good morning. breaking news. at least seven people killed in terror attacks in afghanistan overnight, and the taliban is claiming they are in direct response to president obama's visit there just hours earlier. we're live in kabul as the president makes his way back to washington this morning. "today" exclusive, bobby brown's first interviewince the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. >> fans, people who say they were close to whitney, say her life went downhill when she met bobby brown.

how do you respond to that? >> his answer in a raw and revealing interview with matt. and feeling the heat. a mother charged with child endangerment for taking her 5-year-old daughter to a tanning booth. but she claims it's all a big misunderstanding "today," but she claims it's all a big misunderstanding "today," wednesday, may 2nd, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this wednesday morning. i'm ann curry. >> good morning, everybody, i'm savannah guthrie. matt is on assignment. and this morning u.s. officials are casting doubt on the taliban's claim that those suicide bombings were tied to president obama's visit, saying it would be hard to pull together a complex attack on such short notice. >> the president used his trip on the one-year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden to

outline the future role of the u.s. military in afghanistan. in a speech broadcast live from bagram air base he announced u.s. troops will leave by the end of 2014 but the two countries will have a partnership until 2024. this is big news. we'll talk about what the president had to say with nbc's brian williams, coming up straight ahead. >> also ahead, are police any closer to finding the ft. bragg soldier who vanished more than two weeks ago? her mother will join us, along with her son-in-law, for her first live interview since her daughter's disappearance. >> also, rosie o'donnell made a lot of headlines about her comments on "today's professionals" last week and we've lined up another outspoken surprise guest to join star, donny and dr. nancy coming up this morning. we'll reveal who that person is coming up. >> all right. but we're going to begin with president obama's surprise visit to afghanistan, and those overnight attacks in kabul. nbc's atia abawi is there. atia, good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. the taliban have claimed responsibility for an attack on

a western compound in kabul this morning that killed six afghan civilians and one nepalese security guard. this came just hours after president obama departed afghanistan. the taliban do say that it was in response to the strategic partnership signed last night by the u.s. and afghan governments. >> my fellow americans, we've traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war, yet here, in the predawn darkness of afghanistan we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. >> reporter: in a nationally televised speech from bagram air base, president obama declared an end in sight for the u.s. war in afghanistan. >> one year ago, from a base here in afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed osama bin laden. the goal that i set to defeat al qaeda and deny it a chance to rebuild is now within our reach. >> reporter: earlier, the president was greeted by u.s. military and diplomatic officials here as he began his

surprise visit to afghanistan. he then flew to the capital of kabul, where he met with afghan president hamid karzai. the two signed a nine-page strategic partnership agreement, solidifying the u.s./afghan relationship and commitment through at least 2024. >> translator: -- the people of the united states, and to the people of afghanistan today, i thank you from the bottom of my heart. >> reporter: the partnership includes u.s. assurances to assist the afghans on security, economics, and governance. but it also guarantees afghan sovereignty. the contract doesn't pledge a specific troop presence, but it does allow the u.s. to keep troops in the country beyond 2014, and the official combat role comes to an end. those troops will be used to train the afghan forces and continue to fight on al qaeda. in his seven-hour stop, president obama also met with u.s. service members on base, and in the base's hospitals.

thanking them for their service -- >> the final chapter of this war is written, historians will look back and say, not only was this the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, but all of you also represented the values of america in an exemplary way. >> reporter: a key factor to the strategic agreement is to prove to the afghans, the americans, the international community and even the taliban that the u.s. is sticking to its word and that it will not abandon afghanistan after the combat role ends here. ann? >> atia abawi, thank you so much. brian williams now joins us. let's talk about this surprise visit by the president. this long-term partnership he announced locks us in until 2024, even after the war officially ends in 2014, so what are the practical implications of this? >> good news/bad news. we talk about a long-term

partnership and how that will be viewed. i have friends in the military, some of them over there in country who will tell you the number one risk to the lives of american servicemen and women right now is the afghan people. their soldiers and security forces. it was mostly to defend against leaks on that side that this trip was considered such a close hold in government parlance, such a secret. so this is going to continue to be fraught, fraught territory for us, a war that long ago exceeded world war ii in length for this country. >> meantime, by using the commander in chief mantel to make this visit, to extend an arm and hand to our troops, does he blunt any of the criticism that he is taking some sort of -- using -- making -- politicizing essentially a military victory. >> he either blunts it or increases it. presidents do get to use the machinery of the presidency to make their point. nine years ago last night we saw the carrier landing, and "mission accomplished" off the coast of southern california. that's something george w. bush

got to do. and the white house is framing this one year anniversary of the death of bin laden the way they want it framed. the republicans are counterpunching on that. and people get to decide. >> meantime on "rock center" tonight you're going to give us essentially a minute by minute sort of account on what happened on the night that osama bin laden was killed, and it's interesting because you discovered at what length everyone inside that national security team and the president went to keep this thing a secret and in fact the president talked about having to leave the white house correspondents' dinner the night before early without telling his wife. let's take a listen to what he had to say. >> first lady, she's at dinner. >> she's at dinner and i let her know, you know that i'm probably going to miss dinner because i've got a few other things going on tonight. it turns out we had a fairly important thing to announce. >> he didn't tell michelle. secretary clinton didn't tell her husband. >> no. it was the definition of a close hold.

president obama had no one whose counsel he could seek. couldn't tell the former presidents. no one could tell anybody. because if they missed the launch window, ann, of the moonless night, clear weather, they might have had to have waited another six months. you've got 50 lives on the line. 50 calls you have to make to these families. by the way, we're standing there in the corner of the situation room where he was seated in that small chair, which is just below him. we set it just the way it was. no television cameras have ever been allowed inside the white house situation room and that is just part of this hour we have on television. >> one of the most fascinating tidbits that you discovered was about how he described meeting the s.e.a.l. team 6 guys, that they have gray hair like he does, they could be walking down the street, they look like they work at home depot, he said. is that -- is that -- >> absolutely. he actually said gray hair like you and me and i meant to thank him for that. that's true. and he said they would surprise you. of course, as i reminded the former chairman of the joint

chiefs of staff, there's one american walking around among us who knows he's the one who took the shot. that ended the life of osama bin laden. and they insist the team did it. that's what they're all about. that's how they operate. they also operate like this, we'll never know their names to thank them. they're just out there. >> a matter of honor. brian williams, thank you so much. we're really looking forward to seeing this. you can catch "rock center" with brian williams inside the situation room tonight at 9:00 on nbc. >> now let's get a check of the other top stories of the morning. natalie morales over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. in the news this morning, the blind chinese dissident at the center of a diplomatic tug-of-war between the u.s. and beijing has left the u.s. embassy this morning. nbc's ian williams has the very latest now from beijing. good morning to you, ian. >> chen guangcheng left the u.s. embassy this afternoon, after six days under diplomatic protection. he was driven to a beijing

hospital in the company of gary loch, the u.s. ambassador, for treatment for injuries incurred during that dramatic escape. he also met at the embassy with his family, his wife and two children. now, chen will be staying in china. u.s. officials say that's his own decision. but assurances have been given about his safety, that he'll be treated as an ordinary citizen, and that his complaints, his allegations of mistreatment, will be investigated. those u.s. officials say he never requested to go into exile in the states. now, u.s. officials say this deal, which they will be overseeing, they will be watching, was struck after days of sleepless nights. they say that hillary clinton herself saw the blind dissident in hospital and he was very emotional. apparently in broken english he said to her, i want to kiss you. natalie? >> ian williams in beijing. thank you so much, ian. a plot to bomb a bridge in

suburban cleveland has no links to tuesday's anniversary of bin laden's death. this according to federal prosecutors. five men were arrested and charged with attempting to plant and detonate bombs on the bridge. but the devices were fake. supplied by the fbi. undercover agents had been monitoring the men for months. they are described as anarchists. the occupy movement is having a violent resurgence. protests broke out nationwide on tuesday's may day but in oakland, california, police fired tear gas on protesters as clashes there heated up. despite those clashes there were only a handful of arrests and fewer people turned out to demonstrate than at the height of the movement last fall. the gop presidential contender newt gingrich is expected to officially end his run for the white house today. the former house speaker had disappointing finishes in five primaries last week, winning only two contests in the race. well the dow hit a four-year high during trading yesterday. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange with what we can expect today. mandy, good morning. >> good morning to you, natalie.

you're absolutely right. the dow is now sitting around a four-year high. thanks to better than expected manufacturing data which has helped to ease some of the recent jitters about the economic recovery slowing down. but it has also raised the bar for what we can expect on friday in terms of the jobs number. and the ipo we've all been waiting for, facebook. you all use it, now you're going to be able to trade it. the road show is kicking off on monday, which means it should start trading on may 18th. back to you, natalie. >> all right, mandy drury at the new york stock exchange. thank you. after all those false reports that she had already had her baby, now it is official. jessica simpson had a baby girl. the singer turned fashion mogul is now the proud mother of maxwell drew johnson, her first child with fiance and former pro football player eric johnson. the 9 pound 13 ounce baby maxwell with a pink banner on her website saying, quote, this has been the greatest experience of our lives. a huge congratulations to them.

it is now 7:13. back over to ann, savannah and al. that's a big baby. >> yeah. >> 9 pounds, 13 ounces. >> good for her. >> she's a toddler already. >> thank you so much. >> meantime mr. roker, what you got for us? >> some severe weather to talk about in the midsection of our country. we're looking at a strong risk of strong storm. we've got warm gulf moisture coming in. at a strong risk of thunderstorms. we've got big weather to talk about. the strong risk of strorms throughout central nebraska throughout central nebraska, to norfolk and washington, d.c., rainfall amounts from one to two inches, stretching from waterloo, iowa, stretching up to central michigan. heavier rain in the northeast and mid-atlantic states as well. yes, we have a severe storm risk here this afternoon. between generally around 3:00 p.m., 7:00 or 8 :00 p.m. between now and then, some passing showers, maybe a little thunder and lightning coming in from the north and west in a

couple of hours. moving toward cambridge and salisbury in the next hour. and later today, the sun should be breaking out. up into the 80s, 80s tomorrow, could get some afternoon storms, a slight chance on friday, near 90 that's your latest weather. new witnesses are expected to be called at the criminal trial of former democratic presidential candidate john edwards today. this after a contentious day in court on tuesday. nbc's lisa myers is at the courthouse in greensboro, north carolina this morning. lisa, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. this morning the wife of the government's star witness, cheri young, is back on the stand for a little while, defending her reasons for turning on john edwards. then prosecutors are expected to call the campaign aide who allegedly first confronted edwards about his affair. josh was known as john edwards' body man, always at the candidate's side.

and there the fateful night john edwards met rielle hunter in a new york hotel. >> i think he will testify that he became aware of the affair fairly early on, tried to talk some sense into john edwards. >> reporter: and according to the book "game change" edwards ultimately turned on bankrurum r saying why didn't you come to me like an expletive man and tell me to stop having sex with her. also back on the stand today, cheri young, wife of edwards' long time aide andrew young who testified tuesday she's disgusted by, but doesn't hate john edwards. defense lawyer allen duncan, mr. edwards was like a third person in your marriage and you had a great deal of anger. isn't it true you are trying to get john edwards? sir, that is a completely false statement, young shot back. i'm here to tell the truth about my experiences. there's no hatred. i can't live like that, sir. >> cheri young has been a steel magnolia. southern, slender physically, but unyielding, and putting the

blame for this entire episode squarely on the shoulders of john edwards. >> reporter: she defended her husband's tell-all book. insisting the only reason my husband had to write the book is because mr. edwards did not come forward and tell the truth. she pointed out that edwards only admitted paternity of hunter's child just two weeks before the book came out. the admission came in a statement to the "today" show. >> good morning, "today" exclusive. for the first time, former u.s. senator and presidential candidate john edwards admits he is the father of frances quinn hunter, the 22-month-old daughter of his former mistress. >> reporter: edwards is accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions to cover up the affair. a charge edwards denies. even though her husband testified that cheri young handled all the family's finances, she dodged many questions about the money. she testified she could not remember how much they made on a best-selling book, or on the

movie rights for a hollywood film. savannah? >> lisa myers at the courthouse in greensboro, north carolina, thank you. once again here's ann. >> savannah, thanks. tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary in the disappearance of british toddler madeleine mccann, a case that generated headlines around the world. well, just last week, british police said they believe mccann could still be alive. this morning we're hearing from her parents. nbc's stephanie gosk is in london with more. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning, ann. that's right. british police said there are still leads to explore and that they haven't given up hope that after five years madeleine is still -- or could still be alive. and neither have her parents. sweet-faced, smiling, and playing. some of the last images of madeleine before she disappeared on vacation in portugal five years ago. speaking today on british television, her parents say they haven't given up the search. >> we know there's a very good chance that she could be alive. there's no evidence to the contrary, and we know, you know,

year after year, missing children, children that have been abducted, you know, are found alive. >> reporter: for the last year, british police have been reviewing the case. 40,000 pieces of information. it's help, the mccanns say, they have been asking for for years. >> finally, someone in the authorities, the british authorities, are actually trying to find madeleine. >> it's probably as positive as we have been in a long time. >> reporter: last week, british police put out this image of what they think madeleine would look like now and say they have identified what they call 195 investigative possibilities. the mechanic cans still hopeful, try not to let themselves imagine what it would be like to see their daughter again. >> i don't thought often, it's so good, it's so beautiful but i don't want to take myself there, and for it not to be real. it would be amazing.

