good morning. breaking news. george zimmerman posts bail and walks out of a florida jail overnight. will he be forced to leave that state for his own safety? as he awaits his trial for the murder of trayvon martin. nasty nor'easter. a powerful spring storm causing misery for millions of people from virginia to mountain this morning. soaking rain, high winds, and in some places, up to a foot of snow. al has the forecast. and coming to america. prince harry tapped to receive a major award in washington, d.c. next month. but, it's his joke he made about his brother and sister-in-law over the weekend that has people talking "today," monday, april over the weekend that has people talking "today," monday, april 23rd, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. guess who's back? >> hey, hey, well i had a nice week off of vacation. wish i was coming back to better weather, though. it's kind of a mess outside. >> for a lot of people. it's good to have you back here. >> thank you so much. ann curry coming up this morning we'll be talking about this breaking news in florida. where officials are keeping george zimmerman's whereabouts a secret this morning following his release around midnight last night. >> they're keeping the information secret for a very good reason. this is the guy who's been the target of death threats, before he was let out zimmerman was fitted with an electronic monitoring device that can track him anywhere in the united states. under conditions of bail, he must observe a nightly curfew.

he's not allowed to have guns. and he had to hand over his passport. we're going to have a report on that coming up straight ahead. >> all right. and also coming up this morning the frantic search for a 6-year-old arizona girl who disappeared from her own bedroom in the middle of the night. her parents say they tucked her in friday night, the next morning she was gone. late last night fbi dogs were sent to the search the girls home but did they find anything that can help in the investigation? we're going to meet the man heading up that investigation. >> on a much lighter note, giuliana and bill rancic will join us this morning. they've been vocal about some of the things they have faced over the last several months, including giuliana's battle with breast cancer and their struggle to begin a family. this morning they'll be here to announce some very happy news in an exclusive live interview. >> will be a pleasure to talk to them. we begin with this breaking news in florida. george zimmerman out of jail, after posting bail overnight. nbc's kerry sanders is in sanford this morning with more on this. kerry, good morning.

>> good morning, ann. george zimmerman walked out of that door here at the jail and disappeared. and his attorney says that's exactly what he wanted. free on $150,000 bond. george zimmerman holding a brown paper bag and saying nothing to reporters as he got into a white bmw, was released from the seminole county jail just past midnight. what you can't see is the electronic monitor fixed to his ankle. which the sheriff's department will use to track his every movement via gps. even if he leaves the state. zimmerman's release comes just days after the dramatic face-to-face with the parents of trayvon martin. >> my client wants to make a statement to the court, your honor. >> reporter: at his bond hearing friday, a surprise move. zimmerman, hands shackled, took the stand to apologize. >> i wanted to say i am sorry for the loss of your son. i did not know how old he was. i thought he was a little bit younger than i am. and i did not know if he was armed or not. >> reporter: the attorney for

trayvon martin's parents spoke out on their behalf. >> to have been in the same room with the killer of your child, and then for him give that insincere, very self-serving, untruthful apology. >> reporter: zimmerman's attorney says that apology was his client's idea. and was meant specifically to answer questions, first asked by the parents on this broadcast earlier this month. >> i would ask him, did he know that that was a minor? that that was a teenager, and that he did not have a weapon. >> reporter: george zimmerman's father maintains his son was acting in self-defense, claiming it was trayvon martin who was the aggressor, smashing george zimmerman's head repeatedly into a concrete sidewalk. proof of that, he says, is captured in this photo, taken by a neighbor, and broadcast on abc news. >> he had a protective cover over his nose. his lip was swollen and cut and there were two vertical gashes on the back of his head. >> reporter: but the martin family attorney sees that photo

differently. >> when you look at those pictures, you see the two cuts in his head, that is not consistent with your head being pounded into the pavement. >> reporter: and while zimmerman, now out of jail, waits for his second degree murder trial, public opinion remains split here in sanford. >> for the charge he got, he shouldn't have gotten bail. >> he doesn't seem to be a flight risk. he seems to be a person who's going to stand up for his responsibilities. >> reporter: it's possible police documents from the earliest stages of this investigation could be made public later today. perhaps revealing more about what happened that day or that night in late february. ann? >> all right, kerry sanders keeping us up to date. it is now 7:05. now here's matt. >> all right, thank you. now some overnight breaking news, as well. a big nor'easter dumping much-needed rain on states from virginia to maine. even snow in a few places. the weather channel's eric fisher is in somerset,

pennsylvania, this morning with more on this. eric, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning to you. you know, here in western pennsylvania, highs in the 70s just a few days ago, this morning it is anything but. we can show you what we are most concerned about as this snow falls. you look down the street and you see some of those trees, leaves on those trees. three to four weeks ahead of schedule because of the exceptionally warm, winter and spring that we saw. that acts as a net to collect the heavy, wet snow and those tree limbs were not anywhere near the ground when we first arrived this morning, now touching the sidewalk. we're talking to the police department in somerset, trees are already starting to come down. that is bad news, with up to a foot of snow on the way in some of the higher elevations here in pennsylvania, and already nearly a foot reported in western new york just outside of ithaca. you remember back to october a very similar situation. we called the snowtober, some people lost power for days. that could be a concern here. looks like the story is going to be one of two ill-fated storms this winter season. one october. now one here in late april.

>> eric fisher in pennsylvania this morning. thank you very much. >> i know al roker is upstairs now with more on this storm and what we can expect today. good morning to you. >> good morning. in fact the national grid in upstate new york says they have about 1,000 customers without power in ithaca. almost 13,000 customers in pennsylvania, has about 7300 people. here's the deal. storm making its way up the coast. ahead of the storm we've got a lot of rain and wind. behind it we've got wind and snow. and, in fact, snow fall amounts going to be pretty good. we've got already winter storm warnings from the mountains of west virginia up to watertown, new york. winter weather advisories in effect through syracuse. the highest elevation snow will be above 1200 feet. we're basically looking at the heaviest snow from erie, pennsylvania, to just south of buffalo, about 12 to 18 inches of snow possible. the other part of this system, ahead of it, the warm air bringing in a lot of wet weather. from washington, d.c. up to boston, already we picked up some areas anywhere from 1 to 4

inches of rain, and we've got more on the way as the system makes its way to the north. new england will be under the gun for the heavy rain, and wind. we're looking at anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of rain in downeast maine and on into new england. again the big problem is going to be power lines coming down because of trees all that early foliage out there causing big problems there. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. we'll get your local forecast in just a couple of minutes. we turn now to some new details in that prostitution scandal involving members of the u.s. secret service. there is concern from lawmakers now that this may not have been a one-time incident. nbc's mark potter is in cartagena, colombia, once again. mark, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, matt. with the investigation still under way here in colombia, there are calls now for an expanded investigation, including a senate hearing. as the political response in washington heats up.

with six agents now separating from the secret service, the scandal that began a week and a half ago in cartagena took up a lot of air time on the sunday talk shows. senator joe lieberman was on fox news sunday. >> from what we know of what was happening in cartagena, they were not acting like secret service agents, they were acting like a bunch of college students away on spring weekend. >> reporter: lieberman says he's concerned that one of the 12 secret service agents under investigation stayed at the hilton hotel in cartagena, where the president stayed. the rest were at the hotel caribe. congressman peter king sent a letter with 50 questions about the scandal to secret service director mark sullivan. the incident has embarrassed both the u.s., and colombian governments. and has drawn attention to cartagena's legal prostitution trade. facebook pictures of the woman many believe may have sparked the scandal by arguing over money with a u.s. agent have been published worldwide. without official confirmation, though, nbc news continues to blur her image.

cartagena attorney marlon betten court now says he represents the woman and is reportedly still trying to negotiate a deal to sell her story. late last week a witness shot this cell phone video of a police raid at a cartagena night club and told nbc news several officers said they were trying to find prostitutes, identified by investigators, for questioning. meantime, david chaney, a secret service supervisor who has put in for retirement in the wake of the scandal, faces scrutiny for this photo that reportedly surfaced on his facebook page, showing him on sarah palin's security detail. a comment posted there said, i was really checking her out, if you know what i mean. last week, the former governor fired back. >> well, check this out, bodyguard, you're fired. and i hope his wife sends him to the dog house. >> reporter: as the scandal unfolds "the washington post" profile credits secret service regional supervisor paula reed for quickly starting the investigation. on abc's "this week" she drew praise from senator susan collins. >> she acted decisively,

appropriately, and i can't help but wonder if there had been more women as part of that detail if this ever would have happened. >> reporter: now senator collins also said that with so many people allegedly involved in this scandal, more than 20, including a couple of supervisors, it's really hard for her to believe that this was just a one-time incident. matt? >> mark potter in colombia this morning on this story. new york republican congressman peter king is chairman of the house committee on homeland security, which oversees the secret service. congressman king, good to see you. good morning. >> good morning, matt. good to be with you. >> it's been just over a week now since this scandal broke. six people have left the secret service. others are on suspension while the investigation continues. are you comfortable and happy with the pace of the investigation so far? and how efficient or thorough it's been? >> matt, i really am. from the moment this scandal became known, beginning with

paula reed, who is the special agent in charge in colombia to mark sullivan ordering the men back to washington, the investigation has gone ahead, they right now have countless agents throughout colombia dealing with the colombian police, who are giving a tremendous amount of support. they've spoken with the maids, they've spoken to a number of the women involved. they've spoken to the other secret service personnel who were down there. >> right. >> they've spoken to the hotel employees, they've gone through the hotel videos, all of that. no, i am very, very confident, so far, that the investigation is moving ahead. six have been forced to leave. one has been exonerated and i think we expect in the next day or so see several more agents being forced to leave the agency. >> i want to ask you about this letter you wrote to the director of the secret service, mr. sullivan, mark sullivan, 50 questions included in that letter. you want answers in writing to those questions by friday. what's the most important question on the list, in your opinion? >> i would say the most important question, and so far it seems that there is not a

real threat here, but to me the most important question is did any of those foreign nationals have access at any time to any data, any information of any type that could have compromised the president of the united states or made an enemy force aware of the process and procedures of the secret service. >> the way you pose it in the letter, here's one of the questions, have any of the female foreign nationals, in other words the prostitutes, been linked to any foreign governments, foreign terror organizations, or to drug or human trafficking organizations. is that up to the secret service to be investigating right now? or should some other intelligence agency be handling that? >> i think it's important to have the secret service on the ground, doing that investigation. obviously my committee is going to be doing a parallel investigation. secret service is the one most equipped to do it, because they are there. they have the expertise, but again all their findings are going to be submitted to my committee, to others. they will be looked at by

outside forces. and i would think, also, matt, it's important we're going to be talking about doing some internally that as this goes forward that the secret service, depending on what their findings are about past incidents, that they actually appoint an outside panel, if you will, outside experts to take a look at the overall procedures of the secret service. which, by the way, i think is an outstanding organization, and i do have full faith and confidence in director mark sullivan. >> i know you've said that here. but when you mention perhaps past incidents and you look at the cavalier nature of what happened in colombia, with these women being met in a public bar, and then going to a second location in this hotel, where they would have had to register with the hotel to be allowed up to the rooms, when you look at how public and cavalier this behavior seems to be, do you get the impression this wasn't the first time something like this happened? >> matt, i really don't want to go on impressions. obviously, it may have happened in the past. but, again, it's a question of how often does it happen? is this really an aberration

that happens once every, you know, thousand times or whatever? or is it something that's condoned? and so that's why it's important to have the investigation. not just rely on hunches or suppositions, but really get as much factual data as we can. and a situation like this, with the investigators where you have so many past and current employees who will be willing to say something, this is an opportunity to get all the information we can. but at the same time, do it in a way that's not going to drag down the reputation of the secret service. we have to be fair, honest, objective. but again, leave no stone unturned. some may seem contradictory but i don't think it is if it's in the wrong hands. >> congressman peter kick, thanks for your time this morning. i appreciate it. >> matt, thank you. >> all right now let's get a check of the morning's other top stories from natalie morales at the news desk. >> welcome back, ann. good morning, everyone. retail giant walmart is conducting a probe into allegations that it engaged in widespread bribery in mexico to help the company's rapid expansion there. if proven the claims could lead

to fines from the u.s. government. michelle caruso-cabrera is in mexico city with the very latest. >> these allegations stem back to 2005 and before. but "the new york times" revealed them only this weekend. the investigations suggest that executives at walmart mexico at the time paid more than $24 million in bribes to local government officials in order to speed up the permitting process for their new stores to be built more quickly. walmart now employs more than 200,000 people in this country. only the government employs more people. many here shrug their shoulders and say they're not surprised, that's how business gets done here in mexico. regardless, it is illegal for u.s. companies to pay bribes to foreign officials, and if these allegations prove to be true, they will result in massive fines. the company says that they are deeply concerned about the allegations and are conducting an internal probe. back to you. >> all right michelle caruso cab remembero in mexico city this morning. thank you, michelle. two nato service members have been killed in a bomb attack in

eastern afghanistan. this as u.s. and afghan officials finalize a strategy for future cooperation after international troops begin to draw down. the search for missing boy etan patz resumes today in manhattan. investigators are digging up a basement on the street where patz disappeared back in 1979. no human remains have been found, but law enforcement sources tell nbc news that forensic evidence, including strands of hair and a piece of paper, have been recovered, and sent away for analysis. a stain was also found in the basement and is undergoing dna analysis. in chicago today, the murder trial begins for the man accused of killing singer jennifer hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew. hudson's former brother-in-law william balfour is charged with three counts of first degree murder in the 2008 slayings that took place in the american idol finalist's childhood home. jurors have been instructed to set aside sympathies for hudson, who could be called to testify. opening arguments begin

today at the perjury trial for baseball star roger clemens. clemens accused of lying to congress when he testified back in 2008 that he never took steroids or human growth hormones to better his game. and a dramatic crash caught on camera. 21-year-old female drag racer went flying last friday. amazingly, though, hard to believe, she walked away from that crash uninjured. meadow world peace might not be living up to his name. the lakers forward formerly known as ron artest, a concussion. world peace got a flagrant foul for the move and a one-way ticket out of the game. lakers managed to pull out a double overtime victory without him beating the thunder 114-106. as for world peace, well he apologized, said the blow was

unintentional, but he could face suspension for the incident. all right. 18 minutes past the hour. back over to matt, ann and al. >> that was a nasty blow. >> whoo. >> that was really nasty. >> ought to be charged -- >> he was saying he was celebrating. >> crazy. >> guy got in the way of his elbow? >> unintentional? right. >> what happened? >> that's an assault. that's what that is. >> ouch. >> mr. roker meanwhile, you've got some people waking up to some strange conditions. >> i'm telling you. it's april, look out. it's just crazy. out west we're talking about record heat on top of everything everything else. here in the east we have a trough that brings in the colder air. but a strong upper level ridge in the west and that means a lot of warm air to talk about. expecting records today in boise, also could be in denver, phoenix, las vegas, reno. getting up to 87 degrees today. rest of the country we expect to see more of that wet weather here in the northeast. record highs in the plains and into the southwest.

