good morning. $5 gas, prices on the rise at a record pace with no end in sight, threatening to smash the all-time high by memorial day. this morning, the toll that would take on the fragile economy. fanning the flames. rick santorum takes a new shot ott president obama's faith by mentioning his controversial former pastor, reverend jeremiah wright with one week to go before the primary races in michigan and arizona. and he's a college freshman with a clever way to distract basketball players. he's popping up at games across the country. guess where he is today, the country. guess where he is today, tuesday, february 21, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm david gregory in for matt. i saw the face at the knicks game last night. his mother must be so proud. look at that face! >> look at him there. >> this is what i said, this is the mark he makes. we'll talk to him later. you mentioned gas prices. they have never been this high this early. it has people worried. >> the new national average is $3.57 a gallon, up six cents in a week, 40 cents higher than we paid a year ago. it could be a bargain compared to the prices we are hearing predicted in the coming months. we'll get more on that.

there is also breaking news overnight because europe agreed to a second massive bailout to save greece from bankruptcy. so the question is now what will this have as an impact on the u.s. economy. we'll look at it coming. >> we'll have new details on the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife during a honeymoon diving trip in australia. what the victim's best friend told the court about a disturbing conversation she had with the suspect at his wife's wake. and a woman who thought she met the man of her dreams on an online dating site. they had a baby but instead of building a life together kristy gaffne said the man who was already married tricked her into signing away her legal rights so he and his wife could adopt the child. first, let us begin with skyrocketing gas prices. miguel almaguer has more from los angeles on the story.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the price for premium has already topped $5 a gallon. while this station may not be the norm it could be an indication of what's to come this summer. across california, sticker shot at the pump. >> $96.92. >> reporter: the golden state putting people in the red. $4.03 a gallon a bargain compared to this premium station where premium tops $5. >> it's going to hurt. >> reporter: gas prices have never been so high early in the year. >> it impacts everything. it impacts how much cheerios costs, how much you pay for the 7-11 hot dog. >> reporter: california isn't the only state being drained at the pump. new york is closing in on $4 a gallon. the midwest hovering near $3.50. washington state, $3.64. wyoming is the cheapest at $3.03

while hawaii is the most expensive at $4.23. experts say the national average could top $4.25. by summer some cities will see $5 a gallon. three reasons are driving the skyrocketing price for gas. >> the perfect storm, the juggernaut we are facing in rising gas prices is, one, the geopolitical issues in iran and elsewhere. the second would be investors and speculators who are clearly trying to buy oil and own it. third would be a number of refinery closings. >> reporter: adding to the problems, a fire at a washington state refinery friday. a key west coast supplier that drove up prices overnight. fed ex driver jermaine stevenson rethinking how to get to work. >> i'll probably ride my bike to work. >> reporter: meantime in san diego, gas station attendants have been assaulted verbally and physically because of the pinch at the pump.

>> somebody was throwing cans of soda at the person, you know, changing the sign. >> reporter: gas prices taking a toll now and predicted to soar to record highs come summer. rising gas prices translate well beyond the pump. you will pay more for food because of shipping costs and an airline ticket. it is estimated americans spend 8.5% of the budget on gas alone. >> thank you. jim krcramer is host of "mad money." >> good morning. >> is there anything to avoid $5 by memorial day? >> only if iran stops this nuclear program. >> iran accounts for 2.5% of the worl's oil exports. why is it having such a big impact on the u.s. price of gas. >> they are a gigantic exporter to europe. they take away from ours.

there is not a lot of excess supply now. >> what about the options for the administration? republicans are starting to make gas prices a campaign issue. one suggestion made by a former adviser to president obama said what about compensating people when gas prices go up? he had a proposal for that. could it help? >> congress is in no mood to give that kind of tax break after all the wrangling. the only thing i can see is a radical use of natural gas for surface fuel. the president endorsed it in january. it's got to be for trucks. they are the big users of imported oil. >> barring that impact on the economy with the rising gas prices. >> we are probably going to $5 if the trajectory continues for the price of oil. you can figure every $10 increase in the barrel translates to 25 cents at the pump. >> we have to look at what happened overnight regarding greece. europe finally agreed to a new

bailout. >> right. >> this to prevent bankruptcy. could it have a positive impact for the u.s. economy? >> yes. not as positive as the negative of higher gasoline prices but this helps the stock market. the worries of europe are going away. >> meantime you mentioned the stock market. on friday it was a big day for people who are investors. is this good only for rich people or is this good for all americans? >> 90 million households own stock either through iras or 401(k)s. any increase helps consumer spending. >> did investors who are rich win or did everyone win? >> i think if you're saving and using any part of the stock market you're a winner. >> jim, thank you for your perspective. >> thank you. >> it's a pleasure to talk to you. catch jim on "mad money" weeknights at 6:00 and 11:00 eastern time on cnbc. now here's david. >> the republican primary races in michigan and arizona are a week away now and the contests

could not be tighter between mitt romney and rick santorum. nbc's peter alexander is on the campaign trail again. this time in shelby township, michigan. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. many political insiders agree the next seven days may be the most critical week in mitt romney's political career. he's back in michigan trying to secure votes in the state where he was born and raised. rick santorum is already en route to arizona. for santorum, the stronger poll numbers mean more money and more scrutiny. >> wow. this is a big week coming up. >> reporter: just a week before the next crucial show down in michigan, rick santorum isn't backing down from what some viewed as a shot at the president's faith this weekend. >> it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. >> reporter: he may have fanned the flames when he insisted he was not questioning his christianity.

>> he went to reverend wright's church for 20 years. you can question what kind of theology reverend wright has, but it's a christian church. he's a christian. >> no, no. not god bless america! god damn america! >> reporter: he was the chicago pastor forced to resign after controversial sermons were made public during the 2008 campaign. santorum maintains comments about the president's so-called phony theology were aimed at what he calls mr. obama's radical environment allism. >> i will question what he's doing to drive up the cost of energy, destroy this economy and do so at the behest of a bunch of radical environmentalists who do want to drive up the cost of energy. >> reporter: on the campaign trail santorum repeated the sharp critique of the president's health care over haul. the father of a 3-year-old child with a genetic disorder he argued prenatal testing promotes

abortion including, he says, 90% of children with the same disorder as his daughter. >> we need a health care system that respects the dignity of every human life in america. >> reporter: facing a must win in michigan, mitt romney has shied away from engaging on hot button social issues, instead deriding rick santorum as a consummate politician. >> senator santorum calls himself a budget hawk. after he's been there a while he says he's no longer a budget hawk. i am a budget hawk. i don't want to spend more money than we take in. >> reporter: and monday on a radio show in michigan donald trump argued nominating santorum could cost republicans the race this fall. >> there is no gift, no christmas gift that could be given better than rick santorum for the democrats. they are just salivating at that.

i don't think they believe it is going to happen, but, boy, would they like it to happen because that would be an easy election. >> reporter: campaigns are required to reveal how much money they have raised each month. mitt romney raising $6.5 million but spending nearly three times that much, almost $19 million showing how critical the romney campaign views wins leading up to super tuesday. >> michigan will be important. thank you very much. >> now a check of the top stories. we have natalie morales at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. thousands of angry afghans took to the streets of kabul this morning after hearing reports that korans and other islamic texts were improperly disposed of at bagram airfield. the commander of international troops ordered an investigation into the incident he called unintentional in which about 30 korans belonging to former

detainees of the base were burned or thrown in the trash. iran is threatening preemptive strikes against perceived enemies if it feels its national interests are put in jeopardy. a news agency quoted the deputy head of armed forces as taking the newly aggressive stance as tehran appears to be placing limits on a visiting team of u.n. nuclear officials. the country's mid section is cleaning up after strong storms on monday. gusts nearly 60 miles an hour plowed through lubbock, texas, knocking 18-wheeler trucks off the road, as you see. in kansas, severe thunderstorms dumped hail and heavy rain. retired astronaut mark kelly is writing a children's book about an intr treintrepid mouse goes to space. it is inspired by mistaken to space on kelly's shuttle mission.

he collaborated on his wife about a memoir about her recovery following the shooting. a prehistoric flower is blooming again thanks to an arctic ground squirrel who buried the flower 230,000 years ago in the frozen tundra. dna experts are verifying the ice age plant. if it checks out it would be the oldest on record to be cloned and grown from ancient tissue. sounds like "jurassic park." everyone's fake anchorman returned to the news desk last night. stephen colbert explained his absence during monday night's show. >> as the hub around which the republic turns, i can understand why the machinery of this great nation ground to a halt last week when you were denied this. evidently having 11 children makes you tough as nails.

confidential to a lovely lady. >> oh! that tough as nails lovely lady is colbert's 91-year-old mother who was ailing last week. he left the report for two nights to take care of her, as a good son should. now back to ann and david. he's the baby of 11 children, by the way. >> isn't that something? >> yeah! >> having 11 children would make you tough as nails. >> that's extraordinary. >> sure thing. >> meantime, all dressed in brown, mr. roker is here with a check of the weather. >> our best wishes to theou wha out west, we have a big, powerful storm. a lot of moisture streaming towards the pacific northwest and it is going to be bringing a lot of rain, lot of wind and we have flood watches from olympia up to forks, bellingham and exexpecting a lot of rain there. and we have also got a higher risk of avalanche warnings where we have had skiers in the back country killed over the weekend. and due to avalanches.

look at the rainfall. we are talking anywhere from 2 to 5 locally 8 inches of rain in the pacific northwest over the next 24 hours. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> stunning sunrise on this tuesday morning. back to work and school. good morning, tom kierein storm center 4. that's a live view from our sky watcher hd camera. and the sun is up and mostly clear sky. we will have a few clouds coming over. watch out for patchy ice where there was snow from sunday that melted yesterday. refrozen this morning. it is a cold morning. we are down to the low to mid 20s throughout much of the region and later today we will climb to near 50 win creasing clouds and bit of a blustery and that's your latest weather. ann? >> thank you. jury selection resumes in the high profile trial of a former rutgers university student accused of using a web cam to spy on his roommate's encounter with another man. kerry sanders joins us from new brunswick, new jersey, with more on the story.

good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, ann. just picking a jury this the case may take longer than usual because most people, including the potential jurors, think they know this case. college roommate spies on his gay roommate with a web cam and streams it on the internet for everyone to see. that roommate, tyler clemente commits suicidsuicide. but the details are different and it's the details that the experts say make the case extremely difficult for prosecutors. 18-year-old tyler clemente jumped to his death from the george washington bridge. prosecutors allege just days before his roommate had, for a second time, spied on tyler with a web cam. tyler was in their dorm room, again with a 30-year-old man, sharing an intimate gay encounter. >> we have to disspell the myth that bullying is a normal rite

of passage. >> reporter: the link between the web cam spying and tyler's suicide drew condemnations. >> he was outed on the internet and killed himself. >> reporter: the facts of the story may contradict some of the publicity. for one thing tyler's sexuality was not a secret and his suicide won't even be mentioned at trial. rabi is accused of invading his roommate's privacy with the web cam. >> this is a case of invasion of privacy for setting up a camera on a computer and taking a peek at his roommate kissing another man. that's what this is. it's not recorded. it wasn't distributed on the internet. there is not evidence that this jury will ever hear that tyler killed himself as a result of it. >> reporter: prosecutors offered a plea deal, but he turned it down. >> he's innocent. he's not guilty. that's why he rejected the plea. >> reporter: it's expected the

defense will argue that he was not targeting tyler for being gay and that the web cam, turned on twice, only for a few seconds and viewed by a handful of college kids down the hall was a college prank like a scene from the movie "american pie." >> did i miss anything? >> no. you are just in time. >> reporter: tyler's older brother james. he's also gay. >> some people think that this web cam broadcasted on the internet and posted it there for the whole world to see. you know the truth. does that difference matter? >> no. what difference could it possibly be? those people that did look at it or were intending to look at it had no business to see that. >> reporter: in the indictment, prosecutors include some texts. my roommate asked for the room until midnight. i said okay and i left. and i turned on my web cam. i saw him making out with some dude. is there any question in your

mind why your son took his own life? >> i don't know why he did what he did. >> i don't think we can get into the cause and effect of the suicide right now because of the trial. >> reporter: tyler clemente's parents and brother say they intend to be here at the courthouse every day for the trial. the one thing they say they would like to hear is an apology from their son's former roommate. as he maintains his innocence that's unlikely. if convicted, he could face ten years in prison. ann? >> kerry sanders this morning, thank you. it is 7:19. here's david. >> thanks, ann. we were talking about how mild the winter has been here. mildest in decades. it's a different story in europe where huge snowstorms and sub zero temperatures hit with deadly fury. michelle kosinski is in switzerland this morning with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: hi. it's hard to believe people in

the alps were saying, where is the snow? we need it for skiing. soon to be followed by 18 feet in some places. now that the temperatures are rising a little that's making the danger of avalanche and flooding greater. the second brutal winter for europe in a row. this winter blasted europe like a blow torch of cold. just as swaths of the continent were brought to an icy stillness the images captured seem other worldly. waves on the black sea frozen in motion. reverse seas walkable, streets skatable. record-breaking cold in europe, more snow than anyone can remember -- up to the rooftops. hundreds of people have died. tens of thousands cut off by impassable roads. in kosovo an avalanche killed all by a 5-year-old girl in a family of nine.

