good morning. confession. a 51-year-old man set to be arraigned today for the murder of etan patz. the 6-year-old new york city boy who disappeared exactly 33 years ago. police say the man has admitted to committing the crime, but without physical evidence, how can they be sure? exonerated. a former star athlete who spent five years in prison for rape and kidnapping breaks down after being cleared of those crimes. this after his accuser contacted him on facebook, and admitted making up her story. does he now want her to go to jail? we'll ask him in an exclusive live interview. and jilted. he's suing his ex-fiancee for leaving him with a pile of

wedding bills after she calmed off their engagement. we heard from her. now his side of the story we heard from her. now his side of the story "today," friday, may 25th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a friday morning, i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry. good morning, everybody. you're now looking at a site where police say pedro hernandez told them he used a can of soda to lure etan patz to his death 33 years ago today. >> apparently the break in this case when last month a search of a basement near the crime scene prompted a tipster to lead investigators to this 51-year-old suspect. so why are police so sure they have the right man? we're going to get into this straight ahead. >> all right. also we're going to be talking

about this first hurricane of the season, expected to make land on mexico's pacific coast today. and resort towns like puerto vallarta are right in its path. coming up we're going to get the latest from al. and also his memorial day weekend forecast. >> speaking of the holiday weekend. we're throwing an early party on the plaza with a live concert. one of the hottest musicians on the planet right now. it is mr. worldwide, or pitbull, and he's going to be performing on our plaza. >> meantime, however, we begin with the serious news this morning, an arrest in the 1979 disappearance of etan patz, who vanished while walking to his school bus stop alone for the first time. jonathan dietz is the investigator reporter. jonathan, good morning. >> good morning. it was 33 years ago this very day that etan patz, police say, that etan patz was strangled, his body put in a bag and left out amid the garbage.

now police say they're armed with a lengthy confession and they say despite that the suspect never explains why he went after that beautiful little boy. police say 6-year-old etan patz was lured to his death by a killer who offered him a can of soda. authorities say grocery worker pedro hernandez led him towards his corner store. >> he then led him into the basement of the bodega, choked him there, and disposed of the body by putting it into a plastic bag, and placing it into the trash. >> reporter: the nypd announced that this missing child case, that haunted a city, and the nation, for 33 years, had finally been solved. based almost entirely on the suspect's own words. >> we have a signed confession. he spoke for 3 1/2 hours. >> reporter: hernandez was 19 at the time of the crime, lived and worked in the neighborhood, and had a clean record. but investigators say he would eventually tell some of a dark

secret. >> hernandez had told a family member and others that he had, quote, done a bad thing, and killed a child in new york. >> reporter: that troubling story remained in the shadows for three decades, until etan's case was back in the spotlight a month ago. when the fbi and nypd dug in a basement for etan's remains. nothing was found. but law enforcement sources say hernandez's brother-in-law, jose lopez, saw the news coverage about the search. >> the individual came forward because of the recent notoriety on the case. that's how we were first given information about hernandez. >> reporter: at hernandez's home in new jersey, neighbors reacted to his arrest. >> he doesn't seem like the kind of guy. he's always a nice guy. you know. but i don't know what happened 33 years ago. >> reporter: it was 33 years ago today stanley and julie patz allowed their 6-year-old son to

walk to his bus stop by himself for the first time. >> just overwhelms you, and you think you're going to fall to pieces. >> reporter: for decades his parents have lived in quiet anguish. their son, in many ways, became the face of missing and exploited children across the nation. the first missing child to be put on a milk carton to help raise awareness. >> that question, the big unknown, will we ever see him again, constantly troubles me. >> reporter: police tried to ease some of those troubles with the news of the arrest. >> i was concerned of mr. patz's feelings. obviously i wanted to deliver news to him. i don't know if you would call this good news. i think it would be considered another piece in the puzzle. >> reporter: a puzzle that may always be missing pieces as to why this little boy was taken. hernandez is due in court later today with his court-appointed lawyer. this, as police plan to pore over that case file and reinterview witnesses to see if they can come up with some evidence that matches to his confession. ann, back to you. >> thank you for your reporting on this. it is now 7:05.

here's matt. >> all right, ann, thank you very much. beep resorts along mexico's pacific coast are bracing for hurricane bud, the first hurricane of the season, and there is some weather here in the states that could be impacting your memorial day weekend over the next day or so. al is upstairs. he's got track of all of this. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. that's right. we've got hurricane bud. it is now the earliest major hurricane to ever form in the eastern pacific. right now it's 130 miles southwest of manzanillo, mexico. it was a category 3, now down to a category 2. it's moving north/northeast. it is going to come onshore sometime late tonight, early tomorrow morning with 75-mile-per-hour winds. just a minimal category 1 storm. and then maybe curve back out to sea. but it is going to bring a lot of rain with it. not so much wind. a lot of rain over mountainous areas causing flooding. now to the east coast and what could become tropical storm beryl. this is an area, 70% chance for

tropical cyclone development, in the northwestern bahamas. moving northeast about 15 miles per hour. could strengthen over the weekend. whether it becomes a tropical system or not, dump a ton of rain, anywhere from 3 to 7 inches of rain from tampa, florida, all the way up into the cape. and eventually make its way further to the north. but we're going to watch this and continue. it's going to cause problems, though, for a lot of folks upwards of anywhere, about 10 million people affected by this system over the next 72 hours. >> all right, al. we'll get the rest of your forecast in just a bit. but now let's turn to a former high school football star in california. cleared of a rape and kidnapping conviction that derailed his life ten years ago. a turn of events set in motion when his accuser reached out to him on facebook. we'll talk to him exclusively in just a moment. but first, nbc's kristen dahlgren has the story. kristen, good morning. >> good morning, ann. yeah, this is a redemption ten long years in the making. brian banks was just 16 when he went to jail.

now 26, he has finally been cleared of ever committing a crime. so often in a courtroom tears symbolize the loss of freedom. >> the people's motion to dismiss this case. >> reporter: but for brian banks these tears are about getting his freedom back. ten years ago, banks was a superstar in waiting. a linebacker on the power house long beach polytechnic high school team, looking at a full scholarship to usc and possibly an nfl career. but at age 16, banks was accused of kidnapping and raping a classmate. there was no dna evidence. no witnesses. just he said/she said. his lawyer told banks he had a choice. plead no contest in exchange for a lighter sentence, or go to trial. >> either go into that courtroom in front of a jury, you're a big, black teenager, they're going to automatically assume you're guilty, and you'll be facing 41 years to life. what do you want to do?

>> reporter: banks took the plea bargain, and in an instant his football dreams were replaced by a 6x6 cell. >> i think the system failed. failed brian. you know, i don't think there was a sufficient investigation into the case. >> reporter: banks served five years in prison, paroled in 2008 at age 22. he was labeled a sex offender, and forced to wear an ankle bracelet. >> like branded. like somebody just put a brand on you like this. sex offender. >> reporter: things looked bleak. until february of last year when banks says he received a facebook friend request from his accuser. she wanted to let bygones be bygones. they met a day later and as a private investigator recorded this conversation, gibson admitted her accusations were false. >> did he rape you? >> no, he did not. >> did he kidnap you? >> no. >> reporter: the california innocence project took the case. the district attorney looked at the inconsistency in gibson's

story. and on thursday, conceded to the petition for banks' freedom. now 26 and completely free, banks is looking to reclaim his life. including his visions of the nfl. knowing now that even what can seem like an impossible dream -- >> my only dream in the world was to just be free, and to have the same opportunity as everybody here. >> reporter: -- sometimes comes true. now banks says that his accuser didn't want to come forward because she received a settlement from the school district. nbc news reached out to gibson for comment but we were unable to reach her. >> kristen dahlgren, thank you so much. brian banks is now joining us exclusively this morning. brian, good morning to you. >> great morning to you. >> great morning to you. that's the first thing you're going to say. >> for sure. >> you know, you did something some might say many might say was impossible. you cleared your name ten years after you pleaded no contest to a heinous crime.

describe that moment. when you heard in court that your name had been cleared. >> wow. you know, i just feel with so many different emotions, just overwhelmed with finally hearing those words, and knowing that this whole ordeal is put to rest. it was bittersweet, you know. happy to be free now, happy to clear my name, but also very much in a reflective state, and just remembering everything i've been through to get to this point. >> hmm. you know, one of the things that you went through is you heard, as we heard in this last report from juaneta gibson, she finally admitted that the story that she told up to now has been that that basically you had not even had sex together, that she told you that she wouldn't go to authorities, however, because that her family had been awarded $1.5 million. she admitted that she made the story up. what do you think should happen to her? should she face prosecution, do

you think? >> you know, i haven't given it much thought. i do believe that everyone should be responsible for their actions. if that action warrants some type of consequence, then i feel that, you know, it's justified. but as far as what should happen to her, i really haven't given it much thought at all. >> you haven't. >> no. >> it's surprising to hear you say that. some might want, or they may want revenge. >> no, you know. you -- it's easy to have those feelings initially when you first hear the story. i've been dealing with this now for ten years, and i've had my moments where i was very angry, and very vengeful. but i know it was best for me to try and move forward in a positive manner, and for the betterment of me. it hurts no one but myself to hang onto that type of negative energy. and it will only keep me in a stagnant position. and i always want to better

myself as a person, regardless of the situation that i'm in. >> a lot of people would say listening to what happened to you that you definitely deserve another chance at your dream. you dreamed of being an nfl football player, you know, you got a free ride, a straight ride to usc, i'm wondering what you would say to any nfl coach listening right now. >> give me an opportunity and let me show you what i can -- what i can produce. i think that any team that gave me -- that gives me an opportunity will be really impressed with what i can do despite all of what i've been through these past ten years. >> i wonder if you would say anything about what you would want to change about the system that may have failed you, as we just heard in the prior report. how do you think things should change so that this does not happen to anyone else, brian? >> i definitely feel that further investigations in cases like this are definitely necessary, especially when it

involves minors. children. you know. i think i was quick to be jud d judged, rather than the time needed to, you know, be put in for an investigation to see what actually really happened. it was, you know, my story against hers. and unfortunately my story was never heard at the time. >> wow, it's amazing to hear your story. i hope that someone with the nfl is listening. good luck to you, brian, as you begin your new life. >> thank you so much. appreciate you having me. >> i hope not only on nfl coach is listening, anybody who just wants to give a young man a great opportunity, even if the nfl thing doesn't work out. this is a guy who clearly deserves it. >> no kidding. he's a real star. >> let's get a check of the rest of the top stories from savannah guthrie. she's in while natalie is taking a day off. good morning to you. >> good morning, ann and matt. in the news today, diplomatic talks aimed at curbing iran's nuclear ambitions have ended with no major breakthrough. nbc's ali rubie joins us from

baghdad where the talks have wrapped up. >> good morning, savannah. after two days of intense, high-stakes talks there was no breakthrough, and it would have been unrealistic to expect one, with both sides deeply entrenched in their positions. the eu foreign policy chief who was leading the talks said that there was some common ground, but significant differences remain between the two sides. at the heart of the dispute is iran's insistence that it be allowed to enrich uranium at high levels, which can be used both for civilian purposes and a nuclear bomb. the two sides agreed on little other than to meet in moscow next month for another round of talks, keeping the channels of dialogue open. savannah? >> all right, thank you. a historic moment in space is just hours away this morning. for the first time ever, a privately funded, unmanned capsule is set to dock with the international space station later this morning. bringing a half ton of supplies

to the iss crew. president obama is urging more commercial ventures to follow suit so that nasa can set its sights on loftier goals like heading to mars. some passionate politics, you might say, on the floor of the ukrainian parliament thursday night. this fight broke out as lawmakers debated the use of russian as the official language in certain parts of ukraine. one opposition member had to be treated at a hospital for an apparent head wound. the general services administration executive who held a lavish $823,000 conference in las vegas is no longer with the agency. that scandal led to high-level firings and resignations in the agency, and several congressional committees vowed to clean it up. the gsa did not say whether the executive had resigned or had been fired. now let's get to wall street. cnbc's courtney reagan is at the new york stock exchange. >> good morning to you, savannah. there is some optimism, this time surrounding europe going into the long weekend.