>> reporter: they spoke about the effect the search has had on their two other children, twins sean and amily who were only 2 years old when their sister disappeared. >> sean said to me, about 18 months now, he said you know, mommy, if you haven't found madeleine when you get older maybe me and amily will look for madeleine. i don't want them to have to be in a position where they're carrying around this kind of, you know, sadness and frustration. we want to find her now. >> reporter: the urgency, even after five years, can still be heard in a mother's voice. portuguese police closed the investigation in 2008 but they're looking at these 195 investigative possibilities, given to them by police in this country, and if they find something new, they say they may reopen the case. ann? >> all right. stephanie gosk this morning. stephanie, thanks. it is now 7:19. once again here's savannah. >> ann, thank you. this morning we're getting an exclusive first look at the septuplets born last week to a young couple in texas.

nbc's janet shamlian is in houston this morning where she talked to those proud parents of six. janet, good morning. >> hi, 56 savannah. the babies are here at texas children's civilian for women where the proud parents gave us a first and exclusive look at what's being called their new six-pack. the babies are tiny. but they are making big progress. >> the world's newest sextuplets belong to a remarkably calm young houston area couple, lauren and david perkins. after what lauren describes as an easy pregnancy, the couple became the proud parents of a six-pack. three boys and three girls, born in four minutes, by cesarean section. >> my heart was beating like crazy. and the first thing i noticed when i walked in and saw lauren was that she was shaking like crazy. i did not know that that was perfectly normal. >> reporter: some 35 doctors, nurses, and other specialists at texas children's civilian for women were in the delivery room,

a team for each baby. >> baby "a" is out. i'm like, oh, we're starting. and they came out within four minutes of -- total four minutes all six were out. >> reporter: andrew, ben, levi, allison, caroline, and leah. the largest was just 2 pounds 15 ounces. >> when the mom came in the hospital, we knew where the equipment was going to be. we knew which teams would be at which bed and with which baby. so again, it's being ready. you don't want to do that the first time that night. >> reporter: five of the perkins' six-pack are now breathing on their only. only leah is still on a ventilator and facing greater challenges. she had surgery monday and came through it well. >> get your blankie. >> reporter: after 18 months of trying on their own, lauren became pregnant with fertility drugs through a process known as iui. they made the decision not to selectively reduce. >> seeing your six babies and seeing their heartbeats and there's no sign of any problems,

so you know, how do you choose? >> okay, buddy. >> reporter: and now, they're simply overjoyed. >> does it feel good? >> reporter: yeah, that's when i feel like a mom. >> reporter: for at least a few months the babies will remain here. and even with all the challenges ahead and leah's fragile condition their proud dad looks forward to the day they will all be home. >> i don't think that we'd be taken this far just to have something not go home with us. we're very confident in that. >> reporter: the perkins are a little shell-shocked by all the attention they're getting. but savannah, even multiple births are on the rise, sextuplets are still extremely rare. >> and they are remarkbly calm. janet shamlian, thank you. still to come, bobby brown sits down with matt for his first interview since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. what he has to say may surprise you. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

a just ahead a surprise guest joins "today's professionals." >> and a mom arrested for allegedly taking her 5-year-old

daughter tanning at a salon. down here, folks measure commitment by what's getting done. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. i'm going to lunch. [ all gasp ] those days are gone now. think... about what you are doing. ♪ i'm going with her. ♪

i don't want to be chicken... i want to eat it. [ male announcer ] put an end to the working lunch and work on eating lunch. mcdonald's all-white meat premium chicken sandwich and the juicy 100% angus third pounder. it's your lunch. take it. the simple joy of lunch. ♪ good morning, it's 7:26 on this wednesday, may 2nd, i'm aaron gilchrest. another rainy start to the morning. tom's here with look at how long the rain will stick around. >> we've got really heavy rain, thunder and lightning passing far south of washington. now a few sprinkles in northern virginia, the district and nearby suburbs. another batch of rain in the mountains, moving south and east. moving into the metro area, in another hour. later today, a little sun back, into the 80s, we may get strong storms late this afternoon, into early this evening. maybe between 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

in that time zone, some damaging winds and hail possibleth and warm into the weekend. and back to you now, aaron. >> thank you, tom. we'll check the impact the rain is having on the morning commute

good morning, traveling southbound 395 at the 11th street bridge, left lane blocked by a crash. westbound on route 50 making your way into the city, slow from the beltway as you make your way to new york avenue. >> another update in 25 mi

maybe i could have done something different, you know. to ensure that she had a longer life. but, like i said, you know, you have to want -- you have to want it. >> and that's bobby brown talking to matt about the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. brown had some surprising things to say about their relationship, their drug use, and how he saw her a week before she died. matt's exclusive interview is coming up this morning. 7:30 now on this wednesday morning, it's the 2nd day of may, 2012.

i'm ann curry sitting alongside savannah guthrie. matt is on assignment so chicks rule this morning. >> they always rule. particularly today. also ahead a great chick dr. nancy is back with "today's professionals." this morning we are adding a special guest to the mix. who will it be? we will tell you. and then the topic we'll discuss, what ryan o'neal had to say about his children during an interview on tuesday right here on "today." >> that's right. and also, did this mom take her 5-year-old daughter tanning at a salon? well, police say that she did. now, she's charged with child endangerment. but she says they have it all wrong. so we're going to find out the lowdown from her coming up. >> all right. but we're going to begin this half hour with the search for a ft. bragg soldier who disappeared more than two weeks ago. in a moment we'll talk to her mother and her husband exclusively. but first, the latest on this case. this is the last known image of army private first class kelli bordeaux. she took the photo herself just before heading to the froggy bottoms bar. >> it's a neighborhood bar.

it's within walking distance of her apartment. i couldn't sit here and tell you that she was a regular there, you know. of course that term is relative. she had been in the bar before. >> reporter: police say bordeaux was seen at the bar singing karaoke in the early morning hours of april 14th, reportedly drinking with nicolas holbert, a registered sex offender who lived in a tent behind the bar. 25-year-old holbert, who worked as a bar hand, told a local abc station he simply offered bordeaux a ride home. >> i have nothing to do with this. i picked her up and took her home that night. that's it. >> reporter: holbert has since been jailed and charged for an unrelated offense, failing to report his address as a sex offender. investigators have not named holbert a person of interest. kelli's husband, mike, was visiting his parents in florida at the time of her disappearance. he was called when she failed to show up to work. >> she's a very responsible person. she wouldn't -- she would not just call in and say she's not coming in to work or anything like that.

>> reporter: mike bordeaux and kelli's family joined hundreds of volunteers posting flyers, searching land and water near the cape fear river. but so far, no trace of kelli. >> she wouldn't disappear from her family like this. she wouldn't just leave us. >> reporter: kelli's mother johnna said she hasn't given up hope that kelly is out there somewhere alive. >> kelli, baby, i'll see you soon. and i know you can get through this. >> kelli's mom, johnna henson and her husband mike bordeaux are with us exclusively. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> we know this is an incredibly difficult time and we really appreciate you spending a few minutes with us. jonna, i want to start with you, ask how you are doing? how you and your family are holding up this morning. >> we're not doing great. obviously, but, you know, we're in constant communication with each other and, you know, helping each other. >> and i know you're keeping hope alive, that she will be found.

>> oh, yes, ma'am. i mean until i know differently from detective locklear or the fayetteville police department yes, ma'am, i'm definitely keeping hope alive. >> i know you were spending some time in north carolina recently helping with that search. police seem to have scaled back some of the searching. what are they telling you about where the investigation is focused now? >> they're having to do a lot more, instead of the searching, they still have a lot of volunteers and organizations that do the searches, and you know, things like that, so they can actually get out and talk to the people, and you know, the people to find out what happened to kelli. >> mike, what do you make of this investigation? i'm sure you're frustrated as everyone is about the lack of progress. do you think the police have a working theory and they're keeping it quiet or are they truly at a dead end here? >> no, i believe they're doing everything they can to find her

safe, bring her back home. i don't doubt what they're doing. >> johnna we just mentioned that the investigation has focused somewhat on this nicolas holbert who said that he gave a ride home, almost home, to your daughter on that night. police have said he is not a person of interest. what do you think of his involvement in this? >> i really don't have a comment on mr. nick. >> i know, mike, you've said to us bor tha a thing he says. are you suspicious of him? and this disappearance? >> yeah, i mean, he was the last one with her. she wouldn't just disappear. >> mike, have police said anything to you privately about their suspicions? >> no. >> do you -- is there anything you'd want to say, mike, to the person you believe may be holding kelli or have kelli or involved in this disappearance?

>> if anyone knows anything, anything at all, please contact the fayetteville police, or detective locklear. i just want her to come home. >> and we all are hoping for that. johnna, last thoughts. what would you want people to know about your daughter kelli? >> she's a wonderful young lady, and she needs to be with her family. >> johnna henson and mike bordeaux, thank you so much for your time this morning. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's weather" to brought to you by the seven bold flavors of bush's grillin' beans. the bolder side of bush's. >> and good morning. we've got some friends here from san diego. >> hello. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. >> you know our pals marianne and whit out there. >> jason. >> yes. >> okay. there you go. close personal friends right there. let's check it out, see what

we've got for you today. afternoon temperatures a little on the chilly side here in the northeast and new england.. >> a little chilly in the northeast and new england, 50s and 60s, 90s along the mid-atlantic coast and 90s back through texas. we've got some instability that's going to be causing strong storms, iowa on into nebraska. risk of strong storms stretching to the mid-atlantic states. rain in the pacific northwest with some mountain snows in western montana and northern idaho. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, you'll need an umbrella for the next couple of hours, light rain around washington. now some other batches of rain moving into the mountains from the north and west. and may hold together and come into metro area in another couple of hours. after that, we ought to get some sun back, highs in the 80s today, and mid to late afternoon, into early evening, there's the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm producing some damaging winds and hail. tomorrow, partly sunny, 80s again. maybe some afternoon showers and thunderstorms, only a slight chance on friday. another chance late saturday afternoon,latest weather. savannah? >> all right, al, thank you.

up next a "today" exclusive, bobby brown opens up about the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. for the first time. right after this. i love cash back. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna. 3% back on [ friends ] road trip!!!!!!!!!!!! [ male announcer ] get 1-2-3 percent cash back. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪ same as becka's science fair... another mini-wheats day coming up!

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exclusive interview with bobby brown. his first since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. they were married for 14 years. brown spoke candidly about their time together and he started by telling matt how he learned of houston's death from one of his new edition bandmates. >> i heard the news, actually through ralph. he had his phone in his hand and he said he just got a text, and just pulled me to the side, and pulled me outside and said, you know, i just heard this, you know, that whitney had just passed. and i was like, what? and i -- i immediately got on the phone and i called my daughter, and -- >> did you get through? >> yes, i did. but someone else answered her phone, because, you know, she couldn't talk at the time, and told me that whitney was gone. and i was -- i mean, i -- i just started crying. it was just like, you know, you never expect someone close to

you to just, you know, die, you know. it was really hard. i don't know. >> how long was it before you actually got to speak to bobbi kristina? >> i spoke to her right after. she told me to get there, and she needed me to be there with her. >> you said you were shocked. i'm wondering if there wasn't a small part of you, bobby, that didn't say, i'd always feared it would end this way. based on the troubles she had faced. >> no, i wouldn't -- i didn't think that way. because i know how hard the struggle is to, you know, maintain sobriety. but she was doing wonderful. everything about her was, you know, going on the upward. >> you had actually seen her about a week or so before she died. you were having dinner with your daughter, bobbi kristina. >> yes. >> and whitney came to the restaurant? >> yes. >> so tell me how she appeared at that time. what was her demeanor? what was her emotional state?

>> she was really -- she had this, this glow about her that was just, you know, incredible. you know. and i'm -- i'm thinking to myself, you know, she must be -- she must be doing really well. because she looked really well. >> according to the korcoroner' report, bobby, there was cocaine in her system. there was white powder found in a variety of places throughout her hotel room. there were some other prescription drugs found, although not in excessive amounts. >> mm-hmm. >> but when you heard the word cocaine, that that was a likely contributor to her death, how did you respond? >> i was hurt. me being off of narcotics for the last seven years. i felt that she was -- you know, i didn't know she was struggling with it still. but at the same time, you know, it's a hard fight. it's a hard fight to, you know, maintain sobriety that way. >> i would imagine that in the

hours and days after she passed away, you said to yourself on a couple of occasions, what else could i have done? could i have picked up the phone one time -- >> i still say that today, matt. maybe i could have done something different. you know. to ensure that she had a longer life. but you have to want it. you know, some things just happen. god probably needed her for the quiet up there in heaven. and that's the biggest role she has. >> after whitney passed away, bobby, if i heard it once, i heard it a hundred times, and i know you heard it, too, fans, people who say they were close to whitney >> mm-hmm. >> say her life went downhill when she met bobby brown. how do you respond to it? and how does it make you feel when you hear it? >> it makes me feel terrible. but, you know, i know

differently. i think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us, instead of time looking through the bubble, they would know how we felt about each other. the reality show gave us a wake-up because we were able to see what other people were saying about us. you know. we were able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship, had affected the love that we felt for each other. >> but why do you think you got the blame? i was read being some blogs after her death. one said bobby brown killed whitney. not in the literal way, but in the figurative way. bobby brown is responsible for getting her hooked on drugs. everyone seems to point the finger at you. >> no. >> and they say, whitney was more of a -- an innocent victim in this. >> no. that's not true. i didn't get high before i met whitney. >> on narcotics. >> on narcotics, no. no. i smoked weed.

i drank the beer. but, no, i wasn't the one that got whitney on drugs. at all. >> so this was a part of her life before -- >> way before. >> -- you and she got together. did you talk about it? did you worry about it? >> i worried about it when, you know, we first got together, until i tried it. and when i tried it, for some reason i have an addictive personality. unexplainable. but i know i wasn't the one that, you know, got her addicted to drugs or i'm not the reason she's gone. >> you've said to me point-blank, i am not responsible for whitney getting hooked on drugs. >> right. >> would it be fair to say that if you didn't harm her in that way, your relationship didn't help her in that way? >> our relationship was great. i had 14 beautiful, beautiful years with that woman. >> and that's not revisionist history?

that's not a chance of, after the fact, setting the record straight in bobby brown's way? >> no. i can -- i can honestly say that i loved that woman with everything that i am. and i believe she loved me the same way. >> the night she passed away, bobby, you continued and did your performance in mississippi. in all the years that you guys had been together, you got up onstage and you said simply, i love you. >> mm-hmm. >> i love you, whitney. i truly, genuinely loved that woman. and i still love her today. even though i'm getting married sometime soon, my fiancee knows how i felt about that woman. my kids know how i feel -- how i felt about whitney. it's no secret, you know. i was in love with her, deeply.

>> and we'll have more of matt's exclusive interview tomorrow on "today," as bobby brown talks about what happened at houston's funeral, and their daughter bobbi kristina. just ahead this morning, the mom arrested for allegedly taking her 5-year-old daughter tanning at a salon. what she has to say about the charges she's facing that's right after this. i went to a small high school. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us. doing project with different stores is a really cool idea. we want to bring a little piece of the boutique experience to target.

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i'm not going to bring my little daughter into a 90 degree bed. i mean, that's not normal. >> reporter: anna's parents say when anna went to school the next day, she told her friends she went tanning with her mom. they think a teacher overheard and called police. new jersey law prohibits persons under the age of 14 from going tanning. >> she got sunburned. that's it. >> i tan. she doesn't tan. it's called a tanning booth. and a tanning room. >> reporter: anna's parents say it was a misunderstanding and she got a sunburn from playing in the yard. >> it's traumatizing for a little girl who did nothing wrong, but got a little sunburnt. >> the tanning salon deny that the little girl was ever there. the mother, though, pretty much said she has been tanning her whole life but she did say she would never take her fair-skinned daughter and have her be in a tanning bed. >> it is so, so dangerous. you hear from dr. nancy coming up. >> that's right. >> on "today's professionals." >> just ahead.

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[ male announcer ] hurry in today! 7:56 is your time now on this wednesday, may 2nd, 2012, good morning, i'm eun yang. wet and warm out there, meteorologist tom kierein has our forecast now from the storm center 4. >> good morning, we've had a temporary respite from the rain here, locally around the metro area. but there's another batch of rain now moving into the northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, western maryland, that may hold together, move into the metro area another hour or two, and later today, into the 80s with sun breaking out and maybe afternoon and early evening storms, some could produce damaging winds and hail. another round of showers and storms tomorrow afternoon. hot on friday. and that's the way it looks right now, eun. ♪

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good morning, traveling 295 southbound at the 11th street bridge, a crash there blocking all lanes, it's gone. and your travel lanes are open. slow in the utter loop of the beltway past university boulevard, these delays continue. you're under speed at 24 miles per hour. and inner loop at robinson terminal, delays continue to the dulles toll road. eun, back to you. >> thank you.

8:00 now on this wednesday morning. the 2nd day of may, 2012. we've come outside to hey hello to all the fine folks who've gathered here in rockefeller plaza. even though it's a bit of a blustery morning and 52 degrees but the wind is making it feel a lot colder here. >> it's going to rain today. >> it is going to rain. we have al roker joining ann curry, me, alongside savannah guthrie. coming up this morning we want to talk about "today's professionals" because we've got a special guest. >> first of all dr. nancy is

back. there's very exciting. there's star and donny. and drumroll please our special guest professional kelly osbourne will join us. and since we have a professional fashionista in the house we will answer the question, once and for all, who wore it better, matt, or al? kelly osbourne will weigh in in a couple of minutes. >> all right. >> i don't want to -- >> also, last time we talked to lisa rinna it was kind of interesting. >> that's right. because be prepared for some whiplash. last time she was on our broadcast to talk about depends. well this morning, she's going to talk about sex. >> wow. >> and a book that she's written. there you go. it's a guide on how to keep the fires burning. and so -- we like that. >> that's right. >> coming up. >> and a 6-year-old with an amazing talent, discovered on youtube.

quickly mastered on the piano. he's going to show us what he can do. >> by the way, have we mentioned matt son assignment this morning and tomorrow here on "today" he's going to be actually live from kensington palace, la-di-da which is the london home of the duke and duchess of cambridge and also prince harry and she's going to show us around and preview the two big events the queen's diamond jubilee and of course the london olympics which we're all getting excited about coming up. >> we'll see matt in london tomorrow. for now let's head over to natalie morales who is at the news desk this morning. >> good morning, savannah, ann and al. good morning, everyone. taliban till mants in afghanistan warned this morning that their annual spring offensive will begin on thursday. this after a major attack in kabul today that left at least seven people dead. u.s. officials dismissed claims that the assault was a direct response to president obama's surprise visit to afghanistan last night. the president, meanwhile, marks the first anniversary of osama bin laden's death by thanking u.s. troops and delivering a live televised address to americans. he also signed an agreement

extending american involvement for a decade beyond the end of u.s. combat roles in 2014. a shocking new video of the fatal boat accident that killed two hungarian students in philadelphia and dumped dozens of others into the delaware river back in 2010. these new images of an 80 foot barge slamming into the tourist duck boat will be shown at the civil wrongful death lawsuit that goes to federal court this week. lawmakers for the victims' families say the video offers evidence that passengers were not told to put on life vests until just moments before impact. the barge's pilot was sentenced to a year in prison on a maritime involuntary manslaughter charge. homeland security secretary janet napolitano says the secret service has found no basis to allegations that its agents hired strippers and prostitutes in el salvador last year. the allegations from an anonymous source emerged after the prostitution scandal involving agents in colombia last month. now for a look at what's

trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. jessica simpson's website is announcing the birth of the singer and fashion mogul's first child on tuesday. it's a 9 pound 13 pounce baby girl named maxwell drew johnson. simpson and her fiance, former pro football player eric johnson, posted that the birth has been the best experience of their lives. congratulations. and secretary of state hillary clinton hasn't completely closed the door on an open invitation from one of her biggest fans. actor jason segel. in a letter obtained by politico.com, mrs. clinton tells the muppets movie star she's too busy to appear on screen with him right now but hints it could happen in the future, with her only condition that there are muppets involved. i think he can make that happen. and jerry seinfeld has twitter abuzz with hints about an upcoming project. he's been tweeting lots of pictures featuring classic cars and -- that stars -- stars alec baldwin and ricky gear vase.

one clue was shot of jerry with a vintage 1952 volkswagen bug and larry david. hmm, i wonder what they're up to. 8:04 right now. let's get a check of the weather from al. >> "today's weather" is brought to you by kay jewelers. every kiss begins with kay. >> and good morning, everybody. got some friends here. brain tumor awareness month. courtney rose foundation? >> yes. >> well, good to see you. thank you so much. what do you have going on? >> we're trying to raise that awareness and raise research funding. >> that's terrific. >> the courtney rose foundation dot org. >> you bet. let's see what we've got for you. pick city of the day happens happens to be mobile, alabama, nbc 15. we're going to be looking at strong thunderstorms, temperatures in the low 80s, you can see we've got a lot of rain making its way into the mid-atlantic states in the  northeast. strong line of storms stretching from wisconsin, back into iowa,

nebraska, where we have a strong risk of rain. showers in northern california, into oregon, also wet weather into the central gulf coast. hit-and-miss thunderstorms down through southern florida. sunny and hot through the southeast. it's, your daughter, your birthday. >> yes. >> and your grandmother's -- where's your grandmother? >> she's in the bakery. >> is that her in the purpose snl. >> she's having a conversation. >> hi, mom. there you go. >> all right. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning, gray sky over washington. we've had a respite if the rain, temporarily. another batch of rain morning moving into northern shenandoah, panhandle of western maryland. it will may move closer to washington in the next couple of hours. sun breaking out and a warm day, high into the 80s. could get a strong storm, 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., some of which

could produce damaging winds and hail and tomorrow another round of afternoon evening thunderstorms possible. up near 90 on friday, maybe some >> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next we've got kelly osbourne joining "today's professionals." having a lot of topics, including matt and al's recent fashion choices right after this. i'm so happy to be marrying your mom. and i'm really happy that you're in my life too. it's just like yours, mom! [ jane ] behind every open heart is a story. tell yours with my open hearts collection at kay jewelers.

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"today's professionals." here to weigh in on the hottest stories of the day are star jones, donny deutsch and the returning dr. nancy snyderman. and our special guest panelist today kelly osbourne, co-host of e!'s fashion police. good morning to all of you. welcome kelly. >> thank you so much for having me. >> we're going to start with ryan o'neal who was on our program yesterday. and what he said to matt about child rearing and how he sees himself as being a bad parent really raised a lot of eyebrows with our viewers. let's play a portion of what he had to say. >> but these are not children anymore, you know. griffin is 45. tatum is 49. who's the other one? oh, yeah, redmond is 27. at some point they have to take hold of their own existence. >> that got a lot of people talking, because they thought well, wait a minute, this father is maybe responsible for some of the troubles that his children have had. who wants to jump in here, kelly? >> i went to school with redmond. so, for him to turn around and

say, "and who's the other one again"? you are a father. you have to know his name. and the thing is, you know, children are a reflection of their parents. and from my own experience i know this, i went to my own troubles. but, and my father severely blamed himself. even though i know that there's nothing that could have stopped me if i wanted to do it. nothing can. but having said that, you know, you need that support group, you need to know that the people around you love and support you, and want the best for you. >> at some point, kelly, though, don't you have to take responsibility? >> of course. >> because what you've done -- i have to step away. it's not like somebody else is going to do it. i have to do it. >> there is a window into the dysfunctionality and sad parenting and frankly what seemed like a very traumatic childhoods for these kids. and also i don't know why you come on television with a band-aid on your nose. >> i think it's interesting,

i've had -- i have two wonderful parents. i'm going to call the continuum. i think we all grow up at some point as adults you have to let go and take responsibility. having said that, though, i do think there are certain parents and clearly this gentleman look like one of them, that have done such damage that sometimes it's hard for kids to ever recover. when there's a range of abuses, and clearly these kids are so messed up, and that is clearly a guy that should not have had -- >> you think that's what struck the nerve with people, the way he said at some point they have to take responsibility for themselves. >> it was so cavalier for kids who've obviously struggled. let's not discount the genetic hit. this may have been the -- >> one of the few as a man -- >> tatum's contemporary, we're both the same age, i have to tell you, you need to make your decision to let that go or you're going to die in it. >> all right. want to note before we move on. he had the band-aid on his nose because he had melanoma and had something removed. >> don't you feel bad now?!

>> no. i think you reschedule the interview. >> i agree. >> okay fair enough. we have another topic to discuss, the new political ad released by a conservative super pac called american crossroads. take a look at the cool factor, president obama. >> oh, yeah. >> the president -- ♪ i >> oh, yeah. >> donny, you're our ad guy. is this a strategy worth taking, the likability issue that some people feel is a strength for obama and trying to turn it into a weakness? >> it's a fantastic ad. romney has been painted as the guy who's out of touch. they're flipping it around going, oh, this guy is such a rock star and the commercial ends with, half people college kids are unemployed. they end with a somber kind of

contrast. what they're setting up is that vanilla and boring is the new black. and i actually think it's a brilliant ad. >> you know, on this, just from an ad perspective what worries me is that it's another attempt to point obama as an other. you know they tried that with oh, he ate dog meat when he was a boy. and mccain tried -- excuse me, wait. >> i hope this is not a black/white issue. >> you're the one that just said vanilla. >> i didn't mean it that way. >> let me make my point. in 2008 mccain did this ad, he was the american americans were waiting for. and it didn't work in 2008. and when you're pointing the finger saying he's different than us in some way, i think -- >> no, sorry, you're missing -- >> -- it seems to -- >> no, no, no. >> -- differentiate from the rest. >> as the voice of the youth, to me, i look at it, and i find it empowering because, you know, it might -- we have to grow with the times. >> empowering in which way? >> that you know, he's getting the youth interested in politics

again. and that really is happening. >> what the ad is basically saying is -- >> i'm saying that they're wrong in what they're doing, because you have to grow with the times. >> no. but listen to me, they understand that somebody like you is voting for obama. it's actually for people above a certain age -- >> i'm not going to vote. i'm english. >> it's basically them saying have all the young groovy people, it's time for the grown-ups to take over. >> but really grown-ups haven't really done that good of a job so far, have they? so why don't you give the youth a chance? educate them. >> he's been in there for four years. >> it's going to take a lot more than four years to fix things. >> jessica simpson who just had her baby, congratulations go out to her. as we all know we talked about it, actually, there was some criticism about her weight gain during pregnancy. so i guess the question is, will she now then be held to this ideal that people seem to hold celebrities to that they've got to lose the baby weight in like two weeks? >> the answer is yes.

if she's trotted out too chubby they're going to say oh, my god, she's too fat or they're going to say oh, my god, she got her real body back. i think the pressure is ridiculously offensive. and i think it's misogynist. let a pregnant woman gain weight. look, she had a big baby. i think the bigger she is -- >> she exploited her pregnancy. by the way, obviously a pregnant woman is beautiful. >> how did she exploit her pregnancy? >> if you're going to go on a magazine cover. and in the sunday style section this week was talking about all these women who get pregnant, i don't want to say to help their careers but it's an interesting bump they use, once you put yourself out there that way you're going to be subject to criticism, skepticism. >> there is this kind of unrealistic ideal that other women who may be pregnant have to look at, that they're supposed to look -- >> jessica's going to have a tremendous amount of help. she's going to have resources that other women will never have. >> that's right. >> and i want women to just get into their own heads, enjoy their baby, and stop trying to be something that you'll never be.

>> her job right now will be the personal trainer, the perfect diet, exercise her fanny off. >> everybody else has to go to their operating job. she gets to go to the gym. that's it. >> we cannot let you go without getting into a pressing fashion issue of the day. >> yes. >> kelly, there's a trend going around here at the "today" show, plaid sports jackets. okay? matt lauer started the trend with this blue number. and then al doubled down the other day with this pink number. and we ask you, our fashion expert, kelly, who wore it best? matt or al? >> it's so hard to say this, because i love them both so much but i have to say matt because it's so classic. >> oh. >> i want you to know i was in italy last week, matt's jacket made news in italy. >> did it really? >> i wore that jacket last year. i wore that to the royal wedding. >> oh. >> so, he's a johnny come lately. >> sorry. >> i thought you were just a salmon fishing upstream.

>> i would like to come and spawn with you. >> all right! >> people don't appreciate the palm beach touch. mr. roker, pulled it off brilliantly. >> can i just show our today.com poll, what our viewers thought? >> yeah. >> because it was an overwhelming response, pro-al. >> oh, yeah! >> the "today" viewers loved the salmon. right on. >> al roker. >> check out the lining. >> oh! >> al is wearing the salmon whether you see it or not. >> star, donny, nancy, kelly osbourne, i know we're going to talk to you in a little bit about fashion coming up. all right coming up next, lisa rinna is here to tell us how to spice up your marriage.

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and somebody asks me a question about the volt. what really blows them away is when i tell them i almost never go to the gas station, despite the fact that they see me driving to work every day. i fill the volt up once every -- maybe once every couple of months. and that feels absolutely wonderful. i'm hardly using gas, but it's there when i need it. anybody that thinks that this car doesn't have solid performance, hasn't driven it. there's no other car like this on the road. ♪ back now at 8:22 with a secret to keeping the spark alive in your marriage. actress lisa rinna and sex counselor ian kerner are out with a new book called "the big,

fun, sexy sex book." it's a road map to finding true intimacy with your partner. lisa and ian, good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> hi, ann. >> suffice it to say i learned something from your book. >> you did? >> i did, a lot. in fact i didn't know for example that women have a g-spot, men have a g-spot but enough about that, because we cannot really talk about here on morning television. why did you decide to write this book about sex? >> it's funny, i met ian, and of course being a sex therapist i was very fascinated. i'm in a longtime marriage with my husband. i wrote a book back in 2008 called rin-o vation and had a chapter about losing my sex drive and how terrifying that was and what i did to get it back. and that chapter hit a chord with many women and men and they kept asking me about it, opening up to me. and when i met ian i thought, hey, maybe we should write a book together a he said/she said, and he's an expert and so let's go for it. let's get people connected. let's get the intimacy going again. i know living in the relationship i live in how

important sex is to being married and staying healthy. >> and feeling connected and all those things. >> yes. >> you're the expert -- >> you know, there's a lot of information, you know, nearly 40 million americans say that they're in sex-starved relationships and marriages. i mean, sex is our academic but when i met lisa and started talking to her, in the end if you want to talk to americans about sex, make it sexy, make it fun. so who else to have more fun with. you know? >> exactly right. and you know -- your suggestions are things like hugging three times a day for at least 30 seconds. >> how about that. >> you do that a lot. >> i do it a lot because you know what it does? it gets the oxytocin is released and that's that feel-good drug that when you're breast-feeding and whatnot you feel great. >> yeah. >> so if you hug your husband for -- harry thinks i'm crazy. he's like let go now, let go now. i'm like you're lucky i'm hugging you -- >> you're not just hugging you're kissing. we actually couldn't find a photograph of the two of you

together without kissing. >> i guess we kiss a lot. you'd kiss him, too. >> now, listen, ian you said chore play is a new foreplay. >> this is brilliant. >> basically, that men need to get with the groove of chore play and that's studies show that, you know, especially for women, they need to -- their brains need to deactivate. they can't be focused on stress and focused on all the things outside of the bedroom that are stressing them out. men, we can. we can be totally stressed out, the house can be a mess, you know, and we're still ready to go. >> they want to do it all the time. >> so really, i hear from a lot of men, what do i need to do to help get my wife or my partner in the mood? so one of the first things, chore play. >> do the dishes? >> help them out with the kids. >> change the diaper. >> all of a sudden the woman is relaxed. exactly. she doesn't make it a chore like oh, now i have to have sex. >> yeah, exactly right. and she's -- you also say take five, exercise, take a bath, breathe deeply, have a sip of wine, read a book, maybe give your bedroom a makeover. what do you want people to take

away from this book above all? >> i think above all start talking to your partner. be open. reconnect sexually. have those moments. be open. have a lot of sex. it feels good. why not? >> why not. you deserve it. lisa rinna, ian kerner. thank you both. and again the book is called "the big, fun, kerner, the book is called "the big fun sexy sex book." good morning, it's 8:26 on this wednesday, may 2nd, i'm aaron gilchrest. we started the morning with some rain. tom kierein, how are we doing now? >> it has stopped temporarily. storm 4 radar showing a batch of rain coming out of themont noons the northern shenandoah valley and into western maryland. it may move into the metro area in a couple of hours. could get some strong storms between 3:00 p.m. to maybe as late as 8:00 p.m. some of which could produce damaging winds and hail. might get some other afternoon storms tomorrow. another day in the 80s. over the weekend, maybe some storms saturday evening and then

sun back sunday. aaron? >> traffic check next.

good morning, the rain has stopped, but delays remain. if you're traveling 395 northbound, you're jammed at edsall. very slow ride to the 14th

street bridge, you're only driving about 12 miles per hour, the entire way. now, over to i-270, slow southbound, the delays continue to the beltway, slow morning. back to you.

♪ >> 8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 2nd day of may, 2012, and you're looking at a true prodigy at work. this is 6-year-old ethan wallmark and he can play

anything from beethoven to billy joel on the piano, just by listening. just within days. he can pick up songs. in fact, i understand he knows every single song written by the beatles. he loves music and started when he was very young. he's become a hit on youtube, and he wowed us in rehearsal earlier this morning. we're going to hear more from this amazing piano player. can you see him coming up this morning. >> very cute. >> quite the showman. >> welcome back, everybody. >> ann? >> we have kelly osbourne in the house. she was just with us in "today's professionals." well now the fashion police co-host is coming back and she will talk some fashion dos and don'ts. >> and we are going to make a real big loser. in fact, the biggest loser, a young man who dropped literally just shy of 200 pounds. >> wow. >> that's amazing. >> amazing. >> half his former self. that's for sure. >> and then coming up this morning, adventure bare.

remember he helped matt out with where in the world. this morning barrett is going to teach us a thing or two about surviving in the wild because we all need to know that. >> right. >> and the man versus wild host is going to talk for the first time about his falling out with the discovery channel as well. >> that's sure to spark some controversy. >> absolutely. >> you been planning that one all morning? >> it's a little breezy out here. >> it is. we've got a little spritz going on here and there because we've got some rain getting little sh going on. a risk of strong storms, central iowa into central nebraska. wet weather in the pacific west coast. mountain snows, western montana. look for rain in the central gulf coast. tomorrow, we've got a wide area of risky weather, stretching from northern oklahoma into western new york and pennsylvania. cool and showery in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot through the southwest. slight risk of strong storms in central texas and we've got wet weather in the lower mississippi river valley. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, low clouds over washington now, some light

rain on storm 4 radar in the green color. northern shenandoah valley, western maryland. and that may hold together into the metro area over another hour. and after that sun out and climbing into the 80s, an afternoon or evening thunderstorm, some of which could produce heavy youp pours and maybe some damaging winds and hail. tomorrow, partly sunny day, 80s again, maybe afternoon and evening storms. over the weekend, maybe >> and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. now we want to say hello to the guy who is proud to be called the biggest loser. we're talking about 23-year-old jeremy. he was the winner of the 13th season of the hit nbc show last night. you dropped a whopping 199 pounds, jeremy. >> yeah. >> congratulations. >> thank you, thank you. >> good morning. >> you lost half your size. >> i did. a little over half my size. >> how's that feel? >> it's amazing. i just am just starting to live my life.

it's truly amazing. >> so emotional to have you standing up there, and for you, even more so because you were competing against your sister. >> yeah. i lost my voice screaming last night i'm so excited. there's no one i want to beat more than my sister, to be honest. >> a little rivalry. >> bring it on. >> yeah. >> how do you think this will now change your life? you're only 22 years old. and you've got a whole bunch -- >> that's right. i just turned 23 the other day. so you're right, i'm just starting my life. i'm very fortunate to have this opportunity at such a young age, and for me, the rest of my life is just going to be great from here on out. i'm very thankful for the show. >> i was reading that what really convinced you to go out for this show was when a friend called you up and said, i got to go to the beach and you didn't want to go because you didn't want to be seen without a shirt. >> absolutely. at that point i just realized that, you know, there was things my weight was holding me back from in life and i didn't want to be held back from doing anything that i wanted to do. of course you want to go to the weech. of course you want to be an active person.

you're just like, you know, i didn't want my weight to hold me back from anything else again. >> now you can go to the beach and be fabulous. is there a favorite kind of exercise that really worked for you? >> for me honestly was running. i hated running. >> oh. >> yeah. >> now i really enjoy it. it's great. >> all right. well jeremy, congratulations. >> yeah, thank you. go really inspiring. good luck to you all ahead. now we're going to go inside and say hi to al. >> all right, ann, thanks so much. it's down to the final four on nbc's "the voice." we're joined by the singers who were eliminated in last night's semifinals, lindsay, katrina, eric and jamar. welcome to all of you. >> thank you. >> hi. >> and jamar let's start with you. you're on team cee lo. you have been a favorite really during this whole competition. so what do you think happened last night? >> well, you know, i think that it was democracy at its best, you know.

i never really set out to win the show. i already won what's in my heart. and i also said that if -- if i didn't do as well as somebody else, maybe i did deserve to go home. juliette had a phenomenal night. i couldn't have lost to a better 3er7b. >> team christina, lindsay, you and your teammates have really opposite styles. so it came down to a choice. what, what do you think that choice ultimately was? >> i think that, you know, voters just, just really love what chris offered. and he did, his voice was like crystal like the other night just so beautiful. and i adore him as a singer. and i'm so excited to see him go to the finale. to be honest i'm really excited for him. i'm grateful to be a part of it. >> katrina you're on team adam and the coaches had 100 votes to split. if adam had voted 50/50, you would have won.

it was that close. >> yeah. i mean, it's -- once i figured that out and did the math, that was -- that was a little tough. but you know, that's why adam is in that chair, it's his decision to make. and he has to do what he thinks he needs to do to win this competition. so i'm just happy that i stayed as long as i did. i didn't think i was going to make it to 48, much less 8. so it's pretty amazing. i'm grateful. >> erin, first of all you're team blake and a happy belated birthday. >> thank you. >> this obviously a bittersweet experience given that you lost your dad to cancer during this. were you, were you feeling him during your performance? >> yeah, i definitely had him with me the other night. it was really incredible. basically taking in the entire moment. it kind of was an overcome with emotion type of situation, and it's just incredible. i mean, to be part of the top eight and to be a part of this show, and as far as i've come, i

can only be proud of myself. and really just ready for the journey ahead, i guess. >> all right. well lindsay, katrina, erin, jamar, thank you so much. we loved your performances. and of course, the final performance is next monday night, winner of "the voice" crowned next tuesday, may 8th right here on nbc. coming up next, style dos and don'ts, kelly osbourne. first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ strea-ea-ea-ea-eam ♪ stream, stream, stream... ♪ strea-ea-ea-ea-eam ♪ stream, stream, stream... ♪ when i want you... ♪ ...in my arms... ♪ when i want you... ♪ ...and all your charms... ♪ whenever i want you, all i have to do is... ♪

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back now at 8:40. kelly osbourne entered the spot light thanks to her famous parents ozzy and sharon osbourne and she's gone on to a successful career there hollywood all on her own. she's the cohost of e!'s fashion police and she can be a tough critic of celebrity style, including her own. >> all right. >> i think that mine should be like for an anti-drug campaign.

don't be judged because you'll end up like this. i'm not joking. >> kelly osbourne, good morning. again it's good to see you. >> good to see you. >> you've been doing "fashion police" two years now. is it still fun to do? >> there's never a dull moment when we're at work. joan is the most amazing person to work with. and giuliana and i have become really, really, really close. and then george, who is like my fashion brother, and so people think it's serious but we're just play fighting on set. we all love each other so much. >> you mention joan. the other day on the red carpet, something happened. you want to explain this photo? >> yes, okay. so on "fashion police," this whole thing where they're like, they know that if they dare me to do something i'll do anything. >> so this is a dare? >> no. joan did this whole thing with alicia silverstone feeding her baby like a bird, and they bet that i wouldn't do it. and joan fed me like a bird.

the only reason i did it because they knew that if i did it then giuliana and george have to do it as well. i'm like, i'll get you back. i'm on the red carpet, this is my moment. >> i knew there was a story behind that note toe. i had no idea that would be the story. in all seriousness this is a tough business and celebrity fashion is something that a lot of people like to comment on. do you ever feel like it's difficult to be a top critic on celebrity style? >> of course, you know. i mean, to a certain extent, you know, sometimes i do, too. but i realize that if i give it i've got to take it. you know what i'm saying? not everyone's going to like everything everyone wears. you've just got to wear what you like, that's all that matters. in the end who really cares what i think of what you're wearing it. >> how do celebrities handle it? >> you know what? you'd be shocked to find that the beyond a-listers that come up to like me and joan and even brad pitt came up to me and said something about the show. and they love it. and they think it's funny.

but then people who, i hate to say this because it sounds so mean, but are just lucky that we're talking about them, if you know what i mean, because no one else really is, that sounds awful to say, but those are the ones that freak out. and that's my whole thing is if you're in the wrong industry if you can't laugh at yourself. >> we want to talk some fashion trends with you. first of all you're wearing one. gray hair it looks a little purple to me. >> no, it's got old lady-like. >> you said you love the golden girls. >> yes. >> that's your inspiration? >> plus dame edna. >> okay let's get some trends that we're going to see this spring. you like the cutout. >> i do. >> and you have to have a really good figure for this. >> the thing is it is one of my favorites. i love the cutouts. but it's great if you're -- you know how some figures are skinnier up at the ribs and you go down and it's a little low cut like for example the one that halle berry is wearing here wouldn't necessarily be one that i would wear.

if the cut was higher it's more flattering and it gives you more of a waist. >> okay. you've got to be confident, though. neon. the '80s are calling. >> i love it. bright colors. i'm wearing an orange skirt. >> just a little pop of color? >> the key, it's a great way just to -- >> for furry boots for example? >> yeah. i mean, come on. nicki minaj, i love the way she dresses. it's one of these things it's an easy, simple way to add a pop of color throughout. you've got black pants, white buttonup shirt and neon jacket on and it's fun. you know, you can wear it to the office. you can wear it out. >> and i hear pointy shoes are coming back in. >> yes. >> okay. we like that. the witch look i guess. >> yes. >> kelly osbourne, thanks so much. >> thank you so much. >> you can catch "fashion police" friday nights at 10:00, 9:00 central time on e! coming up neex the 6-year-old piano broadny who masters songs just by listening to them. -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal.

is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that c help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪

back now at 8:46, with a 6-year-old piano prodigy. ethan learns to play songs just by listening to them and his rendition of billy joel's "piano man" was posted on youtube last weekend. it already has more than 750,000 hits. that's right. take a look. ♪ ♪ >> ethan is now joining us exclusively along with his parents, allison and mike -- >> yeah.

>> that's right. and his sister eliza and also ethan's behavioral musical therapist. >> that's right. >> that's right, tom crowley. >> ethan, how do you know how to play the piano so well? how did you learn? >> i just get good grades because i liked it. >> liked it? >> and kids, i like it so much. >> i know. but -- i know but you know what -- >> i like schubert. >> well, and also -- >> but you know what, ethan, billy joel who wrote that song, he says you play it so well he says i think his intro to piano man is better than mine. he said that, he said this kid plays with more energy than me. maybe he could teach me a few things. that's the guy who wrote the song. >> but it's billy joel like not elton john. >> but allison i understand ethan knows elton john songs all the beatles songs, he learned to

play clarks by cold play in three days. >> yes. >> how do you explain this? >> wish we could. >> yeah, i wish we could. i come from a musical family. but, what he has, it's a gift. you're born with it. you can't learn it. it's in your soul. >> and it takes just a few days for him to learn a song. >> yes. tom and i were talking we wanted him to play something with a good straumtal and i suggested cold play. >> i know. >> i know. ethan you want to play? ethan come on in here. go ahead. hit the piano. go for it. >> can i look -- can i look? >> you -- well, why don't you actually -- why don't you play piano man. >> all right. >> ready buddy? >> all right. >> all right. >> one, two, three, four -- ♪ it's a pretty big crowd for a saturday ♪ ♪ and the manager gives me a smile ♪ ♪ cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see ♪

♪ to forget about life for awhile ♪ ♪ ♪ and the piano sounds like a carnival ♪ ♪ and the microphone and he sits at the bar saying man what are you doing here ♪ >> louder now. ♪ here we go. nice and loud. ♪ sing us a song you're the piano man ♪ ♪ sing us a song tonight ♪ ♪ we're all in the mood for a melody ♪ ♪ and you've got us feeling all

right ♪ >> you know what we want to also mention that ethan has autism so this is a great inspiration for so many people. thank you. ♪ >> on that note we thank all of you. we've got much more coming up in just a moment. but first::.

the last time we visited with adventure other barrett he was rappelling down the side of a mountain in switzerland with matt as part of his where in the world adventure. he had a fallingout with the discovery and he's out with a new book called "mud, sweat and tears." bear, a lot of people wondered what was happening with the discovery channel? >> does coverry's been great partners over seven years of the show. my grandfather always used to say you've got to finish strong and maybe finish five minutes early than two late, and there were lots of new shows, and may have picked the one to make sure the brand of adventure, pushing boundaries and empowering other

people out there. >> you've got the new book coming out. you're going to show us some survival techniques this morning. what are we doing? >> we've got whole elements of survival. water, fire, food and all of this. you've got to be resourceful. so, like to start, take a sock. >> a dirty sock? >> that will do. you hold that. >> okay. >> this is how to filter horrible water like this. >> oh. >> pour some of that in there, go, go, go. >> oh, sorry, sorry. >> that will teach you to get me involved. >> charcoal. and that will take away a lot of the bacteria. >> hold that. >> okay. so pour some in there. >> pour the dirty water? >> yes. >> so this is what it looks like before, and then >> we're going to -- pour it in the top. all right. >> okay that will do. that will do. you put a lot of sand in. >> that looks yummy. >> the thing is it's never -- it's taken out all the big particles. >> okay. >> and that black is the

charcoal and it's going to be pretty well bacteria free. that's enough. >> all right. >> and that's bloody good drink. >> no, no, no! >> whoa! >> oh, no. >> so we're moving on. >> the humble credit card. a lot you can do with that. not only can you use to reflect and signal. can you see that over there? >> yeah, i can. that's smart. >> get that on there. people have been rescued from up to 50 miles away, reflective holograms spotted by an airline. you can also use as a knife. cut your things with it. >> you can. >> cut your meat or apples or whatever. >> all right. okay. thank you, bear for that little tip. >> also talk about being resourceful. >> any rapids and water falls you say don't underestimate the garbage bag. >> i got my sock back up. >> you'll get your sock in a minute. >> the humble trash bag.

you can make water serve. tie up your food to keep the bears away. fill it with air and you've got an improvised flotation device. >> perfect. >> okay. >> fire, fire. >> here we go. fire! >> this is the ultimate survival. >> everybody should learn how to start fire. without -- >> yeah! >> okay. go, go, go, go. keep going. you've got to work hard. >> come on. here we go, look, it's on fire. >> we can drink water! >> okay. look, it's on fire! >> dirty water. the book is "mud, sweat and tears." 8:56 is your time now on this wednesday, may 2nd, 2012, good morning to you, i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm center 4 meteorologist tom kierein. is the rain moving out? >> we could get more later this afternoon. right now storm 4 radar showing

another batch of rain pulling in from the north and west. that's moving into loudoun county out of the panhandle of west virginia, northern shenandoah valley and western maryland. it may make it into the metro over another hour or so. later today, sun breaking out, temperatures in the 80s of the right now it's around 70. tomorrow, another day similar to today, maybe afternoon storms that could produce damaging winds. >> we'll take a break

good morning, you're facing big delays on the inner loop of the beltway at little river turnpike. under speed at just 21 miles per hour. 395, biggest backups, you're jammed to the 14th street bridge as you travel 13 miles per hour. eun, over to you. >> thank you, more news coming up. [ female announcer ] with xfinity, you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework

[ female announcer ] and best of all, it keeps getting better. no wonder more people choose xfinity over any other provider. ♪ love can be so mystical ♪ and we're back with more of "today" on this wednesday morning, the 2nd day of may, 2012. we've got a pretty sunny crowd joining us on what's turning out to be a kind of a gray day here in the big apple. a little sprinkle starting. but we're really glad all these fine people stopped by. got the umbrella out this morning. matt is on assignment. he'll be reporting from kensington palace tomorrow morning on "today." meantime in this half hour, want to tell you that we have an exclusive first look at some very small babies. they're sextuplets born just last week to a young, and

remarkably calm, couple, in texas. they were born prematurely but they're making a lot of progress. >> and on this morning's money 911, we're going to be tackling your financial questions with your experts. what do you want to do if you want to move but your current home has decreased in value. also how to decide whether or not to collect social security early and paying off student loans. >> sounds like some good advice. >> and in our daily dose we're going to talk about sleep apnea. a very common condition. one in five americans suffer from it. about 90% of them are undiagnosed. we're going to tell you who's at risk, what the signs are, and what you can do if you think you have it. >> that would be pretty feshl for any one of us because of our early morning -- >> i used to have it. losing about 100 pounds. >> there you go, isn't that interesting? we'll find out more about that. meantime let's go inside and see natalie's got a check of the morning's top stories. >> good morning once again.

in the news this morning, today, president obama returns to the white house following his surprise seven-hour visit to afghanistan. he met with u.s. troops to mark the anniversary of the death of osama bin laden, and said the end is in sight of the war in afghanistan. while combat troops are expected to withdraw by 2014, under a thank you agreement, the u.s. will have a presence in afghanistan until 2024 for training and counterterrorism. soon after the president left, a taliban attack killed at least seven people. and an explosion killed two coalition troops. the taliban says its annual spring offensively begins tomorrow. five men are in custody in ohio accused of plotting to blow up a bridge near cleveland. the five allegedly obtained what they thought were c-4 explosives and planted them at the base of the bridge. officials say the material was harmless and the public was never at risk. they describe the suspects as anarchists, angry with corporate america and the government. we're getting a first look at sextuplets born last week to

a young couple in texas. nbc's janet shamlian is in houston with tbeautiful baby pictures. >> the babies are here at texas children's civilian for women where the proud parents gave us a first and exclusive look at what's being called their new six-pack. these babies are small, but they're making big progress. >> the world's newest sextuplets belong to a remarkably calm young houston area couple, lauren and david perkins. after what lauren describes as an easy pregnancy, the couple became the proud parents of a six-pack. three boys and three girls, born in four minutes, by cesarean section. >> my heart was beating like crazy. and the first thing i noticed when i walked in and saw lauren was that she was shaking like crazy. i did not know that that was perfectly normal. >> reporter: some 35 doctors, nurses, and other specialists at

texas children's civilian for women were in the delivery room, a team for each baby. >> baby "a" is out. i'm like, oh, we're starting. and they came out within four minutes of -- total four minutes all six were out. >> reporter: andrew, ben, levi, allison, caroline, and leah. the largest was just 2 pounds 15 ounces. >> when the mom came in the hospital, we knew where the equipment was going to be. we knew which teams would be at which bed and with which baby. so again, it's being ready. you don't want to do that the first time that night. >> reporter: five of the perkins' six-pack are now breathing on their only. only leah is still on a ventilator and facing greater challenges. she had surgery monday and came through it well. >> get your blankie. >> reporter: after 18 months of trying on their own, lauren became pregnant with fertility drugs through a process known as iui. they made the decision not to selectively reduce. >> seeing your six babies and seeing their heartbeats and there's no sign of any problems, so you know, how do you choose? >> okay, buddy.

>> reporter: and now, they're simply overjoyed. >> does it feel good? >> reporter: yeah, that's when i feel like a mom. >> reporter: for at least a few months the babies will remain here. and even with all the challenges ahead and leah's fragile condition their proud dad looks forward to the day they will all be home. >> i don't think that we'd be taken this far just to have something not go home with us. we're very confident in that. >> reporter: the perkins are a little shell-shocked by all the attention they're getting. and while multiple births are on the rise, natalie, sextuplets are still incredibly rare. back to you. >> we wish them all the best and hope they do get to go home soon. janet shamlian in houston, thank you. organ donation networks are reporting a spike in the number of people registering, thanks to a facebook initiative. on tuesday, the social net woerging site began offering a link that makes it easier for potential organ and tissue donors to register online. a year-old slice of wedding cake is expected to bring big bucks when it goes up for

auction tomorrow. that slice is from the eight-tiered cake served to guests following prince william and kate's wedding last year. the anonymous seller hopes it brings in more than $1600. that was the price that was paid for a piece of cake from charles and diana's wedding. and this is the definition of a true love/hate relationship. this pup named pippen apparently has some very conflicting emotions about his owner. >> grr. >> oh, well as cute as this four-pound booch may be, don't recommend you try that at home. very cute, though. six minutes past the hour. now over to al with a check of your weather. grr. >> kind of like me and matt before the show. >> okay. >> anyway. >> enough said. >> okay. got, a e what we've got, a risk risk of strong storms, reason for that, warm, moist gulf air

pumping up from the south. a cold front coming down and a jet stream getting things going. so we have a risk of strong storms, strong risk from central nebraska into central iowa and a slight risk from north platte, nebraska to norfolk, virginia and washington, d.c., can't rule out a chance of tornadoes out of this system. rainfall is going to be pretty good, too, from waterloo to detroit, an inch to two inches of rain locally as much as three. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, temperatures right now in the 60s to near 70 degrees. and storm center 4 radar showing an area of light rain moving in from the north and west into loudoun county, northern montgomery, points north and west of there. that may move into the metro area in another hour or so otherwise, a little sun breaking out after that and temperatures climbing into the 80s. and perhaps some passing afternoon and early-evening storms, slight risk they would be severe. and more of the same tomorrow. friday, up near 90, over the weekend, showers and thunder saturday night.

time now for "today's money 911," where we tackle your financial questions. this morning everything from refinancing a condo that's under water to being smart about paying off your student loans. our financial stalwarts are jean chatzky, "today's" financial editor and author of "money rules." david bach the founder of finishrich.com and the author of "debt free for life." sharon epperson, cnbc's personal finance correspondent. >> good morning. >> let's get started. we're going to go right to skype. we've got elizabeth skyping in from wisconsin. good morning, elizabeth. >> good morning. >> what's your question? >> my question is, i'm 21 years old, grad outing with my undergrad in two weeks and i already have $25,000 worth of debt, $10,000 in unsubsidized, $15,000 in subsidized and i plan to add a large amount to that during law school. if i have money left in my budget each month should i use it to pay off interest in the

standing loans or the loans themselves or should i just not bother? >> i'm guessing, jean, she should bother. >> you should bother. you should absolutely bother. and here is why. even when you're in school, those unsubsidized loans are going to earn interest. which means that that $15,000 that you have in loans could be $18,000, $19,000 by the time that you get ready to pay them off after law school. so chunk away at those if you've got any extra money in your budget. pay them off. and make sure that as you take out loans for law school that you're taking as much subsidized aid as you can before diving in to the unsubsidized pool. those are very hard words to say this early in the morning. >> thank you so much. >> pay while she's in law school. pay off some of those loans if they're unsubsidized definitely pay those off because you don't want that interest to accrue. >> if you can. >> thank you, elizabeth. now let's go to the phone line. we've got jamie calling in from connecticut. good morning, jamie. >> good morning.

>> what's your question? >> my husband, daughter and i have outgrown our condo, yet bought back in the height of the market bang in 2007. right now, our condos are listing for like tens of thousands more than what we owe. we do not have a fannie mae or freddie mac loan so we don't qualify for the new ram. we have an fha loan which i know has a lot of penalties. we want to be able to buy a house but it seems impossible to come up with a down payment, closing costs and the difference on top of paying our current mortgage. i was told that maybe we should rent our place, but i really don't think anyone would pay the amount needed to cover the mortgage, condo fees, with no utilities for one bedroom. >> wow. >> i was thinking of refinancing, to try to save for next year but then i don't want to get hit with a 2% to 4% fee for the loan payoff with the fha loan. we don't know who to turn to and it's difficult with a 1-year-old in such a little space. >> wow. >> that's a tough situation. david?

>> i hear the baby in the background. let me give you some great news, your baby has no idea what size apartment you have. and she's not going to know for the next 12 months. so here's what i would recommend. enjoy your home. let me count your blessings for a second right now. you're not losing your house. you're not behind on your mortgage payments. you're not being foreclosed on. you're not being kicked out of this condominium right now with a baby. enjoy the house. enjoy the house. now back to fha loan. it's not true, there should not be prepayment penalties. that's not correct. so you may be able to refinance. here's what you should do. go to hud.gov, that's the government website, in a search engine put in refinance. it will take you to the streamlined process that they have for fha loans. there will not be a prepayment penalty in most cases. especially if you're staying in the property. but my best recommendation to you, as a new parent, suck it up for the first year, enjoy that time. with 700 square feet in manhattan where we live that's a frickin' mansion. you know what?

love the house, love your child, save some money. move in a year or two. >> thank you so much, jamie. now, let's go back to skype again. we've got jason skyping in from salt lake city, utah. hey, jason. >> good morning. >> good morning, what's your question? >> you know, i have a child entering college in the fall, and another one the following year. each has a utma account for college. is it better to exhaust the funds of those accounts before taking on student loans? or use those funds for making payments towards four years of student loans? >> first of all, sharon, what's utma? >> uniform trust to minors account. and that's a custodial account that you set up for your kid. first of all, jason, congratulations on putting some money away for your kids and for thinking now about how you're going to pay for all four years for both of them. a lot of people just think about how i'm going to get there the first year and you're really trying to plan ahead. so i commend you on that. what you need to do is you have those in a custody account in the child's name.

and so that's going to actually impact you more negatively for financial aid than say if you had in a 529 plan, which we talk a lot on this segment. the 529 plan might be something that you might want to now transfer that money to, so you could get a more favorable financial aid package. because then it will be a parent's asset, it's assessed at a far lower rate, meaning you'd have to contribute less of that money toward their tuition next year. if you've already filled out the financial aid forms you may not be able to do that, you may not want to do that. bottom line is, pay off the first year of college if you can. use that money, use both of the accounts to pay as much as you can on that financial aid. then the next year you'll have two kids in college. you'll probably qualify for more favorable dpngsal aid package at that time, and when you do that, if you do have to borrow, federal first, then private loans, and pay as you go if you can. >> all right. good luck, and i don't know who the packers fan is. jean chatzky, sharon, david bach and sharon epperson, thanks so

much, guys. for those of you on the east coast, jean is going to be sticking around. she'll answer your questions starting around 9:30 on today.com. and still to come, we've got an exclusive interview with bobby brown. his first since the death of his ex-wife whitney houston. but up next, are you excessively tired during the day, not able to sleep at night? you could be suffering from sleep apnea. we'll tell you what it is and what the symptoms are right after this. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wet cleaning better doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm gonna...use these. ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] unlike mops, swiffer can maneuver into tight spaces and its wet mopping cloths can clean better in half the time. mom? ♪ ahhhh! ahhhh! no it's mommy! [ female announcer ] swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. ♪ [ female announcer ] irresistibly touchable skin hour after hour.

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right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good. with magic. you are? see the egg? uh huh. so, look at the orange. now close your eyes. ♪ alakazaam! [ sighs ] you're good. and now i'm gonna make this flower bloom. presto. "love you lots." do you want to see it again? yes, i want to see it again! [ female announcer ] hallmark blooming expressions delivers your love again and again.

"today's daily dose" is brought to you by yoplait. it's so good. >> this morning on "today's daily dose," sleep apnea. according to the national sleep foundation, more than 18 million adults suffer from the potentially dangerous sleep disorder. and now new research suggests there could be a link between sleep apnea and depression. here to explain are "today" contributor dr. madelyn fernstrom and dr. roshini raj.

dr. raj, what is sleep apnea? >> it's a very common condition that involves repeatedly stopping breathing through the middle of the night. just for a few seconds but then you start breathing again. it can cause deprivation of oxygen to the brain and lead to other serious complications. >> could it be life threatening? >> it's very common. one in five adults probably has sleep apnea. and 25% of middle aged men, something that is surprising. if you look at obese people, at least 70% of people have this. you think it's not just a crummy night's sleep, there are real health consequences. first, it's cardiac for your heart. really bad for your heart. half these people have high blood pressure or will develop it. it's a big jolt when you stop breathing multiple times in a minute and you wake up. the other thing this is a biological arousal for your body, the fight or flight response, stress hormones are being pumped out. >> research, dr. raj that maybe sleep apnea is connected to

depression. >> there was a new study from the cdc that looked at the link between sleep apnea and depression and they did find that those who suffered from sleep apnea had a much higher rate, double in men and five times as high in women of having depression. we don't know if it's a cause or effect, an association, madelyn mentioned it's common in obese people. they have a lot of tissues around their neck. when they're sleeping, soft tissues in the back of the neck kind of chance and close the airway. it's really important that obese people in general are aware of this. even thin people can have it, too, especially if they have a narrow airway. >> a lot of people don't realize they have it. real quickly what are the symptoms if you're noticing you're waking up? >> because you're waking up so much in the middle of the night you may have a lot of daytime drowsiness. you may be irritable during the day. loud snoring is one. if you have a partner, they may notice you stop breathing for a few seconds and very abruptly wake up and start snorting or gasping for breath. >> what are the risk factors?

>> number one is obesity. and moderate obesity, self eve obesity. if you have a wide neck. that's where your airway is smaller. a man with a 17 inch collar for example, if you smoke that's a risk. if you have high blood pressure. you have to be aware of this. there's some good news in terms of lifestyle things that can help, in addition to medical assessment. >> lose weight. even if you can't lose weight that's tough. even 10% of your weight. if you weigh 200 pounds and lose 20 pounds that could help a lot to resolving this. >> sleeping on your side. >> because when you're on your back that's when those tissues can fall backwards and close your airway. a little trick to help you sleep on your side. sew a tennis ball to your pajamas so when you're on your back, it's so uncomfortable your body is going to tell you turn over. >> that's a high tech solution. you also say it's better to avoid alcohol, dietary supplements and limit caffeine. >> limiting caffeine because

you're drowsy during the day you're trying to perk yourself up. limit that to get a better night's sleep. also limit alcohol, and sleep supplements, over the counter or prescription because that will help to relax those muscles around your throat and you want to keep them open. you do exactly the opposite of what you should if you have sleep apnea. so skip those things. >> very quickly, nasal sprays. >> the best treatment for sleep apnea is a machine called a c-pap machine, continuous positive airway pressure. that's a mask you're wearing at night to keep your airway open. in some rare cases it's due to problems in your nose like nasal polyps. in that case nasal sprays can help. if you even suspect you have it talk to your doctor. >> good information. thank you. >> thanks. >> coming up, you take care of the family, now it's time to take care of yourself. we've got some great ideas to help moms take the load off this mother's day. [ sneezes ] ♪ got it all. here.

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coming up, matt's exclusive interview with bobby brown. >> and letting the bounty of the season inspire your dinner. simple and slishs spring meals. >> smells good, too. allie's spelling bee is monday... sounds like a mini-wheats day to me! and becka's science fair is on the 8th. she's presenting the solar system. hey i've got just the whole grain fiber to help keep her full so she can stay focused. um...you rock. she'll be ready to rock. right here! [ female announcer ] make your kids big days, mini-wheats days. packed with fiber and nearly a day's worth of whole grains kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal helps keep your kids full and focused. now available in cinnamon roll flavor. keeps 'em full... keeps 'em focused. the moisturizer in other body washes sits on top of skin. only dove has nutriummoisture, which can nourish deep down. dove body wash with nutriummoisture. superior natural nourishment for your skin.

to our kraft natural cheese to make it creamier. so whatever you make isn't just good, it's amazing. ♪ life is amazing with the love that i've ♪ ♪ found good morning, it's 9:26 on this wednesday, may 2nd, i'm aaron gilchrest. let's go to storm center 4 meteorologist tom kierein with a look at the forecast. >> we've got a gray sky over the potomac but we're getting some sunshine breaking out. just to the south of washington and north and west, we're getting a few sprinkles, on storm center 4 radar showing it in the moving color. heading off to the southeast. might get a few sprinkles in the metro over another hour. after that, some sun breaking out. much of the region. should climb into the 80s again today and tomorrow. this afternoon, we might get a storm to produce damaging winds and hail. maybe more storms tomorrow and again saturday night. dry for the weekend, otherwise.

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good morning, i-95 at

loreton, a multivehicle crash. it was in the left shoulder lane. police are on the scene, but you're still seeing delays along i-95. a live look at fairfax county parkway, delays continue to the beltway at 24 miles per hour. we preview the ball on the mall. that's o

♪ it has been just a year since kate married her prince in a magnificent wedding watched by hundreds of millions around the world. tomorrow on "today," matt will be live at kensington palace, the home of the duke and duchess of cham bridge. we will preview all that's taking place in london over the next few months from the queen's diamond jubilee to the london olympic games which get under way this summer. that means that we'll get to. >> do you think they'll invite

him in for breakfast. >> let me in! >> they'll just feel sorry for him. >> for lunch. >> tea and crumpets. >> for tea. >> cucumber sandwiches. >> whoo. >> very nice. >> coming up in this half hour, matt before he left sat down with r&b star bobby brown who was married to whitney houston for 14 years. this morning we're going to hear what mr. brown has to say about their drug use and to people who blame him for her death. >> also ahead, as you say, mother's day usually about kids and husbands celebrating and pampering mom. which is always a good thing. but it's also a good time to treat and nurture yourself. coming up some ideas for mom to help you relax, reflect and maintain your emotional well-being. also important. and then a little bit later on, enjoying the freshness and flavor of spring cooking. whether you hit the farmer's market or your backyard garden we're going to show you how to use the produce of the season for simple and delicious meals and it smells so good upstairs.

i cannot wait. >> how good does that pasta look? >> jasmine rice cooking. >> all right. we're getting distracted. get a check of the weather. >> focus. focus. >> weather, weather. >> stop showing it to us. >> oh, that looks so good. >> oh. oh, weather. >> yes. >> let's show you what's going on, as we go to the maps. go to. hey, we've got a rick of strong storms, central nebraska -- that looks like pasta. >> into iowa, we've got a risk into the mid-atlantic states, well weather in the pacific northwest. showers in the lower gulf coast, tomorrow slight risk of strong storms from central oklahoma to western new york, western p.a. and the central great lakes, more showery, cool weather in the pacific northwest. warm throughout the atlantic states. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, tom kierein, showing the storm center 4 radar with a few light showers north and west of washington, the area

of moving color, that's generally breaking up as it gets closer to washington and parts of virginia, sun is breaking out now. it's beginning to climb into the 70s, later today, into the 80s, could get strong storms between 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., some of which could produce damaging winds and hail. tomorrow, more of the same. friday, hotter, upper 80s, near 90, small chance of an afternoon storm. could get some storms saturday evening. latest weather. >> all right, thanks, al. we have a special shout-out for the weather channel this morning. >> that's right. >> that's right. we are celebrating a 30th birthday. quite the accomplishment. weather channel seen in more than 100 million u.s. households. weather news around the clock. weather.com one of the main places on the web -- >> and here's why we're showing the empire state building. >> the top of the empire state building will be lit in weather channel blue this evening in celebration of the weather charge's 30th birthday. so congratulations. >> i can't believe it's been 30 years. >> i know. >> weather channel doesn't look

a day over 29. >> well, we've had some work done. >> including your show. >> that's right. "wake up with al." >> wuwa. >> good for them. congratulations for that. coming up next, bobby brown opens up about whitney houston, their drug use, and what cohave done differently. right after this. what if we could keep enough plastic waste to fill over 200 garbage trucks out of landfills each year? 6.5 million pounds of plastic, 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.

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now to bobby brown. who was married to whitney houston for 14 years. >> the r&b star has had a long career spanning more than three decades but he made a lot of headlines for his tumultuous relationship with houston. >> and he's now speaking out for the first time since his ex-wife's death in an exclusive interview with matt. >> i would imagine that in the hours and days after she passed away, you said to yourself on a couple of occasions, what else could i have done?

could i have picked up the phone one time, i didn't? >> i still say that today, matt. maybe i could have done something different, you know. to ensure that she had a longer life. but you have to want it. you know. some things just happen. god probably just needed her for the quiet, you know, up there in heaven. and that's the biggest role she has. >> after whitney passed away, bobby, if i heard it once, i heard it a hundred times, and i know you heard it, too, fans, people who say they were close to whitney -- >> mm-hmm. >> -- say her life went downhill when she met bobby brown. how do you respond to it? and how does it make you feel when you hear it? >> it makes me feel terrible. but, you know, i know differently. i think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us, instead of time

looking through the bubble, they would know how we felt about each other. the reality show gave us a wake-up because we were able to see what other people were saying about us. you know. we were able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship, had affected the love that we felt for each other. >> but why do you think you got the blame? i was read being some blogs after her death. one said bobby brown killed whitney. not in the literal way, but in the figurative way. bobby brown is responsible for getting her hooked on drugs. everyone seems to point the finger at you. >> no. >> and they say, whitney was more of a -- an innocent victim in this. >> no. that's not true. i didn't get high before i met whitney. >> on narcotics. >> on narcotics, no. no. i smoked weed. i drank the beer.

but, no, i wasn't the one that got whitney on drugs. at all. >> so this was a part of her life before -- >> way before. >> -- you and she got together. did you talk about it? did you worry about it? >> i worried about it when, you know, we first got together, until i tried it. and when i tried it, for some reason i have an addictive personality. unexplainable. but i know i wasn't the one that, you know, got her addicted to drugs or i'm not the reason she's gone. >> you've said to me point-blank, i am not responsible for whitney getting hooked on drugs. >> right. >> would it be fair to say that if you didn't harm her in that way, your relationship didn't help her in that way? >> our relationship was great. i had 14 beautiful, beautiful years with that woman. >> and that's not revisionist history? that's not a chance of, after the fact, setting the record straight in bobby brown's way?

>> no. i can -- i can honestly say that i loved that woman with everything that i am. and i believe she loved me the same way. >> the night she passed away, bobby, you continued and did your performance in mississippi. in all the years that you guys had been together, you got up onstage and you said simply, i love you. >> mm-hmm. >> i love you, whitney. i truly, genuinely loved that woman. and i still love her today. even though i'm getting married sometime soon, my fiancee knows how i felt about that woman. my kids know how i feel -- how i felt about whitney. it's no secret, you know. i was in love with her, deeply. >> and we'll have more of matt's exclusive interview with bobby brown tomorrow. he talks about what happened at

whitney's funeral and also about their daughter bobbi kristina. >> and coming up next, why moms should give themselves a present this mother's day. right after this. with the capital one cash rewards card you get a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more cash -- well, except her. no! but, i'm about to change that. ♪ every little baby wants 50% more cash... ♪ phhht! fine, you try. [ strings breaking, wood splintering ] ha ha. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. ♪ what's in your wallet? ♪ what's in your...your... hello ladies. how's "book club"? it must be hard to discuss literature with your mouths full of my kraft mac & cheese. ♪ i've got a book for you. it's called: "a mother's betrayal!" by timothy j. koehler. ♪ it's an autobiography.

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the soil and sunshine are just perfect here. tropicana pure premium is made with 100% florida oranges. because the best oranges make the best juice. "today's" mom's rule is brought to you by tropicana. tap into nature. >> this morning on mom's rule today, pampering yourself for mother's day. it's a good time to take a break and recognize all of the hard work you do every day for others. and here with some ideas is robi ludwig a psychotherapist and care.com contributor. >> good morning. >> love this idea of nurturing yourself on mother's day. >> absolutely. >> the kids and the husband which is all great, too, but you

say really take time to pamper yourself. >> we need to. and moms are so good at giving to everybody else. but if you give to yourself and you're happier, you're a better mom. >> you have some good ideas for us. you say first do something old. >> right. think about what you love to do, maybe before you were a mom, and you just didn't have time to put it into your schedule. maybe it was singing. it will be different for everybody. >> right. >> dancing, creative writing. something that gives you joy. and find a way to fit it into your current life. >> gives you that freedom of -- okay. next you say try something new. >> all we know -- >> -- as enjoyable. >> doing something new helps us to feel really good about ourselves. think about something you've never done before. maybe it's trying a new food, wine tasting, something that you can incorporate into your day that helps you feel like you are the person you want to be. and it also helps moms feel like they're not in a rut. because we can feel that way sometimes. >> reinvigorates you. >> that's right. >> you also say and i love this, extend mother's day.

>> extend -- >> does this mean every day becomes mother's day? >> it was inspired by my college roommate who made her birthday like a month. >> right. >> why does it just have to be one day. >> exactly. >> make it every day. sometimes a day is too short to get to everything that we want to do. so maybe you want to hire a baby-sitter and have a couple's night out or a girl's night out. or hire somebody where you can delegate things to so that you can incorporate more of what you want into your life. >> sounds good to me. i'm signing up for that. >> i know, me too. >> also you say make it a ponytail, no makeup kind of a day. >> i love this. sometimes we're so worried about looking good, it's nice just to not have to worry about that. and realize we're loved anyway. and perhaps even more so. >> absolutely. just go casual. >> yes. >> on the other end of it you say buy a luxury item you may not necessarily need. but maybe want. >> right. i highly recommend this. and of course-ish. >> a nice pair of shoes. >> you don't want to break the budget. so set how much you want to spend on yourself. maybe it's shoes, a dress, perfume, nail polish. but something that says, i love

me, and i deserve this. and i don't know if moms do that enough. >> that's absolutely right. we get to everybody else. but we're the last ones to take care of ourselves. and you say, intentionally relax here. now the key word intentionally. >> right. and moms often feel very guilty in that they should be doing all the time. so they have to intentionally say to themselves, it's time to slow down. maybe it's putting on great music. lighting candles. getting that massage. or putting lotion all over yourself, on your hands and your feet, so remind yourself it's good to slow down every now and again. >> and then finally, and you say we should be doing this any day of the year is really to read some inspiration. >> i love this. because we can get so frazzled in our day, and lose sight of what's really important, and if we book some time to read some inspirational ideas, it's very good for our mental health. both for ourselves, and those that we're interacting with. >> helps you keep everything in perspective, as well. >> yes, absolutely. >> happy mother's day.