she was we beneath snow for more than ten hours. >> europe is the victim of a high latitude block where if the weather system in the upper levels of the atmosphere is set up over the northern latitudes somebody has to pay for what would be normally cold weather there farther south. >> reporter: the deep freeze extends east to china where the waterfalls stopped falling. in colorful tibet, whiteout. and west, rome saw its first snowfall in 25 years. babbling fountains of milan stunned silent. germany and the ski towns of austria, switzerland, france relish snow, just not upwards of a dozen feet all of a sudden where avalanches claimed the lives of more than a dozen people. on friday, the prince of the netherlands, son of the queen, was trapped in an avalanche skiing in austria. the father of two is in stable but life-threatening condition. now finally, temperatures are

breaking, but so is ice. not a good thing in belgrade this week. an the danube, giant pieces crushed boats. the force of winter won again. now the u.s. military has stepped in to help get people out and supplies in to towns in mont n mo montanegro. it looks like a swarm spring is on the way but a lot of heat will be reflected instead of absorbed. david? >> it is a beautiful scene. thank you so much, michelle kosinski in switzerland. still ahead on "today" emotional testimony from the best friend of a woman who was allegedly murdered by her own husband during their honeymoon diving trip in australia. we'll have the latest from court. first, this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, a woman who claims she was duped into having a baby with a married man so he and his wife could have the baby. we'll speak to her coming up. >> and basketball's newest face after your local news. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief?

try bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. good morning. i'm joe krebs. 7:26, this tuesday, february 21. chilly start to the day. tom says this cold weather will not be around for very long this week. tom? >> right. just going to be for this morning. we have a warmup on the way later this afternoon. right now it is cold. we are just in the 20s. later today up around 50. then tomorrow, we will really notice a warmup. should make it to around 60 degrees tomorrow afternoon. it will be increasingly cloudy today and tonight. then get sun back tomorrow. then even warmer on thursday. and into the mid 60s by thursday afternoon. and then some rain is possible on friday as front comes in with gusty winds. after that, turning chilly and

more seasonable with the sun returning for the weekend. joe. >> tom, thanks very much. everyone is heading back to work everyone is heading back to work after the working in public relations is not for the faint of heart. i love what i do, i enjoy the work, but it's a very hectic pace. strayer university met my needs in terms of my family, my work-life balance. the fact that leading companies are hiring

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good morning. traveling the inner loop of the beltway, very slow at little river turnpike. your delays continue at the dulles toll road. 26 miles per hour. joe, back to you. >> thanks very much. another news

♪ you're as cold as ice ♪ you're willing to sacrifice >> 7:30 on a tuesday, february 21, 2012. it is very cold. we felt like we had to go back to this beautiful scene in the swiss alps. very cold there, but a stark contrast to the mild winter we are having here. 50 degrees today and 60s later in the week. this is a big reason for everyone outside as they wave to their families and friends back home. meantime inside studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside david gregory here for matt this morning. thanks for being here. >> my kids asked if they could wear shorts to school.

my son is watching now. >> hi! >> not spring until it's spring. >> that's good. jed, listen to your dad. just ahead, a fresh start for a woman who used to have the ear of the first family. >> desiree rogers was the president's social secretary who resigned in the wake of the party crashing scandal. now she's opening up in a candid interview with savannah guthrie about hr time in the white house and how she's reinventing herself now. >> and a woman who claimed she was tricked into signing away her legal rights to a child she had with a man she met online. he told her later he was married and was adopting the child. that woman is now fighting to get her daughter back. she'll be back with a live interview coming up. >> we begin with emotional testimony at the murder trial of man accused of killing his wife during their honeymoon in australia.

thanh truong is in birmingham, alabama, with details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is now day seven of the trial. the prosecution continues to lay out the case against gabe watson, accusing him of drowning his newlywed wife tina during a diving adventure in australia. the defense said it was an accident but tina's best friend said she doesn't believe it. >> tina and i were best friends. she was my absolute best friend in the world. >> an emotional amanda phillips took the stand. testifying for the prosecution she painfully remembered the phone call about her best friend tina watson. >> i couldn't believe what she was telling me. she said that tina died. >> reporter: prosecutors say gabe watson drowned his 26-year-old bride during their 2003 australian honeymoon, accusing him of turning off her air supply while scuba diving

near the great barrier reef. this photo taken by another tourist shows tina at the bottom of the sea. the defense says tina panicked in strong currents and gabe tried to help but tina knocked off his scuba mask forcing him to the top. >> you see someone on the bottom of the seabed. all the equipment appeared to be in place. she had a regulator in, a mask on. >> was she interacting with you? >> no. >> were her iceyes open? >> they were open. >> reporter: prosecutors say the motive was to collect on tina's life insurance policy. shortly after the death phillips recalled a phone call with watson. >> what was the phone call about insurance. >> they talked about changing it before the wedding. >> because they were getting married in?

>> yes. >> there was discussion that for a few dollars more there could have been a larger policy? >> yes. >> reporter: the defense pointed out that the watsons didn't increase the policy. they say tina's father was the beneficiary. watson served 18 months in australia for involuntary manslaughter. he's since remarried and his second wife is at the trial. in court phillips testified about an awkward moment with gabe at tina's wake. >> we walked up to the casket and i said, she looks pretty in that outfit. he said, well, at least her breasts are perky. >> reporter: it's been almost a nine-year struggle for tina's family to get the case to birmingham where prosecutors say watson hatched the plot. the family will have to wait a few more days as the trial is expected to go into next week. if convicted watson faces life in prison. >> thanh truong, thank you very much. savannah guthrie is "today's" legal correspondent.

star jones is a former prosecutor. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is an unusual case. gabe watson has already spent time in an australian jail based on the plea he entered there. it seemed like lfs there was a resolution. how unusual is it to face trial here? >> fairlyl lyly unusual conside the death happened in australia. some say this amounts to double jeopardy, but it's two different sovereign jurisdictions and the crimes charged have different elements. he served time for involuntary manslaughter in australia which amounted to an allegation that he didn't rescue her. he failed in the duty to rescue. here he's charged with intentional killing. >> part of this, too, is whether the prosecution's case has been undermined. a key point is why. you don't have to prove motive but everybody wants to know.

he wasn't the beneficiary of the life insurance policy. it seems to be something that undermines the case. >> the argument is what he knew at the time. he didn't know he was not the beneficiary at the time is what the accusation will be. this is a death for pecuniary gain. basically he did it for the money. that's the argument with the prosecution. this defendant hatched a plot to kill his wife here in the united states and the state of alabama. that plot came to fruition in australia. >> is it something the defense has done to undermine it? >> they cross examined one of the experts yesterday. this goes to how fast did gabe watson ascend? was he in a panic to get help for his wife or did he take a leisurely trip up? there is conflicting evidence. the prosecutors have evidence of what the dive equipment said. even the prosecution expert acknowledged he was going two to three times faster potentially than what would be considered

safe. and the case could turn on details like that. >> the defendant's behavior before, during and after is what the jury will look at as to whether or not this is a dude that would commit a murder. >> one of the remarks he made based on commenting on her appearance, even in the casket, that sort of thing -- >> he comes across as a creepy guy in it for himself. but being a creepy guy isn't enough to get you convicted of murder. >> how about the picture being shown of tina watson sinking to the bottom. gabe watson ascending. the dive instructor swimming to help her. is there something we can discern from this? >> as you look at the picture you say, why isn't he, a certified diving instructor, rushing to her aid. seems like he's moving up and away from the emergency. this is a guy who was certified four different ways. a lot of people said he

overstated his experience. but he did have four certifications. he should have been going to help her. >> that's going to be a question that comes up. thank you very much. we want to get a check of the weather from al. >> thank you very much. we have friends from louisiana celebrating mardi gras, fat tuesday. all right. how about a little bit of hail? we all hail from kansas. we had rough stuff. a big storm blew through. one person killed in heavy winds. so again they had str had prett stuff making its way through the weekend. as we show you what's happening today, afternoon temperatures, we have 20s and 30s in new england. and 70s down in florida. some smidge of 80s in southern texas. rest of the country fairly seasonal. look for snow making its way through the central great lakes. snow this morning in chicago. that will end later on. heavy rain in the pacific northwest. lot of snow in the intermountain

region and cascades as well. sunshine in new england. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. sunshine around the region on this tuesday morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. we have patchy ice. some of the snow melt yesterday refroze overnight. it is a cold start all around the region, below freezing. in the 20s and much of the area. reagan national is at 33. later today up around 50. we will have a wind coming out of the south gusting to 20 miles an hour. and lot of clouds around this afternoon and this evening. then tomorrow, near 60. small chance of sprinkles wednesday night and mid 60s thursday. and maybe don't forget. you can always check your weather day or night on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. david? >> al, thank you very much. coming up next, the obamas' former social secretary who resigned in the wake of the party-crashing scandal speaks out in a candid interview with savannah guthrie after this. three.

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back now at 7:43. it's has been two years since desiree rogers time as the social secretary at the white house came to an end. she sat down with savannah guthrie. good morning. >> good morning. a lot of people remember the obamas' eye catching, glamorous social secretary. she was forced out of the job after the infamous state dinner party crashing. she has a new job, a new life and no regrets. desiree rogers has arrived again. >> good morning. >> reporter: back on top, heading the power house johnson publishing. >> can i get the jet file? >> reporter: with a new mission to breathe life into the legendary brands jet, ebony and

fashion fair cosmetics. >> some people argue why you have a magazine focused on black america. i say why not? there are still people that whether or not it is black americans or not black americans that need and want to understand the authentic voice of black america. >> reporter: under rogers, the magazin magazines' once sagging circulation numbers are on the rise and there is a slick new website. >> it's a beloved brand. you mess with it too much and people say it's unreek niezable. >> it's a balancing act. we didn't want to change it. we wanted to revitalize it. we are proud of the work that's been done. >> reporter: rogers, too, is in the midst of her own renaissance after a public fall from her perch as social secretary of the obama white house. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> reporter: in the heady early days after inauguration rogers was the glamorous friend of michelle obama brought in to plan 'vents at the white house

while cultivating the image of the first family. you came to washington and made a splash. >> i didn't try to make a splash! >> reporter: you couldn't help it. were you surprise bid the attention? >> i was a little bit surprised. i think the team was surprised by the uh attention we got. >> reporter: rogers made waves replacing stodgy traditional white house events with more creative fare. a petery jam, star gazing and a luau. she was featured in vogue, snapped at fashion week next to anna wintour. later photographed in borrowed designer clothes and jewels for a wall street journal magazine article. there was no way you were going to come to the white house and blend in. >> i tried. it didn't work. i had my black suit on and my button down shirt and my little mini heels. it didn't work. >> reporter: rogers turned heads but soon raised eyebrows inside the white house. the president's political advisers were worried about

appearances as the nation descended into economic crisis. there seemed to develop a caricature as if you were doing things that were glamorous or tone deaf to the times, to the economic realities. >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: how do you respond to that? do you think that was unfair? >> i don't think i have to. i think anyone who knows me and knows the kind of work and creed i follow, they know better. i'm not that much of a glamour girl. >> reporter: then there was what she said in the wall street journal magazine calling the obamas the best brand on earth. the presidents' advisers were not pleased. >> i'm a business person. i'm not trying to be a politician. >> reporter: was it a matter of being straightforward and honest and maybe that doesn't go over well in washington? >> you're not going to get me to say that. >> reporter: just as it appeared she had weathered the early growing pains. >> mr. and mrs. salahi.

>> reporter: michaele and tareq salahi talked their way into the state dinner. were you in shock? >> i don't know that i would say in shock. i was disappointed. my first reaction goes to, well, how did this transpire? >> reporter: secret service acknowledged failing to properly check their identification but rogers was criticized for not stationing someone from the social office at the outer checkpoint and attending the dinner as a guest wearing a designer gown, not as a working staffer. >> do you think you took the fall for that? that you got blamed? >> it's not about me. it really isn't. the one thing i can say is everywhere i go people know that face, know that girl. that's the aftermath i have had to deal with. so that's a little bit more annoying than anything else. >> reporter: you are forever linked with the salahis? >> everyone says, tell us what

happened. not gonna! i'm not trying to prove anything. i'm a pretty secure person. i know, you know, what i know. that's all it takes. if i can sleep at night, everyone else should let it go. >> reporter: rogers designed in early 2010. white house insiders agree the salahi incident was her undoing. do you still believe the obamas are the best brand on earth? >> i do. >> reporter: have you talked to them? >> i haven't talked to them recently. >> reporter: do you feel burned by the experience? >> no. i don't waste time on silliness like that. i think when you serve your country it's about your country and not about you personally. i'm a pretty strong and tough girl. >> talking to folks who worked with rogers at the white house they feel she had an impossible job given the economic setting. they say they respect and like her to this day.

she really relishes her new position and feels it's a place she can fit in and be herself. >> thank you, savannah guthrie. still ahead, a woman allegedly tricked into giving away the rights to her baby by a man she met online. we'll talk to her exclusively coming up but first, these messages. (phone ringing) hey college girl. hey mom. i just got your package. great. yea, mom you're the best. i thought you would like it. so, how are your classes, are you enjoying them? (announcer) it's more than just that great peanut taste, choosing jif is a simple way to show someone how much you care. we can't wait to get you home. i love you mom. i love you too. we'll see you soon. choosey moms, choose jif.

