have the next hottest thing. >> and our favorite chef is in

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we're back with more today on this thirst day thursday, and if you have any thought of throwing your own oscar party, you have about ten days to put it together. >> why not make it especially glamorous as a hollywood movie? better holmes and gardens' elaine griffin is here with some fun tips. >> you look very oscary. >> because they're hollywood's most glamorous night of the year. i dressed for the occasion. >> you look lovely. >> throwing a party is all about the glamour and movie themes. we'll start with bling even for the invitations. we got these at the dollar star. >> cute. >> great ideas. >> and this for drinks because we're going to start the evening

off with a cocktail. >> nice thought. >> going to movies, the best movie nominees, themes, mai tais mean -- >> "the descendants." >> george clooney on the beach. this is for? >> ""the artist."" >> very cute. >> red carpet fizz. what about "hugo"? >> coming up. we have great ideas. when your guests arrive, you want to play a game. this is oscar bingo, our take on the betting pool. >> bowling. what's better. >> every time something happens you cross it off, like if brangelina kisses on the screen, which they'll obviously be doing. and the first one that completes wins. >> very cute. >> meryl streep's name. >> if she wins anything. >> okay. >> you need to make up the rules, though. could be like if she shows up on screen. clever idea. >> you obviously want the best dramatic moment for your buffet. and then we're going to the

movies for themes. so we have checking in for "hugo" and "midnight in paris" with macaroons. >> cute. >> i love this because the oscars are all about movies, which is truly a pop moment. but we're upgrading the large butt we are the diet coke to drink popcorn pairings. >> okay. >> so we're having for the paramown pop popcorn goes with this. and then merlot goes with the cheddar popcorn. >> that's clever. >> centerpieces, we've taken what we already have at home. we repurposed these from the living room and putting them in a hollywood vase from the party store. >> okay. >> and for dessert, once again, movie themes. this is the chocolate pie from? >> "the help." >> oh, i love that. >> somebody had a piece! >> they're in the ladies' room right now. >> we get the secret ingredient on that. then we have our red velvet i'll

take you a star cake. >> by the way, these are my favorites. >> i want one so badly. >> so delicious with the cream cheese frosting. >> matt goes crazy over those. >> they are delicious. >> and then -- >> what's happening down here? >> every major movie needs a red carpet moment. this is ours. set up a photo booth. it's a box of props. >> what's this one for? >> ""the artist."" >> won't fit on your head. >> what's this one for? >> "the descendants." >> that should go. >> and what else? what are these? this is cute. look at this. >> here. okay. >> so you want -- you set up your camera. so click. click. yay! and then you can e-mail everyone -- >> what more could you want? >> very clever. good job, baby. happy oscars to you. >> up next, check out the toys your kids will want before they even know they exist.

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no matter how old you get, you're never too old to play with toys. we have a woman who has made a career out of it. >> she's co-publisher of the toy insider dotcom. she got to spend the entire week playing at the toy fair in new york. she's here with her favorite

finds. >> i played with thousands of toys, had the best time and brought some of my favorites. >> this will be on the market soon? >> most of them fall. >> all right. >> certainly i loville mow. this year it is all about grover. [ grover talking ] >> who could resist? >> grover 2.0. and grover loves to fly. >> does he really fly? oh. >> up and down. >> very cute. >> you know what, that's clever. kids are going to love that. >> love, love, love. look at her. a kid in a toy store. >> i am. this is dee and her friends. the collection of dolls is called la-di-da. >> la-di-da. >> right here in new york city. they have a clothing collection called la-di-da. okay. so she's beautiful. they're actually wearing their

sweet 16 collection. >> they are cute. a little inappropriate but cute. >> teenager mutant ninja turtles. they are back. they're coming back. >> new episodes? >> all new. >> whoa. >> so cool. and look at this. >> oh, my. >> this is the secret play set. this is awesome. we have our sewer level, our street level, our rooftops, 20 different ninja activities for them to do. it's awesome. >> wow. >> now, that would be a little pricey, right? >> it is a little pricey but you get a lot of play out of it. >> a lot for it. okay. >> okay. so monsters are so popular. there's that virtual world, moshi monsters. we can bring it to life with bobble bots. >> bobble bots. >> we have these little robotic kind of those bobble heads robots. and they go around. >> oh, cool. >> right? really, really cute. >> that is cute. >> what do they do?

>> they go around. >> go around. >> they can put this any way then to arrange where they're going, reset the play pattern. >> okay. fun. >> you get that, hoda? >> is it fun? >> yeah. >> all right. >> so let's stick with the monster theme one more second. retro marbles, now we have monster marbles. so the marbles, you move them just like marbles. they're really cool. they're also very collectible. kids will want to collect them. knock the other monster out of the ring. lots of great games to play. >> very cute. >> this is cody. >> what? >> a fidget toy. >> say it again. >> cody. >> how do you spell it? >> it is also -- it is also a puzzle. and it also is a collectible. >> what do we do with this? like a lego? >> this turns into this. it has all these links. there's numbered symbols and

letters on it and when you follow the code you create a creature. eventually capable of coming up with their own colors and create their own. >> very good for their brains. >> it is very good. the moving, the thinking about it. it's fun. >> is it fun? all right. okay. >> these are something you usually see for the boys, battling tops. now we have dizzy dancers. we pull it out. >> stick it in there. >> and they will start dancing. they speed up. they get faster and faster. they're very cute. >> look how cute! >> they're interchangeable. lots of fun. >> oh, so sad. >> that's cute! >> a metaphor for life. >> all right. so, one of the most popular, over 100 million down loads, but before i show you this, we should be fruit ninjas. >> we don't mess with hair. >> all the fruit ninjas. we have to tie this on. >> hoda will pretend.