>> to you, too. >> we deserve it. today is mother's day. we're starting right now. >> that's right. we'll start today. >> okay coming up next, simple and seasonal in "today's kitchen" with a delicious spring dinner. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning in "today's kitchen," what's for dinner. how about chicken and a tarragon pizza. it's all about cooking with the season's best. here with some simple recipes, vn esa, catering company called yum yum. you are very excited. you like chicken breasts. >> i love chicken breasts. i love springtime. i like chicken thighs better, and i love spring. it's such a great time to like get back in the kitchen, focus on freshness, and flavor. and kind of shed those winter blues. >> okay. >> so this is one of my favorite springtime recipes. >> you leave the skin on >> we're going to leave the skin on and we're going to roast this in the oven. the first thing we do, we coat

it, i like to use my fingers. we're going to put a little bit of butter. butter makes everything better on the skin and a little salt and pepper and you can -- thank you, al. we'll put some water in here. >> okay. >> and then we're going to roast it. >> all right. >> and then when we finish -- >> the tarragon? >> yeah, put a few sprigs in there. all right. after it comes out of the oven, the skin is really nice, really crispy. the tarragon is sort of infused the flavor. >> mm-hmm. >> and we're going to use the pan drippings that have that nice tarragon flavor. >> right. >> with the chicken juice. we're going to pour it into a gravy separator. and i was telling you earlier, thighs are the new chicken breast. they're a lot more flavorful. half the price. really nice, rich flavor. >> they're becoming really hot, aren't they? >> they are, they are. a lot of poultry producers are saying that they're selling more

chicken thighs than ever before. >> mm-hmm. >> so what happens here is you kind of let this sit for about 20 minutes. >> you've got some that's separated. >> that way you don't have to have the grease. you just get the nice juice. so we'll put that in here. we're going to add a little bit of vermouth, too. >> ah-ha! >> this is great. you can use a dry white wine. >> and the alcohol will actually cook off. >> the alcohol is going to cook out. we'll put a little bit of cream in there. we're going to let all of that reduce. now this recipe has spring peas, which is what makes it nice and spring and happy. >> right. >> so we have english shelled peas that have already been shelled. we're going to put that in our seuss. this has already been reduced a little bit. peas play really nicely with mint but i love tarragon so we're going to use tarragon in ours. it's just really enhances the flavor and i love, love, love peas. >> and if for some reason you couldn't get the fresh peas is frozen okay? >> it's fine. it's just a great time of year because spring peas are in season. so and they're not very pricey, so it's something great you could just use. we'll let that produce a little

bit. >> okay. >> and then we've got -- oh, that platter? >> oh. >> thank you. >> put that here. and then we'll dress it. and then the other way we add just that little spike of freshness and flavor is we're going to grate some freshly grated meyer lemon zest. >> okay. >> meyer lemons are nice and dark. >> i thought it was an orange. >> yeah, yeah, they're really nice. smell. >> hmm, nice. >> so put a little bit of that and then some freshly grated parmesan reggiano. >> and what's the other -- >> and then this is moraemorel mushrooms and asparagus. if you can spring for it get the fresh pasta in the grocery section, refrigerator section and this is quintessentially spring. strawberries, rhubarb, sweet and tart. >> yes. >> nice. >> my favorite kind of pie. >> oh, nice.

>> all righty. here we go. vanessa, thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you for being here. >> all the recipes are of course on our website at today.com. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> still to come this morning, lisa rinna is back with tips for heating up your sex life. >> wow. >> and celebrating this weekend's kentucky derby. coming up already. >> that's right. >> but first, your local news and weather. happy birthday weather channel. 30 years baby.

9:57 is your time now on this wednesday, may 2nd, 2012, good morning. let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein now about the forecast. >> virginia they're getting some sun breaking out. storm center 4 radar showing a few light sprinkles off to the north and west and those tending to break up as they head toward

the metro area and temperatures will climb. later today, well into the 80s in much of virginia and around the metro area, hitting the low to mid 80s. perhaps a passing afternoon or early-evening thunderstorm. some isolated storms could produce wind damage or hail, more of the same tomorrow. over the weekend, storms saturday night. sunday, cooler. danella, how's traffic. >> outer loop of the beltway across the american legion bridge, you're under speed as you make your way into virginia, you're slow to the dulles toll road. traveling i-95, under speed to the for the fairfax county parkway, about 37 miles per hour. eun, back to you. >> thanks so much, don't forget to tune in "news4 today" to tune in "news4 today" tomorrow morning at 4:28,

captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> hello, everybody. it's the middle of the week which means it's winesday, wednesday. another reason to celebrate this gift of life we have. >> yes. >> may 2nd. we're still here. thought it was going to be a little prettier day. hope springs eternal. hopefully it'll clear up a little bit. >> hopefully it will. you guys, we have such a good

show for you tomorrow. >> for you. >> you're going to love tomorrow's show so much. if you're going to be out doing things you're going to want to set your tivo. tomorrow on your program it is an entire hour of plastic surgery procedures. and some of them we're doing live. >> they're not actually -- they're noninvasive, hoda. we're not going under the knife. >> you're getting a life of some sort. >> i'm getting a bit of a lift. not there. what are you doing? >> i'm going to do some -- i don't want -- we won't reveal it. >> it's going to be painful. >> it's going to be painful. we're also going to have somebody -- we've been talking about cellulase to get the cellulite out of your stomach or wherever you want it. somebody's going to be doing that procedure live on the air. she's going to be awake while it's happening. >> it's happening through the whole hour of the show. what if we're in agony and we have to ask the lady? >> you know, some of these procedures you hear about, even stuff like botox you wonder how

does it work. how does it go in -- >> really well. really, really well. >> we'll tell you the prices. we're going to talk about celebs. i'm excited about tomorrow's show. >> really? >> i'm doing something. i know it's painful. but i'm doing it anyway. because i can take it like you can take it. >> like a woman. >> yeah, yeah. all righty. we got to talk about this woman with the tanning bed. come on. this is such a -- it seems funny. >> in a tragic kind of way. >> we're not going to show you her yet. there is a woman from new jersey who enjoys going to the tans beds. she's 44 years old. she's accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter inside the tanning booth with her. let's see if you can point out who likes to go to the tanning bed. take a look. >> this whole thing has been blown out of proportion. she's my little girl. am i going to bring my little daughter into a 90 degree bed? i mean, that's not normal.

>> exactly what we thought. right? >> she claims that her daughter was there, but not actually in the bed. tanning bed. what happened was the kindergartner was at school. she had apparently some sunburns. she was telling a friend of hers she went with her mother to the tanning bed. the tanning bed people denied she was there. the cops got called into the whole thing. apparently this woman is taken to jail. they took a mug shot of her. she doesn't look as dark in her mug shot. >> do we have the mug shot? >> we may not have it. >> maybe it's just bronzer. she's wearing a lot of bronzer. i don't know. i don't want to make fun of a potentially dangerous situation. it just always surprises me that people get these procedures and they think they look good. i'm not trying to be unkind. everybody goes -- that's not a good thing. am i wrong? sometimes you see somebody that just went and got fish lips.

half their face. they act like nothing happened! they've got a flounder on their face. you're supposed to act like there's nothing going on there. you can't take your eyes off it. >> we're doing a whole show on cosmetic surgery. >> remember cat woman? remember? she's actually a very, very, very nice lady. >> sure. >> but she's had so many procedures. she came to my house one time for -- for some fundraising thing or something. cassidy was little. you know, i -- cass was good. i mean, she was. but she was like -- you just can't believe -- kids are honest. >> i know. i think people do a little. and then a little more. and a little more. and a little more. pretty soon before you know it you've already gone over to the dark side. i did that when i started coloring my hair lighter. one day it was practically blond and i didn't know what happened. >> right. that's a lie. i remember very well.

one time we were having a christmas party in colorado. cass was little. we hired a piano player to come and play all the great christmas songs and everything. cass was -- the man was quite heavy. quite chevy. cass, she's like 3. goes over to him and she goes, you had too many hot dogs. right? >> oh. >> one of our friends heard her. she said, kathie, cassidy said something unkind. i took her aside. cassidy, that is unkind. you go back to that gentleman right now and you tell him you're sorry. she goes over to the man, she goes, i sorry you had too many hot dogs. kids are literal. >> they say exactly what they think. all right. congrats to this new a little baby that jessica simpson had. a baby girl. >> she was pregnant for four years. >> she gave birth to a little girl named maxwell drew johnson. >> which is, i think, a

perfectly lovely name. it's her first child. seems like she literally -- they're engaged. so glad the baby is finally here so that they can actually get married. yeah. >> the baby is 9 pounds, 13 ounces, by the way. >> that's a huge baby. >> but not that tall. >> it's 21 3/4. which was what cody was, i think, a pound lighter. >> you know, it's -- >> cody was big. >> he was a big baby. >> he was almost a nine pound baby. i feel for her. we wish them all the best in the world. interesting interview matt had this morning. >> a couple good ones lately. >> interesting week. with bobby brown. i've only seen the manic side of the bobby brown. this was a very different -- >> it was a really revealing side. a lot of people knew him either as whitney's husband or that crazy reality show "being bobby brown." this was much more -- well, why don't you watch the interview

with matt. >> why do you think you got the blame? i was reading some blogs after her death. one said bobby brown killed whitney. not in a literal way but in a figurative way. another said bobby brown is responsible for getting her hooked on drugs. >> no. >> everyone seems to point the finger at you. >> no. >> and they say whitney was more of an innocent victim in this. >> no, that's not true. i didn't get high before i met whitney. >> on narcotics. >> on narcotics, no. no. i -- i smoked weed. i drank beer. but, no. i wasn't the one that got whitney on drugs. >> so this was a part of her life before -- >> way before, yes. >> -- you and she got together. >> way before. >> did you talk about it? did you worry about it? >> i worried about it when, you know, we first got together. until i tried it. and when i tried it, for some reason i have an addictive

personality. unexplainable. but, no, i wasn't the one that, you know, got her addicted to drugs or i'm not the reason she's gone. >> that's the question a lot of people have. >> you know what, this is a bobby we've never seen. he says he's been sober for quite a while. truth is we'll never know the truth, probably. >> right. >> nobody knows. lots of times -- i don't know. i don't know. i'm glad for his sobriety. i wish that whitney's situation had turned out differently. >> absolutely. matt's going to have more with bobby tomorrow. okay. so if you were home last night and you were watching "the voice" it was the big elimination round. if you didn't see it, you're going to play along with us. if you did you already know what happened. okay. team adam had a sing-off between two people. let's watch the two again. ♪ how you like me now, how you like me now, how you like me now, how you like me now ♪

♪ strumming my pain with my fingers, singing my life ♪ >> we both said tony would have been eliminated. i think we were wrong. >> we were wrong, right? >> that's rude. >> tony stayed. katrina got eliminated. >> see, it's very different when you only hear ten minutes of it. i mean, ten seconds. >> i probably still would have picked her. >> yeah. they're both talented. it comes down to what you like, you know? >> next up, team cee lo. let's watch these two. ♪ if you don't know me right now ♪ ♪ >> now, we both said juliette should get cut.

but we were wrong. they cut jamar. >> really? >> so far this show is not doing very well. okay. let's do our next group. christina's two. lindsay and chris. ♪ ♪ >> we were -- we were separated on this one. you and i did not agree. you said chris should get cut. i thought lindsay should get cut. and i was right. >> were you? >> yeah. chris the opera singer held on. >> really? >> yep. >> there's hope for good music in this world, then. >> lastly, this is team blake. ♪

♪ now i come to you with open arms, nothing to hide ♪ >> wow. we both thought the clarity of that last gentleman was fantastic. >> he was great. we said erin should get cut. she was great too, but they ended up cutting her. now it's down to those final four. we'll see what happens. >> i did not see literally one episode. but i got to play the game. it's working out just fine. old people go to bed early. >> but they stay up long enough to watch "off their rockers." >> that's on at 8:00. that show is adorable. we love our betty white. >> we do. let's see a clip. >> you want to sit here? >> no. >> right in the sun. >> that looks really good. >> thank you. >> oh!

>> is that red leaf? mmm. >> i paid for it. >> thanks anyway. you guys are great. >> oh, my gosh. what would you do if somebody did that? >> i would say, have another bite. >> you probably would. >> i would. i mean, an older guy puts his fork in your meal, are you going to say i paid for that? >> was he using his own fork or was he using yours? we've got a big show today. >> we certainly do. lisa rinna is in the house. >> she's going to tell us about sex. and then kelly osbourne is going to tell us about -- there she is. >> fashion. >> about fashion. and we're going to have a fashion challenge with her. all that coming up right after this. [ male announcer ] we put a week's worth of bad odors in a home. some aerosols may just mix with them. can febreze really remove it. we asked real people what they thought. [ moderator ] take a deep breath for me.

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♪ it all starts with new 48-hour nivea extended moisture nivea. touch and be touched. now bring the world a touch closer. join our million moments of touch movement and be entered in nivea's daily date night sweepstakes. it says gifford. go ahead. >> now on "today's style" a face face-off courtesy of -- >> kelly osbourne. >> co-host of "fashion police." she's here to find out if left to our own device we really know what we're doing when it comes to fashion. >> i watch your show. one of the only shows i tivo. i wish i would have been on yesterday, booze day tuesday.

>> you not only have that sense of fashion but a television personality as well. >> you work closely with joan rivers on the "fashion police." what is that like? >> i will say this -- that picture. she is, outside of my family, the most amazing person i've ever worked with. >> she really is. she has this image of being such a tough bird. and she is. >> if there was a guy telling the jokes -- >> she is a die hard friend. loyal. >> so lisle. >> what does she think of your lavender hair? >> she really, really likes. everyone tweets, tell kelly to get rid of that hair. in honor of me, she keeps putting that clip on. we've had blue, pink and yellow clip on. >> not all at once. >> no. >> you would probably do something like that on a fun day. >> why do you keep changing your

hair color? what is that for? >> fun. who wants to have the same hair every day? and most people don't like it. so i'm like, yeah. >> you like to stir it up a little bit. >> that's the thing. you've got to know who you are and what you like. nobody else's opinion really matters. >> exactly. our show, it's just our opinions. it's amazing to me how offended some people get. not actually the people who we're talking about, but the fans. really it's just a comedy show. why do you have to keep putting that picture of me up, it's awful! >> you don't always hit it out of the park. >> no. there was something i came up with for the show. you know, we don't -- we don't critique ourselves enough for our fashion faux pas. if we're going to go out there and talk about everyone else, we should be talking about ourselves and the mistakes that we've made. >> that's fair. >> that was the point in the video i wanted to get across. i spoke to joan about it. she loved it.

we put it on the show. but that picture -- >> it'll live on. >> what we're going to do here, we're going to have a little fashion face-off. >> you ready? >> we only have about a minute or so. >> i have two models here. you each get one model. and you have one minute -- >> that's the timer. this stuff from kohl's. we're ready, kelly. >> go! >> what is this? >> i like purple, hoda. >> oh, come on! >> who did this? ♪ >> blue jeans. >> i'm looking. the trouble is she's over there, i'm over here. can you do that, honey?

