good morning. a taste of winter. a strong storm system is moving through the northern part of the country. heavy, wet snow from iowa to michigan into new england. we're live in the center of it all. case dismissed, a man on trial for murdering his wife during a honeymoon ding trip suddenly acquitted by the judge. did the prosecutors push a case that wasn't there? this morning we'll talk to the former attorney general who fought for the trial. and the academy on edge. will sasha baron cohen be banned if he shows up as the character from his new movie? we'll ask the supreme leader himself in a live interview

today, friday, february 24, himself in a live interview today, friday, february 24, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this friday morning. i'm ann curry. >> i'm carl quintanilla. matt will be back on monday. in the meantime, we're looking at a snowy scene in chicago this morning. >> hundreds of flights have already been cancelled at o'hare and around the region. they are impacting travellers nationwide. we'll get the latest on the forecast ahead. >> and a case that made national headlines in part because of the bizarre jailhouse takes. a florida millionaire sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted in the shooting death of his wife but the sister and daughter believe they got it

wrong. >> and how well can you trust what you see online? jeff rossen investigates how criminals are selling fake goods through very real ads placed on your favorite websites. wait until you see how hard it is to tell the real thing from the fakes. they are getting good at this. >> we begin with a snowstorm making a mess of things from iowa to the northeast. mike seidel is in chicago this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carl. it's been one of the warmest winters on record in the midwest. here in chicago before yesterday only 16 inches of snow. last time at this year it was 54. that changed overnight as the third storm of the season blew into town. heavy, wet snow made driving a mess throughout much of the chicago area. traveling by plane was a real pain, too, with hundreds of flights cancelled. perhaps because it's been one of the least snowy winters on record, some people seemed happy to see it. >> it's been a pretty easy winter. this is a nice breath of fresh

air. >> i wish there was more snow. >> reporter: others, however, were not so happy. >> it's really slippery. >> i don't like it. it's the worst. >> reporter: police in colorado reported dozens of accidents with parts of i-70 temporarily closed due to slick conditions. in georgia authorities are assessing the damage left by a tornado and severe midweek storms. at least 100 homes were hit, hundreds of trees and several power poles were knocked down. all of it a contrast to balmy chu temperatures on the east coast thursday. instead of weather gone wild it's winter gone mild. in central park it was warm enough to play in the sand box or ride in a horse drawn carriage. in virginia they are asking what happened to winter? >> this winter has really been quite nice for bicyclists, joggers. >> it's ice cream weather. it's beautiful out today. >> reporter: with spring less than a month away a lot of folks

are hoping for more ice cream, not more icy mess. this snowy mess this morning has already cancelled at least 130 flights in and out of chicago's o'hare international. the number will climb as the snow continues to taper off this morning. back east following records yesterday it's been snowing in connecticut as much as four inches. a good ski weekend setting up and colder weather for you folks back a in new york city. >> good news for the resorts. thank you very much. we'll get to al's forecast in a moment. >> i feel bad for mike. he's always out eating the snow. let's check on the top stories with natalie morales at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. international pressure is mounting on bashar asad as diplomats from 80 nations gather in tunisia to discuss the crisis. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more from the border with syria.

good morning. >> reporter: good morning. representatives from those countries are meeting to call on syria to immediately implement a cease-fire and allow in humanitarian aid. there is, however, a major problem with the call in that russia, the country that arguably has the most influence over syria is boycotting the meeting meeti meeting in tunisia and any corridor would need the cooperation of the syrian government. kofi ananne has been appointed as a special envoy to the crisis. it's unclear how much authority he has. on the ground in syria, the situation is not changing. the government is continuing the offensive. at least five people have been killed already today. but in homs the protesters came onto the streets and held a defiant march. natalie?

>> richard engel with the latest on the turkish/syrian border there. gop presidential hopefuls mitt romney and rick santorum are facing off ahead of decisive primaries in michigan and arizona next week. romney's in detroit today detailing his economic plan and santorum drummed up support and funds in texas and arizona on thursday. for more on the race for the white house, republican candidate rick santorum will be stopping by "meet the press" with david gregory this sunday, so check it out. now mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange for us. good morning. how is the week expected to close out? >> the market has been approaching highs not seen since before the 2008 collapse of lehman brothers. but it has been finding it difficult to convincingly break higher. one thing going for the market though natalie, this week we have seen increasing signs of improvement in the economy on many fronts. that's jobs and housing. i want to tell you about a

chinese firm that's been launching legal battles against the ipad. now it's taken it to home turf and is launching a legal battle in california. we'll watch that as well. back to you. >> thank you. a feature in "the atlantic" is giving a new look at japan's immense cleanup effort after last year's devastating tsunami. look at these images that shows the same spot a year ago and now. the comparison is remarkable as japan is weeks away from the one-year anniversary of the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that killed at least 15,800 people. 3,300 are still missing today. a rescue helicopter for a brazilian fire department needed help of its own. just seconds after landing the chopper disintegrated and fell apart. investigators are blaming ground resonance that can happen when the helicopter keeps turning after landing.

amazingly all four people on board were able to walk away from the aircraft. wild stuff there. you're up to date. now back to ann and carl. >> that was scary to look at. meantime, we have mr. roker on the road this morning in miami, al. i understand it's 72 degrees there in miami. >> yeah, it is. i feel badly for all of our friends in the northeast and the midwest. hi, mike. how are you? mike seidel, i have a nice warm day for you, a beautiful beach chair for you. come on down, mike. >> poor mike. 32 degrees in chicago. poor mike. >> can someone say "drawing the short straw"? >> oh! >> wow. i know mike seidel, guys. he would much rather be there than here at the food network's

food festival here in miami beach. why would he want to be here when he can be there? absolutely. so let's check your weather. again, it's go going to be a mess. not only in chicago, into new england, along the eastern seaboard, we've got rough weather to talk about. we are looking at a lot of rain ahead of the system. snow behind it. we've got racing of strong storms. take a look at the snowfall amounts. we are talking anywhere 3 to 6 inches. some areas picking up to a foot of snow. then we have also got winds in the northeast that will be big problems and high wind watches. wind warnings and wind advisories and that's going to cause problems as far as air travel is concerned. and we've got a riskinging of strong storms stretching from all -- tall way from tallahassee on up into the delmarva peninsula. the risk many of tornadoes, we've got a 40% chance of tornadoes in that area. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> it will be a wild weather day around here. good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. look at the dairy. we have a few scattered showers

moving green on the radar. few scattered light showers now coming into the shenandoah valley. and into fauquier county. elsewhere just clouds and a few breaks in the clouds later this morning. right now we are in the 40s. much of the region near 50. closer to washington, later today, climbing into the low and mid 70s by early afternoon. then some showers and thunderstorms possible late and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al. thank you. now to a surprising development at the trial of a man accused of drowning his own wife during a honeymoon diving trip in australia. the judge abruptly dismissed the case. mark potter has details from birmingham, alabama. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it was increasingly clear the judge was uncomfortable with the prosecution's case. when the case ended he threw it out of court. for nearly two weeks the

prosecution struggled to prove that gabe watson plotted in alabama to murder his wife tina, then drowned her on the honeymoon dive trip to australia in order to cash in on her insurance policies. the defense argued the death was a tragic accident. an important piece of evidence was a photo of tina lying on the ocean floor taken by another diver showing a rescue diver headed toward her and a third diver, not gabe, headed up, away from the body. the state's final witness was tina's father tommy thomas who said the last time he saw her alive was at her wedding to gabe in 2003. >> reached in and grabbed her. and i told her that i loved her and i wanted them to have a great time. then i turned to gabe and said, take care of my baby girl. and that was the last time i saw her. >> reporter: after the prosecution rested its case the defense argued the state failed to prove its allegations.

>> we believe the evidence and testimony presented by the attorney general's office is insufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. >> reporter: judge tommy nail agreed and said the allegation that watson was seeking insurance money was never proved. >> he is not a beneficiary of the life insurance policy. the state's own evidence is contradictory on that point. >> reporter: he then ruled the case was too weak to give to the jury. >> there is no evidence to suggest that he intended to kill her and he hatched it here and carried it out there. i'm going to grant the motion to dismiss the case. >> reporter: the ruling means gabe watson is now a free man. in the courtroom he celebrated with his family and his new wife, kim. his father said he was relieved. >> i'm thrilled for gabe. i hope everybody can begin to heal, put their lives together. >> reporter: tina's father said he was disappointed. >> there seems to be a lot more

protection for the accused then there is consideration for the victim which in this case was tina. >> reporter: the prosecution said it was stunned by the decision to end the trial early. >> we presented enough evidence in our opinion that this case should have gone to the jury. >> reporter: also upset was tina's best friend amanda phillips. >> if you could say something to gabe watson face to face, what would it be? >> may god have mercy on your soul. >> reporter: gabe watson served 18 months in australia for failing to protect his wife on the failed dive. here in alabama, prosecutors say their criminal case is over, finished because they cannot appeal the jundge's ruling. ann? >> troy king is a former attorney general of alabama. mr. king, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. >> i understand you spoke to the family of tina watson last night. what more can you tell us about how they are reacting in dealing with what the judge decided? >> well, of course they feel

betrayed for a second time. they have been through two criminal justice systems now, neither of which delivered them their day in court. i talked to cindy thomas after the judge dismissed the charged. i talked to cindy and tommy last night. they're heart broken. they were fighting for their daughter's memory. they were fighting for justice for their daughter and they didn't get it in australia and sadly they department get it in alabama either. i have apologized to them for the work left undone when i left the office of the attorney general that i wasn't there to see it through to its completion. >> you push for gabe watson to be tried for murder in alabama. the question has to be asked of you. were you wrong about the evidence or did the prosecution fail to present its case adequately? >> i'm not going to second-guess what the prosecution did, ann. i have been out of office for over a year. so i wasn't involved in the

strategic, tactical decisions made. if i was wrong, so was the coroner's inquest. so was the grand jury that heard the evidence. we'll never know what the jury that was hearing the evidence thinks because this judge decided to assert his opinion in place of the jury's. the alabama jury empanelled and charged with hearing this case didn't have the opportunity. >> i need to give you a chance to answer a charge made by gabe's father yesterday after court. he said my bitterness is directed towards our first attorney general. that's where this started. i think politics was involved. on troy king's part -- that's you, of course -- i think he used the thomas family, the watson family for his own political purposes. you were running for re-election. did you use this case for your own political purposes, mr. king? >> ann, one of the most sacred responsibilities an attorney general has is that which he

owes to victims. that's not to win a popularity contest. it is to go to court and see justice dopne in every case possible. they came to me and said we have been betrayed in australia. surely our home state of alabama will vindicate and honor her memory by giving her a day in court. will you do that for our family? career investigators and prosecutors worked the case, came back and made the recommendation that we go to a grand jury, which we did. there is no politics involved in a grand jury. they don't run for election. the grand jury agreed with us that capital murder charges should be returned and they were. the australian authorities continued to play politics with this. i wasn't the one playing politics. i was the one doing my job. but there were plenty of politics to go around. and i'm proud of what we did. i believe we honored tina's memory. i believe we pursued justice and i'm sad this morning that judge

nail decided his opinion mattered more than the jurors' opinion sp opinions. >> mr. troy king, thanks for joining us this morning. >> thank uyou. >> now here's carl. >> hollywood is gearing up for the biggest night of the year. the academy awards is sunday. miguel almaguer is in los angeles with a preview. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. some years the oscars are all about the big block buster movie like "titanic" or "avatar." that won't stop the red carpet from being one of the hottest places to be in a little over 48 hours. the biggest stars, the brightest stage, the movies' most glamorous night. it's oscar weekend which for actors and actresses can mean hours of hair and makeup, designer jewels, looking for the perfect red carpet look. at the ceremony the spotlight will be on "the artist" to see whether the homage to

hollywood's silent era can pull off the improbable run to glory. ♪ >> the academy -- movie makers all -- have fallen in love with the film. >> reporter: other best picture contenders include "the help," "the descendants" and "hugo." >> some young people don't know who martin scorcese is, but people in the industry love martin scorcese. they love this homage to hollywood. >> reporter: in the best actor category most believe it is a race between "the artist's" jean dujardin and george clooney for his work in "the descendants." >> mom is cheating on you. that's what we thought about. >> reporter: the favorites among the women, meryl streep as margaret thatcher in "the iron lady" and viola davis in "the help." >> it's time for me to retire. you're my last little girl. >> no! >> reporter: oscar producers are

counting on the return of billy crystal as host to keep viewers entertained but another comedian's plan to spice up the red carpet hasn't been embraced by the academy. sasha baron cohen hopes to show up in character from "dictator" but the academy said, come as yourself or not at all. in response and in character, cohen released this statement. >> i am outraged by being banned from the oscars by the academy of motion picture arts & sciences. while i applaud the academy for taking away friday right to free speech i warn them if you don't give me tickets by 12:00 a.m. on sunday you will face consequences. >> reporter: the dispute is going on. we'll see if borat crash it is red carpet. it promises to be an exciting day on sunday. some of the most beautiful stars will be arriving here shortly. carl? >> miguel almaguer in los

angeles. thank you very much. interestingly we have admiral general shabaz al adin with us now by phone. general, good morning. thank you for taking time, running your busy dictatorship to join us on "today." >> good morning! i have been very busy today. i delayed 30 executions to do this. >> well, that's probably good you delayed them. the big question now, general, is will you or will you not be walking the red carpet at the academy awards on sunday? >> well, those gongsters banned me. normally i would be impressed by an act of cowardice by a faceless regime. but they have until midday on sunday to give me my tickets back. if not they will face unforeseen

consequences. >> you mentioned those consequences. >> by the way, how is your family? [ laughter ] >> not so good now. what kind of unimaginable consequences, general? >> well, let's just say oil prices might be raised. >> that's unimaginable. by the way, how is your eunuch al roker? >> oh, dear. i don't know if you watch a lot of movies but there is a movie nominated named "hugo" and there is an actor that looks like you. i wonder if you have seen the movie and what you think of the performance of sacha baron cohen. >> i have not heard of the movie but i assume it is about chavez. the only movies in my country are those written and starring me. i remade "the king's speech" but my character had no stutter and

sided with hitler. >> so it was a short subject. we don't know a lot about the republic of wadiya here but there is a movie coming out called "dictator" which documents your impressive style. can you tell us about the film? >> yes. it is the story of a great and benevolent leader who fights to stop democracy from ruining the lives of his people. >> finally, before we go, all the medals on your shirt, general, what did you win those for? >> those are won from great acts of bravery and also for impregnating over 13,000 women. >> all right. i think we better stop you there. >> say hello to matt lauer! he came over to play golf at my palace last year. only for $1 million.