clouds in the pacific northwest coast. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. we have drizzle and light rain around the metro area. where you see the areas in white getting a few snowflakes around winchester and skyline drive and blue ridge and areas just north of frederick, maryland. up into western maryland and western pennsylvania where there is a winter storm warning out there. they could get up to a foot of heavy, wet snow in western maryland, highsxlands west virginia. chilly morning. only in the 30s to near 40 degrees now. all above freezing, >> that's your late eest weather. ann? >> al, thanks. prince harry is making headlines this morning. it was just announced he'll travel to washington, d.c. next month to receive a prestigious award. and a comment he made over the weekend is also getting some buzz. nbc's michelle kosinski is at buckingham palace this morning. hey, michelle, good morning. >> good morning, ann. this is a nice surprise for prince harry. the atlantic council, focus on

the relationship between the u.s. and the uk is presenting harry with its distinguished humanitarian leadership award. get ready to see prince harry on american soil once again. only this time it won't be military training or official duty for the queen, but he is being invited to be honored. he's done for soldiers. over the weekend we saw him congratulating people at the london marathon. and in his joking way signed up will and kate for the next marathon. >> my brother and his wife will be doing it next year, i think. >> reporter: but the military, and in particular wounded warriors, has been a cause very close to his heart. ever since he served in afghanistan back in 2007, with some of his fellow soldiers were hurt. he's raised money for charities that support soldiers, and most recently, those returning home from duty. he trekked in the arctic with wounded veterans. and the last time he was in the u.s., two years ago, he visited american soldiers, paid a visit to the aircraft carrier

"intrep "intrepid." in 2009, he talked to matt. >> out there with the boys -- >> does it change you? >> i think it changes every single person who comes back. >> reporter: and just earlier this year the dedicated soldier harry was in arizona and california for apache helicopter training which he passed with flying colors and really seemed to enjoy a bit of normal life in the states. now, on his return to america, in a matter of weeks, the young fun-loving prince will be in the spotlight, with the serious efforts he's made on his own. over the weekend when prince harry said oh, william and kate will run the marathon next year that really started a buzz of people saying oh, if they're going to be running they're definitely not going to have a baby then. which then led to talk of the palace possibly releasing a press release today saying no, no, no, harry was just joking. so far they have not done that. but it's understood that harry was only kidding, and that as far as we know, they will not be

running the london marathon next year. >> all right. >> ann? >> michelle kosinski, thank you so much for clearing that up. and coming up just ahead, new clues in the suspicious disappearance of a 6-year-old arizona girl who vanished from her own bedroom in the middle of the night. we're going to talk to the man who's heading the investigation. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

coming up, john edwards goes on trial today for allegedly using illegal campaign contributions to cover up an affair.y is there concern over prosecution's star witness? we're live in court. and giuliana and bill rancic will be here to have some big announcement.

good morning, everyone. it is 7:26 on this monday, april 23. more now on our breaking news. major problem on the beltway after a deadly accident. >> at this point your best bet is to take it across town university parkway and over to 97. actually if you can, maybe go all the way to 185 because that entire delay on the top side is stretching from 95 all the way out to connecticut. it is going to take you 40 minutes to do that entire stretch. the good news is at this point three lanes had been reopened. but you are still looking at a very slow go. back to you. >> matt, thanks. wet and cold

good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. storm 4 radar showing rain and snow in our area. it is snowing to our west and north. most of the areas in breen is rain. outer western county, hillsboro,

big, wet, fat snowflakes there. along skyline, too, areas of fred rick and winchester and heavier snow now falling in west virginia and western maryland where it is in the 30s. more rain off and on throughout

♪ 7:30 now on this monday morning. it's the 23rd of 2012. get ready for some fireworks around here because rosie o'donnell, a woman who is never shy about expressing her opinions, is joining "today's professionals" for one morning, and one morning only. we're going to get her thoughts as the host -- on a host of hot topics tomorrow here on "today." meantime inside studio 1a i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer. >> it makes my job tomorrow very easy. i say good morning, star, good morning, donny, good morning, rosie and then i just stop and she just goes for seven or eight minutes. which will be fun. >> it should be fun. >> also ahead, opening arguments

begin today in the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards. he's accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions to then cover up his affair with rielle hunter. will she be called to testify? live report from the courthouse coming up. >> and then also, then giuliana and bill rancic have talked openly about their struggle with infertility. and they dealt with the devastating news that she has breast cancer. well this morning, they're here to make a big announcement about their future in an exclusive live interview. >> and what's your best side? the new findings that show which side of your face people will find more appealing. >> pretty interesting. >> and it's the same for all of us apparently. >> so we're going to get to that. but we begin at the trial of former democratic presidential hopeful john edwards. nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers is at the federal courthouse in greensboro, north carolina. lisa, good morning. >> good morning, ann. john edwards has long had a reputation as a risk taker. as a trial lawyer, and certainly in his personal life. but this trial may be his

ultimate gamble. because if he loses, he almost certainly faces time in prison, away from his three young children. what began as a bid for the democratic presidential nomination in 2008, the denial of an extramarital affair, and a child -- >> the story is false. it's completely untrue. >> reporter: and then belatedly an admission. >> there's no question that i've done wrong. and i take full responsibility for having done wrong. >> reporter: has now come to this. >> do you think with the negative public opinion you can get a fair trial? >> i'm not going to say. >> reporter: john edwards is charged with accepting and receiving almost $1 million in illegal campaign contributions, to cover up his affair with campaign videographer rielle hunter, with whom he has a now 4-year-old daughter quinn. nbc news legal analyst hampton dillinger. >> the government is alleging something against john edwards that, as far as i can tell, has never been alleged before, as a

federal crime. >> reporter: prosecutors say the money from two wealthy donors, the late texas attorney fred barron and 101-year-old rachel bunny melon was used to hide his mistress in fancy homes and on private jets so he could remain a viable candidate for president. >> he didn't violate campaign laws, and i never, for a second, believed i was violating campaign laws. >> reporter: john edwards says the evidence will prove he did not know about the money, and that it was given to protect his wife elizabeth from public humiliation, as she struggled with cancer. the government says it may call hunter as a witness, and will use edwards' own words to try to prove he was part of a conspiracy. >> i had a wonderful conversation, a long and wonderful conversation with bunny. she will be there no matter what. and i just wanted you to hear that, and to once again to tell you i love you. i really love you, andrew. thank you. >> reporter: andrew is the government's star witness.

andrew young, a campaign aide who wrote a tell-all book, and who says edwards orchestrated the money and the cover-up. hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks from bunny mellon were sent to young through her decorator. one even hidden in a box of chocolates. but edwards' lawyer planned to vigorously challenge young's credibility. in court documents they say he kept much of the money for himself. >> the only winner in this case is andrew young who's lining his pockets, building a new home. >> reporter: this 5500 square foot, $1.2 million home. that's andrew young standing on the roof. he was not available for comment. >> it's an incredible human drama. john edwards, versus andrew young. this is a compelling human story. it's an important story about law and politics. >> reporter: on the legal aspect of this case, edwards has some unlikely allies. the conservative national review recently weighed in saying edwards is loathsome, but that

this prosecution is a stretch. ann? >> all right, lisa myers this morning. lisa, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> thank you, so much, ann. got a little wet weather out here. not too bad. didn't dampen your spirits. you're 17 years old today. what's your name? >> samantha. >> where you from? >> vermont. >> well, happy birthday. >> thank you. >> got a lot of rain coming your way. let's show you what we've got as far as the week ahead. as far asing the week ahead. below normal temperatures in the northeast. mid atlantic states. down to the gulf coast. we are looking for some snow in the mountainous areas. out west, mostly above normal temperatures. mid week period, we are looking at normal conditions in the east. although colder up through the great lakes. lot of wet weather and snowy weather out west. above normal temperatures in the midsection of the country. latter part of the week, cooler from the northeast through the plains. above normal here in the southeast and normal out west. showers and wet weather in the coastal pacific northwest

region. that's what's going on around the country. >> good morning, low-grade clouds over washington. drizzle. farther west and north rain mix wes some wet snow out in western loudoun county and far western fauquier county and rappahannock, blue ridge. out in the mountains they are getting heavy, wet snow. western maryland, into west virginia where they could get 6 to 12 inches by the end of the day today. chill chilly morning, 30s and low 40s. later today >> that's your latest weather. don't forget you can get your weather any time, any time you need its, go to the weather channel on cable, and weather.com online. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next, hugh grant opens up in a live interview about his life as a first-time dad, and his new movie. but also coming up next, the search for a 6-year-old arizona girl who vanished from her own bedroom in the middle of the night. what her parents are saying to police right after this.

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back now at 7:40 with the frantic search for a 6-year-old girl in tucson, arizona, who disappeared from her bedroom in the middle of the night over the weekend. nbc's miguel almaguer is in tucson with more. miguel, good morning. >> ann, good morning. isabel was last seen by her

parents sleeping in her bedroom friday night. police call it a suspicious disappearance, with no suspect, and few clues. >> we love you. i know we will find you. and we won't give up. >> reporter: at a candlelight vigil for missing 6-year-old isabel celis, prayers, hope and tears sunday night as police struggled to find any leads. >> isabel is a blessing we need to give back to the celis family. please help us. >> reporter: investigators say the first grader, known as isa, was last seen by her parents friday night when they tucked her in to bed at 11:00 p.m. by 8:00 a.m. saturday her father realized isa was gone and called 911. last night police spoke for the first time about possible clues. >> -- we have a location where we think that could be a possible location. >> reporter: within hours authorities scoured and sealed

off isa's neighborhood. local police, the fbi, and u.s. marshalls combed a 2 1/2 mile radius canvassing nearby neighborhoods, businesses, and tucson's deserts. police are calling the case a suspicious disappearance, a possible abduction. investigators have no suspect. heck for rodriguez is isa's grandfather. >> translator: it's still something i can't believe. i can't believe it. i wish it was a dream. >> reporter: detectives say isa's parents are cooperating. family friends say the doting mother and father were high school sweethearts, and have two other young children. isa's parents were questioned separately by police for hours. >> just no possible way that the family would have anything to do with this. the window was knocked out in her room -- the screen, rather, so there's just no possibility that she ran away. >> reporter: with 150 officers working isa's disappearance, police say they won't rule anything out.

>> we're sending every resource that we can to try and bring this investigation to a successful conclusion. >> reporter: a desperate search for a little girl who vanished from her bedroom. police never issued an amber alert in this case because they had no suspect or car description. isa stands just under 4 feet tall and 44 pounds. police say they are nowhere close at this point to bringing her home. ann? >> all right, miguel almaguer, thank you so much. well, tucson police chief roberto is now joining us. chief, good morning to you, and welcome. >> good morning. >> more than 72 hours now since this little girl was last seen. where exactly is your investigation? >> well, we seized about over 100 investigative leads that we have followed up on. we're current on that. we've canvassed the area at least three times going door to door contacting merchants, looking for video surveillance in any of the businesses that

might give us a clue. we're looking through the landfill and the transfer station where trash from the neighborhood was taken earlier in the morning on saturday to make sure that we didn't miss anything there. so we are continuing through our investigation. >> the celis family seems to have no doubt that isa was kidnapped by a stranger. i understand investigators spoke to parents -- the parents late in the evening. what are the parents telling you? >> well, i don't want to talk about the details of the investigation. but we are not closing our mind to any possibility. if you start to do that too early, you start to try and focus on one particular path, you run the risk of losing other investigative leads, or not recognizing those leads. so we're keeping our mind open to any possibility at this point. >> i -- i need to ask you about this point of entry, because so much has been made about it. this idea that there was a window that could have been a port of -- point of entry. what can you tell us about that? >> well, that is correct. there's a window to the little

girl's room that was open, and a screen removed. but we aren't saying that that is a definitive point of entry. there are other issues that we're looking at involved around that location, and so, once again, we -- we still are open in our approach. >> it -- it -- is it possible that she could have gotten outside on her own? >> almost anything is possible at this point. the fact is, that right now we're -- we've been focusing on trying to find isabel, and also working with the people who know her and have information, and interviewing them and trying to gather all the information possible. >> the fbi, federal marshals are on the case, joining with your police department, to try to find isa and i also understand that fbi dogs have now arrived. talk to us about the amount of resources you're able to put on this case. >> the cooperation has been fantastic from local, state and federal agencies. we've had members of the fbi

with us almost from the beginning, as well as the u.s. marshal service, border patrol has been there. county sheriff's, our own fire department, we've had search and rescue teams. the fbi even flew in a couple of k-9s last night to assist usthe search, and we are still following up on information that they have helped provide. >> well, a lot of people are hopefully -- are hoping that you find isa soon. we thank you so much. tucson police chief roberto villasenor this morning. >> thank you. >> and coming up we're going to switch gears and get some happier news from giuliana and bill rancic when they join us for an exclusive live interview. [ male announcer ] josh and joannie and curtis wento college in one. ♪ kevin and carla grew old in one. chloe was born in one, then learned to drive in one. ♪ veronica said yes in one. anna wept in one; joey lost his first tooth in one;

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and kids need all the nourishment they can get. that's why delicious quaker chewy granola bars are packed with 8 grams of whole grains. give them quaker chewy. do you have a favorite side of your face? it pushes out it may not be vanity but in fact science. >> researchers at wake forest university showed people photos of right and left sides of faces. and they found that when -- people were asked which side is more appealing or attractive, the winner was -- >> the left. >> the left side. >> of people's faces. >> basically corroborated that finding by gauging the pupil size of the study's participants in their eyes. >> and they took images and i guess the mirror reverse of the images -- >> that's the good side. >> now coming over here. >> bad side. >> but they flipped them over. >> so they basically would have people look at them and judge them and rate them.

al looks good on all sides. >> i get al's good side. matt, i don't get your good side. >> and i get your good side. >> you get my good side. >> and the audience would then get my -- and get your worse side. >> are you confused? >> wow. >> it's all in heigh def. >> celebrities have often said, barbra streisand likes to be shot showing her left side. >> donald trump. >> mariah carey. >> which way does he comb his hair? >> that explains the combover is on the left. >> left to right. >> i don't know. >> does he have a good side, donald trump? >> absolutely. >> how about celine dion? >> celine dion? can we have that picture? >> also the left. >> and what they're saying is when you get a picture taken or you meet someone you should casually kind of just turn slightly -- >> but that -- >> so they're turning. >> keep turning. keep turning. >> keep turning.