>> if you would do the honors. ready? slice that ninja. >> there's something in the back of it. >> that's fruit ninja. >> that's cute. >> you want to do the watermelon? slice him! >> thank you. >> that's it? >> we got to go. that was fun. >> we'll cook up lunch after this. [ male announcer ] for a better-looking tomorrow. vicks nyquil cold & flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. [ deep breath ] ♪ 1, 2, 3, 4 ♪ [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪ you just...look... like granola.

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time for "today's kitchen." reed alexander is here with some nutritious kid-friendly meals. >> he co-stars in "i, carly." he's a spokesperson for the alliance for a healthier generation and has a big announcement. >> big announcement! >> yay! >> to share with you guys. the alliance for healthier generation, i was at president

clinton's first ever national health summit. >> you were? >> we hung out. it was really exciting to be with chelsea clinton on her panel. my announcement is the recipes on the site are going to be launching in schools around the nation for 30 million students. so excited. >> oh, my gosh. >> you should get a commission. >> what are you going to be making? >> kid tested, kid approved. we have great recipes to show you. >> is that a 5:00 shadow? >> no! >> reed! >> oh, my gosh. >> all right. so our asian salad bowl is really easy to make. we start by slicing some bock choi. this is going to be one of our stars. we've got these. do you like these? >> what are they? >> like buckwheat noodles. >> i have had them. >> they look easily, just like pasta, four, five minutes in water. >> the bock choi?

>> this we steam. that mellow, crispy flavor, really delicious. chinese cabbage. >> keeping it nice. >> it is wafting up from our grilled chicken, i have to tell you. we have some chicken projectiles. our chicken is grilling. white meat. protein. look out. can we get, like, a fan? we need to make some asian bowls together. >> can we douse this with water? we're going to grab some soba noodles. want to grab them with the tongs? >> what's your favorite kind of food? >> i love asian. i also love italian. really, really good. so many flavorful choices. >> i know. but a lot of cheese. >> low fat. that's what we can go for. low-sodium parmesan. >> do you always live what you preach? >> i think it's important. it helps me to feel great. it gives me the energy.

>> is that where it comes from? >> yeah. you guys bring it out. make it a party on the airwaves. >> what's the sauce? >> asian glaze. we can swing around and take a look at the ingredients. >> i'd like to do that. like on a field trip. >> gingery, garlic. it's fast and easy, mix it together. rice cakes, asian bowl, good to go. >> can we taste it? >> please. dive in. go right for it. tell us what you think. two other quick options. >> it's got to be kid tested. >> it does have to be kid tested. it is vetted by the tough critics. >> used the word vet. what's next? >> salad pizza, sweet and savory. tuna salad, swapping that out, instead of using mayo, that can get heavy, we use lemon juice and dill. >> food fight soon. >> i know what you mean. >> good. i love that dressing. >> do you like it? i'm so glad.

easy to whip up in your own kitchen. >> we could not be prouder. you're one of our favorite people. >> thank you. i love coming to see you. great to be here. >> up next, a great performance from jason mraz. [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable

and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for an incredible price: just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. it's an amazing deal, but it's for a limited time only. so don't wait. want to save even more? call right now and we'll add a special bonus: $300 back. unlike cable, fios delivers a 100% fiber-optic network to your home. get america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet, plus the best tv picture quality, and more hd. why keep paying so much for cable? switch to fios for just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement.

save $600 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus: $300 back. hurry, offer ends march 3rd. call 1.877.827.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.827.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.

end? >> so catchy, isn't it? before we get to jason, we want to congratulate our friend, reed alexander. what a great accomplishment. one kid's life can impact 30 million others by doing the right thing and for all the right reasons. >> sure can. >> jason mraz releases his third studio album in april called

"love is a four-letter word." here's his latest song and take it, jason. ♪ well you done done me and you bet i felt it i tried to be chill ♪ ♪ but you're so hot that i melted i fell right through the cracks now i'm trying to get back ♪ ♪ before the cool done run out i'll be giving it my bestest and nothing's going to stop me ♪ ♪ but divine intervention i reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some ♪ ♪ but i won't hesitate no more no more ♪ ♪ it cannot wait

i'm yours ♪ ♪ well open up your mind and see like me open up your plans ♪ ♪ and damn you're free look into your heart and you'll find ♪ ♪ love, love, love, love listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing ♪ ♪ we're just one big family and it's our god-intended right to be loved, loved ♪ ♪ loved, loved, loved so i won't hesitate no more no more ♪ ♪ it cannot wait, i'm sure there's no need to complicate our time is short ♪

♪ this is our fate, i'm yours do you, do you, do you do you want to come on ♪ ♪ scootch on over closer dear i will nibble in your ear i've been spending way ♪ ♪ too long checking my tongue in the mirror and bending over backwards ♪ ♪ just to try to see it clearer but my breath fogged up the glass so i drew a new face and ♪ ♪ i laughed i guess what i be saying is there ain't no better reason to rid yourself of vanities ♪ ♪ and just go with the seasons it's what we came to do our name is our virtue ♪ ♪ but i won't hesitate no more no more it cannot wait ♪

♪ i'm yours whooo, thank you so much. [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable

and enjoying it less and less?

stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for an incredible price: just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. it's an amazing deal, but it's for a limited time only. so don't wait. want to save even more? call right now and we'll add a special bonus: $300 back. unlike cable, fios delivers a 100% fiber-optic network to your home. get america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet, plus the best tv picture quality, and more hd. why keep paying so much for cable? switch to fios for just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. save $600 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus: $300 back. hurry, offer ends march 3rd. call 1.877.827.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.827.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead.