good morning. change of heart. the blind dissent who es dayed from house arrest and fled to the u.s. embassy in beijing now says he fears for his family's safety and wants to be taken to the united states. this just a day after he left u.s. protection. we're live in china. high drama. john edwards' daughter leaves his trial in tears as jurors hear emotional testimony on how elizabeth edwards reacted to news of her husband's affair. but does any of it help the government's case? and london calling! one of the world's most spectacular cities preparing for a very big summer.

the pageantry of the queen's diamond jubilee and the excitement of the olympics. matt's so excited he's already there on the grounds of kensington palace today, may 3rd, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> announcer: "today" in london with matt lauer. live from kensington palace. and ann curry. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and welcome to a special split edition of "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry in new york. and matt, i know you already consider yourself royalty, but do you really have to rub it in? >> yeah, how about this background, huh, ann? this is kensington palace behind me on what they call a beautiful spring day here in london. temperature, 48 degrees. a little wind and rain. if this is spring, i can't wait for summer. but boy, isn't it nice?

they just spent two years and about $19 million renovating this beautiful palace.hat statu there that you see of queen victoria who, by the way, was born here at kensington palace. we're going to take you inside and give you the just a couple of minutes. as you know, it is a real big event coming up here because the duke and duchess of cambridge, aka william and katherine, are about to move in here full time, at least the time during their stays in london. we understand prince harry will also be joining them here on the grounds of the palace. and it's a big summer, as you know, in london with the queen's diamond jubilee coming up in a month or so, celebrating 60 years on the throne for her. and then 85 days from now, the world will look toward london as the summer olympic games get under way. we'll preview it all. and i want to tell you that i'm also here in london to sit down with pop royalty, pop superstar adele.

i did that the other day. she has had an enormous 2012 including all those grammy awards and records sold. so we sat down with her. and we're going to talk to her about her pinch-me moment. it's all part of a primetime special coming up on nbc in about a month, ann. >> looking forward to all of it, matt, thanks. also much more coming up from here as well including an exclusive live interview with the parents of the 6-year-old girl who vanished from her own bed in the middle of the night. and it's the first interviews they've given since their daughter disappeared nearly two weeks ago. and also coming up this morning, there is a new online ad that's featuring ashton kutcher that's causing a lot of controversy. he appears in brown face portraying a bollywood producer. some critics have called it racist. the ad has now been pulled. and the company is apologizing. so we'll have more on that. let us begin with a check of the morning's top stories from natalie morales joining us from the news desk. hey, natalie. >> good morning, everyone. secretary of state hillary clinton is in beijing as the fate of that blind chinese

disdented is now up in the air. nbc's ian williams is in beijing. ian, good day to you. >> reporter: natalie, with the u.s. brokered deal unraveling, the face of chen guangcheng is turning into a diplomatic nightmare for hillary clinton. they were trying to make it look like business as usual. the secretary of state meeting top chinese officials this morning for previously scheduled talks. addressing human rights only in broad terms. >> we believe that all governments do have to answer to citizens' aspirations for dignity and the rule of law and that no nation can or should deny those rights. >> reporter: the real test of u.s./china relations was being played out across town. u.s. officials sweeping into a beijing hospital where the blind human rights lawyer now says he's anxious to get out of china. in a telephone interview, he said, "i want to leave as soon as possible. i feel very unsafe. my rights and safety cannot be

assured here." it's a dramatic turnaround. chen was brought to the hospital personally by the u.s. ambassador, gary locke, wednesday after six days in the u.s. embassy and after an apparent u.s./china deal to guarantee his safety in china. >> apparently he's had a change of heart. we're just going to have to sit down with him and talk about it and review all the options. and again, they're going to have to make a decision. >> reporter: u.s. officials say chen was never pressured to leave the embassy. they say he never once asked for asylum. according to one report, chen has asked to leave on the same plane as hillary clinton. but the reality is he's now in a chinese hospital and the chinese jurisdicti jurisdiction. and getting him a ticket out of china may now be far more complicated. natalie? >> ian williams in beijing for us, thank you. the final thoughts and plans of terror leader osama bin laden go public today as the combatting terrorism center at west point releases documents seized in the raid on his

compound today. the correspondence reveals bin laden was out of touch, struggling to keep his widely dispersed terror network tuned into his leadership. hunkered down in his pakistani hideout, he said he feared al qaeda would not survive the deaths of its leaders. a college student is suing for $20 million after he was forgotten in a holding cell in san diego for days without food, water or even a toilet. he was picked up for questioning in a drug sweep and never charged for arrested. when he was eventually found four days later, he was hospitalized and treated for dehydration, kidney failure and a perforated esophagus. daniel chung's lawyer say his treatment constitutes torture under international law. the d.e.a. has since apologized. and "the scream" is now the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction, going for $120 million last night. the iconic painting broke the previous record by about $13 million.

it's 7:06 right now. back over to ann and al. i think it will look nice in matt's living room. >> i know. we didn't want to bust him. >> $120 million. wow! >> i could sell you my "home alone" poster. >> i'd buy. okay, mr. roker, tell us about the weather today. >> well, we've got more severe weather to talk about, unfortunately. right where we had it yesterday. on the radart unfortunately rig we had it yesterday. on the radar you can see we're looking at showers and thunderstorms firing up from nebraska into illinois and from kansas city to green bay, as far east as western new york. a risk of strong storms, down in southern texas, including del rio, convection, moist air creating the super cells. one to three inches of rain along the gulf coast. and davenport, iowa, up to milwaukee, up to three to four inches of rain and out west, in the pacific northwest, more rain causing big problems, we look at that in the next half hour. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, storm center 4

radar showing light showers north and east of washington on the eastern shore and northeastern maryland. other showers pulling down north out of pennsylvania into western maryland, perhaps washington county and northern frederick county, a few passing showers there. it's a cool morning, we're in the 50s much of the area. later today we ought to make it into the low 80s around the metro area, but much cooler north and east around the bay. and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thank you. now to a dramatic day in court in the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards. on wednesday his daughter left the courtroom in tears as testimony turned to her mother's reaction to her father's affair. nbc's lisa myers is joining us from the courthouse in greensboro, north carolina, once again this morning. hey, lisa, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. this was the most emotional day so far. the day the jury heard about elizabeth edwards' pain and rage over being betrayed. and the day that edwards' eldest

daughter, cate, could no longer hide the anguish of this very personal family drama. throughout this trial, cate edwards has always been there, by her father's side. she sits right behind him in the courtroom, maintaining her composure during days of embarrassing testimony. but on wednesday, that changed. when the prosecution called christina reynolds, a former campaign staffer and confidante of elizabeth, to testify about elizabeth's knowledge of her husband's affair. soon after reynolds took the stand, edwards turned to his daughter and said, "i don't know what's coming. do you want to leave?" cate broke down in tears and hurried out of the courtroom as her father called her name. >> it was probably the most human moment that we've had in this trial and really drove home the human drama, about the human tragedy of what's really happened to the edwards family. >> reporter: in dramatic testimony, reynolds says elizabeth called her to the

edwards home in the summer of 2007. she told me that mr. edwards had had an affair. and he said it was over. but she believed it was still going on. that october, the first tabloid story about john edwards' affair appeared. the next day outside a hangar at the raleigh airport, reynolds testified that john and elizabeth edwards fought. "she was very upset. she stormed off and collapsed into a ball in the parking lot." reynolds vividly recounted that a few minutes later, elizabeth confronted john again, screaming, "you don't see me anymore as she tore off her shirt and bra." reynolds said john didn't have much of a reaction but called elizabeth's doctor and then flew off to a campaign event. some experts say that testimony had nothing to do with the government's charges that edwards accepted illegal campaign contributions which he denies. what is the prosecution's

purpose in putting on this witness? >> i think to dirty up john edwards, to make the jury dislike him, by showing his callous behavior towards his wife. there she is, unable to go on, and yet he gets on a plane and goes on and continues to campaign. >> reporter: cate had returned to the courtroom when the defense countered by asking about elizabeth's final days. again, cate wipes away tears as her mother's friend testified that despite all the turmoil and betrayal, john edwards was there attending to elizabeth as she died. ann? >> lisa myers, thank you so much. hampton dellinger is an nbc analyst who's been following the trial. good morning to you, hampton. >> good morning, ann. >> amid all these dramatic moments, cate edwards leaving the courtroom in tears, this testimony about elizabeth's grief over this affair, were you able to observe how the jury was reacting? >> well, the jury has to feel

sympathy at a human level certainly for john edwards' family. there hasn't been much sympathetic said about john edwards. and cheri young's turn on the stand really boosted the prosecution after her husband, andrew's, performance. but this case has been an emotional roller coaster as well as a legal one. and we don't know yet where the jury's sympathy will ultimately lie. >> on the question, whatever they think about john edwards' character, on the question of whether he knowingly violated campaign laws by allowing donors to give money to cover up his affair, where are we? >> well, the government is not very far in terms of surmounting that hurdle. there has not been a single witness nor piece of documentary evidence that suggests that john edwards knew or should have known that the money to his mistress constituted a federal election law crime. that he may be a bad husband, had terrible political judgment, but his legal judgment still is fairly unimpeached. >> all right. to be continued, hampton, thank you so much for joining us this

morning. we turn now to a tragic death that has rocked the sports world. former nfl star junior seau was found dead at his home on wednesday in what police say appears to have been a suicide. a death that is once again focusing attention on the mental health of formers players. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in san diego with this story. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. the makeshift memorials have been growing both at seau's home in oceanside and here at his restaurant in san diego. it is clear that he touched many lives both on and off the field. overnight, they gathered to mourn. many wearing number 55. >> i can't believe he's gone. >> i was devastated. i couldn't believe he was dead. >> junior! >> reporter: his mother inconsolable. >> i pray to god, please. take me. take me. leave my son! but it's too late! >> reporter: wednesday morning

at his beachfront home, junior seau's girlfriend found his body, police say, with a gunshot wound to the chest. >> this case at this point is being investigated as a suicide. >> reporter: the san diego chargers drafted junior seau in 1990. his career included 12 consecutive pro bowls and since with the miami dolphins and new england patriots. >> today is a very sad day, a very tragic day for the city of san diego. >> when you know the man -- >> reporter: former teammate marcellus wily broe ywilybroke espn. >> today is the worst day. >> reporter: for seau, life after football wasn't easy. in 2010, he was arrested on a domestic violence charge. hours after his release, he drove his suv off a cliff. seau said he wasn't trying to kill himself. he had just fallen asleep at the wheel. now he is the second retired nfl player to commit suicide in the past few weeks. former atlanta falcons safety

ray easterling shot himself. and last year dave derson also took his own life. both families have sued the nfl over head injuries. >> there have been a number of well publicized cases in retired athletes who have committed suicide. and there is some concern over whether those issues may be related to changes that occur in the brain. >> reporter: in recent years, the nfl has focused on player safety, cracking down on hits to the head. as for seau, his ex-wife told the associated press that he had suffered concussions during his career, but she didn't know whether they contributed to his death. junior seau was 43. seau did not leave behind a suicide note. the medical examiner is expected to finish his autopsy later today. ann? >> gabe gutierrez, thank you so much for your reporting on this very sad story. we want to switch gears now. and at 7:15, let's go to london and say hi again to matt.

>> reporter: all right, ann, thank you very much. though a tragic story here getting a lot of attention as well. it's on the cover of "the daily telegraph" this morning. it concerns a spy, an mi-6 spy recently found dead inside a safe house in london dead inside a locked duffel bag. officials admit they may never know what happened. stephanie gosk is also here in london with details on that. stephanie, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. this case has transfixed the country and stumped investigators. 31-year-old gareth williams worked for mi-6, the spy agency of james bond fame. unlike the movies, the miystery of williams' death may never be solved. for nearly two years, investigators have been trying to determine what happened to the brilliant code-breaking spy whose body was found stuffed in a duffel bag, zipped, padlocked and placed inside his bathtub. the heat turned high in the

middle of summer. his iphone wiped clean. hanging from a chair, a can did-colored wig. after a 21-month investigation, a british coroner announced this was probably a criminal act, but there are no clear signs of who was behind it. >> i urge anyone who knows gareth, who had contact with him, to search their conscience and come forward. >> reporter: failed attempts by experts who locked themselves up in a similar bag seem to prove that williams couldn't have acted alone. >> the door was closed to mask decomposition smell, and the heating was turned on full. so there was no visible marks or evidence that he could have done this. >> reporter: a day after this cctv video was shot of williams, he stopped showing up for work. it took over a week for his mi-6 coworkers to report his disappearance. because of the delay, the body severely decomposed, making cause of death impossible to determine.

the coroner now says it was either asphyxiation or some unidentified poison. the coroner knocks down the wildest theories. no clear connection to williams' visits to bondage websites or the $30,000 worth of high-end women's clothes found in his bachelor pad. >> this is a gift to the conspiracy theorist to have an unexplained death under any circumstances, of course, gives rise to huge amounts of speculation. >> reporter: the head of mi-6 apologized to the family for the delay in reporting williams' disappearance, but it doesn't seem to have helped. >> our grief is exacerbated by the failure of his employers at mi-6. >> reporter: now mi-6 itself is under suspicion. the coroner says investigating british intelligence services is a legitimate line of inquiry. so the few questions seemingly answered by the coroner have only raised dozens more. and today there are reports from

the british press that 50 agents at mi-6 are facing dna tests. matt? >> reporter: all right, stephanie gosk in london for us this morning. stephanie, thank you very much. on a much lighter note, a lot of attention here in london is being paid to two major upcoming events, the queen's diamond jubilee, which is from june 2nd to the 5th. a lot of events surrounding that. and, of course, 85 days from right now, the summer olympics get under way with the opening ceremony on a friday night, july 27th. so how is london getting ready? nbc's michelle kosinski is in east london at olympic park. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: london is transforming. london park will be set to hold more than 100,000 people. first we need to make sure everything works. that's what organizers are doing right now. brimming with excitement, beaming with pride. next month marks the queen's

diamond jubilee, her 60-year reign. with more pageantry, parades, all the pomp and circumstance worthy of the royal family. then in july comes a celebration of global proportion. but before you throw in olympics, one must build it piece by piece. today the big venues are impressively, even eye-poppingly constructed. only finishing is needed. here, the 80,000-seat olympic stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies. this is the olympics on the starting blocks. and this week, a big dress rehearsal. the water polo pool, a battle is raging in the chess match between britain and hungary. last week, this was a construction site. at the gleaming new field hockey pitch, argentina pummeled china. also a test, the athletes themselves to determine who makes the team, whose olympic dreams come true. have you had to tweak anything after the test events? did you realize, like, really?

>> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: what do you find? >> that's the point. it's always interesting. did you find anything wrong in a test? of course we did. the bmx track, the jump for some of the women was a bit too big when the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. so we had a slightly too many crashes. >> reporter: do you always feel like you have to top the last one or outdo beijing? >> every city brings something completely different. >> reporter: and olympic-sized security is also undergoing a test this week. fighter jets, river maneuvers, four-legged protection. these apartments residents were stunned to get a pamphlet in the mail informing them their home would be housing a missile. >> i don't think anyone wants to live in a militarized apartment building. >> reporter: but the military response -- >> i think all of you would expect us to have a plan in place that works so that if it were to happen, we could deal with it. >> reporter: one of the rare times you can plan ahead. for the past seven years, just about ready.

now, unusual things you encounter, debris, an ancient skeleton. even though this games could cost $17 billion, organizers say it's been very important that every dollar goes towards the future whether it's reusing these venues or simply marketing england. matt? >> all right, michelle kosinski over in olympic park this morning. michelle, thank you very much. still to come on a thursday morning, we'll take you for a little tour inside kensington palace, the future home of the duke and duchess of cambridge. and i'll give you a preview of my sit-down interview with adele. first, this is "today" on

an exclusive interview with the parents of a missing arizona girl after this. 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.

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it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. good morning, it's 7:26 on this thursday, may 3rd, i'm aaron gilchrest. we're dealing with a wide range of temperatures today, tom's here with a look at the forecast. >> it will be much cooler around the chesapeake bay and the eastern shore. but much of virginia in the 80s. we'll be in the transition zone around the metro area. all around the region now in the 50s. metro should be up around 80. could have a passing afternoon shower. tomorrow, highs mid 80s just about everywhere and saturday, into the low 80s. and maybe a late-afternoon or

evening shower. cooler sunday, sun back. aaron? >> thank you, tom, before you head out the door we'll check

good morning, if you're planning to get on i-270, expect delays, making your way from like germantown, father hurley,

your delays just continue as you pass rockville, connecting to the beltway. over to i-66, starting to hit the brakes at fairfax county parkway, that's where you're slow, under speed at 31 miles per hour. and jammed on i-395. back over to you,

♪ that's some great footage. you're looking at some video right now of a very young prince william with his parents, prince charles and princess diana. some of those images taken in the gardens of his childhood home which, by the way, happens to be kensington palace. and that is where we are this morning for this thursday morning, may 3rd, 2012, a split edition of "today." i'm matt lauer joining you from the grouchds of the newly

refurbished kensington palace. pop quiz. how many rooms do you think are in this thing? >> 600? what do you think? i don't know. >> reporter: 547. that is a darn good guess. 547 rooms. >> i read it in my notes, matt. >> reporter: we'll take you for a tour inside some of them. oh, you cheater. >> i didn't know you were even going to ask the question. so there you go. >> reporter: anyway, we'll take you for a tour of some of those rooms behind us in just a little while, ann. also coming up, matt, from here there's a story that's been getting a lot of attention. a new jersey mom charged with child endangerment for allegedly taking her daughter into a tanning booth. coming up, what she had to say after her first court appearance and also hear from the salon owner. and there's a new ad featuring ashton kutcher in brown face. now that's been pulled after critics call this ad an example of racism. we'll get to the bottom of that. now let's go back to you, matt.

>> reporter: well, i also want to tell you we'll have more of our exclusive interview with bobby brown. he'll talk about why he left whitney houston's funeral so abruptly. what were you circumstances surrounding that? and he'll be talking about their daughter, bobbi kristina. a lot of people are concerned that she may be dealing with some of the same issues her parents dealt with. so he'll be talking about that. and as i mentioned, i was here in london to do a sit-down exclusive interview with pop superstar adele. and we talked about the year she's had and some of the highlights. take a listen. what was the pinch-me moment of the year? >> i think the grammys was the pinch-me moment of my life, really. it's going to be up there at the top moments of my life ever. i'm so young. i've got so many other things to do. i doubt i'll ever achieve anything as that spectacular as that night. >> reporter: she's a real talent and has an extraordinary sense of humor. you'll see more of that interview and see her performing

in a special nbc primetime concert special. that one's coming up early in june, ann. >> sounds like a lot to look forward to, matt. thanks so much. we want to begin this half hour with the search for a 6-year-old arizona girl who vanished from her own bedroom in the middle of the night. in a moment, we'll talk to her parents in their first live television interview since their daughter disappeared. but first, nbc's miguel almaguer has the latest on this story. miguel, good morning. >> reporter: ann, good morning. isabel celis was last seen here at her home. her parents say they put her to bed, and when they woke in the morning, she was gone. detectives say they consider this home a crime scene, and on wednesday, they were back here again. escorted separately by investigators, sergio and becky celis walked detectives through her home, reenacting what happened in the hours before their daughter disappeared. 6-year-old isabel, the vibrant first grader who lit up a room vanished from her bedroom nearly two weeks ago. police have received more than 500 tips but have named no

suspects. >> i know she'll come home. >> reporter: speaking exclusively to nbc news, isabel's parents admit they're frustrated with the speed of the investigation. >> it's one more day that we don't have her here. and not having answers, you know, you want those answers. you want isabel -- we want isabel home. >> reporter: the celis family says isabel was kidnapped, but police have labeled the case a suspicious disappearance. though her window was found open, the screen pushed aside, the family home is surrounded by a five-foot wall. dogs were both inside and outside the house when the first grader vanished. >> both parents have taken polygraph tests. there may be some other people that we ask to do the tests, but we never talk about the results of that. >> reporter: the police chief says the family is fully cooperating. investigators talked to isabel's parents every day. >> we look at everyone to include the family. it's not that we are saying the family's responsible, but we're also not saying the family is completely clear. everyone's a suspect till we find out otherwise. >> reporter: detectives have

scoured isabel's neighborhood, searching nearby lakes, parks and landfills and have contacted mexican authorities, distributing the 6-year-old's picture along the border. the case, investigators say, has not gone cold. >> the police are being very quiet and strategic in what they've uncovered in their investigation. remember that they know a whole lot more than what the general public knows. >> reporter: gone 13 days, neither police or isabel's family have given up hope. >> we love you so much. we miss you so much. >> reporter: every night, a mother and father pray for their daughter, a vigil in their home, a candle lit until she returns. >> we will always look for you. we will find you. you will be home with us. >> reporter: tucson police are working with the sheriff's department who is investigating a nearby home invasion where there was a suspect who walked into a home and touched a young girl. as of now, police do not believe these two cases are connected. they say they are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to isa. ann? >> thank you so much, miguel

almaguer, for your reporting on this story. isabel's parents, sergio and becky, are now joining us exclusively this morning. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> this is our first chance to really get to know a little bit about your daughter, isabel. what do you want to tell us, becky, about your girl? >> she is a girly girl. she loves to get her makeup on and paint her nails, do your nails, do my nails, do her hair. she loves to put -- she loves to go out and play with her brother, play hard in the dirt and then come back in and get herself all girled up again. she's very caring. she's a loving little girl, loves to come and give mom and dad hugs all the time, tell us

we love her -- or that she loves us. a beautiful baby girl. >> we can see from the videotape, just so full of life. and sergio, i'm wondering, you know, we just saw from the videotape, you were asked to reenact the hours before isabel disappeared. what do you remember about the last time you saw her, sergio? >> just that sweet little face. just that sweet little face. she had just gotten her hair done. it was just before she went to bed. she had a baseball game early the next morning. and becky braided her hair up. so she was going to be ready for early morning. and i was asking her if she was hungry. and she just had that little sleepy look as she was walking by. and she just said, "no, daddy. i'm tired." she was just walking by. she is so full of life, and she is just so wonderful.

and we do miss her so much. and her brothers miss her so much. he said he loves her so much. we just need everyone out there, everyone, just to keep praying for her. keep your eyes out. >> as you know, any time there is a case of a missing child, the parents and family come under scrutiny. becky, what do you want to tell us about how intense that scrutiny is now? has it lessened? is it still as intense? and how do you feel about it? >> it's necessary to do. and if it's anything close to getting isa back home safely, then whatever it takes. it's nothing we can't handle. we want her back. so whatever it takes to get her back, we will do. >> you know, there is no easy way to ask this question, but because this is your first live television interview, sergio, let me ask you this question. what do you want to say about

questions about whether you had anything to do with your daughter's disappearance? >> gosh. i wish i knew where to begin. we are so frustrated to try to understand why this is happening, why this had to happen, why isabel had to be targeted. we just don't understand that. and to whomever did this, please, look at her. look at her. she's beautiful. she doesn't deserve this. she deserves to be home. she deserves to be home in her room playing with her brothers and just loving life the way she does. this is -- there's so many things that are just so frustrating and so difficult to deal with. >> you -- >> we just want her home. we just want her home. >> do you have any reason to believe that someone is holding

her for ransom, sergio? >> no demands have been made. >> not because it's been made and not because it's been said, there have been no demands. there have been no calls for ransom. we have the reward ready. there has been no communication that we're aware of. the detectives and the investigators have, you know, been good in communicating with us every day. but at the same time, you know, there's only so much they can tell us. there's only so much they do tell us. they keep us at bay. and all of that is frustrating. we understand that they can't bring false hope. but at the same time, you know, we're desperate. we're desperate in finding out information. we're extremely frustrated that it's taking so long. and we understand that they're doing absolutely everything possible. and sometimes it does feel that, yes, we do feel sometimes that

they're wasting time with us even though we know we have to be under, you know, scrutiny, absolutely, understandable. but my goodness. she's still out there. >> we just want her home. we want people to keep praying for her so that she comes home to us, and keep your eyes open. just as many prayers as you guys can do to bring her -- to help us bring her home. prayers to have whoever took her to have a change of heart and want to bring her home. prayers for investigators to please have a break in the case and be able to bring isabel home where she belongs, her favorite place in the world. >> her favorite place in the world. >> sergio and becky celis, i am certain that after hearing you this morning, you have a lot of people praying for you and isabel. thank you so much for joining

us. >> and we want to thank everybody for all their prayers. this is the most unbelievable prayer around the world, as we understand it. it's not just across the nation. we understand it is worldly. and we thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts. >> our community. >> our community. everybody's so involved. the volunteers. there are endless efforts. it's unbelievable. we have to thank everyone doing everything they're doing. and please, please keep your eyes open. keep your eyes open. >> and continue praying, please. >> may your prayers be answered. thank you. and now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> all right, thank you so much, ann. and as we see what's happening in the pacific no happening in the pacific northwest, they've got a lot of rain to talk about. some snow mixing in and some of the upper elevations. rainfall amounts basically going to be about an inch to an inch and a half of rain especially around the portland area. just to their west. we're also looking at a lot of

hit-and-miss showers and thunderstorms through the gulf coast. look for a risk of strong storms from nebraska, all the way to western new york and western p.a. as well. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. storm 4 radar showing light rain and a moderate shower in northern frederick county on the pennsylvania border. it's drifting to the south and east, and temperatures are chilly. we're down just into the mid to low, upper 50s in some locations. and we've got a lot of fog around. it's generally light fog. though. widespread. and that should be burning off in the next few hours. and some sunshine breaking up. around the metro area, around 80 degrees, well into the 80s in virginia, maybe only and that's your latest weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up next, we'll lighten things up and head back to matt live at kensington palace for an inside look at the soon-to-be london home of william and kate. that's coming up right after this. whoa.

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♪ and welcome back to "today" on this thursday morning. a special split edition of our program from new york and london, kensington palace in the background. they say this is a place of secret stories and public lives. some of the most famous kings and queens of england have lived in this building behind me. and inside the walls, they have experienced love and loss and triumph and tragedy. and after a $19 million renovation, they are inviting the public back to take a look around. >> reporter: through the years, kensington palace has been home to times of incredible joy. princess diana raised her sons, william and harry, here. and a symbol of profound grief, the golden gates became a makeshift memorial during the days after diana's tragic death. and now kensington palace is a place of new beginnings as prince william has returned to

live not only with his new bride, katherine, but reportedly also his brother, prince harry, in separate accommodations, of course. there are 547 rooms in the palace. divided into various apartments. most occupied by other royal relatives, as they have been for centuries. >> in the 20th century, the early part of the 20th century, when there were quite a few elderly members of the royal family living here. >> reporter: kensington palace or k.p. as some call it was first built in the 17th century as the country getaway for newlyweds king william and queen mary. yes, that william & mary. sadly, both died here, mary from smallpox, and william, a horse accident. queen victoria was born here in 1819 and found out she would be queen here. she was awakened before dawn to be told at the age of 18. her romance with the love of her life, albert, would also begin within these walls.

she met him on this staircase. her wedding dress currently on display. albert would leave the queen a widow at the young age of 42. victoria famously went into seclusion and wore black for the rest of her life. those who worked here say kensington palace had a brighter spirit when diana was its most famous resident and probably the only resident to have a bouncy castle installed as she did for young will. merv lived and worked here for 13 years as head chef for the prince and principess of wales. >> i had great times with the family. always fun, always lots going to. certainly happy memories, water fights out of the window. >> reporter: and even as the palace has a rich history of kings and queens and heirs to the throne, it's clear they have a bigger legacy in mind, to keep kensington as a palace for everyone. as we mentioned, william and katherine are living right now on a cottage on the grounds.

they are about to move into apartment 1a, all four floors, 20 rooms of it. they'll do that soon. it used to be the home of princess margaret before she passed away. we're going to have more from london coming up. and also coming up, more of our exclusive interview with bobby brown as he talks about how his daughter, bobbi kristina, is doing. that's all coming up right after these messages. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style.