>> he's got every good side. [ laughs ] [ laughs ]

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good morning, everyone. it is 7:56. it has been a difficult morning on the roadways. matt is in for danella. beltway looking any better? >> it is looking a lot better. not looking better but the good news is all lanes are open. activity is off to the right shoulder. as you can see here at new hampshire avenue it has taken a long time to recover. delays back prior to 95 now at 95 is getting a headache from 212. all the way down to 495. interchange. you will immediate extra time there on that top side. 13 miles per hour on average. angie, back to you. >> thanks. >> th[ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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good morning. tom kierein in storm sent 2er. form 4 radar showing areas of some light rain along the blue ridge. also mixing with wet snow and higher elevations. as well as farther north along braddock, south mountain, catoctin. there is a winter storm warning in west virginia. they could get 6 to 12 inches of snow later today. chilly morning. in the upper 30s to around 40. occasional showers later today. finally drying out after midnight tonight. then tomorrow sunshine and clouds in the afternoon. near 60. that's the way it looks. >> more ♪ [ male announcer ] from our nation's networks... ♪ ...to our city streets... ♪ ...to skies around the world... ♪

...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work, protecting people's lives... [ soldier ] move out! [ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. we're back now 8:00 on a monday morning. it's the 23rd day of april, 2012. a rainy morning and overnight here in the northeast we've had heavy, heavy rain. as al told us earlier, we're getting snow in some places. we've got about 53 degrees and a big crowd out on the plaza. we thank them for stopping by. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, who is back from vacation, dressed a little like a toon this morning. but i like the colors. >> it's a rainy day and monday but it's not going to get us down. >> jessica rabbit -- >> she's just drawn that way.

mr. roker is here, as well. and we've got two familiar faces in our studio this morning. >> that's right. we've got bill and giuliana rancic. and they are joining us live in our studio to give us some news that i think is going to make a lot of people very happy. you can see their smiles right there. that's coming up. >> all right. also ahead, things that make you nervous as a morning show host. i just saw hugh grant, he walked by and i said hey, hugh how are you? because he's coming up in the next half hour. and i said, how you doing? he said lousy. i'm pretty sure he was kidding. >> he looks okay. >> he shouldn't be lousy because he's got a great new children's movie out. it's an animated film and he plays a pirate in this one. >> yeah. >> we're going to talk to hugh grant about that. >> hugh i can give you a little back massage right now -- >> okay. >> that might make you a little happier. he got a smile. >> i don't think we want to do that. >> okay. >> okay. giada de laurentiis is here. >> on a lighter note.

>> on the menu, some of her favorite crowd pleasing family style dishes. >> all right. lots to get to. let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk. she's got a check of all the headlines. take it away. >> all right, matt, ann and al. good morning, everyone. george zimmerman the man accused of killing trayvon martin is at an undisclosed location this morning following his release on bail. a judge ruled he could be freed on $150,000 bond while he awaiting trial for fatally shooting the unarmed teen. winter storm warnings were posted this morning from west virginia in to new york, as a late-season nor'easter moves its way up the coast. it could dump more than a foot of snow in parts of pennsylvania and upstate new york, after a windy, rainy sunday that left thousands without power. congress is digging deeper into the secret service prostitution scandal. representative peter king, who heads the house investigation, has sent a letter with 50 questions to the secret service director. and his senate counterpart joe lieberman said he aims to find out if the alleged cavorting

with prostitutes in colombia was part of a larger pat earn of misconduct. a dog attack caught on tape has left a washington, d.c. man with bites on his arms and hands. the hero came to the rescue of neighborhood children who were chased on to the roof of a car by two large dogs on friday night. you see they're caught on surveillance tape. the dogs eventually ran away and police are now investigating. now for a look at what's trending today our quick roundup of what has you talking online. singer neil diamond tweeted that his marriage saturday to his manager music documentary producer katie mcneil was magical. it's diamond's third time tying the knot. justin bieber used what he calls his random twitter hour on saturday to mention the woman who had falsely accused him of fathering a child. he tweeted we have never met, so from the heart i just wanted to say and he posted this clip. you will never get this. you will never get this. la la la la la. he posted that from obviously

the character borat. bieber's fans retweeted the original message tens of thousands of times. and singer lisa gail got scathing reviews when she posted this video of the three second rule. but when she tried to take it down others kept reposting it. ♪ when you're walking down the street oh, oh, oh, ♪ ♪ just stay behind the line and within the time frame ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm all you need >> well, her three-second rule means it's okay for a man who's taken to look at another woman but only for three seconds. got that, guys? 8:04 right now. let's go out to al with a check of your weather. three seconds. that's it, al. >> okay, time's up. >> that's right. >> and some nice young ladies here and even younger lady there. who is that? >> this is alexandria. >> where are you from? >> arizona. >> very nice. beautil young lady. beautiful young ladies here, as

well. let's show you what wethat? >> alexandria. >> bigelow-pressure system ahead of it we have a lot of rain. behind it, wind and snow. bringing down power lines. we have winter storm warnings from as far south as elkins, west virginia, as far north as watertown, new york. anywhere from one to two inches of snow per hour. especially in western new york. and we may even hear thunder snow in there. 12 to 18 inches of snow before it is all over. we picked up anywhere from an inch and a half to four inches of rain from the mid atlantic states into the northeast. we have more rain coming. look for especially in new england and anywhere from 1 to 5 inches of rain before it is all over in the next 24 hours. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. storm 4 radar showing some rain west and north of washington, just a few sprinkles around the metro area. that rain mixes with wet snow along the blue ridge. some of the higher elevations of the blue ridge.

all snow as well as parts of the shenandoah valley. but it is heavy wet snow in western maryland where they could get 6 to 12 inches by tonight. locally chilly. upper 30s to around 40 degrees. later today, upper 40s near 50. blustery wind, occasional showers. >> that's your latest weather. now back to matt. >> all right, al, thank you very much. still to come this morning, hugh grant is live in our studio. we'll talk to him about his new movie. but up next, bill and giuliana rancic share some really nice news. we'll talk to them. but first these messages. troduc! [ woman ] i got it. where's your brother? [ dog barking ] ♪ [ telephone rings ] [ dad ] hello. [ female announcer ] quality everyday products at a way better price. [ boy ] mom? ♪ [ female announcer ] now that's nice. come in now and get $2 off your next purchase when you spend $10 on nice products. sold only at walgreens.

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back now at 8:08 with a big announcement from giuliana and bill rancic. they have been through some very open about their dramatic events in their lives, including the dual challenges of infertility and breast cancer. they're talking exclusively in just a moment. but first, their story. for years she's been a familiar face to fans who followed her on television as a co-anchor on e! news. >> they say their biggest secrets for us. >> reporter: in gracing the red carpets for major hollywood events. >> how are you? >> reporter: giuliana rancic's infectious smile captured the attention of another well-known celebrity, season one winner of the apprentice, bill rancic. >> bill, you're hired. >> reporter: the two were married and have chronicled their lives together in the style network reality show "giuliana & bill." >> how you feeling? >> reporter: on the show the couple shared their struggle to have a family, while undergoing

fertility treatments giuliana learned something stunning about her health, something she revealed on "today" last october. >> i have early stages of breast cancer. >> reporter: giuliana underwent a lumpectomy but a short time later in december came the news that more treatment was needed. >> i'm going to go ahead and move forward with a double mastectomy. all it came down to was just choosing to live and not looking over my shoulder. >> reporter: just a few weeks after undergoing a double mastectomy, giuliana returned to her post on e! news. >> it's so good to be back. >> reporter: through all their medical troubles the couple has never given up hope of having a baby. >> a lot of people who watch your show came in to your lives knowing about your wish to have a baby. >> right. >> has -- has -- do you have a sense based on how long these treatments may go about how long you may still have to wait for those fertility treatments that will make that dream come true? >> well, right now we're exploring all of our options. and the main thing is we still have options out there.

>> we are definitely having to explore other options. >> wait a minute -- >> absolute want a child. but -- >> -- but >> -- pregnant myself with the medication that i'm starting, is probably not, you know, as far as myself, not going to happen any time soon. but, as bill mentioned, you know, we have definitely looking at other options. so hopefully we'll have some good news soon. >> adoption possibly? >> possibly adoption, surrogacy. so, listen, at the end of the day, whether you have a baby naturally, for adoption, surrogacy, it's your baby, you know, you're going to love that baby, and that's all that matters. >> so now joining us, giuliana and bill rancic. good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> so let's not keep people waiting any longer. what is your announcement? >> well, we said last time it was the year of the rancics. it really has turned out to be that way. >> so we are finally having a baby. finally. after years of trying. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> and -- and -- when is the baby due? >> late summer. >> late summer. >> late summer.

>> do you know if it's a boy or a girl? >> we actually, we do. but we're not telling anyone. we're seeing how long we can keep it a secret so we haven't told anyone yet. >> you've known for some time that the baby is due in late summer and you're using a -- having a baby via a gestational carrier, is that right? rather an a surrogate which means this baby is biologically your baby. >> yes, it's our embryo and we're using a gestational carrier to help bring it to term. >> was it hard to find a baby momma? >> i love that. i call her my baby momma, too, i love it. you know, it -- we -- where we got ivf the last time, remember where i found my breast cancer, it's this place in colorado. and our doctor there said to us, i have this great agency and he hooked us up with the agency and they helped us find her. and she's just -- she's a dream come true. >> so two embryos were implanted. one of them took. describe that moment when you discovered that after all you have been through, giuliana --

>> yes. >> you're going to be a mother. >> it was pretty much the -- one of the best moments of my life. if not the best moment of my life. i mean it was incredible. we've been trying for so long. we've been through so much. we just had such a hard year last year with the breast cancer and everything, and to finally get that call from the doctor, that you know, you're pregnant. or you're having a baby. i'm not quite pregnant. but you know what i mean. we're pregnant. it was just -- it was -- it was just another world. like on another level. >> how did you -- you -- you must have been facing your own reactions but watching your wife -- >> it was pretty emotional. because this was our last stop. i mean this was it. we had those two embryos that we had banked, you know, prior to learning about the breast cancer, and you know, with the medicine she's going on, this was our last effort. so, the prayers were answered and we really want to thank all the folks who watched you, because they've been praying for us and they've been with us on this journey and we're very thankful for all the prayers. >> and now you are getting to

see this baby grow. >> yes. >> are you able to spend time with the baby momma. >> yes. >> how -- how is that working? what are you -- what are you doing? >> i love when you say baby momma. >> i love that. >> we love it. yeah, she actually lives out of state. she doesn't live where we live. so we go visit her every month. we go to all the doctor's appointnesses. so we see the baby growing and it's very exciting. >> very, very exciting. and you know, after all of this you've been through, i mean, all of the ups and downs, you always try to stay positive. >> yes. >> and it's brought you to this moment. i mean -- what is it -- what have you learned going through this entire process? >> one of the things we've always tried 20 do is help others with our story. you know, whether it's with the infertility issues, whether it's with the breast cancer and we said we're going to turn negatives into positives and if we can help others by sharing our story then it's worth it. >> you know what i think it is, too, i was able to find the positive in all of this. through breast cancer, which is so difficult to deal with, and the more you focus on the

positive, the more you are grateful for the good things in your life, the more good things come to you. and i've really seen that. so listen, i have a great husband, i have a wonderful family, now i have a baby on the way, and what more can i ask for, really? >> congratulations. >> so we're excited. >> thanks for sharing the news with us this morning. >> thank you. >> and coming up next, hugh grant on his new movie, and becoming a dad for the first time. that's right after this. i'd like to tell you about netflix. it's an amazing service that lets you watch unlimited movies and tv episodes

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doing project with different stores is a really cool idea. we want to bring a little piece of the boutique experience to target. a real taste of luxury. it's pretty special for us to imagine this little nook of polka dog will be in target stores all around the country. the shops we fell in love with, collected and curated for you. exclusively at target. back now at 89:18. awarding winning actor hugh grant is known for making women swoon. but in his latest movie, "the pirates! band of misfits," he plays a pirate who's crazy for his bird. take a look. >> behind every captain, glittering eyes and a luxurious beard -- >> luxurious. >> a briny rogue, the crew of captains. >> don't forget -- >> i'm not forgetting. never forgetting.

the fearless -- come on, girls. is it you? is it you? it's you. yes it is. it's definitely you, isn't it? >> it's the problem. hugh grant, welcome back. nice to see you. >> oh, thank you. >> you are someone who's notoriously critical of your own roles yet i even watched you watching that clip and you get a big smile on your face. you like this movie. >> yes, well i feel a quarter responsible. three quarters of it is done by genius animators, and so i think i'm entitled to laugh at my own performance. >> i was reading some stuff you said about this. you call it the most historically inaccurate film in history. and i think you meant that as a compliment. >> yes, yes, if you take your children they will learn nothing about history. it has queen victoria, the elephant man, jane austen, all in the same time frame -- >> you mean their lives didn't normally intersect?

>> not even slightly. >> i thought you're too suave, you're so suave and debonair, how do you play a pirate? pirates are smelly, they are unkempt, they're rakish characters, how do you fit into a pirate's role? >> well i panicked when they asked me to do it because i saw the puppet. you know the barrel chested fellow. and i thought my god, i'm actually going to have to act. i can't just be me, which is my normal recourse. so, yeah, i just did a silly voice. >> it's not that silly. do you think if people were not to know that you were the voice, would they recognize it? >> well, yeah, a lot of my young cousins who've seen the film in england say it's not me. but it is. >> it truly is. now i want to clear something up. because danny devito was on the show not long ago, he'd just done an animated film and he said they shouldn't even pay actors to do this. it's that easy. and then chris rock got up at the oscars, he said u.p.s. is hard, doing voiceovers for animation is the easiest thing in the world. where do you fall in this? >> oh, i couldn't disagree more.

