good morning. breaking news. a man opened fire at a school in france killing at least four people, including three children. this morning that gunman is on the loose, after fleeing the scene on a scooter. and it's that clue that has police wondering if there's a connection to two other deadly shootings. we're live with the latest. wild weather. two tornadoes ripped through a nebraska town overnight, trapping one person in a damaged home, and derailing 15 train cars while record high temperatures are set in the east, and a major snowstorm hits the southwest. al has it all covered. and the duchesse speaks. kate middleton delivering her first address as a member of the royal family this morning.

we'll hear from her "today," royal family this morning. we'll hear from her "today," monday, march 19th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone, i'm savannah guthrie in for ann today. ear going to start with some breaking news this morning. a shooting at a school just a few hours ago in toulouse, france. witnesses say a gunman opened fire on a crowd before the start of classes, then drove away on a black scooter. >> this is extremely tragic on its own, but it was just last week when a man riding a similar scooter opened fire on uniformed paratroopers, killing three men in two separate attacks. we'll get the latest on the investigation in a live report straight ahead. also, a case that has sparked outrage here at home, in

florida, a neighborhood watch volunteer shot and killed an unarmed teenager as he walked to his family's home in a gated community. the shooter claims he acted in self-defense. but the family of the 17-year-old who died believes the 911 calls tell a much different story. they believe race may have played a role. coming up the victim's mother speaks out in a live interview. also the bizarre breakdown of the man behind that very popular online video coney 2012. he was detained over the weekend after appearing on the streets of san diego naked and shouting obscenities. we're going to have more on what may have caused that very unusual behavior. >> and on a lighter note, some of us have been waiting 17 months for this, the emmy winning show "mad men" is coming back for a fifth season after that long hiatus that had fans wondering if it would return. this morning we will catch up with six members of the cast and the show's creator all here live. >> we begin this morning with that breaking news out of

france. a deadly shooting at a school there. nbc's michelle kosinski has details. michelle, what can you tell us? >> good morning, matt. this gunman may have struck three times now, and is still loose. in this latest case early this morning, it happened just as school was starting at this jewish school in toulouse. a gunman rode up on a motor bike, opened fire with what might have been a small machine gun, killing at least three children and one adult with more wounded, and then sped away. and stranger still, just about the last week in this same area there were two similar shootings, in which three paratroopers were killed. might have been also a murder by possibly the same caliber weapon. and in one of those shootings the gunman approached two of the soldiers while they were using an atm, killed them at close range, and then sped away on that motor bike. so now authorities have called in anti-terror investigators. they're tightening security around jewish schools in the area, and telling soldiers not to wear their uniforms while they're off base.

they're still searching for this gunman, who is out there, possibly still on that motor bike, possibly still armed, somewhere in this area. matt? >> but, michelle, other than the motor bike, and if you've been to france, people know a lot of people ride around on motor bikes, are there any other similarities in the crime? i mean, on the one hand you've got soldiers, on the other hand you have students. >> yeah, officials have been saying that in the two shootings involving the paratroopers, three were killed in both of those shootings, that the caliber of the weapon was the same. they think the caliber may have been the same in this shooting today involving the schoolchildren. so they know that's a possible similarity. in addition to the nature of the crime. there's been some speculation by journalists in the area that the gunman may be targeting ethnic minorities. that the paratroopers in question were minorities. but there's also been a question of whether the gunman may have targeted the somers because they may have served in afghanistan. and then he targets jewish children. is this all related?

is it the same gunman? they're not sure yet. but they're looking at possible extremists. that's why they've called in the anti-terror investigators. and they're also apparently calling in people who've had training in hunting serial killers. so, the president is headed to this area now. other officials are headed there and they're trying to sort this out, because this person is still out there, matt. >> all right, michelle kosinski covering this story for us. thank you very much. it's 5 minutes after the hour. here's savannah. >> matt, thanks. here at home we're experiencing some unusual weather on this last day of winter. depending on where you live you could be dealing with record heat, or snowstorms. and over the night, powerful tornadoes tore through parts of nebraska. al roker is upstairs to help us understand what is going on. al, good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. the jet stream, the big reason. and look at these. these are scenes we're seeing from chicago. yesterday, fifth day in a row of 80-plus readings. today, they will hit 80 again. that will make it six days in a row. and the reason for this, the jet stream. it is way up to the north.

and back out to the west, cooler than normal. but record highs stretching from the plains down to the gulf, into the northeast. over 50 cities hitting records yesterday. and here's what we're looking at. record highs continuing thursday, but then we're going to see a little bit of a dip and an upper low developing, that's going to cut off some of those really warm conditions. but look at this, march heat continues. a record in chicago -- buffalo, 70 degrees. albany, 76. burlington, 73. providence tying a record of 69 degrees. now on the other hand, we're talking about the cleveland, look at that tying a record. chicago breaking a record. st. louis, more of the same. 81 breaking a record. minneapolis, 79 degrees today. it's going to be 20 degrees warmer in minneapolis than it is in los angeles with a high of 59. now we've also got snow to talk about on the backside of this system. we've also got a risk of very severe storms. look at this, back through flagstaff, arizona, almost 20 inches of snow in the past 24

hours. snarling highways, causing big problems with the roads. a real mess. we also had two tornadoes touch down in nebraska, we're looking at some of the damage throughout central nebraska, causing big problems. thankfully, no deaths occurring. and for today, we've got the risk of strong storms in the plains again. stretching all the way from texas on up into omaha, nebraska. the strongest risk from austin into dallas, where we're going to be watching this. we could see some very strong storms, and isolated tornadoes in some very populated areas. you can see heavy rain moving into lubbock, up into oklahoma city, and as that system pushes through, we're talking about from dallas up to little rock, up to five to six inches of rain, causing flooding, as well. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. we'll get the rest of your forecast in just a couple of minutes. let's turn now to this story, the army staff sergeant accused of killing 16 civilians in afghanistan is expected to meet with his attorney face-to-face for the first time today. this, as we're learning more

about the accused soldier's life and family. nbc's john yang is at fort leavenworth in kansas. john, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. since he arrived here at fort leavenworth, staff sergeant robert bales has been spending most of his time alone in his cell. today, as you say, he is expected to meet with his attorney for the first time as he awaits formal charges in that deadly rampage in afghanistan. while 38-year-old staff sergeant robert bales is in solitary confinement -- >> mr. brown? >> reporter: -- a crush of reporters greeted his attorney as he arrived to prepare his defense. >> i couldn't imagine what a difficult case, i don't think. the ramifications, legal ramifications, social ramifications. >> reporter: those who know bales are shocked at the accusations. in his neighborhood outside seattle -- >> super nice family. nice people. nice parents. i mean, nice friends. i just -- i am completely blown

away. >> reporter: in the cincinnati suburb where he played high school football and was sophomore class president -- >> this is not our bobby. i swear this is a major mistake. got the wrong name. >> reporter: bales enlisted in the army after 9/11, giving up a job as a stockbroker. since 2003 he's been sent overseas four times. three times to iraq, where he was wounded twice, though he did not receive the purple heart. while serving in iraq two years ago, bales' frustration was evident in a message received by a friend. overseas is boring this trip, pretty dumb. giving money to expletive instead of bullets just don't seem right. in a blog his wife detailed the strain at home, writing about bad dreams when he left from one deployment. last year, when her husband was passed over for promotion, she wrote she was disappointed after all of the work bob has done, and all the sacrifices he has made for his love of his country, family, and friends. he lives in a seattle suburb

with his wife and their two small children. they've all been moved to a military base for their own protection. >> i remember the two little kids. everything was a sir at the end of it. i knew he was military. >> reporter: just two days after the shooting rampage in afghanistan, the bales put their house up for sale. their realtor saying they would need tens of thousands of dollars, just one part of the picture of bales being pieced to the by prosecutors and his defense team. those formal charges could come as soon as later this week. and his attorney says that bales' wife is expected to come here to visit him. but he can't say just when yet. matt? >> all right, john yang covering this story in kansas for us. john, thank you very much. all right let's get a check of the day's other top stories now. and natalie is over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. mitt romney is hot on the campaign trail after an overwhelming win in puerto rico's primary. he's now looking ahead to this week's contests in illinois and louisiana. nbc's peter alexander is in chicago with the latest. peter, good morning.

>> natalie, good morning to you. most importantly for the romney campaign, by winning a majority of the votes there in puerto rico, he also gets all 20 of the delegates there. and here in illinois, romney over the last several days has been appealing to middle-class women. those folks us from traited by rising gas prices. romney's been focusing specifically on more moderate republicans in and around the chicago area that represents about three quarters of the republican electorate here. his rival rick santorum focusing his attention on social conservatives in the southern part of the state. he was in louisiana over the weekend, framing his campaign in religious terms. he said one of the great blessings i've had in every political campaign is people underestimate me. he said, people underestimate what god can do. and this marathon campaign has also increased talk that the nomination fight for the first time in 36 years could go all the way to the national convention this august. both newt gingrich and rick santorum are trying to extend this race. but the romney campaign insists they will get all 1144 delegates

needed to secure the nomination. natalie, as one campaign top aide told me overnight, she said, this campaign will render that conversation irrelevant. >> long couple of months ahead. peter alexander in chicago this morning. thanks so much. an american released this weekend after being held captive in iraq was working there alone, and was not a government contractor, u.s. officials say. randy michael holtz had been held by an anti-u.s. militia for nine months. and in yemen militants say they killed an american teacher this weekend for trying to preach christianity. a claim his employer denies. a new study finds a modest improvement in the nation's high school graduation rate. it was up 3.5% from 2001 to 2009, according to america's promise alliance, a group founded by former secretary of state colin powell. however the four-year graduation rate is still just 25%. and a former mr. universe turns 100 this weekend. that's him flexing for the

camera still looking strong six decades after winning the mr. universe competition for india back in 1952. still hits the gym every day. the 4'11" body builder known as pocket hercules says the secret to a long life is not taking things too seriously. his only regret, he says, that he never met fellow mr. universe winner arnold schwarzenegger. it is now 13 minutes past the hour. back over to matt, savannah and al. got to get to the gym and work out every day. >> thanks, natalie. thank you very much. busy morning for you. what else is going on? >> we've got, again, a lot of sunshine along the eastern seaboard. that's good news. we're also looking at some more cool weather in los angeles and san francisco. los angeles and san francisco. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> clouds and sun this morning. gorgeous sunrise. 57, the temperature. not too bad. we will be going way high again into the mid 70s. and some rain to the west. luray, charlottesville,

advancing eastward. even around d.c., you may see a few light showers. we will continue that chance throughout the day today. your high is 75. light showers expected tomorrow. high of 73. >> that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al. the release of 911 calls from the shooting death of a florida deanager by a neighborhood watch volunteer is sparking new outrage. the victim's family is demanding justice, but so far no charges have been filed in that case. we'll talk to the young man's mother in a moment. but first, nbc's lilia luciano has the latest on this. lilia, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. three weeks after trayvon martin's death, local police have released the 911 calls from neighbors and from the shooter himself. calls that some might find disturbing, and calls that may hold the answers to a crucial question in this case, did george zimmerman, in fact, fire in self-defense? or was it something else? >> oh, oh, my gosh.

someone has been shot. >> reporter: in newly released 911 tapes you hear the panic from a neighbor just moments after the shooting last month. 17-year-old trayvon martin was visiting family in this upscale gated community near orlando. george zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, called 911, saying the teenager looked suspicious. >> this guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. >> reporter: zimmerman told the operator martin was wearing a hoodie and approaching him slowly. >> he's got his hand in his waistband and he's a black male. something is wrong with him. he's coming to check me out. >> reporter: the operator told zimmerman to stay put. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay, we don't need you to do that. >> reporter: but zimmerman ignored the operator. soon the two were engaged in some sort of altercation. several neighbors called 911. >> they're wrestling right in the back of my porch. the guy is yelling help, and i'm not going outside. >> reporter: in the background a voice is heard crying for help. >> help! >> so you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> all right, what is your --

>> there's gunshots. >> there's someone screaming and i just heard gunshots. >> there's a black guy down. it looks like he's been shot and he's dead. >> reporter: trayvon was dead, found lying face down, unarmed, carrying a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea. zimmerman, who holds a concealed weapons permit was questioned but not arrested. he told police it was him crying for help and that he shot martin in self-defense. but in an interview on "today" over the weekend, martin's mother said the voice on the call was clearly trayvon. >> that was my baby. and he was pleading for his life. and i just don't understand how that's self-defense. you can clearly hear him yelling for help. >> reporter: the family believes trayvon was targeted because of his race. but in a letter to a local paper zimmerman's father said his son would never discriminate. community leaders are outraged, holding rallies, demanding an arrest. >> we need answers and we need

justice. not only are we looking for an arrest, we're looking for a conviction. >> reporter: now martin's family is calling on federal authorities to investigate. sanford police say they have no evidence to charge zimmerman with a crime. they've turned the case over to the state attorney's office. matt? >> lilia luciano, thank you very much. trayvon's mother sabrina fulton is with us along with the family's attorney. miss fulton, our condolences. >> good morning. thank you. >> i know you've asked yourself this question a thousand times, what could have happened that night between these two men, your son and mr. zimmerman, that resulted in this tragedy. when you think of any possible scenario, is there one you can come up with in your mind where your son actually tried to harm that neighborhood volunteer? >> no, i cannot. i just can say that i'm pretty sure my son tried to get away. he didn't know who this guy was.

he seen him as a stranger. so he was trying to just get away from the situation. >> anything in your son's past, miss fulton, any run-ins with the law, anything going on his life at the time of the shooting that might have had him in a different state of mind, an agitated state? >> no. he was never agitated. he had never had a run-in with the law. he was mild-mannered. he was a nice kid. >> when you -- and i know you didn't want to listen to the tape this morning. you have heard it. but you asked us not to play it for you this morning, but you heard mr. zimmerman at one point on that tape saying about your son, he's up to no good. there's something wrong with this guy. what do you think he was reacting to? >> he was reacting to the color of his skin. he committed no crime. my son wasn't doing anything but walking on the sidewalk. and i just don't understand why this situation got out of control. >> the father of mr. zimmerman says that his son is not now and

never has been a racist. that he is being portrayed incorrectly in the media. he also said at no time did his son george follow or confront your son. what's your reaction to that? >> i just don't think his dad knows all the facts, and the situation that happened. if he -- him being a parent, if something happened to his son, he would want to know more information, and not just jump to conclusions. >> what would be the question you'd want to ask george zimmerman? >> i would just want to ask him, was it a different way he could have handled the situation? >> mr. crump let me bring in quickly, florida is one in 15 states that has something called a stand your ground law, makes it easier to claim self-defense, if you feel threatened near your home, do you think that's exactly what is going to happen here? do you think you have any legal recourse here?