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7:56, good morning, i'm aaron gilchrest with some breaking news out of olny. a woman on a bike has been hit and killed. near 108 and wickham road. traffic in the area is backed up. let's check the rest of the traffic with danella. >> still looking at an accident on the outer loop of the beltway, the on ramp to georgia avenue shut down right now due do a crash there. we are seeing significant delays on the outer loop in montgomery county. here's a live look past colesville road, your travel speed slow, 24 miles per hour. aaron, over to you. ♪

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good morning, chilly and humid on this thursday morning, temperatures around the region, generally in the 50s. radar showing a few sprinkles of rain around annapolis, eastern shore, up near the pennsylvania border. temperatures only in the 50s. will gradually climb by mid-morning to maybe around 60 degrees. then this afternoon, the metro area, maybe near 80. cooler, north and east of washington, warmer across much of virginia might get an afternoon thundershower, warmer

8:00 on this thursday morning, the 3rd i day of may, 2012. we have people here from coast to coast with yummy beef products joining us on rockefeller plaza. i'm ann curry alongside al roker. i'm in my raincoat. i thought it would be raining, but it's okay. >> not too bad here in the northeast. meantime, our matt is hanging outn london at kensington palace. hey, matt, how's it going?

>> reporter: good, ann and al, good to see you both. i'm standing at the gardens, really an oasis of beauty on the grounds of lovely kensington palace. you see the lovely flowers in bloom from april to october and the fountains that remind me i've got to go to the bathroom pretty soon, but it is beautiful to be here. you stand in this location, ann and al, and it's hard to realize that you're just on the outskirts of one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world, london, but that is exactly where we are. and coming up, we'll have more of our interview with bobby brown. he's going to talk about what happened when he went to whitney's funeral not long ago and left abruptly. he'll explain the circumstances of that and he'll open up about his daughter with whitney houston, bobbi kristina, is doing in the wake of her mother's death. ann? and also we'll talk about a case that's getting a lot of

attention, the case of a mother who's been accused of allegedly taking her child to a tanning salon. she's been charged with second-degree child endangerment. we're going to find out what she had to say to the judge coming up this morning. and talking about being a little too brown and getting into trouble, ashton kutcher had an ad online where he was in sort of brown face. and a lot of folks a little upset about it. >> indian-american. >> yeah, we'll look at the controversy concerning this in just a little bit. >> reaction swift and brutal. >> it's since been pulled. meantime, let's go inside and find out what the top stories of the morning are from natalie morales. >> good morning, everyone. the fate of a blind disdented is straining ties between china and the u.s. during a high-profile visit by hillary clinton. a u.s.-brokered deal to guarantee the safety of chen guangcheng is apparently falling apart. chen now says he fears for his safety and wants to be taken to the united states.

police in suburban phoenix are investigating the shooting deaths of five people including a toddler found in a home on wednesday. police say the gunman is among the dead. 13 people will face charges in the fatal beating of a florida a&m university drum major. officials say the 26-year-old's death cannot be attributed to any single blow. the defendants face felony hazing as the most serious charge. the ex-wife of former nfl great junior seau says he sent loving text messages to her and their three children the day before his apparent suicide on wednesday. the all-pro san diego chargers' linebacker was found with a gunshot wound to the chest and a handgun nearby. he was 43 years old. and now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. as we've been talking about that ad featuring ashton kutcher has triggered outrage across the internet. kutcher appeared in brown face and used a fake indian accent to pose as a bollywood producer.

take a look. >> i would taste the sweetness on my lips. these are the bombay. >> pop chips has pulled the ad, and it has since apologized. we'll have more on the story and the controversy coming up. journal entries from a long-ago ex-girlfriend of president obama are heating up the internet and providing some new insight into the president's time as a college student in new york. interprets from a new book genevieve cook denies the unique aroma in obama's bedroom as a mix of running sweat, brute spray deodorant, smoking, eating raisins, sleeping, breathing. and of their relationship, she acknowledges, quote, sexual warmth, but cook writes when she told the young obama she loved him, his reply was, "thank you." and video of a little boy's trip to the oregon zoo is hot online. take a look as 1-year-old jack appears to be unfazed as a lion tried to make a snack out of

him. it probably didn't help that jack's striped jacket makes him look a little bit like a baby zebra. cute. good thing there's that glass partition there in between them. it is now five minutes past the hour. let's go out to al with a check of your weather. >> thanks so much. a little snack there. very cute. we've got some nice folks out here. very cute there. and show you what we've got. our pick city of the day just ha happens to be monterey, california, ksbw, channel 8, partly sunny, 56 degrees. as we check out your temperatures today. it is nice and toasty throughout much of texas and the mid-atlantic states with temperatures in the 90s. 50s in the pacific northwest. 60s in the northeast. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, we have some low clouds, a little bit of light fog around and it is rather chilly. we're just in the 50s, radar showing a few showers up northern frederick county, advancing south and east. a few sprinkles around annapolis and across the bay near kent island. around the region we're in the

50s, 57 at reagan national. but it's warmer farther south, near 60 to the mid 60s. the warmer air should move closer to the metro area by later this afternoon. cooler north and east of washington, maybe an isolated thunders that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, we've got a huge contingent from wisconsin right behind me. meantime, we'll be talking about the mom who's been charged for taking her then 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth, allegedly, and making her first court appearance. now what she's got to say about this case coming up right after this. 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.

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and get a free double chocolate chip cake. back now at 8:09. the new jersey mother accused of causing skin burns to her young daughter by taking her into a tanning booth had her day in court on wednesday. nbc's mara schiavocampo is in nutley, new jersey, with more. >> reporter: good morning. it's cloudy here this morning, but nom pa trimom patricia kren says her daughter good a burn from standing outside, not inside. >> i'm innocent. >> reporter: patricia krentcil who herself is very tan pled not guilty to second-degree child endangerment. the charges follow allegations that krentcil brought her then 5-year-old daughter, anna, due a tanning booth. >> i would die right now for her. >> that child was never in that tanning booth. she loves her child more than her own life and would never,

ever allow her child to go inside a tanning bed. >> reporter: but according to the essex county prosecutor's office, a trip to the city tropics salon over a week ago caused the girl to suffer burns to her body. >> this whole thing's been blown out of proportion, bottom line. >> reporter: according to reuters, authorities say krentcil's daughter, now 6, turned up at her elementary school with a sunburn on april 24th, prompting a school nurse to contact police. krentcil says anna had spent time outside on a sunny day and says she took anna to the tanning salon but not inside the tanning booth. >> we went for a walk. i tan. she doesn't tan. it's called a tanning booth and a tanning room. i'm in the booth. she's in the room. >> 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 someone at school overheard that and call the case a big misunderstanding. >> she was outside tuesday, it was 85 degrees out, she got

sunburned. that's it. >> reporter: according to state law, no one under age 14 is allowed to use a tanning booth. the salon denies that the 5-year-old even entered the establishment, saying she waited outside with her father and brother. in a statement to nbc news, the salon owner said, quote, it absolutely did not happen here. we wouldn't let a minor tan. i have seven kids. i'm not going to let a kid tan, nor would anyone else here. everyone knows, we would never let this happen. the child is still living at home with her mother and father, though the state's child welfare agency is monitoring the family. >> she's home. they're not taking her away. she's home. >> reporter: krentcil remains free on bond. her next court appearance is scheduled for june 4th. and her tanning membership here has reportedly been revoked. ann? >> dr. jennifer ashton is a women's health specialist and author of "your body beautiful." star jones is a former

prosecutor and veteran legal commentator. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> girfirst, how dangerous is excessive tanning that patricia krentcil has admitted to doing? >> we have to remember whether you get a tan from natural sun or indoor tanning, the world health organization clarifies ultraviolet radiation as a known human carcinogen. they put it on the same level as cigarettes, on the same level as plutonium, so it's dangerous. >> life threatening. >> absolutely, in excess, yes. >> all right. star, you know, krentcil says that her 6-year-old daughter was never -- then 5-year-old, now 6-year-old daughter, was never in the tanning booth, and she's pleaded not guilt counterto second-degree child endangerment. what kind of evidence would be required to prosecute a charge like that? >> well, this is a very serious charge. it's a second-degree felony in new jersey. and so it could carry up to ten years in prison, $150,000 fine. i mean, obviously, we are so far away from that. the prosecutors would be looking for some direct evidence as to whether or not the child actually went into the tanning booth.

and from everything that i've heard, all the witnesses say that did not occur. so they're going to have a little bit of a mountain to climb in this regard. >> and we just heard in the statement from the owner a denial. i mean, if, in fact, it did happen, to what degree is the tanning salon itself culpable? >> the tanning salon, quite frankly, would be in trouble with the state law because the state law prohibits a salon from allowing a child to tan. however, the real issue is probably the only reason why we're really talking about this is because the woman sort of looks a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs. i mean, that's not a legal term, but it is an accurate term. and i don't think that legally we would be really having this discussion with the amount of evidence that's been presented. >> obviously, someone needs to intervene. if you're saying, dr. ashton, this is life threatening to her, the mother, someone needs to intervene and say, stop this now. doctor, star, thank you is both.

and coming up next, more of our exclusive interview with bobby brown. why he left whitney houston's funeral and what the future holds for their daughter. that's coming up right after this. doing project with different stores is a really cool idea. we want to bring a little piece of the boutique experience to target. a real taste of luxury. it's pretty special for us to imagine this little nook of polka dog will be in target stores all around the country. the shops we fell in love with, collected and curated for you. exclusively at target.

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as someone without allergies. ♪ it's gonna be bright bright sunshiny day ♪ live claritin clear with non-drowsy claritin. inchsz we're back now at 8:17. we have more of our exclusive interview with bobby brown, his first interview since the death of his ex-wife, whitney houston. he's going to open up about how their daughter, bobbi kristina, is doing. we start by talking about the controversy surrounding whitney's funeral and the reports that he was not invited. >> they definitely wanted me there. it wasn't that i wasn't invited. i was invited. just coming to pay respects to my ex-wife. they would not, you know, hold me from, you know. that's not the type of family the houston family is. they're a great family. i appreciate them very much, you know. >> what happened? >> whoever the security was

there asked me to have my -- what they called my entourage, which was my children, sit somewhere else. we had to sit apart. and i was not willing to sit away from my children. so, you know, after the third time of them coming to me, i felt a little, you know, disrespected by the security that was there. i decided that, you know, it would be best if i just left. i kissed the casket. and me and my children left the building. >> after she passed away, you talk about calling bobbi kristina. did you call anybody else in her family? did you reach out to any of them? >> i tried to reach out to whitney's mom. i haven't been able to reach her yet. >> and it's been two months. >> yes. >> does she just not want to talk to you? >> no, i wouldn't say that. i know she's going through it deeply, deeply going through it. she lost her only daughter. i love her dearly, and i'm here

anytime. anytime she wants to talk. i'm here. >> i want to ask you about your current status. you were involved in a dui arrest not long ago. >> yes. >> are you clean and sober right now, bobby? >> i'm very much clean and sober from narcotics. i do drink. i'm not allowed to drink for the next 30 days. i do have a cocktail occasionally, you know. i will again, i know that. but i'm seven years clean from narcotics. you know, i'm living -- i'm living the life that i want to live. >> other people continue to talk. and the doubters are out there. >> they can doubt all they want. >> and when they worry, bobby, and they look at bobby brown and they say, our fear is this will end badly, too, you say? >> i say, you've got the wrong one. you've got the wrong one. >> let's talk about your daughter, all right? bobbi kristina. a smile comes to your face, which is nice. but she's got to be going through a really tough time.

how's she doing? >> actually, she's a strong girl. her mom taught her well. i think we raised her really well. she's fine. she knows that her mom is gone. and she knows that she has to live. >> and yet there are reports, bobby, and that her family is concerned about her, that whitney's family is concerned about her, there have been some incidents where she was seen smoking pot. some people say other things as well, other drugs. are you worried about that? >> i would always be worried about that. >> is it a real concern? >> right now, no. >> yeah. >> no, no. because i know -- i know what she is actually doing. i think people are, you know, making assumptions of what my daughter is and how strong she is. people tend to want to control strong-willed people. and that's what i see.

>> so in your opinion, there is no issue with bobbi kristina and addiction at this moment? >> right. i am her father. she talks to me about everything. >> there are also reports about her dpating life. >> she's a young lady. you know, i would expect her to have a boyfriend. >> but is that boyfriend her adopted brother? >> i don't know about that. i don't think so. >> would she tell you? >> she would definitely tell me. >> you're sure? >> i'm positive. >> would that be an appropriate relationship, in your opinion, if it were to be true? >> nick's a good kid. i have nothing against nick. >> you say she's my daughter. i'm her father. she would tell me everything. have you asked her? have you come right out and said, are you dating nick? >> yes, i have, actually. >> come on. what did she say? >> she said no. she said no. definitely not. >> though bobbi kristina is the best known of bobby brown's children, he has four other kids from other relationships.

landon is 26. he's a performer like his dad. laprincia and bobby brown jr. both attend college in massachusetts. then there's the youngest, 2-year-old cassius. his mom, bobby's manager and fiancee. they say they want to set the record straight about bobby brown. >> my dad's a great person. he's been my best friend my whole life. if i ever have a problem with anything, i know i can always go to him. >> yeah? the rest of you? is that the reason you're here? >> yes, definitely. >> because you don't feel that the public has -- >> they definitely do not have the right perception of him. >> my father's always had the bad-boy image. you know, they just -- they keep following that, you know? >> is any of it deserved? >> i think the bad-boy image is just a part of the performance, stage performance, stage presence. not what people put on him. >> everyone goes through their up downs. you can't be judged forever

about one event in your life or a bad decision made, you can't always be judged by that. >> alicia, you're engaged to this man. >> what are you thinking? >> thank you. because i was going to say, how many times have your girlfriends or your family members come up to you and said, do you know what you're getting into? >> if they're my friends or my family, they know that i know what i'm getting into, absolutely, because they know this man. we go through the ups and downs together. and it's meant to be. >> bobbi kristina is not here. what's your relationship with her like, guys? >> i've always been really close with my sister. as of lately, we haven't really spoken. when she is ready to speak, when she is ready to have the love that we all want to give her, we'll be here. >> my relationship, we've been close. of course, i'm her older brother. so we got along very well. and i love her. >> i just want to talk a little

bit about whitney's funeral. it turned a bit controversial. your dad has explained it to me. i'd love to hear it from your perspective. >> they sat us -- >> oh, we were an entourage. that's what we were. >> yeah, we were the entourage. they sat us. i saw someone talking to my dad, but i didn't know what they were saying until he tapped me and said, "let's go." >> all i know is that i've known that woman since i was, like, 3 years old and that i cared about her, and i loved her. i wanted to be there to say good-bye to her and be there to support my sister. i didn't get that chance. >> if you could say something to whitney's family, cissy and people like that, what would you like to say to them? >> that we love them and wanted just to say good-bye to her and we love her. we were all family at some point. we spent so much time together. >> by the way, we invited bobbi kristina to join us during that interview. she declined our invitation. we're going to have much

more ahead from london and new york on a thursday morning. but first, these messages and your local news. breaking news at 8:26, a woman was hit and killed while riding her bike in olney this morning. it happened near route 108 and zion road. the driver did stay on the scene, but traffic is backed up in that area. let's check in with danella on the rest of the roads around here. danella? >> still seeing lots of delays, especially on the beltway. if you're traveling at the inner loop approaching braddock road, you are very slow, these delays continue to the dulles toll road, at about 23 miles per hour. outer loop of the beltway, the ramp to georgia avenue still shut by a crash there. and the outer loop in montgomery county you're slow from i-95 all the way to georgia avenue.

back to you. >> we'll look at the forecast after a short br

good morning, low clouds, a little bit of fog lingering and a chill in the air. generally still in the 50s. and we're not going to budge until we get the cloud cover

breaking up. that may happen over the next couple of hours. then we should warm up. maybe into the 70s to near 80 degrees around the metro. but warmer in virginia, cooler north and east. only near 70. could get an afternoon thundershower. another warm day tomorrow, most of the region, mid 80s. back to you. every four year

glorious days, one event transforms us. the 2010 london olympics coming this summer to the networks of nbc universal. ♪ and we are back, 8:30 now on a thursday morning, the 3rd day of may, 2012. and you are looking at stunning kensington palace here in london, england, on kind of an overcast, drizzly, chilly day. and guess what?