but then i find every job fun. i love to panic and i had a big panic on this one. but i suppose in the end, they've got a point. because as i said at the beginning most of the work is done by the animators. you think, was i good? was that funny? and then three months later they show you how they animated your voice and they've put in so much humor, you know, physical stuff, jokes in the background, you think oh, i can relax. >> but they sent you a dvd for this, again i mention you're usually the type who gets nervous watching yourself. you waited a long time before you actually popped it in to watch it. >> no, no, no. while i was making it they told me it was going to take a few months, but actually took three years. >> these geniuses you've just talked about. >> the famous lie when they ask you to do an animated film. for the kids, we're not paying you much, but it's for the kids. all right. as long as it doesn't take too long. and it takes three years. but yeah you do a bit, then they go away and animate those ten minutes and then three months later they show it to you and then you do another bit. so that's how it works. >> you have a co-star in this,

and because it's animation you don't sit there and shoot anything with these people but this guy behind us is al roker and al actually has a part in here, he's the pirates who likes sunsets and kittens. >> thaerkt. that's correct. yes. he's the american version of that character. there's a different one in england. so we've -- >> so he didn't even get international rights? >> no, no, he didn't deserve them. he's wonderful. >> you took your own test audience to see the movie, i understand, you took elizabeth hurley's son? >> i did, yes. >> how did he like it? >> i forced him to like it. no, he genuinely liked it. it was a big, big hit in england. so fingers crossed in america. >> i want to mention congratulations. since the last time we saw you, and i'll talk about the reason you were on the show in the last time in just a second, you've had a daughter. you're now a daughter for the first time. tabitha is how old? >> about seven or eight months now. >> how is fatherhood going? >> it's nice. i've enjoyed it. >> is tabitha could speak would

she agree that fatherhood is going well? >> yes, i think she's learned to like me. i mean, i see her more and more and i, she's just great. i love the way she smiles at me. and swirl around my head perhaps excessively. i'm absolutely thrilled. couldn't love her more. >> let me read something you said to london's daily mail about being a father. there are a few things in life i believe in 100%. one is not giving your children money. i see nothing but blanking ups among my trust fund friends. >> well, one is the daily mail. >> that's what it says here. >> -- speak to another newspaper. but i yes, i'm not a fan of leaving enormous amounts of money to children. i can see why one wants to, and of course i may relent on this. but, not from a self-ish point of view, but purely because i see kids who are about to get, you know, a million dollars or something, are a little demote

voted in life. >> but that's one thing to leave a lot of money to children. you are someone who has certain amount of personal wealth. how do you go about not raising kids with that expectation? >> well, i'm not quite sure what you mean. tabitha will have whatever she needs. >> she's going to grow up in an affluent world because of you. yet you don't want to impose an austerity program on your own children yet you want them to be level headed. how hard do you think it's going to be? >> i think it isn't that hard. i'll just try and keep her comfortable but nothing vulgar or excessive. i just don't want her to at the age of 18 think all right i'm about to get a good check so i can go back and relax. i want her to think, i have to earn a living. >> last time you were in london and we were talking it was really in the wake of the inquiries in parliament over the phone hacking scandal among the tabloid press in the uk. there have been arrests in connection with that, resignations in connection with that. do you think real change has

come to the tabloid news industry as a result? >> well, yes. in the sense that one newspaper has closed down already, been resignations and the rest, as you said. but the big thing was to get this huge public inquiry happening. and that is now happening. it's halfway through. rupert murdoch himself is up in front of it this week, which will be interesting television. and then at the end of that we'll see what the judge recommends and whether the government have the guts to put it into law. >> hope that maybe the culture has shifted a little bit. >> maybe. >> that's a tough one. hugh grant, always good to have you here. "the pirates! band of misfits" opens nationwide on friday. good to see you. >> thanks, matt.

goop. it is 8:26 this monday, april 23. a messy morning commute. matt is here with a look at the roads. >> the good news is all lanes have been reopened on that top side beltway. bad news is that the delay stretches back towards 59. if you are on that outer loop, it is about an average of 14 miles per hour to go from 95 all the way out to 270. taking a look at the 395 trek at the pentagon, right now, 38-minute trip from the beltway all the way up to the 14th street bridge. and now we are seeing good amount of slowing on 66. right at gallows road. back to you.

good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. we have areas of rain where you see the green. pinks and whites, wet snow along the blue ridge, braddock, south mountains and farther west, heavier wet snow in western maryland. much of west virginia, they could get 6 to 12 inches by tonight.

locally scattered showers and chilly, right now we are in the 30s, upper 30s, low 40s. later today, upper 40s, near 50. raining, though, later tonight. sun back tomorrow. >> more news, weather and

8:30 on this monday morning. the 23rd of april, 2012. what a happy crowd this morning. it's a little warm outside. as you can see, that is not dampening the spirits of our crowd here at rockefeller plaza. they're saying hello to none other than jack black. he'll be coming up in this half hour. we'll tell you more about that coming up. i'm ann curry alongside al

roker, matt lauer and natalie morales. >> apparently this movie is a dark comedy based on a true story. he plays a mortician who ends up killing a wealthy widow. we're going to talk to him about that role and some of the controversy surrounding it. >> you want to feed the crowd. not to fear, giada de laurentiis is here. she's going to show us what we can make. she's got some family favorites she's cooking up for us as well as a classic dish with a twist. >> hard to believe, but it has been four years, joy has been running the joy fit club. >> really? >> we are going to look back so the some of the remarkable stories she's broken. >> oh, great. >> great. >> but first let's get a check of the weather. it's supposed to be brutal. >> it's going to be like that in

the northeast but all in all to. as we look ahead for today, wet weather here, heavy snow back through the western new york and western pen. down to west virginia. record highs in the plains down into the southwest. clouds in the pacific northwest. for tomorrow, we look for the rain to be backed up along northern mention and hit or miss showers, intermountain region. record highs in the central plains. sizzling hot weather southwest and southern california, nice and mild through the gulf coast with plenty of sunshine and few snow showers leftover western new york and western pennsylvania. somebody got too much sleep on their vacation. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. tom kierein, storm center 4. radar showing us some areas of some rain, just to our west. but then higher elevations around the blue ridge and as well as north of fred rick and mountains getting snow. in fact a large area of snow west virginia into western

maryland. and that area could get 6 to 12 inches of snow by the time it ends this evening. and that would certainly cause power outages out that way. chilly day. 40 degrees locally. near 50 by this >> go to weather channel on cable and weather.com online. >> that's right. coming up next we've got giada de laurentiis whipping up some family favorites. first this is "today" on nbc.

cooking with giada is brought to you by target. giada's exclusive line of kitchen products and delicious food is only available at target and target.com. ♪ >> back now at 8:35. this morning on "cooking with giada today" family style favorites. getting food on the table fast can be simple if you've got a

whole arsenal of recipes at your side. "today" contributor giada de laurentiis is here with her arsenal. good morning. good morning, nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> family style. how do you define family style? >> i think everybody defines it a little differently. i think a big pot of something that everybody will enjoy in your family. so, i'm starting out with my noodle paella. >> i think family style is triple the recipe, serve it on a big platter? >> it doesn't have to be triple the recipe. this one i wrote so you can serve it right out of your dutch oven. put it center on the table, it looks good and everybody can enjoy it with everything in it. >> you talk about noodle paella. basically it's an italian twist on the spanish dish. >> growing up my grandmother spent a lot of time in spain. when we went to visit she would make a lot of paella's. i tried to make it when jade was born and she wouldn't touch anything. >> most kids love rice. >> she's not a big rice person. guess what?

she's a big pasta girl. so i started making it up with broken up spaghetti. >> you're doing a little bit of sauteing the sausage. >> just browning it a little bit. breaking it up into little bits. sweet italian sausage. >> to that you're going to add chicken. >> i just have a little bit of chicken. i use breast meat but you could use thigh meat. i have the fat from the sausage so i don't feel i need it. you want to leave it in there for a couple of minutes or less and just kind of brown it up a little bit then you're going to add all of your vegetables. >> you also need liquid for this. what are we using for the actual liquid? otherwise it's going to be a little dry. >> we're going to use chicken broth, and we're going to use a mixture of chicken actually and clam broth right there and tomatoes. >> so you take the sausage and the chicken out. >> yeah. >> you want to dump it or should we -- >> if you want to lift this hot pan you can but i'm that going to. >> but you still have the little browned ingredients in there.

>> which is where all the flavor lies. >> okay. >> now -- >> now in go -- >> the vegs. so we're going to do onions, fennel. i like fennel because it's nice and fresh, red pepper, and garlic. if you can get all your stuff fresh, awesome. this is something you can kind of make. you can even make this the day before and just don't add the fish until right before you're going to serve it. >> all right, fine. >> so you start doing that. and then we're going to add the canned tomatoes in there. we're going to add the mixture of chicken broth and a little bit of clam juice. the only reason you're adding clam juice is because we're going to add clams in here. if you're going to omit the clams, you can omit the clam juice, as well. you give that a nice little stir. we're going to add some bay leaf. >> the herbs here. >> some paprika. a little paprika. a little saffron and smoked paprika which i think is fabulous. gives it a nice, smoky flavor which works really well with the chicken and the sausage. >> do you have to bring that to

a boil before you add the pasta? >> no. >> is that necessary? >> nope. dump it all in there. and then i just take -- you break it up. but you can use any style of pasta. only 8 ounces of it. so technically, if you have a few boxes of pasta, you know sometimes you don't use the whole box. mix it. mix it all together. makes it more fun for the kids, too. >> the seafood is going to go in this last. >> yeah. >> why is that? because it takes the shortest time to cook. >> correct. this one you want to let this cook for about nine to ten minutes until the pasta has absorbed all the liquid pretty much and it's nice and thick. so you want to do that. and then we kind of close the top. >> so you're using shrimp. >> we're using some shrimp, some clams, and some halibut. i like some white meat fish in there. you could use salmon if you wanted to or any fish. and you can omit or substitute anything that your family likes or doesn't like. >> get a little bit. and use my script as -- >> as your napkin. how is it? >> it's really good. it's got great flavor.

>> right? it's the smoked paprika, all of that. >> it's really good. nice family dish. family style. >> mm-hmm. >> you have a couple of other dishes you brought with you. >> pork very big in italian families. ate a lot of pork chops when i was growing up. spiced pork chops and a little bit of red pepper. you cook them in a pan. you can finish them in the oven. then i make the sweet and sour glaze, balsamic vinegar, honey, shallots and rosemary. you reduce it down and cook it for about eight minutes and you get this nice syrupy sort of consistency and you just pour it right over. this is the rice. you're good. >> and we have a steak dish over pasta which is going to make me very happy. what's this? >> so this is my spaghetti with smoked almonds, and basil. and you have some grilled steak over the top. and the deal is here, that you can make this all the day before, and you can just serve it the next day for lunch, as well. so i give this to jade for lunch as well. >> great family style recipes. giada, thank you. part of your arsenal that you brought with us -- or with you, sorry about that. coming up, she's going to be

answering your cooking questions during a live web chat. that's today at 12:30 eastern, 9:30 pacific time. to take part head to today.com. and you can ask a question. up next, jack black on the controversy surrounding his new movie. >> controversy? >> you'll figure it out. first this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:42 with jack black. he stars in the new and dark comedy "bernie" about a smalltown funeral director and his relationship with the wealthy widow played by shirley maclaine, a woman who ends up getting on his very last nerve. take a look. >> i can understand 25 times like the chicken fried steak but i don't think you have to chew your refried beans that many times. doesn't really make sense. it's unnecessary additional work

for your jaws. think of your muscles. couldn't be good for it. it's inefficient. think about it. you know this drives me crazy. please stop. this is like nails on a chalkboard. go ahead. chew like that. chew like that. oh! >> jack black, good morning. that must have been so fun to shoot that with her. >> it was a blast. we had a great time. yeah. >> her jaw probably started getting sore after awhile. hopefully that was only one take. that did seem like -- >> no, we did it all day. she was chewing the beans all day. but she's a pro, you know. she knows how to pace herself. >> and chewing the beans all day. that could have side effects. but anyway, let's move on, this is a story that basically is based on a true story from the 1990s. your character bernie actually was convicted of murdering marjorie nugent, who's played as we just saw by shirley mcclain. you just took a deep breath. >> yeah.

>> the question is how do you make a comedy about a real-life murder? >> it's true. it's heavy. but you know, we were pushing the envelope. we're going some places no one's gone before. and the truth is, inside every story, no matter how dark, there's always going to be some kernel of comedy, i think. there's always a funny angle you can take on any story. you know what's funny about this story is how peculiar it is. there's some elements to it that are so strange that are -- that are hard to believe. and that's where we went for the dark comedy. >> the story line or in the character? >> this isn't going to sound funny now. >> okay. >> but it's a typical thing to say but the fact that her body was hidden in a freezer for nine months, and nobody noticed, it's very dark. but some people could find it funny. >> okay. okay. apparently some people involved in this film find that funny. but anyway -- >> can we talk about that other movie? the pirates one? i think i'd like to talk about that one right now.

>> you know, this one is a hard bit, no question, dark comedies tend to be. in fact, you had to -- you -- not in real life to meet the man you played. that must have been an interesting experience. >> and for making this movie. they sent me to prison for awhile. i did some hard time. i went to a maximum security prison to meet bernie and just get his blessing to make the movie. when you're making a movie about a real person you want to meet them face-to-face and just let them know that we're doing it, as honestly as possible. you know, we're just trying to tell this interesting tale. >> mm-hmm. >> and also just wanted to meet him to get his voice, his accent, see his behavior and how he walked and try to get his personality down. >> must have been -- >> it was scary. i've never been to a prison before and there's a lot of rough customers and you would expect. a lot of tattoos. >> people look at you -- >> a lot of violence behind the

eyes. but the krcraziest part was jus seeing bernie there because he's such a soft, gentle guy. he doesn't really fit there. and it was quite surreal. >> you know i have to ask you the movie has created as you well know some controversial -- controversy because of the real district attorney who is played by matthew mcconaughey in this movie, which i looks like from the clip because this movie is not historically accurate and that in terms of mrs. nugent the movie does not tell her side of the story. you want to respond to that? >> well, i guess he's not portrayed as super heroic. but he is -- he is portrayed pretty humorously but matthew mcconaughey. you know, everyone's going to have their take on any given story. everyone's got a different perspective. we did the best we could to present it honestly, and humorously. >> and on top of that you got to work with shirley mcclain who was your date at the premiere i understand. >> yeah. >> date, nice. >> she's my date. >> was it fun? >> it was fun.

it was a blast. we had a great time the whole time. my wife was a little jealous that shirley was dominating my time. but she just has to understand me and shirley had something special. >> oh, yeah. >> yeah. >> yes and that's clearly as we saw from the clip. >> on the side. >> on the side. okay. and speaking of people who have something special, you are a friend of angelina jolie, that they're -- she's getting married to brad. >> mm-hmm. >> i was wondering if you are going to be -- >> if i'm jealous? >> or whether you're going to be the best man >> did you say speaking of something on the side? i've never had anything on the side with angelina. >> i said -- >> i don't want to get in trouble here. every time i open my mouth about angelina, something wrong pops out. and there's a huge firestorm around me. so i'm not going to fall into your trap. >> oh, okay, okay. i'm sorry i said it. >> but i'm happy for them. they're wonderful peeps and i wish them the best nuptials. >> okay, good. all right. jack black. we wish you the best.

with "bernie." >> thank you. >> in theaters on friday. what a pleasure. >> pleasure is mine. >> i love having you in our studio. please come back, soon. coming up next our most inspiring joy fit club weight loss success stories. but first, this is "today" on nbc. special look at the now edi

of the joy fit club. over the past four years we've introduced you to more than 140 people who each has lost 100 pounds or more. a total of nearly 25,000 pounds shed. and "today" nutritionist joy bauer helps us celebrate their success. >> time for another installment of "look at me now the joy fit club." >> we came up with the joy fit club because we wanted to inspire people at home that were struggling with their weight to feature and film regular people who have lost more than 100 pounds without fancy trainers or sets or expensive dinner was hugely motivational. i was overwhelmed by how many people have lost more than 100 pounds, and wanted to share their story. >> in august, 2008, i weighed in at my all-time high of 278 pounds. >> what's so great about watching these everyday people lose weight and keep it off is

they face all the same obstacles that everybody out there faces, yet they prevail. >> hi, i'm rosie. weight has always been an issue for me. >> my name is carrie, i'm 34 years old and have been overweight my entire life. >> for me, these stories are so incredibly emotional. >> my husband suffered a massive heart attack. he died. >> each story is very different. and i become emotionally attached to each and every fit club member. this is 9,000 calories in just one day. >> greg is a guy who struggles with weight his entire life. he had a horrible childhood. >> you look hot, baby! >> well, yeah. >> jen and keith are a couple who gained weight together in the bath past. >> keith and i both loved food. >> and then lost weight together. >> whoo! >> they have all had past failed attempts at dieting but this time, it stuck.