>> i think zimmerman has no legal recourse. he was not at his home. he was on a sidewalk, a common area, trayvon martin was 70 feet away from the back door. he was almost home. zimmerman got out of his car, did not listen to the police, and chased this kid. you can't chase somebody and then claim self-defense. he had a 9 millimeter gun, he was almost 80 pounds more weight than trayvon martin. and it is a situation where, where you look at these parents, and you listen to those 911 tapes, and the three witnesses, everybody in america is asking when are they going to arrest zimmerman for killing this kid in cold blood? >> we will be following this story, mr. crump, miss fulton. again our condolences. and i thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you.

>> now 20 minutes after the hour. here's savannah. >> matt, thanks. now to a very public breakdown for the man behind the wildly popular kony 2012 video. jason russell was briefly detained by police following a strange incident near his san diego home. nbc's craig melvin is there with the latest this morning. craig, good morning to you. >> savannah, good morning to you, as well. this is the neighborhood where jason russell lives. this is also the area where folks saw, as you mentioned, that very public and mysterious meltdown. this morning for russell, his family, his friends, and that charity, it's a bizarre and troubling turn of events. this is not the internet video jason russell thought people would be talking about. this footage from tmz shows a man reported to be russell naked, ranting, and behaving indecently in broad daylight, along this san diego street. he was detained, but not arrested. >> during the evaluation with

him we did learn that we probably needed to take care of him, so the officers detained him and transported him to a local medical facility for further evaluation. >> reporter: russell's wife danica, who he called his best friend for more than 23 years, and with whom he says he wants to have mine more children, has not commented on the video, but said in a statement, jason has never had a substance abuse or drinking problem, and this episode wasn't caused by either of those things. but yes, he did some irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion and dehydration. on our end, the focus remains only on his health, and protecting our family. his colleagues at his charity, invisible children, also declined to comment on the video. it's been an unusual month for russell, an evangelical christian whose video criticizing the ugandan warlord joseph kony has become a surprise internet sensation. >> what do you think we should do about it? >> we should stop it. >> reporter: so far, more than 82 million have watched the

serious discussion of african war on youtube. with that popularity came increased scrutiny. he talked to ann about accusations his charity gives away too little of its money to children. >> our motto is three-fold. the movie, the movement and the mission. and the mission is to end the war and rehabilitate these child soldiers. >> reporter: so what could have caused the sort of breakdown? "today" contributor dr. gail saltz says russell's newfound fame may have played a role. >> someone who is under tremendous scrutiny who has never been so before, that is a lot of pressure. >> reporter: this morning, we do not know whether jason russell is still in the hospital. savannah? >> all right, krig melvin, thanks so much. coming up, the defense set to begin making its case as the dui manslaughter trial of a florida millionaire after a week of emotional testimony by the prosecution. we'll get the latest. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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coming up, kate middleton gives her first speech as a royal this morning. we'll be there live. also grab a martini and your fedora, "mad men" is coming back to t good morning. i'm joe krebs. 7:26. this monday is the 19th day of march. another beautiful day. beautiful week at least. let's find out what this day is like. here is veronica john son beautiful week and warm week, too. temperatures between about 73 and 79 degree this week. 54 degrees. montgomery county p. gaithersburg, 51. ft. belvoir down to the south, 58 already in warrenton. look at the radar. that's west virginia off to the east. luray. charlottesville, rain. light rain for advancing eastward. so umbrella ready today. plenty warm. >> thanks very much, veronica. a break now and come back with

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and will start hitting the brakes in this area. travel speed 38 miles per hour. delays continue as you cross the wilson sbrij mabridge. >> thank you, danella. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] get the mileage card with special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding.

thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. 7:30 now on a monday morning, march 19th, 2012. if you woke up this morning and said hey, wonder what's going on in ipswich, england this morning. well here's your answer. all eyes on kate middleton as she delivers her first speech as the duchesse of cambridge. it happens in that town at the opening of a children's hospice in ipswich. we're going to take you there, live. actually that's a live image right there. >> and that dress is probably selling out as we speak. >> everybody watches every move that young lady makes. wondering how she feels about that. meanwhile we'll have more on that story. inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside savannah guthrie who is in while ann is off today.

also ahead, if you're a fan of "mad men" you've been waiting for its return for 17 months now. >> let's just say, it is going to be raining men here in a few minutes in our studio. the show that's won the emmy for best drama four years in a row returns this sunday night, and this morning we have the cast and creator here to talk about the new season, and how close it all came to not happening. we didn't want to hear that. >> tumultuous time the last 17 months. we'll find out more about that. and a show that struggled to find success, it's one and done for rosie o'donnell's talk show on oprah's network. so why did oprah suddenly cancel rosie after just five short months? we're going to have the details on that. >> all right. but we're going to begin this half hour with the dui manslaughter trial of a polo tycoon in florida. the defense could begin presenting its case as early as today after a week of emotional testimony on the prosecution side. >> reporter: mangled metal. it's all that remains of the collision that killed 23-year-old scott wilson.

his distraught mother walked silently around her son's crushed car, just after jury members took a look. moments later, john goodman, the polo club millionaire charged with dui manslaughter peeked into the window of his destroyed bentley. on thursday, prosecutors used a 3-d recreation to show what happened that night in february 2010. they say a drunk goodman sped through a stop sign, slimming his almost three-ton bentley into the side of wilson's car, flipping it upside down into a canal. >> scott wilson didn't die from blunt trauma. he drowned. and what did the defendant do? he walked away. >> reporter: a toxicologist testified that in the hours before the fatal crash, goodman's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. equivalent to having downed 16 to 18 drinks. >> i also detetted hydrocodone. >> reporter: but the defense says goodman only began drinking after the crash to dull the

pain. and that the crash happened when his bentley malfunctioned. >> all of a sudden the car surges forward. >> reporter: goodman's lawyers say he didn't immediately call 911 because his cell phone was dead. instead goodman walked to this woman's trailer and used her phone to call his girlfriend, who made headlines last month when goodman adopted her to protect his wealth. >> did he tell you anything about the crash? >> no. >> reporter: she then told goodman to call authorities. >> oh, yeah, i just had a wreck, and i -- my phone was dead and i'm on -- where am i? sorry. i'm in big trouble, aren't i? >> reporter: trouble that could mean up to 30 years in prison. for "today," thanh truong, nbc news. star jones is a former prosecutor and veteran legal commentator. jeanine pirro is a former district attorney. good morning to both of you. let's start with the prosecution case that's now in.

what do you think, eve of you, is the strongest piece of evidence from the prosecution? >> well, i think the fact that this guy leaves the scene of a fatality where his bentley pushes a car into a canal, and the 23-year-old ends up drowning as a result of what happened. >> big time. but the 911 tape for me is also devastating. there is nothing better than when a defendant conveys to you what his intent is with his own voice. i'm in big trouble, aren't i? he's only caring about himself after he has done what a horrific -- callsed a horrific accident. >> a devastating piece of evidence. there was another piece of evidence that came in that's a little bit controversial. it's the recreation by a prosecution expert of what the prosecutors think the accident looked like. why was this so controversial? >> well, because not that many states have allowed the use of computer animation. and if you look at that animation, it is powerful stuff. now, for the first time, the jury is going to get a sense of how horrific the accident was. it's not just testimony. this is a visual that is

anchored in facts, and expert testimony, and it is the wave of the future. >> and the defense attorney, roy black, really fought tooth and nail to keep it out. because, in the csi aspect of the way jurors now approach cases, to be able to see, in their es tellation, what actually occurred, you don't get much better than that. >> let's talk about the defense. roy black has offered an argument. jurors have to believe a lot to believe the defense theory. number one they have to believe that the bentley malfunctioned. that the defendant here only drank after the accident. that he had a concussion and he's so dazed he didn't realized he had hit a car that landed in the canal. and that he didn't have a phone that he could call 911. is there a point at which the defense becomes too elaborate to be believable? >> you know, the guy has twice the legal limit of alcohol, and so what roy black says, and he is genius, he is brilliant, but he says, look, my guy went and drank a bottle of liquor after the accident he was so stressed. or in such pain.

and the car didn't work. it malfunctioned. by the way, he didn't call 911, he called his girlfriend. >> don't you buy a $250,000 bentley because you don't want to have to worry about malfunctions? that makes no sense. >> will he have to put on an expert? >> he absolutely must put on an expert. and he has to show service records. did he ever complain about the bentley malfunctioning. did it ever not stop at a stop sign before. >> whether it malfunctioned this night or before. before is not relevant. that expert has to say this night it malfunctioned. and his own 911 contradicts it when he says i hit another car. >> 20 seconds, ladies. do you put the defendant on the stand in this case? yes, no? >> i think he's going to be in trouble if he does not take the stand. i really do. >> i don't know if he can take the stand, given the statements he's already made. he's got to call himself a liar or really strain that credulity even more. >> jeanine pirro, star jones, great to have you here. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's weather" is brought to you by some ma intimates.

your new bra destination. >> and good morning, everybody. a beautiful morning here in the northeast. got some friends from laredo, texas. how you all doing? >> good. >> good time? any particular anniversary, anything happening? >> we're -- >> nice. all right. and finishing up here in new york. lovely. weather for t your weather for today. we have record highs from the nearest and into the plains. down into the southeast. strong risk of storms stretching from texas into southeastern oklahoma. wet weather continues along the pacific north west coast. northern plains. looking at light snow. tomorrow heavy rain from the lower mississippi river valley into the mid mississippi rivers valley. eastern half of the country, more record highs. more wet weather and windy conditions in the pacific northwest. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> right here in the clouds fighting with the sun. we are going to have one of those days in and out with the shine. 5 57 degrees.

high today of 75. expect a few showers around the area as well. expect low to mid 70s again for temperatures tomorrow. meanwhile, wednesday, thursday, looking very, very nice. certainly going to feel mild. close to 80 for a high temperature. and that's your latest weather. savannah? >> all right, al, thanks. still ahead, why oprah just gave rosie o'donnell's talk show the boot. but up next we'll go live to england where kate middleton just wrapped up her first speech as a royal. -one. -two.

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back now at 7:42 and you are looking live at kate middleton, who just wrapped up her first speech as a royal in ipswich, england. as usual people are talking as much about what she said as what she was wearing. the palace is calling this an electric blue dress from fashion house reitz. how did the speech go over? >> hey, savannah, good morning. i'll tell you, sif she is nervos she isn't looking it at all. she arrived wearing that blue dress, borrowed from her mother,

i'm told. perhaps a little bit of good luck from her mother there. the speech, she went up to chat to some of the children from the hospice for which she is a patron. i understand is that she wrote the speech herself. it wasn't very long. just about four minutes. but here's some of what she had to say. >> i feel honored to be here to see this wonderful center. i'm only sorry that william can't be here today. he would love it here. a view of his that i share is that through teamwork, so much can be achieved. what you've all achieved here is extraordinary. you, as a community, have built the treehouse, a group of people who have made every effort to support and help each other. >> saying again there that she

misses william. a sentiment she's expressed before. we expect him back at some point this week. but in terms of the speech, speaking slowly and professionally. savannah, quite some contrast to diana's first speech some 30 years ago. back then diana looked nervous, talking quickly. of course, two very different women, and kate probably has had some training for this speech. one point, though, diana, back 30 years ago, and kate today, both wearing blue for their first speech. >> and i think diana had to speak in welsh. so a little more difficult for her here. >> she did. >> is this something we expect to see more often? do we expect to see more from kate? >> oh, yeah, i think now that she's got this out of the way you'll see her speaking more. you know, this was just sort of putting the toe in the water if you like. it was a very simple speech, just saying thank you for the charity for which she's patron. i think she'll start to express more views as the weeks and months go on. >> we look at that live picture from ipswich, england this

morning, we say well done to kate. thanks so much. coming up next, rosie o'donnell and oprah part ways. we're going to have the details on that right after this. hush little bunny don't say a word. we used to be enemies, but that's absurd. a nibble on your ear used to keep me up all night. now our relationship can be nice and bright. yes, my chocolate friend, our struggle's thru. when i bite your head off, i'll still love you. now i have truvia and i've been set free. natural sweetness from a leaf with zero calories. it's freed me to enjoy. it tastes really great. it helps me balance out what i've got on my plate. now i can indulge in the things i adore. i don't have to wrestle with sweetness anymore. truvia. honestly sweet. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪

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comeback for rosie o'donnell, and as for oprah winfrey's own network, rosie was supposed to deliver badly needed viewers. well it simply hasn't panned out and "o" has now pulled the plug on ro. >> wow. look at us. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a second chance for the former queen of daytime. >> very few people get a second shot at something like this. >> reporter: after a tumultuous end to her last tv stint at "the view" where rosie publicly feuded with her co-host elisabeth hasselbeck -- >> why don't you take this opportunity, like i'm 6 -- >> reporter: and the show's creator barbara walters. >> but i resent it. >> reporter: this rosie show was supposed to be a return to her roots. >> she likes kids, music, playing. >> reporter: rosie off the cuff. >> not like the baby's breach, it's just a game. >> reporter: it sounded a lot

like this rosie o'donnell show which made the host a household name and brought in 5 million viewers a day, something the struggling own network desperately needs. but despite the old recipe, a band, a live audience and games, even prime real estate in oprah's old studio, it wasn't enough. to make matters worse, the 7:00 p.m. time slot meant o'donnell's core audience, stay at home moms, weren't watching. >> you had rosie doing this big, expensive talk show every night, and she was getting like 150,000 viewers. which didn't justify her contract or the staff that was needed to put on such a big talk show every day. >> reporter: that's when executives and o'donnell started making cuts. no more band or studio audience. a smaller studio. and eventually a single guest format that couldn't lure big name stars. >> this was supposed to be a show that would put own back on the map, and revitalize the network that was in a lot of trouble. and that never happened. >> reporter: as ratings got worse, rosie reportedly began

feuding with staffers. and after weeks of speculation, the own network made it official, saying the rosie show was canceled. and although she wasn't heavily involved throughout the show, it was oprah herself who canceled rosie. so who's really at fault? industry insiders believe there is plenty of blame to go around. >> own kind of took the rosie out of "the rosie show" and they made her very, you know, boring. >> reporter: two tv titans and supercharged expectations unfortunately simply weren't the right recipe. rosie will be taping her final shows right here in chicago this week. matt? >> all right, kevin tibbles in chicago. kevin, thank you very much. appreciate it. just ahead, fans of "mad men," time to rejoice. the award winning drama's hiatus is finally over, after 17 long months. take a look at our green room. we've got the cast of the show down there along with the show's creator. >> going to be a good one. and then also ahead, if whitney

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good morning. i'm joe krebs. 7:56. we have a cool start to this week. let's go to meteorologist veronica johnson now for a look at the forecast. veronica. >> that we do, in the 50s, under some cloud cover and shoes showers that were advancing eastward, starting to fall apart. still in the forecast for the day today, some showers, light showers passing through from time to time. 70 to 57 degrees. get ready for very mild air, feeling a lot like summer wednesday and thursday of this week. high temperature near 80. >> all right, thanks very much. we will take a break and check on traffic n

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good morning. if you are traveling route 50 in maryland, starting to hit the brakes westbound. right at landover road. give you a travel speed now. 27 miles per hour. live look. these delays continue as you make your way on to new york avenue. and taking the outer loop of the beltway, you are sitting at new hampshire avenue. no accidents. delays continue to georgia avenue. joe, over to you. >> danella, thanks very much. another news update in 25

we're back now at 8:00 on a monday morning. it's the 19th day of march, 2012. and if you live in a part of the country that's had bad weather you must be sick of hearing it from us already, but we have had a gorgeous couple of weeks. and it just continues. got a beautiful day here today. 58 degrees already in new york city. going up to about 70. >> 70, yes. >> so springlike conditions continue on this last day of winter, right? >> that's right. >> last full day of winter. >> ends tomorrow morning. >> i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. savannah's here while ann is taking a little time off and we're joined by mr. roker, as well. raise your hand if you like the show "mad men" on tbs.

big, big show. it's won the emmy for best drama on tv four years running. but it's been off the air for 17 months. new episodes are returning. and for the first time, we've got the cast and the creator of that show in our studio right now. we're going to sit down and talk to them in just a couple of minutes. >> we are so excited for that. are you feeling well enough to do that inner view? >> i'm all right. >> you look a little peaked. also ahead there's some news that perhaps bobbi kristina, whitney houston's daughter, is now dating and perhaps engaged to the 22-year-old man who was raised as her brother. we'll have details on that story coming up. >> and we're going to put your favorite laundry detergents to the test. we've got some stubborn stains. find out if the pricier options actually work any better. >> a lot to get to. let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk with all the headlines. >> good morning again, matt, savannah and al. good morning, everyone. deadly violence this morning in southwest france where a gunman

on a motorcycle opened fire in front of a jewish school in toulouse. officials say at least four people were killed including a father, his two young sons and one other child. french president nicolas sarkozy who is on his way to toulouse says there are strike being similarities between today's attacks and a pair of shootings in the area that killed three soldiers last week. at least two tornadoes touched down in central nebraska last night. the high winds damaged houses, uprooted trees, and ripped down power lines. but officials said there were no reports of serious injury. meantime, record temperatures are heating up the eastern half of the country, with chicago expected to reach 80 degrees for a sixth straight day. the american soldier accused of killing 16 civilians in afghanistan is expected to heat with his attorney for the first time today. 38-year-old staff sergeant robert bales is being held in the military prison at fort leavenworth, kansas. meantime the soldier's family has released a statement saying they are stunned by the killing spree. but that they stand by bales.

mitt romney has new momentum heading into tomorrow's illinois primary. romney easily beat rick santorum sunday to win the puerto rico primary. afterwards romney's wife urged republican rivals to unite behind her husband so he can focus on defeating president obama. however, rick santorum and newt gingrich say they are in it for the long haul. now for a look at what is trending today. our quick roundup of what has you talking online. the internet is buzzing about kate, the duchess of cambridge. as you just heard here, she made her first public speech as a member of the royal family this morning at the treehouse hospice for children with life-threatening illnesses. >> you've all made me feel so welcome. i feel honored to be here to see this wonderful center. i'm only sorry that william can't be here today. he would love it here. >> prince william is away on military duty in the falkland islands as a search and rescue pilot. kate reportedly wrote the speech herself.

tech blogs are excited about a "new york times" report that the faa will test digital reading devices and reconsider its ban on using them during taxi, takeoffs and landings. the last time the faa tested such gadgets was in 2006 before ipads and most ereaders existed. and college basketball's sweet 16 is a trending topic on twitter. all but two of the teams in the regional semifinals will be from major college conferences. the exceptions, xavier and and ohio university. go bobcats. as i turn around and toss it back to matt and savannah. >> did matt write that story? >> sweet 16 for the bobcats. they must be going raise zi in athens, ohio. they take on that little school called north carolina on thursday. that's right. natalie, thank you very much. >> let's get a check of the weather from al roker. >> good year to be a buckeye. i like it. all right. let's see what's happening, as far as your weather is concerned ther is concerned. pick city of the day, flint,

michigan. nbc 25. nbc mid michigan's best early fog. >> bobcats. >> bobcats. i mean buckeye, the state the state of ohio. for goodness sake, i'm trying to say something nice about your state and you come overing and give me a hard time! what's with that? anyway, let's go back to the maps. mr. ingratitude. you can see strong storm now making their way, texas, on into oklahoma, that's where we have the risk of strong storms today. slight ricks making its way all the way up into southern minnesota. more rain in the pacific northwest. lots of record highs, great lakes, northeast, on into the southeast. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> clouds, sunshine and they will be doing battle all day long today. maybe able to squeeze out shower, light shower today. this morning we are at 54 to 5 degrees. morning sun in prince george's county. tysons corner coming in right now at 55 degrees. warrenton at 59. warm spot and foggy bottom at 57

degrees this this afternoon rising high to about 70 to 75 degrees. we have again a few passing light showers come our way. and could have more showers passing through tomorrow with a high of 73.>> thank you, al. >> i'm trying to help the whole state. >> thank you, al. >> when we come back, is bobbi kristina, whitney houston's daughter, actually engaged to her adopted brother? we're going to talk more about that. and in our studio right now, the cast and creator of "mad men" as they get set to bring us new episodes, after 17 months. we'll talk to them after these messages. r a day. i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] don't just moisturize. improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula goes beyond 24-hour moisture. it's clinically proven to improve your skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. for healthy, beautiful skin that lasts. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] daily moisturizing lotion. and for healthy hair every day,

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nick gordon were spotted out together in her hometown of atlanta, holding hands and embracing, appearing to be a happy couple. this just days after the two went out in public together for the first time, surprising the world with this kiss. while they are not technically blood relatives, bobbi and nick grew up together after whitney took him in at the age of 12 when his parents were unable to take care of him. the pair has reportedly been living to the in whitney houston's atlanta home since her death. >> we're hearing that nick and bobbi kristina are engaged, that they went from being friends and brother/sister, to being lovers, they're romantically involved and they seem like they're really in love and they're very into one another. and nick has made no secret of the fact that they are definitely more than friends these days. >> reporter: in fact, he took to twitter to confirm how close he and bobbi kristina have been. saying, yeah, we got a little closer. some people have no lives, so they gotta be in ours. he's since closed his twitter

account. over the weekend nick did not want to talk about rumors of a possible engagement. >> no comment. >> reporter: when asked how bobbi kristina was doing, he had this to say. >> she's doing very well. staying strong. >> reporter: there's some speculation that the ring bobbi kristina is sporting actually belonged to her late mother, seen here in this photo. >> this was a ring that belonged to her mother whitney. and neil lane has said that this ring is valued at about $250,000. the fact that she's wearing it on her left hand, where your engagement ring goes, definitely raises a few eyebrows. >> bobbi kristina's family, including whitney houston's mother cissy are reportedly outraged by the idea that the two could be together 379 we reached out to the family but got no response. >> tamron hall, thanks so much. coming up next, the cast and creator of "mad men" open up about the hit show's much-anticipated return. spring has sprung but so have my allergies. nighttime is the worst. i can't breathe and forget sleeping. good mornings? not likely!

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"mad men." after being off the air for 17 months it's coming back on sunday with a two-hour premiere. this morning for the very first time on tv we have the cast with us to talk to them and we're going to do that in a moment. but first a look at the show that's made america nostalgic all over again. it's a mad, mad world, about so much more than advertising. >> well, i just looked him in the eye and convinced him i was some kind of idealistic businessman. >> reporter: "mad men" provides a window into america in the '60s. >> the setting makes it glamorous. it's about advertising in manhattan. you see a lot of social themes playing out there that engage audiences. it's about sexism in the workplace, racism. you see things about modernization. >> reporter: "mad men" centers around a new york ad agency run by creator director don draper. it's a role that made actor jon hamm a household name. his partners include roger sterling, the company cad with the funny lines. >> we can solve this problem with a flask. >> reporter: pete campbell, the young and ambitious executive

with big plans. lane pryce who handles the firm's finances. and not well. so he relies on the agency's secret weapon, sultry, sexy joan, the office manager who actually runs the place. peggy olson has emerged as the show's feminist icon. the female copywriter in a man's world. and there's betty. don draper's unhappy wife. who became his ex-wife, but stayed unhappy. she's at home with three kids. now 17 months later, "mad men" is back. so, will the fans be back, too? i'm glad you thought that was funny, january. we're joined now by jon hamm, john slattery, january jones, matthew weiner, vincent kartheiser and jared harris. where have you been? what was going on here? >> we were hiding. we decided to take some time off

and solve some issues, but now we're back. >> how bad were the issues? be honest? how close did this show come to going down the tubes? >> several of us had genter reassignment surgery, so -- >> we were -- >> we were not out of work as long as -- we've not been away from the show as long as the public has. there was a decision made by the network in 2010 that the show would be hon in 2012. >> right. >> and so we went back to -- i went back to mark in may and they came back in august. it was three or four months longer than normal. >> have you been hearing it from fans who've been saying what's going on here and when are you guys coming back? >> yeah, they were excited that -- it's an unfortunately long hiatus. but i think now you can -- you know, you can different shows, you can actually find the show in ways you couldn't before. so i mean, we're actually hoping that, you know, it whetted people's appetites. >> gave people a chance to catch up. >> obviously we have to remember that although the show's been on the air for a long time, there

are people, believe it or not, who don't know about "mad men" and haven't watched it. so who wants to take a shot at completing the sentence, okay? "mad men" is really a show about -- >> go. >> don draper's life. >> yeah? >> okay. >> how about completing this sentence. it has connected with audiences because -- >> drinking. >> drinking and smoking? >> i think that it differentiated itself for the audience because the show had very, sort of realistic -- the characters have realistic problems. there's not a lot of explosions. there's not a lot of like car chases and things like that. but the problems that they have are very closely related to what people live with. >> it's about the dialogue what it comes right dunn to. it's brilliantly written -- >> that's what i was going to say. >> took the words right out of your mouth. it's also uncomfortable.

there are times when you're made uncomfortable watching this show because of the things you're doing that are inappropriate and it's weird that you're all so good at them. >> i think also it's that far enough in the past that it does feel different. and yet it's not too far in the past to where it feels old time and you're unfamiliar or foreign in any way. and i think people can -- people can get a sense of feeling, of part away from that so they can have a vicarious thrill of that behavior and acting out -- >> it's also not judgmental. i mean there's something about it that sort of embraces on some level that we are flawed people. and there's not really this -- it is a moral universe, you know. it's not like it's immoral. but people behave badly. it's why the ten commandments are there. it's like these are the things that we do and the show sort of treats them in a way that's very realistic, and you watch the show, and you can feel superior to the characters on some level, but you also recognize a lot of the bad behavior. you know. it's mothering, and being a

child, and being -- >> you bring up mothering. just to get a sense of how long the show has actually been off the air, january, you actually had a baby during the hiatus, that child is now in college. i believe. zander is six months old now. how are you doing? >> i'm doing really well. he's awesome. >> is it true, sometimes you can't believe everything you read, some fans of the show take it seriously. you're not a good mom on the show. >> that's not true. >> oh, yeah. >> come on, you're not a great mom. >> she's not a great mom. >> a typical mom. >> i'm going to go with your -- have you had fans who've actually kind of worried about what kind of a mom you're going to be? >> yeah, i think so. i can only -- i can only, i don't know -- i can only surprise people with my mothering. but i don't know how can i say this politely. >> it's just a show. >> it's just a show.