that's a cheap bargain. thank you. >> thank you. >> matt's grateful he missed this one. >> that was fun though. we have much more including more on our complete coverage of the oscars monday on "today." al and i will be live in los angeles. we'll find out if sacha baron cohen or the dictator shows up at the red carpet. we'll break down the looks and the winners as well. >> and a criminal link, how counterfeiters are selling fake goods through popular websites. first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, the florida millionaire convicted in the shooting death of his wife. his family speaks out for the first time. >> that's after your local news. can't wait 'til morning. wait. ♪ it's morning in the himalayas... [ male announcer ] it's sweet. it's nutty. it's absolutely delicious. kellogg's crunchy nut. it's morning somewhere.

but not your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in just one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®. good morning. it is 7:26 this friday, the 24th of february. i'm joe krebs. we have a wild weather day in store for us. tom is here with what you can expect. >> yes. big changes. right now we have scattered showers moving southwest to northeast across virginia. out of west virginia heading into maryland. right now patches of green and light rain, scattered southwest and north of washington. and temperatures right now are in the 40s. much of the region near 50, washington and by the bay. later today, we will rapidly warm up. low and mid 70s by early afternoon and sunshine breaking out. later in the afternoon, maybe thunderstorms, in of which could produce damaging winds and sustained strong winds tonight into saturday. >> thanks very much.

before you head out the door we will check the friday morning co

consumers today have a legitimate concern about the chicken they eat. they want to know more about how they were raised, what they were fed. we spend a lot of time on the feed because a chicken is what it eats. [ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. we actually ask the usda to come check us. we have never fed steroids or hormones and never will. no blood meal, no meat and bone meal. yuck. no animal by-products. it means when you put my chicken on the table, you know where it came from. taking the outer loop of the beltway, university boulevard, an accident in your right shoulder lane. police are on this scene and you are seeing some delays on the

moup. 36 miles per hour from i-95 to i-270. that trip is taking you 15 minutes. traveling i-95 northbound at fair packs county parkway, disabled on the left side. back to you, jo

back now at 7:30 on this friday morning, the 24th of february 2012. a rainy start in new york city as we check out everyone who's outside. lots of signs this morning outside our window on the world. we'll find out what those signs are about coming up. carl quintanilla is in for matt this morning. it's been a nice week having you here. >> it's been fun. >> we'll talk about troubling videos online like am i cute and am i ugly? the goal seems to be to have others rate their appearances and the response to the videos

have been nasty, some of them and damaging to the girls' self-esteem, one might guess. we'll talk about the trend with a psychologist coming up. >> it is troubling. >> also, can you trust your web search? jeff rossen investigates a criminal enterprise buying ad space on popular websites to send unsuspecting consumers to sites that sell fake goods. jeff will have that. >> that sounds serious. on a lighter note, more on the academy awards in a special edition of our friday whip. we'll tell you what's new, what's up and what's in when it comes to favorites on the red carpet. that's very exciting. i'm excited about it. >> i love oscar week. we start with the latest on the conviction of a florida millionaire in the shooting death of his wife. we'll talk to his daughter and sister-in-law in a moment. first nbc's dennis murphy has the latest. >> reporter: bob ward is appealing the conviction. he's a millionaire developer no more. an orlando jury found him guilty of shooting his wife to death in

their mansion in 2009. now we are hearing from a his family. people we were introduced to by an unusual jailhouse video. >> we the jury find the defendant guilty. >> reporter: it took a jury 13 hours to decide bob ward shot his wife diane. not the accident his defense team claimed was fuelled by a sloppy night of mixing alcohol and prescription meds. ward, a high flying property developer had been slammed by the recession when on september 21, 2009, he called 911 and made what sounded like a confession. >> i just shot my wife. >> you just what? >> i just shot my wife. >> reporter: downtown in a sheriff's office interview room ward was composed and gracious. >> do you need anything? >> i'm perfect. thank you very much. >> reporter: odd demeanor but not as odd as what was captured four days later on surveillance cam. bob ward was seeing his daughter mollry and his sister-in-law paula for the first time since

his wife's death. >> hello. >> mallory with a brassy personality said she opted to keep the visit light. her father, the family jokester picked up on it. soon he seemed to be doing a strip tease in the cell. >> no. i wouldn't do that. >> reporter: in short order the tapes would go viral. millions of strangers left to wonder what kind of people the wards were. a daughter who'd stick her tongue out at her father. >> you're flirtatious. like i'm sticking my tongue out being goofy, like look at me, i'm here. >> reporter: the family said ward's lawyer gave them instructions not to discuss the case and the goofy moments were only a small portion of the visit. >> it had nothing to do with the way they portrayed it. >> did the media pick everything they wanted to show? they took five minutes out of a 45-minute video.

>> reporter: there were unseen moments like this. >> i'm going to say i love you now in case it runs out. >> i love you, too. thank you so much. >> reporter: none of them believed diane's death was anything but a horrible accident. not the dead wife's sister. >> i know he could never do this. he loved her. he adored her. >> reporter: not bob's younger daughter sara. >> couldn't be true. i knew it wasn't. >> reporter: not mallory. >> i may not know what happened but i know what didn't happen. my dad didn't pull that trigger. >> ward was sentenced to 30 years in his prison. failing a successful appeal that's a life prison term for a 60-year-old man. >> jim fellman is the attorney handling the appeal. good morning. paula, before we start let's get the discussion of the videotape out of the way. you were there. explain what was going on. >> people have to understand what happened prior to that.

four days earlier. to process the information of my sister's death, my nice ece is coming to hi home, going to orlando. we meet with bob's lawyer and the instructions are, whatever you do, do not talk about what happened. talk about anything else. we have 45 minutes to talk about what? we wanted bob to know the most important thing is that we knew he was innocent. we knew it was a tragic -- an accident. >> sara, how is your dad doing? >> he's not well. he's 64 years old. he's sick. he's in jail when he shouldn't be. he's an innocent man and he's having a difficult time processing this. losing his wife and now his family because he hasn't been able to see us. >> meanwhile you're in college, considering becoming a lawyer. how has this affected you? >> it's changed my life, like you can imagine it has. it made me go in a new direction. it made me want to bring

people's attention to how many innocent people are behind bars. >> some jurors didn't believe your mom was depressed to do this. they said she was up beat on the phone, in conversations earlier in the day. did you get that impress of her? >> i talked to her that day. she sounded upbeat but she was on a lot of anti-depressants and she was having a hard time with the company and the economy going down. yeah, there were times she wouldn't talk to me for weeks. >> viewers might be saying i can see how someone's daughter may want to protect her father, but you are his sister-in-law and you still don't believe he did it. >> not at all. i know bob is innocent. they had a marriage that was like a fairy tale. they loved each other deeply. they respected each other. he would do anything for her as she would for him. >> jim, you're working on the appeal. you have talked about what happened, the mechanics of the case. what you call rampant misconduct by the prosecution.

what do you think went wrong? >> most prosecutors in this country are dedicated public servants doing the right thing, trying to keep us safe. in my judgment these prosecutors were not that. this was a case in which i believe they were willing to do whatever they could to convict. what's particularly telling and unusual about the case is that the prosecutors have not, will not because they cannot articulate any theory of what happened that would be consistent with both the physical evidence and mr. ward's guilt. when an objective view of the physical evidence is taken it points strictly in the direction of innocence. i believe the reason the jury convicted notwithstanding that is because they were misled by a persistent pattern of prosecutorial misconduct. improper questions about subjects that were prohibited and improper. >> these things don't happen in a bubble. this happened in the same place as the casey anthony trial where

she was found innocent a few months earlier. you think it may have impacted this jury's decision? >> i think so, definitely. people in florida were rapid over that case. i don't care what happened next. there was not going to be a fair trial. >> you think this jury didn't want to be seen the way that jury was seen. >> i think it had an impact, definitely. >> that's an interesting case. we'll see where the appeal goes. thanks for being here. you can see much more of the case on "dateline" here on nbc. now another check of the weather from al in south beach. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by the so slimming jean by chico's. >> we are live in south beach. the miami beach hotel for the 11th annual food network fantastic south beach wine and food festival.

unfortunately there is no festival going on around the midwest and out west. let's look live at i-90 outside chicago in illinois. you can see the snow is coming down at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour. traffic moving not too badly. then as we move further west, i-70 got closed in several spots in denver and just outside of denver, massive pileups being reported. big problem was heavy snow there p so -- winter is not quite over yet. but you can see temperatures down through the south and as we look at our temperature map, you can see that those temperatures are really warm. 80s and 70s and signatures along the southeastern atlantic coast. 70s in southern california but as this system makes its way into the northeast, it is dragging in colder air. teens and 20s through the central plains. we have a risk of strong storms along the southeastern atlantic coast to the delmarva peninsula, rain moves into the pacific

northwest again. plenty of sunshine through the southwest. morning showers in southern texas. that's what's going on around the country. her's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. doppler radar throwing some scattered showers in areas moving green, some light rain showers moving out of west virginia and into virginia and maryland this morning. and they are continuing moving southwest to northeast. and temperatures are chilly right now in the 40s to near 50 degrees. and later today, rapidly climb and get shine out later this morning into the afternoon. into the low to mid 70s. then some thunderstorms possible mid afternoon and late afternoon into early evening with damaging winds. then strong, gusty winds, that's your latest weather. hey, carl, in the next half hour, we are talking about stone crabs. >> nice. i think i hear the word joe's in our future. thanks, al. up next, our investigation into a criminal enterprise using popular websites we know and trust to sell fake goods, right after this.

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back now at 7:43. this morning on rossen reports, the world of counterfeiting. it's scamming americans out of billions of dollars and now there is a new twist. "today's" investigative correspondent jeff rossen is here with the details. good morning. >> good morning. we have heard about counterfeit products. it's been going on for years. now the criminals are so sophisticated they are buying real ad space and getting to you on popular and trusted websites we all visit every day. some say the websites are profiting from it. we are on the hunt with u.s. customs and border protection, searching incoming cargo to stop a criminal epidemic before it reaches your home. expertly designed counterfeit products sold as real.

and where are unsuspecting americans finding them? on sites like ebay and google where criminals pay big bucks for prime placement. >> it doesn't make them as trustworthy as we hold them to be. >> reporter: high school senior lauren macmillan wanted to learn spanish so her dad spent $200 on what he thought was a never opened rosetta stone software kit. >> the ad said it was brand new and shh ripg wrrink wrapped. >> reporter: it arrived and looked authentic down the instruction manual, stickers and inscriptions on the disk. >> we tried to install it and it had an error message every time. >> reporter: it didn't work because it's a fake. authorities say some even install a virus on your computer to steal your personal information. here's a real kit next to the fake one. can you tell the difference? >> it's not just some college kid in their basement putting

this together. this is a real business going on. somebody's making a lot of money off of it. >> reporter: some say it's not just the criminals cashing in. it's the popular sites that allow them to advertise. >> looking at this, make you angry? >> disgusted. it's costing us millions. >> reporter: tom adams is ceo of rosetta stone. they have caught google selling coveted top of the page ad space to over 1600 rogue websites with fake products. you go to google, type rosetta stone in and get a list of websites. on this day the real website and the company says all these fakes offering discounts. click on them and they look like the real thing. >> they are essentially picking whatever media we have, photographs. >> reporter: even your picture. >> yeah, even me. >> reporter: that's your picture. if i was an average consumer and i saw your picture, you're the ceo, must be legit.