italian prime minister says he thinks greece should stay in the eurozone, and believes germany would be persuaded to support the idea of a euro fund. just a week after going public, facebook remains on investors' minds. wall street's four main market makers could stand to lose up to $100 million in wake of the company's botched ipo. savannah? >> all right, courtney reagan, thank you. finally, after "the new york times" this week told the back story of a picture of president obama, that photograph has gone viral online. the picture, of the president and a boy named jacob, was snapped three years ago. according to the article, the boy asked president obama if he had hair just like his own. the president said yes, then bent over and invited the then-5-year-old boy to see for himself saying, quote, touch it, dude. it's now 7:17. back to matt, ann and al. but don't you all ever try that next time you meet the president. >> if i did that the kid could

see himself. you, too. >> oh, you two. >> thanks, savannah. >> whoa! >> turn off the lights. what's going on? >> besides all the wet weather we've got to talkalk about in t southeast. we've got a lot of heat in the midsection of the country. from chicago, st. louis, kansas city, indianapolis, saturday, sunday, into memorial day, with temperatures climbing up to the 90s, this could be the hottest indianapolis 500 on record. so we are looking at some real hot weather. slight risk of strong storms in the midsection of the country. we're looking at interior sections of western new york, western pennsylvania, may see some strong storms as well. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. tom kierein in storm center 4. low clouds around the region, no rain, temperatures are in the upper 60s to near 70 around much of the area. reagan national at 72. later today, we ought to hit the

mid 80s. sunshine breaking out by mid morning and a partly cloudy afternoon. tomorrow, partly cloudy, hotter, up near 90. near 90 on sunday, memorial day, more clouds around, upper 80s. cooler at the beaches with highs in the >> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. now to everything you need to know if you're hitting the roads this memorial day weekend. aaa says more people than ever are expected to be joining you. nbc's tom costello is at a gas station in rockville, maryland, where apparently there's some good news. tom, good morning to you. >> matt, good morning. who would have thought it. we've been talking about cheaper gas prices on memorial day? usually this is a time of year when gas prices peak, or maybe even later into the summer. but, cheaper gas prices, and improving economy, it means 400,000 more of us are going to be hitting the road. >> to go through on the 210 -- >> reporter: it's the start of the great memorial day weekend

getaway. and from the west coast, to the east, expect plenty of company on the nation's roads this year. of the nearly 35 million americans expected to travel 50 miles or more this weekend, nearly 9 out of 10 will go by car, almost 31 million of us. and there's really good news for those folks. prices at the pump are actually coming down. the national average for regular unleaded gas is now $3.67 a gallon. down 17 cents from a month ago, and even cheaper than a year ago when it was $3.22 a gallon. >> relieved to see that. because, like -- who can keep paying this much money for gas all the time? you know. >> not nearly as many of us are flying. >> frontier airlines flight 625 with nonstop service to detroit. >> reporter: only about 2.5 million americans will take to the skies. but in denver, frontier airlines says it's flying more than 97% full this weekend.

>> welcome aboard. >> reporter: the questions facing passengers include, whether to pay more for the ticket in order to check a bag, and sit next to family members. >> it's a wash. to either pay a little extra for the ticket, or you end up paying a little extra for the luggage. >> reporter: by the way, if you haven't bought your summer airline ticket yet, expect to pay $25 to $40 more this year than last. >> your average ticket price is around $320. a little bit less for tickets that are closer to home. and a little bit more for tickets that are across country. >> as temperatures rise and summer officially begins around the country, americans resolve to travel continues to rise, as well. >> reporter: but most of us do stick closer to home over memorial day weekend. >> my family and i are going to go barbecue and go to the park. >> reporter: grilling, camping or heading to the beach. but most importantly, remembering those who've given their lives for all of us. i have very strong memories as a

teenager. my dad talk me to fort logan national cemetery to remember the sacrifice others have made. it's important to remember on this memorial day weekend. >> i think too often it's just thought of as a three-day weekend, tom. glad you brought that point up. thank you very much. just ahead we've heard from the woman being sued by her ex-fiance after she called off their wedding. this morning, his side of the story in an exclusive live interview. but first, this is "today" on nbc. i'm thinking of asking carlina to have dinner at my place. she's italian... and you can't cook. ♪

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good morning, tom kierein, storm center 4, low clouds over the region this hour, we're near 70 degrees, later today, the cloud cover breaking up, a

little sun coming out into the mid 80s, heating up, hotter for saturday, sunday and monday. highs near 90 degrees, more clouds around sunday and memorial day, maybe rain

♪ 7:30 now on a friday morning. the 25th of may, 2012. we've got an overflow crowd on rockefeller plaza. on memorial day weekend. >> i know. >> we've got pitbull on our plaza, and we've got a bunch of sailors, too. >> fleet week continues here in new york city. we have an extra big crowd out there. and the weather seems to be cooperating at the moment. which is nice. >> might be light rain. hopefully it doesn't rain. but if it does rain we're going to be dancing you and i both of us outside we'll just get sopping wet.

>> also ahead, on thursday we told you about the man, he's suing his exf-fiancee after she called off the wedding and he says stuck him with the bills. we asked if you thought he actually had a case. a lot of you logged on to our websites. we're going to share the results and talk to that jilted groom when he joins us for an exclusive live interview coming up. >> and also think it's too late to plan a memorial getaway weekend? think again. because we're going to tell you where you can find some last-minute deals, and show you how to turn your backyard barbecue into a memorable affair. >> all right. so let's begin this half hour with that man who is suing his ex-fiancee. savannah has the latest on this story. >> of course everyone has been through a bad breakup. but most people don't end up in a lawsuit making national news. steven silverstein claims his ex-fiancee owes him tens of

thousands of dollars for the canceled wedding to rent he paid for their shared apartment. it was supposed to be a dream wedding at this luxurious long island resort. instead, it's a lawsuit, grabbing the headlines. >> i loved this girl with all my heart. i thought she was going to be the mother of my children. >> i just wanted to break up with him and go our separate ways and live our lives and that's all. >> reporter: not so fast, says steven silverstein, who is suing his former fiancee kendra platt-lee for more than $61,000. >> i don't think i owe him any money at all. >> reporter: he claims that she does, including over $16,000 in lost wedding deposits and cancellation fees. more than $25,000 for her share of the rent. and over $19,000 from their joint bank account, after he says she withdrew more than her share from that joint account. >> she just ripped my heart out of my chest, as well as ripped away my bank account. >> reporter: ten days after leaving for a trip to

california, platt-lee broke up with her fiance over the phone. >> i can understand why he's emotional about it. you know, we started planning a wedding, and it was really over the top. it was nothing that i wanted, nothing that i could ever afford for myself. >> reporter: silverstein says he was blindsided. he claims that just days earlier she had visited a bridal salon. >> she goes to her second wedding dress fitting, which, mind you, was a $6,000 dress, along with jimmy choo shoes, i might add, for a girl to say i don't want a big wedding but yet buying a $6,000 wedding dress, it's a little ridiculous. >> reporter: after the split, things turned ugly. it took lawyers to broker an exchange of their property. silverstein says he's returned all of platt-lee's personal items from their apartment. in exchange, she has given him the $32,000 engagement ring back. >> we had a good relationship. it was all very sudden.

and i just don't -- i don't understand what happened. >> well, the exchange of those personal items and the engagement ring did not come easily. at one point silverstein put some of platt-lee's items on ebay. a move he says was just to get her intention. he says he never intended to allow any of her property to actually be sold. matt? >> all right, savannah, thank you very much. steven silverstein is with us exclusively along with his attorney elliot martin. good morning to both of you. want to start with some good news? >> sure. >> we asked people on our website to go on overnight, logon and asked the question, does the jilted groom have a case against his ex-fiance. 66% say yes. he has a case. 34% say no. how do you feel about those numbers? >> i think it just shows the public understand that, you know, she did something wrong, she did something immoral, and you know, she shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. >> i would bet though, steven, if you asked those 66% of people another question, should this guy, though, just move on, take

a deep breath, and let bygones be bygones, some of those people might say yeah, this isn't worth it, the time or the money. >> yeah, you know, i mean i tried to be a nice guy for almost two weeks of, you know, after she broke up with me. i wanted to get this done without any legal -- legal service, anything like that. i didn't want to have to go with a lawsuit. and i tried to do that with her and i was forced another direction. >> does this make you a little queasy to have to talk about these things so publicly? i mean you're the guy being labeled as the jilted one. the guy whose heart got broken. does it embarrass you? >> no. i wouldn't say embarrassed. it's just very hurtful. i never wanted any of this to go public. i never meant for any of this to happen. like i said, i didn't want to file a lawsuit. i was just forced into that. >> it seems it keeps coming back to this one issue, and that is she keeps saying she didn't want this elaborate wedding and you say she was an active participant in planning this elaborate wedding. >> sure. >> how are we ever going to know

anything other than he said, she said in this? >> i think the proof is in the pudding, really. with the allegria hotel, which was supposed to be our venue, she loved it. she said it was of a san diegan feel, part of the beach, near the airport. she signed the contract there, which stated 150 guest wedding. she signed a check out of her own checking account for $8,000 for that venue. so if you can say you don't want a big wedding why would you sign that contract? >> she withdrew money from your joint checking account. although you say she took $20,000 more than she was entitled to take. you're also suing her for $25,000 for half of the rent you paid while you two were living together. why did you decide to take that extra step? that, to me, sounds a little bit like revenge. >> this has nothing to do with revenge. it's something that, you know, i informed my attorneys that she was on the lease, both times that she lived to the. and that she was very adamant about being on the lease because in her words, it was our place. and you know, i said that's not a problem because i love you,

and we're going to get married and eventually it's going to be our money anyway. >> what's the precedent for something like that? >> well, it's all based on statute. there's a statute, civil rights law, been on the books in new york state for about 50 years. it says that when a transfer of money, chattel, which would be a ring, or some other things, securities, real estate, is made, the expectation that there will be a marriage, that it would not be left with that expectation that transfer of money fits very well within the language of the statute. >> the report says this is not the first time this engagement was broken off. that you two had been engaged prior. that was broken off. was it broken off by kendra? >> no. i would say that was more of a mutual break-off. at the time i really don't think either of us were really ready. you know, we were getting married in san diego at that time. because i was trying to be a good fiance and that didn't work. i think she was a little immature, i was immature, we weren't ready at the time. >> stranger things have happened

here but you do say she is the love of your life, or was, and that she broke your heart. >> mm-hmm. >> could you ever imagine that if you could agree on some terms here that you two could get back together after all this? >> no. no. >> you want to think about it for a second? >> no, no, no. there's absolutely no way. what i will say is that ee moexally, i do still have -- i still care for her. i did think she was going to be the mother of my children. i was going to go on a honeymoon, all that stuff. you know, i don't want to see anything bad happen to her after this is all settled. i hope it's settled quickly. i hope we can both move on and hopefully find better people, or whatever it is. but i don't wish anything bad upon her. i just think that i can't let her walk away with all of these debts. >> steven silverstein, elliot martin. thanks to both of you. we'll follow the story. see what happens. get a check of the weather now from al. >> thank you so much, matt. it is a gray day but it looks like the rain is going to hold off for pitbull. who is arriving here in about an