>> good. what about this? no? what about jewelry? okay. wait. do we have shoes? oh, yeah, here. i need a purse. which one? wait. okay. jewelry! jewelry! wait a second! wait a second! >> this is a long minute. >> has it been a minute? >> you look so cute. >> go, done. >> okay. >> wait. i forgot the necklace. i wasn't finished all the way. okay, go. go. >> this is almost the exact same outfit that i picked. >> what? >> and i hate it with all my

heart. >> i'm going to go for hoda. sorry. >> i get to wear it? i thought you were getting it. the crown doesn't fit. >> i don't want to mess up your hair. >> thanks very much, kelly. >> and thanks to kohl's for providing all their great stuff here. >> they are so nice. catch "fashion police" on friday nights at 10:00/9:00 central. i don't care what they say. you look adorable. coming up next, those funny off the wall things that make you say "what the what?" right after this. [ wind blowing ] ♪ [ female announcer ] when is it okay to lose the cover-up? when you can. take the special k challenge... and lose an inch from your waist in two weeks. ♪ my, my, my, my a cover-up free summer begins with special k. ♪ free personalized plans at specialk.com.

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zyrtec®. love the air. it's time to take a look at all those photos that make you say "what the what?" >> sara spent countless hours going through your submissions searching for her favorites. >> our first award goes to holly from austin, texas. she sent us this photo. i think it pretty much speaks for itself. >> how adorable! >> this is her son charlie. the two men were best friends. they were introducing their sons. it may not be a match made in heaven. i don't know if they're going to be best friends, too, or not. our next photo is from pam vila from reno, nevada. check out that sign. wondering. 15 minute limit for restroom use or you will be towed. who's sitting out there timing that? >> are they going to tow the person in the wheelchair? >> that's what it seems like.

they have it rough enough. speaking of toilets, sissy from abilene, texas, submitted this photo. the more the merrier? i would imagine there's no time limit on these. her husband and her were at starbucks. they looked across the street. that's what was in the yard. >> are those planters? >> toilets around a planter. an interesting modern art form. >> a metaphor for life. >> i guess when you go to the bathroom with your girlfriend you can all kind of do that. >> it's like fashion. to some people that's art. >> we're going to keep the potty humor going. a photo from sherry from oakbrook, illinois. this sign should stand somewhere near those four toilets. plumber parking. that was on a public street. the whole street is just for the plumber. >> violators will be flushed. you have been warned, people. >> moving on to a photo from ruth ann from ft. worth, texas. if that's not a good deal, i don't know what is. with purchase of $20 or more add

gallon for only $150. finally, karen from grovetown, georgia, submitted this photo. what's for dinner? is it beef? or chicken. chicken. then certified angus beef. >> or is it tuna? we'll be right back. hello!

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we are back on this winesday, wednesday, with more of "today" ready to play our weekly trivia game we call "who knew?" this saturday marks the 138th running of the kentucky derby. we're going to test our knowledge of all things derby. kathie lee is across the street at the nbc experience store ready to hand out $100 to those who get the questions right. to those who don't, hey, they get kathie lee's cd. how lucky are they? here to help me out is dai dailycandy.com contributor lilliana vazquez. >> i'm ready. >> lovely lady from atlanta,

georgia. why was the koentucky derby dubbed the run for the roses? the winner is awarded a blanket of roses. each competing horse has roses wrapped into their harnesses. the infield is filled with roses. or all of the above. >> i definitely know "a." i kind of want to say all of the above. >> oh. it's got a happy ending. and this is it. >> she was actually right. her first instinct. >> she should have gone with it. people should always go with their instincts. the answer is "a." the winner is always awarded a blanket of roses. >> back across. >> from concord, new hampshire. true or false. the average cost of a kentucky derby hat is $100. >> false. >> smart girl. just try to find one. >> that did sound like -- that sounded a little lowball. >> she was right. you know, women spend up to

thousands of dollars on these one of a kind hats. but we have some great tips on dailycandy.com for diy'ing your hat in case you're going to the derby or maybe you're having a derby party. >> interesting. back across to kath. >> nice gentleman from virginia. how many liters of bourbon are used to prepail mint juleps on the day of the kentucky derby? >> i'm going with "d." >> smart man. >> yes, indeed. >> that's right. it is. >> 7,800 liters? >> that's a lot of mint juleps. they say they serve 120,000 mint juleps in the two-day celebration that is the kentucky derby. do you like mint juleps? >> no. i hate to say that because we tried them yesterday. not my favorite. >> a lot of people say that. not their favorite drink. it's a once a year thing. >> this lady is from boston. which of the following celebrity as participated in the kentucky derby as the owner of a

competing horse. george clooney, jack nicholson, steven spielberg or kevin connolly. >> jack nicholson. >> he's not even on the list, is he? >> yeah, he was. nice try. >> once in a while i make a mistake. >> very occasionally. the correct answer is, "c," steven spielberg. >> that's right. his horse actually placed fourth in 2003. getting close. not quite to the top. >> back across to kath. >> where you from, sir? >> jacksonville, florida. >> all righty. why were the horseshoes on the kentucky derby trophy turned up right in 1999? because of superstition? fan complaints? they kept falling off or all of the above. >> superstition. >> that was confident. i like that in a man. >> superstition. what was the deal? >> they were scared if the horses were turned this way all the luck would run out. you know you need luck to win the triple crown. >> back across to kath. >> from california. true or false.

the kentucky derby restricts jockeys to a maximum weight of 126 pounds including their gear. >> true. >> a lot of smart folks. >> wow. i weighed 126 in sixth grade. the answer is true. >> that includes the equipment. most of those jockeys weighed less than 120 pounds. can you believe that? >> that's unbelievable. >> unbelievable. >> time for one more. >> from maryland, how long is the racetrack for the kentucky derby? one mile, one and a quarter miles, one and a half or two miles. >> one and a quarter. >> you know your horse races. >> one and a quarter mimes. >> i heard an accent there. it used to be a mile and a half. they shortened it to a mile and a quarter. >> not a good day for kathie lee's cd. the 139 l running of the kentucky debbrby airs live. coming up, lisa rinna helps

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♪ [ lauer ] this is our team. and unlike other countries, it's built by your donations, not government funding. and now, to support our athletes, you can donate a stitch in america's flag for the 2012 olympic games in london. help raise our flag, add your stitch at teamusa.org. let's face it, when it comes to your marriage sex matters. that can be difficult to remember are when your day and night are filled with so many things you have to get done. >> tv personality lisa rinna and sex counselor ian kerner are hoping to help you with their new book. "the big fun sexy sex book." the ins and outs of keeping the spark alive. >> i wonder what it's about?

>> we figured we'd come right out with it. >> when i saw this i thought, i can see lisa writing about piei. it's not the first time. i can see ian writing about it because that's what he does. you're not donnie and maria. you don't automatically put the together of you together. >> when we met and we talked it seemed like the natural progression to have an expert and then to just come from my own. >> uh-huh. not your first time at the rodeo. >> a lot of people are watching this, lisa, and they have lost the mojo in their marriage. and they do want it back. they always hope maybe a book will help me or something. are they going to really be able to get something from this book that's going to help their marriage? >> i think so. i lost my mojo. hard to believe that. i did right after my first child. >> you had post partum depression. >> terrible post partum. lost my mojo. i found ways to get it back. it took me a while.

after meeting eon -- ian. after getting to meet an expert who really knows, he deals with people that are in sex ruts every day, right? >> 40 million americans, you know, have lost their mojo. >> that's a lot. >> really the number one issue facing this country in terms of sexuality is sex drive. low lobito. >> is it that they've lost their mojo physically or that they've lost their mojo for their partner and would get that mojo back pretty quick if it was a different person. >> i think it can be both. i really do want to say, you know, there are so many people who are in living relationships and they just -- they can't remember the last time they had sex. i'll sit down and a wife will be like, oh, it was definitely last week. the husband will be like, that was a month ago. a month. >> our lives are just too busy. >> i think it has a lot to do with the stress, the anxiety and the pressure. >> and you really have to make an effort. you have to create it. what i love about the book, you can turn it to any page and you

can find different things that maybe you're afraid to try. maybe you've wanted to. >> you've been reading "50 shades of gray." >> i have been. i feel like this is a "50 shades of gray" handbook. workbook. take it home and use it. >> we say make date night happen all over again. we've said that thing 1,000 times here. i don't know what really works. there really are takeaways? >> there are a lot of tips, techniques, things about toys. of course, in the end, the brain really is the biggest sex organ. it really does begin with what's in your imagination. but we are all about translating fantasy into action. >> you know what? in our culture, though, one thing i think is a huge problem, we call sex and making love the same thing. >> yeah. >> and they aren't. in my mind, they aren't. so a lot of people cannot have sex for different reasons. but they make love to one

another. and isn't that ultimately the more important thing? the bond of intimacy instead of the act of intimacy? >> yes. because that's what keeps a relationship together. that's what makes a marriage last. that created intimacy. >> he's going where the heck did you get that? >> listen, i'm all for comfort sex. i'm all for love making. >> and thrill seeking sex. >> but it is a little like, you know, there's all these different food groups. there's the food pyramid. there are different types of sex. you've got to really try it from every group. >> and different types of making love. we give you everything. >> i'm just saying, we need to keep the distinction. >> good point. >> all right, kids. good luck with the book. >> maybe my sex book will come out next year. >> okay, fine. coming up next -- >> we'll do us three. leave hoda out. writing the book. >> i'm not interested in your little sleazy book, all right? up next, ann geddes and her

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pregnancy can be one of the most beautiful and emotional times in a woman's life. >> photographer anne geddes has cup chaured some of those moments along with inspiring stories of pregnancy and childbirth in the very first edition of her new magazine called "my pregnancy." so happy you're here with us. we're huge fans of your photographic work. often sex does end up in a pregnancy, thank god. >> exactly right. >> what a beautiful magazine. can we start with this? it's almost like a piece of art. you take gorgeous pictures. there are wonderful stories attacked. >> we call it a bookazine. i photographed all these pregnant women in their final month of pregnancy. they were telling such amazing stories. it was just going to be a photographic book to start with. all of these amazing stories started happening. i got them to bring their babies back after they gave birth and

talk about all this. one of the most popular stories in there is of identical 27-year-old triplets who were naturally conceived themselves. there's a 1 in 30,000 chance. who all fell pregnant at the same time. they swore to me that it wasn't, you know, planned. then they all gave birth to boys. two of them on the same day. >> that is outrageous. >> they were across the corridor in the labor ward from each other. >> can you imagine? that's the three lay days when they were pregnant. >> yes. >> you have such unique ways of photographing. >> they're all themed to elements of nature. you know, like the cover of the magazine, the beautiful natural ballet dancer, she's a pansy. you know, nature is so inspiring. >> pansies are not wimpy. i don't know how you get -- she's a pansy. i have pansies that live all year round in this climate. >> fantastic. we joked with every woman who came in. you've got to get up there on

point. like natalie was on the cover. there are also issues with women having babies they never get to talk about. beautiful olivia you're looking at there, she had problems when she came home with breast-feeding. and this huge pressure. if you're at home now with a newborn and you're having trouble breast-feeding, that's just normal, you know. there's so much pressure to breast-feed and if you can't, you're a bad mother. >> just because it's natural doesn't mean it's always easy. >> we get women talking about these issues. >> a very inspiring story of a woman with breast cancer who'd been trying to get pregnant, didn't realize she had breast cancer. >> yep. she found out that she had breast cancer four days after her pregnancy was confirmed. they said to her, you must terminate. this is gina here. she's a cocoon, by the way. you must terminate. she refused. she had chemo in the second trimester. one of the side effects is low birth weight. she had little blaze who weighed over 10 pounds. >> take that! >> how gorgeous. >> where is this magazine

available, anne? >> destination maternity. motherhood and pea in the pod stores. we're in partnership with them. in also the u.s. and canada and by their websites. >> wonderful. pleasure to meet you. enjoy your work. when i just had my children, her first book came out. i feel bonded to you. >> fantastic. >> thank you so much. up next, martin yan. i hope i said it right. is in the kitchen. first this is "today" on nbc. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause

that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you 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.

now in "today's kitchen" what is cooking? we're stir frying with the one and only martin yan. >> he said i got his name right. he gets ready to open his new restaurant later this year. he's serving up a recipe that's going to feed our entire crew. even our crew. they're animals, martin, i'm

telling you. >> bring the kitchen into the dining rooms. tiny bit of oil. olive oil. very healthy. it's very healthy. look at all the beautiful vegetables. >> what are we making, first of all? >> all we're going to do is garden fresh produce. >> i love it. >> any season. with tofu. >> okay. >> first, let's do it all together. i know that you have -- all together. put it in. garlic and ginger. garlic and chili. then vegetable. beautiful. all this wonderful. put it right here. this is -- toss, toss, toss! oh, look at this! make a lot of noise! this is how you do it, okay? >> this is so easy. >> then tofu, healthy. >> dump it? >> just dump it in. oh, and then mix the sauce. okay. black bean sauce with a -- >> what? what are you doing?

>> sugar. black beans. >> we don't understand him. i'm just watching what he does. >> soy sauce. sesame seed oil. >> all dumped in here? >> all of it. >> what's the milk? throw the milk in? >> put it in. >> dump it? >> dump the sauce right in. >> i'm into this, martin. >> corn starch. right here. put it in. yeah! you know, the whole dish. it's done. >> what? no it isn't! >> it is? >> just done. >> what about the scallions? >> put a scallion right over here. then we plate it. we plate. look how beautiful. >> i can't believe we each had our own pan. this was genius. >> hoda, that's the first time you really cooked. >> this is the first time how everybody cooks. beautiful. then dump it. just dump it. you know, the best thing about the restaurant. it's an open kitchen. you put everything. everybody can see it.

>> that was great. >> it's very healthy. it's very easy. we do all kind of thing right in front of you. >> martin, this is excellent. can we really eat this? i don't think mine's cooked that well. >> sesame seed, toasted. >> the corn starch is thickening it up. >> yes. you know what? welcome, all of you. you both graduated. and you are hired. you are hired -- >> thank you very much. >> martin, this is great. >> let's all take chop stick taste. >> i'm exhausted. >> you know what? in order to make it really look iny we garnish a little bit. then when you come, you know what, both of you can be the executive chef. you're hired. >> mine's burning. it's burning up. sorry. >> hoda, you burned the whole pan! >> i did. i know.

tomorrow -- tomorrow is a big, big show. we're calling it needles, knives or nothing. >> oh, definitely. >> getting work done on our show. >> cosmetic procedures. >> ny china. >> he's still talking about his rest zblaunt what do you think i should have done, martin? what kind of work? >> you have done nothing wrong. >> work, work. >> have a great day, everybody. >> work, work. >> have a great day, everybody. >> see you tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com