>> even better draper likes babies. i mean, that's not -- >> january and i were on the same flight up here, too. he was incredibly well behaved the entire flight. >> who's the practical joker on the cast? >> jon. >> jon? >> i the practical joker? >> vinnie. >> practical jokes here. >> some of those. i have a feeling we can't put those up there, right? >> probably not. >> what's it like for you? how old are you? >> 12. >> and you're on this show with all these adults although there's some other kids, as well. you're dealing with very adult themes. do you ever think i could be on nickelodeon or on disney doing something? >> i do. but i'm really happy where i am right now. it's a great show to be on. and i'm so thankful for it. >> you don't get to drink in public much on nickelodeon. >> jon, you made some headlines recently. okay. you were talking, you were doing

an interview and you were discussing reality television. and you said this, quote, whether it's paris hilton or kim kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated, being a blanking idiot ises a valuable commodity in this culture because you're rewarded significantly. now kim kardashian had some comments about that and said your remarks were careless. do you want to explain? do you want to expand? do you want to do anything? >> no, i don't think they were careless. i think they were accurate. but it's a part of our culture that i certainly don't identify with and i don't really understand the -- the appeal of it, other than in a court of car crash sensibility. and it's not something that i partake in or enjoy. but it is what it is. and here we are. >> anybody else want to jump into the pool? the water's beautiful. >> you'll enjoy it. >> i agree. >> go ahead. >> yes, that was it?

you supporting your friend or you agree with the whole concept? >> no, i agree with everything he said. i think our society enjoys to turn on the television and see someone who is, maybe awful, and they can say, well at least i'm not as terrible as that person. >> is there room for both things, though? i mean you have a wonderfully written, beautifully acted show here. and that's a great luxury. and it's a nice position to be in. but do you understand that there is an audience for all things out there? >> there's a lot of channels on the dial. and those channels need to be filled up with things. and, listen, it's different strokes for different folks, i suppose. >> matthew, have you started to think about how this show comes to an end? is this seventh season going to be the last season? >> this is the fifth season. >> oh, i'm sorry. >> we're talking about doing seven seasons. >> you're going to do seven? >> that's the plan for right now. >> have you started to think about how you're going to kill -- i mean -- how you're going to end all these story lines? >> you know what? people keep asking me that. so i better get on it. no, i have like -- i have a vague idea of what it is.

i just think it's interesting that people keep asking about it. and, for me, it's -- it's -- you know what i mean, about how is it going to end or do i know? really when we get to the end of the show they're going to have to take my word for it. i can say oh, yeah i thought about that when i was in high school or something. for me, i think that they want the tension alleviated, that there is a plan or something. but, for me, i really don't even want to think about it ending yet. >> it's not like some fiery crash, you know, all on the same plain type thing. i'm looking in your eyes, i'm starting to think maybe. >> no, no, we can't afford that. >> do you have an idea of how the -- the budget -- >> there will be the reflection of a fiery crash in a window. >> have you guys thought about what it would be like to put this behind you? i mean you almost have to think about that over the last 17 months. >> i just like to be in the end. make it to the end. >> make it to the final episode. >> and i don't think -- i mean,

i think, i can probably safely speak for all of us and we all feel very lucky to have this job. and -- and i think it occurred to us early on that this isn't like a lot of television experiences, and we're lucky to have it. and it isn't going to go on forever. but we're enjoying it while we're here. >> based on the number of people in the studio this morning, a lot of people are happy you're back. congratulations on season five. sorry about that. you can catch the two-hour premiere this sunday night on amc. just ahead charlize theron.

8:26 is your time on this monday, march 19, 2012. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm 4 meteorologist veronica johnson for a look at your forecast for today. good morning to you. first day of spring. >> well, it starts tomorrow. 1:14 in the morning. that's your spring equinox. four day, four afternoons where the temperatures have been below average. 55 to 57. even 60 now in warrenton. warming up fast with breaks in the cloud cover out there. could still see a little bit after shower coming through. not a big deal or major deal today or tomorrow. but 75, close to 80 on wednesday. >> thank you. we will take a qui

whatcha lookin' for hon? ah, these new jeans i want. i've been looking everywhere. new blue jeans? oh, don't be crazy, i've got tons of blue jeans. frank! frank! get my jean bin, susie wants my jeans. no she doesn't. here we go. nice and loose. ohhh. those are loose, but i actually just ordered three pairs of this kind. ooooohhhh. oh. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. good morning. had a crash it was blocking the northbound lanes of north capitol street. right at s street in northwest. it is not out of the roadway but

you are still seeing delays on north capitol street. as you marriage your way from mass avenue. over to 29 to maryland, live look at blockwood road. delays continue to university

we're back now "today," 8:30 on a monday morning, the 19th day of march, 2012. nice crowd out on the plaza this morning. it's spring break rolls along here in new york city. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie, who's here while ann is taking some time off. we're joined by al roker and natalie morales, as well. and coming up, we're going to

catch up with charlize theron and kristen stewart. they are two of the stars of the new "snow white" movie that is coming to theaters. "snow white and the huntsman" this is not your typical snow white movie. ear going to be talking about them in just a little while. >> also we're going to talk about laundry detergent. are all laundry detergents created equal? no. good housekeeping did some tests. we're going to find out if the high-priced brands are really better when it comes to getting your clothes clean. >> how does this sound? a faster way to get dinner to your table. simple recipes anybody can do. all you need are a couple of ingredients and a baking sheet according to adam rapport. >> and an apron and a tie. >> and then you're done. >> and we're going to show you how to turn your old electronics into cash. >> lots to get to. how about a check of the weather? >> all righty.>> let's see what you. starting with the week ahead. much above normal conditions for the eastern two-thirds of the

country with heavy rain and along the mississippi rivers valley. below normal out west. mid week period, look at that. warm temperatures expand out but the heavy rain continues into the mississippi river valley. flooding, wet weather, cooler in the pacific northwest. latter part of the week, the warm weather stays. rain stays where it is. but temperatures normal out, out wes west. >> right here, we are scooting up close to 60 degrees. 57 in d.c. 56 in reston, too. cooler there in annapolis. some clouds today. some sun. we will hit a high of 75 degrees. and if you love the warmth take a look at wednesday into thursday. 78 to 79 degrees. so rain chance this week, monday, tuesday, >> i'd just like to remind you, savannah, you can get your weather any time of the day or night, weather channel on cable

or weather.com online. >> al, thank you so much. coming up charlize their and and kristen stewart will be here to preview their new movie about snow white. firs first, this is "today" on nbc.

we're back now at 8:35 with the stars of the new movie "snow white & the huntsman." it puts quite a new twist on the classic fairy tale with oscar winner charlize theron as the evil queen, and kristen stewart in the role of snow white. take a look. >> my queen. another kingdom for your power. will another victim surpass you. you shall rule forever. >> find me someone to hunt her down. >> you're the one hunting me.

>> you have eyes, huntsman, but you do not see. she is destined to end the darkness. >> hair black as night, bring me your heart, dear, dear snow white. let them come. >> charlize theron and kristen stewart. ladies, good morning to both much you. >> good morning. >> note to self, don't take my 5-year-old to see this, i have a feeling. >> or do. >> cautionary tale on what you -- yes, you want your 5-year-old daughter to turn out like snow white and not like the evil queen. >> it's a dark, dark twist on this classic, though, isn't it? >> dark is a dangerous word, maybe. i mean i think it's just a --

it's a retelling that feels a little bit more grounded in reality. and yes, it has darker tones to it. but i think more than that just like a great adventure, big, epic scale film. >> you play snow white, kristen. when you first heard about the project did you ever envision snow white as an action movie? because, that's really what this is. >> it is, yeah. i -- i mean, it's how the description is written, so yes. but it had a reason it never felt like it was a movie where you were trying to have a strong girl character be sort of bad ass. i mean, you know -- >> when i read it i kind of felt like, why didn't i think of this. it's one of those ideas like, of course, this is the perfect story to put in that setting. >> you want to like join the cause. like any good script that you read, i believed in it so much. and considering it's a teary

tale and based in a very unreal world, that says something about the characters. >> i think we can tell by the clips you play the evil queen. is she evil like some reality stars? or is she evil like the exorcist where the head spins around, things like that? what's your take on her? >> who is the reality star? >> i don't know, i just got done with the jon hamm thing so i've got that on my brain. >> she -- well, yeah, she -- i mean i think there was a, i think, in broad strokes we were all interested in wanting to be a part of this film because it was taking something that's iconic that everybody has, and how do you turn that upside down? and that's how i felt about the character. i felt like everybody has such a clear opinion or idea of what they think this fairy tale character is. and so how, for me as an actor, i was really interested in kind of taking that and messing a little bit with that. >> there is another snow white movie coming out, not to bring up other subjects, but why is snow white hot again right now? >> kind of like coca-cola.

pepsi. >> i -- >> you know, i think -- i think these stories thematically bleed into a lot of stuff that's very relevant. and so i'm not shocked that we're kind of having an outbreak of a lot of these kind of classic fairy tales being retold. i also think that you can really throw -- there's a way to do them, and -- in different worlds, and i think that's what the case is with this. i don't think universal would have backed this film the way they have if they thought that we were playing to the same audience as the other one. they're definitely made for very, very specific audiences and very different audiences. >> kristen, i was reading about you last night and i thought i would ask you this, you know what it's like to be the center of a white-hot publicity storm, because of the twilight movies. another movie coming out right now that seems to be gathering that kind of attention, "hunger

games." and i'm curious if you think the actors in that movie, or what will become those movies, are going to experience something similar? >> -- >> shake your glass ball, tell us. >> i don't know. i mean, i hope so just on some level, you know, that i -- yes, it gets very crazy and the question is, are you going to be able to handle it? you look at those actors and kind of can tell why they're doing what they're doing. it's so obvious that no one signed on to that project to do the next big thing and i think that's the way to see something get big. hopefully, you know, they'll be happy doing what they're doing. i can't wait to see the movie. so yeah. >> a lot of anticipation for it. just on a completely different subject. congratulations. >> on what? >> the new baby boy at home. how's it going? >> it's going amazing. yes. he's scrumptious and delicious and yeah, it's incredible.

>> it's nice to see your face because you're smiling, almost an unavoidable smile. >> we call it a grin. >> a grin. well it's nice to have you both here, charlize theron and kristen stewart. pleasure. >> thank you. >> good luck we want to tell people "snow white & the huntsman" from our sister company universal pictures opens on june 1st. and you can see the full trailer on xfinitytv.com and during "the voice" right other humanitarian nbc. up next, some of your favorite laundry detergents to the test. the clean test. first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:43. this morning on "today's consumer," laundry deturningent. a lot of us just grab whatever is on sale. which deturningents really work the best? consumer correspondent janice

lieberman has the dirt on that. >> definitely going to get this thing clean. we spend $7 billion on detergents last year and we thought it was time to ask the lab experts at good housekeeping magazine to air their dirty laundry and show us which brands actually come clean. ♪ because there's been a great new change in cheer ♪ >> reporter: let's face it, it's not glamorous, and it's not fun but someone has to do the dirty work. everyday products are promising something new, but do they work? >> detergents are improving in terms of performance overall. >> reporter: the choice in detergents can be dazzling. dozens line store shelves. how much do you really need to spend per cycle? a buck or just a few cents. we asked good housekeeping director carolyn forte. >> we calculated our price for large or heavily soiled clothes. >> reporter: we got access to the good housekeeping labs as they conducted their dirty business. testing different soaps'

performance. >> we tested 74 detergents, liquids, powders and the new single dose tabs in hot and cold water. >> reporter: this mess is purely scientific at their lab. what do you have here? >> a cotton swatch that we blocked off into 20 different stains. when we're doing our actual test we let them sit overnight and then we wash them. >> reporter: forte wasn't easy on these competitors. >> lipstick. mustard. spaghetti sauce. and grass. back at the lab the deterngents tested were some of their best performers. tide powder with bleach. ecover zero detergent and target's up and up liquid detergent. >> to simulate actual home use we ternlgents. >> reporter: after a full wash cycle we dot the results. first ecover's laundry powder zero, somewhat pricier than the others. >> this is one of our plant-based picks. what we would normally do is allow this to air dry and then we would give it a grade. it did well.

you know, struggled with spaghetti sauce. >> reporter: a lot. >> mustard is hard but that's not bad. >> reporter: next target's up and up. a bargain brand, there was still some light staining. >> this didn't get the blood out. >> no, it didn't. if you don't have heavy stains, you pretreat your stains, this is certainly a very viable option. >> reporter: and last, one of the top picks, tide powder with bleach. >> there's no detergent that's going to get out every single stain. the mud is gone. mascara looks good. blood is good. ink is good. i can't say it enough, you definitely have to pretreat stains. >> reporter: good housekeeping says there were no bad performers. and do realize that we do 400 loads of laundry a year. so this is important. >> i was going to say, don't say that. so depressing. what was the biggest surprise to come out of this? >> that they all did pretty well. even the cheaper brands were pretty good. there were no real losers in the bunch. and they 2k7 4. >> even in cold water. >> and in cold water. if you want to save energy, why

not try a load or two and see if it does okay for you. >> we have the laundry hall of fame. this was the best laundry detergent powder form. >> tide tied with itself. >> good one. >> the bleach and the powders, they won. but gain was a good runner-up. >> okay. >> then for liquids, powders really are the cheapest. but liquid is a little bit more convenient. also tide did very well. but era came in. so that's a little less. if you want to go green, they like ecover and caldria. tide was about 30 to 40 cents a load. this is a little bit higher. >> some people have the perception that maybe they don't clean as well. >> and good housekeeping said they did pretty well. that is an option but it is a little pricier. >> this is special detergent for cold water. i got to tell you i didn't know you needed special detergent. >> you probably could get away with it. these did very well. and this is gain, another runner-up to tide. because it's not a tide commercial but they did do well.

>> okay. >> but for eleven cents a load they like target and they also like this from walmart. so you can definitely do it for a lot cheaper than 50, 60 cents a load if that is a concern. >> and finally i love this idea. pods. just throw them in there. >> this is awesome. they were very surprised that they work and also they really run you about the same as the liquid. so they're not crazy priced. >> take us to laundry clinic. tips, the first one is immediately remove fresh stains. >> if you're in a restaurant and wine gets on you, lift it as much as you can with a towel and try to lift as much as you can. don't blot it out with water and mush it in. >> you lift it with a dry towel. >> yes. >> pretreat stains. >> very important. if you see wine or lipstick or something, let it soak for awhile, you know, preferably overnight if you can. >> you keep thinking my stains are from wine. >> because mine are! >> i'm really guilty of the next one. overloading the washer. >> if you just want to stuff it in to get it done, you really have to be careful, because it's not going to get clean. >> right.