hour. in the meantime as you get ready for memorial day, today is getaway day. let's see where the trouble spots are for you. again we are looking at some low visibility here in the northeast. that could cause you problems as far as your airfare. showers and thunderstorms, buffalo, as well. oklahoma, kansas city, thunderstorms. salt lake citykansas, thunderst and salt lake city, windy. same in vegas, if you're hitting the roads, buffalo, new york, you've got fog, rain, kansas city. kansas city, omaha, along i-35. showers and thunderstorms, i-25, i-15, looking at rain and even down into i-10, look for some windy conditions. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, tom kierein, in storm center 4, we have some fog around the northern neck of virginia this morning. virginia tidewater. low clouds, temperatures in the 60s to near 70. otherwise no travel problems weatherwise around the region. later today, sun breaking out with highs reach being the mid 80s. partly cloudy saturday, hotter,

up near 90 during the afternoon. partly sunny on sunday. highs reaching 90. memorial day, more of the same. cooler at the beaches with highs only in the 70s. maybe rain. >> and that's your latest weather. and of course, for mr. worldwide this may be your audience, but these are my people! my people! my people! and -- >> i'll take it, al. thank you very much. we've got that concert coming up in our 8:30 half hour. but coming up next on a much more serious note the missing florida mom who vanished the day she and her ex-fiance appeared on "the people's court." we'll talk to her mother and sister about new developments in that case. [ male announcer ] ever wonder what's behind two little fleas? the next generation and then countless more. how do you kill them? frontline plus. it uses two ingredients. one to kill adult fleas and ticks. plus another to eliminate flea eggs and larvae,

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mother and her sister in just a moment. but first, nbc's kerry sanders is in sanford with more on this story. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. michelle parker disappeared six months and eight days ago, and police say they're baffled. but after a new review of the evidence, trying to connect the dots, they say it all still points back to where they first looked. michelle parker's ex-fiance dale smith. despite more than 700 tips to police, investigators still don't know what happened to michelle parker. and absent any answers -- >> tell us where she is so we can go and get her. >> reporter: -- her family's anguish remains raw. >> if there's any mother or father on the planet that has no idea what i'm going through, god bless you. >> reporter: michelle parker vanished the day she and her ex-fiance, dale smith -- >> this is the defendant, michelle parker. >> reporter: -- appeared in a taped episode of "the people's

court." >> he gets pretty malicious and vindictive. >> reporter: as they argued over an enzbajment ring. >> he said he wanted his ring. i took it off and i threw it at him. >> reporter: thursday, a new police panel made up of investigators from all over the state gathered to look at clues. >> this is a very, very active case. >> reporter: they say the evidence continues to lead them back to their initial suspicion. >> this case we do have a very, very serious person of interest. we all know that. >> reporter: that person, they say, is dale smith. >> because we've had a person of interest from day one. and all we need to do is get that missing piece of the puzzle. >> reporter: dale smith has denied any involvement. his lawyer tells nbc news smith remains concerned for parker. the mother of his children. >> and i don't know who did it for sure. i don't know where they put her. how disrespectful that is.

man up. you know. do the right thing. >> reporter: among the significant evidence found so far, parker's cell phone tossed in an orange county lake, and the last known image of parker, at a drive-thru just hours before she vanished. >> even a tragic answer, you want an answer. >> i want my baby back. yes. yes. i want my baby back. and if somebody never goes to jail, i don't really care. i just want my girl. >> reporter: michelle parker's 4-year-old twins are with their father, dale smith. now police say they believe somebody may know something to help solve this mystery but has not come forward. perhaps out of fear. ann? >> all right, kerry sanders this morning. kerry, thank you. michelle parker's mother and sister ivan stewart and lauren erickson are now joining us. good morning to both of you. >> hey, good morning. thanks for having us again. >> it's nice to have you.

let's talk about this multiagency task force that has been convened by police. cheerly they're trying to put together this case, and you view the answers that you're looking for. are they in your view, yvonne, doing everything possible to help find your girl? >> i think, i think they're doing everything they possibly can. and i'm so grateful. that that smart panel convened yesterday. they had 45 experts from all over the country. they know how to crack cases. and we're going to find that missing dot. >> that missing dot, as you call it, you know the police chief made a point to mention that there is only one suspect in the case, as we just heard, and that person is michelle's ex-fiance dale smith. what do you think, lauren, do you have an opinion about whether you believe he could be responsible for her disappearance? >> i really hope as the father

of those children that that's not the case. since day one i have said that if there's any other leads we'll follow them. unfortunately there's only one out there right now. but it would be very unfortunate to have those children grow up and be told one day that their mother disappeared because of their father. >> yvonne, i'm wondering how much contact you have with dale and with your grandchildren. have you been able to talk to dale about this? >> i'm not really at liberty to talk to dale about anything. i have to go through his attorney. which is fine. it's really difficult for me to -- to have the underlying fear that he is responsible for michelle being missing, and knows where she is, and won't tell me. and then i have to cowboy up and pretend that i'm okay when i see those babies. and i always am. because i've been raising those babies since they were 13 days old. and i've only seen them three times this year. and it's not enough. and there's no grandparent right

law in the state of florida. we need to seriously consider people in situations like ours, that we should have court mandated visitation. i'm not asking for custody. but i'm asking to be part of their life. that's what michelle would want. >> and when you look at them, and having only seen them three times as you describe this year how are you able to assess how well they're doing in the wake of their mother's disappearance? >> they are not the same children that they were six months ago. i will tell you that. they have like a flat look on their face. they always ask about their mom. they aren't real happy sometimes to go home. it's just heart-wrenching. they had a birthday two days ago, they turned 4, and we didn't get to see them. it's -- it's so hard. >> everything about this is heart-wrenching. and we hope you find your answers soon. yvonne stewart and lauren

erickson, thank you so much for again joining us this morning. and we're back right after this. race in for big savings. at the petsmart memorial day sale. save up to 50% on hundreds of items and save 20% on bayer k9 advantix® ii or advantage® ii flea or tick products for dogs or cats. friday through monday only, at petsmart®.

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7:55 is your time on this friday, may 25th, 2012, good morning, i'm eun yang. a rough ride and commute for some people in maryland, danella sealock is here with more. >> we have a problem along norbeck road, a crash, closed the road between georgia avenue as well as barnridge drive. all your labors are blocked. the crash resulted in downed wires. can you take bellpre road. a vehicle on fire in the hunter mill road. fire department on the scene. fire departhis country was built by working people.

the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm proud of that. making real things... for real. ...that make a real difference. ♪

good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4. as we approach the 8:00 hour, temperatures are now climbing into the low to mid 70s under the low clouds that should be breaking up here over the next hour or so. and later today, partly cloudy, highs reaching the mid 80s. tomorrow, partly cloudy and hotter, up near 90, near 90 again on sunday, but a few more clouds around. as well as on memorial day. it will be cooler at the beaches, with highs in the 70s. maybe some rain as we get back to work and school, back to you.

we're back now, 8:00 on a friday morning. it's the 25th day of may, 2012. friday, springtime. that means concert time here on the "today" show. and this morning, we've got a great one, as miami native pitbull takes to our stage. like to call him mr. 305. >> now mr. worldwide. >> he's going to be on our stage in a little while. he's throwing a big crowd this morning. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. and al roker. we've got a lot of music coming up in the next seven days. >> the whole week. we want to remind you about

these great concerts, they include bobby brown stopping by on monday for a special memorial day concert. on thursday we've got american idol 16-year-old powerhouse singer jessica sanchez taking to our stage. and then on friday we've got the band parity joining us. but of course, the big event, i mean we're going to start with today because i've got to tell you, pitbull is so much fun. i expect you to be throwing down. i expect you to be dancing in the rain. right, people? >> and i think it will stay there. >> exactly. we've got a lot to get to. let 's go inside. >> natalie morales is, of course, not here so we've got savannah guthrie. >> yes. >> savannah? >> good morning, guys. in the news today the man under arrest for the 1979 disappearance and murder of etan patz is expected to make his first court appearance today. new york city police say pedro hernandez has confessed to luring the 6-year-old boy into a store basement and then strangling him.

that crime happened 33 years ago today. investigators say a renewed search for remains last month in the boy's soho neighborhood prompted a tipster to call authorities. the case helped focus national attention on missing children back in the '70s. a former california high school football star was officially cleared thursday of the rape and kidnapping charges that resulted in his spending five years behind bars, and the last five on probation. brian banks had pleaded no contest as a 16-year-old to avoid a possible life sentence if tried by a jury. the childhood friend who had accused him contacted banks on facebook last year and admitted, on tape, that she made up that allegation. many holiday air travelers are keeping an eye on hurricane bud, which weakened to a category 2 storm in the pacific, as it approached mexico's coast. meantime, aaa predicts that despite high gas prices, nearly 35 million americans will travel at least 50 miles from home during this memorial day weekend.

that is up 1.2% from last year. attorneys in the trayvon martin case asked a judge thursday to keep some evidence from being publicly released until trial. the list includes statements that the defendant, george zimmerman, made to detectives. names and addresses of witnesses, and cell phone records, e-mail and text messages. zimmerman is charged with second degree murder in the death of martin, an unarmed 17-year-old. now for a look at what's trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. this video of the indiana mom who lost her legs while shielding her kids from a tornado is going viral. stephanie decker appeared on "ellen" thursday and took her first steps, ten months earlier than her doctors had predicted. and then in true ellen show tradition, she stood up again to dance a little bit. >> britney spears tweeted that she was just taking a break and was actually having the best time thursday when she reportedly walked off the set of "the x factor" during audition.

britney was reported to be upset after a contestant butchered her hit "hold it against me." and "snl" star andy sandberg's harvard class has phoons searching for clips online where he imitated mark zuckerberg who attended harvard. >> since i left things have gone so good, you guys. like a 6-year-old fantasy of the future good. in fact, i recently completed the harvard trifecta, start your own company, have a movie made about you, and marry an asian doctor. trifecta. >> sandberg also kissed one of the students who greeted him onstage and he joked that it was because he got so emotional over the song that was playing. adele's "someone like you." it is now 8:04. back to al with a check of the weather. i think we all get a little verklempt at that song. >> of course, matt and i have done the same thing after listening to that. we've got our friends from the marines, the navy, it's fleet week, and you guys -- -- the war

of 1812. let's check out what you've got as far as your weather is concerned today. slight risk of strong storms, midsection of the country. country, wet weather out west. mountain snows in yellowstone. for saturday, record highs in the ohio river valley, more rain and snow out along the plains. sunday -- sunday! we're looking at rain, heavy rain in the southeast. because of the system that may develop. in the upper mississippi river valley. memorial day, a strong risk again in the mid mississippi river valley. record highs from the ohio river valley back to the gulf coast and more showers in the pacific northwest. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, cloudy and mild on this friday morning. big getaway day, no traveling problems weatherwise. right now, 74 at reagan national. later today, should be making it to the mid 80s with sunshine breaking out over the next couple of hours and partly cloudy this afternoon. heating up for the weekend,

saturday, sunday and memorial day, each day in the 80s to near 90 degrees during the afternoons. more clouds around sunday and memorial day. as we get back to work and school on tuesday, could get showers and thunder that may linger into wednesday morning drying out after that. >> and that's your latest weather. mr. lauer? >> all right, al, thank you very much. still to come on a friday morning, we've got our whip, everything you need to know about getting away for memorial day. but also ahead, a friday morning concert courtesy of pitbull. i love cash back. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna.