people out there who have tried diets in the past and have failed, one time it's going to work, and it could be this time. these people are brave. they helped me to understand what it's really like to walk in their shoes. it's hard. and i really cannot describe the feeling that i get when each and every one of them walk out for their reveals. i just get the chills throughout my body. because the studio is cold. i know that they're behind that door, and they're super nervous, and when the door opens up and they walk out, it's pure joy. it's pure joy. >> some of the most inspiring weight loss stories are featured in the new book "the joy fit club." joy bauer, nice to see you. good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> do you want people to read this book and look for the nutritional information or more of the inspirational side of each story? >> the book has everything. everything wrapped up in one. so we provide these inspirational stories. people that have lost 200, 100,

300, there's even a woman who lost more than 400 pounds. but also i provide an easy-to-follow diet plan for anyone, whether you need to lose five pounds or 500 pounds, and delicious, slimming recipes. no diets with creamy pasta, decadent chocolate mousse. >> i was scanning through some of the stories and one thing is clear immediately, these people all have issued with their weight, they all dieted, which is important, they all took on exercise programs, but in other ways they also tackled their lifestyle. they made significant changes in the way they lived their lives. >> but you're right. we talk about that to an extent in the book. dieting and losing weight is 50% attitude. and there are a few steps that you definitely have to take if you want to lose it and keep it off. the first is, to find a meaningful reason for wanting to lose the weight. >> isn't it meaningful enough to say i want to live a long, healthy life? >> yes. and you need to have that ah-ha moment. and all of these joy fit club members, either they had a

health scare or they wanted to be around for their kids and their grand kids or they just finally wanted to feel more comfortable in their own skin. but you need your own reason. >> you also say you need to set up a tracking system. >> yes. because there is nothing more encouraging than watching a downward trend. so set up a computer spread sheet or graph a homemade little chart on paper and then weigh yourself regularly and chart it. get a flexible tape measure and measure and record the inches lost. and a lot of them had success tracking their food. because you're much more accountable when you know it's going down on paper, you're going to think twice before you pop something in your mouth. >> almost all the people had slip-ups. >> yes. >> and you say it's crucial to forgive them. >> right. >> for them to forgive themselves. >> we are human. it's going to happen. and that nobody gains weight from a few slices of pizza or a decadent rich, pasta meal. you can't let a temporary setback turn in to a whole full-out binge. instead, shake it off and get right back on track.

when you forgive yourself for the slip-ups, that's when you're going to lotz weight and you're going to keep it 06. >> joy bauer, congratulations on the book. >> thank you. >> again it's called "the joy fit club." you're going to be back with kathie lee and hoda catching up with some of the people joy just met over the years. good morning. it is 8:56 on this monday, april 23. it is a difficult morning commute today. matt has a look at that time roads. >> at this point we have the good news is all lanes have been reopened. bad news is delays tall way back prior to 95 and on average, 18 miles per hour from 95 all the way out to 270.

and now we are getting word of a new accident on the outer loop just prior to that spur. problem in the city along south dakota avenue at vista street, southbound one lane blocked there. in the southwest side, inner loop beltway seeing major delays at this point. richard, ba

are. good morning, tom kierein, storm center 4. radar showing wet snow out in western maryland. much of west virginia and along the ridges just west and north of washington. already a foot of wet snow fallen about 50 miles southeast of pittsburgh. it is amazing to get this kind of snow here this late in the season, but it is continuing out in parts of west virginia where it is in the low to mid 30s. they can get up to a foot of snow there by this evening with power outages. locally just passing a run showers from time to time. chilly day with the blustery

we're back now with more of "today" on a monday morning. a blustery monday morning. 52 degrees in new york city. but it is also windy and drizzly and wow, extra credit to these fine people who have been sticking around throughout the morning. >> yeah. >> thank you very much. >> i'm matt lauer along with ann curry back from vacation. al roker and tamron hall joins us, as well. and coming up this morning, a serious subject. george zimmerman is at an undisclosed location this morning after being released on bond late last night. >> that's right. he walked out of a florida jail

around midnight, after a judge set 150,000 dollars bond. he's been fitted with an electronic monitoring device to now he is awaiting his trial in the death the killing of trayvon martin. >> an a little bit later, saving money online. go online you see the web ads kind of pop up, giving you coupons, telling you a great deal on some website. bargain hunting online can actually get kind of complicated once you tack on shipping fees, minimum orders and coupon codes. how do you find the best deals? we've got some short cuts. >> and also coming up, going green with the help of hollywood heavyweights. jessica alba, even ellen degeneres, some of the celebrities creating eco-friendly products like coffee, wine, and baby clothing. so we're going to shop some of the best, including bono. eden, i actually wear some of the stuff. it is fantastic. >> if you wear it i want to buy it. you're a fashionista and a half.

>> let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk. she's got all the headlines. natalie? >> all right, good morning to you guys once again. good morning, everyone. the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed unarmed teen trayvon martin has been released on bail from a florida jail. nbc's kerry sanders has the latest from sanford, florida. kerry, good morning. >> well, good morning, natalie. it was about 72 hours from the time that the judge granted him a bail that he was able to post a bond and he walked out of that doorway over my shoulder here. came out, quietly got into a car with one of his representatives, and sped off. we don't know where he is. but the authorities do. that's because they put a monitor on his ankle that can be tracked to whatever location he's at via gps. his attorney has indicated that he'd like him to leave the state, so he may well already be out of the state of florida, as he's preparing for a trial which now could be more than a year away. meantime, today, some of the public's documents associated with this case, perhaps some of

these earliest police reports, could be made public today, and perhaps will reveal some of what detectives found when they first arrived at the scene and began investigating trayvon martin's death, which was in late february. natalie? >> kerry sanders in sanford, florida. thanks so much, kerry. after a mild winter the east coast is bearing the brunt of a spring nor'easter. more than a foot of snow is possible in the higher elevations of central and western pennsylvania and upstate new york. and from the new jersey shore to new england, up to four inches of rain and wild wind gusts are expected this morning. set to scrabbleble the first commute of the work week. retail giant walmart is conducting a probe into allegations it engaged in widespread bribery in mexico. the new york times reports that an e-mail from a former executive of the company's mexican division described how that group had pate up to $24 million in bribes to speed the company's rapid expansion there. according to the "times,"

walmart investigated the claims but then shut down the probe without notifying authorities. walmart released a statement saturday saying it is deeply concerned about the allegations, and has been investigating its compliance with anti-bribery laws since last fall. investigators and family members are intensifying their search for missing soldier kelli bordeaux. nbc's thanh truong is with the latest. >> reporter: the man who last saw kelli bordeaux is a registered sex offender. he'll be in court today for charges unrelated to this case. police say he's not a person of interest in bordeaux's disappearance and he is cooperating with the investigation, giving a detailed account of the night bordeaux seemingly vanished. it's now day nine in the search for 23-year-old kelli bordeaux. an army medic based at ft. bragg. >> my wife went missing last weekend. >> reporter: over the weekend bordeaux's husband and brother went door-to-door posting

flyers. bordeaux was last seen singing karaoke and drinking at this local bar. about a mile away, a k-9 search team carefully combed bordeaux's apartment complex. >> we're here in the hopes that we can find evidence that will help the fayetteville police department find kelly li. >> reporter: but no new leads. police say this is still an active missing person's case but admit they have grave concerns about bordeaux's safety. so far most of the details leading up to bordeaux's disappearance have come from nicolas holbrooke, a registered sex offender. the 25-year-old lived in a tent behind the bar and says he met bordeaux there a few weeks ago. holbrooke told a local abc station that bordeaux asked him for a ride home the night she vanished. >> i had nothing to do with this. i picked her up and took her home that night. that's it. >> reporter: on friday he was arrested for failing to report his address to authorities. a requirement for sex offenders. bordeaux's family say they remain hopeful and pushed back

at the suggestion that she abandoned her military duties. >> she's an amazing soldier. she -- she wouldn't just disappear. i mean, even if -- she wouldn't disappear from her family like this. she wouldn't just leave us. >> reporter: a jogger was recently raped in the same area where bordeaux disappeared. police are looking into all possibilities. but say at this point there doesn't seem to be a connection. nicolas holbert will be in court for his bond hearing. he is not a person of interest in this case. there are no suspects at this time. >> thanh truong in fayetteville, north carolina, thank you. for the first time since its release "the hunger games" is no longer the weekend box office champ. "think like a man" was number one this weekend with $33 million in sales. the lucky one with zac efron was runner up and "the hunger games" came in third after a month at the top. and if you're looking to adopt a cat this one's got a whole lot more to love. this is meow. and he weighs nearly 40 pounds.

that is more than most human toddlers. workers at the santa fe humane society are trying to help him drop some weight before sending him to a welcoming home. they'll have the latest on meow's slimdown on their facebook page, though. like garfield. now seven minutes past the hour. let's go back to al with a check of your weather. >> nat, anthony one of our camera guys said joy has a new candidate for the joy fit club. >> i think so. what can she do for cats? >> wow. meow. let's see what we've got for today. we've got a we have for today. we have as a big storm system making its way into the northeast. classic nor'easter ahead of it rain behind it. we got a lot of snow and wind. and that's going to bring down power lines and we already got thousands without power from pittsburgh on up into syracuse, new york. with winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories. looking from some areas going to see snow falling at the rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour. thunderstorms within that snow. we are looking for anywhere from 6 to 18 inches of snow in this areas. rain continues.

we had anywhere from an inch to 4 inches of rain from the northeast into new england. more rain over the next 24 hours into new england anywhere from 1 to 3 to 4 inches of rain. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. tom kierein in storm center 4. storm 4 radar showing areas in green, rain across parts of northern virginia and maryland. we are seeing pink and white. that's snow. and it is reaching the ground and along the blue ridge and parts of the shenandoah valley, west virginia, western maryland. and locations there could get 6 to 12 inches of snow. a foot of snow has fallen. laurel summit, pennsylvania. that's southeast of pittsburgh. in the 30s to near 40 now. later today near 50. with >> now in "today's money," an up close look at online business. you can be bombarded with bargains but you don't know where to begin. the editor of shop smart

magazine has some steps to get us the best deals. >> good morning, al. >> you did a survey. an in-depth look at some of these bargain websites. what did you find? >> you may not realize it but some of your favorite walk-in stores have amazing outlets online or clearance sections where you can find deals you're not going to find anywhere else. crate and barrel, bath and body works. bath and body works has a whole section of discontinued fragrances that are 50% off. it's great. >> so the problem, though, you've got to compare all these websites. how do you do that? >> well, first of all, what you want to do is do a price comparison. no matter where you find a great discount, even if it's at an outlet site, do a reality check, go to pricegrabber.com, shopzilla.com. but you also want to go to ebay and amazon for a reality check to make sure you're getting a great deal. >> if you find a lower price at one website are there websites that will match that price if you find it? >> one thing that we highly recommend, this is just good, online shopping hygiene, is to look for coupons online.

no matter where you're shopping. look -- do a google search with the name of the retailer and the word coupon and you'll find lots of deals. you might even be able to apply it to hefly discounted products already, for example at banana republic or thegap.com and add in rewards certificates and you can get it practically for free. >> how do you keep track of the coupons? >> you do a search and it will tell you what the coupon code is. >> how about free shipping? that seems to be a base now. should you expect free shipping? >> well, actually, outlet sites you may not. it can be hard to find. but for example, searsoutlet.com. it's free shipping to the store. so for example you buy an appliance, they'll ship it to the store, you pick it up at the store for free. many great websites have free shipping and have amazing clearance sections like nordstrom.com. go to freeshipping.org and you'll find all kinds of free shipping deals on other websites. >> just this weekend my daughter was looking for ridiculously priced pair of sneakers and she

found them on this one website but their website looked kind of sketched to me. how do you figure out whether this is, you know, aologic it mat website. >> there are a lot of different things you can do. make sure it has contact information, not just an e-mail address but a physical address or phone number. check bbb.org, the better business bureau's website. also check user reviews. and another thing in particular when you're checking websites that are outlet websites or clearance sections, check the return pomsy. sometimes it's final sale. for example, women's direct dotcom has a great clearance section. but it's all final sale. also you want to check product descriptions. hefly discounted stuff might be damaged or irregular. you never know or it could be refurbished. cook ware and more is a great example, great deals but a lot of the stuff is irregular. >> and then do you have to pay if you get something and you don't like it and you've got to ship it back? >> you might. that's very important to check return policies. you may end up paying a huge amount for shipping and it could

be a pain in the butt, depending on how large the item is. so you got to be careful. >> and can you negotiate? >> a lot of people don't realize this. but online, you can negotiate and get amazing deals. we've done national surveys, particularly for electronics, and appliances and found that not very many people negotiate but the majority of people that do, do get a price break. you could do it via phone call -- >> how do you negotiate online? >> call customer service. do it by e-mail, and many websites also have live chat. >> chat online. >> so you can chat with them now. >> love chat. a lot of great advice. thanks so much. coming up next, going green hollywood style. we're going to show you the best celebrity products that help the environment. then later on, show me the money. how one woman in charge of managing a town's money is accused of stealing it to the tune of $30 million. first these messages. i am going to become facebook friends with our babysitter. no. these work, right? no. all right. mom! look what i found in the shed! no! no! no! ♪

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♪ because the best oranges make the best juice. i brought champagne. oh wow! best in the world. oikos greek yogurt from dannon. so creamy thick and fresh tasting dannon oikos berry flavors beat chobani 2:1 in a national taste test. mmmm... this may be the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt. what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover all of manhattan out of landfills each year? the equivalent of 140 million trash bags, gone. by using glad trash bags, designed with reinforcing bands to be stronger with less plastic waste, we can. it's a small change that can make a big difference. and try glad odor shield with febreze freshness... strong bags that neutralize strong odors.