>> i think that's what happens. >> reporter: he says google isn't doing enough to stop them. >> when you complain to google, what's the response? >> they are back up shortly thereafter. google takes them down but it's a game of what cck-a-mole. the pirates have many accounts. >> reporter: and google does business with them again. >> yes. >> reporter: in fact, google has been caught doing business with criminals before. last summer the company paid $500 million to avoid prosecution for knowingly selling ads to illegal online pharmacies. google declined our request for on-camera interview but told us, we take responsibility for our actions and google does not allow ads for any counterfeit goods. we use a combination of manual and automated processes to enforce this policy. in 2011 we shut down approximately 95,000 advertisers for counterfeit goods. but rosetta stone said it is not

working. >> this is the fake product sent to us by consumers. >> reporter: they keep hearing from angry customers and had to hire their own investigators to scan for counterfeits. >> here's a fake product on ebay. it has 28 bids up to $242. >> it looks real. >> reporter: also frustrating for law enforcement who admit they can't keep up with the flood of fakes. >> it's increasing every year. we have had a 24% increase from last year. >> it's a cat and mouse game. >> yes. >> reporter: part of the problem, many of the criminals are based in china, out of reach for u.s. authorities. that's where lauren's kit came from. after complaining, ebay gave her a refund. >> something needs to be done about this. people need to be aware this is going on on the internet. there needs to be a stop to it. >> reporter:? in a statement, ebay said counterfeits are not welcome. it said it is a leader in

working in combatting counterfeits. as for the fake rosetta stone lauren bought they took the ad down just the day after it was posted. here's the takeaway. if you see new products at steep discounts that's a red flag. just because the site has prime placement on a site like google doesn't mean it's real. >> if you have a counterfeit good what do you do? >> if you bought it on a site like ebay where you buy it from them, tell ebay. you can get a refund hopefully like lauren did. if you find the fake website on google, for example. it's just a search engine. you probably won't get a refund. that money is probably gone. >> maybe your report will change things. >> i hope so. >> still ahead, young girls opening themselves up to bullies and negativity by having strangers rate their looks online. first, these messages. [ leanne ] appliance park has been here since the early 50s. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line.

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good morning. it is 7:56. i'm joe krebs. nice day but the wind will be whipping today. here's storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein. >> it is chilly now. we have scattered showers moving across west virginia, virginia and maryland this morning. and they will be ending pretty much over the next hour or so. we will continue off and on here for million 9:00. later get sun out and temperatures will warm up and right now chilly. we are in the 40s. much of the region. and it will, though, climb into the low to mid 70s. strong winds late afternoon with storms. those winds lasting tonight into the weekend and chilly. >> tom, thanks very much. a break now and come back and

good morning. if you are taking the rails have a minor delay on the marc train. train number 894 a delay of 6 minutes. i-66, pretty nicely if you are traveling eastbound. 49 miles per hour. not bad. 12 minutes to get from fairfax county parkway to the capital beltway. 66 inside the beltway, no accidents to report at this time. joe, back to you. >> thanks very much. another news update in 25 minutes. now back to the "today" show after we take a short [ male announcer ] technology accelerates at a relentless pace. anything not moving forward is moving backward. [ tires screech ] [ engine turns over, tires squeal ] introducing the 2013 gs. with the lexus enform app suite, the most connected information and communication technology

available in an automobile. [ tires screeching ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. 8:00 now on this friday morning, the 24th of february, 2012. around 39 degrees at the moment. oh, look. it dropped to 37 here in new york city. we'll have a big friday crowd now assembled here in rockefeller plaza. we're glad to have everybody here. they are all carrying photographs because they will be talking about how children are sent home from the hospital without diagnosis. they want to say how young people need to be better cared for by hospitals. thanks for being here. i'm ann curry along with carl quintanilla. al is off in the sun. we'll talk to him.

>> seems like he's on vacation, but he's working. >> coming up, a trend that many parents will find disturbing. it's about impressionable young girls aged 11, is 12, 13 posting videos online asking strangers to rate their looks. this is causing a lot of flurry. apparently it's a trend. we'll talk about it with a psychologist ahead. >> the oscars are sunday. i assume you will watch. >> i'll be there covering it actually. >> the big questions are who are the front-runners, what's everybody going to wear and how do you throw a fun affordable party to watch the ceremony? we'll have that in the whip. >> also ahead, paula deen is down with al in florida. she'll be talking about her diabetes announcement and also she'll be doing some cooking with al. i understand her son bobby is there somewhere. that will be exciting as well. >> first to the news desk to check the top headlines from

natalie morales. >> good morning, everybody. the man accused of drowning his wife during a honeymoon diving trip to australia has been acquitted of murder. an alabama judge cited a lack of evidence for the abrupt end to the trial. gabe watson already served 18 months in an australian prison on a manslaughter conviction for his wife's 2003 death. gop presidential hopefuls mitt romney and rick santorum are facing off ahead of decisive primaries in michigan and arizona next week. nbc's peter alexander is in detroit, michigan, with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. a wet, messy one here. rick santorum returns to the campaign trail in michigan this afternoon. mitt romney earlier in the day will be giving a speech here at ford field. as mitt romney prepares to deliver what he's touting as a major speech in detroit's ford field today detailing his economic plan for cutting taxes and spending he's hammering away at rival rick santorum for admitting he made a mistake

backing president bush on no child left behind. >> people go to washington and they vote for things they don't believe in. he said, you've got to take it for the team now and then. my people is the united states of america. >> reporter: while santorum raised money in texas thursday, his campaign released this new ad quoting headlines and romney's own words, trying to label romney as a hypocrite. >> i'm rick santorum. >> reporter: today romney's supporters roll out this ad. >> he said, i don't care how long it takes, we're going to find her. >> reporter: retelling the dramatic account of romney's efforts years ago to safely bring home a former business partner's missing daughter. the super pac ad by restore our future is nearly identical to one aired by the romney campaign four years ago. >> he said, i don't care how long it takes. we're going to find her. >> reporter: restore our future tells nbc news it bought the footage from the old media team and while they followed the law

it blurs the line between campaigns and super pacs. also while romney is delivering the speech today, democrats and members of the united auto workers will protest outside where they are expected to spell out the words "let detroit go bankrupt" in american cars to voice their opposition to romney's opposition to the auto bailout. >> lots of cars will be lined up there. peter alexander, thank you. now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news". >> tonight, danica patrick on the eve of the daytona 500. she's gone from open wheel to stock cars. it will be one of the races of her life. we'll have that and more for you. for now, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's trending today. our quick round up of what has you talking online. act actor sacha baron cohen has people buzzing over his plans to

go to the oscars dressed in character for "the dictator." he chatted with us earlier on the show and joked that he had to delay 30 executions just to speak to us. we're glad he could squeeze us in. grown up harry potter fans are tweeting excitement over news that j.k. rowling is writing a new book. this one is for adults. no details have been announced yet and the title and plot are a closely guarded secret. searches for a 27-pound lobster are through the roof this morning on yahoo as users hunt for a picture of the monster. the crustacean named rocky was caught thursday off the coast of maine. don't start melting the butter yet. after an aquarium declared him too big for tanks he was released back into the wild. that's a beast all right. now to al with a check of the weather in south beach. >> announcer: today's weather is brought to you by advil.

make the switch to advil now. >> we don't have a 27-pound lobster, but we have big stone crabs here to talk about. we are with steve of joe's stone crab in miami beach. next year you celebrate the 100th anniversary. >> yes. 100 years. >> it's amazing. you serve good stone crabs. you say this is one of the best stone crab seasons you have had. >> we have had excellent weather, thank you. great winds so we have had a lot of crab. >> this is the range you talk about. >> yes. there are five different claws here. we have the medium size, select size is a little bit bigger. large is the dominant size. jup yor jumbo and jumbo. >> how do you make sure you don't run out? you have to make sure everything is taken care of, right? >> absolutely. there are conservation laws. we take the claws off the crab, throw them back in the ocean and they regenerate a claw.

>> show me how you do this. >> there are three parts of the claw. you have the knuckle. crack it right here. not too hard, not too soft. oh, sorry about that. >> that's okay. >> good for eating. >> you bet it is. 20 pounds of these bad boys.boy. thanks so much. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. right now we have a few scattered showers. coming out of west virginia into virginia and maryland, area moving in green. now crossing the potomac and across parts of much of maryland, prince george's and points north are get something light rain now. and later today we will get sunshine breaking up. right now it is chilly and cloudy. we are in the 40s, much of the region. when that sun breaks out later this afternoon into the afternoon, low and mid 70s and storms this afternoon with damaging winds possible. strong winds, colder weather tonight carl, key lime pie! >> al, thanks very much. when we come back, a disturbing

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troubling trend among young girls. teens and tweens posting videos of themselves online asking viewers to rate their looks. in many cases the responses only serve to further damage their fragile sense of self-esteem. we have kristen dahlgren reporting. >> do you guys think i'm pretty? >> i want to know if i'm pretty or not. >> am i pretty, ugh sfli. >> am i ugly or pretty? tell me the truth. >> the question is nothing new for teens and tweens. >> leave a comment. you can be honest. >> reporter: but the internet is now taking it to new levels. young teens asking viewers, complete strangers, to leave comments about their looks. some videos have nearly 4 million hits. 13-year-old faye posted hers last month. >> there was a couple of people at school that constantly call me ugly. i thought asking other people could make me feel better about myself. >> reporter: those other people responded. some left comments that were

positive. but many posts were nasty, calling faye pretty ugly and an idiot. negative comments that left a much deeper impression on the 8th grader. >> it's easier to hear bad things like your flaws than it is to hear the good things. >> reporter: experts say a girl's self-image peaks at age 9 and then perceived physical attractiveness plays a big role in a teen's self image. >> the focus on determining what your peers think of you is not something new. the technology has provided a new avenue for doing this. they are taking advantage of it in ways that sometimes might be positive, but certainly has risk. >> reporter: faye's mother is concerned about the risks, not only about damage to her daughter's self-esteem but also about who's watching her daughter's video. >> i was afraid they would really say something that was really just not right for a

13-year-old to hear or see. >> reporter: youtube responded to the concern. youtube is for people 13 years or older only. our community guidelines prohibit videos or comments containing harassment, threats or hate speech. therapists say parents need to remind their children that their value is based on more than looks. >> your personality, your talent. even though they roll their eyes at you, they are always listening. >> reporter: if it seems unlikely that a tween or teen will hear the message coming from mom or dad, point them right back to youtube. >> please delete those videos. >> reporter: other adolescents now responding to the postings by helping send some self-esteem. >> confident girls are beautiful! >> reporter: for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. >> donna rice hughes is the executive producer of internet safety 101 and gail saltz is a

"today" contributor. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> why would tweens ask strangers over the internet whether or not they are pretty? >> ann, this is a massochistic defense mechanism teenagers are using to quell anxiety about appearance. this is a self-destructive yet unconsciously a coping mechanism that they are trying to feel better but it's not working. the risks when they hear back, the hate speech that we heard. >> quite significant. this is an open forum essentially for bullying. the same ramifications we see from bullying which is tearing down self-esteem, feeling attacked and frankly because this is masochistic they will take it, internalize it. we have seen it all the way up to suicide. >> donna, does doing it make the

girls more vulnerable to predators online? >> it absolutely does. predators are already seeking vulnerable children who are looking for affirmation, who are looking to find love in the wrong places. they are there to affirm them, to build relationships and to start that grooming process and, like gail said, this sets kids up for risky behavior as well. we have to realize, parents especially that kids are not immune. they are good smart kids trying on new identities online. they are seeking to get love and affirmation online. it puts them at great risk. >> what can a parent do? >> well, parents can do a lot. the first thing is to get proactive. know what your kids are doing. have an ongoing dialogue and communication with them. supervise what they are posting. their pictures and videos. and -- >> i think this is an opportunity. >> it is. >> any parent watching this now should use the opportunity to sit down with their daughter

tonight and say, it's a normal time to feel insecure. but this is something that girls are doing and it's a very bad idea. i want to talk to you if you are feeling insecure and if you are feeling very insecure, let's get you some help. >> dr. gail saltz and donna rice hughes, we are out of time. certainly this is going to start a conversation. >> thank you. >> up next, a friday whip to get you ready for the oscars and to throw your own watch party right after this. of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... ...could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you... ...with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra,... ...humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections,

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help." i think she'll win and be emotional. last time an african-american woman won was halle berry in 2002. viola davis will be the second. >> best actor, jean dujardin and george clooney? >> i think jean, star of "the artist," the george clooney of france, will win. >> speaking of "the artist," that's almost a shoe-in for best picture. >> nine nominees for best picture. "the artist" will win. last time a silent film won was "wings" in 1929. >> if there is another shoe-in, octavia spencer? >> and christopher plummer for "the beginners." >> billy crystal hosts as well for the ninth time. now here's ann. >> nowambrose.