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7:56. i'm joe krebs. we have a new accident to talk about. here is danella sealock. >> good morning. if you are taking gw parkway northbound, have an accident blocking all of your lanes and you can see you are michael jordaned as y-- jammed. taking the beltway outer loop at 450, right near the exit. accident to right side of the roadway. you can see the fire department is here on the scene. your delays start at central avenue. continuing on the outer loop, you are still seeing some

tom kierein, storm center 4. watch out for patchy ice where there was snow melt yesterday. later today near 50 with increasing clouds. part sliny and 60 tomorrow. blustery winds today, tomorrow and again on thursday. thursday's highs mid 60s. low 60s friday with rain likely. maybe even some thunder. as we get towards the weekend, we will get sunshine back on saturday and sunday. but it will be turning chilly again. joe? >> tom, thanks very much. anothe

8:00 now on a tuesday morning. it's the 21st day of february 2012 as we say a warm hello to our new friends in rockefeller plaza. it's a chilly morning. i think it's 33 degrees, if i can read that thermometer correctly. among those faces we may recognize this guy. he's a young man who gained a big following online because he has a huge picture of his own face with that expression on it for basketball games. we'll explain that story coming up. >> he likes to say, it's not about him. >> that's what you say all the time, too. >> right. >> anyway, i'm ann curry

alongside david gregory in for matt this morning and, of course, our al roker. coming up, a serious topic. a woman's nightmare. she met a man online and eventually they had a daughter. what she didn't know was the man was already married, she says, and was planning to adopt a child with his wife. so she's here this morning to talk about her story. it's a sad state of affairs. >> is another extraordinary story coming up. a teenage girl goes surfing and in the process suffers a rare spinal cord injury. doctors said she would never walk again but she refused to accept that. >> good for her. >> that's terrific. later on, david gregory and i are already part of the trend. we are on this. neon. >> oh, yeah. >> we are going to show you how to wear neon. >> look at jill. >> the lights aren't even on in the studio.

amazing. >> these are happy colors, don't you think? >> looks like she just walked through plutonium. >> i know. meantime let's get to natalie morales for a check of the top stories today. hey, natalie. >> good morning, ann, david and al. good morning, everyone. rising gas prices are hurting more than motorists. economists warn they threaten the recent improvements in the economy. a 25% jump in prices would cost the economy about $35 billion in reduced consumer spending. prices are already up more than 25 cents since january, an average of $3.57 a gallon for regular unleaded nationwide according to aaa. experts say they could reach $4.25 by late april. greece won a second massive financial bailout early today when the eurozone partners finally stitched together more than $170 billion rescue package. it is hoped the bailout will help greece avoid a disastrous default next month and secure

the euro currency. ahead of the next crucial show down for the gop candidates the two front-runners are giving republican voter as clear choice. rick santorum is hitting hard on religious and social issues while mitt romney emphasizes jobs and the economy as a can-do corporate executive. michigan and arizona hold their primaries tuesday. former international monetary fund chief dominique strauss-kahn is being questioned today by french police investigating a suspected hotel prostitution ring. some prostitutes say they had sex with strauss-kahn at parties in paris and washington, d.c. in 2010 and 2011. one of his lawyers said strauss-kahn didn't know the women were prostitutes. crowds gathered outside the rosehill primary school in oxford england hoping for a glimpse of kate middleton there to support a childhood art therapy charity. now for a look at what's trending today our round-up of what has you talking online.

bethenny frankel is a top search on google after revealing monday she suffered a miscarriage when she was 8 weeks pregnant. she tweeted her thanks to all of my beautiful, fearless fans. twitter and facebook are lighting up over today's carnivale and mardi gras celebrations. will ferrell was in the parade kicking off festivities there. he tossed goodies to the cheering crowd including toy cow bells because sometimes you just need more cow bells. this video is also going viral. it's an example of men behaving badly. it shows the finnish husband checking out a danish princess during a state dinner last month. nice try. all right. 8:04. now back to al with a check of the weather. >> just checking out the crown

jewels. hello! oh, my. well, it's your birthday. where are you from? >> north carolina. >> happy birthday. >> thank uh you so much. >> there you go. hello! let's check your weather andthee what's going on. cleveland, ohio, health oh cleveland. greatest location in the nation. nbc 3. kyc, showers, windy, temperatures in the mid 40s. we've got heavy rain making its way into the pacific northwest. going to be kind of nasty. we have snow in the intermountain region. avalanche warnings up for parts of the pacific northwest. and go plenty of shine here in the east. temperatures getting up into the upper 40s here in the nearest. showers along the mid atlantic coast. they are singing now for our weather. i like it. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning, tom kierein storm center 4. live view from our sky watcher

hd camera showing us some high clouds drifting over the region now. coming in from the west. and we will have them with us into the rest of the day. a little sunshine in and out, though. watch out for patchy ice, snow melt from yesterday that's frozen up again this morning. temperatures still below freezing much of the region in the 20s to 30 degrees. later today, though, should make it up to the upper 40s to near 50. breezy. then a bit milder for wednesday, thursday. and that's your latest weather. mr. gregory? >> mr. roker, thank you very much. coming up next, a woman who claims she was tricked into having a child with a married man so he and his wife could have a baby. we'll speak to her after this. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've en earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind.

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kristy gaffney did what so many single people are doing. she tried an online dating site, met a guy and fell in love. then she said things went terribly wrong. kristy gaffney thought she'd finally found mr. perfect on a dating website. he told her his name was ed. >> together we talked about marriage. we talked about getting a house together. moving in together. you know, making a life together. >> reporter: the 29-year-old pennsylvania woman thought he was american royalty. >> he told me and my entire family that he was a dupont. told me the story of his family and the castles in delaware. >> reporter: she remembers he bragged about his elite job. >> he said he worked with the cia. >> reporter: gaffney said ed also said he was divorced and his ex-wife could not have children. after dating for about six months gaffney got pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl,

gabriella. at the time the couple lived separately. one sunday night ed took his daughter and promised to return her the next day. >> i started texting him and he stopped responding to my text messages and phone calls. so i lost it. i just went crazy. >> reporter: when she finally met him to get her daughter back kristy said he dropped a bombshell. >> he's like, i'm married. i can't divorce my wife because i'll lose everything. >> reporter: you never knew he was married? >> never. >> reporter: never had suspicions? >> i never did. >> reporter: gaffney said she also found out ed dupont was really named emmitt dippold. they were adopting gaffney's baby. >> i couldn't believe he was telling me this. it was surreal. >> reporter: kristy gaffney signed papers after gabriella was born. she said dippold told her the document allowed him to claim rights as the father. >> i was like, okay. i had no reason not to trust

him. i signed. the document was a few pages long. he gave me the signature page and said, just get this signed. >> reporter: take a close look. she actually agreed to, quote, give up permanently all rights to this child. >> i felt like someone stabbed me with a knife. i couldn't believe that he would do -- that anybody would do something so horrible. >> reporter: why didn't you read the papers? >> i did. i looked at it. i said, i don't really understand it. >> reporter: gaffney took dippold and his wife to court and argued the adoption was based on fraud. the judge agreed saying mr. dippold was engaging in a diabolical scheme from day one. there is no way she knew she was giving up her parental rights to the child. the dippolds appealed. their lawyer had this to say. >> the document was signed in its entirety before two notaries who testified under oath in

court that she signed the document. emmitt dippold has no interest in dispar rajjing the birth mother. i'm here to make a plea to this woman that it is not in the best interests of her daughter to create a media sensation about this baby. >> reporter: as all this plays out in court, 14-month-old gabriella lives with dippold and his wife. kristy gaffney vows to keep fighting for full custody. we asked emmitt dippold to speak to us for the story. his lawyer said he doesn't want it played out in the media. he wants what's best for his daughter and will abide by whatever the courts decide. >> kristy gaffney is here along with sam tartaro. good morning. welcome. >> good morning. >> why are you going public? we heard the father of your

child hopes this is not publicized. >> it's been almost a year since he took her. it hasn't gone anywhere. it was ruled upon fraud and duress, but even so that happened with the way the courts are the way they are they filed an appeal. the judge said it was the most frivolous appeal he's heard but the custody judge won't hear it until after the appeal. >> you're hopeful people -- >> i'm hopeful. and ever since i did the initial local interview i have had a lot of support which is helpful. >> you're very emotional about this. >> yeah. >> what makes it hardest for you? >> my daughter. i think she's missing out on her mother. i can't believe people could do something this horrible and be okay with themselves. >> how often do you see your

daughter? >> right now i see her every other weekend. >> every other weekend? >> yes. >> knowing she's in the care of the man who was her father. >> yes. >> and his wife. >> yes. >> do you have concerns? >> yes, i do. >> what are your concerns? >> one is obviously they were trying to take her from me and adopt her. so i don't want her to get acquainted with them, especially if i do get her back. that's just messing up her life. also, i know how these people are now. they schemed against me to get her from me. i don't want her raised like that. >> sam, how long might this go on before this is resolved? where are we legally in this case? >> the adoption judge ruled that the adoption has been dismissed e . she was induced by fraud and duress. that's on appeal to the superior

court. that could take another six months. they may appeal that decision to the supreme court which could take another year. in the meantime the custody where kristy would get her baby back, there is a stay order on that. so we won't be able to get into a custody decision for maybe a year and a half. we have appealed that decision. we haven't had a response from the superior court on that. >> if everything you're saying happened is true, people listening to it are going to say why didn't you know ahead of time? how could you have been so duped? how would you respond to that? >> he was very controlling during our relationship. i was very much in love. he was promising me marriage, everything i wanted. you know, having a family together. we constantly talked about those things. when you're with somebody and you talk to them every single day. you see them a couple times a week at least and you're discussing the future like we

were constantly, you don't think someone would do something like this to you. he met my entire family, came to family events. he met my son and he even said he wanted to adopt my son. i didn't think anybody would be capable of doing something like this. >> it's not a short relationship. it was 18 months. >> i know it's something that's a chapter and we don't know how this will end. we appreciate your spending time talking to us. thank you so much. we look forward to seeing how this develops. thank you. up next, another story which is about a 19-year-old who is learning to walk again after suffering a rare spinal injury while surfing for the first time. that's coming up after this. i can't afford to ignore our retirement savings, not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me.

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that's 50% off lenses, including bifocals, no-lines, even sunglasses made with your prescription. so hurry in. 50% off lenses won't last forever. lenscrafters. back now at 8:20 with the miraculous recovery of a teenager from colorado who was told she may never walk again. it all started during a family vacation in hawaii. we're going to talk to her in a

moment. first nbc's janet shamlian has the story. ♪ >> reporter: kristin was as active as an 18-year-old gets. a college volleyball player, she loved sports. when her family decided to try surfing on their hawaiian vacation, kristin was all for it. she got up on the board, but when her legs started feeling strange, kristin headed to shore. >> i started to walk up the beach. i made it about 50 yards before i couldn't make it anymore. i collapsed. >> reporter: initially everyone thought she was stung by a jellyfish but it was soon apparent the injury was more serious. >> we didn't know why there was anything wrong. she just suddenly couldn't walk. by the time we got to the hospital she was essentially paralyzed from the waist down. >> reporter: when they returned to colorado, kristin was confined to a wheelchair and struggling to navigate the family's stair-filled home.

although there was no fall kristin had suffered a spinal injury. a rare condition known as surfer's miyelopathy. >> after i heard the news -- here it goes. [ voice breaking ] >> reporter: the news kristin's mom heard that day would prove wrong. at first it was a toe wiggle. now 15 months after that fateful day, kristin is walking. >> push, push, push. >> reporter: mostly with the help of a therapist or an electronic stimulator but sometimes she can do it on her own. not far. just a dozen steps or so. considering her injury it's a marathon. what role do you think her energy and tenacity has had? >> it's everything. had i been in her position i'm sure i would have reacted differently. >> okay. we're done. >> reporter: where does she get that from? >> i wish i knew. >> reporter: doctors cautioned

that often there isn't progress after the first year. but don't tell kristin who continues to mark milestones like driving again. she believes bigger accomplishments are just down the road. for "today" janet shamlian, nbc news, loveland, colorado. >> kristin is with with us now along with nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. good morning to you both. >> thank you. >> your dad is so proud of you. how have you been able to keep your hopes high and your tenacity at this level? >> i think from the beginning i knew there was a reason it happened. i knew that something good could come out of it if i allowed it to be a negative thing it would be. if i allowed myself to grow from it, it would be a positive thing. >> important message. take us back to when you got the injury and when you first started feeling pain did you

think it was serious right away? >> not really. my lower back started to hurt. i just thought that i -- my muscles were sore because i wasn't used to using them or something. i had no idea it was anything serious. >> i have not heard of this before. >> i hadn't either. for first-time surfers out there, it's back pain first and then a numbness or tingling through the legs and an inability to walk. it happens to first-time surfers. you can see the symptoms that go with it. it's almost hyper flexation of the back. they are pulling their chest up. the advice is for the first time sit on your board. don't lie on it. stay in the water no longer than a half hour. this doesn't happen often. but it's because the blood vessels to the spinal cord pinch off. it's an ischemic problem, a blood flow problem.