3,000 miles away, a carbon copy out on rockefeller plaza. we've got some smiling faces taking in the sights and sounds of your city. in london, i'm matt lauer. back on the plaza, we've got ann curry, al roker and natalie morales. good to see you all. >> did you get to the bathroom? i know you were worried. did you get that royal flush going? >> i did get the royal -- you know what's funny? they do have these little signs here at kensington palace to tell you which way the bathroom is. it's got the stick figures with the crowns on top of the men and women. no, they do. >> you're looking at it right there. >> quite literally. that's funny. >> cute. >> that tells directions to the royal throne, i guess you could say. anyway. >> i like the baby one. >> coming up from here, we're going to take you to a place along the english coast that is spectacular. it's also the home of tourists

and treasure hunters alike. and it's known for legendary sights and song. so ben fogle is here this morning. and he's going to take us on a tour of that, guys. >> all right. that looks like a lot of fun. also coming up, we'll be finding out more about this ad we've been talking about all morning regarding ashton kutcher. it's now been pulled from the web because some indian-americans have reacted, you know, against it saying that they thought it was racist. that's coming up. a little bit later on, portia derossi will be here. and she and ellen degeneres' personal chef to give us a lesson in the kitchen to show that vegan can taste good. >> okay. that sounds good. also, "today's professionals" are back in the house. coming up, they're going to weigh in on everything from that ashton kutcher ad that's causing all this controversy to the octo-mom, nadya suleman, filing for bankruptcy. also, what age is it appropriate to let your child, your daughter, start experimenting with makeup?

and much, much more. first, do you mind if we bring in carson daly? >> not at all. >> come on in here, carson. >> nice to see you. >> we're bowing to you as well. >> how are you? >> we're good as well. i understand you're very happy about the final four. >> we're very excited. it's been an awesome season two of "the voice." so much talent. our elite eight was great last week. that monday night show, i was really proud of all the performances we had, great artists, their families, our coaches grinding it out. you see jermaine paul there. it's going to be a great finale on "the voice," monday and tuesday, and we'll have a winner on tuesday night. >> especially when it's live. you've got to keep things moving. you've got to react to people leaving. i mean, you're more than a traffic cop. >> it's like -- i have some experience in my mtv days here in new york in times square. and i feel like a traffic cop. all right, you can go. you sit tight. it's a fast-paced show. there's a lot going on. we've got four big personalities

in our coaches and i've got to wrangle it all in, but it's a blast. it's a dream job. >> i can only imagine the job that the judges have. the talent is unbelievable this season. any predictions from you? i know you're not going to tell us who you think is going to win. >> no. we have a really diverse final four which is great. everything from chris mann who does opera to jermaine paul with a big voice and juliette sims who has a lot of mojo going right now. it's going to be exciting. i have no predictions. >> you talk about being excited. is it true that your 3-year-old son, jackson, grooves to "the voice"? he's a fan? >> my 3-year-old, he calls it the big hand show because of the big statue. he calls it the big hand show every week. he's a rock star backstage. he loves it. he loves it. >> good for you to have a son. happy with your work. and meantime, we want to tell everybody that the final performances are next monday night. and the winner of "the voice" will be crowned next tuesday here on nbc. >> and wednesday, we'll have the

winner here. >> which will be great. okay. meantime, let's get a check of the weather. >> all right. let's see what we've got for you starting off look ing ahead toward your weekend. the kentucky kerrbderby, the ru of the roses in churchill downs. partly cloudy, 78. the heat, 86 degrees and a 50% chance of% chance of thundershowers. saturday, rest of the country, we're looking at showers in the pacific northwest. rain through the plains, wet weather, mid-atlantic into the southeast. and sunday -- sunday -- we're expecting sunny and mild conditions. and out west, sunny and mild in the pacific northwest and the plains states and hot from west texas into the southwest. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, a few showers on storm 4 radar moving from northwest to southeast. up near the maryland border. closer to washington, we have just some a little bit of light fog around, some low clouds and temperatures are only in the 50s. quite a chill in the air. but it's warming up into the 60s.

where a little sun is beginning to break out to our south and west. and we ought to get increasing sun as the morning progresses and certainly by noon, we ought to get some sun breaking out. by then, ought to be up around 70. near 80 around the metro area. . and for you, folks, if a gust of wind happens, we're in trouble. >> hoda and kathie lee are joining us. they have a very special hour coming up about cosmetic surgery. is it true you're going to have some done live? >> yeah, you got a problem with that? >> no. >> the earrings are a nice touch, hoda. >> we're just going to do a procedure. we'll also do a live procedure calls cellulaise. >> which is the latest procedure. >> it gets rid of cellulite. we'll do it throughout the course of the show. not us particularly. but patients during the show. >> are you getting some done? >> we are each getting an individual. >> you're doing something together. >> keep it down. back off, barbie. >> whoa! >> whoa!

>> i'd get down, but the wind will blow. >> security! security! >> that's coming up. a lot more to get to. no, no, that's okay. >> no, no, no! >> we have a lot more coming up from here and fromlondon. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:39. the new ad campaign featuring ashton kutcher that's being labeled racist by critics, natalie's here with more on the story. >> that's right, ann, this ad was released online. kutcher pretends to be a bol bywood producer. and the uproar began almost as soon as it appeared online.

>> this is your president of pop culture speaking. >> reporter: in a snazzy online campaign, pop chips proclaims ashton kutcher is president of pop culture. but a new ad from the potato chip brand launched just this week has left kutcher in a campaign crisis. >> looking for romance? it's here with worldwide lovers. >> reporter: in a series of web videos spoofing dating ads, kutcher plays different lonely characters looking for love. >> i'm sorry, i was holding my breath to look skinnier. >> reporter: but one in particular is getting the cold shoulder from critics. >> i'm raj. i'm a bollywood producer. >> reporter: to tackle the role, kutcher wears brown makeup and speaks with an indian ak sencce. >> like kardashian hot. i would give that dog a bone. i like snooki. >> reporter: after his

high-profile split from demi moore last fall. >> your waiting room's like a freak show. are we all in the same category? >> reporter: after the ad was posted wednesday, critics quickly call it had racist. one blogger tweeted, "newsflash to @popchips, never heard of you before. now i'll see your name and think racists, not yummy snack. fail. since then, they've yanked the ad but a spokeswoman says the ad was created to provoke a few laughs and was never intended to stereotype or offend anyone. kutcher, of course, no stranger to controversy. he actually suspended his twitter account for a while last fall after tweeting his support for the late penn state coach joe paterno. as for this latest incident, we reached out to kutcher for comment, but we have not heard back. the ad spokespeople have pulled the ad. >> i bet he kind of has a thing or two to say. >> he probably didn't think it was going to be offensive. but then sometimes when you see

these things on tv or online, there's the cringe factor. >> portraying characters and thought, maybe this is just a character. >> on the other hand, if you're part of a disenfranchised group, you are more sensitive. and i think that's the dilemma is that it's hard to imagine how people might feel. thank you so much. >> it's sparked a lot of controversy online. we'll have more with the professionals coming up. >> good to know. thanks so much, natalie. we're going to go back to matt live in london to explore britain's wild, wild west. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ back now in london on a thursday morning. you're looking at the grounds of kensington palace. we've got some good news for you because coming up in the next couple of weeks in the run-up to the summer olympic games here in london, our special

correspondent, ben fogle, is going to be bringing us a series of adventures. and ben is here this morning at kensington palace with destination number one, ben. good morning. >> good morning, matt. well, in this year of the olympics, the diamond jubilee, the world's spotlight will be on many different locations in britain. i headed off to one of my favorite, the rugged southwest coast, to cornwall, land of sea, surf and seaweed. at the very edge of england, almost surrounded by sea lies cornwall. steeped in tales of pirates and smugglers, sea monsters and mermaids. it even has its own atlantis, a legendary kingdom said to lie just off the coast. they say on some nights if you listen very carefully, you can hear the bells ringing beneath the sea. beneath the sea is where i'm going next. this rugged coastline is one of the most treacherous in the world and as local artist john sim captures in his eerie

paintings, the graveyard of many hundreds of ships which is why cornwall has become a paradise for divers and treasure hunters. scuba diving's all very well. it's brilliant. but i want to find out what it would have been like for a wreck diver 100 years ago. >> one size does fit all. >> those are the biggest shoelaces i've ever seen. i feel like frankenstein. charles diving school is the only place in the uk where you can do this. >> ben, everything okay? >> with air pumping down the tube and weighed down by 80 pounds of lead, i take a leap into the unknown. >> okay, ben, everything okay down there? >> this is very eerie down here. it does feel a little bit like walking on the moon. it feels very strange.

it would have been terrifying. the coastline is dotted with dozens of tiny fishing villages. fishermen. and for centuries, fishermen earned their living from the sea. ♪ what do you do with a drunken sailor ♪ ♪ hurray in the morning >> reporter: these fishermen now earn their living singing traditional sea songs. ♪ they're the fishermen's friends. ♪ and they've recently landed a million-dollar recording contract. ♪ >> one night we just started singing. >> reporter: now their amazing story's being turned into a movie. but back to the serious business of fishing, and it looks like i've just caught dinner. we need someone to cook it. and a few ingredients to go with

it. >> this is called gutsweed. >> reporter: caroline davey runs food courses at her local beach. very salty. how is this with lobster? >> you'll have to wait and see. >> reporter: back in caroline's kitchen, we put it all together. there's a bit. looks delicious. >> it's going on top. >> reporter: hear that crackling. everything's been foraged. beautiful. finally it's time to taste caroline's cornish cuisine. honestly, that is so good. we can taste where we are. do you hear the bells? sadly, i didn't make it as the newest band member of the fishermen's friends, but the lobster was delicious. matt?

>> talk about that table with a view, that was beautiful. >> special. >> what are some of the other places you'll go? >> we'll go up to scotland, kilts, games. >> are you going to wear a kilt? >> i'm going to wear a kilt. you'll have to wait and see. >> i've already heard about it. can't wait to see that. >> it's a really exciting year for the uk in general, and i'm going to be getting wet and muddy. >> yeah. we're going to spend some time with you here. ben, looking forward to it. thank you very much. we appreciate it. that does it for me from london on this thursday morning. we're heading back to new york in just a couple of minutes. and there's more ahead of "today." but 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... ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing xfinity streampix. stream your favorite movies and full seasons of shows instantly on any screen. find out more online. back now at 8:50. and this morning on "today's kitchen step-by-step," our lesson in vegan cooking. roberto martin is the personal chef to ellen degeneres and portia derossi. and in his new book called "vegan cooking for carnivores," he shares more than 100 recipes that promise to be so good that we're not going to miss the meat. is that right? you promise? >> absolutely. >> okay. let's get a start. first of all, let's talk about this idea because you and ellen have been eating vegan for some time. >> five years. >> a lot of people look at this food and they think, you know, we know it's good for us, but how can it be tasty? >> that's one thing. everyone knows it's healthy.

you get the protein but without the saturated fat and cholesterol. it's good for the environment and good for animals, obviously. but it's got to taste good. that's where roberto comes in. he managed to make all the foods that we love, he managed to make them vegan instead of making vegan food. >> there you go. how did you do that? >> well, i wasn't a vegan chef to start off with. and i went ahead and just said first i'm just going to make the food i always made before. i'm going to stut tubstitute th animal pro fetein for plant-bas protein. >> before we start a fire here, you're going to make a chicken dish. >> it is fried chicken. >> tell us how you do that in the vegan way. >> we take our little pattys here. >> which are? >> these are plant-based protein. >> you can buy them in the store? >> you can buy them anywhere in the store, all across the country. they come in these little cutlets. >> right. >> but we shape them into these little pattys. >> you just squish them and

they'll do that. >> the thing about fried chicken is the skin. that's what makes it so wonderful and crispy. i came up with this way of putting some skin on the chicken. and we use these rice papers like the spring roll papers. >> this is inventive, roberto. >> thank you. >> what do you think about this, portia? >> it's creative. i call him a mad scientist in the kitchen. i mean, to think of doing this is pretty amazing. >> okay. >> you're so complimentary. i call it wrap it up burrito style. and we flip the sides over. and we tuck and roll. >> nice. and it ends up looking like that. now, we've got to dredge it. right? >> now we use, instead of buttermilk, we take some cashew cream. >> cashew cream. now, that's something that's not always easy to find. >> no, you make it. cashews and water. >> blend it. >> blend it until it's smooth. it's so easy. it's a substitute for heavy

cream. you could do alfredo sauce with that. >> nice. >> so we add hot sauce to get that southern flavor going on. >> yeah, this is particularly good. it has a fraction of the fat and the calories of regular cream. >> mm-hmm. >> it leaves a little extra room for frying. as far as the calories go. >> i'm going to do something weird. i'm just going to give a little taste of that. >> definitely. >> it tastes like nuts. it's not too intense. it has a nice pecan flavor. okay. we need to cook this thing. you need to take that, put it in there, dredge it. >> let's season our flour real quick. >> right. that's garlic. >> garlic salt, onion powder, some old bay, and some blackening spice. >> all right. there we go. >> then we do flour. and cream. >> oh, do you go back and forth a couple of times? >> just once. yeah. >> get it nice and dredged. >> nice and dredged. and that's what makes the crispy crunchy. >> now, you do fry it, so this is not a lo-cal food.