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♪ and even better for your customers. ♪ for safe and secure ways to stay connected, visit usps.com/mail back now at 8:10 with "today's" friday whip, the memorial day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. this morning we're helping you celebrate in style. >> that's right, ann. let's get started with last-minute weekend getaways, features director at travel and leisure is here. good morning. >> good morning. >> are you telling me it's not too late to book an inexpensive weekend getaway for memorial day even though it's already friday? >> that's exactly what i'm telling you. there are values abounding out there. >> is that because any hotel or resort that has empty rooms is trying to get butts in the bed? so to speak? >> it is. that is a good point. but a lot of hotels have the same deals all summer long. >> let's start in arizona, in

phoenix. you like the biltmore, $80 a night? >> $80 a night. that is an incredible value no matter how you look at it. it's been around since 1929. it's the grand dame of the phoenix area. this was built by a frank lloyd wright disciple. eight pools. they have lots of lawn sports like croquet, bocce, a life-size chess board you can play, which is great. i think the value alone is stellar and the hotel is gorgeous. >> also the omni in orlando. good for the whole family. >> and great for a dad who loves to play golf. 18 40e8s designed by greg norman. they have lots and lots of activities for kids so you're never going to feel like your kids are overwhelming you. they have s'mores and chocolate martinis for parents. >> moving up the east coast of maine you've got the beach house looks over the atlantic. >> this is in kennebunkport. right now the weather is 80 degrees and sunny. this is a great weekend to get there. i love the hotel.

you're going to go to kennebunkport, stay there and go to the clam shack to have one of the best lobster rolls in maine. >> thank you very much. good advice. let's go over to ann. >> all right, matt, thanks. must have summer style necessities we've got jen bach here to tell us all about it. >> good morning. >> you say everybody needs to get at least one t-shirt. >> perfect t-shirt. everlane.com, $15 a pop. pretty amazing. >> the shorts of the season. >> cutoff denim shorts. >> you can go with color. splurge, great shades and floral prints or old navy like 20 bucks. fun colors. a good summer staple. >> this year you can buy swimsuits for really inexpensive. >> take the stress out of swimsuit shopping. &m has launched their swimsuit line. $4.95 apiece. >> glitter is everywhere. >> sparkle. yacht out disco dive have glitter. toms has glitter shoes. sparkly headbands that are

sweatproof. >> these look like they're for little kids. >> my daughter has those. >> and italy is bringing something back called the peoples shoe. >> this is from piperlime.com the people's shoe of italy. now mary kate and ashley olsen have taken over as creative directors. they're back in a big way for summer. great styles, i love these. i think they're perfect for a fashion sneaker. >> and you've got a nice, shiny one here. also did you see this guy, it's kind of see-through. >> cool elements. i like classic white. >> and a lot of us when we jump in the pool forget that we're not wearing waterproof makeup and it's a disaster. what's your advice? >> humid, sweaty, so makeup forever have come out with aqua shadows. and another fun pencil, chubby stick. fun colors, fun summer shades. >> thank you so much. and now savannah. >> all right, ann, thank you. of course we can't celebrate

summer without throwing a party. entertaining expert kimberly sh lagle whitman is the author of the party planner. we want the backyard to look good. the pitcher is really good. but does it drip? >> they all drip. doesn't matter if you get the best one or the cheaper once, they all drip. why not fill a little bassett with moss to catch everything. >> now if you're in the kitchen you're recommending some dishes you can take from kitchen to table easily. >> always. this is from is yosur la table. it will catch all the drippings. you can take it right to the table. >> i love that you call it sur la table. i thought it was sur la table. how about mood lighting. >> lanterns are a great way, and inexpensive way to just add little touch of style. and they really capture. they've made the pattern mixing easy because they come in the set of three which is great. you get to stay on trend.

>> flowers are always really festive. for a lot of people they probably think it's so expensive to have fresh flowers. >> and it can be difficult to arrange, too. this is a no-fail arrangement. you probably have these things at home. these are old soda bottles, and you put one stem in each, and voila, so easy. >> okay. we have a corn buffet. >> thank you. this is so much fun to do. for guests, for adults and kids alike. you fill brown paper lunch bags with popcorn, put out lots of condiments. i labeled mine because there's so many allergies. also you don't want to be running around telling everyone what everything is. we've got parmesan, m&ms, salts, all sorts of things they can mix it in with the popcorn, and have a treat. >> and last but not least, if you want a color you can put out some paper for the kids. >> you've got a great center piece. >> thank you so much. now let's head to the kitchen. >> savannah, thanks so much. what should you serve your guests? editor in chief of bon appetit

magazine is here with tips that will wow your crowd. flank steak. >> good for grills. six minutes a side. you've got to marinate it though. zip lock bag. throw it in there, marinate overnight, takes up no room, easy as pie. >> cut it against the grain? >> of course. you know this. >> now ann's been grooving on this. >> salmon, coriander, cardamom, ginger, olive oil, lemon juice, grill it up, slather it on there. >> a lot of people have trouble keeping the salmon fish on the grill. >> you've got to have your grill basket. and it flips it for you. >> oh, man. >> could not be easier. >> you want to kick up the chicken wings. >> you've got to. we're not doing buffalo sauce, we're doing lime juice, butter, gone. >> the darkened -- >> ginger beer and dark rum. and lime juice. that's it. refreshing, sweet, tasty. >> oh, that's pretty darn good. what do we have here? >> i drink my beer on ice in the summertime. beer, ton of lime juice, little

salsa, hot sauce if you like it. it's like a beer margarita. >> hmm. >> oh, that's refreshing. >> i am not driving home today. >> finally! adam, how about -- >> al. >> how about a salty dog. all of a sudden we're doing the fourth hour. >> salty dog, greyhound, fresh grapefruit juice. buy grapefruit, squeeze it in there. i like to top mine with vodka. but also club soda, as well. >> that is fantastic. i don't know what we're doing now. throwing to tamron hall and the pitbull crowd. >> al, we're moments away -- before we get the party started a little pitbull trivia for you. his new song back in time features well known music from a a very popular film. take a listen.

♪ baby oh, baby ♪ ♪ my sweet baby >> can't wait for pitbull. after the break we will have the answer. rock it. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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with some more sauce. [ male announcer ] but their quick bite to eat... could potentially turn into a long night of the shakes. thankfully, evan's corolla has available entune with bing to help them find another restaurant. another reason you can always count on corolla. from toyota. as you can we are gearing up for the concert from pitbull. before the break we asked him about his new song back in time, and it features some well-known music from a famous movie, and guess what? mr. 05, mr. wonderful, mr. everything is here with the answer. what's the answer? >> the answer would be "dirty dancing." >> okay. >> okay. you got "dirty dancing" and a friend of mine said, you never put baby in a corner. you don't put baby in a corner. then you got christina.

so i know that if we use that tempo right there, love is strange for this record, and put it together, it would be amazing. >> should we re-enact the scene from "dirty dancing"? >> you want to jump like that? i'll do the whole patrick swayze. you don't put baby in a corner. >> i'll let pitbull get changed. you've got to get the party started. >> thank you so much. >> matt, back to you. >> tamron, thank you so much. now to a hot fashion trend that i guess has a lot of people setting their sights on. >> whether you need them or not glasses have become a must-have accessory. >> who knew i was ahead of the trend. >> there is no denying that specks have gone from geek to chic. spring's hottest accessory for eyes, is four eyes. ♪ that'll be the day >> those thick rims and large lenses no longer just the fashion statement of the super nerdy.

>> jan, i think you may need glasses. >> glasses? oh, mom, no, not glasses. >> reporter: yes, glasses. look, they're everywhere. ♪ and on every celebrity who wants to see, and be seen. these "snl" say it's the key to success. >> is having this type of glass frames really important for the comedy business? looking at you both, it's kind of a ticket to stardom. if you're walking around with wire rims you're not going to make it. >> no. >> aviators? for get it. >> reporter: some studies even suggest people who wear glasses are perceived as more trustworthy and intelligent. suggesting smart may be the new sexy. >> smart is cool. glasses sort of epitomize intelligence. >> reporter: neil blumenthal and dave gilboa are the visionaries

behind warby parker an online company that designs and sells vintage glasses for $95 or less. you can try the different styles from the comfort of your computer. >> different styles of glasses go in and out of fashion. but it seems like everywhere you look right now, those big, thick glasses are what's in. in fact, two pair are staring at me right now. >> we think eyewear is really having a moment right now. particularly that eyewear inspired by '40s and '50s, going back to "mad men." >> can you get me some coffee? >> we certainly read a lot that it actually increases your likelihood of getting a job if you wear a pair of glasses to an interview. >> we get a lot of people that don't need prescription glasses that buy our frames with nonprescription lenses right before they go in for job interviews because they think it's going to help their chances. >> are rimless glasses just like illegal? >> they get compensated when you head to our office. >> even the camera is wearing

glasses, okay? >> wow. >> and it's not just glasses. the monocle apparently is making a small come back. >> come on! you've got to be kidding. >> can i show you? >> how do you do that? >> warby parker sold 252 monocles last year alone. >> for costume parties. >> no! >> how do you do that? >> you have to have the right structure. i can't do it. >> but you know what's really intelligent? when matt does this? >> i know. i know. >> very, very smart looking. >> he actually seems smart -- >> when you do this, i can't see. >> hey! >> you could do it! >> you really rock that. >> no question.

good morning, it's 8:26 on this friday, may 25th, i'm aaron gilchrest. if you're about to hit the road this morning, tom kierein has your forecast. >> sky brightening a little bit. but still a lot of low clouds around the region. temperatures under the clouds, mild. low to mid 70s around the metro area. 60s farther west and north. near the bay, eastern shore, it's near 70. later today, the cloud cover should continue to break up. a little sunshine breaking out this morning and during the afternoon. highs reaching mid 80s. hotter for the weekend, saturday, sunday and memorial day, up near 90 each afternoon. more clouds around sunday and memorial day. back to work and school on tuesday, could get some showers and thunder. that's the way it looks now,

good morning, still seeing the crash along norbeck road, your closures between georgia avenue as well as barnridge drive, the accident has downed wires on the roadway. so alternates, jump on lay hill road and bellpre if that's your commute this morning. 395 slow past duke. the big delays in between edsall

and seminary road. your average speed, looking at 15 minutes from the beltway to the 14th street bridge. no accidents in this area. aaron, back over to you.