>> you have been able to get it back because of this technology. show us how it works. >> what it does is simulates the muscle and nerve right here. it allow me to pick up hi foot when i'm walking. >> it's electric stimulation. >> it is. there are two electrodes in here. the biggest problem for me is picking up my feet. this picks up my feet for me. it's doing it. >> on its own. >> from here down to your heel. the foot pulls up. >> i didn't do any of that. >> that's a helpful start to get you up. you still need the crutches. >> yes. i do need the crutches. >> okay. >> kristin, this went from not being able to walk at all. >> i was completely paralyzed, yes. >> remarkable. >> the future is for strokes,

people with congenital problems to put the stimulators in. the interesting thing is the electrical stimulation to the muscle that allows her to pick up her heel. extraordinary. >> continued 8:26 is your time now on this tuesday. february 21, 2012. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. big delays on the george washington parkway. let's go straight to danella sealock for more on that. good morning. >> good morning. if you are traveling northbound gw parkway at route 2 1 23, accident blocks all of your lanes and you are seeing significant delays. ing in fact, you are jammed. also have an accident 395 northbound at glebe. it is on the right side of the roadway. you can stick to the left to get by but big delays to 395. you are at 10 miles per hour as you make your way from the beltway to the 14th street bridge taking over an hour. >> danella, thank you. a quick break a

good morning. tom kierein. storm center 4. we have a cold start on this tuesday morning, still right around the freezing mark. later today with clouds coming in near 50, then partly sunny tomorrow, upper 50s to near 60. then mid 60s on thursday with partly sunny skies.

and breezy each day today, tomorrow and thursday. then rain likely on friday as the front comes in and ahead of the front into the low 60s. and after that front goes by, lit turn chilly and drying out for the weekend. >> tom, thank you. more news, weather, traffic for

8:30 now on a tuesday morning, the 21st of february 2012. we have a nice crowd and a big crowd lining up in the plaza. apparently the season has begun. >> a mid winter break. >> that's right. also because it's presidents' weekend we just had. many people managing to squeeze in an extra day here. we are happy they stopped by.

i'm ann curry along with david gregory, natalie morales and al roker. matt has the morning off. meantime, coming up we'll talk about the season's hottest colors. >> we have been talking about it all morning. it's me the i don't kn ee it's me the neon of course. one of our producers has been wearing it for so long. >> stuck in the '80s. >> how do you pull off the bold look? jill martin will show us how. >> there's something for guys, too. >> and we've got "top chef"'s gail similar mons in the kitchen. she'll share some personal recipes she's collected on her path to becoming a professional cook. that looks yummy. >> oh, the chocolate! doesn't that look amazing? >> and the winter wreaks havoc on your skin. it's the season for the dry,

itchy, uncomfortable feeling. we'll show you how to get rid of it and make your skin healthy. >> before we get to that -- >> i was holding the pink bag. >> first we want to say a warm hello to jack blankenship, the college basketball fan from alabama who found a way to creatively distract opposing players. he holds up a huge photo of himself making a strange expression. what possessed you? >> well, you know -- >> show us the face. >> at our games the university prints out pictures of random celebrities and the basketball team for everyone to hold a big photo of. i figured it would be hilarious to bring a picture of myself doing a face that, between my friends, we like to do.

>> i was at the knicks game and i saw you. i said, we'll be talking to that guy. it was linsanity. it wasn't so great. the nets were tough. but you did good work there. >> thank you. >> this has gone viral. you have over a million fans on youtube. >> that's correct. >> the big man on campus, more importantly at alabama. >> the university has been great with supporting me and, you know, even at one game they had 200 pictures of my face for the crowd to have. >> whoa. >> you also brought your face here to the "today" show a couple years ago behind me. i didn't realize it. >> do we have videotape of it? >> i think we do. >> ah-ha! you seat him in the background. >> i have to ask your mom, what does she think of the face? >> she's seen it before. she's never supported it until now. >> oh, now she's all for it. >> there's mom.

>> keep making the face, son. >> can you do the face? >> one more time with the face. >> i think you have it down pretty well. i don't know how many hours you have in front of the mirror for that one. >> you flare your nostrils, frown, raise your eyebrows and inhale. >> you'll have to practice. >> thank you so much. it's a pleasure to be on my favorite talk show. >> whoa, that was nice. >> you could take it to times square and scare people. there is another morning show ther the morning's weather. >> all right. let's see what's happening. for today, heavy rain for our friends in the pacific northwest. flood sing going to be a big

problem. avalanche advisories as well. look for wet weather in the upper ohio river valley. showers along the mid atlantic states. tomorrow we have snow showers around the eastern great lakes. rain in the mid mississippi and ohio river valleys. more heavy rain and wind in the pacific northwest. and snowy conditions through the intermountain regions. sunny and mild through the southwest into texas. some showers along the gulf coast. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. cold start to this tuesday. good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. live view from the sky watcher camera. winds picking up a little bit out of the south. we have clouds floating over now. temperatures right now are still a little bit below freezing around the metro area. the -- upper 20s and low 30s and still parts of virginia where they had that snow. watch out for patchy ice. it melted yesterday and froze up overnight. then the rest of the day cloud write with highs near 50. partly sunny tomorrow, near 60. mid 60s and whether you are worried about weather on your face or not go to weather channel day or night or weather.com online.

>> al, thank you very much. coming up, neon is back. >> i know. i'm excited about it. >> i am, too. we'll get the full rundown on how to spice up your wardrobe wi [ 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,

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back now at 8:38. this morning on "today's style," neon madness, hot pink, blues and greens are some of the hottest colors on the runways and red carpets. "today" and "us weekly" contributor jill martin is here to show us how to get it done. >> good morning. >> you almost need sunglasses. you have me wearing a nice yellow necklace now. what accounts for this trend? >> we saw it on the runway and the red carpet. when you see it on models and celebrities it's so bright.

in real life it doesn't translate. there are ways to get in on the trend for everyone at every age. >> this may be in the more muted category though it is very bright. >> we're starting with jeans. a lot of them are youthful. you could always wear a skinny jean, a longer top. these start at $59, available at bloomingdale's. they are ditto. this is a fun way to do it. >> and for the young people, the little shorts are cute. >> $68. definitely a youthful look. >> if you don't want to have your entire wardrobe or the piece you are wearing an a particular day to be so bright you can have a pop of color like jewelry. >> we put this on to pop the gray. these are bracelets you can layer and get a little black dress or something a little bit of spice. these start at $26 from cc skye.

these are great if you're on the beach even and want to dress up a little bit. these are bauble bar. >> do you know what's nice about the bright colors? i wear them a lot. it makes you happy and people who see you are happy. >> even the m & ms we were eating. everything bright brings out the happiness. >> i wonder about the makeup. what do you think about the bright colors on your eyes? >> i put a bright color on. >> it's pretty on you. >> it's fun for at night. i'm in my mid-30s and i can sort of pull it off. this is the way to do it. few forever. this is a muted pallet for the eyes. >> more muted. >> another way is the manicure and pedicure. you can get in on it that way. i have a bright color on my nails and toes. you can mix and match. that's like an accessory.

>> especially on the toes and you can hide them sometimes. obviously not when wearing flip-flops. these are fun. >> i don't suggest this trend for men but we have something at the end. for kids, too, though starting at $18 from havianas. >> one of the difficulties in buying neon, especially shoes is what do you wear them with. is it practical to buy something so bright? what's your response? >> gray, black, white. i think you pick neutral colors and go with a bright shoe. these are 9 west. a chunky shoe you can wear during the summer. these are really bright. you have to know where you're going, who you are going with and what your style is to pull this off. this is a bold move. >> if you pick the right shade you can mix and match. maybe this and this would be

pretty together. >> i'm wearing bright pink, red. the shoes are from macy's. the cork is from 9 west. everybody loves these satchels. >> especially david gregory. >> david asked if he could have the pink one. $118. you can pick it up and put it down. so it's a fun look but at work you can put it away. >> this is a way to surprise someone close to you with neon. >> this is a way to get in on it at home. hanky-panky. people are now wearing bright colors under a white t-shirt. just for a little pop of color and the subtle hint. so this is hanky-panky available at macy's. and when you go to work in the professional world you can see these are muted. but i love these. these are callet.com. put your cards in the back and phones in the front. >> do you think this makes it

less likely to lose your phone? >> or your credit card. this is great. also the blue or white are for men. >> mm-hmm. >> i think men should not get in on this trend because i think it's not stylish or manly, but speakers by ihome audio. this is the only way for men to get in on the trend. under $50. >> you can put it in the office if you want to have a little bit of color. >> or on the beach or at home. plug it into your iphone, ipad or blackberry. you can play music off them. >> i would like to see a man in a pop of color neon pocket square at a dinner party. >> okay. a pocket square is good or a skinny tie. >> very skinny. >> very, very, very skinny. >> thank you so much, jill. up next, top chef gail simmons sharing her popular recipes including chocolate cake. first, this is "toda

this morning on today's kitchen, what's for dinner? the personal recipes of a professional cook. gail simmons is a cook on bravo's "top chef" and host of "top chef just desserts." and she's the author of "talking with my mouth full". >> i spend a lot of time talking with my mouth full. >> what influenced you and your approach to food? >> so many things. when you start looking back at your life you realize there were so many moments where food plays an important role in the travel i did, growing up my whole life and my family life obviously around the table. so many moments that all led to me deciding i wanted to work with food professionally. >> we'll talk about a stew influenced by your time abroad.

>> when i was young i lived in spain for a year of college. i lived with a family and the woman i lived with decimated her vegetables. we would see beautiful vegetables in the morning and by lunch they were just brown and soggy. i'm redeeming her. >> tell me what i can do. >> absolutely. first of all i have onion and garlic in a pot. if you want i will grab this chorizo. if not you can totally make it vegetarian. >> or turkey sausage. >> anything. a little spicy. from here i will add a little bit of tomatoes. throw them right in. let this cook out, brown a little bit. >> is this something you can make early before you sit down to dinner because the vegetables take a while? >> that's the best thing about stew. they are even better a day later. >> chickpeas. can you do them canned? >> absolutely. you can do them dried, soak them overnight and cook them or just use canned if you're in a pinch.

this is a paprika, bay leaf. my favorite ingredient, fresh artichoke hearts. you can use canned but the fresh ones in season are -- >> i'm sorry to interrupt. you had them soaking in water. >> i did. only soak them with a little bit of lemon juice and water to keep the color or they turn brown. >> gotcha. all right. >> the chicken stock. cook it out 20 minutes. make sure it's thick. >> let's keep moving. i want to get to the banana bread at the end. >> i have fresh spinach and i serve it with tomato and garlic on grilled bread or pain tomat. you want something crusty, hearty. it's a nice country bread. there it is. >> fantastic. >> let's get to dessert. i' you're hungry. >> before that, i love

vegetables. this is a grilled zucchini. >> i also lived in israel and my mother was never one to serve mac & cheese. she always made us eat zucchini. >> that's a substitute for mac & cheese. >> my mother made us eat it when we were growing up which i didn't appreciate. this is a tribute to my mother and my time in israel. it's tahini, pomegranates and walnuts. crisp, fresh and delicious. >> and this. >> my mom's chocolate banana loaf. >> look at this. >> it's perfect for breakfast. >> fantastic. >> this is also a loaf my mother made. you make it your own. i make it with whole wheat so it's a little bit more healthy. chocolate ganache and ripe banan bananas. do you want to taste? >> i would love to. >> it's a recipe that you don't think much of when you're young and you grow up and realize it's one of the best comfort foods of

all. >> fabulous! it's great. a lot of this is in the book. >> they are in the book. i have an article in "food & wine" magazine about healthy recipes i eat on my time off. >> not including that. >> no. but other great things. it's all about talking with my mouth full. >> thank you so much. the book is "talking with my mouth full." up next, the best ways to care for your winter skin. first, this is "today" on nbc.

>> announcer: today's health is brought to you by lens crafters. >> back now at 8:52 with "today's health." this morning the best ways to take care of your skin in the winter months. dr. fusco is a dermatologist in new york city and is joining us. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is a tough time of year to have skin not itch and be dry. you say there are simple things we can do at home. >> yes. >> tell us about these ideas. >> we have had a mild winter so far but it still takes a toll. we have a humidifier here. >> that's a small one. >> it's cute and portable. you can bring it to the office. >> with a bottle of water. >> right. this delivers humidity to the air. >> how much can this possibly

fill up? it's such a small device. >> a small room or office. >> you recommend a regular size humidifier in the bedroom. >> yes. this is a nice alternative. it's hygienic. you throw out the bottle. >> what about a shower head. >> this is a special shower head. even tap water can contain chlorine which can add dryness to the skin. so this is something with a filter in it that actually filters out the chlorine. >> that's a good idea. now in terms of what we can put on our skin in general to moisturize you have something that's for the skin? >> i do. we have weleda. this product is for babies. it's eco-friendly and fragrance free. people forget babies have thin skin. they lose a lot of heat through the skin and it's important to protect it from the elements. we have kiehl's ultra which is

light, well tolerated by all skin types. it protects and hydrates. >> that's for the face? >> and neck. >> these products are considered not too expensive. >> none of them will break the bank. >> what about for the eyes? people say the skin around the eyes is more delicate. >> it is. >> so you can't use the same stuff as i do on my eyes as i do on my face. you're supposed to use something specific. >> when you can. this philosophy eye cream is great because it hydrates and has retinol to improve collagen. >> what about the feet? >> you want a rich cream like this first aid product. it works on stubborn, scaly patches. >> you also have a problem often times with redness. there are a lot of products out there that attack redness. >> many of them just camouflage. but this particular product, the

redness relief has complex in it. it actually treats the underlying inflammation which causes the redness. great for red noses in winter. >> takes it down. what about cleaning the skin? we aren't supposed to use soap? >> the more sudsy the soap is, the tougher it is on skin. use a gentle cleanser. ponds is wonderful for that. >> that's been around for a long time. >> it's a gold standard. >> also for the body. use a lighter soap. >> something suds-free. >> the hair also gets dry. >> this is awapuhi which takes away dryness and this flat iron has keratin in the plates. >> do you recommend we maybe wash our hair less often in winter. >> yes. definitely. >> and there are things we can eat that are good for us and moisturize us from the inside? >> from the inside.