what will the stars be wearing? first, a flashback to last year. michelle williams created a lot of buzz. >> she was very mute. i hope she'll be more siren. she played marilyn monroe. i hope for more raciness if we are lucky. >> mila kunis. >> she's edgy. she's a style maverick. she'll give us a little bit to guess about. >> that was a beautiful lavender dress last year. and halle berry. >> she never does it wrong. she's wearing a cast, hopefully it's gone. hopefully she'll glamouflage it right. that's how you camouflage with glamour. >> this year, stars to watch. >> octavia, definitely and viola davis. this will be their night. they did it so well at the golden globes. i love viola in her wine merlot

color. i hope octavia stays in the beautiful lavender, structured look as well. it shows off her shape. >> you say kate winslet is one to watch and rooney mara, of course. >> to me that's the young angelina jolie. she did something dark and edgy last time. i think she'll be that girl. she's our style maverick. >> she's the one to watch for a lot of reasons. now here's natalie. >> finally, what to do if you are throwing your own oscar bash. elizabeth may hue, good morning. >> good morning. >> we'll do it inexpensively starting with the red carpet. >> as the guests come in lay down a red carpet. you can get yards for $6. invite your own paparazzi. it's just a plastic sheet you put up. again, about $6. and your own "velvet" paper rope. >> you can't have a party without cocktails. >> moet is the official oscars

champagne. they have created a cocktail. i love the garnish of a rose petal. >> i like how you serve it. >> i just got these tins. they are film tins. you can use them as a serving tray. get them at hollywood mega store.com. >> and black and white is a big theme this year so we have black and white decor. >> i took my inspiration from that. a lot of table goods from z gallery. and then i got the film tape at party city. i wrapped it around a simple vase. $5 for 50 yards. carnations, inexpensive flowers. they really look great. for food i took inspiration from "the help." that's one of the main characters in it. takeout fried chicken, minnie's pie. >> without the secret ingredient. >> of course. eiffel tower from pier 1 and

then i have an oscar glue gunned onto a stick and dressed up the cup cake. >> ann and al will be in los 8:26 is your time on this friday, february 24, 2012. good morning. i'm eun yang. let's check in with tom kierein for a look at your forecast. we are going to get all kinds of weather today. >> yeah, right now getting scattered sprinkles. mostly in maryland and panhandle of west virginia. temperatures in the 40s. later today with sunshine breaking out we should make it in the low and mid 70s by early to mid afternoon. later in the afternoon, cold front sweeping through. may trigger thunderstorms. some of which could produce damaging winds. areas especially south and east of washington and then some strong, gusty winds tonight. we could have gusts of wind up to 60 miles an hour. through the night tonight as we clear out. much colder for the weekend. >> tom, thank you.

we are going to take a quick break now and che [ husband ] i don't talk to them as much as cindy does. good morning, chickens! [ jim ] you know, that's our business. so we want to be the experts in chicken. we're not the status quo. perdue is the first and the only chicken company to have usda process verified programs for fresh, all natural chicken. [ jim ] this is an all-vegetarian diet. no animal byproducts, no animal fat. our chickens are not fed steroids or hormones. it's not gonna happen. [ jim ] we raise our chickens cage-free, and we set our goals higher than anyone. we're trying to make a better chicken. [ jim ] my dad did, my grandfather did, and it's what we do today. ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪

[ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. good morning. you are a little slow as you cross over the 14th street bridge and make your way into the city. travel speed is on 395 northbound. you are at 32 miles per hour and take being 20 minutes to get from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. if you are traveling on i-270 it

is smooth sailing. live look at shady grove. no issues here. if you are traveling from the spur to the beltway here at 56 miles per hour. >> danella, thank you. more news, weather and traffic for you

back now at 8:30 on this friday morning. it's the 24th of february 2012. we have had a few showers this morning here in the big apple. it looks like it's clearing up just a little bit. it didn't stop these fine people from joining us here in rockefeller plaza. a lot of them carrying photographs to remind us about something called histiocytosis

which is often not diagnosed and can cause children to get very sick and die. if you have a child with an ear infection, lots of fevers over and over again ask about histiocytosis. i'm ann curry here with carl quintanilla and natalie morales. al is on assignment in california. we're happy about that. al, what do you have coming up from there? >> actually, i'm in florida, ann. >> that's right. florida. >> in south beach. sorry! >> it looks like california. eastern california. >> i knew it was florida. i was dreaming of california. >> she was thinking about the oscars. >> that's right. we're going to the oscars in california. >> that's right. right now we are in south beach at the lowe's miami beach hotel for the food and wine festival. paula deen is here. we'll talk to her. as you may imagine there was a backlash about her announcement

about diabetes. we'll touch on that and -- look at the camera, paula! with her son bobby dean. paula will make a fun sunday brunch with bobby there. we'll talk with paula in a moment. back to newark. >> thank you, al. >> thanks, al. >> touche. >> you would think you would find them in a museum, but what are princess diana's dresses doing at a local mall in the united states? >>. >> good question. >> they are on display. we'll tell you where to see them. we'll explain coming up. >> and three things they say could be ruining your marriage. naggi nagging, arguing and how you communicate with your spouse. nagging and arguing could be one. we'll talk about how to remedy those things. >> we'll get to that. first let's say hello to the fabulously talented and handsome blair underwood. he's on tonight's new episode of "who do you think you are" and

he'll be tracing his roots. we have been curious about your ancestry. >> i have been. >> what did you find out as a part of this? >> do you know carrie underwood? >> yes. >> every time we see each other we tease each other that we're cousins. i found out we are actually third -- i can't keep a straight face. >> it's possible. there are a lot of people -- >> your people probably owned my people actually. >> you did find out good information. >> we found a whole line -- lon my mother's side that were land owners. and my grandfather actually owned slaves. how that happened is a twist i don't want to give away. >> you were able to meet people through dna matching. >> absolutely. i found a cousin of mine. ten generations ago, 300, 400 years ago we shared ancestry.

cameroon. went back to africa with my dad. my dad has always wanted to go to africa. he's 80. to take him to see the distant relatives was incredible. >> very cool. congratulations. we look forward to seeing you. we want to tell everyone to catch blair's episode of "who do you think you are" tonight at 8:00 on nbc. >> and on broadway. >> another thing. man, you have a great voice. listening to you -- >> i want your job, ann. i'm working on it. >> you could take it. >> al's not here. he's in florida. >> can you do the weather? >> i can. i can make it up. >> al? >> feel the heat, al. >> some competition. >> blair said he makes it up. well, so do i. except at the end of the day he's a great actor and i'm not. >> but you can tell us the

weather. >> okay. here we go. let's look at the weekend ahead. starting with tomorrow, we are looking at a lot of wet weather in the pacific northwest. we've got windy conditions in the northeast tomorrow. sunny and cool in the southeast. showers down in southern texas. beautiful warm weather in the southwest. then sunday, sunday, we expect sunshine but frigid conditions in new england. we've got cloudy skies, mild conditions, and down through southern florida. plenty of sunshine, texas, on into the southwest. and central california where it cools off a bit. showers move back into the pacific northwest with lake effect snows around the central great lakes. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. big changes here today. meteorologist tom kierein, storm center had 4. moving green area is an area of light rain. now moving from the southwest to northeast and fairfax and montgomery, loudoun counties and district of columbia. and temperatures are still chilly. we are in the 40s. much of the region. 48 at reagan national.

but later this morning we are going to get sunshine breaking out and then warming and in fact, into early afternoon into the 70s. thunderstorms this afternoon. strong winds tonight. bringing in colder weather for >> don't forget. you can get your weather day or night on the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. and don't forget coming up in the next ten minutes paula deen and her son bobby, a beautiful brunch, all that and more. back to you, ann. >> thanks, al, live in florida. thank you so much. up next, how to eliminate the arguments that can be a real problem for your marriage. we'll get to that. this is "today" on nbc.

back at 8:38 on today's relationships. it is not easy navigating the speed bumps that come with married life. we put together an expert team

to talk about relationships. hal runkel is author of "the self-centered marriage." good morning to you both. we'll start with nagging. i swear i'm quoting research, doctor, that says women nag more than men. >> really? i'm shocked. >> is it true? >> it's true. because there is more of a burden on a woman to get things done and he is more likely to be passive and resistant. nagging is pushing the rock uphill. it's just that there are ways to do it. >> exactly. they feel more of the burden, especially around house work. >> the commander in chief of the household. >> and the men can't complain about them nagging without recognizing they helped hire her into that position. they helped do that by their passive behavior. the yes, dear. making promises and not doing it. that encouraging nagging more. >> nagging has a bad reputation. there is the whining offensive

nag and the creative, if you make that call to the plumber there will be something in it for you later nag. some are better than others. >> i love you. i'll love you more if you do the dishes. >> whatever is the trade. >> we asked one couple to weigh in on nagging. here's what they said. >> yes, i'm a nag. i whole heartedly admit i am a nag. >> she has a tendency to nag. kate is a tendency. >> did you do it? when are you going to do it? do it. why isn't it done? do it. >> if i feel it's important i do it right away. if not i can finish doing this, watching this or not do it at all. >> so people can relate to that. we asked female viewers if they considered themselves a nag like that woman does. 68% of women say no. 32% say yes. we asked the men do you think your wife is a nag, 53% yes, 47% no. why the difference? >> sometimes what the wife is

doing she doesn't think is nagging but he's receiving it that way. sometimes you receive a nag because you know you haven't done what you said you were going to do. but how you do it is so different. don't tell your man what to do because you're not his mother. >> right. >> my wife will represent herself to me and say, when you leave the dishes in the sink even though the dishwasher is empty it makes me wonder if you think i'm a maid or a wife. this marked for identification doesn't have sex with her employer. >> that's a piece of the secret. how to help him see that household chores are foreplay. how to help her see she can be straightforward and not whining. the problem is the same but the solution is more positive. >> one more pulled number on nagging. does nagging help you get what you want? 69% of women say no. # 31% yes. if your wife nags you, do you do what she wants?

20% say right away, 60% get to it when they can and 20% ignore her. couples bicker 2,054 times a year. that's seven times a day. >> for some couples constant harping is the key. do you know what's important? for couples to know it's not how often you are doing it. it's having the ratio. five positives to every negative. every time you say, i can't believe there is no gas a in the tank. five times you have to say, you look great, you are so attractive. i love the lasagna. >> here's what a couple said about arguing. >> it would be a quick argument like, get the kids to bed. but i did it last night. clean up the dishes, but i did it last night. >> i didn't put clothes in the laundry room or make my bed in the morning. that can set her off for days. >> dinner's done and i'm on the

phone and the kids need baths and i'm chit-chatting he'll shout, are you going to get involved here? that will just -- that's an argument right there. >> asking women what do you argue about the most? household chores is number one at 36%. money, sex, child rearing. for men, household chores, money, sex and child rearing but in different ratios. surprising? >> no. this is what we see in our practices all the time. again, how they are doing it is creating a problem. does nagging get the thing done? does arguing solve the problems? not usually. the arguments are you did this, you didn't do this. i tell folks there is a four letter word that stops most arguments. it doesn't get said often enough. ouch. you said that. that hurt me. i don't know if you were trying to hurt me, but you did. >> that's good. ouch. you hurt me.

when we are reactive like the woman in the video, i say what i feel and i'm not thinking that i'm wounding you. maybe if i knew i were wounding you i would take a breath and talk about the content. >> the other person may say, well, you have heard me. okay. you're right. i have. i don't want to do that. that's not how i want to be in our marriage. >> i will try that next time. thank uh you so much. up next, the fabulous clothes and jewels of princess diana now on display in america. we'll show you where. first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:46 with a celebration of princess diana's life at what some would consider an unlikely place. many of her personal belongings are on display at the mall of america. janet shamlian is in minnesota with more on the story. good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning to you. royalty has come to the mall.

it's hard to imagine some of the most famous photographed dresses worn by princess diana here steps from foot locker and cinnadon, bcinn cinnabon. this is the first time they are in a mall and they say princess diana would appreciate it is somewhere none can come because she considered herself the people's princess. as malls go it's among the nation's largest and perhaps most famous for the indoor amusement park. but starting this month, minnesota's ji enormous mall of america has another claim, not just to fame but to royalty. the treasures of a world treasure, princess diana, are all right here. worry not. this may be a shopping mecca, but nothing is for sale. the gowns and jewels have been on display before. but usually it's some place like a museum. this is the first time the royal belongings of princess diana

have been shown at a mall. graham morton is one of the two curators entrusted with the exhibit and secrets. on the day princess diana walked down the aisle, every detail was attended to including some the public never saw like the bottom of her shoe inscribed c heart d for charles loves diana, covered in a special fabric. >> it was made so that princess diana would not slip going up the aisle which would be a good camera moment but would have been a disaster on the day. >> no disaster. in the days and years after, rarely a fashion faux pas. many of the dresses she was most photographed in are here. nick grossmark is charged with their care and handling. >> after the divorce she was able to be her own person in terms of style. >> reporter: and then there is the bling. the crown jewels stay with the royal family. these are diana's family

diamonds. no less impressive. a walk through the nine galleries are a trip down memory lane. there are the earrings di wore on her wedding day, a prayer book given to her by mother theresa and, yes, the dress. 30 years after she wore it that 25-foot train spilling out from behind still commands attention and is what everyone wants to see. when thousands tour the exhibit over the next few months there is one question that will get asked the most. >> what size is she? >> she didn't have a size. >> please. >> it was couture. ladies pay thousands of pounds so they don't have to have a size put in their dresses. >> reporter: call it size beautiful. the personal items of a public princess. the fascination continues. >> so what size was she really? there are no size tags in any of the dresses. i checked. but when pressed the exhibitors

say she was a british 10 to 12 which roughly is an american 6 to 8. but standing next to this gorgeous turn all heads in the room gown it looks like a size 4. this was one of the gowns she wore after she was divorced. she wore her clothes more tailored and sexy. it is stunning. the exhibit is here through june 10. back to you. >> janet shamlian getting down to business on what every woman wants to know. thank you for that. up next, al does some cooking in south beach with paula deen and her son bobby. first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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welcome back to "today." we are here in south beach, miami, for the 11th annual food network wine & food festival here in south beach. joining us now, paula deen, her son bobby. good to see you. >> always good to see you. >> bobby, good to see you. >> a manly handshake will suffice. when we last saw you, you revealed on the program exclusively that you have diabetes. >> yes! >> were you surprised at the backlash, the negativity people were throwing your way? >> well, you know, al, i guess i was lucky. i think it was from a few people