8:30 now on a friday morning. the 25th of may, 2012. the beginning of the memorial day weekend, and we have a party about to get started here on rockefeller plaza. because in just a moment everyone out here is going to be treated to a live concert from white-hot artist pitbull.

this morning. >> people back here are not going to be able to see what's happening up onstage. it's really socked in today. >> do something about that. >> okay, i will. >> also speaking of music, it continues on monday, memorial day. a concert from r&b sensation bobby brown. and coming up this morning we'll have more of our exclusive interview with bobby. that's happening in just a little while. >> all right. and then we've got barbara corcoran who is going to take us on a tour of homes across the country, show you what you can get for $250,000 or less. >> all right. $250,000 a good price. you know what's a better price? free. who doesn't like free stuff? we're going to tell you how you can get everything from books to activities for the kids, keep them entertained all summer long for the low, low, low, low price of free. >> it's great. >> like an infomercial. >> but wait, there's more. >> exactly. let's get a check of the weather.

mr. roker. >> all right. thanks so much. as we show you what we've got heading into the weekend, first of all, we've got tropical trouble to deal with. in the southeast, this system could become tropical storm beryl. we're going to watch it over the weekend as it makes its way into the southeast. we're talking between now and sunday, anywhere from 3 to 5, t much as seven inches of rain, from miami up to raleigh, north carolina and some of the rain will spread even further north, so we're watching this system as we move on. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, still some low clouds around. tom kierein, in storm center 4. we're in the low to mid 70s. we ought to get the cloud cover breaking out with sun coming out. highs mid 80s. then getting hotter for the weekend. saturday, sunday and monday each day. up near 90 degrees, we'll probably have considerable cloudiness around on sunday and monday. back to work and school tuesday, with some showers, maybe some thunder, that may linger into wednesday morning. then drying out after that. with highs near 80 wednesday,

thursday nex >> that's your latest weather. now let's head on down to florida and say hi to uncle willie. >> it's good to be down in florida, orange juice, beautiful people, and i got to go home. how about that. anyway, happy birthday. take a look. the roughly ruth walker. now that's my kind of girl, wells, minnesota, she's 107. an avid bird watcher. i mean i'm getting to be that way. i don't know what happened. i love to watch. exci exciting. and she loves to read. anyway. esther welling and she is from westchester, new york. very nice part of new york state. and she is 100 years old. also, she loves being around people all the time. and catching up with her friends on the telephone. hey, otha smith sr., he's from hampton, virginia. 100 years old.

i hope you listen to me. attributes his longevity to the good lord and his children. and george quilici, and he is from watsonville, california. there you go. 107 years old. a passionate, world traveler. and enjoys a little shot of brandy. yes, don't mind if i do every once in awhile. brandy, gave me heartburn i'll tell you that. marjorie edenfield from newton, massachusetts. oh, yeah. 100 years old today. and she always has a positive attitude towards life, and says that that will make you live longer. so there. and oh, i love this name christine, what a pretty name, christine hill. she is from fredrick, maryland. know that country real well. beautiful farm country. 107. and was a schoolteacher in washington, d.c. enjoys singing in the church choir.

that's it. now back up to little old new york. >> all right, willard, thank you very much. back here on the plaza, concert coming up. just to give you an idea of the size of the crowd, we've got the whole plaza filled and beyond the stage, as we look back here. we've spilled out over 48th street. our friends over at dwayne reed hosting some people there, as well. got some people in the back row here. what time did you get here? >> minnesota! >> what time did you get here? minnesota? can you even see the stage from back here? >> no! >> all right. that's cool. you say your friends are back in the hotel sleeping? >> at the marriott sleeping. i'm here! >> and could you tell me what's coming up? >> we got pitbull here, for a live concert. this is "today" on nbc. >> good job!

the "toyota concert series on today" is brought to you by toyota. >> you couldn't ask for a better way to kick off our memorial day weekend. let's get this party started. ladies and gentlemen, pitbull. >> let's rock. come on. ♪ >> you know exactly. >> you know. you can't catch me boy. ♪ ♪

what's that. feel bad. ♪ ♪ everywhere everywhere everywhere ♪ i hit a home run everywhere everywhere ♪ ♪ i been in countries and cities ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ what's that ♪ you know it

♪ credit cards, you know what i mean if you know what i mean ♪ ♪ beautiful women i've ever seen ♪ ♪ l.a. what's that ♪ you know it's at ♪ you know it's at

♪ >> and much more from mr. worldwide in just a moment. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

whether you know him as mr. 305, mr. worldwide or just plain pitbull you know that his music gets people going. and his new album is called "planet pit." ladies and gentlemen, pitbull is back on the plaza.

good to have you here. mr. worldwide, you're taking it literally because you're on a world tour right now. you've been down in south america. you've been in canada. where you off to next? >> moscow, at the end of the month. then all through europe and come back through the united states, and do japan, australia. >> it's all about the shows. it's all about the music when you're on the road. but is there one location that you're particularly looking forward to checking out, a city or a country? >> brazil. brazil's got the country, culture, and the women are definitely beyond beautiful. >> you like life on the road? >> i love life on the road. there's no occasion like traveling the world and being able to see that really we're just not that different. >> i was reading about you last night. and there was a time earlier in your career where huge acts would have you come onstage or on their recordings to provide a different feel and sound. and a funny thing happened. all of a sudden you became the guy that people wanted to come see, and you became the huge act. when did you reamize that was

happening? >> folks like marc anthony and jennifer lopez, gave such amazing opportunities. >> and now you're trying to give them-- >> i've analyzed from them. >> you said something in an interview with gq recently that caught my attention. you said the music industry is 90% about business and 10% about talent. >> i mean it's called the music business. so it's all about -- i love to create. i love to watch the people enjoy themselves. i love to watch them escape to the music. but you've got to set up that platform for the future. >> where did you get your business savvy >> from all the old school '80s guys. >> they teach you well? >> interesting, i would take care of it. >> what are you going to sing for us now? >> we're going to go back in time, back in time to men in

black, the franchise, you know, and be able to, you know, hit music in the movies. the movies. we're following. >> you ready to go? >> yes, sir. >> ladies and gentlemen, pitbull. ♪ ♪ black suit white shirt ♪ black pants with a matching tie ♪ ♪ with the whole world ♪ understand mover shaker record breaker ♪ note give credit where credit is due don't you know that number two ♪ ♪ understand the future we have to go back in time ♪ ♪ oh, baby oh, baby ♪

♪ my sweet baby ♪ you're the one ♪ that's where i land let's save the world ♪ ♪ men in black i know you understand ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ against the world now work the back of my mind ♪ ♪ understand the future we have to go back in time ♪ ♪ baby oh, baby ♪ ♪ oh, baby my sweet baby ♪ ♪ you're the one

♪ you're groove ji baby hold me maybe ♪ ♪ your groovy baby ♪ my sweet baby my sweet baby ♪ ♪ my sweet baby ♪ oh, baby ♪ oh, baby my sweet baby ♪ ♪ you're the one

♪ new york thank you ♪ ♪ men in black iii back in time ♪ >> pitbull on a friday morning. and there's more music ahead. but first this is "today" on nbc.

you're in the middle of a great concert on rockefeller plaza. now getting ready to sing give me something, ladies and gentlemen, once again, pitbull. ♪ me not working hard yeah right better yet go to times square take a picture of me with kodak ♪ ♪ took lie mief from negative to positive pitbull ♪ ♪ give me everything tonight ♪ do it tonight

♪ put your hands in the air ♪ let's go ♪ let's go ♪ let's go ♪ tonight i can make you my queen and make love you to endless ♪ ♪ i got it locked up like lindsay lohan ♪ ♪ i make you feel right baby can't promise tomorrow but i'm promise tonight ♪ ♪ ♪ tonight ♪ baby i'll make you feel so good tonight ♪

♪ ♪ bring it back i want everybody in new york to put your hands up in the air. let's go. ♪ everything tonight let's go ♪ ♪ everything tonight ♪ let's go everything tonight ♪ ♪ let's go everything tonight ♪ ♪ reach for the stars ♪ ♪ you're right baby tomorrow ♪

♪ ♪ if i could tonight baby make you feel so good tonight ♪ ♪ tonight tonight ♪ ♪ everything tonight put your hands in the air. >> pitbull giving us everything.

he's got even more music coming up. but first, your local news.

8:56 is your time now on this friday, may 25th, 2012, good morning to you, i'm eun yang. let's check in with storm center 4 meteorologist tom kierein, people curious about the weekend, tom? >> right now, still low clouds over the metro, but they should break up over the next hour or two with some sun breaking out. later we climb to low to mid

70s, into the mid 80s. some sunshine in and out and tomorrow, partly cloudy, hotter, afternoon highs around 90, as well as sunday and memorial day. more clouds around sunday and memorial day. tuesday, back to work and school, could get some showers and thunder, that may linger into wednesday morning. eun? >> all right, tom, people are

good morning, traveling in montgomery county, still have norbeck road closed between georgia avenue, as well as barn ridge drive. please be aware of it, take lay hill road or bellpre road as an alternate. davison road is shut down both directions at route 50 due to an accident there, please be aware of that. >> more news weather and traffic.

♪ one two three four uno dose tres quatro ♪ >> thank you guys so much. thank you, new york. thank you. [ speaking spanish ] >> we're back now with more of "today" on a friday morning. it's the 25th day of may, 2012. pitbull just wrapping up a great concert here on a friday

morning. more music to come from him a little later on. if you're just tuning, what he just said in english was thank you "today" show, what he said in spanish was, i'm coming back every single year. which is nice to hear. we thank him very much. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. al roker and tamron hall. what do we have coming up? >> i don't know i'm kind of hoarse from screaming. i can tell you -- mentioned we've got bobby brown in concert. >> and coming up this morning we're going to have more of our exclusive interview with bobby and his family talking about his reaction to the death of his former wife whitney houston and what happened to him in his life in the days after that tragedy. >> and of course we're always trying to help people save money on this sew. so we're one-upping that by giving or letting you know where to find free stuff and lots of it there dating sites to gym passes. there's something, dare i say, for everyone. >> all right. and if you are out looking at homes for $250,000 or less,

barbara kosh ran is here, tours from upstate new york, texas and every place in between. >> before we go, just a second ago, 30 seconds ago, savannah guthrie was out here dancing with the best of them. >> oh, yeah. >> she's made her way inside. she's got a check of the headlines. >> and i put down the flashing bracelet. today, exactly 33 years after etan patz disappeared from his manhattan street a new jersey man appears in a new york city court. police say he has confessed to kidnapping and killing the 6-year-old boy back in 1979. according to police, former convenience store clerk pedro hernandez said he lured the boy from his school bus stop with soda, choking him to death, and then dumping his body in the trash. investigators have yet to determine a motive in this case. a young man whose rising football career was cut short by a rape conviction has now been exonerated. brian banks spent five years in prison after a childhood friend falsely accused him of rape back in 2002. she has since recanted her

story. the case against him was dismissed and he was allowed to remove his electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, no longer a felon on parole. banks now says he has not given up on his dream and still hopes to play for the nfl one day. many holiday air travelers are keeping an eye on hurricane bud. which weakened to a category 2 storm in the pacific, as it approached mexico's coast. meantime, aaa predicts that despite high gas prices, nearly 35 million americans will travel at least 50 miles from home during this mem or control day weekend. that's up 1.2% from last year. a maryland high school freshman who invented a new cancer test has won the $75,000 grand prize at the intel international science and engineering fair. and 15-year-old jack andropov could not have been more excited or more deserving. he developed a dip stick sensor for blood or urine that accurately detects pancreatic cancer. intel says it's 100 times more sensitive than the current test.

he says it can also be used to detect ovarian or lung cancer. britney spears tweeted that she was just taking a break and was actually having the best time on thursday when she reportedly walked off the set of "the x factor" during auditions. she was said to be upset after a contestant butchered her hit "hold it against me." talk about multitasking, joe is the first person to pull off a full triathlon while juggling the entire time, yes, even during the swimming portion. wow, he says he's part of the jogling community, a group of runners dedicated to juggling as they go, good to know. in case you weren't impressed enough, he completed that triathlon while driving and juggling in just under 2 hours. could this be the prequel to "black swan" because it sure looks like these two little tutus are having a rough time sharing the spotlight. the proud dad of one of these little ballerinas posted the video on youtube. her first dance recital, and her first fight.