>> they include -- >> oils, fatty acids. for example, the walnuts right there and the flaxseed are high in omega-3. >> you can get the flaxseeds ground up. >> right. >> dr. francesca fusco, thank you for the fresh ideas to help our skin feel better. up ahead, shopping smart, the best things to buy in february. first, your local news. 8:56 is your time now on this tuesday, february 21, 2012. i'm eun yang. it is a big mess on the roads this morning. let's check in with danella for the late rest if you are traveling northbound gw parkway, accident at route 123 blocking all of your lanes. only the right lane gets by. you can see both directions that you are jammed on gw parkway.

also 395 looking much better at glebe. had an accident northbound at glebe. out of the roadway. still seeing del prays the beltway. roughly 13 miles per hour to get from the belt with you to the 14th street bridge. traveling on i-270 this is a slow trip southbound and shady grove. no accidents, though, slow to the spur. [ dog growls, barks ] bring your dog to work day... not our best idea. [ barking ] george! stop it! stop. oh. it was a nice thought.

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good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. as we approach mid morning, temperatures are finally getting above freezing most locations except whether snow from sunday and it did melt a little bit yesterday and refroze overnight. there's patchy ice areas about 50 miles southwest of washington. and later today, with clouds in and out, climb to near 50. cloudy tonight. and then tomorrow, partly sunny afternoon highs near 60. into the mid 60s on thursday and partly sunny. breezy today and tomorrow and again on thursday and rain likely friday but drying out and getting chilly for the week [ other merv ] welcome back to the cleaning games. let's get a recap, merv. [ merv ] thanks, other merv. mr. clean magic eraser extra power was three times faster on permanent marker. elsewhere against dirt, it was a sweep, with scuffed sports equipment... had it coming. grungy phones... oh! super dirty! and grimy car rims... wow! that really works! ...all taking losses. it looks like mr. clean has won everything. the cleaning games are finished? and so are we.

okay, but i just took a mortgage out on the cabinet. [ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. back now with more of "today" on this tuesday morning. it's the 21st day of february 2012. it is fat tuesday, by the way, for all of you revellers out there. it's clear our nice big crowd this morning is in a party mood. we're glad they ha extended the weekend a little bit to be here on our plaza blowing kisses to us all. i'm ann curry along with david gregory in for matt, al roker and savannah guthrie this morning. coming up, consumers are feeling the pinch when it comes to gas prices. >> if you will be planning a summer road trip expect to pay more at the pump. that's the headline.

gas prices predicted to soar in the coming months. they are up 25 cents in less than two months. not only bad for drivers. of course it could affect the fragile economy if you think about the movement of goods. it could drive up prices. this is something they are looking at at the white house in terms of economic recovery. >> you may be paying for more gas but there are ways to save this february. everything from the popular electronic tablets to home furnishings, ski vacations, even ch chocolate! >> chocolate. >> we'll show you how to get sweet deals in "today's money". >> we have health news ahead. we'll look at how hormones affect a woman's health. there are a range of hormones in the body to regulate sleep to weight to mood. we'll regulate the ones that work and the roles they play. how to keep them in balance. >> i'll take it.

>> they like it. >> lots to learn. meantime let's go inside for a check of the top stories from natalie morales. >> good morning, ann and everyone. rising gas prices are hurting more than motorists. economists are warning they threaten the recent improvements in the economy. miguel almaguer is in los angeles for us this morning. good morning. >> reporter: natalie, good morning. the price for premium has already topped $5 a gallon. while this gas station isn't necessarily the norm, the prices could be come summer. across california, sticker shot at the pump. >> $96.92. >> reporter: the golden state putting drivers in the red. the statewide average here, $4.03 a gallon a bargain compared to this gas station where premium tops $5. >> it's going to hurt. it's going to be painful. >> reporter: this is a record. gas prices have never been so high so early in the year. >> it impacts everything. it impacts how much cheerios

costs, how much you pay for the 7-11 hot dog. >> reporter: california isn't the only state being drained at the pump. new york is closing in on $4 a gallon. the midwest hovering near $3.50. washington state, $3.64. wyoming is the cheapest at $3.03 while hawaii is the most expensive at $4.23. by april, experts say the national average could top $4.25. by summer some cities will see $5 a gallon. analysts say three reasons are driving the skyrocketing price for gas. >> the perfect storm, the juggernaut we are facing in rising gas prices is, one, the geopolitical issues in iran and elsewhere. the second would be investors and speculators who are clearly trying to buy oil and own it. third would be a number of refinery closings. >> reporter: adding to the problems, a fire at a washington state refinery friday.

a key west coast supplier that drove up prices overnight. fed ex driver jermaine stevenson rethinking how to get to work. >> i'll probably ride my bike to work. >> reporter: meantime in san diego, gas station attendants have been assaulted verbally and physically because of the pinch at the pump. >> somebody was throwing cans of soda at the person, you know, changing the sign. >> reporter: gas prices taking a toll now and predicted to soar to record highs come summer. rising gas prices translate well beyond the pump. you will pay more for food because of shipping costs and an airline ticket's cost will spike. it is estimated americans spend 8.4% of their budgets on gas alone. >> thank you, miguel. greece has been thrown a life preserver as european union officials reached an agreement

to give greece more than $170 billion in bailout loans in an effort to lower the country's debt by 2020. details are still being hammered out this morning following marathon overnight negotiations. about 2,500 pastors are joining roman catholic leaders who oppose the president's birth control rule. under a compromise, insurers rather than religious institutions would provide birth control coverage to employees. opponents say it still infringes on religious freedom. mark kelly is writing a children's book about a little mouse that goes to space. "mousetronaut" will be published this school and is inspire bid mice taken to space on kelly's first shuttle mission. he collaborated with his wife on a memoir with his wife about the shooting. it's a bird, a plane. no, it's super man. he's apparently lost in costa

rica. good thing he gets this nice lady to tell him the way to san jose. the video has spawned dozens of copy cats trying it from the back seat as well. we don't recommend you try it at home. it's funny to watch. six minutes past the hour. let's go out to ann and david. >> it's safer to make a funny face and get that on the internet. >> don't try that at home. do try this weather though. it will be nice, al. >> o yh, yes. it inspires singing. where are you from? >> rochester, michigan. let's check it out right now, show you what we've got. a big plume of moisture taking dead aimking dead aim on the pa northwest. lot of heavy rain over the next 24 hours. flood watches from bellingham to olympia. we are also looking at avalanche warnings from the olympics into

the cascades. because of all the heavy rain and snow. rainfall amounts next 24 hours, we are talking anywhere from 2 to 7 inches of rain locally. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. we have high clouds coming in from the west. that is a live view from our hd sky watcher camera at news4. temperatures still cold. just in the mid 30s and getting above 30, parts of virginia where there is still some snow on the ground. watch out for patchy ice, too. later today, near 50 degrees. bit of a blustery southerly wind, southwesterly wind. warming us up and that's your latest weather. savannah? al, thanks. this morning on today's health how hormones affect your body. they regulate your libido to your sleep cycle so how do you

keep them in balance? dr. keri peterson joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> we have a lot to cover here. >> let's do it. >> what are hormones? >> hormones are chemical messengers made in one part of the body. they send a signal to another part of the body to perform a function. >> let's start with the brain. four different areas of the body. the first one is oxytocin, the love hormone. >> it's the feel-good hormone. goes up when you touch a friend or a partner. it lowers stress, heightens sex drive, allows you to create a bond and plays a role in reproduction during childbirth, facilitates labor and helps with breastfeeding. >> another hormone in the brain is cortisol. too much is not good. >> it's released on a 24-hour cycle. goes down in the night, up in the morning. what it serves to do is when we

feel a threat, like we are in danger we get a burst of cortisol for a burst of energy to help us survive and it should go back to normal. psychological stress causes it to go up. if you are chronically under stress your cortisol is elevated. that causes problems over time. it hurts us. elevates blood pressure, blood sugar and depresses the immune system. manage your stress. >> if you can. mel t melatoni. >> it regulates the sleep cycle. it helps your circadian rhythm. it starts when the sun goes down and the peak performance is when it's dark out. at night we watch tv, we're on the computer. these are light-emitting devices which impact optimal melatonin production. we recommend you turn these

devices off a few hours before bedtime. dim the lights in the living room. get ready for bed and in the bedroom keep it dark. >> should you wear a silky mask? >> yes. >> in the stomach there are two hunger hormones. >> leptin and grelin which is produced in the pancreas and the stomach. this increases hunger. le leptin comes from the fat cells and suppresses appetite. they are both being studied for obesity. >> i heard sugars affect leptin which make you hungrier. >> right. sucrose can cause resistance to leptin. sleep deprivation lowers leptin levels. if you didn't get a good night's sleep you're hungrier the next

day. >> and sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain. serotonin. >> it contributes to mood and sexual behavior. researchers believe that a glitch in the serotonin can lead to depression. >> the next area is thyroid. this can really affect a woman's health. >> it controls temperature regulation and metabolism. if it's too low it is hypothyroidism causing weight gain. these are auto immune conditions. if you have the symptoms you should bring it to your doctor's attention. if you have a family history, get it checked. >> lastly, a woman's ovaries. estrogen and progesterone. >> this controls the menstrual

cycle and ovulation. you may be familiar with birth control which prevents ovulation and pregnancy. but estrogen can be impacted by weight gain as well and also chronic stress. they can lead to problems with fertility. >> and the last one is testosterone. women have it, too. >> we make 10% of what men make. it controls the same functions -- libido, muscle mass and bone density. if it's too high you get excessive facial hair growth and acne. if you have those symptoms call your doctor. >> thank you so much. up next from home furnishings and coats to ski vacations, february is the best time to do some smart shopping. later, if you're shopping for a new car, we have tips to avoid buyer's remorse. first, these messages. -my toes know. -my shoulders know. [ female announcer ] do you know what a difference dove nourishment can make? my hips, they know. my shins, they get it. [ female announcer ] only dove body wash has nutrium moisture

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of financially fit on yahoo, farnoosh, good to see you. >> good to see you, al. >> what does it take to figure out the deals you will be looking for? >> you want to look at seasonality, the temperatures have been warm for february. and this is the type of -- for some industries february is a slow month. you may see them desperate to sell items, push inventory out of the stores. >> the hottest thing right now is the ipad. tablets are big. are we looking at price breaks? >> in some cases we are. the reason is because apple is rumored to announce the ipad 3 in march. if that's true retailers will reduce prices of the ipad 2 between now and march. we are already seeing it in stores in the midwest. many stores slashed the ipad 2

price $70 bucks to $429. it will be good until february 25. if you are looking for this, you may want to make a trip to the midwest and buy this at a meijer store. >> the announcement coming in early march? >> march 7 is the earliest i have heard. you never know. >> talk about a mild winter throughout much of the country. >> yeah. >> we can expect winter clothes to be on sale. >> winter clothes, parkas, ski clothes. i bought a winter coat in november and now the same coat in my size, my color is 50% off. february is a good time always to stock up on seasonal items. this month you are seeing better inventory because of the weather. >> for example, nordstrom's. >> eddie bauer for men's coats. >> buy a size up for the kids and put it away. >> why not? if this is a need for the future, stock up now. >> ski vacations.

i was surprised to see it. >> this is typical ski season. why reduce prices? again because of the temperature, slopes are seeing low foot traffic. so places like utah and colorado, reducing prices. i like to go to jetsetter.com, sneakaway.com for a last-minute deal. and snowbird utah. if you want to travel and ski during the earlier part of the week, you will see reduced prices. about $99 per ski package. if you really want to get a better deal on ski packages, shop online before you go to the ski resort or go to area ski shops around the mountain area because a lot of times they have discounts of so% to 20% off. >> this is a good time to make over your home and get new furniture. >> two reasons. february is typically when the home furnishing stores see the new inventory come in. the old inventory has to go.

also, february is the slowest month for home sales in the entire year. people are staying home thinking, i could use a new couch or carpeting. you see pottery barn and macy's slash prices on home furniture, bedroom furniture and things like that. >> and this is a good time for a deal on chocolate. >> chocolate! >> oh, how nice. >> if you can get over the heart-shaped packaging this is the time to buy chocolate. this was 50% off at a local drugstore. this is for you. >> oh, thank you. >> you can buy it, freeze it or use it as ingredients for baked goods. ghirardelli.com and godiva, 50 to 60% off online. >> februarys a good time to work out the arms. farnoosh bringing the gun show. bang, boom, yeah! that's what i'm talking about. >> thank you. >> still ahead, foie gras for

mardi gras? we have a feast fit for a king in "today's kitchen." first, these messages. -one. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% back on groceries. and 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. -it's as easy as...1. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. but with pizza hut's tuscani tuesday, we have you covered! get pasta for two for just six bucks, or family-size pasta for just ten bucks on tuesdays. both complete with breadsticks. only on tuesdays. only at your pizza hut. here's a better idea... pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits. in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner.