>> no, it's not. but if you compare it to its animal-based partner, it's much lower in fat. >> okay. >> much lower in saturated fat. >> and you'll see golden brown and delicious. >> nice. >> nice crispy crunchy. >> do you eat this, portia? >> oh, yeah, yeah. >> ellen said that when she eats the food that roberto is this vegan food, that she's lost some weight. >> we both have lost a lot of weight going vegan. you maintain a lower weight. >> yeah. >> oh, high, guys. >> dance party back here. >> definitely. >> we do that because that's what ellen does on her show. people are dancing behind you. and then when you turn around -- >> they're dancing. >> they stop dancing. >> we're so funny. >> dancing for me. >> of course, that, too. >> anyway, let's try this thing.

what is this? >> this is a mac and cheese. >> a little bit of cashew cream. dairy cheese. >> bring it. >> what's this? >> just some regular salsa. >> oh, okay. that's vegan. >> roberto, thank you so much. the book is called "vegan cooking for carnivores." breaking news at 8:56, from d.c. federal court, harry thomas junior just arrived in court to be sentenced for embezzlement. you're seeing the video of the arrival here. in january the former ward five d.c. councilmember pleaded guilty to stealing $350,000 to

finance a lavish lifestyle. the money was meant for children's programs, he faces up to four years in prison. as soon as we find out the sentence, we'll bring it to you live here on news4 and nbcwashington.com. when we come back, we'll take a look at weather and traffic.

good morning, still cloudy and cool, we're only in the 50s, near 60. but if the cloud cover breaks up, we should make it to around 80 in the metro area, warmer in virginia, maybe an afternoon storm. danella, how is traffic? >> outer loop of the beltway, can't get on to georgia avenue, the ramp shut down by an accident there and the outer loop completely jammed in montgomery county. delays continue to georgia avenue, you're at about 15 miles per hour. aaron, back to you.

♪ back now with more of "today" on this thursday morning, it's the 3rd day of may, 2012. and you're looking at a live picture of kensington palace in the heart of london. it was once the home of queen victoria. it is soon to be the london pad of the duke and duchess of cambridge, william and kate. and it is one fine fixer-upper, i'll say. >> the london pad. >> some newlyweds. i know. the gardens are beautiful. matt has been broadcasting from there this morning. it has really been a fun site

and a rare treat to be able to get a peek inside that palace. meantime, i'm ann curry alongside al roker and tamron hall who's joining us this morning. savannah guthrie is on assignment. and matt has been reporting from london. he's going to start making his way back home. meantime, we also want to mention that london is bustling. there's a lot going on this summer. we've got the olympic games now just 85 days away. officials are making sure that all the security is in place and that the venues are all going to be ready. and also, as we have mentioned earlier, next month is also a big event. the queen's diamond jubilee, 60 years on the throne. so it's something for everyone, i think, to celebrate. we'll get a preview of all of that. also, "today's professionals," we're talking about ashton kutcher's new online ad. it's created quite a stir. you see him there in brown face, some say mocking an indian ak sent. it's triggered online backlash. it's been pulled, but some ask,

has the damage been done? i'm sure donny will have strong opinions about it as well as star. the empty sheet is for me because i'm rushing in. we'll chat about that and a couple other hot topics with the professionals. then on "today's money," we are making sure you've got enough money for your retirement. what are some of the things you need to do to make sure that you're comfortable in those later years. >> i'm so glad we do this segment so regularly because people really need this kind of advice. i pay attention to it. thanks a lot. meantime, let's go inside and find out from natalie what the stories of the morning are. >> good morning, everyone. a change of heart for the blind chinese dissident at the center of a diplomatic standoff between washington and beijing. chen guangcheng and his family now want to leave china, fearing for their lives, and hope secretary of state hillary clinton can help. he is now in a hospital after leaving the embassy but believes that he no longer can be kept

safe. today new documents on the final days of osama bin laden. the combatting terrorism center at west point is releasing documents seized during last year's raid on bin laden's compound in pakistan. in one of them, bin laden wrote that he feared al qaeda would not survive the deaths of its leaders. more testimony today in the corruption trial of former presidential candidate john edwards. in dramatic testimony wednesday, a former adviser to edwards told how elizabeth edwards collapsed into a ball after the first tabloid story about her husband's affair. minutes later, she said elizabeth edwards yelled at her husband, "you don't see me anymore" as she tore off her blouse. a new jersey mother is free on bond after pleading not guilty wednesday to second-degree child endangerment. the woman who admits to excessive tanning herself is accused of bringing her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth, something barred by state law. it has been five years since the disappearance of madeleine mccann, the young british girl who vanished in portugal.

today her parents remain hopeful. nbc's reporter is in portugal. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. madeline mccain was taken from this holiday apartment in portugal five years ago today. her parents have given interviews to the world's press. upbeat interviews saying that they are optimistic that she will be found again and be found alive. the little girl with the huge eyes and beautiful blonde hair who vanished into thin air five years ago today. madeleine mccann, taken from her bed while she slept, never to be seen again. her devastated parents, kate and jerry mccann, have never given up hope. and now british police are giving them new reason to believe she's alive. >> police believe there's a real possibility madeleine's alive and this is as good an opportunity in the last five years.

>> reporter: since her disappearance, a bungled investigation by police. over the years, image after image of little maddy have been released. >> it's strange because obviously it's a marker of time. you look at it, and it's not madeleine that we remember. it emphasizes that five years have gone by. >> reporter: madeleine's twin brother and sister seen here as babies are now 7 years old. >> they're doing normal things, birthday parties, we celebrate christmas. >> reporter: british police are pressing portuguese authorities to reopen the case. >> what we are absolutely confident in is that the metropolitan police are determined to get to the bottom of it, their leads and with portuguese authorities. >> reporter: this could be the mccanns' last chance to find madeleine. they have shared their memories and her photos with the world in the hope that no one forgets that she is still a little girl lost and far from home. the mccanns have spoken again this week saying that they get

great strength from cases in america where kids disappear and then reappear again after several years. they, of course, are hoping that the same will be true for madeleine. back to you. >> thank you, tazeen. and if only every day on the campaign trail could be a slam dunk. senator scott brown showed his swagger on the basketball court at a local community center in hyannis, massachusetts. he lobbed an underhand shot sinking it from half-court. there rushed by the crowd. brown is currently running for re-election in massachusetts against challenger elizabeth warren. a good shot, that's for sure. six minutes past the hour right now. you're up to date. let's go back outside to al with a check of your weather. mr. roker. >> the knicks could use him. >> yeah, a little help. >> let's see what we've got. got some nice folks here. got some not-so-nice weather as we look new york all the way back to kansas city and des moines. del rio, texas, moist air and convection bringing supercells over southwestern texas.

look at the rainfall amounts, rain in the panhandle of florida, up to four inches of rain. and also as we head from kansas city on into milwaukee, we're looking at a lot of rain, anywhere from one to three inches before it's all over. pacific northwest looking at wet weather as well. we're looking at the rain coming in with mountain snows mixed in. rainfall amounts there, anywhere from about a half-inch to an inch as well. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. tom kierein, storm center 4. it's cloudy and cool, we're only around 60 degrees. a little bit of patchy drizzle around. the cloud cover should break up over the next couple of hours. we ought to get some sun back, certainly by noon time or during the afternoon. and as that happens, we should warm up quickly and climb into the 70s, maybe near 80 around the metro area, but cooler north and east of washington, ought to make it into the 80s across much of virginia, a passing thundershower, maybe a morning or afternoon shower o weather. natalie? ♪ and i be taking care of business ♪

>> al, thank you. and now to "today's professionals," our power panel is back with the headlines that have you talking. star jones, donny deutsch and in for dr. nancy snyderman, tamron hall, playing a professional, as she does every day. >> welcome. >> this is my maiden voyage. go easy on me. >> a professional journalist. there you are. >> let's get it all started with the ad that's sparked a lot of controversy online. ashton kutcher, as you saw, in a pop chips ad. he portrays an indian character, as you see, in brown face. one of the many characters that he plays. he's a bollywood producer. and take a look at what he does. >> i'm raj. i'm a bollywood producer. i'm looking for the most delicious thing on the planet. kardashian hot. i would give that dog a bone. >> supposed to be poking fun at online dating ads. but it has sparked a lot of outrage online. pop chips has since apologized. they have pulled the ad as well. but a spokeswoman did say it was created to provoke a few laughs and was never intended to

stereotype or offend anyone. but donny, you as the advertiser, in this age of political correctness, how does an ad like that get through the whole creative process without people thinking, huh, could be controversial? >> because i think it's indicative that for instance, when it comes to indians, we are for some reason -- it's more -- it's anything but acceptable to mock. what do we see in every movie? the cab drivers, working at the 7-elevens. and it is no more wrong or right than if you were doing it with african-americans or jews or anyone else. having said that, it's interesting. ted danson took so much flak, rightfully so -- >> in black face. >> which was a man that was living with or married to a black woman. talking about somebody who's really not racist. in "coming to america," eddie murphy dressed up in white face mocking jews, and it was okay. it's hard to -- to me, i -- if that offends you, it rightfully offends you because you're

looking at it as a black woman or a woman of color. we get to a point to when do we let all this other stuff go and the unracist thing is to say we can all make fun of each other and that's when the walls come down. >> i think it's when you question the motivation of the people. the real issue is who is at the diversity table when the decisions are being made? always question things like, i remember when they blackened o.j. simpson's face for the "time" magazine cover. who's in that room that allows and doesn't say, you know what? that may make some people a little ticked off. we might not do it. if you don't have diverse people sitting around the table when decisions are being made, then you get this kind of ad. >> tamron, are you offended and do you think he needs to apologized? >> i'm offended for people who turn that on and first of all, there are not enough indians represented on tv. but we are obviously in a minority on television. the bottom line is, i can't say i'm offended, but i don't like the term "political correctness"

because ashton kutcher is a very funny guy. i'm a big fan. if the only way you can be funny is brown face, then you've got to be go back to comedy school. >> so do you think he needs to say i'm sorry? >> and i think he will. i don't know if he needs to say he's sorry because now these people have apologized for anything and everything, but he does need to go on twitter. >> here's the same guy that was tweeting defending joe paterno and then explained he didn't know what was really going on. he's kind of a jerk to begin with. that's my thing. but i think that -- i don't think these advertisers -- advertisers never set out to offend anybody. they're not in that business. i remember years ago there was some celebrity as a young person that dressed up as an s.s. officer in a costume. and i as a jew are going to be more offended. >> as a latina, there is an ad that's run consistently here in new york where it's a phone advertiser. and obviously playing to latina

stereotype, bootylicious and dancing around portraying us as that kind of person. >> you're looking at it through your eyes. >> absolutely. let's move on to nadya suleman, making headlines as well. octo-mom. exactly. she filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy on monday. of course, you know, the mother of 14 children has had a lot of issues. she has told reporters that she has made a lot of difficult decisions this year, quote, i have to do what is best for my children. i need a fresh start in declaring bankruptcy. now that she's declared bankruptcy, do you think she's actually going to get a fresh start? tamron? >> i spent an entire evening with nadya suleman. >> and all the children? >> no kids. no kids. i can't handle that. i spent time with her. i've got to be completely honest. i went in like a lot of people, judging her, and i left feeling so sorry. and i know i'm going to get e-mails and tweets. i think this woman was taken advantage of. i think there was a mad scientist who saw a vulnerable person and took advantage. and i asked her, do you regret

this? do you look back at this as a mistake? she's incredibly defensive. she wants people to know, i love my children. but she admitted that looking back on it, it was a bad decision. it was the wrong thing to do. now she is in this situation, and she's so afraid she will lose these children. she told me i will die if i lose these kids. we all saw this. you don't need a crystal ball to see how this was going to turn out. >> what about her potentially doing porn, though? >> she won't touch other people. she will only touch herself. but that will change as well, i think, as she -- >> you think. she's going to make a buck. >> i personally don't want to see her in porn, personally. >> the freaks come out at night. the bottom line is what this woman is being forced to do to pay her bills. >> bankruptcy will, indeed, clear the slate in terms of her financial obligations for the most part, but it won't clear the slate emotionally. and i wish nancy were here just to at least give us some insight as to what is going on in nadya,

the human being. she's not dealt with all of the things that allowed her to be taken advantage of. >> first of all, as a dad, i don't pass judgment on other parents. she is a grown woman. this was not a child somebody preyed upon. she was aware. and she was also very aware to go on television and exploit that, for lack of a better word. >> we're going to move on. >> you're going to move on? >> let me say this, though. i thought she was exploiting it and working it and she wanted to be angelina jolie. i think we all have different levels of mental frailty. and that has not been explored because so many people are judging her. >> absolutely. that's a very good point. moving on, speaking of judging other people, size matters. "glamour" magazine apparently did a poll where she asked in their april issue that studied how women judge other women based on their size. now, the poll asked 1800 women ages 18 to 40 to envision a heavy woman. and then it asked the following question where they would describe that woman as ambitious, lazy or neither? well, the study then found that

the heavy women were 11 times more likely to be labeled lazy. star, as somebody who has battled weight -- >> yes. >> -- and you've talked about it very publicly, does that surprise you? >> not in the least bit. people think that you are overweight or obese depending on where you are in that scale because you don't care about yourself. you don't care about your appearance. i know it took me a tremendous amount of time emotionally to wrap my head around how someone who is so smart in other areas to be so dumb about my own health. it took emotional wellness, which is what we talked about just now, to accept the fact that i can make mistakes also. so i understand that. >> let's be clear, though. i think if you did the same survey with men, you'd come away with the same thing. there's no news here. we unfortunately lens unfairly bias against people of weight. >> thin women were eight times more likely to be seen as

conceited or superficial. >> right. >> tamron, it can be said as well. >> tamron, what do you mean? natalie. >> isn't the assumption going in that you're not nice because you're so beautiful? i really mean that. >> i'm not comfortable answering that because "a," i don't see myself as beautiful. >> i really mean that. >> listen, we know that these things exist. the bottom line is i have three nieces. and m&m has a song, as i mentioned my nieces, i mention eminem. i am what i say i am. i am what i am in my heart. if someone chooses to believe i'm thin, a bad thing, as donny says, krewe th screw them. >> we're going to leave it there. >> nice job. >> we got a lot of good discussion here. >> what you answer to. >> exactly. star jones, donny deutsch, tamron hall, pinch-hitting, great job, as always. coming up next, money rules

to live by to make sure you save enough for retirement. and then a little later on, you may want to stash a little cash for your next vacation. we've got the it list of hot new hotels from "travel & leisure" magazine. [ sneezes ] ♪