it's 9:04. we'll go back to al with a check of the weather. >> wow. that does look -- thanks so much, savannah. oh, my gosh, we've got some -- oh, my camera man is about to hit -- oh! anme. ow! let's show you what's going on as far as your weather is concerned. we've got hurricane bud, we're worried about, 130 miles southwest of manzanilla. it comes on shore sometime late tonight, early saturday morning as a category 1 storm, a lot of rain out of this, not so much wind. in the east. a 70% chance of tropical development with this system it could become beryl around the northwest bahamas, it could bring anywhere from one to five inches of rain from miami to cape hatteras by sunday. locally as much as seven inches of rain. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, tom kierein, in storm center 4. on this friday morning. the low clouds in the overcast still hanging in over

washington. but the cloud cover breaking up in a few locations around the region. it's all sunny in the shenandoah valley. it's in the low to mid 70s much of the region. we ought to get a partly cloudy afternoon with highs reaching the mid 80s. saturday, sunday and memorial day, up near 90 each afternoon. considerable cloudiness on sunday and monday. could get showers and thunder l weather. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. as we mentioned, bobby brown is going to be here for a live performance on the plaza on monday with songs off a new album which he says is all about healing. recently, i sat down with the r&b superstar and his family for an exclusive interview. and he spares no details on life with whitney houston, their drug use, and how he dealt with her death. i asked brown what it's been like for him and his family since the news. >> she was one of my best friends in the world. just, you know, her and i being here is almost unreal. it's been hard. but, you know, you have to deal

with what you have to deal with and you have to move on. >> when you look back with the benefit of hindsight, why did it end? >> we were definitely going two different directions. i know she didn't want to use anymore and i definitely couldn't use anymore, because i just felt it was going to kill me. you know, but there was a lot of pressure from other people telling her always in her ear telling her that i wasn't good for her. >> is it her immediate family, bobby? >> no. just business folks. >> they said, this is bad for you? it's bad for your career and reputation, if you continue to be with bobby brown? >> yes, basically. >> any time you lose somebody who's dear to you, and you lose that person suddenly, you have to stop and think, you know, about the things you wish you would have said. >> mm-hmm. >> you know. and so often we don't get an opportunity. have you thought about those things? >> no, because, you know, i try to live every day of my life, every day of her life how i felt

about her and how much i loved the gift that she gave me, which is my beautiful daughter. >> bobbi kristina is 19 years old. bobby has four other children from other relationships. landon, laprincia, and bobby jr. are all in their 20s, and there's 2-year-old cassius. his mom alicia etheridge is bobby's manager and fiancee. talk about whitney. okay. what type of relationship did you all have with whitney over the years? landon? >> oh, well i used to live with my father and whitney when i was younger. and we had a lot of fun. >> good, clean fun? >> oh, yeah. >> did you ever see any of the dysfunction that has been written about so much about their relationship? >> never. >> nope. >> never? >> are you talking about drugs -- >> i'm talking drugs, i'm talking about violence. >> that has never been -- >> i'm talking about, you know -- >> i've never, in my life, ever seen that.

>> i heard -- i heard a lot of stuff in the media when i was younger. i was completely oblivious to it. >> it was never -- >> i didn't even know that anything was going on. i see my dad, i didn't know anything was going on. >> is that because they were so good at keeping it from you? or is that -- >> that could have been it. >> they were so happy. >> well, bobby, what was it? >> well, you know, you don't subject children to, you know, things that, you know, you don't want them to be around, or to be a part of their lives. >> when things came out of drugs, maybe he didn't tell me exactly what drug he might have been doing. but when it came out in the media, he did sit me down, he said listen, i did -- i think he said marijuana. doesn't really matter what he said at the time. but he did let me know that it was something that he was in the wrong for. that he had done. and that he was going to try to get better. and that's all you can really

hope for. >> what's the worst thing you remember reading? what's the thing that stopped you and made you go to your dad and say, is it true? >> you hear a lot of stuff from people. so a lot of news you hear, you haven't seen yourself, you just hear it as a rumor. when people were telling me my father had died. and i heard that rumor so many times. and i'm worried because i haven't seen him in a few days, and i won't know if this is true. >> you sound like you're all feeling a little victimized by some of the things that have been written and said about your dad, and i guess, by most it's your family over these last many years. >> yeah. >> i think they have been victims. unfortunately. they stand behind their father, love their father, and walk this life with him. >> to the kids here, i asked your dad about people who feel that his story may not end well. they worry about him. they're not sure that he is as well and evolved as he tells me

he is. what do you say about your fears for how bobby brown's story? >> i don't have any fears. my father is a very strong man. and he's going to do it -- he progressed so much. >> we're on our way up right now. >> yes. >> we're all in an upswing. >> proud of them? >> i am extremely proud of my kids. it's what i have in my life. it's my legacy. it's what makes me work harder every day to be better. >> a bunch of great kids. >> impressive family. there's no question about it. and it was interesting to have them be so candid. which was nice. anyway, a reminder, bobby brown is going to be here monday, memorial day, for a live concert out on the plaza. >> that's right. and coming up next, everyone loves free stuff. who doesn't. ear going to tell you how you can get it. everything from dating to bowling. >> free dates? >> that's right. wow. >> is that a tease or what? >> i want a free date!

>> excuse me? >> come on. >> what about your husband? >> i am married. you're right. okay, i don't want a free date. >> and later on -- >> i want one for you. >> and great open houses for $250,000 or less. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word. you have yet to master the quiet sneeze. you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts. well, muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. zyrtec®. love the air.

claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. race in for big savings. at the petsmart memorial day sale. save up to 50% on hundreds of items and save 20% on bayer k9 advantix® ii or advantage® ii flea or tick products for dogs or cats. friday through monday only, at petsmart®. sears memorial day sale is on... with 60% off swimwear, a craftsman mower for just $199.99 and save $400 on this patio set. buy online, pick up today when you shop your way at sears. ♪ every little thing has meaning ♪ ♪ i woke up to a light bulb on ♪ every little thing is possible now ♪ [ female announcer ] we've added a touch of philadelphia cream cheese

to our kraft natural cheese to make it creamier. so whatever you make isn't just good, it's amazing. ♪ life is amazing with the love that i've found ♪ [ female announcer ] and to make a creamier sandwich, try new kraft touch of philadelphia slices. anti-aging cream undeniably. it creamed unbelievably a $500 cream and now women have made regenerist microsculpting cream also unscented. women love it. in original and also fragrance-free. you know that comes with a private island? really? no. it comes with a hat. see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card.

you can book any airline, anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow! [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's ok. i've played a pilot before. this morning on "today's consumer"s, free stuff. and where to find it. there are lots of opportunities to have fun this summer at no cost to you. lifestyle expert elizabeth mayhew is here with the scoop. >> good morning. >> obviously free will catch our attention. is it obvious why these companies are doing this? they want your business. >> they want you to know about them.

they want you to have fun. they want you to have a good experience and they also know that free is better than cheap. >> the natural thing, also, are there strings attached to this? >> not usually. the thing that i would say is sometimes they're hard to find on the websites. so i'm going to run you through these and i'll tell you actually where to find them. they're out there, though. so you can see. >> jump in. it's raining outside, going to have some rainy days. why not go bowling with the kids. >> perfect. especially for this kind of weather. a nationwide program go to their website, over 900 bowling alleys across america, gets get to bowl two free games every day. >> wow. >> so during the summer. you register. >> that beats a video game sometimes. >> actually active and it's fun and they really have a great time. it's 15 and under. same thing, amf bowling alleys. you can go to freebowling.amf. they have a similar program. you do have to register online and they're going to send you vouchers. when you say strings, that's not a string but it's something you

have to do. >> fishing. >> this is bass pro shops. this weekend, they are having a summer kickoff, it's like their whole summer festivities. they're going to do everything for kids to teach you how to put up a tent. they're even doing something my 12-year-old son would love is a metal detector treasure hunt. they have art projects. everything. sleeping bag races. you name it. and it's to get you there, 11:00 to 4:00. lots of fun stuff. fishing demonstrations. this weekend, so bass pro shops. >> and if you have a little bob vila in your home. >> right. so lowe's has a program called build and grow. every other saturday they do a program where you can bring your kids in, they get to build, they get the little apron. they get to keep all the stuff. they get to build their little, in this case it's an ice cream truck. it changes every single saturday whatever the project is and they get to take it all home with them. home depot has a similar thing the first saturday of every month. they get to build, paint, do the whole thing. the other thing about home depot, they have a lot of

clinics for adults, too. you can take your kids to their clinic and you can do your clinic. >> i love that they get to take home whatever they make. >> it's an art project. painting and building. >> next up. >> next up is getting in to the national parks for free on june 9th. national parks are open for free. it's a great deal. you have a little bit of time to plan. the next free day will not be until the fall. so take advantage of it. npf.g npf.gov. >> awesome. and target is helping us explore the world. >> target has an unbelievable program. you have to go to their web tithe, scroll all the way down, go to the company website and then there's an arts and culture click through. and it tells you all the free museums, target sponsors all kinds of free fridays so you can get in to museums. you can get into all different cultural programs across america. storytelling time. go to the target website and find something. you put in your zip code or where you live and it will tell you all the things they're sponsoring. >> and nothing beats a book. but a free book? >> free book. barnes & noble is doing a great

program to kind of get kids to read. you go to their website, you can print out this little log, it's a reading log. your kids read eight books, they sign, they fill it out. they date it, and then when they finish the eight books they bring them in to barnes & noble and they're going to get to choose a great book. >> that's a great motivation tool. >> goes up through sixth grade. >> next is an app called wave. wave is a free gps that you can get on your phone. what's cool about it is it's user generated. so if you see a cop, it will read and it will post it. it totally uses gps. so you're not texting or doing anything while you're driving. as long as you have it on in your car it's going to read where you are, what the traffic is around you. so it's like a social kind of -- >> and romance is not often free. but in this case. >> ancestry.com is off offering a three-day deal. three free days of dating. you can find somebody. find your match there. >> for free. >> and hopefully -- >> usually they charge.