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like many chefs today, i feel the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. and that's what they do with great grains cereal. see the seam on the wheat grain? same as on the flake. because great grains steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam. because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes.

speaking of "the biggest loser" we want to say hello to the latest contestant to have the scales tip against him on "the biggest loser." roy, good morning. >> good morning. >> you started off your journey at 306 pounds. you lost 52 pounds there. how much have you lost since then? >> another 25. >> terrific. >> that's fantastic. >> tell us about your at-home regimen? as you told us before the commercial you said you ran a 5-k and won. >> the first one in 27 years. i came in first place. >> congratulations. >> i have to be honest. think i was the only entry in my age group. >> doesn't matter. >> first place is first place. >> but i finished and that's important. >> you say there is a whole thing about kids and obesity. >> it's an epidemic. because i relate well to kids,

for some reason. >> a red suit on you may look good this time of year. >> yeah. so i really have tried to appeal to the younger people and i led for years kids into high adventure programs. ones that the parents would be interested in, too. i try to get them together in a way and really extreme high adventure so they can earn bragging rights for life. >> and you recently snow boarded? >> yes. my behind is still sore. >> do you think you will do it again? >> no doubt about it. i want to get better. >> i bet the ranger got a laugh out of that. >> yes. the trainers say you don't learn from a relative or a friend or they won't be a relative or friend for long. >> that's true. good for you, roy. keep up the good work. >> one more message if i may. >> real quick. >> you know, i am watching and if you're not good, i will know

it. i'll see it. >> oh! >> better be good. >> ho, ho, ho! >> there you go. coming to a mall near you. >> "the biggest loser" airs at 8:00/7:00 central on nbc. >> and still ahead, your local news and weather. to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy building turbines. it's nice to know that what you're building is gonna do something for the world. when people think of ge, they typically don't think about beer. a lot of people may not realize that the power needed to keep their budweiser cold and even to make their beer comes from turbines made right here. wait, so you guys make the beer? no, we make the power that makes the beer. so without you there'd be no bud? that's right. well, we like you. [ laughter ] ♪ [ laughter ] honestly, i'm having a little trouble with the eyes.

find eye popping savings at the sears president's day event right now, get up to 30% off all kenmore appliances and up to 15% off all other appliance brands sears. number one in appliances. 9:26 is your time now on this tuesday. february 21, 2012. good morning. i'm eun yang. big mess on the roads this morning. let's check in with danella sealock with more on that. >> good morning. still seeing problems on gw parkway northbound. only the right lanes still get you by the accident at route 123. you can see big delays along gw parkway. also traveling the inner loop of the beltway, little river turnpike. you are slow. i will give you a travel speed now. about 29 miles per hour making your way from the interchange to the dulles toll road. that trip now takes you 26 minutes. on 395, looking better at edsall but just under speed. 39 miles per hour. over to you. >> danella, thank you. quick break now a

[ 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. good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. we have a few clouds coming over now. temperatures are climbing into the 30s.

and later today, near 50 degrees and a southerly breeze. tomorrow southwesterly breezes warming us to near 60. we will continue wednesday night into thursday mid 60s thursday and rain friday. back to you. >> tom, thank

my feeling is your job is to get somebody -- >> i can't lie to you. that's 10% -- >> you never want to do something to keep me from taking proper medicine or things like that. but if you say, i think you have the fortitude to beat this but you know clinically it's impossible that's okay. that's a lie. >> uh you may recognize today's professionals, donny deutsch, dr. nancy snyderman and star jones deciding whether it's okay for a doctor to sugar coat the truth. star looks out of it. if the prognosis could help a patient feel better. they are back for another round of hot topics tomorrow on "today." >> all right. meanwhile coming up in this half hour, getting a deal on your

wheels. buying a car can be one of life's biggest purchases few but you could be taken for a ride. we have tips to help you avoid buyer's remorse which a lot of people feel when they purchase a car. >> exactly. we can't complain about the winter we are having in the u.s. in europe it's a different story. eastern europe had brutal weather that's literally cut off entire towns. why is it happening and is it expected to end any time soon? we'll have the latest on the story. and today is fat tuesday, the last hurrah before lent begins tomorrow on ash wednesday. to mark the occasion we are preparing a feast with french flair in "today's kitchen." >> looks good, too. >> delicious. looks like cassoulet. first, al roker has a check of the weather. >> i love it when you the weath

>> let's take a look and see what's happening for the afternoon. temperatures 20s and 30s in new england. also around the great lakes. we have 20s in the central rockies. we are expecting plenty of sunshine in new england and some heavy rain and wind pacific northwest with heavy mountain snows. plenty of sunshine through the southern california area and on into texas, sunshine tomorrow on into the southeast and showers and thunderstorms along the gulf. sunny and mild through the southwest. some showers through the upper ohio river valley. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. almost just past 9:30 as we approach late morning. temperatures are almost at freezing. where there was snow sunday, there is patchy ice this morning. southwest of washington. closer to washington now we are above freezing. into the mid and upper 30s. and later today, around 50 degrees, and we will have a lot of clouds around and then tomorrow partly sunny and warmer with a southwesterly breeze near 60. mid 60s on thursday. could get rain friday. then turning colder friday night

and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks. up next, putting you in the driver's seat when you do some car shopping coming up right after this. ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart is playing tricks on me ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing new special k granola bars. ♪ i can't break through with 4 grams of protein. and 4 grams of fiber. finally, a granola bar that makes your heart skip a beat. a snack that loves you back. what will you gain when you lose? ♪ ...skips a beat look at me: one. we're a salty sweet snack. two. salty sweet snacks get eaten. and three. i'd prefer her versus "hungry eyes" over here... ♪ i've got hungry eyes

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this morning on "today's consumer," buying a car with no regrets. it is a big investment and very often people drive off the lot with buyer's remorse. here with us is lisa lee freeman. >> good morning. >> we know buying a car is a huge investment. people walk off the lot with buyer's remorse often. you did a survey. >> we surveyed thousands of readers and also asked experts at the test track. consumer reports tests cars every year and they buy them. they have learned pretty much all the lessons, experienced the regrets. we asked our readers to share their mistakes so you can learn from their mistakes. >> let's get to them. one of the biggest mistakes people make is neglecting to do a thorough test drive. they may take a quickie around the block. really important to know what you are buying. >> go to the dealership. take you for a ride locally on

the streepts and you don't get a feel for the car. you have to go on the highway. see if the car has pick up and go. you want to do hard braking. feel if the car is lurching, feels secure and feel whether the seats are comfortable. you probably want to be out there for 30 minutes if you can do it. bring the kids along. if you have car seats, bring those. not all car seats fit all cars. you want to see if you can get it in, is it easy, does it take up too much room? make sure the kids can look out from the back seat. they will get bored, nauseous. it will be terrible. bring your kids. >> test every little feature. i learned that the hard way. you never know. also people tend to skip options to save money and they often regret it. they want the little bells and whistles. >> not only do people want to save money, they're in a rush. maybe you crashed your car and you need a new one or you want instant gratification so you buy

whatever they have on the lot without the options. figure out what are the options you must have. for me, heated seats. >> cup holders. lots of them. >> make sure you get them. $1,000 for an extra isn't necessarily that much money when you look at it over the course of the loan. it bhmay be less than a dollar day. don't be stingy with the features. if you want a feature, get it! >> go for it. >> people are also having cars much longer. they are hanging on to them. don't have a car you will hang onto with a feature you really want that you don't have. >> another thing is dealerships push extended warrantees and consumers are overwhelmed, buying a car and they sign up for it and regret it. when is it a good idea and when is it not? >> it seems like a logical thing to do. it's a big investment.

this is an insurance policy. the dealers push hard and a lot of people regret buying them because they never use them or the warrantee costs more than the repairs they have done. you're better off putting the money aside you would use to pay for the warrantee and set it aside for a fund in case you get a problem down the road. that's really important to do that. number one, buy a reliable car to begin with. >> very important. in order to do that one of the things is to make sure you do your homework first. that's important. you say to make sure you shop online. really know everything that comes with the car and what it's going for online. >> find out the options. also when you do your homework one thing you need to find out about is not just going online but also going to a bank. find out what loan you qualify for. a lot of times you get to the dealer and they may bump up the rate beyond what you qualify

for. do your homework before you step into the dealership and make sure you are getting the best deal possible. >> make sure you do your research. when you have the research in hand one of the things you say is don't show all your cards. don't show your hand all at once to the dealer. >> right. one of the other things is to find out if you have a trade-in, find out the value before you go to the dealer and don't mention it. negotiate the price of the car, not the price of the car with the trade-in, loan, all that. negotiate one thing at a time. that's really important. >> all right. lisa lee freeman, great advice. thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> learned a lot. up next, much of europe is in a dangerous deep freeze with some towns cut off. we'll have the latest on condition there is after these messages. achoo! [ male announcer ] but when she used tissues, she went crazy wild. tissue after tissue, she always took a ton. until mom explained with puffs ultra soft & strong,

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♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] across the u.s. it's been one of the mildest winters in decades but it is a much different story in europe where huge snowstorms and sub zero temperatures have claimed more than 600 lives. nbc's michelle kosinski is in switzerland this morning with more on this deep freeze. good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, savannah.

the beginning of the season the alps were saying what are we going to do, where is the snow? that was soon followed by 18 feet in some areas, cutting off entire towns. now that the temperature is going up a little bit it's making the avalanche and flooding risk higher. this is the second brutal winter for europe in a row. this winter blasted europe like a blow torch of cold. just as swaths of the continent were brought to an icy stillness the images captured seem other worldly. waves on the black sea frozen in motion. reverse. seas walkable. streets skatable. eastern europe has endured record-breaking cold, more snow than anyone can remember. up to the rooftops. hundreds of people have died. tens of thousands cut off by impassable roads. in kosovo an avalanche killed all but a 5-year-old girl in a family of nine.

she was beneath snow for more than ten hours. >> europe is the victim of a high latitude block where if the weather system in the upper levels of the atmosphere is set up over the northern latitudes somebody has to pay for what would be normally cold weather there farther south. >> reporter: the deep freeze extends east to china where the waterfalls stopped falling. in colorful tibet, whiteout. and west, rome saw its first snowfall in 26 years. the colosseum coated. babbling fountains of milan stunned silent. germany and the ski towns of austria, switzerland, france relish snow, just not upwards of a dozen feet all of a sudden where avalanches claimed the lives of more than a dozen people. on friday, the prince of the netherlands, son of the queen, was trapped in an avalanche skiing in austria. the father of two is in stable but life-threatening condition.

now finally, temperatures are breaking, but so is ice. not a good thing in belgrade this week. on the danube, giant chunks broke apart, crushing and sinking boats. people beaten by the season tried to save their spring past time, but the force of winter won again. the u.s. military has just stepped in to help montenegro move people out and critical supplies in to some of their towns. meteorologists say it looks like warm temperatures are headed to europe for maybe an early spring. the problem is with all the snow much of the heat will be reflected instead of absorbed. savannah? >> michelle kosinski, it looks so pretty. causing a lot of havoc there. thank you. up next, we are going to put the fat in fat tuesday in "today's kitchen." first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in "today's kitchen" what's on the menu? a fat tuesday feast with a french flair. tate, chef, good to see you. >> happy fat tuesday to you. >> you're going to start off by putting some fat in there. pbj and foie gras sandwich? >> that's phat with a p-h. this is a pecan butter. little bit sweeter with more toast to it and a fig jelly. the foie gras here and a little bit of brioche. you can also use texas toast. a little bit of a sear and we have the sandwiches here with the foie and a great way to finish it is with maldron sea salt. gives it a little bit of crunch, salt.

delicious. >> that's really good. >> it's not just for breakfast anymore. >> no, it's not. >> fantastic. >> now a sausage and duck cassoulet. >> this is our most popular item. we are at 11,000 feet up on the mountain. we bring it up and cook it at that altitude. we cook it low and slow because of where we are. we have beautiful white beans you soak in water first. >> right. >> we have them hot in the pan. we need to add the veal stock to this. >> all right. >> a little bit of our tomato paste. >> why tomato paste? >> you need a little bit of acid in it. the fruitiness that really makes the beans pop, the veal stock pop, everything else. for the sausage, up in telluride we use elk sausage that we make there or buy from some of the local guys. because it's fat tuesday we are using andouille sausage.

lamb sausage works just as well, like a megrgues is. go ahead and grab that. >> is that duck? >> it's a confit of duck leg which we cooked low and slow at 200 degrees. a lot of herbs in it. confit, as you know, means "with fat" or "low calorie" in french. the confit is a way to preserve the meat. >> okay. >> as part of of the cassoulet and the beans we have a mirepoix, the holy trinity of cooking. celery, onions and carrots. actually a little bit of garlic in this as well. we'll get a nice brown on these veggies here. then we'll add a little bit of red wine and let it deglaze. >> nice. >> this is the finished beans. this is what you end up with.

the way we build this is add the confit into there. if you can spoon that in and then i will add -- >> cover it up. >> we'll also add the sausage right in there. and to finish it, we'll bake it in the oven. it doesn't need much time. >> you have bread crumbs. this is panko. the japanese bread crumbs. we have thyme, rosemary, parsley and butter to make it crisp up golden. >> and you put it in for how long? >> pop it in the oven for 15 minutes maybe. we end up with a beautiful stew, the cassoulet. and this is a stick to your bones item. >> all right. >> what do you think? >> wow. >> the duck bone pulls right out of there. >> wow. that's amazing. >> to finish it off we decided because it's fat tuesday to do

beignets which are perfect. >> hey! >> you came in time for the beignets. >> they come for the show, they stay for the beignet. between the foie gras, pbj and cassoulet, have a defibrillator. >> happy fat tuesday. >> thank you so much. >> great to be here. >> all right. still ahead from nbc's hit show "parenthood, we have actor sam yager. >> and sara hanes goes to work as a butcher, believe it or not. >> after your local news and weather. [ 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. 9:57 is your time now on this tuesday, february 21, 2012. good morning. i'm eun yang. let's check in with tom kierein for a look at your forecast for today. tom, when is it warming up? >> it is still pretty cold. by mid afternoon ought to get it up to 50 degrees or so. live view from our city camera. it is still cold as we approach

10:00, 40 at reagan national. upper 30s about everywhere else. getting above freezing. and the ice we had earlier this morning southwest of washington, beginning to melt. later today near 50. with cloudy afternoon and cloudy tonight. partly sunny tomorrow and near 60 tomorrow afternoon. bit breezy today, tomorrow and again on thursday. thursday's high of mid 60s. could get rain friday and then chill, dry weather for the weekend. danella, how is traffic? >> still seeing delays. inner loop of the beltway, little river turnpike. delays continue to the dulles toll road. 33 miles per hour. inner loop and outer loop montgomery county, no problems there. >> thank you. coming up on "news4 midday," coming up on "news4 midday," celebrating fat tuesday wit

captions paid for by nbc-universal television it's booze day tuesdayand a perfect day for fast tuesday, february 21st, and we are celebrating mardi gras. >> it is mardi gras in new orleans. >> nice balls. >> thank you. boy, bourbon street clears out quickly. usually wall-to-wall people. the streets were jammed at 10:00 this morning and this is i guess the cleanup, the after.