>> so use the right amount of detergent. >> yes. follow the directions. sometimes people do a little bit less. or sometimes they overdo it. >> doing more is actually not good. >> it's not good because it's just going to get full of soap and it won't come out. you really want to clean. you don't want a film on it. you want to use what they say. they do scientific research. >> follow the directions. and then you say air dry stains. >> this i thought was very interesting. if you find a stain, you put it in the wash and you're not sure it came out, air dry it. don't put it in your dryer. that's just going to set it. if you have to redo it at least you have another shot. once you put it in the dryer you're finished. >> why wouldn't you put it right back into the washer. >> well you want to see if it came out. how much laundry do you do? >> obviously not a lot. coming up next a no-mess, no-fuss way to get dinner on the table.

this morning on "today's kitchen," easy as 1-2-3, simple dinners. after a long day at work the last thing you want to do is spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen. you don't have to if you have a baking sheet and a few recipes from adam rappaport. he's the editor in chief of "bon appetit" magazine. good morning, welcome back. >> good morning. if you have matt lauer as your sous chef. >> prepared to do anything you want. we're talking about one-sheet dinners. be careful about that. >> yes.

>> one-sheet dinners. why are we only using one sheet? >> two reasons. one, if you're like me and you cook dinner, all of a sudden you've got six fry pans, a pot and grease everywhere. so it's less mess. also roasting is a great way to bring out a lot of flavor, a lot of caramelization, crispiness in the vegetables. put it all in one pan, whether it's pork or fish, et cetera. >> we're going to make a plastic recipe, veal saltimbocca but we're making pork. there's the twist. you start by marinating it in white wine. >> we're going to pierce the pork, get a little flavor going on. you can pour the wine over there. >> how long do you marinate it? >> 10, 20 minutes. it's not exact science. we're going to add a little oil to the potatoes and onions. salt and pepper, of course. and then, a little fresh sage. you could use dried sage if you want. fresh is always better on the potatoes. i'm going to toss them. what you're going to do is dump these onions and potatoes on the sheet tray. this is an aluminum street tray. you can use nonstick if you

want. i've always found if you want something to get crispy and brown, regular aluminum is better. throw that in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes. >> by the way, once you put this and start roasting it, you're not going to stir it? >> you don't want to mess with it. like i said you want to let it get nice and crispy. >> okay. >> you don't need to toss and turn it. dry the pork a little bit on a paper towel. more salt and pepper, comme ca. that's a little french there. i don't know how to say it in italian. we're going to take this over here. take about 20 minutes. this only takes about ten minutes to cook to medium, 135 internal temperature. kind of nestle that on in between the potatoes and onions because you want it against the pan where it can get nice and hot. >> back in the oven? >> no. hold on don't forget the prosciutto. >> okay, fine. not a party -- >> if you want pork to taste good put more pork on top of it. >> perfect. >> this comes out of the oven nice and crispy on top, brown

caramelized onions and potatoes. boom, boom, delicious. we'll take this over here. >> let's do a fish dish using the same principle. this is wasabi salmon. >> all right. what we have here, shredded cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms. what you're first going to do make a little condiment on the side. this is was abby paste, mayonnaise, ginger and garlic. that's going to be mixed together as our little condiment on the side. next we're going to take some more ginger and garlic. put it in the vegetables. in the cabbage. we're going to oil it up. we're going to throw the bok choy in there. tell you what, because this bowl is not ginormous we're going to put this in like that. little salt and pepper if you will. toss it. throw it on the sheet tray. >> on one side? >> on one side. this does not need to cook that long. it's just cabbage. you're going to put that with the salmon, salt and pepper on top in the oven. 10 minutes. 12 to 15 minutes total. that's it. the salmon is ready. the bok choy is ready.

you're good to go. it's healthy. it's tasty. the gals are here and mr. roker, of course. and you have dinner. 12 to 15 minutes. >> and you used one sheet, one bowl -- >> two bowls. >> that's it. >> that's it. >> that meets my threshold requirement. no cleanup. >> thank you. >> say it real quickly. one-sheet dinners. >> ooh. >> one-sheet dinner. >> okay, adam, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> just ahead, how to turn your old electronics into cold, hard cash. first your local news and weather.

8:56 is your time on this monday, march 19, 2012. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm 4 meteorologist veronica johnson for a look at the fog for today. turning out to be a nice day. >> yes, it is. we have some sunshine out there. still some clouds off to the west. and today those clouds could easily stream on through. providing the area with a few

light showers. 60 degrees now in d.c. and anacostia. 62 in dulles. 72 in reston. 63 right now in warrenton. we will see a high today into the 70s. 70 to 75 degrees. showers we will have today will be very light. passing very xwling you may not even need the umbrella. >> thank you.

good morning taking the inner loop of the beltway in virginia. you are slow. live look at little river turnpike. delays start at the interchange and don't the dulles toll road. 23 miles per hour. very slow. >> danella, thank you. more

we're back with more of "today" on a monday morning, the 19th day of march, 2012. the last full day of winter, 2012. spring arrives tomorrow. but it seems like it's arrived already here in the northeast. temperature about 60 degrees right now, going up to 70. delightful news for these people on the plaza. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. savannah's here while ann is taking a little time off. and mr. roker is joining us, as well. and coming up, a bizarre twist in a story we've actually been covering for the last couple of weeks. that video that has now been seen online by some 84 million people. not this video, i'm talking about the video of kony 2012.

produced by that man there, who went off on a bit of a, i don't know what you even call it, a breakdown over the weekend or on friday. walking around naked. screaming obscenities. we're going to try and find out what happened with jason russell coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> and a little bit later on, you upgrade to a new ipad or a new telephone, new cell phone, you got stuff laying around, and you know what? you could actually make some cash for this. instead of it just collecting dust in a drawer. we're going to tell you where you can go to turn those gadgets into cash. >> you have to be careful when you do that? >> you got to make sure all of your data and stuff is off. >> also, do you feel like going back to bed right about now? maybe you hit a wall in the afternoon. we have an energy makeover for you, okay? whether it's taking a brisk walk, getting a shot of caffeine. maybe vitamins. we'll tell you what works to boost your energy over the short-term and the long-term. al is sort of voting for coffee.

>> standby. let's go inside. natalie is standing by at the news desk. she got all the headlines. >> good morning again. apple announced this morning that it will start paying a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share after facing investor pressure over what it would do with its nearly $100 billion pile of cash and securities. the company said it's also starting a $10 billion share buyback program. the dividend will start in apple's fiscal fourth quarter which begins july 1st. the soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians meets with his legal defense team this week. u.s. army staff sergeant robert bales is expected to be formally charged within days. meantime the soldier's family has released a statement saying that they are stunned by the killing spree, but that they stand by bales. mitt romney's hot on the campaign trail ahead of this week's contest in illinois and louisiana. this weekend the gop front-runner nabbed an overwhelming win in puerto rico's republican presidential primary, adding to his already wide lead in the delegate count.

but romney's top competitor, rick santorum, says he's going to stay in the race for the long haul. and now to that very public breakdown for the man behind that wildly popular kony 2012 video. jason russell was briefly detained by police following a strange incident near his san diego home on friday. nbc's craig melvin is there with the latest. craig, good morning. >> natalie, good morning to you. this is the neighborhood where jason russell lives. this is also where people saw, as you mentioned, that very public and mysterious meltdown. this morning for russell, his family and friends, and for his charity, it's been a very strange and troubling turn of events. this is not the internet video jason russell thought people would be talking about. this footage from tmz shows a man reported to be russell naked, ranting, and behaving indecently in broad daylight, along this san diego street. he was detained, but not arrested. >> during the evaluation with

him we did learn that we probably needed to take care of him, so the officers detained him and transported him to a local medical facility for further evaluation. >> reporter: russell's wife danica, who he called his best friend for more than 23 years, and with whom he says he wants to have nine more children, has not commented on the video, but said in a statement, jason has never had a substance abuse or drinking problem, and this episode wasn't caused by either of those things. but yes, he did some irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion and dehydration. on our end, the focus remains only on his health, and protecting our family. his colleagues at his charity, invisible children, also declined to comment on the video. it's been an unusual month for russell, an evangelical christian whose video criticizing the ugandan warlord joseph kony has become a surprise internet sensation. >> what do you think we should do about it? >> we should stop it. >> reporter: so far, more than 82 million have watched the serious discussion of african war on youtube.

with that popularity came increased scrutiny. he talked to ann about accusations his charity gives away too little of its money to children. >> our motto is three-fold. the movie, the movement and the mission. and the mission is to end the war and rehabilitate these child soldiers. >> reporter: so what could have caused the sort of breakdown? "today" contributor dr. gail saltz says russell's newfound fame may have played a role. >> someone who is under tremendous scrutiny who has never been so before, that is a lot of pressure. >> reporter: this morning, we do not know whether jason russell is still in the hospital. in the statement that his wife put out she went on to say, we'll take care of jason, you take care of the mission. the message of the film remains the same, stop at nothing. what remains to be seen, though, is whether all of this affects the work. natalie? >> all right, craig melvin in san diego. thank you, craig. 21 jump street debuted in

the number one spot at the weekend box office with $35 million. dr. seuss "the lorax" fell to second with $22.8 million and "john carter" was third. the past confronts the present in haunting pictures created by an amateur russian photographer. he combined vintage photos of world war ii europe with recent shots taken at the same locations and the result is an unsettling world where ruins share space with modern postcard views, and red army troops storm the reichstag, as 21st century tourists line up for admission there. absolutely striking photos. now let's go back to al with a check of your weather. >> all right, thanks so much, natalie. again we're talking aboutng aboe warm air that's going to be causing problems. record highs with the jet stream way up to the north. cooler than normal out west where flagstaff got a bunch of snow over the weekend. but look at these temperatures. tying or breaking records from the northeast and into

cleveland, ohio, midwest, chicago, today sixth day in a row of 08-plus readings. earliest they had a stretch like this. 81 in st. louis. come close to a record as well. we have looked for this to break on thursday. as the jet stream finally digs down a bit and upper-level low develop. that will keep the lows and highs, i should say, out into the northeast. and then we have a risk of severe storms of austin to dallas. chance of thunderstorms and tornadoes. greatly enhanced. you can see right now severe thunderstorm watches for san angelo as the line of thunderstorms makes their way in. flooding a possibility anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of rain between austin and dallas over the next 48 hours. that's what's going on around the country. >> we are expecting a nice day around here with a mixture of clouds and sunshine. temperatures are warming up nicely with a break in the cloud cover. 50s there from annapolis into baltimore at 54. 60 in d.c. close to 60 at ft. belvoir. 60 at dulles. warming up very quickly today.

we will see a high temperature topping out at 75 degrees. maybe an isolated shower or two. same thing tomorrow. then the real high warmth gets here time now for "today's money." cashing in on our electronics. you maybe have some old gadgets gathering dust or maybe you've recently upgraded your cell phone, your tablet. you may be missing out on an opportunity where you could make some cash. jean chatzky is "today's" financial editor. good to see you. >> nice to see you. >> what's the best way? i've got a couple of phones sitting in -- i've got -- stuff that you don't hand off to either your kids or a relative. >> right. >> what do you do with it? >> well, you have three basic choices. you can sell it. you can donate it. give it away. get a tax deduction. or you can recycle it. and of course we're talking about this now because of the whole hubbub with the new ipad. and people who even have an ipad that's one or two generations old can make some serious money from that, as well as people

like you and me. i mean i have a whole drawer of old phones. >> first of all, how do you figure out how much this stuff is worth? >> you want to hit the internet. if you're looking -- the first place to look is the sites that allow you to sell them. places like yousell and gazelle. we've got a whole list of places that will allow you to do this. they're going to want to know about your particular device. what kind of shape is it in? does it have scratches on it? do you have the accessories for it? do you have the original box, the original power cord? so you go to a site like this, you start to tell it about your device, and they're going to come back and they're going to tell you, okay, this is what we're willing to give you for it. then you have enough information to start making a decision. >> what kind of arrangement are we talking about? >> you know it varies widely. of course if we're talking about an ipad that's just one generation old, you're talking about $200, $300, depending on what condition it's in. but we ran a test with an original ipod touch. first generation. >> okay. and which website did you go to?