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it's a world unlike any alice has ever seen before. the world of new friskies plus. which is friskies plus more. this morning on "today's money," financial rules to live by to invest in your retirement. jean chatzky is the author of "money rules." good to see you. >> nice to see you. >> rule number one, your job is your most important investment. >> right. and think about it. income, much more than your house, much more than your retirement portfolio is what's going to keep you going. you want to keep that income coming in as long as possible which means delaying social security. and that gives your retirement assets time to grow. >> rule number 13, don't think of anything as chump change. >> right. if you are not a saver, the way to start saving is small amounts of money. and many people blow this off.

they think, $25, what's that going to mean to me in the future? well, if it's $25 on top of 25 on top of 25 that grows at 6% for 20 years, it's hundreds of thousands of dollars. so just get in there. >> rule 17, your home is your piggy bank, not your cash cow. >> during the housing bubble, people were raiding their piggy banks. they were getting in there and they were pulling money out of their homes in the form of home equity loans. today they have no equity. they're upside down, they're underwater. if you do it right, your mortgage becomes a supplementary savings account. you feed the pig over time. and when you get to retirement, you have this big, fat asset that you can use. >> got me a little nervous. got me a little nervous there. rule number 32. your retirement trumps your kids' tuition. >> parents feel really guilty when they put their own retirement before their kids' college tuition. but there is no financial aid for retirement. there's still financial aid for college. and think about it this way. if you don't put your own

retirement first, then when you get to the point where you have to retire, your kids who are then trying to put their own kids through college are going to have to bail you out. 401(k)s and i.r.a.s come first. >> rule number 53, forget about having it all. have what you value most. >> this is a priority question. and you have to come together with your spouse and realize, money's a limited resource. we all only have so much. and so let's think about what we really want most. and let's work toward those specific goals. and if you could have picture as tached with those goals and know what they look like, far better than numbers. >> number 70, hands off your retirement funds, period. >> period, done. how many times have you said this on "money 911"? do not raid that 401(k). i don't care for what reason because even small disruptions in those funds make a huge difference in the end. >> hope is not a retirement plan. >> i don't think i need to elaborate. >> i think you're done. thanks so much. great advice. still ahead, coming up, the city of pomp and pageantry,

london. how they're getting ready for the olympic games and the queen's diamond jubilee. first, these messages. -my toes know. -my shoulders know. [ female announcer ] do you know what a difference dove nourishment can make? my hips, they know. my shins, they get it. [ female announcer ] only dove body wash has nutrium moisture and a breakthrough formula that goes beyond moisture to nourish deep down like no other. [ female announcer ] dove body wash. proven effective natural nourishment. ♪ the nourishment of nutrium moisture is also available in all your favourite dove body wash products. oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

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new hotels from around the world that aalso affordable according to "travel & leisure." "today's kitchen," a taste of the middle east courtesy of our chef. can't wait. first your local news and weather. the shops concept encompases a lot of newness. doing project with different stores is a really cool idea. we want to bring a little piece of the boutique experience to target. a real taste of luxury. it's pretty special for us to imagine this little nook of polka dog will be in target stores all around the country. the shops we fell in love with, collected and curated for you. exclusively at target. ♪ every little thing is possible ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing new fresh take. kraft natural cheese, and the perfect blend of spices and bread crumbs all in one bag. we're not just making cheese. we're helping you make something amazing. ♪ love is a bright idea

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tom kierein, storm center 4, it is cloudy and cool. area temperatures still only in the 50s to around 60 degrees. and the stubborn cloud cover is slowly thinning. we ought to get some sunshine breaking out later. and if it does happen, we should hit up around 80 around the metro area. if it doesn't, maybe only into the 70s today. maybe an afternoon thundershower as well. danella, how's traffic? >> still watching a disabled van. the inner loop of the beltway at

50, blocking your right center lane. and you're slow on the inner loop, only about 31 miles per hour, delays from the interchange to the dulles toll road. aaron, back to you. >> harry thomas junior about to be sentenced for embezzlement. we have a crew in

body is 60% water. that's why to stay healthy every couple of months i choke down a brita filter. >> that is stephen colbert. we're getting ready because when he's around, nobody is safe. he's going to be here tomorrow on "today." with his children's book, "i am a pole, and so can you." >> wear matching outfits. meanwhile, coming up in this half hour, we're going back to london where with less than three months to go until the olympics, before that, they have

another huge celebration to prepare for, the queen's diamond jubilee. it's next month where she'll be celebrating her 60 years on the throne. also ahead, we're doing a little globe-trotting from chile to thailand and the caribbean. "travel & leisure" is out with its it list of new hotels you've got to check out from a modern den-style tropical getaway. many of the properties are more affordable than we'd probably imagine. absolutely beautiful. we'll see how affordable. >> nice. okay. then if you can't afford to get away, you can always stay in the kitchen. in fact, we've got an old family recipe this morning. giuliano shares one of his favorites. it's a classic middle eastern dish straight from his grandmom's kitchen. >> stuffed cabbage. i love stuffed cabbage. first you've got a check of the weather, al. >> looking ahead toward your weekend, the running of the roses, the kentucky derby. noon, partly cloudy, 78 on saturday. with a 40% chance of showers. one in two chance by 6:00, by

posttime. and it's going to be hot going be hot and humid, 86degrees. the rest of the day, saturday, showers in the pacific northwest, hit-and-miss thunderstorms? central texas rain in the mid-atlantic states. sunday, looking at plenty of sunshine in new england. rain from the gulf coast to central texas. hot from the southwest on into southern california. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, latest satellite view showing low clouds across virginia, maryland, the district. the darker areas where the sun is breaking out along the blue ridge, shenandoah valley. thinning out across northern virginia now. we ought to get some sunshine breaking out over the next couple of hours. during the afternoon, with that sun breaking out we should make it to near 80 in the metro area. but warmer in virginia. and cooler across much of maryland. might get an afternoon thundershower, maybe a morning or afternoon shower and some thunder friday and saturday evening. and that's your latest weather. coming up next, planning a trip but don't know where to stay?

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whether you're looking for zen-inspired suite or a south american island getaway, we have something for every taste. nil nilou motamed is director of "travel & leisure" magazine. this is the seventh year. you're covering 29 countries. that's amazing. that's a lot of travel. >> it is a lot of travel, but we love that kind of travel. actually, this year there were 3,000 hotel openings in just the last year alone. so "travel & leisure" editors had to travel around the globe from abu dhabi to new york city to find the top 50 hotels that stand out best of their destination-changing power. >> this is actually travel editors, and they're going and feeling, tasting and doing everything? >> we went to every single hotel. we're only going to get through a few. the whole list of 50 is on travelandleisure.com. people are looking for authenticity. they want a place that's going to stand out and not feel generic but seems like a place

that belongs there. >> let's get the party started. first on your list, new york, conrad. >> this is a chain that has not had a foothold in the u.s. since their first flagship. they decided to open in downtown manhattan. the one world trade center has just surpass the the empire state building as the tallest building in manhattan. again, there's more reason to go down there. this is a great place to stay because you have access to everything. >> it looks like the jetsons. >> it's very groovy, and the rooms are huge. the smallest is 435 square feet. >> a mansion in new york city. >> i know, a lot of people's apartments are smaller than that. you have great views of the water and the harbor. and you have obviously access to everything that downtown offers including tribeca, which i love for the great restaurants. >> right. so sometimes it's the little things that matter. apparently you get espresso machines in every room. >> i love that. for a price for new york city, $299 a night is a great deal. >> that is amazing. let's go to chile. juan fernandez island? am i saying it right? >> si.

this is two hours away from santiago. the lodge has literally transformed this island into an eco destination. if you're somebody who wants to go outdoors, this is the place to go. it's only a 15-room lodge. it feels like a castaway fantasy. your room opens to the outdoors. you'll have views of the bay from your room. this is a place where you're going to go exploring. there is incredible trekking opportunities. there is a bio reserve. there's actually said to be a pirate's treasure buried there. >> so you can come back rich. >> that's not bad. >> if i don't get the treasure, i understand there's lobster fishing excursions. that is awesome. >> there are. and the price is only $120 per person per night. it is such a value. and it's stunning. and also, this is actually the place where robinson crusoe is based. you can go where the sailor is said to have inhabited. >> forgive me for doubting, $120 a night. >> per person per night. >> that is fantastic. >> it's a great deal. >> come back to the u.s. and

utah. i love utah. it's beautiful. >> park city, utah, is a destination certainly in the wintertime, sundance is there, people go there to ski, but i love it for the summertime. and i love it for this hotel. washington schoolhouse. this is a former 1890s hotel that's been transformed into a charming -- i'm sorry, a schoolhouse that's been transformed into a charming boutique hotel. >> a schoolhouse. >> a schoolhouse. >> wow. >> they've refurbished it. feels more like an alpine lodge than a rocky mountain lodge. it's going to have european antiques. they have 16-foot ceilings. you're going to get lots of light in your room. the great thing they do in the afternoon is they do cocktails with nibbles by chef er nesto who's said to be very talented p because it's a former olympics destination, there's a fire outside by their heated pool is a former olympic torch. you can sit by the flame of an olympic torch and enjoy. >> you had me at heated pool. you've got me there. >> summer is a great time to go. >> okay, we're going back to somewhere more exotic, thailand.

this is interesting. >> i love the north of thailand. i actually love it as a combination trip. you go to bangkok and then chengmai. >> look at this picture. >> i rode elephants there. a great place to stay, this is a brand-new hotel that's actually in a former 19th century teak bungalow. so everything feels, this hotel, like you've gone back in time. the service is slower. the pace is slower. if you want to relax and unwind, this is a great place to go. it's also a great value. i would recommend taking a cooking class there. i took a great cooking class. i learned some tricks. and also going to the night market. beautiful. >> even if you don't want to do the cooking class. >> no. elfantdephant elephants. you can ride elephants. >> sold. it's beautiful. let's go to dominica. >> this is an hour's flight from puerto rico. dominica has been one of those untouched islands. it feels like, again, the desert island fantasy. but now there's a combination of having a gorgeous hotel, which is called secret bay, so you get

that luxurious hotel property in a place that is still not very touristy. so the combination is amazing. our reviewer was over the moon about this property. it's got a gorgeous setting. it has two is he lesecluded bea a sea cave you can swim into. you can stay in a bungalow. it feels like you're in a tree house. there is a cook who will come to your room. you have a full kitchen and cook your lobster for you. and they clean up for you, too. >> are you kidding me? >> you can lie in a hammock, go kayaking. and under $300 a night. $252 a night is their summer rate. >> that was near there? he's athe island. he also visited here. >> dominica. this is one of the destinations that we feel is going to explode in the coming year. i want to book immediately. >> $252 a night. someone will cook and clean for me. man. what a life you've got. nilou mow motammed, thank you

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ultra sheer®. neutrogena®. ♪ this morning on "today's countdown to london," 85 days to go. >> this world-class city is ready to welcome the world. >> nbc's michelle kosinski is at the beautiful new olympic park in east london. michelle, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. as great as london already is, it is transforming around us. it's hard to believe in three

months' time, olympic park here will be set to hold more than 100,000 people. but first, you need to make sure everything works. and that's exactly what organ e organizers are doing as we speak. england has been beaming with excitement, brimming with pride. next month marks the queen's diamond jubilee, her 60-year reign. with more pageantry, parades, all the pomp and circumstance worthy of the royal family. then in july comes a celebration of global proportion. but before you throw in olympics, one must build it piece by piece. today the big venues are impressively, even eye-poppingly constructed. only finishing is needed. here, the 80,000-seat olympic stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies. this is the olympics on the starting blocks. and this week, a big dress rehearsal. the water polo pool, a battle is raging in the chess match between britain and hungary. last week, this was a construction site.

at the gleaming new field hockey pitch, argentina pummeled china. also a test, the athletes themselves to determine who makes the team, whose olympic dreams come true. have you had to tweak anything after any of the test events? did you realize, like, really? >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: what do you find? >> that's the point. it's always interesting. when you talk to them, did you find anything wrong in a test? of course we did. the bmx track, the jump for some of the women was a bit too big when the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. so we had slightly too many crashes. >> reporter: do you always feel like you have to top the last one or outdo beijing? >> every city brings something completely different. >> reporter: and olympic-sized security is also undergoing a test this week. fighter jets, river maneuvers, four-legged protection. these apartment's residents were stunned to get a pamphlet in the mail informing them their home

will soon be home to surface-to-air missiles. >> i don't think anyone wants to live in a militarized apartment building. >> reporter: but the military response -- >> i think all of you would expect us to have a plan in place that works so that if it were to happen, we could deal with it. >> reporter: one of the rare times you can plan ahead. for the past seven years, just about ready. among the unusual things you encounter when you build an olympics here, debris and an ancient skeleton. even though this games could cost $17 billion, organizers say it's been very important that every dollar goes towards the future whether it's reusing these venues or just marketing england to the world. back to you guys. >> we're excited. we're counting down. thanks, michelle kosinski. that will be home for us for almost three weeks. >> we'll be doing the show at noontime. >> we like that. coming up next, revisiting an old family recipe with the flavors of the middle east. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's kitchen," "what's for dinner?" an old family recipe for stuffed cabbage. >> a collection of recipes passed down from generation to generation, a hazan family favorite. >> giuliano hazan is the author. >> great to be here. >> your mom was what julia child was to french cooking. >> my mother learned from her mother, my grandmother, who was born in 1895. it really does run a long way. this is a recipe that my grandmother made. >> and this is the original sort of recipe book? >> this is a notebook that my mother took notes in when she married my father. he always said he could stand for a lot of things but not a bad meal. >> all right. we're doing stuffed cabbage. >> we are. this is savoy cabbage. first i may take out some that are a little bit bruised.