>> what do you mean? it's over? doesn't it go on for a while? >> it's been going on for two weeks. people are exhausted. >> i see what you're saying, because tomorrow is the beginning of lent, whatever nasty things they're doing they have to stop today. >> it's so much fun in new orleans on mardi gras. such fond memories of it. one of the memories is of the wonderful king cake, which we have on our table. >> i'm not going to destroy it this year, like i did last year, looking for the baby jesus. >> a lesson kathie lee taught us. this is from one of the top bakeries in new orleans. why am i cutting it like this? >> i don't know. i thought you were supposed to use your fingers. >> take a bite. >> no. no bite. i'm looking for baby gee suls. he's not there. did you get him? >> it's cinnamon y and sweet and buttery and delicious. >> the person who gets the baby jesus has to buy the next cake

for somebody. how many can you eat? >> people get a lot of those. we have a mardi gras cooking segment. we're drinking hurricanes, which are -- >> which i never realized why you drink a hurricane because you don't want hurricanes, you know, but people want these kinds of hurricanes. >> i know. they're delicious. they're fruity and strong and potent. >> oh, my. >> happy mardi gras, everybody. >> i guess there's a hurricane going on. >> a little later in the show we'll do some mardi gras stuff. >> what's this? >> you just catch them. i don't know. you catch them. you throw them. that's what happens. we have a whole table full of beads. >> hoda had a big weekend. >> i went to florida with my mom for the long weekend to spend some time. we had the most relaxing, laid-back -- there's my mom and i just hanging. >> yeah. >> we have our beach picture. and the next photo is of one of your former boyfriends. >> what? >> john tisch. he's in the middle. >> aww. he's a sweetheart of a guy. >> there's his wife, lizzie, and

mason their daughter and my mom and jen. he regaled me with the story of your chance meeting. it wasn't really a chance meeting. he wanted to date you badly. >> i don't know about that. all i know is there were two people, when i was working with frank on "good morning america," two gentlemen that said, kathie, i have a friend, they called, they said do you know that kathie lee johnson? frank said, yeah, we're friends, we work together. both said can you set me up? i never did blind dates and i still don't. but anyway -- and i just never felt comfortable with those sort of things. both times i said to frank i'll go if you go. one was tim mara, whose family owned the giants since the beginning, and the other was john tisch, both men of great substance and great personality and wonderful. but i guess -- and john i liked a lot. but because frank was there and frank i was comfortable with, i yakked with frank the entire

time. i ended up marrying him. sorry, john. went to john's fist wedding. i'm telling you, it was covered in all the society papers as one of the biggest weddings. it was gorgeous and amazing. there were all kinds of stories in the press, i don't know if they were true or not, that just the flowers alone from holland that had been flown in, like $500,000. one of those over-the-top beautiful things. during the ceremony, frank leaned over and said, this could have been yours. you know, i was -- anyway, i saw john last week at the party before the super bowl and said, it could have been us. but a running gag. >> it is a running gag. >> a sweetheart of a guy. he is a doll. >> how was your holiday weekend? >> it was amazing. i went out to california with cassidy. she had a couple of, you know, auditions and cody's out there, his final couple of months of school, we think. i don't know. anyway, it was fun. at one point, took 12 -- i think

it was a table of 12 of us with -- i never, like, sat down with cody and, like, 12 kids from his -- that he lives with. >> how was that? >> you know what, nice kids. he pickings nice friends. one crazy kid called jersey, but other than that, you know, it was good. it was nice. i love california. you know i do. >> yep, yep, yep. >> all good. >> it is february, you guys, and there are some people out there who don't realize it's february on the calendar because you still have your christmas lights up. people are getting sick of it. >> people are still wearing their christmas balls. >> hey. so we had a sneaky photographer who wept around to various homes in one neighborhood and just snapped pictures of christmas lights that are still up. >> yeah. psychological reasons for wanting to -- at least those aren't colored. you know? those reason multicolored. the little white ones i can see keeping on all season long. >> but the santa and the

reindeer -- >> and people have wreaths hanging on their doors. they're fire hazards now, you know? just get rid of them. move on with life. >> i yutzed to have christmas lights on my balcony forever because, you know what, to undo it, to do it -- just leave it. >> where was jay this whole weekend? >> he was busy. he was in sun valley, idaho, doing some stuff. >> you guys are smart. you chemopersonal time together and you give each other space. >> yes. >> which is very important, i think. >> you need breathing room. >> i think you do. >> frank didn't go with us to california. >> what did frank do? >> i don't know. who knows what frank does? i don't know. >> all right. so, as you guys know, whitney houston's funeral was over the weekend and it was very emotional and poignant. we'll talk about it a little later. >> we haven't had a chance, you and i, to talk about it. i was blown away by tyler perry

and really moved by kevin costn costner. they both absolutely captured tone perfectly, stories perfectly. it was magnificent. performances were amazing. bebe winans. i liked when kevin costner said god's probably wondering how he created something so perfect. >> absolutely great. they're obviously selling off some of her -- auctioning off, i think, some of her things, dress and earrings and stuff. >> couple things from "the bodyguard." >> you know what's funny, whitney houston's story is such a big, significant story, and this other kid is next to her in this picture, jeremy lin, getting such incredible play, on the cover of "sports illustrated," "time" magazine. >> doesn't seem it's going to his head at all. >> no. >> very grounded in his family and faith. seems like he's enjoying it but also has perspective. he says this can't last. people will turn on you. have you noticed, hoda?

>> they turn. >> they don't mean to. >> but they do. >> not winning anymore, so -- this guy will be a winner long after he stops winning basketball games. he's a winner of a human being. he really is. this is a guy who thought he was a winner. i love this story. >> you've been driving down the street and there are cones and you want to make a turn but you can't because there are cones blocking it. most people will not turn there because they know there are rules and others -- >> i can't, there's a cone. >> other people say i don't care. so anyway, this happened in san francisco, california. a guy couldn't stand to be stuck in traffic so he took a short cut through the cones and got stuck in wet cement. so anyway, the workers were frantically trying to shovel him out and apparently he couldn't get out of the car. he's sloshing around. his porsche is in the cement. anyway -- >> pride comes before the cement. >> and also there was this lady

driving through mcdonald's or whatever and the perp in front of you is taking forever and they're trying to count their money and i don't know what's happening. you want to go. this woman couldn't stand anymore. >> she honked once, she did, yelled. >> didn't work. she decided to ram her, just to ram her car into the back of hers. the driver was arrested. >> then she realized, oh, my gosh, this is probably worse than a cone. and she drove away. but they found her and charged her with aggravated battery. >> that can happen. have to be careful with your patience. >> i don't drive around a lot because i don't. i'm able to, but -- be grateful that i don't drive around that much. when i go to california, i get a car, rent a car and stuff. these newfangled things where -- just give me a thing where i can go reverse, you know, or park or drive. don't give me four drives. give me one drive. >> and a key that goes in the keyhole, not the nonkey cars. >> now there's a new thing.

there's nothing worse than not knowing your car. you like press a little button this way to get it -- you guys know what i'm talking about? just the right little touch or it doesn't -- so i'm driving. cassidy has to brake everywhere we go. we can't go a block without braking. brake. i can't get -- i can't. i put it into reverse. i finally get in reverse and then i can't get it into drive. oh, lord. >> the new cars are harder. >> people are honking at me. somebody could have started -- >> ramming you, too. >> yeah. then i take it out on the person behind me. i go, go around, go arnold. like it's their fault that i'm so stupid i can't -- that's it. >> we have to talk act our girl, sara, because she's in self magazine. >> good for you, sara. what did you do to lucy danzinger to get in self

magazine? >> we don't like to print that, but we were doing girlfriend dates because there are so many times you just eat and drink and every girl knows paying for calories is not your ideal. brittany is in there and my best friend, e rinn. >> you got your little chihuahuas in there. friday night. >> how cute. >> apparently sara doesn't just stick to friday nights. apparently saturday nights is something that was so huge, sara can't even -- didn't show up anywhere on sunday. sara. >> there was a party. >> it happened at my apartment. a little teeny place in new york where i thought i was safe to let christine go and maybe have a bible study in my apartment. >> but that wasn't what happened. >> that wasn't in the cards. at 10:00 here, i'm in los angeles, i start getting texts of people doing weird things with chickens. now, there's a chicken -- i have a chicken -- adorable little chicken on top of a huge thing. and one of our esteemed producers who won the edward r.

murrow award, is doing something weird with a chicken. that's all i'm going to say. >> are her initials j.l. long? >> yes, they are. enough, sara. >> drank more wine. >> coming up, the latest news from hollywood and our guy -- >> is andy cohen here? >> andy cohen is in the house. >> hide the children! >> then where's the beef? sara finds out. if she's not too hungover. lisa's new normal hi jamie. here's my activia video. love this stuff. i'm starting to feel a change no longer feeling slow. i can't believe i thought irregularity was my normal. now i don't miss a beat. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. i knew lisa would love her new normal. ♪ activia love your new normal and introducing silky, fruity activia harvest picks. one more way to enjoy activia.

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it's time for "today's buzz" for all the celebrity news you need to know this minute. >> from remembering whitney houston to "saturday night live," host of "watch happens live," andy cohen. >> andy's in the house. >> yes, he is. how are you? >> this morning he said i'm tired. i said, why, because you have the best life in the world? >> i'm appreciative of everything. i just said i was tired. you asked me how i was doing. >> thankness and gratitude. >> by the way, i was sober as a church mouse last night just so you know. >> really. why? >> you said i had a hangover. >> no i didn't. >> whitney's funeral saturday. >> i thought i want a baptist funeral. i just thought it was absolutely incredible. >> a celebration. >> a celebration. adding to what you said about costner and tyler perry, i thought that her bodyguard was

incredible, her real bodyguard, pax houston, her sister-in-law. everyone added something completely different. >> yeah. nobody said the same kind of story. >> exactly, which i think presented the full picture of her. >> full picture. >> there's been a lot of buzz about bobby brown being turned away and what happened. apparently he was invited plus two or something and he brought nine people. >> you don't do that. it's rude. >> it is rude. but to his credit, he didn't cause a scene. he went in, kissed the coffin, left. >> what happened with bobbi kristina? there was talk she left. >> there's a lot of unfortunate speculation saying that she has some sort of a substance abuse problem herself. i'm certainly hoping -- >> it wouldn't be surprising. >> rihanna and chris brown. they are collaborating again? >> well, there was speculation for a while. rihanna said there was a special guest on her new song. there was speculation that it

was maybe going to be chris brown. it turns out it is, and not only that, chris brown has a new remix out of "don't stop the music" and rihanna's voice appears on that. now, it's getting so much publicity, which i guess -- >> that's probably the reason. >> i know. but you know what, nobody wants -- nobody wants them to be together. >> well, i don't know, but maybe they want them to be forgiving and moving on. maybe it could be that. is anybody saying they are now a couple again? >> there is speculation. >> oh. >> i don't read that crap. >> stephen colbert. he was gone for a week. >> he was gone for a few days. they shut down production of his show last week. >> for his mom, right?

>> we got to run. >> stop it. >> happy fat tuesday. >> happy fat tuesday. >> mardi gras. >> how is the show going? >> going great. >> good for you. love you. >> thanks. see you at 11:00 tonight. >> up next, sara takes a stab. she's the one i said was hong over. working the counter of a popular new york city specialty shop. can she cut the beef? can she find the beef? i am loving this greek yogurt.

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it is time for "sara in the city." wow. everything new york has to offer. >> this time around she checks out a local business that's been around for more than half a century. >> one of my favorite things about the city is you can get almost all your own groceries from family specialty shops. this week i decided to check out what life was like as a buffaloer. >> what would you like? >> this is an institution in manhattan's west village. >> good morning, sara. >> good morning. a family run business passed down for four generations and

counting. i got to meet brothers jerry, frank, and joe. along with frank's son, matthew. was that difficult working with family? >> we're still here. we work with knives. >> now, aside from the fact you've been here for so long, what makes this the place to go? >> i think our relationship with our customers. we're really family oriented. >> frank took me behind the counter to try out my own charm. >> sometimes you have to suggest things, sara. >> i have to suggest things? >> do you like lamb? beef? >> what's your favorite? >> the brown one. >> it was time to get down and dirty. >> we put the new york strips in here. this is your new york strip. >> okay. >> you're going to pull that out. >> do you have, like, clampers or something? >> right here. these are the clampers today. lift it up. it's not going to bite you, sara. we dry age all of our steaks. it's about 21 days old. >> i've never picked up a piece -- on my shirt? >> no.

on your apron. >> okay. >> wow. that's a lot of meat. >> yay, sara! >> very nice. >> tony, i got a new butcher. >> regular customer tony was aiming to please. what kind of steak? >> professional. >> frank, let's talk about it. what are we giving him? >> we give him -- >> i would say the rib eye looks amazing. >> my favorite, too. >> my favorite, as well. tony, are you going to cook this for me? can you make the steak and come back? i put it in nicely together like a heart? >> it does look like a heart. >> i was really getting into the swing of it. i got it. i think i need a steamer. >> no. >> he passed me on to baby joe. is that a butcher thing? that looks like a serving of meat by itself. you're wasting string.