this morning on "green your routine today," eco-friendly hollywood. from stylish jeans and sunglasses to smooth wine and coffee, celebrities have jumped on the green bandwagon creating earth friendly products. "today" contributor elizabeth mayhew has a few product lines you'll want to check out. good morning. >> good morning. >> a lot of these celebrities lending their name, their passions to these ideas. >> and their power. bottom line is cleaning unthe world whether it's through sustainability or through totally natural, nontoxic products. they're using their star power, and bringing stuff to us. >> and all of these are available right now and i understand it. >> everything is available. >> this is leo dicaprio coffee? >> okay so he teamed up with this company, and basically what

they do, 100% of the profits of this coffee go to the leonardo dicaprio foundation, which is his money to all kinds of eco purchases. it's also a story of sustainability so it's giving fair trade prices in haiti and employing lots of people. it also happens to be delicious. so you can get it at williams-sonoma -- >> it's amazing. >> from coffee to wine. sting and his wife trudie? >> sting and his wife trudie have an incredible home outside of florence in the chianti region and they make this wine, the latest, two of the wines that they make are in their second vintage. the latest is a chianti called when we dance. you can try some if you want. it's:22 a bottle and it's made with 100% organic, it's actuly biodynamic. so it's got a very, very high stature of the goodness, and

actually no chemical. >> next up bono and his wife ali. i'm actually a fan i have to confess, i wear this clothing line a lot. >> eden, what's interesting about this company is they have made a commitment to having most of their clothes by a certain point made in africa. so they are giving jobs to people, they are creating entire communities that make these clothes, so you can get that at eden.com and they're very stylish. >> a lot of people think eco-friendly that it's not stylish or not soft. their jeans are the best. i love this. next up stella mccartney? >> stella mccartney, everybody has made such a commitment to producing things in a really interesting way, she has an absolutely no fur, no leather policy. this bag looks like it's python but it's not. it's actually just made to look like it. the shoes, the sunglasses are the latest to come out, and they are made with caster seed our and citric acid so she's really on the cutting edge and has such commitment to what she's making.

even her totes, this is made out of recycled canvas. >> this is one of the most popular bags. you see so many women carrying the stella bag. now moving on to our face. >> josie marin, supermodel, the whole thing, she has a line, the josie marin cosmetic line, and it's 100% made with moroccan argon oil, and it's 100% nontoxic. it's very natural. it's sustainable. and she's partnered up with two other supermodels to make this line their special edition battles. the argan oil has both -- it's great for your skin, it's like natural all over. >> and it smells amazing without being overwhelming which is why i like it as well. >> they've made these bottles and 10% of proceeds go to charity. it's all natural. >> jessica alba, a mother of two. >> mother of two, and she has teamed up with a father, her business partner, and they have created the honest company.

and the honest company is a subscription service whereby you can go and get all of your household goods from diapers to dishwashing liquid, you sign up for the classic family bundle, it is $34 a month, and it's 100% nontoxic, good for the environment, even biodegradables. everything is going to be good for your home and for your family. >> that's awesome. i'm a pet owner so this caught my eye. >> ellen degeneres, the story with ellen is she has this animal who the dog who was allergic to everything. and someone told her to try halo. she was so taken with the product, and the dog loved it, and got back to health, that she actually bought part of the company. so halo -- >> i started giving my cat this. you see actual peas and carrots in the cat food. so halo.com. next up is sol he'll moon fry. >> pung ki brewster. >> who with a friend started the little seed company. they have a boutique in l.a. and they started their little seed

line which is 100% raw organic cotton. it's absolutely the dyes are all nontoxic. they're super soft and cute. they feel silky they're so amazing and very eco-friendly. >> from what you put on your body to what you put in your body? >> tyler florence has come out with a toddler line. it's 100% organic. it's about $3.55 for a one serving for your toddler, and it's got all the right nutrients, and protein and that he or she needs for healthy growth. >> looks like somebody already took a taste. >> what's interesting is there's mac and cheese, with butter nut squash. >> and this crib -- >> jenny mccarthy is our last up and she has really dedicated to bringing lower price point nontoxic baby products onto the market. you can get this at target. it's a five piece contributing set, again at target. and it's all nontoxic and a portion of her proceeds also go to her charities, one of them

being generation rescue. >> all right, elizabeth. thank you so much. great list of things to try out. taking the guess work out of being beautiful. but first, these messages. (bell rings) hi. good morning. big news. we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry... and banana/blueberry. we're telling everyone. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. try some. mmm! two flavors. in harmony. yummy. four nutritious grains and two big fruit flavors to make your day bunches better. but do you really? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. can your makeup remover do that? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® makeup remover. carol. fiber makes me sad.

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coming up, the best beauty buys on a budget. >> and in "today's kitchen," we're all about potatoes. >> yum yum. and her bffsth karen and we are talking about activia. i've been eating activia and i feel great! i'm used to having irregularity. i feel like that's normal. if you are not feeling like trying this on, that's not normal. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. feeling regular to me was a new feeling... i came to find my 'new normal' and i love it! ♪ activia and try new silky, fruity activia harvest picks. another way to enjoy activia. cuban ca jun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants. it pays to discover.

good morning. 9:26 this monday, april 23. let's go to storm had meteorologist tom kierein with a look at the forecast. >> good morning. we had wet pavement around the region, contributing to a lot of accidents and light rain falling in the areas in green west of washington. about to move into the metro area another hour or so. farther west there's wet snowflakes around the blue ridge, shenandoah valley, heavier snow falling out of the mountains of west virginia. many locations are just in the upper 30s and low 40s now. and later today, only near 50 degrees. that's more typical of late february than late april. occasional showers and ending late tonight. sun back tomorrow. richard? >> all right,

latest problem we have is northbound on 16th street. two left lanes remain blocked

right at eastern avenue and at this point we are still looking at a lot of congestion on that top side beltway outer loop. right now you are running at 23 miles per hour on average from 95 all the way out to 270. richard, back to you. richard, back to you. >> matt, let's go never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this.

we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. all i want to say is thanks to all the people who watched. thanks to oprah, because really it's not about the things that occur in your life, it's about how you react to them. >> rosie o'donnell never shy about sharing opinions, those are her thoughts on the end of her latest show. well tomorrow on "today," she's going to be sharing more of her opinions when she joins the panel of power players, "today's professionals." that's tomorrow, tuesday, on "today." suffering succotash. >> that's going to be exciting. >> meanwhile coming up a big crime scene shock wave through a small town. the woman in control now of the city's finances for more than three decades, well she's now

accused of stealing some $30 million to fund a lavish lifestyle. you can imagine, it's all the talk among the neighbors in that small town. what a story. that one's coming up. >> guess i didn't notice she was driving a bentley. >> or all the horses. >> well you don't have to live a lavish lifestyle to look good. and this morning we've got the best beauty buys in everything from hair care to skin care. we're going to show you where to save and where to splurge. then we're going to check in the kitchen with the man behind one of the hottest restaurants in new york right now and he's going to show us how to cook up your meat and potatoes dinner with the perfect spaced rub. that looks good. now a check of the weather for us. >> perfect weather for that kind >> a check of the weather first. >> starting with the week ahead below normal temperatures in tease. aboval normal out west, hit or miss showers and thunderstorms in the mountains. into the mid week period it is going to get a little warmer in the midsection of the country. look for cooler weather along

the west coast with more rain, showers along the pacific northwest coast, and we will continue in the latter part of the week but temperatures will be normal, warmer than usual p through the southeast. below normal temperatures from the plains across the great lakes and into the northeast and new england. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> temporary respite from the rain. over the last couple of hours. we have another batch of rain heading towards the metro area moving in from the west. those areas in pink and white to our west, those are zones of some snow along the blue ridge and some heavier snows out of the mountains of western maryland and northern west virginia. they could pick up to a foot there by later today and locally just passing showers and chilly. upper 30s and low 40s. only near on 50 for on a high later this afternoon with blustery wind. tomorrow some sun in the morning and your laetest weather. >> all right, al, thank you. if you find yourself humming the music at the end of each episode at the end of the nbc smash show "smash" good news, the show's soundtrack it coming out may 1st.

>> and here to tell us more is one of the stars. megan, good morning. >> good morning. >> this is very exciting. tell us about this. >> well our soundtrack is coming out and it's got about 13 of the songs that have been on the air already. and then the ones that will come after will be released subsequently on itunes. >> do you just break into song like that all the time. >> did i sing? was i singing? yeah, no, yeah. i can't help it. >> what is going on with your character, ivy? of course she had the marilyn monroe part and she kind of lost her voice a little bit, and what's going on? >> so like a movie star. >> it is. >> yeah, and it's kind of like the ultimate split. what can you do? you can't compete? i can't compete with uma thurman and she's fantastic on the show. and yeah, a bit of a mess. >> right now. >> right now. >> she's going to get it together? >> it's going to get a little worse before it gets better. >> ooh.

do tell. >> so -- >> and -- >> yes. >> good thing if you've been renewed for next season so we have time to watch ivy get it together. >> exactly. at least i'm hoping. >> i am, too. >> you're working on your first solo album. >> i am with columbia and sony masterworks combined and i'm going to be starting in a couple weeks. >> what's your vision for it? >> i'm trying to figure that out right now. it's a secret. >> i thought we were going to do a whole bunch of covers but no we're going to do a lot of original stuff. so we're working that out right now. >> that's good. >> looking forward to it. >> megan, thank you so much. and of course, check out "smash" tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central, right here on nbc. >> and coming up next, $30 million stolen from smalltown america. the most surprising part is who's accused. more on this story. for months, i had this deep pain all over my body. it just wouldn't go away.

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feelings manifested in the faces of city employees. >> reporter: 58-year-old rita crundwell, the city's comptroller for decades, arrested for allegedly misappropriating a whopping $30 million. a lot of money for a town with an annual budget of just $9 million a year. >> it's devastating for this community. rita is well-liked in the community, and we just find it hard to believe. >> reporter: while crundwell earned some $80,000 a year, she owned a sprawling home on the outskirts of town, and a large horse farm just down the road. she's one of the nation's leading breeders of champion quarterhorses. >> she's just so much fun to show. >> reporter: messages posted on the win scythe gohorseshow.com were critical. i guess the folks she showed against will no longer refer to her as rich rita, but now refer to her as madam madoff one said. among the items seized by federal agents, seven trucks and trailers, three pickup trucks, a

ford thunderbird convertible, and a $2 million motor home. inside books on first, residents were in shock. >> how could you not catch it? $30 million is a lot of money. >> reporter: the allegations of misappropriation were first made when another employee filling in while crundwell was away noticed six-figure sums being transferred into a suspicious account. >> it's just -- everybody's gasping. at least i am. >> after you get to be a certain age, kevin, nothing really surprises you a whole heck of a lot. >> reporter: crundwell has been charged with wire fraud. neither she nor her court-appointed attorney has commented on the case. >> that was nbc's kevin tibbles reporting. and crundwell is now free on a $4500 bond but a judge has forbidden her from selling any of that property and that includes any of the prize quarterhorses. >> all right. >> can't believe they didn't notice that money missing. >> you stole $30 million and you

voenl a bond of $4500. not bad. still to come this morning the best bargains in beauty and the ones that are actually worth the extra splurge. right after this. i brought champagne. oh wow! best in the world. oikos greek yogurt from dannon. so creamy thick and fresh tasting dannon oikos berry flavors beat chobani 2:1 in a national taste test. mmmm... this may be the best in the world. oikos greek yogurt.

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[ male announcer ] celebrate the little things. buy any kfc 10 pc meal or larger and get a free double chocolate chip cake. this morning on "today's beauty," simply the best. it's been an exhaustive eight months for in style's beauty team working hard to round up the annual best beauty buys. here with the top picks, instyle's beauty director. amy, good morning. >> good morning. >> always love when you guys are here. let's start off with the eye shadows and l'oreal wins for your top category there. >> right, l'oreal has amazing shadows because the pigments are so intense. color is very vibrant.

comes in 35 long wear shades so it won't smudge. will stay on all day. >> and it's affordable. so that's even better. drugstore. over here the exude lip cream infused with vitamin c and e. why did this make the list? >> this is a really cool product. it's a category of its own. you can see it looks like a lipstick. >> right. >> but inside it's a cream. so it kind of has the pigment of a lipstick but it's very moisturizing. >> you twist it and you get the perfect amount? >> exactly. never makes a mess. very user friendly. >> now this one is a little bit of of a splurge but people swear by this system when it comes to skin care. >> especially determine tomgss. it uses ultrasonic waves so it's extremely gentle. you can use it every day, will give you an amazing, glowy complexion and will help any of your anti-aging products absorb better. >> it's got the brush and you just use that with the product. there you go. over here, dr. dennis age erase recovery mask. tell us about this. >> this is a great product to use if you're going to a party,

you just want an instant glow. it's self-heating so it warms up. it feels amazing and helps the product absorb better so it gives you this dewey, radiant complexion. >> you can use this every day as well? >> once a week. >> okay. all right. now if you need a little boost speaking of radiant complexion, the vitamin c boost, booster c powder, perfect for $35, right? >> right. this is something you would use every day. it's a powder as you can see. the reason that's important is because vitamin c is notoriously unstable. so be keeping it in a powder and using it fresh every day it keeps it very stable and very potent. >> you put a little water to it? >> you put a little bit into your moisturizer or sunscreen, gives it extra antioxidant boost. >> and over here tell me about this product. a moisturizer with spf but it's great for people with acne? >> it's a mineral sunscreen. i love this because it's completely noncomedogenic, it's very sheer. and that's rare in a mineral sunscreen. you can put it on with absolutely no feeling like

you're wearing a mask. >> spf 46, too. so that's really good. all right, over here, neutrogena's face wash for seven bucks a big winner. >> this is a cult classic product. dermatologists have always recommended this. but what's great about it now is they've repackaged it and changed the scent, so it comes in this amazing grapefruit scent. so it's still just as effective as it always has been, but now you have this amazing. >> i have this at home. >> you have this amazing experience, too. >> the other one is a splurge as well by in style. the eye cream. you say this is a triple threat. >> it's a triple threat because it really handles every kind of eye issue. it has caffeine for puffiness, human growth factors to plump up the skin around your eyes and it is everything you need in an eye cream. >> i'm going to be trying that one for sure. need that in the mornings. okay. and over here if you have greasy hair this is a great product. obviously it's the time of year we're going to be using a lot of this kind of stuff.

>> exactly. this is one of our hall of fame products which means it's been on the list for ten years. >> wow. >> this is a product that so many hair stylists swear by. a little goes a long way. instantly reduces frizz without weighing it down. >> nice glossy sheen to your hair, too. and over here zoya for nail polish. this is an eco nail polish, right? >> that's right. it's a green nail polish. natalie portman's manicurist used it on her when she was pregnant. no formaldehyde, no toxic chemicals, and it comes in an amazing array of really vibrant colors. very fashion forward. and also it lasts really well. no chipping. >> i love all the colors, oranges and greens. beautiful. and last but not least organic body lotion. now this is only i believe $12 at drugstores? >> that's right. and if there's one area of your beauty routine you may want to go green, body lotion is a great place to start. it's something that you aply on large parts of your body, use it every day. this absorbs instantly, very

cosmetically elegant. it's really a wonderful product. >> excellent. we look forward to trying all of these. amy, thank you so much. coming up, add being a little spice to your steak and potato dinner. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in "today's kitchen," what's on the menu? meat and potatoes. >> and we're making a spiced steak that can easily be prepared even in my kitchen. >> david is the chef and owner of the hot manhattan restaurant and the author of the new book "hero food" how cooking with delicious things can take -- >> make us heroes? >> that's right. exactly. >> this is terrific. >> you're doing a hanger steak, a nice spice rub included and we're all kind of like interested in this because you're using pomegranate seeds?