>> we went to usell which is an aggregator, actually, gathers you offers from various sites, so it's actually my favorite of the selling sites, as well as gazelle, which is allows you to sell different products. a wider variety of products. and depending on the condition, you're going to get anywhere from about $12 to $20 bucks for this ipad touch and then you can decide is it worth it for me to collect on this money. >> let's look, the other option is to donate. >> right. so if you donate what you're getting for your value is a tax deduction. you're going to get a receipt, and that piece of paper is going to be really important when it comes to using that as a deduction on your tax return. if you're thinking about donating, before you head to the web and you look at any of the websites, i'd actually look at your own area. because we know that schools are making fantastic use of ipods -- ipads and other tab lethss. they're using them with autistic kids, and we know that women's shelters, for example, are looking for phones to hand out to their residents.

so look locally. if you don't find something that appeals to you then, there's a site called the recorrect partnership. put together by the phones at goodwill and dell although they will take just about anything and there are a number of other causes, as well. again, got to figure out what it's worth. so you go to the sites that allow you to buy it and sell it first, then you can give it away. >> why would you want to donate as opposed to maybe making some cash? >> sometimes i think the amount of money that you're going to get for a device, particularly if it's not in great shape, or it's a few generations old, you're going to think to yourself, god is this really worth it? if you think about it, that's why you and i have things sitting in drawers. at the same time, my old phones, if i just took them and gave them to the local women's shelter i would feel pretty good about that and i would also know that they were doing some decent work. >> and then the third option, which is also an important one, is recycling. >> right. because we are, and i was astonished by these numbers, we throw away in this country 350,000 cell phones every single

day. >> wow. >> 130,000 computers. every single day. i mean, the degree to which these are filling up our landfills -- >> and they have toxic components in them. >> yes, you want to make sure that they're properly disposed of. 1800recycle.com is a source where you can go to figure out where to give these. most of your major electronics retailers, best buy, office depot, staples, office max, will actually take them from you and apple, if you take your old ipad and give it to them will give you 10% off of a new one. >> and you also have to make sure you wipe all your data off. >> oh, my goodness, absolutely. and with any computer, with any tablet, with any phone, clear it away before you give it away. >> all right. jean chatzky, thanks so much. still to come, oprah's network pulling the plug on rosie's talk show. so what's next for the two one-time queens of talk? we'll find out. but up next, grab that cup of coffee. we're going to tell you what you

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because it works. get started "today" is brought to you i go got milk? it's just not breakfast without milk. nourish every day. got milk? ♪ let's get it started net. >> this morning on "get started today" getting your energy back. whether you find it hard to wake up or get sluggish every afternoon there could be some health reasons behind your fatigue. dr. raj, good morning. >> you too. >> we have a long list of tips to get to. if you have fatigue for a long period of time, maybe you want

to check with your doctor, make sure it's not something more seriously. >> absolutely. fatigue or weakness could be a sign of a most of medical illnesses. but for many of us, it's really just our daily lives getting us down. >> your first tip is that makes sense, you say get more sleep. you have some ideas of how we can do this, taking a hot bath. >> yes. it's interesting, because when you take a hot bath, you do, of course, warm your body, your core temperature. but then your body has sort of a reflex when it cools itself down in reaction to that warmth and that can help you sleep. you want your temperature to be rather cool to have a really good night's sleep. >> so the hot bath, you feel hot at first -- >> then you get a rapid cooldown which really helps. >> you say aromatherapy can also work. >> certain scents, lavender in particular that tend to calm you and put you in a mood. a pillow, or even a candle right before you go to sleep could really help. >> for those of us who love our technology the next one makes a lot of sense, lose the blues. >> we're talking about the blue wavelength light. in a lot of artificial lights,

the blue wavelength is the one that's going to interfere with your melatonin production and that's the hormone that helps us sleep. you want to dim the lights in general about an hour before you're ready to go to bed and any sort of technology that has a flashing lights, the computer, or even your phone, you want to make sure you can't see that light because it's going to interfere with your sleep. >> your next bit of advice is to start exercising. a lot of people think if i exercise too late in the day won't that affect my sleep negatively? >> we're talking about a quick 15 minute burst of exercise during the middle of the day to help you regain some energy. so whether it's just a brisk walk or even if you're at your desk, doing some jumping jacks in the privacy of your office or side crunches or bends can get the oxygen moving and get you to feeling better. but it's true, you don't want to exercise, doing a full workout too late at night. >> okay. also how we eat certainly affects our energy. you say skipping meals is not a good idea. >> it's not a good idea. many people who diet tend to do this. it's not good for dieting, either. but you really want to eat every four hours something.

we want to keep these snacks low calorie. under 200 calories is a good rule of thumb. and you want to make sure the snack has a mixture of protein, as well as fiber, as well as some carbohydrates. the carbohydrates will give you a quick rush. the fiber will keep you full longer. and the protein, as well, will satiate your hunger for a longer time. something like a banana with some yogurt or fruit. some lean turkey breast. any combination of those could help. >> okay. power snacks. some quick foods to get more energy, let's do quick fact or fiction on some of these. fact or fiction, caffeine gives you more energy. >> yes. i think we all know this is true. it's absolutely true. now you don't want to overdo it. so the rule of them is two to three cups a day. or about 250 milligrams of caffeine. it can definitely give you a boost. if you go over that, especially if you're sensitive to it, you might have the opposite where you're jittery and unable to concentrate. it's not going to help you. >> is it better to space out your caffeine through the day? >> it is generally better. however after 2:00 p.m. or 3:00

p.m. it could interfere with your sleep. >> fact or fiction, energy supplements give you more energy. >> well, for the most part these supplements are really caffeine-like stimulants. and i really prefer the caffeine. because when you're coming to a supplement you're not exactly sure how well it's been studied and how safe it is. it can have some side effects. i would stick to the caffeine. >> i think we already know the answer to this one. being outside boosts energy. >> absolutely. yes. the sunlight in general can help. as well as just the fresh air. getting outside, the fact that you're walking. going outside for just even a few minutes in the middle of the day can definitely reboost your energy. >> fact or fiction, music? >> we know when we're at the gym the music helps us work out a little bit harder. even if you're at your desk working, putting on some music will elevate your energy level. of course we want something a little bit upbeat. classic cal, nothing too dark. >> nothing depressing. >> exactly. >> fact or fiction, b-12 shots added energy. a lot of celebrities take these. >> this is kind of a fact and the truth is unless you're truly b-1 deficient, taking extra b-12 is not going to make a

difference. most of us get enough in our diet whether it's in fish or dairy or meat. if you're concerned, get your level checked. for most of us, the extra boost isn't going to do anything. >> dr. rashaanny raj good ideas. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> still to come, packing light. we've got high-tech ways to lighten your load and save you money on your next vacation. i remember the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older,

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9:26 is your time now on this monday, march 19, 2012. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm 4 meteorologist veronica johnson to look at the forecast. good morning. >> good morning. we had clouds this morning. those have sure thinned out and we have a lot of sunshine coming lou. helping to warm us up very quickly. most locations are right in d.c., 70 to 75 degrees with a few and i mean few light passing showers. mainly during the afternoon. we can see more showers passing tuesday. then getting up to 80 degrees wednesday. >> thank you. we will take a quick break and

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♪ you better hang on she's a rocker ♪ ♪ she's a heart attack my little darling is a firecracker ♪ >> that's firecracker by country crooner josh turner. at the grand ole opry at the tender age of 30. he's got a new challenge on his hands, sitting in for kathie lee, hosting the fourth hour alongside hoda. >> he wrote the song for hoda. >> she's his little firecracker. >> could be trouble. >> there will be sparks. anyway coming up just ahead, they're both considered hot properties when it comes to

daytime talk, so teaming oprah winfrey with rosie o'donnell seemed like a match made in media heaven. now oprah's own network canceled the rosie show. what happened? we will take a look. >> and then packing lightly. there is, it turns out, an app from that. to websites where you can preorder toiletries to sites that will have clothes waiting for you at the hotel. we'll show you how to save space in your suitcase. then in "today's kitchen" a little taste of espana with paella, and come tapas to round out the menu. >> first let's get a check of our crazy weather. >> let's show you what we've got going for you starting with you. starting with our early week period. much above normal temperatures, eastern third of the country. out west, little on the chillier side. heavy rain from the lower gulf coast into the mississippi river valley. and hangs right there during the mid week period. above normal temperatures through the plains. back to the east of the great lakes, more rain and cooler

weather pacific northwest. latter part of the week, rain continues down in the lower gulf coast. back up into the mid mississippi river valley. and more showers in in the pacific northwest, great lakes on into the plains. that's what's going on around the untry. hear's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> all right. our trend continues running still well above average. 15 to 20 degrees all week long. 75 degrees today. may see passing light shower but not a big deal at all. same deal for tomorrow. we could see a passing light shower. 73 the high. wednesday and thursday of 78 and 79 degrees. oh, my goodness. lit feel a lot like late may. we cool down a little bit for next weekend. friday, showers, thunderstorm over the weekend. 67 to about and that's your weather. >> al, thank you. coming up two queens of daytime talk split up. so what went wrong? we'll tell you about it right after this. ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart skips a beat ♪ my heart is playing tricks on me ♪

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it was billed as the return of two tv titans, oprah winfrey and rosie o'donnell joining forces. >> but after just a single disappointing season on the own network, it seems rosie will once again say good-bye to talk tv for now. >> nbc's kevin tibbles has more now from chicago where the rosie show taped. kevin, good morning to you. >> good morning guys from outside oprah winfrey's harpo studios this morning. this was supposed to be rosie o'donnell's big comeback. and for the own network, it was supposed to bring big ratings. well it simply hasn't panned out and now the "o" has canned the ro. >> wow. look at us. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a second chance for the former queen of daytime. >> very few people get a second

shot at something like this. >> reporter: after a tumultuous end to her last tv stint at "the view" where rosie publicly feuded with her co-host elisabeth hasselbeck -- >> why don't you take this opportunity, like i'm 6 -- >> reporter: and the show's creator barbara walters. >> but i resent it. >> reporter: this rosie show was supposed to be a return to her roots. >> she likes kids, music, playing. >> reporter: rosie off the cuff. >> not like somebody's water broke and the baby's breach, it's just a game. >> reporter: it sounded a lot like this rosie o'donnell show which made the host a household name and brought in 5 million viewers a day, something the struggling own network desperately needs. but despite the old recipe, a band, a live audience and games, even prime real estate in oprah's old studio, it wasn't enough. to make matters worse, the 7:00 p.m. time slot meant o'donnell's core audience, stay at home moms, weren't watching. >> you had rosie doing this big, expensive talk show every night,

and she was getting like 150,000 viewers. which didn't justify her contract or the staff that was needed to put on such a big talk show every day. >> reporter: that's when executives and o'donnell started making cuts. no more band or studio audience. a smaller studio. and eventually a single guest format that couldn't lure big name stars. >> this was supposed to be a show that would put own back on the map, and revitalize the network that was in a lot of trouble. and that never happened. >> reporter: as ratings got worse, rosie reportedly began feuding with staffers. and after weeks of speculation, the own network made it official, saying the rosie show was canceled. and although she wasn't heavily involved throughout the show, it was oprah herself who canceled rosie. so who's really at fault? industry insiders believe there is plenty of blame to go around. >> own kind of took the rosie out of "the rosie show" and they made her very, you know, boring.

>> reporter: two tv titans and their egos and supercharged expectations, well it simply hasn't worked out here. rosie will be taping her final shows in chicago this week. guys, back to you. >> all right, kevin tibbles in chicago. >> i wonder what the next act will be. >> the fact of the matter is, nobody's going to be holding a bake sale for rosie. you know the people who work on the show, who are losing their jobs, those are the people you feel really bad for. >> that's absolutely right. >> i know. >> well coming up next, don't let your luggage weigh you down on your next trip. we're going to show you how the web can help you travel light with that big yellow ducky, no, that's not it. we'll tell you how the web can help. we know a place where tossing and turning have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery

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the first one we're going to start with is one called minimumimist.giv. obviously when you're packing toiletries, groegsry items, specially food items they take up a lot of room in your bag or you're stuck wherever you're going on vacation finding a grocery store or pharmacy -- >> or something breaks in your luggage. >> this site carries 2,000 products and a lot of them are hard-to-find items like diet salad dressing. who'd have thought. this is one of the most popular people buy on the site. >> all sample sizes. >> little sample sizes. you can stick these in your purse. >> little baby tabasco. so there's fun food items, gluten free stuff, and also sunscreen, aloe vera gel. for sun burn. certainly all kinds of first aid things. and the great things about this stuff is you can either take it with you or have it shipped there and then when you're done, it's small enough that you can put it in your bag and take it home. >> or toss the packaging. i like the idea of that.

no more packing big toiletries or bulky items. let's move over to obviously date night or maybe you have like a great night to go out but you don't want to pack a dress so you say there's actually a couple sites that you can get fancy dresses. you can rent them. >> you rent them exactly. there's a couple things to that. number one you're saving money. because, for example, this is a versace dress that retails for $645. you could rent this for $100. they will send it to your destination, ready to wear. >> in a couple different sizes. >> you pay for the two sizes. you rent it for $100. you get the two sizes and they send you a prepaid shipping envelope, you stick it in any blue post office box when you're done or give it to the concierge. rent the runway also carries all kinds of really fun accessories so you can get a beautiful clutch or earrings. >> jewelry. >> and the other thing that i really love about this site, too, is that you can buy undergarments that maybe you don't want to carry with you or

maybe, you know, you're somewhere and you just can't find spanx, for example. not that you need them. >> oh, we wear them. we love them. >> and the thing is what's terrific, they'll send that in the package. >> right. >> so you get all your stuff together. you don't have to pack it. you can get a really fun dress. >> put it back in the mail and send it back. okay, we love that idea. rent the run way dotcom. next you say ditch the travel guides and maps. you have a couple apps, instead. >> we want to ditch the travel guides. first i want to show you, you can ditch the magazines. we all love beach reads, right? but they're bulky and they're also, if you buy them in the airport you've got to carry them on the plane. this is an app called livestand. it's a virtual magazine stand. >> cool. >> if you have a tablet. you can create a personal library like here's one, parenting for example. and here's some magazines with great content for you wherever you are. you don't have to pack the bulky magazines with you.

this particular app, livestand has really a wide variety, everything from parenting to sports magazines. >> what are you paying for the livestand? >> it's free. it's free. >> even better. and there are about 200 titles. they're constantly adding new ones. it's just a great resource to have. and maybe a good incentive to buy a tablet if you haven't gotten an ipad yet. the other app we're talking about on travel guides is called, it happens here. this is really cool. you use it on your phone. >> okay. >> and using gps, say you're visiting new york for the first time, and you're right here, rockefeller center. >> okay. >> it will tell you where you are and all of the historical events, movie scenes that were shot here, famous crimes that may have happened within, say a 5 to 10 block radius of here, based on where you are. it's called it happened here. $2.99 for each city. they have about 40 cities and it's available for iphone and android platforms. >> that is great if you want to explore a little history. >> okay now this one, parents will love this.

because how many times when you're obviously going on vacation with your children you end up packing all the gear that you have to take, as well. so you say don't pack the diapers, the toys, the baby supplies, you have good ideas on how we can leave home without these things? >> this is called babies travel light. and what they do is they ship any baby need that you have to any destination worldwide. >> so this is inflatable bath stub? >> this is an inflatable bathtub. so the great back story about this company is it started by a husband and wife. they were traveling with their 7-week-old infant to a wedding in iowa and they couldn't find some of the things that they needed there and they said you know what, we could create a site for people to be able to order this stuff. so it's really, this is an inflatable booster chair. now this is not rental. this is purchase. but what's great about this for example the bathtub you deflate it, stick it back in your bag and -- >> take it on your next trip. >> swim diapers, baby sunscreen, toys so you don't have to pack those or worry about finding a

target, buy it while you're on vacation. >> heather cabot, great ideas. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> packing for spring break. coming up next, in "today's kitchen," a spanish classic, paella. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in "today's kitchen" we're spicing things up with the secrets of spain. >> and chef ken owner of seven restaurants in the boston area. >> today he's showing us how to make seafood paella, along with two of his favorite tapas. good to see you. >> nice to see you guys. >> i bet a lot of people are very intimidated by this. >> paella is so easy. as you see now, all we have to do is pretty much throw everything in one pan. >> mm-hmm. >> you start out with what's called a soprito and pretty much, tomato paste or puree or fresh tomatoes, whatever you want to use. onions are very important.

saffron. >> okay. >> the real stuff. >> the real stuff. olive oil and then you guys want to dump this right in. >> so what do you have in here? >> so we have red bell peppers, scallions, garlic, smoked chorizo and some chicken. >> okay. >> so dump it all in. and then all you have to do basically is start to cook this where you want to bring out all the oil from the and meld the flavors. this is called bambo rice. this is from valencia. and it's very important that you use this kind of rice, you can use arborio. >> a short grain rice? >> the only important step is that you coat the rice with olive oil. >> it's uncooked rice that you put in there. >> fully uncooked. >> and next step? >> if you want to pour the stocks in. >> what is this? >> old on just a second, chef. now -- >> we were wondering.