>> don't tell him. >> jerry, joe's wasting string. >> they always tell me that. >> there's a little sibling rivalry here. >> very good, sara. very good. >> leg of lamb. >> then it was matthew's turn to throw me a bone. >> a beef bone. these are famous. >> rivalry or not, there was no shortage of fun behind the counter. >> we always listen to lady gaga. 100% lady gaga store. >> why? is it the meat thing? >> because she's the best. yeah, it's a meat thing. >> by the end of the day, there was even a little love in the air. tony! he wasn't joking. tony, i love you. >> sara, you two timer. >> you cut the meat. he made it for me. that's romantic. i think i love tony now. first day on the job. how did i do? >> you did great. you fit right in. >> i'm a natural! >> a natural!

>> butcher hands, yay! graphic. >> nice. work. >> it's not going to work out. >> still to come, sam jager is with us. nature fusion cold & flu syrup. flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey. new nature fusion cold & flu from vicks. and instead uses something more natural, honey. love the taste.,

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we're back on this tuesday with more of "today" with the handsome actor sam jager. you've probably already fallen in love with him. >> he plays stay at home dad who along with his wife is gearing up to adopt a baby from a teen mother to be. >> i think he's going to want me at the hospital. >> your bag. your purse. hey. >> yeah. >> our son is coming. >> wow. >> aww. >> now you've sealed the deal. now she really loves you. >> that's a lot packed into

these last few episodes, isn't there. >> yeah. normally on the show people are looking for gossip, i'm always, like, well it's basically two people working things out with their children. >> real life. >> for once we have good, juicy gossip. >> tell us. >> trying to figure out if we get this baby at the end of the season or not. >> very sweet. you're not going to tell us. >> that's as risque as we get. no going over a cliff. >> it's still despite not having the bells and whistles. >> you care about the characters. >> what i love about it is it's so messy, like real families are. it just shows all the complications and people just trying to be better parents. >> we never start out that way. let's have a really bad marriage and a messy relationship. >> yeah. totally. i don't think she was going anywhere but i'm going to stick it out for a couple months. >> you have a couple kids. do those life lessons play out helping you out here? >> i realized recently that my -- i find these issues with

my character. i want to defend him, and i'm, like, i realize is that my character's issue or my issue i'm trying to project? >> he's a stay at home guy. >> he's a stay at home guy and loves his wife, and just like my wife is very strong willed. erica -- >> so there are problems at home. that's all right. we don't judge. tell us about it. >> it's rough, to be honest. yeah, but trying to figure out, like, going into to work and thinking, why am i defending joel here? is that joel's issue or -- >> as an actor, that's what you do. you observe to take what you learn and apply it to a character. >> yeah. so many great aors on our show. i'm so lucky i get to go work with all of them. >> off 2-year-old and a 17-year-old daughter. >> yeah. yeah. >> do they get along? >> they do. to. >> do they have issues? >> no. they get along well. he goes to bed every night calling her name. >> and wakes up at 4:00 calling yours. >> we're trying to train him to

call hers. so far no luck. >> good luck with that. >> thank you. >> an independent film you're working on as well? >> yeah. i wrote and directed a movie called "take me home," about a woman who gets into a cab in new york and drives across the country out to california. >> and they bond. >> and they bond. yes. >> that's great. >> thank you. >> that was just from your little brain? >> yeah. i conned my wife into playing the woman and we shot from new york all the way out to california. >> with a 2-year-old with you? >> no. it was before the 2-year-old. somehow she's still married to me. >> you made a movie together and do construction at the same time -- >> especially with a woman that powerful, as you know. >> there really are issues. >> sam, good luck. >> thank you. >> you're adorable. >> all righty. where can you catch it? >> tonight at 8:00, 7:00 central on nbc. >> all right. up next, what sex has to do with networking. >> oh, sex. >> you might be surprised to find out. everywhere you go, america,

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if you think we've come a long way, baby, just wait until you hear the stories some women reveal about what really goes on in the working world. >> ivan mizener is the chairman and founder of business organization, bni, as well as the co-author of "business networking and sex," not what you think. and paula williams is a lonely workplace expert. how do you follow that? we're happy you're here. >> thank you. me, too. >> a lot of this is about networking. i think a lot of us find us in a position where you have to network, you have to go into a room with strangers and meet people. it makes a lot of -- i know me and some other women uncomfortable initially. >> i'm sure. one of the reasons is the networking disconnect where people show up at networking events and they're there to sell. if you ask them, i'm here to buy, nobody's there to buy. so after trying to sell and not build relationships -- >> like a competitiveness

instead of cooperativeness. >> the collaboration is key. and women are better at it than men. >> why is that, ivan? >> it's based on a survey we did of 12,000 business professionals and found out that women were more likely to be collaborative, to be relationan and men were more likely to be transactional, hi, my name's ivan, what's your business? >> hoda, your point, the word networking scares us. schmoozing and -- >> yeah. phony. >> yeah. when in essence i want's about meeting people and finding a genuine connection, learning something about this group of people, you know, whether you check in on linkedin, whatever that is, so you know something about them so it feels natural. if it feels more natural to you, it will to them. >> are men not treating women well? the way we teased, we said you won't believe story. >> absolutely. we had open-ended questions and a thousand responses. three women in a row said i hate networking events.

they hit on you. three in a row. then the fourth one, the guy, says i love the networking events. a great way to pick up chicks. on behalf of men everywhere, i'd like to apologize. >> that's never going to change, though, no matter how much enlightenment they get. >> oh, yeah. >> just better at it. >> oh! >> some women wear phony wedding bands because they don't want to be hit on. >> several women said they wore wedding rings, they were married to not get hit on. >> that doesn't usually stop men, does it? >> no. >> men are more likely to be guilty of premature solicitation. i want to say that three times. that's where they meet somebody and go right into the business or are trying to make a connection in some way, whereas the women don't do that. >> when you brag about how great you are, guys seem to think that's a great thing, hey, i've done x, y, and z. usually every woman in the circle is looking around going, get a load of him, can you believe it?

should women be more that way? >> i think at the end of the day when you're authentically talking about what it is you're contribute, if you love the job you do or the business you've started and you're genuinely asking questions about the person in return. that is two-way exchange. it's not hey, look at me. i know something a little about you. >> it comes off as phony. >> women are better at that, making that relationship. where they're weak and where it came up in the survey was they're not as good at asking for the sale. >> we talk act it all the time. >> getting to business. >> what do we do instead? dance around snilt. >> one person said i hate going to networking events because women spend 90% of their time talking about their families and kids and don't get to business. >> women want to offer something first and then ask. sort of what can i do to help you? >> in the survey, here's the beauty of it, women actual lynette worked less, spent less time networking but generated more business than men by a

substantial amount. >> because of their relationships. >> because they're relational. that beats transactional every day of the week. >> once again, we win. >> coming up next, toys that teach your children a thing or two. ♪ [ male announcer ] what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover all of manhattan out of landfills each year? 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 mccafé caramel mocha from mcdonald's, she's been expecting a little bit more out of...everything. with sweet caramel, rich chocolate, and smooth espresso,

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pillsbury grands! dinner ideas made easy. "today's moms" is brought to you by crest 3d white. >> time for "today's moms" and ways to keep your kids busy during winter recess. from reading and writing to arithmetic, toys that will teach your children as they play and have a good time. >> sean bean is "parenting" magazine's executive editor and is here to share his favorite picks to bring out the genius in your child. hi, sean. >> how you doing? >> so much for kids these days we didn't have for our children.

so much fun. >> absolutely. >> the wall coaster. before you do it, tell us what's going to ham. >> actually, the 12-year-old kid invented this. his dad found him in a basement. he was cutting paper towel rolls in half, scotch taping them to the wall. >> show us how it works. >> this is a great idea. you can throw a bunch in here. and it goes all the way down. you can do it all along the wall. you can use stickies to attach it everywhere. >> you can start in different places? >> yes, you can. >> look at this, hodie. >> okay. pretty cool. >> yeah. >> did this make this little kid a fortune? >> is he a billionaire? >> oh, he bought a bentley. i saw him. he's doing just great. >> look who we have here. >> little girl. hi, babies. >> abigail and elizabeth. what are they doing? hi, guys. >> this is called pizza mania. pizza is math because it's the world's most delicious pie

chart. so why not break it down into a game so it forces addition, subtraction, because the chef calls out the order, he says add pepperoni, add mushroom, take away onion, add green pepper. it becomes an addition and subtraction game for young kids. a fun way to work on math. >> cool. thanks. and? >> one of the big things going right now is personalized books for kids. a couple cool ones here. here we have personalized storybooks where essentially you put in the kid's first name and last name and get the books back with their name inserted in it. >> great idea. >> hi. >> hi. >> it spells it out over the course of pages so it's not just about learning your name but read reading, about spelling. who doesn't want to read a book about themselves? >> narcissism. >> good for you. >> the older version, essentially you get this packet which looks like the s.a.t. form but you fill out the pages, draw, add stories, pictures and send it in.

three weeks later, you get a leather-bound book and it's a really fun way to get kids engaged into reading and writing. >> okay. >> rory story cubes is super cool. you get nine cubes. you just roll them out and you have little pictures on them so you make a story based on what's on here. >> excellent. >> you can say once upon a time, kathie lee was walking down the street with a cane and hoda parachuted in and landed on a sheet. >> yeah. >> storytelling, problem solving. really cool. >> we have about 1:30. up front, who do we have? >> look at alex. >> essentially this takes a coloring book and puts it on your ipad. >> you're drawing here and it's coming up here? show us more. >> is that spider-man? that is really cool. >> that's awesome. >> the markers he's using can't

use it to draw on toilets or walls or anything else. you don't have to worry about messing up the house. >> come here with us. >> all right. >> dee jay. >> this is discovery dee jay. music inspires brain activity. used to be a casio keyboard. now it's all about the turntables. 26 sound effects, eight rhythms, the headphones. they can sing through it. totally cool. a lot of fun. >> you guys did really well. thanks so much. stay with them. okay. >> for older kids, you see these man on the street interview where is you ask some tween about american history. they say, what's -- what is new jersey? where is new jersey? they say it's close to old jersey. nobody knows anything. this is just a fun way to learn facts for kids 9 and up. hold on. >> wait, wait, wait. >> jackson is the capital of ich -- >> mississippi. >> we're done. >> moving on. >> moving on. >> for the coup de grace, city blocks. obviously blocks are really fun,

open ended, creative toys. used to be lincoln logs but who wants to be living in a cabin in the woods? let's go to the city and build something cool. we have the chrysler building here, which is great. the boys here are working on something brand new. >> good job, guys. >> we're expecting the empire state building to be done in the next -- >> in a week or two. >> thanks so much. we appreciate it. >> up next, time to party. a mardi gras menu.

all right. we are taking you into "today's kitchen" to celebrate mardi gras the right way. if you're inviting friends over for fat tuesday, we have one. >> the co-owner of a wonderful

restaurant in new orleans called le creme. >> from sugar. >> sugar. look at you. >> thanks for having me. >> what are you whipping up? >> first of all, i want to start out with a nice little beverage. this is actually the official cocktail. new orleans is the only city in the country that has the states in the cocktail. >> bourbon in it? what's it got? >> rye whiskey. a little absent. >> you'll be absent a long time drinking this. absent from work the next day. >> we have just a couple minutes. >> go! whip it up! >> i know you're both phenomenal cooks. we'll make a little jumbalaya. >> okay. >> this is just basically a smoked pork shoulder. >> pork. mm-hmm. >> we'll get this nice and brown. you want to really brown it. >> okay. so actually then we'll get the chicken in here. >> chicken and -- chicken and

sausage. >> and sausage. you want to get this all nice and brown. you'll cook this around. >> brown that. >> we're going too to get celery. >> unyoun, so -- onion, some ga. this is the trinity, the traditional cajun. >> okay. >> onions. you'll stir that around a little bit. >> tomatoes. >> a little tomatoes. then let's get the spices. cajun spices. >> bay leafs. >> some rice. >> and then rice. and some chicken stock. >> not beef stock. chicken stock. >> chicken stock. you want to put some shrimp in there and other things? >> yes, we do. look what's happening. >> now we have our jumbalaya. >> you added some rice to it. >> some rice. and let that cook. going to let that cook about 20 minutes. >> come on.

>> and then here. let's get some of this. >> you know it. of course. that's a party dish. >> this is great. >> thank you very much. a little bit of scallions on top. >> no. no. we just have a minute. come to the back. >> delicious. >> all right. let's go to the back here. next we have a new orleans tradition. absolutely beautiful. so little crystal hot sauce. next up, banana beignets. >> banana filled? i'm going to dunk it in. >> chocolate sauce and strawberry sauce. >> we only have about 30 seconds but this is your favorite. >> bunt cake. >> thanks for coming to see us. happy mardi gras! tomorrow, hide the children.

william shatner will share his world with us. >> i'm a little afraid. >> how to dress before you walk out the door.