>> right. >> and then the rest of them i cook in salted boiling water for, oh, about eight minutes or so. you want to be careful when you open them so they stay whole. add some salt to my water. and put them in. and then after about eight minutes when they come out, what you want to do is you need to remove the rib that's inside. >> oh, okay. >> okay? because that's kind of hard and tough. so you do that. and then these are ready to be filled to make the filling. i have ground lamb. if you can't get lamb, you can use ground beef as well. i have some finely chopped onion, some parsley, italian flat leaf parsley. and this is italian rice. the thing is, you don't need to cook it first. >> is that the same as a risotto? >> it is, yes. you could use this or you could use what's becoming more available. this is the fun part that the kids can do. from grandmother to kid. after you've mixed it all up,

you get a little ball and you roll it up. and you make it into little sausages like this. and that's what you put inside. if you can hand me one of those, that would be great. let's put this away. >> this is really more of a middle eastern flair. >> this is something my grandmother on my mother's side in egypt made. you squeeze a little bit of the excess water. >> there you go. >> you put it in here. you put some butter in. you put a little bit of garlic. you put some lemon juice. here we go. and then some olive oil. extra virgin olive oil. >> so you don't use tomato paste or anything? >> no tomatoes in this. just enough water to come up maybe a quarter inch. we turn this on a medium heat, cover it and cook it for about 40 minutes. >> oh, wow. >> if we go around the back here, i have some that is already ready to go here. here they are. you want to watch them

periodically. but you don't even need to turn them. >> you don't have to touch them or anything? >> no. sometimes i go like this just to mix up the juices while it's cooking. >> okay. >> and then it is ready to be served. >> lovely. >> what would be something good to serve this with? >> what would be good to serve it with? well, with some good bread, maybe. but, you know, a good glass of wine, i don't think you need anything else. >> it's all very healthy, right? delicious. >> what's for dessert? >> baklava. my grandmother on my father's side made it. we don't have a recipe on that. >> you created the recipe. >> my wife makes baklava. >> the book is recipe favorites. giuliano, thanks so much. >> thank you. coming up, hoda and kathie lee undergo cosmetic procedures live.

breaking news at 9:57, former d.c. councilmember harry thomas junior in court as we speak to be sentenced for embezzlement. the former ward five councilmember pleaded guilty to stealing $350,000 in taxpayer money that was intended for youth programs in the city. he faces up to four years in prison. as soon as we find out his sentence, which could happen at any moment, we'll bring it to

you right here on news4 and nbcwashington.com. let's check your forecast quickly now. here's storm center 4 meteorologist, tom kierein. >> the cloud cover gradually thinning. latest sat vit view showing snun sunshine in the shenandoah valley. under the clouds, we're still around 60 degrees. but the sunshine should warm us up with some sun back into the upper 70s, near 80 around the metro. danella, how's traffic in. >> 66 eastbound around nutley. the left lane is taken away. the delays continue to the beltway, at 31 miles per hour right now. aaron, over to you. >> again, harry thomas junior about to be sentenced for embezzlement in federal court. embezzlement in federal court. as soon as the sentence co

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this.

we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime. be captions paid for byes nbc-universal television hey. >> hey! >> i'm going to need this. i'll explain later. >> yes, you are. >> hey, everybody. >> hoda woman, you ready? >> i think so. hole on. >> thank you, jess. see you later. >> matt, thank you for the ride.

>> okay. hey! >> hoda, guess what? it's thirst day, thursday. it is may 3rd. welcome to a very special edition of our show we're calling "needles, knives or nothing." >> this really looks likes we shall be serving food at the school cafeteria. mpl this . this is going to be a terrific show. here's the deal. we've been talking about different cosmetic procedures. i think a lot of people have heard of botox an different types of procedures but they've never actually seen them happen, figure out how much they cost in case they wanted them. we're going to go through it shall. >> there's huge curiosity factor and we're going to be human guinea pigs today. we're going to do five different procedures. >> live. >> one probing question -- >> yes, please? >> do you think those earrings actually help the way you look? >> yes. >> that kills me! >> ever since i was yoda on halloween and i had the wisps of hair and the ugly green and i

kept applying lipstick? >> it is kind of the same thing? we're going to be going through those procedures -- >> especially one you guys are going to be dying no know about because we teased it before. cellulase, you know when you have it in your legs or butt or wherever -- >> no. >> -- you've been trying to get rid of it. it is really difficult even if you work out a lot, diet. you can't get rid of it. a new procedure dr. nancy actually said on the air was very safe. she thought. >> with excellent results as well. >> there is actually going to be somebody doing this procedure. if you guys know what a mattress looks like with those buttons in it, it actually cuts through the buttons and separates the skin so there's no puckering! it's unbelievable. they're doing it close by. >> close by. we're going to be going there. i think they're going to start it pretty soon. but of all days for our dear friend to be visiting us, the one person on the planet who does not need one thing done to him picks today to visit us.

one and only, edwardo is here to say hello. >> he's like the latino brad pitt. he's very hot and we're humiliated. >> to me, bad pitt is a craw significance edwardo. edwardo's going to come back in june. he has a magnificent new movie out called "for greater glory." we'll see you later. alligator. >> don't look at us. we look ugly. we got to go to dr. bruce katz. >> he's in his new york office. he's about to perform cellulase on his patient collet. hi, dr. katz. i'm here with colette. we're ready to start. >> so tell us what you're going to be doing to colette. >> well, we're using a cellulase device. >> excuse me. hello colette. >> she's not wearing spanx. >> you have these raised and

depressed areas. what we're doing is we're going to lower those raised areas by taking away the fat and then we're going to cut those collagen bands that actually pull down on the skin and allow them to be released and then the third thing we're going to do is stimulate collagen and tighten skin. >> how quickly will colette see some results? >> usually within a few weeks. some people have a little bruising and swelling for a while, but. appears in a few weeks and keeps getting better. >> is it pricey? >> well, depends on how many areas. a lot of people have a lot of different areas. you might want to turn away. >> no, i want to see every bit of it. >> i want to hear colette. >> do it, dr. katz. >> don't look. don't look. la, la, la. colette, can you hear us? >> colette, are you -- >> yeah. >> you've had a mild anesthetic on the area? >> yes.

>> feeling anything yet? a little pressure? >> tiny, tiny bit of pressure but not much at all. >> doesn't feel painful? okay. >> i feel pretty numb. >> that's the key. >> she's very numb. >> i've got some numbing gel on my forehead right now, too, for the procedure that i'm going to have. so that really helps. >> here what we're going to do. we're going to continue to check in and watch you. this takes about 45 minutes. that's unbelievable it is happening right now. i got a little bit of chills. >> piping all over the world even as we speak. cosmetic surgery, these kinds of procedures that don't require the knife are a huge, huge business. >> i think a lot of people have tried to get revved cellulite. it doesn't go away, it's genetic. >>. it is a weird day to bring this up. but we have to tell but a show we saw yesterday. if the nice work if you can get it.

brilliant cast. go and enjoy. it is an absolute delight. >> so here we go. there are a lot of different procedures that are out there. your boob job is the number one. get rid of that. you don't need it anymore. it is the numb per one procedure that's out there. i think a lot of women are doing that because, you know -- and boob reductions are becoming another one people are doing. we'll talk to tamara barney of the real housewives of oc. >> 20 years ago had them augmented and recently took out her sacks. >> we haven't revealed yet what things we are going to do but i think it is high time we did. >> sure. what am i going to have? >> you're going to do something with your forehead. >> with dr. pat wexler. i'm going to have an eyebrow transplant. i'm going to have a little lift. >> what does that mean? >> we'll get to that. you're going to have the bushy hair on your arms removed. >> stop talking about how bushy it is. tell me your name. >> jennifer. >> jennifer's going to be doing this. you have to shave my arms first.

>> i don't have to. she's going to do that. dr. wexler is going to take off my numbing cream. not the first time you've done this. >> no. not the last either. >> how you doing, hoda? >> i feel fine. >> it's just shaving. >> who shaves their arms? >> lots of people. >> no one i know. stubble, this is not going to be good. >> what have you been doing before all this? >> leaving it alone. >> really? >> oh, my god. that is hairy. i want you to look. >> there is this new thing called an eyebrow transplant for those who have overplucked or missing eyebrow arm. you can have that kind of arm hair put in your eye so save some of that for me, please. eyebrow wexler will do my eyebrow transplant. >> you're going to get half of your head during this show. >> not my whole entire head. it is my forehead. >> i'm going to get one arm done and hopefully the other. you're going to burn the hair

right off the arms. >> we're going to laser it for. you absolutely. >> it is extremely painful, hoda, so just preparing you. >> i'm scared of the shaving. i don't know why. >> we are going to take a commercial break so we can continue to get prepped. we are going to do not only our two procedures, we're going to have two other procedures. >> getting something different done at the same time. this is so much fun! >> i'm scared. >> from botox to vein removal and so much more. later in the show we'll talk to three men who are very open about the procedures they've had done. >> my arm is getting shaved. i'm distracted. so what! anyway, we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ pop goes the world ♪ it goes something like this ♪ everybody here is a friend of mine ♪ ♪ everybody, tell me, have you heard? ♪ ♪ pop goes the world ♪ pop goes the world

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antiaging edition of "today." we're calling it "needles, knives or nothing." you just saw one doctor performing the cell light removal process happening right now. he's working on colette there. we're going to check in on them in a little bit. now we're got for mour procedures to show you including botox, spider vein removal and eyebrow lift and laser hair removal. >> two of those procedures are going to be on us. first let's say hello to dermatologist dr. susan taylor about to perform a vain removal procedure on kelly. >> these are the little red veins. >> these are the little red squiggly veins that overtake our legs as we mature. >> i can barely see them. >> but they will progress. >> you're going to nip it in the bud. >> we are. >> you' arnd they won't come ba? >> they will overtime. >> are you a little bit nervous? i'm going to use a vibrator on

your back. >> we're just cleaning the skin. you see these little red squiggly vessels? what i'm doing is i'm inserting the needle right into the vessel. >> how does that feel? >> i don't even feel it. >> look. it disappear! >> is that amazing? >> lovely. >> now what happens is this material irritates the blood vessel and it ultimately makes the vessel go away. just by irritating it. >> does that work with people? sorry. i wish. >> so what we are going to do, we did this cluster. now you will see it after a few minutes but over the next week or two it's going to go away permanently. >> dr. taylor's going to continue working on colette. next we're going over to miss jeannine downey, an m.d. jodi is getting botox done. jodi doesn't look like she needs

it. tell us about this. >> as soon as you start seeing the first lichbs sun damage, just bring it on. if you don't krooet crease the energy, you'll never get the wrinkle. >> but young guys are getting it like in their 20s. >> i'm the ex-lifeguard. i started at 29. early 20s is probably too soon. jodi a 48. >> you look amazing, sweetie. >> thank you. >> she can't raise because she's already botox. we're going to just do a little bit right here. she had a little numbing. basically it is a liquid that just blocks the impulses so you can't contract the muscle anymore. if you don't crease the energy then your most prized accessory which is your face stays looking beautiful your whole life. >> it is important you don't do too much so you don't have any movement -- >> you don't want to look astonished. >> how much is botox? >> it varies from place to place. doing the crow's feet is roughly

$300, $400. it can be 1,000. it lasts three to four months. i just believe in it. >> you have to stay upright for four hours afterwards. >> how do you know? >> because i've been getting it since i was 40 years old. hello! then there's my pal. >> i'm a little nervous. what is going to happen, dr. wexler? all therapy is actually an fda approved process which lifts and tightens the skin. here we're going to do the eyebrows. this is dr. francesca fosco, she specializes in this. >> some people don't want to do botox or they want something adjunctive to botox. here gel is being applied and this is doing what a facelift would do or brow lift, it is

delivering deep heat to the tissue where you would be cutting the muscle and tying it. >> how does it feel? >> she's just putting gel on so far. >> when does the pain start? >> the pain starts when you give her the consultation. >> once you get the bill. >> you have to understand this delivers different levels of heat. >> it's weird. >> the first level of heat, this is giving you the ability to see where it is going, the energy, you are getting a visualization are where are you delivering your lift. >> it's uncomfortable but it is not painful. that one hurt. over several months you see simulation of collagen. >> ou. >> ow. >> that one hurt. >> it's done.