that were kind of mean about it and wanting to hold it against me. but you know what? the people that care for me, al, they came out like you wouldn't believe. they are the people that i care about. i want to thank y'all. >> how hard was it to see your mother hurt like that? >> it was tough. i think when someone comes out and announces they have an illness and if people pile on it says something about maybe who's doing the talking. it was a little tough but i love my mom and i'm here to support her. >> i have broad shoulders, al. the good news is that bobby and i are working on recipes that will help a lot of -- >> i'm not eating as much. >> i'm proud of you. you're exercising, doing the right things. >> you changed your lifestyle. >> i want to tell you this,

honey. i feel like god has give me a blessing. because my mother and daddy died very young. i'm so proud that i lived long enough to be a member of the baby boomers and to have to deal with something like this. >> what are we making this morning? >> we're making an artichoke fritatta. we have lightened it uh up a little bit by using a lighter cheese. we changed it up. >> you could do egg whites. >> absolutely. we have four beaten eggs here. you could do two and two or add egg whites to it if you like. we are using low fat shredded cheddar cheese. >> just dump it all in there. >> we start by sauteing onions. >> we drained -- i'm sorry, baby. >> it's the artichoke marinade. there is a little bit of garlic -- >> i will talk over him, y'all! >> we are using boneless, skinless chicken breast. >> what's it good for? >> it's rich in manganese, good

for thyroid function. >> dump, al. baby, we only got three minutes. >> i'm waiting on y'all. >> whoa! bread crumbs! >> bread crumbs. >> hold on. y'all want me to take over? when we get finished with this we are going to make a great visit to a children's hospital. want to talk about it? >> yes. we're going to the children's hospital here. >> it's a children's cancer ward. >> i do -- wait, wait, wait, no. >> you guys -- >> great time of day. >> the train has left the tracks. >> and then in here? >> in here. into the oven, y'all. 350, 30 minutes. >> fantastic. >> you know, al, i do a lot of make a wishes for these precious angel children out there.

>> and you've got a sunday brunch coming up. >> tomorrow. >> all right. >> bobby, paula, always great to see you guys. >> great dishes and love to you all out there. thank you for your love and support. >> coming up today, barbara corcoran with some of the best homes out there for under $400,000. >> i love bashara. >> we do, two. that's coming up. 8:56 is your time now on this friday, february 24, 2012. good morning. i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein for a look at your forecast today. wild day ahead, tom. >> a day of big changes. right now we do have scat herbed light rain in fairfax, montgomery, prince george's county, area move off to the

north and east. temperatures are beginning to warm up. down around richmond, into the 60s and some of that warm air coming you our way. 40s around the metro area. later today into the low and mid 07s with sunshine out. then maybe strong storms later this afternoon. late afternoon into early evening. some of which could produce damaging winds to be followed by strong, gusty winds to 60 miles an hour. parts of the area. that would be overnight tonight into part of saturday. chilly weekend. >> thanks so much. we will take a quick break and check the roads when we come

taking the inner loop of the beltway. montgomery county slow at connecticut avenue. these delays continue as you make your way to colesville. under speed at 30 miles per hour. 19 points get from i-270 to

and we're back with more of "today" on this weekend getaway morning. it's friday, tgif. 24th of february 2012. a lot of nice people gathered here in rockefeller plaza to say hello to their family and friends back home. i'm ann curry alongside carl quintanilla who's in for matt and savannah guthrie who's joining us this morning. al is still off in the sunny climes of south beach, florida. how was that artichoke dip? >> i have to tell you, it was pretty tasty. we loved it. in fact, the crew has pretty much wiped it out. but coming up, not only do we have a delicious dip but some models who will be taking a dip

in this pool behind us. jill martin has a fashion show to really show you some of the south beach fashion. we are here on the beautiful pool in miami beach. >> we'll see you in a moment. while you're in the sun there, it's just starting to sprinkle here a little bit. >> al's waiting for a bathing suit competition and we're freezing. he's got a good assignment. >> he does and he's gloating about it. we'll see him in california as he joins me to cover the academy awards coming up this weekend. meantime let's talk about the weather. from iowa to michigan there is a strong storm moving through, dropping heavy snow and the system is making its way to the northeast. if you are flying from the region around chicago today you may want to check ahead because hundreds of flights have already been cancelled. we'll have more on the story coming up ahead. >> and they say image is everything. today we have a new series called "behind the brand" with

donny deutsch. from linsanity to the oscars to a new fast food collaboration, he'll look at the most buzzed about brands and ads that are all the talk to see if they work. nobody knows better than donny. >> he knows about that. >> he has the deutsch brand after all. then real estate. barbara corcoran will be here to take us on a virtual open house to look at properties you may want to take advantage of with all the great low financing rates. >> right. first a check of the top stories with natalie morales at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with the snowstorm they talked about making a mess of things from iowa to the northeast. mike seidel is in chicago looking miserable out there. >> compared to where mr. roker is it's been one of the warmest winters so far on record here in the midwest. here in chicago, only 16 inches of snow up until yesterday. that changed overnight.

only the third snowstorm of the season blew into the windy city. heavy, wet snow from iowa to chicago and many flights were cancelled. some people seemed happy to see it. >> it's been a pretty easy winter. this is a nice breath of fresh air. >> i wish there was more snow. >> reporter: others, however, were not so happy. >> it's really slippery. >> i don't like it. it's the worst. >> reporter: police in colorado reported dozens of accidents with parts of i-70 temporarily closed due to slick conditions. in georgia authorities are assessing the damage left by a tornado and severe midweek storms. at least 100 homes were hit, hundreds of trees and several power poles were knocked down. all of it a contrast to balmy temperatures on the east coast thursday. instead of weather gone wild it's winter gone mild.

in central park it was warm enough to play in the sand box or ride in a horse drawn carriage. in virginia they are asking what happened to winter? >> this winter has really been quite nice for bicyclists, joggers. >> it's ice cream weather. it's beautiful out today. >> reporter: with spring less than a month away a lot of folks are hoping for more ice cream, not more icy mess. it's been a snowy mess in chicagoland affecting air travel. at o'hare international we are adding up the number of flights cancelled. 170 out of o'hare. there are 90-minute delays and back east not far from midtown manhattan in fairfield, connecticut, five inches of snow as weather turned colder for the weekend. natalie, back to you. >> good for the ski areas. mike seidel in chicago. thanks so much. you deserve hot chocolate now. international pressure is

mounting on syrian leader bashar asad as the u.s. joins with european and arab nations to warn him he must allow humanitarian aid to enter homes and declare an immediate cease-fire. kofi anaan has been sent to deal with the crisis as the bloody crack down on civilians has renewed deadly shelling in homs. an alabama man was acquitted in the death of his wife while on their honeymoon. gabe watson had spent 18 months in an australia jail for the drowning death of his wife while they were on a scuba diving trip in the great barrier reef. a judge cited lack of evidence for the abrupt end to the trial here. two good samaritans are credited with saving a woman from a freight train in delaware. her car got stuck when she accidentally drove onto train tracks. the men pulled her to safety moments before the train slammed into the car, dragging it several hundred feet.

and hillary clinton is telling a whale of a tale about her trip to mexico last week. the secretary of state decided to take a break during the g-20 summit to go whale watching. apparently she got too close for comfort when one of the mammals rubbed up against her dinghy. luckily she got back to shore safe and sound. makes for a great picture. now back to al with a check of the weather in south beach. it looks gorgeous. >> yeah. it looks great here. and as we saw in chicago it's a real mess. this is a complex system with a lot of sides to it. we start in the midwest. we're talking about a wide swath of precipitation. rain to the south. snow to the north as we g we go maps, show you what is exactly going on. you can see the snow stretching from chicago up to alpena, michigan. on into new england. as this system makes its way. snowfall basically another two to six inches of snow. that will stretch from chicago, heavier amounts, though, into northern new england. you get along the northeast

coast, we are talking about a lot of wind problems. we are looking at wind gusts in some areas up to 60 miles per hour today. we have wind, hype-wind warnings, high-wind watches and advisories. that will affect air travel from boston all the way down to washington, d.c. and to the south of that, we now have what we are calling a strong risk of storms with a possibility of tornadoes from the south carolina all the way up into southeastern virginia. slight risk from mobile, alabama, on into the lower delmarva peninsula and parts of southern new jersey. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> a day, big changes for us. good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. right now on radar getting a pew sprinkles where you see the light green moving southwest to northeast. it is moving off to the north and east. temperatures are still chilly, in the 40s. but just to our south, richmond south into southern virginia, into the 60s and 70s now.

and some of that warm air coming our way, we get sun back later this morning into this afternoon. some damaging winds from thunderstorms and that's your latest weather. natalie? >> al, thank you. this morning we are kicking off a new series behind the brand with donny deutsch where we check out which pro motional campaigns are making the grade and which can improve their ima image. good morning, donny. >> we're all brands, you know. people are brands, products are brands. we're going to cover the gamut. it will be fun. we're trying the telestrator, too. >> like football. let's start with the academy awards. this sunday is the big show. anne hathaway and james franco hosted last year and didn't get

great buzz. >> that's the oscar. let's put a head on it. stay on topic. here's what they did wrong. they said to themselves our ratings have been dropping. people think the oscars -- [ laughter ] >> cut it out! let's get hip. man, let's get james franco and anne hathaway and go young. terrible mistake. i gave them a c minus. they didn't stay true to the brand. great brands are authentic. brands are about hollywood royalty, tradition. this is the key word, tradition. they made a mistake. i want to see sofia loren, gene hackman. i don't want seth rogen presenting. he's funny, he's great. i don't want to see people in vampire movies. >> billy crystal, ninth time hosting. >> walk right into it.

don't be the du jour moment. at the beginning of the academy awards they roll the vintage footage. i don't want my 14-year-old saying, that's who and i go who? celebrate royalty. there is george clooney, brad pitt, meryl streep. >> leave the hipness to the golden globes. >> exactly. be tradition. celebrities, hollywood is our royalty. you need to earn that spot. >> billy crystal, what's the grade? >> if they do this and crystal stays true to who he is i give it an a minus. stop reinventing. billy crystal is great. >> let's move on to taco bell launching a new line. the doritos locos taco. a regular taco inside a dorito shell. i believe it's launching march 8. what's your prediction? is this good for the brand? >> i love it. >> you do? >> dorito plus taco bell. >> are you going to eat them? >> i'll go back to authenticity.

they are saying, you know, we talk to young guys. we don't have to be healthy for everybody. we'll put dessert, chips together with tacos. the most indulgent thing that's maybe going to turn off people. but to young people, young guys, we don't care. brands can't be all things to all people. so many fast food chains are saying, let's do salads, let's do this. they are walking into who they are. pure indulgence. >> critics say it adds to the obesity epidemic. >> they are not in the health food business. that's the world we live in. they are not in a moral imperative. you can't be all things to all people. and they have a new tag line called live mas which means live more. putting the spanish headline is bril brilliant. half the country will be hispanic. i love the attitude of the brand, the product. next time put syrup in a taco, i

don't care. stay true to who you are. i give it an a. >> very good. moving on lin-mania though the knicks couldn't get past the heat last night. >> let me draw a picture of my friend with the spiked hair. >> i'm not sure about the telestrator. >> he may be in talks with nike. do you think it's good for the image of nike? >> by the way, here's what i would do with him. this is fascinating. put a basketball in one hand and a harvard diploma in the other. stay away from this, focus on that. be the anti-lebron. when i look at lebron james i look up to him and go, wow, that guy is incredible. he runs and jumps. when i look at jeremy lin, the guy in my biology class, the student, the nerd, that's me on the court. you can imagine yourself. that's the ultimate as separation.

leave nike to the rest of the guys. do google, vitamin water, smart water. celebrate the student athletes. >> go smart then. >> spike lee had a harvard jersey on the other day. that was fantastic. make short chic. saying no to nike would be the boldest move. >> that's a lot of money. >> this guy could potentially be the biggest athlete of all time in terms of endorsements. he's the every man. on top of it, 2 billion asians? wow. >> it is huge. >> celebrate that. i love it. i wish i had my hands on this guy. >> you keep working on the artistic skills for next time. coming up next, from a tuscan mountain retreat to a lake front florida escape we'll do house hunting with barbara corcoran and later we're feeling the miami heat. first, these messages. ♪ my heart skips a beat

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this morning on today's real estate what you can get for under $400,000. "today" contributor barbara corcoran is here with the best bargains on the market. good to see you. >> pleasure. >> we'll start in the southwest. >> it's rainy in new york and lovely out there. it' e's las cruces. talk about great weather. this home has wrap around views of the nearby mountains. what a great nighttime shot. most mo attorney homes shoot better at night. people fail to notice that. the high ceilings inside looks like a rich guy lives there. remember it's only $399,000. it has tile floors, hand stacked

stone work and super high windows. the kitchen has an old world look but it's totally modern. everything you are looking at is new and expensive. how about this huge open air courtyard with water features, arched windows and doors plus the bar and grill as an extra entertaining area. right next door it butts into a huge outdoor/indoor entertaining area with a fireplace. not bad. that's all one space. not a bad space to entertain. if that's not enough there is rooftop patio with views of sparkling city lights and sun sets, wow. by the way, you can lease it for $1900 a month if you don't want to spring for the $399,000 they are asking for. >> that's a bargain. it's beautiful. let's stay with the sunshine theme. go down to florida. >> nice place, not far from al today. it offers pristine beaches, golf, polo, art festivals and

some of the best skools chools state. it has a brick paved circular drive and tropical landscaping. the living room has cool tile floors, crown molding and the sliding doors open to the lanai in the backyard. the kitchen has white cabinets and granite counters. the formal dining room has plantation shutters, they always work in florida. there is a bonus room that's built over an extended two-car garage bigger than most people's living room. what guy wouldn't like that above the garage? i bet the wife never sees him. the screened lanai is where you can have the morning coffee. you can watch a beautiful sun set over the pretty lake in back. >> mojitos at night and coffee in the morning. mechanicsville near richmond in virginia. >> probably one of the best spots in the country. this is a quaint neighborhood with a civil war history. you can't walk through town without falling in love with

what it was. the house is an hour from the blue ridge mountains and an hour from the atlantic coast. when you look at the family room it's big enough for a big family. wood burning fireplace on the far wall and it's really not a real fireplace. it's piped for gas but looks real. the bright kitchen has wood floors and a large island. the dining room is rather dignified. pretty formal. it has the fancy wainscoting and extra large windows. there is a secret door concealed in the bookcase to get to the media room. fully wired with surround sound. the back of the house is as pretty as the front with a luscious green lawn and a sunny patio. nice house. only $369,900. >> and a secret door. >> everybody wants one. >> wake forest, north carolina.