>> these are some dried pomegranate seeds which everybody knows they're wonderful antioxidants but they also give a nice, acidic punch to the meat. >> where do you find them? >> mideast earn grocers, a lot of gourmet stores have them, too. i'm going to add them with in with some core yanter, fennel seed that's ground up and sesame seed. just mix these guys together. >> why do you like a hanger steak. >> the hanger steak is an amazing cut. we kind of call it a butcher's cut. it's a cut most people didn't know about until recently. it sort of hangs down from the diagram and it's really, really rich and has a lot of flavor but it's inexpensive. and it cooks in very, very little amount of time. >> very flavorful. >> get this guy crusted up a little bit and go right onto the grill. we've got one there that's searing up. >> completely dry. >> just a few minutes on each side because it's not a really big piece of meat and it doesn't have very much fat. it's nice to serve it on the rare side. a little rare, medium rare, keep it just really simple.

>> we can do this indoors or out? >> you can do it on the grill outside or inside as we're doing here. you get that -- >> does that change the cook time? >> depends how hat it is. outside if you're going to put the lid down it's going to get a lot hotter. >> the potatoes. >> we're going to serve this with mashed potatoes. we're going to make these a little bit interesting and a little lighter. using a yukon gold potato. >> they make the best mashed. >> cooking through and then instead of doing butter or cream we're going to use olive oil and i like to balance it out -- >> it's healthier that way? >> and i'm going to add in some lemon juice. >> muscle, tamron. >> well, these need cooking more. >> the gun show is out. >> bam, bam. >> and we're going to put in -- some fresh horseradish. a little olives. and this is olive right here. >> don't they make some kind of electric gadget -- >> and the olives -- >> can you pass that over here? >> driesell that. >> that will make it softer.

give me some more olive oil. >> that's good. >> okay. >> you're going to persist -- >> look -- >> a lot of work -- >> luckily for tamron. >> we're going to finish it up with chives. and then this is the dressing. it's really important, if you don't let it rest it's going to go all over the place. if you look at this. see the grain going like that. it's a little bit chewy. we want to cut across the grain. the grain is going this way. i'm going to cut in thin slices against the grain. that will make it a little bit less chewy. >> look how juicy that is. >> that is beautiful. >> and this is, you know, this is really easy. and it's good, organic, grass red grain finished beef. >> what's the salad about? >> then the salad, this one you can finish right here on the mashed potatoes, olive oil and a little bit of sea salt. >> good. >> and then the salad is really yummy. sugar snap pea salad with shaved radishes and fresh ricotta and some mint to make it a little

fresh. and this is another one of my favorite spices, it's a really not that spicy, kind of a sweet pepper. obviously from ahelpo, originally. and it goes really, really well, to kind of lighten things up. >> there's your deviled eggs. >> our version, they have an almond romesco sauce, toasted almonds, garlic, peppers in there. and then -- >> thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> still to come, jack black is sticking around with hoda and kathie lee. >> after your local news. [ male announcer ] does your cable company keep charging you more...

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good morning. it is 9:57 on this monday, april 23. it is a gloomy day. let's go to storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein with a look at the forecast. >> low-grade clouds over washington. sprinkle activity here. where you see the green on storm 4 radar, that's rain. right now getting rain northern virginia. and those little areas of pink and white, that's snow. wet snow along the blue ridge. parts of northern maryland and

western maryland, west virginia where they could get a lot of snow later today. right now 45 at reagan national. not going to warm up much. 50 for high this afternoon. occasional showers into the afternoon, drying out after midnight tonight. >> at this point looking at that time southwest point we are stacked coming inbound on 395. right there at the pentagon, you see a lot of slow going. 23 miles per hour on average. accident working in the city, two left lanes blocked along 16. northbound where the two lanes are blocked. >> it is wedding week. we will tell you how to get the most for your money when it comes to the invitations. comes to the invitations. that's

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hey, everybody, it is fun day monday, april 23rd, 2012. kathie lee is on vacation so guess who's come to visit? our good friend willie geist is here from msnbc. he apparently has a television show on very early in the morning called -- >> "way too early." >> it's on at 5:30. so you did your show -- >> i did my show,dy "morning

joe," i will enter my fifth hour of television. >> we know you're already fatigued and we think that you should have a little something to drink before we start. we have some ice cold drinks. i have a glass of wine. usually -- >> that doesn't usually help with fatigue. >> it doesn't. but come on. let's see what you get to choose from. >> oh, my gosh! i choose from these. >> a martini, white wine, red wine -- >> is that bourbon? >> what is that martini? you might as well leave that. >> why don't you just leave the tray. it's a long show. we'll work through this. >> jerry always likes to test everything. pretty good? >> that's your tip, jerry. wonderful. you are a good hostess. >> do you like your welcome present? >> i do. i have one for you as well. it is going to be a long week so i need to butter you up early on. i wanted to get a very subtle flower arrangement. just a couple little flowers i think will go nicely right here. it is going to provide some challenges for the director

probably. >> this is ridiculous. >> thank you, willie. i like them. if you guys woke up this morning and you were on parts of the east coast you got slammed by some snowy was shocking. it was -- i think in western pennsylvania, and two to four inches in some parts of pittsburgh -- four to seven in buffalo. it seems so weird to look at these images in april. >> the irony of it is it wouldn't snow during the winter. i had a ski trip in december and we sat inside and drank the whole time. now it is snowy in april and we want to go to the beach. >> we're not into that. all right, hi. is everything good? how was your weekend? what do you do on your weekends? >> i'd rather not get into that. it's personal. ly tell you what i did. so we got an invitation my wife and i to go to what we thought was an engagement party. come celebrate our happily ever after. i roll in, i get up early, i'm tired, it is friday night. roll in jeans, blazer, shirt. walk in, turns out it was the wedding. it was thewedding! my wife, thank god, looked

great, she was all dressed up but i thought it was the engagement party. we had a bolt a little early. it was a beautiful party but a little vague on the invitation. >> they should be very clear. >> we need specifics. what did you do? >> i went to rehoboth beach. it was my mom's birthday. there is a cool little coffee shop we go to. >> is that your mom? >> yes. we busted in. the birthday cake with hanna who gets more tv time than most and this is the group of people who came. a lot of people are from the neighborhood who just came. it was a nice little surprise for american so happy birthday to her. by the way, we have such a cool thing that's happening on our program today. the cmt awards are coming out, that's the country music awards. those are so much fun. today we are so lucky because the group little big town is here and they are going to reveal the nominations for these awards and there are some great

videos and songs and these guys are so good. what's that song -- i think we have a video of their song. let's listen to little big town. ♪ i feel no shame i'm proud of where i came ♪ ♪ from i was born and raised in the boondocks ♪ ♪ one thing i know no matter where i go ♪ -- >> they're really good. you know i went to school in nashville, tennessee? they've got another song, another video, that's a cover of a cold play song. beautiful, amazing. >> that is for you! if you are wondering what the worst things in the world are. this is from buzz feed. is it a web side? i don't know. so here are some of the worst things in the world according to this group of people. one of them is when the cord of your cable is wrapped in your

rolling chair! is that the worst thing in the world? >> that's horrible! >> that is -- how about when you want a pringle and your fist is too fat to fit in? >> i also have a solution to that. bottoms up. you just take that thing and you just tilt it up because little pieces get stuck in the bottom there. you just pound it. >> i like it. how about when you have one of these cords -- what are these things called? >> power strips. >> power strips. because the way they make plugs -- >> these exotic power strips. what do you call these? >> fancy newfangled -- anyway, the way they make things, when you push them in you cover up a couple of the other ones. how about for blow dryers. you know when you try to blow dry your hair the plug only goes in one way because it has one big side and one little side which i don't even know what the point of that is so when you plug it in you can't plug anything in the bottom plug. >> the problem is you can cover as many as three of those and

you lose the whole power strip. they have these weird things with different arms that come off, you can spread out the plugs? >> they do? i know nothing about this. >> do you have electricity in your home? i'm concerned about your lack of familiarity with the most basic of electronic devices. running water? >> this is rude. >> she doesn't know how to plug something in. there's a new study out that talks about when you get photographed and you say to yourself, wow, i kind of like that picture and you don't know why, it is because you're being photographed from the correct way. and they say that the best way to be photographed for almost everybody is from the left side. i wonder why that is? >> i think i buy that actually. what do you feel like? are you a left or righty? >> i don't notice enough. but we checked ourselves out because we do. which one do you like better of willie? which is your left. >> weird pursed lips on the left. >> i like the right one. >> that's the left. >> are you sure?

>> it is like electricity. it's very simple. >> the right one is the left side. definitely better. but also because of the way you're holding your jaw. >> yeah, i didn't like that look. let's see hoes todada's. i think they're right. i like the left side for both of us. >> how about a little beyonce. >> this was just a ruse to get this song in. ♪ to the left to the left >> you know i watch this show every day. truly. i notice that most days you just sing through this first segment. like kathie lee's got something she wants to talk about and you're sitting there going like this. ♪ to the left to the left >> you are on to me. are you totally on to me. it is time for our favorite things. yours is very special. now i've heard a lot about your favorite thing. >> i mean this very sincerely. i've eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the world from new york to paris. i've never had anything better than chili's southwestern egg

roll. it is an appetizer. it's got the egg roll concept. it is like a flaky tortilla thing. inside, chicken, corn, beans, jalapeno peppers. then you get into here with some kind of ranch dipping sauce. i was on vacation in puerto rico two weeks ago. we went from the airport in exotic puerto rico with my two kids directly to chili's. the chili's in puerto rico -- because i was craving the egg rolls. before we got to the hotel -- >> that's us in chili's. those are my people. that's us at the chili's in puerto rico. look how happy they are. >> they delivered this, by the way, today. >> they're better a little warmer than they are here. >> they're really good! >> if i ever commit a felony, punishable by death and i'm on death row and they say you get one meal -- that's it. >> got your meal? here's mine. there's a store in new york called insomnia. they deliver hot cookies until

3:00 a.m. >> no! >> yes! >> no! insomnia rocks. wait a second. looks what happens. they come to your house warm. right? oh, my gosh! warm cookives that are delivered. it is in 20 places around the country. it is $2.50 from a jumbo cookie but it is coming to your door at 3:00 in the morning! >> what kind of person orders this? is anyone sober when they order these. >> yes, the majority. >> the majority are? they just wake up in the middle of the night and want a cookie? >> want our cookies. >> insomnia, thank you so much. can we give a shout out to the beautiful, beautiful girls behind the news desk? shana is a good friend of our show's. her sister and her best friend are there with her. we love when you come to see us. a big round of af plaus for some cute girls who came to visit. hi, miss sara. you can't eat my favorite thing. it's -- this is the coolest thing. it's from fresh.com for $20.

it is a roll-on perfume that you carry. i tried to pronounce this french thing right. but you know how when you want something on when you go out -- i know you felt this before, willie -- you want to have it in your purse and you just like freshen up, there might be a kiss -- woo, done! in the purse. >> it is also time for our fan of the week! >> okay. so our winner this week is ellen diamond from farmington, new mexico. she watches us on kob-tv channel 4. she tunes in to the fourth hour every day, no exceptions. not evening on the morning her second child was born. she was watching our show the morning of her delivery and her son was born kind of towards the end of our show, 10:54 a.m. her favorite part of the show is favorite things. her dog even perks up when he sees kathie lee's dog bambino. congratulations, ellen, are you going to jamaica. in ocho rios, jamaica, the trip

includes daily meals, a couples massage, an excursion to dunn's river falls. >> ellen, congratulations. she's the best. >> know what else is cool? jack black is with us. he is in a new movie. it is called "burning." he's sleeping. you're almost on. >> little controversy. >> ooh! plus, little big town as hoda said is here with an announcement or two. but first, these messages. who love movies. let me show you something new. come on. walmart can now convert your favorite dvds from disc to digital. so you can watch them on your laptop, tablet, phone... anytime, anywhere. cool, huh? yea! yea! what'd you guys think that it would cost? i thought it'd be around $10. it's only $2 per disc. that's a great price. bring in your favorite dvds. see for yourself. boooom! [ host ] that's the walmart entertainment disc to digital service. visit the photo center at your local walmart

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in the new dark comedy "bernie," jack black plays a beloved theater loving funeral director who strikes up a relationship with a rich widow, mrs. nugent played by shirley maclaine. >> the word is that miss nugent is not so nice. though ber nen nie befriends he makes an accusation about the gardener. >> i don't think he would ever do anything like -- >> why are you sticking up for his kind? >> marjorie, you're making it very hard to be your friend. i'm going to come back some other time. >> oh, go ahead, dessert me! just like everybody else! go ahead, you hate me! >> marjorie, i am not going to take part in this argument! >> i know you hate me! >> oh! you and shirr rshirley maclaine.

welcome. >> finally together at last. >> how much fun was that working with her. >> incredible. shirley maclaine. she's a hero of mine. one of the great actors of all time. so yeah, it is an honor and a blast. you thought i was going to say privilege. it's an honor and a blast. >> you changed it. it is hard to look at you and not laugh just in general. >> i'm not going to take that as a compliment. >> is that a compliment? you are absurd. >> but we should point out this story, it is a serious story but it is a dark comedy. right? >> yeah. it can't decide what it is. is it a serious thing or is it a comedy? yeah. it's both. we're pushing the envelope. i don't know if you ever saw little movie called "fargo," but that's the kind of flavor we're going for which like it is dark, it's scary sometimes but it is also very funny. >> difference here -- true story. some people in the state of texas particularly in this town who say this wasn't so funny at the time and there is a little controversy about it. explain the story just a little

bit without giving too much away. >> well, it's about a fella named bernie who is a mortician and is the most beloved man in the small town of carthage, texas. he's mostly beloved because the old ladies love him because he gives their husbands these beautiful funerals and he pays attention to detail. after the funeral he will go and follow up with the old ladies, make sure they're doing okay. and so everyone loves him and he's one of these guys that like overachieves and like is the head of the musical theater department at the community college. he's doing just everyone loves him. and then he's the least likely to commit a murder and yet it happened. he did it. and the question is why? and then also the question is, why did you put her in the freezer for nine months? >> that's where the comedy part sort of comes in. >> sort of. >> she's in the freezer with the flounder for a long time. >> yeah. yeah. underneath like the frozen

piece. i know a lot of people are going to say that's not funny. this is serious. but it is kind of funny. >> i told you. >> but you're right, it is "fargo." it is funny in that you are talking about a peculiar place on earth. way people reacted to it was strange. >> if "fargo was a true story," that mixed documentary footage with like a narrative. >> how about the singing portion of the program here when you got up there and belted it out? >> yeah. >> little gospel? >> that was a big part of bernie's life, too. he was a musical man and he would sing in front of the congregation here. he's doing some musical theater here. yeah. he's a musical guy. and it was fun to sing some different kinds of music than what i usually do. usually i'm a rocker. you don't see me doing 7 6 trombones. check my moves out, man. i got the moves like jagger.