>> done! >> you look younger! >> you have to realize that for several months she's simulating her own collagen and you're going to see a progressive lift and tightening of the brow. >> thank you, ladies. we're going to get my other side fixed, i hope. >> we're going to leave you like this to show the difference. >> this is the wonderful cindy. she's here to talk laser hair removal. >> everybody, put your glasses on or please run out of the room. tell us what's going to happen. >> this is the hand that she's getting done because this is the one that was shaved earlier. what we're going to be doing -- >> i can ask you a question? where's the numbing cream? >> you don't need it. >> you're an egyptian.

you can handle it. >> we set the settings for your skin and hair type. through pulsations and lights we kill the follicles from underneath the skin. >> is that smoke? >> no. >> actually, that's not smoke. that's actually a freezer. it actually makes it cold. >> does it hurt, hoda? >> no, it feels like a cold blast of air. >> with this new laser that we have, what we do is we put that on and you don't feel it as much. >> you need the vibrator? >> no. keep going. >> what do you mean in two weeks you have to do it again? >> no, in two weeks it falls out. you come back every four to six weeks. >> i don't really have any there. >> but it's great. can you do it anywhere on your face and body. >> you're doing great, hoda? >> i am? >> yeah. it's not every follicle you need to hit. it is just the general area. >> no, she's hitting every follicle. if you look at the format. you kill the follicles from

underneath, they fall out. when it goes back to the growth stage, that's when she comes back in. >> you need a minimum of six treatments. >> is it over? how does it look? >> not so good. >> okay. cindy, you rock! >> thank you. wow, this is exciting! up next the doctor's in the house and she's answering your biggest questions about cosmetic procedures right after this. >> where's the wine? we need wine. >> ♪ [ 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. what will you gain when you lose? free personalized plans at specialk.com. new almay intense i-color™ kits a perfect palatte of shadows

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what would stop me from getting work zmon probably the image. if i got my calves done i would want people to think i was really able to do that on my own. >> we are back with a special age defying edition of "today." we asked to go to our facebook page and let us know what you wanted to know. >> then we called in the experts, dr. sharon geezy, a board certified plastic surgeon right here on park avenue in new york city. >> start with stephanie. this is what a lot of women have. what are the best options for a disappearing jaw and sag gi neck. that's one of those that you want to get rid of. >> the jowl and saggy neck i think is the biggest give-away of any woman's age and it is the first thing that's going to bring anyone into a plastic surgeon's office for a facelift. >> before your eyes go. >> even before your eyes go. if you start having that jowl -- >> you need a full facelift for that? >> no.

you do a trick. you take it out. there's about a little teaspoon of fat that's in the jowl area. you see the patient on the screen there and the saggy neck skin. take out a couple of teaspoons of fat from the neck. i use an internal ultrasound device that's hot so it stimulates collagen. the take the fat out and the skin just shrinks up and no cutting. >> what does that procedure cost and how long does it take? >> it costs $5,000 and takes 45 minutes. the fat's removed permanently. it is the ultimate cheat. it puts off the time when someone needs to get a facelift the first time. now you can wait a little while. >> marie has a question. is there a limit to how many liposuction procedures one might have in a lifetime? how many can we have? >> in other words, i've got so much money -- >> or so much fat. i'd say it depends but overall, yes, because liposuction's really the gold standard for removing fat permanently. if you take out what you need to take out once, you're done.

what happens -- why some people say i've had liposuction then some fat grew somewhere else. it really just wasn't taken out right the first time. this girl is a nice, slim girl but if i took a little bit of fat from her belly, her love handles, her inner thooighs. outer thighs. now if she loses weight it is going to be in the after pattern. she's never going to go back to how she was before. >> you said if you take fat from your stomach, people say you end up getting it elsewhere. you're saying that does not happen. >> if it take it all the first time. say that you had fat on your belly and your arms and you only took out your belly fat then you gained 20 pounds? it's going right to the arm. that will bring it back. that will bring it back. you want to get it done right the first time because it's all out perm nernt neanently in one. >> can you have lipo sukz anywhere and everywhere. >> yeah. this year there are two new devices on the market that melt a layer of fat through the skin.

you don't have to have any surgery. it is like a little hot stone rubbing massage. one is a little bit painful and one really feel like a hot stone. >> thank you, doctor. we're going back across the street to check in with our cellulase patient. ♪ abracadabra. new hershey's milk chocolate with almonds in pieces. your favorites, in pieces.

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we're back on this thirst day thursday with more of our special edition of "today," needles, knives or nothing, our guide to getting work done as we dedicate the hour to all kind of cosmetic procedures for women or men. hoda and i are laugh way through. earlier we showed you dr. bruce katz performing a cell light treatment on cellulase. tell us how is it going, dr. katz? >> we're doing really well. colette is doing well. she's just relaxing, i think taking a nap actually. >> we can't hear him.

we're having a little technical difficulty but it looks like it is going fine. colette can't speak to us because she's turned over. >> dr. katz, can you hear us now? >> i can hear you. can you hear me? >> yeah. we can hear you now, too. are you about half done? >> more than half done actually. we're sort of in a final stretch. be another finally ten minutes or so but it is going beautifully. >> for people watching when you get this treatment done is your cell light gone forever? >> well, we've been doing this for over two years now around the cell light hasn't come back. so we're hoping that it is a long-term result but we can only say for two years so far. >> okay. we should also point out that these procedures, although they are done widely, they're done everywhere, you really have to check with your doctor what something's going to cost. there are always additional costs as well and risks. it can vary like crazy all over the country. >> we're going to come back and check with you in a little bit. a lot of you would argue

that celebrities drive a lot of people to seek perfection by way of cosmetic surgery. >> with us tamara barney, vivian diller, the author of "face it," and ian drew, senior editor of "us" magazine. >> tamara, you've been very vocal about plastic surgery. you've had your breasts reduced. you don't hide any of that. >> why not be open? i live my life openly on a reality show but i've always been one that blurts it out there. >> i just want to throw my wine at them. >> you decided to get a breast reduction. why was that? >> it was a long time coming. i had them done when i was early 20s. i had them reduced on the show about four years ago. and i kind of took baby steps. i knew i kind of wanted to get rid of them but i don't think i

have -- myself esteem was low back then, going through a divorce, going through a lot, if i lose my fun bags what's going to happen -- >> my fun bags! my god! >> so i think this wonderful thing about being 40. you're a little bit more secure with who you are. i don't know if it is just being in your 40s or losing your eyesight or whatever it is but i just felt better about myself when i removed them. >> what is this tremendous fear of what's ultimately going to happen to all of us anyway if you're blessed, you're going to live toob big old age. >> i'm really glad you're bringing up the psychological component of all the physical changes. the patients i have who are in the public eye, they know they're going to be under scrutiny but what they don't know is how complicated their reactions are going to be and the people watching them. this is a very polarizing issue. there are people who take sides. you either are supposed to be true to yourself an age naturally or do whatever you possibly can to avoid this aging

illness. really aging has become in some ways a defect and we have to really shift the way we think about it because otherwise people are going to be panicked about the abling. even at age 20. >> it's psychological. it is about self-esteem. sometimes if your self-esteem is what needs fixing should the plastic surgeon be the doctor you are seeing. >> good plastic surgeons really ask those important questions. >> let's talk celebs. they're kind of driving this bus, right? >> all of them are driving it in some way. evert have an opinion. >> when ashley judd -- we showed her a couple of weeks ago. everyone was she got something done, she was outraged that people said those things. >> this set off a whole debate. she said i had nothing done, it was a reaction to surgery she had for sinus -- steroids and her face puffed out. but she said woman should not be judged this way, it is ridiculous. everyone is pointing fingers and dissecting what someone has

done. >> like for heidi mon tag. >> how many procedures in one day which everybody agreed was way too much. difference is she now says she regrets that. >> she wouldn't do it again but yet she's stuck now. these are things that are irreversible. there is a difference between doing something like liposuction where you can grow it back a little if you need to. something like a nose job, some of these procedures she had done that were so extreme are irreversible. >> we used to just have the question does she or doesn't she. it was just about hair color. there are so many options now people are really confused. i think what celebrities are confronting is the confusion an entire generation of women are feeling. >> people don't love themselves first in the right way, healthy way. thanks so much. >> thanks for coming to see us. up next, the guys get their turn. find out what they're nipping and tucking right after this. >> men are doing a lot. >> more than they see.

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i think men and plastic surgery is a little weird. they end up looking like ken dolls a little bit. it is kind of awkward. i'm not really a fan of that so much. >> oh really. >> well we're back with a special age defying edition of "today," tucks, lifts and nips. we've been talking cosmetic surgery for ladies all day but what about the guys? >> men are the fastest growing demographic under plastic surgery. here to discuss brotox, along with a few of his manly patients. hi, guys. welcome. >> what kind of procedures are men undergoing these days? >> a lot of procedures include chin implants, rhino plasplasty which is nose surgery, sometimes hair transplantation, there's a lot of new techniques, technologies.

lasers. everyo everyone, everyone, are doing non-surgical things to make you look good. >> look at joseph. when you look at joseph, our next guy in line, i wonder if you wonder what has joseph done. joseph's 22 years old. you've had what done? >> i've had a rhinoplasty, a chin implant and restalin fillers in my cheeks. >> that's a heck of a head of hair. >> that was all downstairs. they do great work. >> look at the difference. >> it makes a huge difference. >> that is done something to your self-esteem? >> of course. night and day. it made a huge difference. definitely improved my business. my outlook every day has changed. really changed everything. >> this is why i think plastic surgery can be a good thing. if you're worried about yourself all day long, it affects you -- if you can just do it, get over it and forget about it, you look great. >> find a doctor that's going to give you natural results. >> speaking of natural, look at

fran frank blb 40-year-old over there. tell us what you had done. >> i had my -- i used ed used like a freight train. fixed that a little bit. i basically had the inside plumbing done. i had my uvula clipped, my sinuses, i figured while i was on the table, straighten it out a little bit. >> what was the reaction of friends, family, lovers. >> surprisingly, no one noticed but my sister. she's the only one that noticed up until -- i told people but it was just such a conservative job. i didn't want anything over the top. my profile fixed a little bit. >> good for you and the love life's good? >> yeah. things are good. single, by the way. >> bruno at the end is doing something that a lot of men really want to do that has to do with your hair. tell us what you did. >> i was losing it and being a macho italian i just couldn't do it. i don't have a face that, like

bruce willis or yule brenner. >> i think it is a beautiful face. >> tell us what did you do? >> i heard about dr. paseer over and over again. i went with him. >> was it actually implants? >> yeah. i guess they call it microsurgery. >> you put single hairs in? >> what's amazing is how do they put them in your head, grow the right way. i was panicking that in six months my hair would be all over like dr. no. you know? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. how expensive basically are the different procedures, doctor? >> they're not inexpensive. non-surgical ones that you guys just did are relatively inexpensive but nose surgery and hair transplants depending on how much you're doing for hair transplant can be in the thousands. >> chins are huge now. >> i was just telling joe and other people that do chins, chin implants are very important in balancing out a male face.

there's very few ceos that are -- >> chinless. >> some are soulless but that's another story. up next, forget the needles and the knives. we're going to show you what a little hair and makeup can do. >> we'll show you the afters right after this. ♪ you've got to be kidding me. sweetie, help us settle this. i say this and this is called southern hospitality. well, i call it the clean getaway. [ scoffs ] you're both wrong. it's the freshy fresh. everyone knows that. i didn't know that. oh yeah, that's what they're saying now. [ female announcer ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. try them together. then name it on facebook.

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i probably wouldn't bother to get plastic surgery because he loves me the way i am. >> nice. we are back with a special age defying edition of "today" called "needles, knives or nothing." in this case we're going with nothing and showing you how simple a change to your hair an makeup can make in your appearance. >> to show you how to make a difference in a day, our contributor and stylist to the stars, louis licari la-la-la-la-la and lead makeup artist at smashbox cosmetics. >> we're going to begin with a woman named jesse. i think we have a before picture

of jesse. tell us what was wrong. what did she need fixed? >> jesse had dark hair. was starting to go gray but she kept making it darker and darker which made her hair look very harsh and she had bulk in her hair. >> she's got a great head of hair. >> beautiful. more hair than like four women. >> that's not fair! >> our whole goal was to really customize the haircut to take away the bulk and obviously make her look younger. >> people at home are seeing your after. the makeup is very important. you've got half of her face done. we should point out she has not yet seen herself and cannot see herself right now as we speak. what are you doing for the makeup? >> makeupwise we just wanted to add contour to jesse's features. she has a great face, beautiful skin. we evened her out. contoured her cheeks, we added on to her brows. she tweezes but actually define them -- defining your brows is the easiest way to take off ten

years. >> i think it is time for the reveal. >> hold up your mirror. pop it up. let's look. >> that's the after. >> oh, my god. i love it. oh, my god. thank you, everyone. >> it just took a lot of years off, didn't it? that's one of those things that does. >> too bad we can't do the other side. >> this great haircut. we made her hair soft be, lighter. notice by adding a little lightness around her face it lifts -- >> i absolutely love it. we're going to move on down to joan. ease on down the road. >> okay. so tell us about joan's before picture and tell us what you thought the issues were. >> joan, very typical problem. she started to highlight her hair but then she overhighlighted her hair. so it had this yellow tinge to it almost.

it really did not blend with her complexion. she also just let her hair go long and straight so she had these harsh lines on the side of her hair. >> makeup, one of joan's concerns was her eye area. i just kind of showed her how to contour a little bit more, how to add the lift that you want, how to really kind of soften the under eye area and of course just made her lips a lot fuller. told her that mascara and lash color are your best friend. >> are you dieing to see yourself? >> i am dying. >> pop it up on the screen. >> wow! >> that looks awesome. >> what a difference. >> and it moves. >> and difference in the color. >> you see what happens, sometimes when you overcolor your hair it does not look shiny. shiny, healthy hair is young hair. then again, customize the hair to give her lift, fullness,

volume. years younger. >> you guys look beautiful! >> we have to go out tonight! >> nice job, miss fancy. up next, we head to the recovery room to see how our procedures are going. we're only half done. >> half bake. but first, this is a special edition of "today" on nbc. i was paying too much with cable.

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if there's one good thing about surgery it is the recovery. there's no better way to relax than with some champaign and cold compresses. >> today we told you about some different procedures and before we check in with our patients, remember dr. bruce katz performed the cellulase procedure with colette. how are you feeling post op? >> feeling all right. surprisingly feeling okay. >> is it completely done? she's finished and ready to go? >> we're all done. she can actually walk out of the room here on her own steam and

go home, take it easy for a day or so, then go right back to work. >> what we're going to do, we're going to ask you to come back on monday and we'll look at the before and after. >> maybe even 40 days later when they say everything's perfect. we'll check out thighs out. cheers. aumt best. >> dr. taylor, how's your patient doing? >> she's doing great. you can see she's relaxing. in fact, if you look at her vessels, they've just about disappeared. a little bit red but just about disappeared. >> how much is that procedure? >> about $400 for three syringes. >> moving down the line, how's your lovely patient? >> she's doing great, relaxing, she's got her champagne in her hand. this much botox costs $300, $400 somewhere in there, but it can go up to 1,000. it depends on the expertise of the injector. >> what are you going to do with the rest of her though? she's a mess. >> isn't she gorgeous, kathie lee? >> yes, she's gorgeous!

i'm not finished. i'm half cooked. but pat wexler -- i can already see the difference. >> i'm lucky i have cindy here who's taking care of me. one of my arms is baby smooth and the other is like a gorilla. she's going to take -- >> just a little planet of the apes. >> this is about $400 per session. you can get a package of six. every four to six weeks. >> it's more than $1,000 -- >> but then you never have to wax again. >> what about mine? >> i think eyebrows are $1,200. >> if you have one done, it's $600. thank you very much. tomorrow actress la la anthony.

we'll talk about mother-daughter relationships. can you too attached? >> and cinco d de mayo. see you tomorrow for try day friday.