>> okay. this is a company called vistaprint. great for summer memories. you go there, you just download your photos, they mail you this, they do this for free, 20 pictures. and then -- lastly, l.a. fitness is doing free three days of workouts. go to their website. go to member pass, guest pass. and you can print that out, and go work out this weekend. >> if that can't motivate you, what will? >> thank you. >> all free. still ahead, he's burning up our plaza, miami heat one more song from the chart topping pitbull. first these messages. i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system,

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we all like to find the best of the best, right? so we are on a quest for the best. of everything in america.

okay? cue the music. from the best recipe for mac and cheese to the wildest wedding group caught on tape. >> today we're on a quest for the best homemade birthday cake. we're looking for originality, creativity and taste. all your home cooks, make your original recipe and photo at today.com. no professional bakers. >> i'm out of this. >> get a trip to new york city and a chance to compete live in the studio before a panel of professionals. >> the taste is the last thing. creativity, and the taste! can't wait. we'll see what happens. and still ahead, memorial day grilling. we've got tips and recipes from the pit master. not pitbull. but the pit master who knows his stuff. >> he's also going to show you how to do it in style. >> i love it. >> yeah. >> because a lot of us are going to be seeing rain this weekend. >> yeah. >> so you might want to have --

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♪ made with real fruit, 100% whole grain, and fiber. it's one unique cookie. good morning, it's 9:26 now on this friday, may 25th, let's start with storm center 4 meteorologist tom kierein, a look at the forecast. >> good morning, right now in the low and mid 70s, cloud cover grinning to break up, getting a few peaks of sunlight around the metro area, it's all sunny, shenandoah valley and much of western maryland, west virginia. later today, partly cloudy, highs reaching mid 80s. heating up for the weekend, up near 90 each afternoon. maybe a few more clouds around on sunday and memorial day. we get back to work and school, possible rain on tuesday.

good morning, i-95 southbound, seeing a delay as you approach the way station, an accident in the right shoulder lane. it was blocking two of your right lanes, but your delays

start as you approach the weigh station and travel lanes are open past there. 424 at route 50, all lanes blocked in both directions. back to you. >> a lot of pools opening this

♪ it hurts so bad i let you walk away ♪ ♪ away ♪ and that is r&b star bobby brown who will be taking over our summer concert stage on monday, memorial day. and then on thursday, the runner-up from this year's "american idol" is here, jessica sanchez will join us in the studio. she'll have a live performance. and then a week from today, we're going to go a little bit country on the plaza, with the band perry. the music keeps going all summer long. and we are not done yet. with "today's" concert. in fact in just a few minutes we'll have one more song from miami's own -- everybody knowns

him now, not just miami. >> he's mr. worldwide. >> 305, pitbull. >> that's it. >> all right. >> what was that thing? you have something to say? >> you were mouthing something. >> we're all here. >> why do we call him 305? >> miami's area code. >> okay. >> during the concert jenna says when are you going to do starship. >> i'm confused with somebody else. >> nicki minaj. >> he's going to love that. >> wait till he hears that. >> anyway. >> i thought it was a pet segment. okay. >> and that's why we work weekends, lester. >> lester. >> we'll see how far your money can go these days. check out some homes for sale prices $250,000 or less. and then this weekend it's the official start of the barbecue season so want to fire up the grill, we're going to show you how to do it right and learn from the master pit master. >> but first let's say hello to the culturally aware lester holt

and jenna wolfe with a preview of what's coming up this weekend. >> i'll be getting down with it. >> get jiggy with it. >> yes, indeed. let me tell you what's coming up this weekend. we're going to look at the john edwards trial. the jury still deliberating. they keep asking for more and more evidence. the judge keeps giving them more and more. we're going to try to read the tea leaves and figure out what may be in store for the presidential candidate. and it's memorial day weekend. we'll kick off the unofficial start of summer with tips on outdoor cooking and wear to find the best holiday bargains. >> then while we're working this weekend, you guys are at the movies, summer also means big movie releases. so we're going to give you a sneak peek at "men in black 3," "the dark knight" and "sparkle" and "rock of ages." and who says dads don't dance. this was this little girl's bat mitzvah. instead of doing your typical traditional dance they got all jiggy with it and they made quite a little youtube viral performance out of it. so we're going to have dad and daughter on this weekend to talk about it.

that was a little mickey minaj. >> it's something. >> speaking of dancing, jenna wolfe has been tweeting this morning, and i believe -- >> oh, yeah, we did some video. >> we have it? >> we have it. >> we still got it. >> but what do you have? >> i don't know. >> i don't know if it's -- >> whatever it is. >> i just took some ointment for it. >> there was a lot of this going on. >> this is a replacement -- >> look at this. >> she was clapping. >> the double clap. >> right. >> anyway let's see what we've got as far as your memorial day weekend weather. again for tomorrow, we've got sunny weekend whether. tomorrow, sunny conditions, northeast. wet weather along the southeastern coast as the low gets itself together. more rain in the pacific northwest. sunday, looking for more heavy thunderstorms from minnesota on into nebraska. beautiful out west into texas. record-setting highs on the ohio valley. heavy rain along the

southeastern atlantic coast. continuing 0en into monday's memorial day. record highs in the upper mississippi river valley. into the ohio river valley, showers in the pacific northwest. a few showers in the northern plains, hit-and-miss thunderstorms in the northeast and new england. here's what's going on in your neck of the woods. good morning, some breaks in the clouds now, and we're beginning to heat up. heading the mid 70s around much of the area. just past 9:30 on this friday morning. later today, should hit the mid 80s much of the region, partly cloudy. and tomorrow, partly cloudy day, 60s, afternoon highs near 90. near 90 sunday and memorial day. but probably more clouds around both days. then back to work and school on tuesday. maybe with some showers and thunder. they may linger into wednesday morning. >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. up next, house hunting for $250,000 or less. right after this. sometimes, i feel like it's me against my hair.

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time now for "today's real estate" and what you can get for under $250,000. "today's real estate" contributor barbara corcoran scoured the country and has great deals. >> good morning. >> you've been scouring. >> thank you. >> okay, st. louis, missouri is our first location. >> it's a great little house. a 1920s bungalow, one of the oldest homes in this friendly neighborhood right in the heart of st. louis. the pretty front porch leads to an elegant foyer, with hardwood floors and i love that little layer cake staircase with railing. you're going to see in just a moment inside. it's such a nice welcome, once you get inside. inside. >> barbara, we're not getting the hint. >> the windowed kitchen which we're going to see is sunny enough to look good painted gray, and yet most kitchens look terrible. but it's saved by all that beautiful thick white molding. the dining room has three sides of windows overlooking the beautifully landscaped backyard.

the living room has gas fireplace and extra wide base boards and ceiling fan. the screened in porch out back is perfect and connects to the kitchen with the outdoors in the freshest possible way. what's wrong with that little room? i'd just sit myself down there and spend the whole day. >> not a thing. buffalo, new york. >> buffalo, you know, is cold. but this is worth going to buffalo for. it's a columned yellow colonial with a circular front porch. it's a bright yellow, actually much too bright. should be painted much softer. excuse me. and it's very close to a park that's right next door. the wood cabinets in the kitchen are expensive but a little bit on the dark side i think. those rugs in the kitchen have got to go. i don't know what they were thinking. the dining room has extra tall beadboard wainscoting and crown molding. it's a nice size room. it doesn't even have a window except at the very end but it's very pleasant. the living room has hardwood floors, built-in book cases and a wood burning fireplace flanked by columns. too much stuff on the walls. again a lovely room. the family room has windows, wainscoting and fancy crown

molding. a pretty room. it's only dated a little bit by that granny-type furniture. what a pretty house. only $229,000. >> i love the commentary. okay. flint, michigan. tell us about the next house. >> flint, michigan, had an interesting thing happen because earlier this spring the graveyard shift came back at the gm plant, adding 750 gobs. gm isn't the only big employer in flint. there's also a medical center that employs 9,000 people and three major universities in the area. jobs are plenty in flint, michigan. and this pretty house is on a quiet cul-de-sac street, has over 3,000 square feet. the kitchen has wood cabinets, granite counters and a roomy breakfast bar. the great room has cathedral ceilings, everybody always loves those kinds of ceilings. walls of windows and a fireplace with a carved wood mantel. the formal dining is a little too formal with cherry wood floors, crown molding and a chair rail. there's a huge deck out back and it actually butts into a nature preserve of woods and a pond right outside the own backyard. >> oh, that's nice.

summerville, south carolina. a three bedroom, 2 1/2 bath. >> this is a pretty house. list a charming southern style home in the center of summerville. 25 mutes from historic charleston and 45 minutes from the beach. it has a double front porch, that catches the southern breezes. everybody likes that part of the country. the living room has light tan walls with contrasting trim and a wood burning fireplace with a beautifully carved mantel. nice and open. the eat-in kitchen has 42-inch cherry wood finished cabinets and granite counters. they spent a lot of bucks on that kitchen. the breakfast area is bright and cheerful and is big enough for a much bigger table. the formal dining room is pretty wedgwood blue with walls and white wainscoting and molding. the big back porch has white columns and railings. plus a cooling fan. and the backyard overlooks a huge park that's right next door to this pretties now summerville. >> that looks like a postcard. >> you don't convenient to pay the taxes on that one. >> great deal, great look. barbara corcoran, have a great weekend. >> up next a barbecue feast for

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with the purchase of select beautyrest mattresses. good morning. in "today's kitchen" we are grillin' and chillin' to kick off your memorial day weekend. kenny callahan, the executive chef of blue smoke here in new york city shows us how to wow your crowd. kenny, good to see you. >> good to see you, al. >> the great thing about what you're doing, you can do it outdoors or if your weather is not so great you can do it indoors. >> absolutely. >> now i hadn't heard this. this is called -- this cut is called the butcher's steak? >> yeah, it's actually a hanger steak. and they call it the butcher's steak because the butchers used to keep this for themselves and sell the rest of the cut. >> uh-huh. >> it's a great cut of meat. >> but it is not that tender. it needs a marinade. >> it usually needs to be marinated. this is a whole hanger steak here. you need to -- what i would do is tell a butcher to trim it up for you. it has a little bit of a vein in the middle.

so it's kind of inedible. you want to cut it down. this one is a cleaned up one, just this piece and this piece. >> without that stuff in the middle. >> exactly. >> so what goes into the marinade? >> basically rosemary, thyme, sage. >> right. >> we take the steaks, a little bit of olive oil. a little bit of -- oh, sorry. a little bit of crushed garlic. one or two cloves in there. here i have a couple that are already done. >> and how long will you marinate that? >> you can do this up to two days. >> oh, okay. >> up to two days is fine. here i have a couple that are already marinated. just taking them out. just want to season them. if you help me out there. >> that would be great. >> a little bit of black pepper. go right on a nice, hot grill. >> and now do you want to cook this over a high heat quickly? >> high heat. high heat. i'm a big fan of high heat. >> like the high heat. you and the yankees. well the yankees not so much. >> not these days. >> okay. anyway so you get this on.

how long on each side? >> probably about two to three minutes. you just really want to touch it. if it's feeling -- a good rule of thumb, this is rare, this is mode yum, this is well done. >> all right. you just signal for -- >> okay. >> exactly. >> how a salad. >> salad, this is a lovely little salad here. we're grilling some corn. we have some awesome cherry tomatoes. >> right. >> here i have some already grilled corn. some red unions. >> yeah. >> sugar snap peas. roasted peppers. just going to toss this all in there together. >> it's really colorful, too. >> beautiful. this is the perfect type, memorial day. spring and summer are kind of molding together. >> right. >> a little bit of olive oil. a little salt and vinegar. >> nice. >> salt and pepper. >> then you just toss this? >> toss it up. >> bring this back here. you can show us how to slice this thing up. now that you're done. >> yes. want to help me out there?