>> wake forest is in a great spot. easy commute to raleigh, durham and chapel hill. only a few hours from the beach. i like the arched pane windows and the roofs which makes it look welcoming. the living room is like a chalet. the u-shaped kitchen has light wood cabinets, granite counter tops. the dining room is formal. moving along here, i love the bay window in the master bedroom. it's a knock out past the dining room. look at the window. there is a great view of the big colorful trees in the backyard. >> and just a little bit of time left for denver. >> we'll squeeze in my favorite place. this is a contemporary home 20 minutes from downtown. looks like a garage on the outside like too much garage but there is plenty of room inside. there is a vaulted ceiling in the living room. the open kitchen feels like you can land a plane there. that's painted wood cabinets and pull out shelves with a nice

breakfast room. formal dining room. a privacy fence and a patio with a ceiling fan and the taxes are just under $1500 a year! >> looks great. barbara corcoran, thank you. we'll take them all. >> we got it in. >> up next, back to miami for an outdoor cook out with chef steve conant at the south beach wine & food festival. first, these messages. [music track "alouette"] ♪ yes. yes.

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coming up. speaking of nice buns we have bathing suits. we have it all covered here. what did i say? what? sounds like a mini-wheats day to me! and becka's science fair is on the 8th. she's presenting the solar system. hey i've got just the whole grain fiber to help keep her full so she can stay focused. um...you rock. she'll be ready to rock. right here! [ female announcer ] make your kids big days, mini-wheats days. packed with fiber and nearly a day's worth of whole grains kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal helps keep your kids full and focused. now available in cinnamon roll flavor. keeps 'em full... keeps 'em focused. agents, when it comes to insurance, people feel lost. that's a dead end. don't know which way to turn. this way. turn around. [ woman ] that's why we present people with options to help them find coverage that fits their needs. almost there. whoo! yay! good work. that's a new maze record. really?

i have no idea. we don't keep track of that kind of stuff. well, you should. [ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ 9:26 is your time now on this friday, february 24, 2012. i'm eun yang. let's check in with tom kierein for a look at your forecast for today. getting a little bit of everything today. >> we really are. right now i have had a pew sprinkles passing through the metro area moving southwest to north and east. those are heading off across the bay here over the next hour or so. then we will get sunshine breaking out. look how warm it is to the south. richmond, 66. some of that mild air will be sweeping up our way later this morning with sunshine. actually may make it into the low and mid 70s early afternoon. then some severe thunderstorms are possible. 3:00 to 8:00 p.m., some could produce damaging winds.

colder for the weekend. strong winds. >> tom, thank you. we will take a qui

taking the metro on the orange line, we have a malfunction at the dunn loring station. you will see delays to new carrollton. be aware of that. traveling the beltway in virginia looks good at van dorn street. no issues on the inner loop or outer loop. i will give you a travel speed if this is your commute from van dorn street, crossing over to

the wilson bridge. that trip will take you seven minutes as you travel 66 miles per hour. looking really good. >> all right, danella. thank you, more news, weather and traffic for new 25 minutes. for now back to the "today" show. have a great day.

all the stars will be shining sunday for the 84th annual academy awards. monday on "today" al and ann will be live from hollywood with the winners, glamour and memorable moments from the red carpet to the stage. of course the after parties. that's ann and al at the oscars monday on "today." we can't wait. now al is at the south beach food & fiwine festival. what's coming up? >> we have two great chefs. the am stel light burger bash. jill martin is a judge who will be eating meat for the first

time in three months. >> 32 burgers. >> she had gone vegan and she's going off the charts to eat 32 burgers in an hour. fantastic. we'll have to find a new entertainment person because jill's going to explode. >> okay, al. >> great. we can't wait to see it. >> i don't know if she'll be wearing this bathing suit or not. >> this is my last day of the bathing suit. >> and she's wearing "i dream of jeannie" pants. >> be careful with the burgers. you can put your system in shock! >> i know. >> we'll tune in for that. >> it's going to be trouble. >> i'll volunteer to be a judge. i would eat those burgers, no problem. >> before that we have a preview of what's coming up this weekend from our team -- the weekend team. lester holt and jenna wolfe. >> good morning. coming up, we are looking at sex after 50. dr. oz says a healthier sex life leads to a longer life overall.

he'll answer your questions live. then a teen critically injured in a drunk driving accident makes an incredible recovery. we'll show you how she's inspiring others. >> and we'll preview hollywood's biggest night and look at who might be the big winners and what to expect from billy crystal as he returns as oscar host. have you ever wondered what it's like to work at 35,000 feet in the air? i found out when i enrolled in flight attendant school. see what happens when i put my uber intense training to the test. that and more when we see you this weekend on "today." >> jenna, can you do this. the -- this. >> my favorite part is when they say your complimentary air masks -- in case of emergency. your complimentary air mask will drop. >> complimentary? >> what's that about? you going to take the credit cards out, start swiping. >> put a quarter in. >> when something goes wrong

they are the first line of defense. >> 100%. they know more than they show you over the course of the normal flight. >> we know they are trained very well. >> they are. >> we can't wait to see it. >> they must have been off their game that day. al, one more look at the weather. >> natalie and savannah, did you guys not use deodorant? lester and jenna don't want to be anywhere near you. >> come on over, guys. >> there we go! that's better. >> there. now we're talking. because you notice i have two of the chefs who will be taking part in tonight's amstel light burger bash. we have the fabulous zachary belaccio from fatty crab and fatty q. and we have andy diamiko from

five napkin burger. jill martin of "today," one of the judges. so who will take the burger bash? >> i am. >> really? wow. >> i don't know. i might have something to say about that. i'm the miami favorite. two blocks away five napkin burger. >> the insider. >> what are you doing? >> i have a lamb burger. >> i like lamb. >> and a special aioli made by lady jane up in new york where we come from. we have a little bit of that on the bun. >> and you even have kale to keep it healthy. >> that's the only healthy part. we have a hole to ensure more of the aioli drips into the burger. >> it looks like a donut. >> i'll show you this. >> let me show andy getting started. what's this? >> this is a five napkin burger, the one that made it all.

think hamburger, cheeseburger, five napkin burger. >> grilled onions. there you go. jill, you have a tough job tonight. 32 burgers and i take bribes, just so you know. i'm open. >> a judge who is finally open about it. may the best man and woman win tonight. coming up, 32 burgers. that'sburgers. wow. that's dangerous. >> all right. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in my neck of the defibrillator. >> good morning. here we had light rain passing through from time to time overnight. and this morning, moving off to the north and east of war wash right now. and we have some much warmer air just to our south. around richmond, already into the mid and upper 60s. southeastern virginia into the 70s while we are still in the upper 40s to near 50 around the metro area. some of that warm arizona coming our way later today with shine. then strong thunderstorms with damaging winds, maybe even isolated tornado. that would be between 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. followed by sfedy, strong winds tonight bringing in

>> all right. synchronized burger eating. one, two, three. mm. i'm going to need a napkin. >> you need five. >> that's it. back to you. >> meanwhile, we're enjoying the closeness here, al. >> up next -- >> up next, the hottest style trends on the beach after this. i was living with this all-over pain. a deep, throbbing, persistent ache. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and r some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can do more of the things that i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression,

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you know, summer's right around the corner but it's always hot here in miami. so we have put together five new beach trends, something for everybody. us weekly contributor jill martin joins us now to show us along with lovely models what you need to brighten up your wardrobe for the beach. jill, good to see you. >> hello. i'm full already from the hamburger, but i'm pulling it together for swim suits. >> good. let's start with the sunglasses. >> you look good. >> i love them. >> i asked you to pick something you wouldn't normally wear. >> i wouldn't wear these normally. >> these are designer glasses under $100. so everybody can get in on the trend. >> we like that. >> i went for the "i'm trying but not trying look." this is keratin complex so you can do the straight beachy look at home. and then i want to thank g

beauty. we look natural like we are wearing no makeup, but we are. >> in fact, i am wearing no makeup. i think people knew that. let's get started. first trend, the swim suit model. >> we saw s.i. and the cover with kate upton. we have charice showing us how to do it in real life. this is shop guy and girl.com. this is a big trend where you have the tie dye for the season going into summer and the jewelry is the jewelry used on the cover of s.i. it's great to translate day to night. they have something at all price points. >> is it comfortable to wear jewelry on the beach? >> especially if you're single or with your significant other you should always dress to impress. >> you're going somewhere. >> you never know who you will run into. >> next we have lindsay with the cutout look. >> look how gorgeous. she could wear anything and look fabulous. >> there's that. >> sometimes when you have a little more it's sexier.

this is cote dior shop.com. there are different cutouts to mask parts of your body. these are my favorite flip-flops. they're fancy. tikis.com. >> the cut out look is just for women. guys aren't wearing it? >> not all guys. i can hook you up with one. this is simply for the ladies to get in on the look. >> just checking. the next look works for men and women. we are talking about color blocking. >> this is amanda and alex. a lot of people have trouble with color blocking, putting two bold colors together. this does it for you. aguadecoco.com. look how great they look. i'm not a matchy person but this is the way to do it. >> it helps to look like them. >> exactly. this is how to coit where it's not so matchy matchy and there are no cutouts. >> that's good. for the guys, the low riding

bathing suit. is that a trend? >> if you're comfortable in it. that's just him. justin bieber also likes it. >> i like to wear mine right under my chest. >> you were supposed to be in a bathing suit. >> people are still having breakfast. >> or burgers. >> the animal motif is back. >> this is bell harbor shop.com. that's a fabulous shop here. there are different ways to do it. this is pretty much a subtle print but if you look at her hat there is a scarf going through. >> the animal print is up in the hat. >> right. just a little bit. more of a tribal just in the bathing suit. it's a subtle way. >> i have never seen an animal that looked like that. >> we have to search for that animal. that's really the place to find the trends near here. i like to find the local shops. >> in metallic you have a mom

and daughter look. >> this is va necessary is a and elle. show us your pose. the inca collection.com. these suits are great separately. i love mom and daughter on the beach. how great do they look? >> very cute. jill martin, very impressive. >> thanks for having me here in miami. >> and you're judging the burger bash tonight. we can't wait to hear who you pick. we have a lot more "today." scott conant is coming up. first, these messages and your "today" show. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time.