>> all right. >> i was wondering. >> you could just repeat all those directions we didn't hear you. >> no we heard you. >> what is this stock? >> okay. >> pay no attention. this is just me -- >> okay. >> can you put -- >> hold on, only got about a half hour! >> you need a half hour? >> something's cooking in his kitchen and it ain't paella. >> so we add the broth and we're going to just add our shellfish. >> all right. >> clams and mussels? >> it's important with steps because clams take a lot longer to open than mussels. you want to add these usually about five minutes in as it starts cooking. then add our mussels about five minutes later. cooking time is only about 25 minutes. >> that's it? >> and uncovered. >> here we have one that's pretty much getting ready. and what we want to do at the end is just poke it. and what you want to see on the bottom here is, this is the crunchy bottom of the rice.

i know that you lived in spain. >> i did, yeah. >> a lot like the chinese and the rice bowl, a lot of them love to have that crunchy, crispy rice. it's the creamy and crunchy and spicy and delicious. >> so mix it all up in there. >> mix it up. and basically throw in scallions, we throw in our peas. and frozen peas are probably fine, because the heat will basically just carry them over and keep them green. and then you just throw in some shrimp that will pretty much tuck in at the last minute, because these cook, in the same thing, about a minute to 30 seconds. >> right. >> you don't want them to rubberize. >> so that's pretty much it. >> and then down herein >> then this is the finished product. >> uncovered the whole time? >> uncovered the whole time. >> you made these great -- >> so tapas, we have our cauliflower cooked on a spanish griddle, so it caramelizes it. that's with pine nuts and raisins. tomato bread, and then i know

that this is -- a party in spain is not a party in spain unless you drink the peron. >> this i've got to see. >> this is the last segment, here we go. >> here we go. >> it's sloppy. >> whoo! >> was it supposed to come back out? >> that appetizer. >> i'm going with the little crunchy bits at the bottom. >> that's not the first time natalie's done that, i don't think. >> you could have fooled me. >> okay. >> hoda and kathie lee are next.

tomorrow is the start of the always much anticipated cherry blossom festival. trees in full bloom. what will be the best day to head down to tidal basin? we are tell you what's happening at this year's 'fesstyral and why it is unprecedented. weather and traffic together on the 1s. how about our weather now?

>> weather doing a lot better than this morning. clouds earlier today. and even showers, few thunderstorms west virginia. but those making their way down to the south and east and we have a decent sky right now. expecting highs to arrive at 75. we are in the 60s currently. here is a snapshot of early tomorrow morning and showers, talk about the rest of the workweek's forecast coming up tomorrow. >> i know you don't like to start your day stuck in traffic. i will have your commuter forecast plus telling you how to avoid the big backups on the roads and any delays on the rails. >> thank you. plus all the news that happens while you sleep. captions paid for by

nbc-universal television . ♪ ♪ ♪ it's fun day, monday, march 19th, 2012. you're in store for some fun today. country star josh turner is

coming up here for kathie lee who's enjoying a day with her son. hello. you all right? we were just in the opening talking about hitting that low note. >> yeah. >> you are known for your low notes a little bit. how low can you go? i would like to know. >> the old cliche. >> yeah. >> on a good day? >> yeah. >> probably the last a-flat on a keyboard. >> so how does that sound? >> like inaudible to normal people. >> you think you can go a little low just so i can know. >> i was waiting for you to hit the first low note in "firecrack "firecracker." ♪ yeah >> i like it. we were trying to find someone who was as low as you in terms of voice. we could only find one person. we did a whole audio check across the spectrum and we came up with -- >> there we go! ♪ can't get enough of your love

baby ♪ >> is he about your range, barry white? >> yeah. >> if you guys don't know josh turner, you should. because he has four albums, a total of 5 million copies sold. okay? on two multi-weeks he had number one spot for "your man" and "would you go with me." some people enjoy country. i enjoy country music a lot. if you don't and you're an "american idol" fan, you may know him because he walked up on stage and you helped out scotty mcqueary. >> he was totally shocked. think his daddy and his sister knew about it but he and his mama didn't know anything about it. so i walk up on stage and he's just -- >> i think we might have that. ♪ ♪ i can't believe how much -- oh, my gosh!

oh, my goodness! ♪ i've been thinking about this all day long ♪ >> cool! ♪ never had a feeling that was quite this strong ♪ >> he's got a good voice range, scott mcqueary. >> like you saw, he was on opposite end of of the stage. i kept thinking he's going to notice me out here. the crowd's hollering, he's still out there shaking people's hands and it took him forever to realize i was up on stage. >> we were trying to find this video, on the computer we pulled up the actual video for this. >> yeah. >> this is a steamy video. i didn't know this was in your -- okay. hold on. there's a woman who pops up in this. okay. i don't know if we're going to be showing the sexual part but you have your hands all over her. you're kissing her. who is she. >> that's my wife. >> oh, it is? >> yeah. >> is it really? >> yes. yes. >> oh, my god!

i didn't know that. she's in your band, too. right? >> yes. >> she's adorable. you guys have three children and you had a little mishap on the way here. didn't you? what happened? you were getting ready to get on the plane to come? what happened? what is the story here? is. >> my oldest son hampton had slammed his finger in a drawer and his fingernail just turned black and blue like right off the bat. would you have thought he died. >> is that him or is that -- >> yeah, that's him. that's my little buddy. and i had to console him and calm him down. he was just flipping out. but he's pretty tough and -- it just caused me to leave the house late and i barely made the plane. >> i'm glad you're here. you have a beautiful wife, beautiful kids. i have a great memory of you co-hosting with me before. my favorite was when you sang to me. you remember? >> absolutely. >> let's hear. i want to hear a little bit more.

♪ we the way i see it the whole wide world has gone crazy so baby why don't we just dance ♪ ♪ down the hall maybe straight up the stairs ♪ ♪ bouncing off the walls floating on air ♪ ♪ hoda why don't we just dance ♪ >> i love that song. i was shocked when i heard it on the radio and my name wasn't in it. it was a bummer. >> well, radio edited it out. >> you have a new video coming out. >> yeah. >> it is actually being released immediately after our program but of course because we are who we are we have a little sneak peek of this. what's the name of this song. >> "time is love." it is the debut single off of my new album coming out later this spring, summer. and the name of the record is "punchin' bag." we had a great time shooting this video in downtown

nashville. >> let's take a peek. we got everything here. ♪ ♪ >> beautiful. beautiful. beautiful. i think we've got some fans with a couple questions for you. >> our fan emily wrote in -- my husband and i always had have an argument when it comes to josh turner. my husband says josh's voice is not that low on his own and he uses something on the microphone or while recording. i say he doesn't. so what is it? >> the wife would be correct. >> yeah. >> she's right? >> so there's no thingamajig -- >> no. >> when did your voice turn to be this low? how old were you? >> it was a gradual process. i almost lost my voice back in '96. i went to the voice clinic there

in nashville at vanderbilt. went through a lot of training and rehabilitation on trying to learn how to properly use my voice and i went through training at belmont university and just throughout that whole process it just got bigger and deeper and richer and i just learned how to use it properly and it got healthier and, prior to that i sounded more like mickey mouse. >> we like how you sound now. we're glad you're here. i spent a little weekend in florida getting ready for you. >> so was i. >> where were you in florida? >> we were all over the place. we were in flant plant city, key largo. >> kathie's down in the keys. i went to a strip mall, one of those places, next to a nail place and a this place. there's a line out the door around the corner. i got to tell you, the food was crazy. it's one of those things where you can order your food a

million different ways. they cook it right in front of you. that's some guy named ethan. i don't know. who cares? anyway, he was in there. we were -- anderson cooper apparently came to our defense. kathie lee and i get razzed a lot, don't know if you know it, because of our drinking thing. notice sweet tea. anderson cooper came to our defense, josh. i didn't get to see it but people have been talking about it. they were talking to me about it in florida so i want to take a peek. >> now i'm finally taking a stand on behalf of two women who i consider to be national treasures. that's right. like my eyes, theyre two national treasures. you see, this morning i was watching the fourth hour of the dts show in my bathtub, as i always do. comes on at 10:00 or as it is known on nbc, booze-o'clock. i noticed joel mchale on the e exclamation point channel. mr. mchale was clearly trying to

patch things up with kathie lee and hoda lee. much to their credit, those two ladies were not having it. >> you guys look fabulous. >> we know -- >> i don't know whether kathie lee and hoda hate remembers so riled up about. i've seen nothing on the fourth hour of the "today" show that's even remotely unusual. >> coming up -- >> by the way, joel mchale isn't the only person at nbc who's gone after my kathie lee. yeah, i'm looking at you, kristin wade. >> 2: 30 in the morning i hear this commotion. i don't know what it is. it's frank. >> pipe down, haters, and let kathie lee and hoe ka do what they do best, deliver an hour of wine-soaked tv heaven. you know you love it right down to the last drop. >> i did know there were any haters. i am disappointed to hear this news. >> well, johnny cash told john anderson one time -- this is a really obscure story -- they were hunting wild hogs. >> of course they were. >> somewhere. in florida, somewhere. they were out in the woods and johnny cash says to john

anderson, he said, he said, john, you got, you know, all these people that come to your meet and greets saying you're my favorite, you're the best, i came here just for you. oh, yeah, i got a few of them. johnny cash says there's also that many people out there who hate you. >> i'm suddenly depressed. all right. so we do this thing, we have young kids -- this is all kids between the ages of 8 and 16 and they're allowed to submit videos. we're going to listen to a couple of videos but we can't look at their faces because it's going to be a surprise later. let's roll our entries from "the voice." ♪ i'm screaming out my dreams will be heard ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> what do you think? >> i can look? >> yeah. >> how old is this person? >> i don't know. we don't know the ages yet. like 8 to 16. 13. >> well,ky hear the youth in there. the pitch is great. there's a lot of potential in there. i think there's some -- it's a little rough, the transitions from note to note and i feel like she can just let loose and just -- >> set it free. >> -- sound a lot more comfortable. she sounds a little hesitant. >> listen to this, judge judy. let's get the next one. ♪

♪ >> all right. what do you think? >> i think there's some potential there, too. i think the first thing that jumps out to me is that they need to enunciate their words a little better. other than that, i think it's pretty good. >> all right. we've got a big show for you guys. by the way, if you want to enter into our contest, go to klgandhoda.com. you have until march 30th. again, two minutes. no longer than two minutes acapella. coming up next, we have everything that hollywood is buzzing about all weekend long and we have a lot more coming up right after this. captain, we have to keep going! [ growling ] one step at a time. come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage.

- snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ] long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. the adventures of tintin, on dvd and blu-ray today. all at 150 calories or less, there's definitely a temptations for you. unless you're one of those people who doesn't like delicious stuff. temptations. it's the first jell-o that's just for adults. this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis,

staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives,

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buzz." do you know what that means, josh. >> i sure do. that's when we feel people in on everything that went down in hollywood this past weekend. >> who better than you? here from "the soup," the celebrity's naughty but nice columnist. >> have you amazing teeth, josh. >> thank you. >> they are sparkly and white. >> we saw some video earlier today. we saw the guy from the coney video kind of running around naked. >> we're not sure if it is him. it might be. we're not sure yet. but however, his wife did issue a statement saying that her husband was under tremendous pressure. he's dehydrated. he hadn't been eating very well. she also said there are no substance abuses. he was not doing drugs. he wasn't drunk. however, he clearly, whoever this chap is, is having a major, major breakdown. i think the important thing here is this guy went from zero to 100 overnight.

not only did his video become very, very famous, so did he. this might be a little warning about the pressures of being that much of a star that quick. >> you know what i think? >> what do you think? >> i think he's behind all this. i think this is some other guy and he's making everybody think that it is him so obviously he's popular again. >> look at you, mr. iracy theorist. next, russell brandt was in new orleans. he's a hot head. people were taking his photograph as he left a venue. he didn't like this so he grabbed the iphone that somebody was taking the photograph with and threw it threw a window of a place opposite the venue. then an arrest warrant was issued. he turned himself in. he's out now and now he's fighting back. in the state of louisiana, if you cause less than $500 worth of damage, it isn't such a big deal. so russell's saying he paid for the window to be repaired.

it was only $250. he said that the iphone, the damage to that was not that big. >> he's always hounded by people with iphones and cameras. >> i think people are reading into it a little bit saying this might be after katy perry, he's in an ugly divorce. his life might not be in the best way. sometimes people can get on your nerves when they're in your face. >> do you get angry when they get in your face? >> yeah, but i've never thrown a phone. i think there needs to be a mutual respect there. >> people are saying was it really a paparazzi or was it a fan? that one we'll find out. >> speaking of arrests, george clooney was in the tank for a little while. what happened there? >> i love that! you're so hip. he was protesting all the awful atrocities that have been going on in sudan. i was outside the sudanese embassy where he did get arrested. he is out on bond, $100. and he did make one phone call

from prison. guess who he called? >> who? >> his mommy. >> his dad was also arrested. >> his dad was also arrested. we don't know who the dad called but george called this mom. >> clear up this body christina business. she was seen with her -- adopted brother. >> it is a complicated issue here. about ten years ago a young gentleman moved in with whitney and bobby kristina. his name is nick. she never adopted him, is he no blood relative but he has been living with the family in the mansion in atlanta for at least ten years. what has happened now is bobbi has been seen with him a lot. they've been seen hugging. she's now sporting a massive, massive diamond ring on her engagement finger and people are wondering if in fact these two did get engaged. >> are the two of them living in whitney's house? >> yeah. these pictures that we just saw are from atlanta where they walked the streets, they go to starbucks together. they're living together and now she's wearing an engagement ring.

people think she might in fact have said "i do." >> you'll be back to tell us what happens next. thank you, rob. next we'll meet our fan of the week. it could be you. chances are. okay? right after this. heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems,

especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. my skin loses moisture nearly twice as fast as yours does, mom. that's why you use johnson's baby lotion twice a day to keep my skin baby soft. you've really got this "mom thing" down. ♪ those five food groups sound a whole lot better

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it is monday and that means it's time to meet our fan of the week. we find out where that lucky girl or guy is going. >> the lovely -- what do you call her? the hag in the corner? she's anything but. >> kathie lee is back! that's right. and this week's winner is -- >> who is it? >> jan berg from minnesota who watches on channel 11, all morning long jan has her tv tuned to stay at work. she loves that are you relatable and always yourself. her favorite parts of the show are favorite things, i hoda and any time you try out a new exercise, which is just funny

because they wear their heels. she even exercises along with the show but her favorite fourth hour of all-time is the no-makeup show. >> did they photo shop her in all these pictures? >> well, no, that really happened at our studio. did you miss it? >> thanks, jan for being so creative with your entry. we are sending you and a friend to st. martin's where you'll spend four nights and five days at the radisson resort. you'll also receive two 50-minute spa treatments at the spa and round trip airfare for two, hotel and air fair accommodatiobeing fare accommodations provided by radisson resort. >> i'm a fan now. >> go to klgandhoda.com if you want to be fan of the week. coming up, everything's coming up roses on "smash." actress bernadette peters shows up. we'll talk to her in a bit.

then we'll meet a woman with a lot of will power and find out how she lost 125 pounds. and we'll put you in the right dress. [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry

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♪ we are back on this fun day monday with our special guest host, country star josh turner is helping me out while kathie lee is away. >> what makes it more fun for me is that the two-time tony winner bernadette peters is here. >> that's right. having performed in more than a dozen broadway shows, it is only fitting that tonight she guest stars in the nbc drama "splash." bernadette plays the mother of ivy who was set to star in the new marilyn monroe musical and when the cast meets mama, she turns out to be a "smash." take a look. ♪

♪ ♪ >> wow! wow. well, hello, missy. >> hello, hello. >> how about you outshining your daughter on tv in that little scene. >> well, that was the whole point of the whole thing. >> tell us about your character. >> well, i play megan's mother. megan plays ivy who is starring in the workshop of marilyn, playing marilyn monroe. i said i insistvy to come to rehearsal. >> yes, of course you do. >> i am a broadway performer of some note so when i come into the room, everybody looks at me and everything stops. and they asked me to sing. the kids. "sing something!"

and they said "sing everything is coming up roses." that song is the ultimate stage mother and here's poor ivy living under my shadow. here i come over, i take over, i sing. i suck all the air out of the room. >> how was it in real life? this is obviously a tv show about broadway. you're a huge broadway star. when you came to the real set, what was the feeling like? >> i'm there to work and -- but everybody couldn't be nicer and afterwards people were especially nice to me and -- but you have very, very talented people here. you have megan and you have katherine mcphee and you have angelica houston and deborah messing and they're so talented and so nice and so much. >> the clip we just played, that particular scene, how many takes did it take you to do?

>> that one was -- that was about six or eight or whatever. >> since you've been through broadway, you know the highs and lows of it. they depict it really well in this show. what kind of lessons did you learn, bernadette, just from your career? you've been on top. you've had low moments. tell us a little bit about that. >> well, i think the thing is to just do the best you can in anything. if you give your all to fulfill that role -- and to tell the truth. that's really what you want to do everywhere. >> do you know how young you look? every time she comes on -- no, this is what bothers us. usually over different years people seem to age -- >> like me. >> but you never get in the sun. isn't that part of the deal? you never get in the sun. >> i don't know how to swim. >> what else do you do? that's it? >> and i don't care for the sun too much. >> that's not your thing.

>> i once had a house in florida and that was the most sun, just walking around, to the gym and back. look at you! >> please. i didn't get enough sleep. so "smash" is on tonight. you're also going to be in the finale. so if you don't get enough of bernadette in this one, you can see her in the finale. >> always my pleasure. great to see you. next, we'll meet a woman who dropped more than 100 pounds. you'll learn all about it right after this. sometimes, i feel like it's me against my hair. [ female announcer ] end the struggle with weak, damaged hair with new aveeno nourish+ strengthen. it nurtures hair back to strong, healthy life. our exclusive active naturals wheat protein formula works with your hair, targeting damage, restoring strength and resilience for up to 90% less breakage in just three washes. find peace with your hair. [ female announcer ] and discover strong, healthy hair with life. new nourish+ strengthen, from the nourish+ hair care collection. only from aveeno. ourself from the nourish+ hair care collection.

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time for "look at me now the "joy fit club"" and the induction of its newest member. >> a 41-year-old i.t. manager from hamden, connecticut. >> before we meet her, let's take a look at her story. >> my name is erin and i'm 42 years old. i have a full-time job and also run a busy household.

over the years i packed on the pounds. when i got married, i was 230 pounds and my weight eventually reached 252 pounds. looking at my photos, no one would ever believe it, but it was true. a few years ago my son had surgery for hip dysplasia. i stayed home to take care of him, but at the time i was so overweight that it was hard for me to move around. i realized i needed to take back control of my life, so i could better take care of my family. a co-worker told me about caloriecount.com. a free diet, health and wellness site. i began log my daily meals and caloric intake. once i gained control of my diet i began an exercise program at my local gym. now that i've lost more than 120 pounds, i am a happier and healthier person as a result.

>> before we ask erin to come out, joy bauer is going to tell us all about her eating habits. >> this is what's so powerful about her story. she went from a size 20 to a size 2 in the midst of chaos. she has two small kids that have medical issues -- ah! and the food! anyway, she's amazing. >> vegetables will do that to you. >> never eat them. all right. what did she start off eating? >> beforehand she was eating out every single meal during the work week. so breakfast, lunch and dinner she was hitting fast food restaurants. aside from being collectively more than 3,600 calories, she was spendi ining $41.90 per day. the cool thing is now -- >> careful. >> let's pick up our bag of groceries. >> so now she shops for the groceries and she gets fresh and frozen vegetables, whole grain

breads and english muffins and egg whites and she's cooking and saving herself -- look at this hard cash -- more than $40 a day and the cool thing is she's collectively saved more than $14,000 annually and she bought herself a car! so she lost weight and she gained a car. >> should we check her out? >> absolutely. >> leer's erin's before picture. all right, erin. let's see the new you. ♪ >> look at those arms! >> you saw her downstairs? >> i did. i didn't know who she was. >> you do now. how long did it take you to take that weight off? >> 2 1/2 years of very committed, detailed working out and eating -- >> i'm in love with her arms. >> what are you doing to get those guns. >> boxing. >> you are? >> i box every friday night at 6: 6:30. it really helps. i work with all guys --

>> that's nice. >> well, they do test my limits -- >> you don't want to meet her in a dark alley. >> we're so happy. thank you. you got your supportive mom with you. i know, as always. thank you for coming to see us. >> thanks, erin. >> if you guys have someone you think should be considered, joy will help you out. serious business for girls -- the hottest wedding gowns. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank.

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♪ ♪ you do ♪ something to me ♪ that nobody else could do ♪

it's time for "today's style." the one piece of wardrobe you've probably thought of since you were a little girl? >> string bikini? i'm guessing that would be a wedding gown? >> the latest dress trends that

you're seeing down the runway and down the aisle. we were just talking about josh's wedding. how many years have you been married? >> almost nine years. >> do you remember your wife's wedding dress? >> i do. >> and? what do you remember? >> she only wore it once. >> by the way, what a beautiful, beautiful picture. now what's great about this segment, too, these wedding dresses are affordable. that's the key. >> they're all affordable and all very trendy. >> let's start off. the kay middleton effect. come out, angela. >> you can blame kate middleton for sleeves, long veils, ball gowns are all coming back in style. >> what's going on here? >> she's also removing this because it is a two-in-one. >> josh is finally happy he's here. >> this is by david's bridal. it is $1,500. that's a whole lot of dress. and it is beautiful. we got the sleeve but can you also remove it for the reception and have a little more fun with it. we personalized it, added a belt

there, then of course the beautiful long veil in the back makes it very traditional which she can take off for the reception. >> by the way, this is the most beautiful song in the world playing right now, by train. thanks, hon. next up, colors. >> we're not talking ivory versus white. check this one out. this is a very beautiful champagne dress by w2. it is about $1,500. it is showing off your personality a little bit. you don't have to wear all white if you don't feel comfortable in it. maybe you like a little pink or maybe you like a little blue. my friend wore purple on her wedding day. >> she did? >> she did. it was beautiful. >> what do you think of color, josh? >> i like it. i was actually thinking where there's a trend now where there's not a whole lot of veil? >> it depends on the girl. i think veils are coming back in style but for a lot of girls they'd rather just wear nice hairpins. whatever works with your hair. she's got a beautiful big necklace on.

it is all about the whole package there. >> thanks, hon. >> this is your red carpet moment. think about angelina jolie at the oscar is wearing that beautiful slit dress. this is $339. >> what? >> yes. it looks amazing. father of the bride's happy. that strap there is removable. if she wants to go strapless, she can do that. the ruching is very trendy, fitted nicely. >> beautiful. lastly, let's bring out marissa. she's showing up about sequins and sparkles. >> this is about $1,300. we've got the mermaid silhouette which a lot of girls like. it is strapless, very popular neckline. all of that crystal encrusted sort of beading going on gives her that sparkle as she walks down the aisle. i think it would look really

nice down the aisle. >> all of you come out and show off your wedding gowns. you have a nice memory, josh? thanks, sweetie. next, the drama surrounding the death of a super model. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪

tapping into her sensibilities at the helm at the world of the hottest women's magazine, kate white takes her readers on a stylish right around manhattan in the best selling book.

>> called "so pretty it hurts." this time around bailey is trying to solve the murder of a super model. >> look at you, kate. by the way, this one -- i don't know how you do it. this edit this "cosmopolitan" magazine. this is about a super model who gets murdered. >> right. bailey's at the weekend home of a record producer and the super model is now becoming a singer. not country-western, unfortunately -- >> sad. >> and she ends up dead in her bed and bailey suspects foul play. but unfortunately, they're all housebound for a snowstorm so there might be a murderer in the house. >> i learned something, reading your notes. i did not know that this one was a cover girl of actually "glamour" magazine of a competitor. look at you! wait a minute. tell us the back story here. >> i won this contest when i was in college. thendy model for a while. just because i had been that nerdy girl in high school and never had a date.

you think if you model, the guys will look at think -- >> and what happened? >> the only difference is her hair's shorter. >> thank you, josh! "so pretty it hurts." >> did you draw from those experiences to sort of make the book seem more authentic? >> i did. i went back and visited some modeling agencies. you get tons of models at "cosmo" dropping their trousers -- the guys, that is. but i did draw on it and also my own experiences. it always fascinated me a little bit. >> i know you've written a couple books before. is this one of those if you haven't read the previous two zblsh you can jump in now. >> good. >> what about "cosmopolitan" magazine and you, what do you think of that? >> i think it is great. >> you got a lot of that kind of stuff in it. >> we know we've got a lot of guy readers. >> do you? what do guys want from a magazine? >> they tell us their number one goal for reading it is that they want to please women. they want to know what makes us

tick, they don't get us and what can they do to please us. >> so give me a tip on how to please my wife when i get home. >> tell her she's gorgeous, which i'm sure you do. listen to her. seduce her. >> can you do that? >> yeah. you saw the video! >> by the way, one of our facebook fans said all she wanted was for josh turner to read her the phone book. >> as long as it's not the new york city phone book. >> i want to thank you for coming to see us. you were terrific. >> before we leave, i have some things -- i came bearing gifts. >> did you? >> i brought you -- lariat boots, which is what i always wear. and my favorite restaurant, cracker barrel. here's a gift card. so whenever you come to nashville or wherever -- >> you're sweet! i'll take you up on that. $50. we can share it.

tomorrow, your fellow country music star wrote that song "love like crazy." plus a 40-year-old mom who became an nfl cheerleader. it is country week all week long. randy travis, we have a great lineup. [ clanking ]

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