kinda. >> you mentioned being a rocker. your old director pal from school, rock, getting back together. >> it was a blast. i have to clarify this is not a sequel to "school of rock." don't take the kids to "bernie." that would be -- yeah, and eye-opener in the wrong way. >> jack, thanks for coming to see us. >> thanks for having me. >> "bernie" opens this friday in select theaters. up next, little big town is here with an exclusive announcement. it is worth waiting for. stay with us. a ai feel great! i'm used to having irregularity. i feel like that's normal. if you are not feeling like trying this on, that's not normal. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. feeling regular to me was a new feeling... i came to find my 'new normal' and i love it! ♪ activia and try new silky, fruity activia harvest picks. another way to enjoy activia. what if we could keep enough plastic waste

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♪ there you are, listening to the new single "pontoon" by little big town that hasn't even hit the radio stations yet. >> while we could listen to this all day, the group itself is here with some very exciting news. the exclusive announcement of this year's 2012 country music television award nominees. guys, great to see you. welcome. >> how are you? we love that you guys are here. congrats on that song, by the way, "pontoon." that's a fun one. you guys are going to be touring with rascal flatts. i love this time of year because when the cmt awards come out it is always fun. we're going to announce them again this year. the people vote. right? this is solely voted on by the fans. karen, are you ready? so the first category is the best male video of the year. here are the nominees -- >> jason aldean, dirt road

anthem, luke brian, i don't want this night to end. eric church, drink in my hand. >> that's willie's favorite. >> toby keith, red solo cup. blake shelton, god gave me you. and keith urban, long hot summer. >> wow, those are all great ones. >> you got some heavy hitters in there. >> you guys have a favorite in there? >> they're all our friends so -- >> which one would you bet on? >> i can't get the blake song out of my head. >> i love "drink in my hand" though. >> of course you do. >> here's the blake shelton video. this is such a great song. it is written about his own brother. right? >> that's miranda's song. right? >> that's miranda's song. this is "god gave me you." >> we're going to get to female video of the year. i'm going to read these, okay? here are the nominees. sara evans, "my heart can't tell you no." miranda lambert, "over you." martina mcbride, "i'm going to love you through it." kelly pickler, "tough." taylor swift, "ours," and carrie

underwood, "good girl." you guys like miranda lambert's song. this was written about blake's brother who passed away. >> precious. look at that video. >> so emotional. beautiful sentiment to the love in that family. >> this song is just haunting. one of our favorites around here, too, martina mcbride zblush's in the video. >> what? >> it's a beautiful song. it's a breast cancer song but she has a lot of people in it, robin roberts from abc is in it, katie's in it, it is a beautiful, beautiful video. >> let's move on here. cmt performance of the year. >> okay! >> this is the best musical performance on a tv show. jason aldean "tattoos on this time," lady antebellum, "dancing away with my heart." and little big town, "fix you." nominated. >> we're not playing favorites. >> that's awesome!

>> you guys didn't know about this. did you? >> no! >> blake shelton and the group as well, sting and vince gill, steven tyler, carrie underwood -- but who are they? >> that's great! >> what does it mean to be nominated? >> that's so cool. >> can we tell everybody they can vote for us now? >> we ren couraging all of our viewers at home. >> this is a really special moment for us. >> it was a cover of the cold play song. i listened to it right before we came on again. it is just beautiful. good luck to you. >> thanks. >> congrats. we're voting for you. you want to take care of the last category? this is the best video of the year. probably the biggest category. >> jason aldean dirt road anthem. kenny chesney featuring grace potter, you and tech kequila.

miranda lambert over you, brad paisley remind me, rascal flatts, easy. blake shelton god gave me you, taylor swift safe and sound and carrie underwood, good girl. >> that's a great category. thank you for coming to see us and congrats on coming to see us! all the nominees are on our website, klgandhoda.com. again june 6th is the big day. >> 2012(c) mt awards. jane. mom. and let's hear it for sara's paper mache eiffel tower. it's the washington monument. and dad, i'll never forget what you said to me this morning. you said "brian, it's 11:15. get up." so maybe this is just the cake talking but let's celebrate! [ male announcer ] celebrate the little things. buy any kfc 10 pc meal or larger and get a free double chocolate chip cake. get two miracles in one product.

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we're back on this fun day monday with "today's buzz," from kim kardashian's romance with kanye west -- >> maureen o'connor has answers to all your burning questions. >> let's start off with some good news. robin gibb -- we've been hearing terrible news that he's in a coma but now we hear he is out. >> he had been suffering from bowel cancer, pneumonia and he came out of the coma. his doctors seem to think he could make it outs of the icu. >> that's good news. next topic -- this is big. kanye meets the ckardashians.

kanye west meeting bruce jenner and the mom? >> they had yet another weekend of endless dates, paparazzi friendly dates. then he went out to dinner with kim, her mother chris jenner, khloe and lamar. of course they met the parents except he had met them before. even last know khloe was on andy cohen's show and said well, i had met him before but it was the sort of first time since this dating. >> what's the real story? is this something for the press or are they dating? >> it is probably the only guy she could date that could get even more press than her previous wedding. except i do think it is real. it had been rumored for quite a long time that kanye had been after her. amber rose had hinted about it, too, his ex. it does seem pretty genuine. >> we had a wedding. neil diamond married his manager. he's 71 and she's 42. congrats to him, by the way.

how many marriages is this for him? >> this is his third marriage, it is her first. >> that's pretty much a wrap on that. let me ask you about jessica simpson. i have complete sympathy for this. it does feel like she's been pregnant for like three years. >> some of it is that she -- everybody keeps asking when she's due. she's been saying it is going to be a spring baby. as of march she's going i've got a couple weeks left. everyone keeps saying when are you due? are you going to pop any moment now. she keeps saying soon. >> there were reports she had the baby, she had to go on twitter and say i'm still pregnant, don't believe what you read, ladies and gentlemen. >> still pregnant. >> i'm sure we'll hear about it when it happens. the weekend box office. tyler perry can do no wrong whether it comes to movies. i think he was one of those guys nobody really thought his movies would be huge. every time he does one it ends up hitting. >> another surprise. "think like a man," based on a comedian's dating book. steve harvey. it is an ensemble cast.

all together it made $33 million, number one. it was the first weekend "the hunger games" wasn't number one. number two was "lucky ones," number three finally "hunger games." >> the zac efron movie did very well. didn't have the greatest reviews but a lot of people obviously love, love seeing him. right? >> nicholas sparks is just like a machine for these like weeping movies. yet another one. they always do well. >> tyler perry is unreal. >> midas touch. >> he's got it. next, "joy fit club" members who took it off and kept it off. they'll share a secret in a special book. after this. ♪ [ female announcer ] lose yourself in a delicious lunch. ♪ special k protein shakes and meal bars. with 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber each...

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time for a special edition of "look at me out in "joy fit club."" believe it or not more than 141 members have been inducted into joy's club. >> which means each has lost at least 100 pounds through diet and exercise. >> joy bauer is celebrating their success. take a look. time for another installment of "look at me now the "joy fit

club."" >> we came up with the "joy fit club" because we wanted to inspire people at home that were struggling with their weight to feature and show regular people who have lost more than 100 pounds without fancy trainers or chefs or expensive gyms. it was hugely motivational. i was overwhelmed by how many people had lost more than 100 pounds and wanted to share their story. >> in august 2008, i weighed in at my all-time high of 278 pounds. >> what's so great about watching these every day people lose weight and keep it off is they face all the same obstacles that everybody out there faces. yet, they prevailed. >> hi, i'm rosie. weight has always been an issue for me. >> my name is carrie. i'm 34 years old and have been overwhite my entire life. >> for me these stories are so incredibly emotional. >> my husband suffered a massive heart attack. he died because we ate for a living. >> each story is very different

and i become emotionally attached to each and every fit club member. >> this is 9,000 calories in just one day. >> greg is a guy who struggled with weight his entire life. he had a horrible childhood. >> you look hot, baby! >> jen and keith are a couple who gained weight together in the past -- >> keith and i both loved food and used it to fix all of life's problems. >> and then lost weight together. they have all had past failed attempts at dieting but this time it stuck. to people out there that have tried diets in the past and have failed, one time it's going to work and it could be this time. these people are brave. they help me to understand what it's really like to walk in their shoes. it's hard. and i really cannot describe the feeling that i get when each and

every one of them walk out for their reveal. just get the chills throughout my body because the studio is cold. i know that they're behind that door and they're super nervous. when that door opens up and they walk out, it's pure joy. it's pure joy. >> wow. joy's new book is out today, it is called "the "joy fit club,"" and it is a collection of very, very inspiring stories. >> joy has brought along so members of her club. greg mcbride, jamie francisco and rosie coates. welcome to you all. >> hey! >> i want to say that my name is on the front of the cover as the author but really i wrote this book together with 150 "joy fit club" members. it is our book. >> it is a collaboration with the "today" show. you could read anyone of these stories and be completely inspired. >> oh, my gosh. you guys really have overcome every single obstacle in the book and they prove that anybody can lose weight and keep it off. >> and rosie was a little excited to see you when she got here, hoda.

there was some shrieks in the studio. you look fantastic. how do you feel? >> i feel awesome, great, stupendous. >> you lost 107 pounds. right? >> yes. >> 105 for you, jamie, right? >> yes. >> i think the cool thing, too, jamie, we saw you sometimes months ago, sometimes years ago. you've maintained it. >> it was harder than losing it i think, actively losing. >> how did you lose it, remind us. >> it was very slow and steady, taking away little amping up the exercise as i went. >> she gives strategies in the book. >> greg, i said were you hot last time and i mean it again today. you've lost an incredible amount of weight. what was the total? >> 275. >> astonishing. right? has it been difficult to keep off or have you had an easy time with that? >> well, my big joke is there's no diet like the "today" show diet. but you know what? it is difficult as my

counterparts have told you, it's hard to keep it off and you really can never lose sight of it. every day you have to remember it. but one thing that i've come to learn and you read this in all the stories in the book, is that the minute you embrace the work, it starts to work for you. like there's nothing wrong with being committed to this and, no, you can't let your guard down but it's so worth it. >> rosie, a lot of people are watching this thing and they want to do it and they want to try but they don't think it is in them to lose the weight. it is just too big of a mountain to climb. what advice do you have? >> just keep doing it until you get to where you're going. i tried for like 18, 20 years it seemed until i finally got it. to figure out a program that's going to work for you. >> what worked for you? >> what worked for me was scaling back, scaling back on what i normally ate, learning about nutrition and definitely exercise. >> joy, what a labor of love. huh? >> whether you need to lose 5 pounds or 500 pounds, these strategies work. >> inspiring book. joy, thanks sflimpblts guyou! >> there's rosie.

>> if you want a weight loss recipe that you love, we want to see it. go to klgandhoda.com. if you can't make it to the zoo, stay right here. the zoo has come to us. food, meet flavor. flavor, meet food. introducing swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth in easy to use packets. mix it into skillet dishes, for an instant dose of... hell-o! [ female announcer ] new swanson flavor boost.

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we're back with "today's call of the wild" and animals from south america to africa, malaysia and new guinea. >> the san diego zoo ambassador rick swartz is here with some of the fascinating friends with all over the world. hoda and i have our heads on a swivel. we don't know what's coming. >> we're all over the world. we actually have conservation efforts all over the globe. we thought it would be fun to bring animals from all over the world. our pygmy falcon. weighing in at a whopping 78 grams. full grown. she's all about attitude. as far as she's concerned, she

is the biggest bird of prey there is and you better watch out. this animal would eat a wide variety of insects and rodents. the original in-flight meal. they are dodge wlers it comes to flight. people from africa hear them but rarely see them because they're so small. >> tell us about this big bird. >> we thought it would be great to do compare and contrast. this is a harpy eagle, the largest of the eagle species you will ever find in the americas. he is an amazing predator. like jambo here, they have all the same features in the sense of excellent eyesight. the structure of the face is for flight and to see well flying. the talons, she'll use hers here for catching small bugs, this big boy takes monkeys right out of trees. >> where do we find this bird? >> mostly in the rain fest areas of south america and a

little bit into central america also. though he is considered the largest eagle species in the americas, he only has a five-foot wingspan. a long wingspan while going through the forest is basically going to clip on trees and that's not going to work on so well. the talons are about the same size as a grizzly bear's claw. we have a cute and cuddly coming for you guys. this is a ground cuss cuss. the ground cuss cuss is pretty cool. they are found in new guinea. this is just a year old. just starting out with our ambassador program. she is a real sweet -- the thing is though, her name, it does translate to the goddess of death and destruction. >> i'm a little disturbed because the eagle is eye balling

your little guy -- there's no problem? >> the nice thing is we've worked with these animals all the time. if anything, he's wondering why are you eating a banana and not a rat or mouse maybe? the cuss cuss has a great adaptation for -- they do nest on the ground. their numbers are stable in new guinea. similar adaptation to opposum. possum are found in new guinea and australia. opposum are found in the united states. >> that eagle's looking at cuss cuss like you look at the 3:00 a.m. cookies. >> not only do we have a very endangered plat here from hawaii, but inside this plant sitting here patiently is a giant katy did. every animal relies on these to

some degree because they are the catalyst from get iting ksh. coming up some of america's most popular comfort foods go healthy. but first, this is "today" on nbc. now in today's kitchen,

healthy recipes just in time for dinner tonight. >> we like these kind of comfort foods. >> the usda has come up with a new food icon called my plate

making it easier for families to put together their meal. half the plate should be fruits and veggies. then your grains, proteins and dairy. we are making -- at prevention we have taken some classics and made them healthier. starting with a mac and cheese muffin. also we are making them kid friendly to get the kids involved. >> mac and cheese muffin. sounds interesting. >> carrots and onions. tiny bit of olive oil. sweat them out. we're going to add peas. frozen are fine. frozen is way better than canned. we've got some squash. then we're just going to sweat this out a little bit. i have a 2% monterey jack and cheddar mix. we're adding milk, 2% milk. dijon mustard. >> this is like the medicine in the peanut butter thing. >> exactly! then dijon and worcestershire to

get that tang in. a little olive oil spray. see how nice and creamy? whole wheat pasta. willie, would you bring the pan down? what we're just going to do, mix it and in it goes. >> how long do you cook these? >> 375 for 20 minutes. whole wheat breadcrumb. those are them all finished. how is it? they're fun. don't they look fun for the kids? >> now, crispy fish and chips. we got some beautiful tilapia here. use cod or flaky fish. we'll first drop these breadcrumbs with a little southwest seasoning. this is arding flavor. it is important to add flavor.

it is a sodium free. in your egg batter, right if your breadcrumb, we sprayed it with a little olive oil cooking spray, right on the pan. is going to be about seven minutes in the oven because you want it nice an tender. we made fish sticks, fun for the kids again. our tartar sauce. cookies and milk to finish it off. >> that's great movie account thi "think like a man," we thought was a tyler perry movie. it isn't. this was produced buy rain forest films. tomorrow, we have a great show. i was paying too much with cable.

paying so much, you want better quality.

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