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jergens is the difference between i'm here, and here i am. jergens®. the beautiful difference. in today's kitchen, fun food in the sun at the 11th annual food network south beach wine & food festival. scott conant from scarpetta at the cosmopolitan in las vegas and four other locations will be busy. >> it's a busy weekend. >> you have three events. >> and i'm hanging out with you, too, today. >> what are they? >> best of the best at the fountain blue. tomorrow an interesting event called diamond dishes at the new marlins stadium. that will be fun. >> and of course you were at the q yesterday. >> it was a blast. >> what are we doing? >> this is pork shoulder and i

have fennel seed. i toasted them all. i have allspice, juniper berries. >> why do you toast them? >> to bring out the natural oils and great flavors. black pepper. sugar, salt and ground mustard as well. >> wow. >> we toasted them together. mix it up. keep it like that for 24 hours. >> right. do you just rub? >> rub it all over. at the end take a bucket of water and rinse it. the texture of the spices get to be too much. you just want the flavor. salt and sugar as well. >> right. >> after 24 hours do you know the. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> the chinese box! they created that a in miami. >> 200 degrees for six hours. nice slow roast. we end up with this. then we secure the top clearly. >> oh, my. >> look at this thing. this is good stuff. >> wow. >> serve it with an apple

mustarda. so it's apples, mustard, wasabi oil. that's just delicious. let me cut you a smaller piece. >> you could. you didn't have to cut a smaller piece, but if you want to. >> wow. >> and a nice change of flavors. this as well. >> hol on. . >> we get lucky sometimes. >> when people think about barbecue, what's the big mistake they make? >> i think it's people overcook the meat. clearly a properly cooked piece of meat is just a little bit more flavorful. look at all the beautiful fat glistening in here. beautiful stuff. doesn't have to be pork. you could do the same thing with chicken, beef and what have you. >> when you're cooking for an event like this, each of these, you can get 2,000 people. how do you prep for that? >> you need a big team.

the benefit is i have a restaurant here. that's the good news. that's why we are able to do so many events. tonight we have 800 people at best of the best. we're doing pasta for it. ravioli and polenta. it's about organization and just having a clear path of what we need to do to figure it out. >> you have been a fixture here for a long time. why do you like food network south beach? >> isn't it unbelievable? >> fabulous. >> i got off the plane and said, i don't spend must have time here. not enough at all. i have to rework my contract. >> you have to work it. scott, fantastic. looking forward to seeing you tonight at best of the best and the diamond -- >> diamond dishes tomorrow. >> good to see you. we have more of "today." but first, these messages.

let's check in with al roker one more time. >> al, you're going from south beach to hollywood. >> that's right. before we get to that in a second we want to thank the executive chef frederick delair from lowe's miami beach. thank you for opening your kitchen to our chefs. i'm excited. ann and i will be in hollywood for the festivities coming up. we'll have the fashion hits and misses, the winners, the red carpet. it's all monday on "today." back to you. >> get that tux on, al roker. thank you. coming up, kathie lee and hoda take us back to the '80s.

good morning. 9:57 is the time. friday, february 24. i'm barbara harrison. let's go straight to storm 4 meat meet tom kierein with a look at the forecast. hey, tom. >> hey, barbara. we have a risk of strong storms later this afternoon. right now radar showing just a few sprinkles to the southeast of washington and southern maryland. but we do have a slight risk of some strong storms, area in yellow south and east washington.

higher risk of storms with damaging winds and hail and maybe even an isolated tornado. that would be between 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. richmond, 71. rational national at 49. warm air coming our way later today. strong winds tonight into tomorrow. bringing in much colder weather. how is traffic? >> eastbound i-66, seeing delays because we have an accident right at the beltway. blocking two of your right lanes. your delays as you make your way from nutley and head to the beltway. traveling on 395, no issues there. barbara, back to you. >> all right. thank you. coming up on "news4 midday," some of the fashions on displays during d.c. fashion week. during d.c. fashion week. we have a great

captions paid for by nbc-universal television ♪ what a feeling i can have it all now i'm dancing ♪ >> hey, everybody! it is try day friday, february 24th. and we've got a totally tubular, radical -- >> as you can tell, we have to

reveal our girls. >> these two girls are from club providence at the tropicana in atlantic city. they'll be back to teach us a little something in a moment. >> we were getting into our '80s atti attire, and you chose a madonna-ish -- >> because there's only one madon madonna. >> i tried a little dynasty thing. >> we couldn't believe how much fricking stuff you have to wear. >> it's a lot of gear. >> look at you. >> and it's never enough. >> a tutu? >> i know. cute. i like it. >> and you? >> the piece de resistance, the shoulder pads. but how about that? >> had to have that ugly pin. >> everybody had it. everybody had it. >> your hair, hodie, we're proud of it. >> yeah, she did it. >> you know what, honestly, let's walk down memory lane a little bit because so much of this stuff i forgot was the '80s. >> how about this?

this was the '80s. do you remember your phone in your car and you thought you were so cool because you were like, hey. >> in the car? >> you could take it in the car with you. and you dialed it and everyone thought you were cool and you just slipped it right in your purse. >> nice. >> what was was big in the '80s? >> wine coolers. >> bartles & james. oh, my gosh. they are vile. >> no. they're good. >> how about this? who didn't have a sony walkman where you ejected the thing and -- you still have one? okay. good for you. that was cool. >> rubik's cube, that was huge. >> the first time you do it you think you're a genius and then you realize you're not because you can't do it again. >> how about pop rocks? >> e. >> put them on your tongue and they explode? should we do it? >> no. not me. >> why? >> i have plans for my tongue

later. i'm going to eat later. >> i've had many ugly eras in my life. >> you sure have. >> none uglier than the '80s for me. >> put us where you were. >> i was graduating high school in '82 and i was going to college and i was there through '86. i have picture proof. >> are they popping yet? >> yeah. they're good. i like it. >> this is hoda. >> look at my -- this is my mst graduation. >> oh, my god. >> i already know. all right? which one is you? >> that's me. >> look at me on the end. >> oh, my gosh, hoda. >> yeah. yeah. hey, hey! >> which one's you? >> the one in the middle. >> hey, the big one, okay? the big one in the back. >> that's me. that was me. >> her hair. >> hey, you in the '80s, on the other hand, were not as unattractive. >> well, i had to be. oh, you're right. i wasn't. i'd love to look like that

again. that ain't going to happen. >> look at you and frank. >> oh, my god. that's the day we announced our engagement. oh my god. >> where did you announce it? >> on another network where we worked. >> oh, abc, okay. >> where we had worked. well, that's not so bad, is it? >> that's good. picture the difference -- >> we both had a lot more hair back then. look at the -- >> okay. you know what? you know what? if you were going to pull a split screen -- what happened to me, okay? i told you. hey, i was reporting still in the '80s with that kind of hair. and the shoulder pads and the lemon yellow blazers. >> the shoulder pads i remember. the big, big shoulder pads. >> look at that. oh, my gosh. you don't have to go to audio up. yellow blazer! that is so ugly. okay, okay, okay. activate news. forget it. >> it's amazing you got on the air and stayed. i mean, come on.

>> by the way -- you were doing carnival cruise commercials. >> right. >> let's go down memory lane, 1985. ♪ in the morning, in the evening ain't we got fun not much money ♪ ♪ oh, but honey, ain't we got fun there's never a bill ♪ ♪ we'll stay up late, dear let's not miss a thrill ♪ >> oh, my god. did you go down in choyour biki? that was '85? >> that's the last time i did, '85. that's why i don't like to go down memory lane because you never look like that again. >> you saw mine. all right. so, anyway, we asked our viewers because we didn't want to feel alone in our ugly phase, so you guys came along for the ride. >> sorry.

need a little more. >> aquanet. thanks for sending your pictures in. here's you going through that unforch nalt etunate era. >> your sister. >> by the way, throughout the show we are going to continue to show pictures that you had sent us of your '80s look. >> oh, my gosh. >> and you know what's weird about the '80s? >> what? >> they went on for ten years. like every decade. here we have some big celebrities we first found out about in the '80s. >> molly ringwald. >> oh, my gosh. >> felicia rashad. >> debbie allen. >> brooke shields. and meg ryan. >> always gorgeous. >> one of the big things to the music videos were so big in the '80s. >> it was i want my mtv. >> and that changed the music industry forever. >> sure did. >> once the visual was in play. >> yeah. >> people who had great careers

were just, you know, bye-bye because they didn't have the visual thing. other people just made their whole career. >> the crazy hair was big, as you remember. >> the boys. >> they had the heavy metal bands. >> let's see if they come near our hair today. let's see them. >> crazy '80s hair. >> oh. oh, david lee roth. van halen. ♪ we're not gonna take it no, we ain't gonna take it ♪ >> oh, my -- ♪ we're not gonna take it anymore ♪ >> bon jovi. ♪ living on a prayer ♪ ioanna rock 'n' roll all night ♪ >> almost everybody is still around. van halen just had a reunite. >> true. >> and dee snider is on "apprentice." >> yeah. >> who else did we just -- bon jo jovi, still him.

he's rocking out like crazy. >> other than the metal bands, there were a lot of other big musical stars. michael jackson was big. "thriller" was from 1982. huge. >> yep. >> and not to be to outdone, your favorite -- one of my favorite's favorites is janet yjackson's "control." that space suity thing. ♪ now i'm all grown up >> here's the other one. this is one of my favorites. the j. giles band. do you remember this one? "centerfold "centerfold." ♪ my angel is a centerfold my blood runs cold my memory has just been sold ♪ >> j. giles band. come on. >> so basically, nothing's ever changed with you. things have not changed is basically what you're telling me. all righty. friend of mine wrote a great song for barry manilow back in

1981, david pomerantz wrote this for the one and only barry manilow. ♪ bring back the old times maybe the old rhymes will sound new ♪ >> look at barry. look at barry. ♪ maybe she'll lay her head on my shoulder ♪ >> too much. favorite people. barry manilow and david p pomeran pomerantz. the thing about barry, just had surgery, talked to him yesterday. >> you did. >> he is doing just great. i'm happy to say. he's going to try to make his concerts this weekend in omaha, nebraska. >> oh, good. >> he's going to make up his concert dates at -- wants us to come -- at radio city. >> okay. >> and is doing great. and hopefully going to bring his broadway show called "harmony" in soon. >> we like that. love you, barry. >> glad you're doing so much better. here's my favorite song other

than barry manilow from 1986. >> let's hear it. ♪ walk like an egyptian >> that's just not my kind of stuff. >> it should have been walk like an egyptian is what we should have said. >> here it comes. ♪ walk like an egyptian >> by the way, i have told my relatives in egypt, i go, there's a song called "walk like an egyptian." they go, how do we walk? i go, i don't know. the thing. okay. you don't walk that way. >> are we going madonna? >> let's go to the movies and tv, guys. this will take you back. take a look. >> 106 miles to chicago. we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes. it's dark. and we're wearing sunglasses. >> hit it. >> where we're going we don't need roads.

>> that's what i pay you for. >> i am serious, and don't call me shirley. >> you little [ bleep ]. >> say hello to my little friend! >> here's johnny! >> if you need me, just think january 4th and i come running. >> let me tell you about a lesson i learned when i was a little girl. >> does barry manly know know you raided his wardrobe? >> i'm not going to be ignored, dan. >> i have a head for business and a bod for sin. is there anything wrong with that? >> oh, oh, oh, god. >> i'll have what she's having. >> what you talking about, willis? >> if you build it, he will come. >> snap out of it! >> i'll be back. >> oh, god. that takes you so far back.

>> millions of memories. >> yes. you know what i think it's time for? >> what. >> "bobbie's buzz"! >> look how cute you are. >> and this. >> i borrowed this from your closet. okay. so there was so much fun stuff in the '80s. first up, brian gave us these flat bracelets. this hurts. slap you. see if that hurts. >> let's get -- got it? that hurts. they slap on. >> i remember those. >> cool. >> but actually, something from the '80s, the shoulder pads that were all sort of sported around. this is the shoulder pad bra by shape fx and believe it or not, this is a modern invention. this is really great now to give you a little bit of structure and bigger shoulders look like slimmer hips. also, we all remember swatch. they're hotter than ever. these watches have still been

selling out. they've moved into the modern century. and hair color. hair color is still so hot. cyndi lauper did it back then, but katy perry, nicki minaj and everyone are using permanent color. but you can get this temporary color by -- these are called rubs by hair flares. >> put your hair in it. >> you literally just rub it on. >> oh, yeah. >> do you see that? >> yeah. >> it's like a powder. >> please tell me it washes right out. >> it does. it washes right out. it's a great temporary way to get -- >> who's more exciting than bobbie? >> nobody! >> a peek of miss sara haines. >> sara, come up here and learn this dance with us as we go out. come on. >> let's crank it up, ladies. ♪ wake me up before you go-go don't leave me hanging on the ♪ >> what are we doing? ♪ don't wanna miss it till you hit that high ♪ >> we'll be right back, you guys.

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♪ they got the beat >> back with our special '80s edition of "plaza ambush makeovers." we found two women stuck in the '80s rut. >> and two people with us, "today" contributor and stylist

to the stars, louis licari, maria larola, la, la, la. and author jill martin. a lot of people stuck in the '8 '80s? >> oh, yeah. people like the look they feel they peaked in. faux pas. >> crazy. >> let's look at miss diana todd. she's 54 years old from seymour, connecticut. her daughters wrote in asking us to take their mom out of the '80s. her beauty routine is pink blush, a side pony, and random barrette. her daughters, listen. >> mom is wearing a scrunchie and actually wanted one that matched her outfit. you say that's the first problem. >> that is the problem. update her hair, her makeup, her clothes. she needs to be in twel. >> up to move into 2012? are you ready? >> i'm ready. >> you sound a little nervous. >> nope, i'm not nervous. i'm ready. >> she is ready.

okay. here with her are her two daughters, danielle and laura. raise your hands, guys. her husband is back there, her mom, her sister, and her niece. the whole kit and caboodle. >> a lot of people that love her anyway. >> please keep your blindfolds on until i ask you to take them off. here's diane todd before in the '80s. all right. step into 2012. >> oh, my gosh. >> they're going to freak out. >> okay. take off your blindfolds. go ahead. >> oh, my gosh. >> diana! >> are you ready to see yourself? step up here and look in this mirror. >> oh, my gosh! >> you look gorgeous. >> you look beautiful. >> oh, my gosh. >> let's start talking about the hair, louis. >> definitely the hair. this was mission impossible. do not try this yourself at home. colored, whatever the horrible word is, black hair. i had to soften it up to make it look more natural because of

course that's 2012. it's not the '80s where everything was artificial. we softened it, took off a lot of the ends that i damaged in the process. >> diana's mom, hug your daughter. if you don't, you're going to bust. >> oh. >> sweet. >> what do you guys think of your mom? >> so different. >> i love it. >> come over here. >> you look perfect. >> dress. love it. >> this whole situation we went back to the basics because you have to have the basics in your closet. here's a little black dress from white house black market with a little flair, a little flair. >> i love it. thank you. >> you guys, absolutely adorable. >> big round of applause. you can join your family right there. nice job. >> our second lady is angela stevens, 34 from twin rocks, pennsylvania, likes curling her bangs, teasing her hair and wearing gaudy jewelry. all lace or leopard prints.

the '80s was a great time so why not stay with it. she's here with her husband, william. let's listen to her story. >> you have had the same wardrobe for 33 years and the big hair. >> yes. and the makeup. >> tell me why do you want this change? >> because it's 2012 and it's about time i get updated. >> well, we're going to get rid of the big hair and the lace and the eye shadow. what do you think about this? >> it's about time. >> but she's still beautiful. >> absolutely. i wouldn't marry her if she wasn't. >> are you ready to go? >> so ready. >> while william keeps on his blindfold, one last look -- >> looking good, willy. >> one last look at angela stevens and bring out the 2012 version. >> come on, angela. >> oh, wow! >> you look great. >> all right, william, take it off. >> oh, my lord! what did you do with my wife? >> what are you going to do with your wife? careful. >> we're on national tv.

>> turn around. take a look. >> oh, my gosh! >> you look beautiful. >> you really do. >> gorgeous. >> look at us. all right. so louis, we always start with the hair. >> okay. right. 2012, looking like you were incredibly lucky in the gene pool. so what i did is i softened her hair color. we added more highlights on the end, which is very contemporary. again, max gave her a great haircut and got rid of the bubble gum makeup and gave her these more natural tones. >> beautiful. >> so pretty. tell us about the dress, too. >> a great wrap dress. also something everyone woman should have in her wardrobe. this is available at macy's. just look at her nails. we let her keep one pop of color so we didn't take the '80s totally away. >> very 2012 with everything else. >> let's bring diana back out. a big round of applause for both of you. >> thank you, jill. >> all right. >> i feel the feed for some '80s movie music. >> and trivia. dude, i'm psyched. ♪

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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. ♪ don't, don't you want me >> back with more of "today" and this special '80s decision. it was the decade that brought us the brat pack, madonna and mr. t. >> i'm sure there was a difference between my and your '80s. who remembers more. to make sure nobody cheats, we have "entertainment weekly's" jim stack in the house. >> he wasn't even born yet. >> i was, actually. >> we're ready, babe. >> okay. so. all right. our first question, finish this sentence from the movie "top gun." tom cruise said i feel the need -- hoda. >> the need for speed. >> yes. >> good one. >> how about some applause? yay. >> so --

>> pace yourself. >> tom obviously played maverick in this, romanced kelly mcgillis. this line made the list of afi's greatest movie lines ever. >> we don't care about that. >> okay. question two. all right. what candy became popular after being featured in the movie "e.t."? >> reese's pieces. >> pieces. >> yes. reese's pieces. >> she said something else. very close to feces. i don't think it should work. it should be a tie. >> okay. >> everyone remembers elliott sort of lured him out of hiding with the reese's pieces. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> okay. fine. wow. >> what are you showing off? you have the answers. >> question three. how many kids did the cosbys have and name them. >> oh, for -- >> there's too many. >> a, three, b -- >> huh? >> action, three, b, four, c,

five, or d, six. >> four. right? >> i would say -- five. >> that is correct. >> can you name them? >> shoot, now i have to name them. >> yes, you do. >> theo. . yes. >> raven similar moan she played -- >> rudy. >> olivia was denise's -- >> that didn't really count. >> sandra, denise, theo, vanessa and rudy. >> i got one. >> her spin-off "a different world." >> mm-hmm. >> question four. finish this lyric. ♪ don't have to be rich to be my girl ♪ ♪ you done have to be cool to rule my world ♪ >> yeah. ♪ i just want your extra time and your kiss ♪

>> i'm losing. >> yes, that was -- yes. that was from prince's album "parade." did very well. all right. ""knot's landing"" was a spin-off of what other prime-time soap, a, "falcon crest," b, "dallas," c, "dynasty" or d, "peyton's place"? >> "dallas." >> correct. wow, hoda. it was j.r. ewing's brother, gary, moved to knot's landing with his life. >> okay. >> sorry. all right. so the next question. what 1985 brat pack movie classic featured a young demi moore, alley sheedy and rob lowe. >> elmo's fire? >> "st. elmo's fire." >> the little puppet guy. "st. elmo's fire."

>> she got it right. >> she got it right. it also has emilio estevez, andrew mccarthy. it was a classic kind of -- great songs. >> time for one more. >> this is the tiebreaker. >> no, it isn't. >> let's make it a tiebreaker. >> what song was playing out of john cusack's boom box in the movie "say anything"? >> who cares? >> i don't remember the movie. >> you're confusing me with hoda. i don't know it. hoda, what is it? >> i don't know. i really don't know. >> that's not possible. >> it was "in your eyes" by peter gabriel. >> oh, yes. >> "say anything" was named the best modern movie romance. >> never saw it. >> i didn't either. >> jack, we love you. >> today didn't work for me. >> well, i should have been wearing that jacket. >> up next, say it ain't so. >> you can have it! >> '80s -- she's getting naked.

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packed with fiber and nearly a day's worth of whole grains kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal helps keep your kids full and focused. now available in cinnamon roll flavor. keeps 'em full... keeps 'em focused. ♪ my blood runs cold my memory has just been sold ♪ >> if you've been fabbing out, wearing leg warmers and blazers. it's coming back. >> you're kidding. i don't know if i'm happy about that, but either way, guess who we have with us. king wegman and liz lane of sho shopafrolic.com. it's back, all this stuff? >> it's back. but, i mean -- >> why? >> you don't have to look like you're going to a costume party. you guys look awesome but -- >> we look ridiculous. >> the long way.

homage. >> let's start off with the colorful jeans. we have and rhea showing that off with an oversized sweater. >> it's an adorable trend. if you pick a color like this, you actually get all the '80s you need. you can do a nod off the shoulder we are a cream sweater. you could do black shoes. this is fun but a very easy and wearable way to do the color jeans and do a little bit of '80s. >> mardi gras. >> yes. >> i'm comfortable with that. just a touch of color on your nails. goes a long way. >> lace is also -- thanks, hon. lace was a big trend in the '80s. >> you love it. >> this is beautiful. >> this is our nod to madonna and to kathie lee. so, you know, we picked this dress from h&m, a really easy way to wear '80s and incorporate lace into your wardrobe. you could do more fun, put on a

bright tight, but you don't have to. we also added a little blue to her eye shadow bp. >> is that back, the blue eye shad shadow? >> but put on your normal neutral tones and add just a hint of it. >> so unattractive on most people. >> we've seen a lot of feathers, little earrings peeking out. >> you do look really cute. >> thanks. katherine is up next. she's got a tube skirt and bright blazers are back. >> that's totally modern to me. >> but we all wore tube skirts in the '80s. what's great about it, it's quite figure flattering because it almost has a hold you in element to it. it's almost like it's a set. pop wit a bright blazer and a nice color. what she did on her nails, nodding again to that '80s look. we did these sally hansen lace effect on your nails. that's all you need to look a little '80s. >> so i guess black and red that combo. >> black and red.

>> that was big in the '80s. >> this is kind of a really easy way. you could wear this to work. she's wearing a red blouse, black pants. the pants are from kohl's, the top is from i think forever 21. you could wear this to the office. >> what about the jewelry she's got on? >> gold -- i mean, everything gold. the gold chain. this is a modern take on the dramatic '80s gold chains going on. >> don't throw out all your '80s stuff. >> save a little. >> let's have all the ladies come on out and join us. >> thank you, ladieladies. nice job. >> thanks for joining us. >> still to come, what do we have? >> we're going to throw a party from the '80s. jen came to play. >> and two people who shall remain nameless. [ male announcer ] at p.f. chang's

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♪ get into the groove buoy you got to prove you're up to me ♪ >> say what you will about the '80s, but there is no denying it was a totally tight decade. >> if you want to relive the spirit, we're going the help you throw a fun '80s-themed bash with jen, who -- >> step over here so we can see you. >> jesse's girl! >> cute. very cute. >> the sweatshirt with accessories. >> very cute. >> take us to the party. >> okay. if you're going to throw a really rad '80s party, obviously the music is key. you take an old-school looking boom box that's actually an ipod docking station and make a play list. this is from sony. >> brand-new made to look retro old. >> made to look retro old. >> genius.

>> for catering, what better way to cater your party than with goodies from the easy-bake oven? you can make cupcakes. there are websites dedicated to at-home recipes for you. you can make dip, that is all stuff. your guests get involved. >> oh, my gosh. >> and then wash it down. obviously need some good booze. bartles & james wine coolers. >> i gave mine away. >> it is legal. >> and you're going to see why. >> wine coolers are back. launched in 1981 and beyonce's new video, there's a whole thing with the bartles and james wine coolers. and my douri sours. >> now we're talking. >> more sour. and you have to put the light-up-ice cubes. lead are l.e.d. ice cubes. >> oh, my gosh. >> these are from windy city novelties dotcom. >> order immediately. >> it's all double duty.

your drinks become your decor. >> that's cool. >> that was radical. >> totally tubular. >> you sound like a valley girl. >> i know. >> decor, lite brite. set the ambience. you can use these for a bigger party. fun thing for people to play with. >> who's more fun than you? >> games. stuff like rubik's cube, that came out in the '80s, simon says. but games in general, trouble, operation, you can turn these into drinking games, wash it down with a midouri sour. hungry hippo. >> hungry hippo. >> it's coming back in a big way. this is one way to go. >> do you remember the commercial for you sunk my battleship with those two kids? >> oh, yeah. >> i didn't watch enough

obviously. >> if you don't want to go the board game route and want to do something fun, turn your ipad into an arcade. >> how? >> tell us, jen! >> i'll enlighten you. there's a joystick. we've got some ms. pa contracti cman on it. you can play all the old school games like asteroids, from atari. >> very smart. >> this would be the most fun party ever, jen. >> it would be like the totally most awesomest party ever. >> duh! >> what kind of candy from the '80s? >> these are '80s time capsule, all the best candy, nerds, bubble tape, big league chew, all the good stuff ready to go and part of your decor. >> perfect. >> you can also go to cafepress.com, that's where i got this, customize the fun '80s gear, onesies if there are babies coming to your party,

whatever. >> 867-5309. >> up next, bust out your boom box. [ 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

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♪ we'll make heaven a place on earth heavy season a place on earth ♪ >> as we wrap up our celebration of everything '80s, it is time for sara's special series we call, "they get paid for that?" >> people who get paid for what they to do. her search took her to downtown manhattan. >> correct. i headed to the canal room where every weekend '80s toss their walkmans aside for some live ate ai action. the '80s. reagan was president. fashion was loud. and boom boxes were blasting all that delicious pop music.

one group is bringing the decade back. rubik's cube with a "k," the ultimate '80s tribute band played soldout shows at the canal room. ♪ everybody's working for the weekend ♪ how did you come up with the name rubik's cube? >> we were kicking around names. in the span of a week i saw three rubik's cubes so i kind of took it as a sign. after he suggested it, we said perfect. >> six of us, six sides to the cube. >> meet the six sides. sher sherry, scott, eric, john, sky, and david. let me see a show of hands. who was able to quit their day job and do this full-time? back to the software engineer. ♪ i'm walking on sunshine that's right. all but one in this gig full-time. how did the band come to be?

>> i wanted to play again. i loved the '80s. so many good songs. ♪ feel good >> i knew every song by heart. he said you want to join the '80s band? i still had some of the clothes so i was all over it. >> we got this idea we'd have a male and female singer so we could do every single song, whether it be the metal '80s, whether it be the glam '80s, whether it be the new wave '80s. we could do all of that. >> so 20 different genres and everybody got along. the talking heads, the cars, cyndi lauper, all considered new wave but nothing to do with each other. >> whitney houston, janet jackson, poison. >> whether you lived through the '80s or missed them all together, don't worry. rubik's cube takes you back in time. >> got my '80s t shirt, my glow in the dark necklace and my shades. the crowd comes to play, and i

have to admit, i did, too. ♪ oh, living on a prayer besides me, some of the '80s top icons have joined the band on stage too. >> we did the first ever debbie gibson and tiffany show ever. >> we made history. ♪ 99 red balloons >> you live out one of the best decades ever. you ever stop and say, i get paid to do this? >> uh-huh. >> oh, yes. every day we literally say thank you, music gods, for letting us do what we truly love to do. >> we're not young teenagers but we do this because we enjoy it. we have a need to do this. ♪ don't stop believing >> and if you have a need to relive the '80s, don't stop believing. it can happen. >> nice job, sara. >> yeah. excellent. >> look at all these old magazines from then.

look at "newsweek." >> mr. t. look at sara's "tiger beat." >> who didn't love that? big thank you for vivian felton. hard to produce the show. we hope you enjoyed our '80s show. on monday, a total oscar wrap-up. >> total! all the winners and the red carpet. >> megan hillty from "smash." she'll be here. >> have an awesome weekend, everybody. >> hello. ♪ wild thing [ female announcer ] off limits?

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