>> you bet. >> you want to cut this against the grain, how come? >> exactly. the grain is the fabric that holds the muscle together. so you can see this here. see the grain clearly like that. so want to cut exactly 90 degrees across the grain. >> nice. oh, yeah. that's what i'm talking about. and you brought some sides. you've got some great corn bread. a little asparagus. coleslaw. this is more of a vinegar based. >> vinegar base. toasted sesame seed coleslaw. here i have a nice little sauce with shallots, garlic, dijon mustard. >> don't even need the sauce, kenny. this is fantastic. can you tell? thanks so much. perfect memorial day forecast and food. thanks so much, kenny. >> thank you, al. thanks for having me. >> still ahead we got pitbull on the plaza to get the party started. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

the "toyota concert series on today," brought to you by toyota. >> okay we've decided we're kidnapping kenny. >> yes. >> and bringing him home this memorial day. >> we'll share him. >> i got a lot of plans. >> you get him friday -- >> are you okay with this? >> i'm fine with that. >> so are we. >> sign me up. >> don't forget the recipes are on today.com. >> listen, mean tile pitbull has been singing a great show for us. you like the pitbull? >> i think it's a hard act to follow. >> don't forget there's a brand-new way for you to experience the summer concert by checking out today music station on pandora. >> now here's pitbull. ♪

♪ ♪ >> thank you new york ♪ ♪ you know i want you ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ you know i want you you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ like one two three four

♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ give it to me like one two three four ♪ ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me ♪ you know i want you ♪ i know you want me

♪ you know i want you ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ one two three four ♪ baby ♪ ♪ i don't care what they say ♪ i know i want you you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ i know you want me you know i want you ♪ ♪ give it to me like one two three four ♪ uno dos tres quatro ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ one two three four

uno dos tres quatro ♪ >> thank you guys, so much. please say hello! thank you. new york, thank you. [ speaking spanish ]

9:57 is your time now on this friday, may 25th, 2012, good morning, i'm eun yang. let's cherk in with storm center 4 meteorologist tom kierein for a look at the forecast. >> we're beginning to warm up. it will be hot for the weekend. right now the cloud cover begin doing break up. sun peeking through and temperatures are climbing. we're in the low to mid 70s much of the region. later today, should hit the mid 80s and partly cloudy.

tomorrow, another partly cloudy day. highs near 90. another hot afternoon on sunday as well as memorial day, both days upper 80s, near 90. more clouds around. back to work and school on tuesday, maybe showers and thunder. danella, how's traffic? >> problem on i-95 southbound at the weigh station, an earlier crash just in the shoulder lane. it was blocking the right lane and right center lane. still causing a lot of delays. the delays start as you approach the weigh station. travel lanes are open, but look out for that. traveling route 50, no issues here. back to you. >> doenl forget to tune in for "news4 today."

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and it is try day friday. not only an ordinary try day friday, a great try day friday! may 25th. because we are heading into one of my favorite weekends. memorial day weekend. unofficial start of summer but it didn't matter to us kids, right? we knew it was "official." >> it felt like it. what is on your dance card? >> family. which is good. we spent a lot of time with our family as you do during the year but to get everybody together,

my brother, my mother, my sister, my niece is engaged. i have yet to meet her fiance. >> oh, fun. >> i have yet to meet their child. >> oh, wow. >> no, it's a little doggie named brewsky. what about you? you're going -- >> i'm going to nashville. there is one of my favorite bands, rascal flatts, is playing at the grand ole opry. i want to go to the bluebird cafe. you sit there and singers just come in and perform but they are great singers. >> a lot of people have been discovered there. >> and it is going to be 95 degrees. so happy! >> pack your thong and your sunscreen, hoda woman. >> yes, indeed. so if you are traveling, they say 34% of people who are traveling this memorial day weekend, 70% of those will be traveling by car, not by plane. >> which is surprising when you think about how much gas costs right now. but at the same time, then you think about what's happening

with airline tickets -- >> they say the average cost of an airline ticket is somewhere between $325 and $350. that's to go anywhere in the country. which is pricey. >> if you're solo, i guess that's okay but think about a family. >> i know you're probably wondering if i'm going away during memorial day weekend when should i hit the road? >> not right now you shouldn't. this is the worst time. >> 10:00 in the morning is not a great time. that's when it starts getting bad to hit the road. so the highest number of cars are on the road between 2:00 and 4:00. either you should have already left and you made a huge mistake, or -- >> so sad. >> -- you should wait until 5:00 p.m. tonight. which would you think is rush hour but maybe people have already left. >> i think that's what they're trying to say. i hate to miss a day though someplace. you know? >> you just want to go early. >> absolutely. all right, so when was the last time you went on a road trip? and what do you do to kill the

time when you're on the road? >> i like to listen to music and sing aloud. in the car. all kinds of -- >> by yourself or with sneem. >> doesn't matter. whoever happens to be nearby. >> jay's a saint. does he love your love of music -- >> i keep saying i'm so embarrassed, then i continue doing it. >> it's in your dna. people either love it about you or they really don't like it at all. most people, thank god, love it about you. >> they do say if you happen to be in a car with your significant other, it happens to be a great time to discuss issues that are important because no one can flee. you're trapped in the car. >> this is good fob you to be listening to, bobbie thomas. they say most people should have had this conversation before you get married. we'll tell you the things you're supposed to talk about. >> you're supposed to discuss -- they say it is not a bad time to discuss finances. >> on the way to vegas?

not a good time. >> you can discuss credit scores. >> a bad time if you're on your way to vegas. >> they say it is not a terrible time to have those kinds of discussions because it's hard to carve out the time and have the discussions about money and finances. i agree it is a terrible thing to do. >> if you're going to be talking about those kinds of things an then bring up family issues and all those kinds of things you're going to hate each other's guts by the time you get there. >> what do you like to do on a long car trip? spl i don't like to take a long car trip. >> when you're forced. >> i think the longest we ever drive anywhere anymore is up to see our friends up in -- >> so what happens in the car. >> it isn't pretty. >> do you play games? >> with frank? >> i-spy with my little eye? >> i-spy with my little eye? we count cows -- hoda. no. i don't like long trips. okay? they're not good for my neck. they're not good for my

marriage. really not good for my marriage. have you no idea. i'll tell you at lunch. no, it's not good at home. that's a joke. >> kinda. so the question is -- >> it's a joke. >> -- a lot of people are defined by their car. they feel like their car makes them sexier, makes them more appealing. the question is, is your car an aphrodisiac. >> i don't know what kind of car. "z" driven me for 28 years. it's a car. it gets me here. >> you're in the car driving. >> i'm on my way to work, with you, which is hardly what i'm thinking about at the time. nothing against you, hoda. oh, hoda, i'll be there in 15 minutes. oh, hoda, doesn't work like that. >> here's the thing. they say that a lot of guys when they pick out a car, you can tell when someone pull up and they know they're sexy.

>> but they look like idiots. it's like shut up! it's ridiculous. >> apparently, they say a lot of people care about the color of their car. 61% of people would walk away from their favorite car if it wasn't the proper color. >> jerry, can you come join us, please? who's hotter than jerry. i would love to know, jerry -- thank you, honey. what kind of a car do you drive? >> i have a honda. >> so you're obviously a secure man. >> it's a family car. >> do you feel sexy in your honda? >> no. >> no. you just get there. >> have you ever had -- it's just transportation. but i've had a few. >> what were they? >> i had that kit -- the firebird? >> the firebird. kit. >> get any fire in that bird? i guess it's more true for a man than a woman. but if a guy drives up in a hot car and he's not hot, i don't care how hot the car is.

that's where you're going wrong, guys. >> i agree with that. so here are some topics to avoid this weekend with your significant other. they say this is a -- these are topics women should avoid when talking to a man they're dating. >> probably all the time. >> yes. all right. this is what you shall not be doing. number one, you should not be calling and texting constantly. >> they don't like that. >> you should not talk about your ex-boyfriends. they don't like that. >> they don't like bringing up your cats. >> if you're bringing up your cats, you have other problems. sorry, amanda. >> let's get a nice shot and embarrassing shot for amanda. >> amanda is one of our producers. >> she's a lovely person and such fun. she happens to have a cat -- >> i'm sick about her cats. i can imagine the guy she dates. >> they don't like people who are paranoid or jealous and they stalk their significant other on

facebook. >> well of course you don't! i can't believe they're getting dates to begin with if you're doing that. >> do not bug him when he's watching sports. for god's sake do not use baby talc in public. they hate that. >> is that the single thing? >> i think so. >> i think the worst is whining. >> that's a big one. do you look fat in this? they don't like it. it is try day, friday. we thought we'd share something from serendipity 3 here in new york. they have the most expensive hamburger in the world. >> how many burgers will be consumed this weekend? >> joe calderon is the executive chef from serendipity 3. you made two of them? >> tell us, what's the price of theseburgers? >> they're $295. >> tell us why.

>> that's part of it. >> the ingredients. it's japanese wagu beef. there are many cuts. it is infused with ten herb white truffle butter, topped with montgomery cheddar cheese from somerset, england. quail egg, shaved wax travels. it is on a bun encrusted with gold. and it has on top the most expensive cavier that's farm-raised in china and is from paramount cavier. >> who buys these burgers? >> people who want an extravagant item -- >> celebrate something. >> it is going to charity. >> the proceeds are going to the barry mission. >> the barry mission is an awesome, awesome -- what they do is amazing. >> the thing on top, this is a solid diamond and gold toothpick from euphoria, new york jewelers. >> no, they didn't. >> they made it specifically for this and donated it.

>> get in there. you got to take a bite. >> you have to order this 24 hours in advance? >> yes. so we can have all the ingredients flown in. >> oh, my god. that is so drippy. oh my god! i just ate $80. oh, my god! >> and wasn't it good? >> it was so good. thank you so much. delicious. thank you for coming to see us. >> oh, my gosh. bobbie thomas. come on up. it is time for "bobbie's buzz," gang. >> this weekend is the official kickoff of cocktail sipping season. sara's going to help me with this. we have to get the whole family involved. this is a really cool find at bed bath & beyond. it is a picture that you can put inside the center. fruit, can you do sangria, infuse your vodka or just lemons

in your vodka. saves all the seeds. very smart. under $20. then you can lock your liquor. if you've got a roommate or some children around. lock it up! for you, if you're going to drink and dive maybe if you have a boat? we've got a little life jacket for your bottle of chardonnay. >> are you kidding me. >> no. at home wet bar they sell those. last, but not least, i have a party trick that's supposed to be a solution. i'm wearing these shoes that are bottle opener heels. >> how convenient. this is like how many women it takes. >> let's try it -- >> it is a bottle opening high heeled shoe. >> and who doesn't want a couple

of pairs of that? >> thanks. you know what it's time for? >> kathie lee's friday funny. >> oh, gosh. i got stuff all over. and it is a special friday funny, you guys. because we want to introduce everybody to miles. he has been battling brain cancer for over three years and now with a fourth recurrence. he is about to undergo a stem cell transplant children's hospital. he will be in isolation from his friends and family for a month. he's asking people to send in 5,000 jokes miles can watch online from his hospital room. lots of people are doing it. big stars are doing it, it is wonderful. send your jokes to jokesformiles.com. okay? jokes with a "4." number 4. this is for you, miles. all right? all right. got truffle face. this is from katherine ann

landers in mexico. >> ann landers? >> a relative of. all right. her 15-year-old son, justin, told her this and she said this is the kind of joke that kathie lee would tell. i agree with them, i love this. an old man goes to answer a knock at the door one evening to find two sheriff deputies standing there. sir, are you married, one deputy asked? why, yes, the old man replied. for 48 years. do you have a photograph of your wife, sir, the second deputy questioned? the old man pulled a picture out of his wallet and handed it to the officers. then looked it over and handed it back to him. sir, i'm sorry, it looks like your wife has been hit by a truck. the old man says, i know, sir, but she's got a wonderful personality. she's a great cook. >> of good one! that's awesome. >> i hope miles enjoyed that. coming up next -- >> i'm going to pick my teeth with this very expensive toothpick. the next big busters of the summer. >> we've got a memorial day

weekend movie guide. right after this. i took the dare... will you?

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pop culture fans listen up -- we have your preview of everything entertainment for this coming memorial day weekend and a little beyond. >> here with his movie picks is entertainment weekly's very entertaining senior writer, tim stack. >> it is almost summer! >> i'm excited.

wearing my short sleeves. >> just flex a little bit. ooh. >> no one reacted but you. >> what's the big movie to see this weekend? >> the big movie is "men in black 3." obviously it is the third film in the trilogy. it's been a while since we've seen a "men in black" movie. >> hugely successful. >> it's been a while since we've seen will smith. i think it's been about four years. >> he's got a lot riding on this. >> very expensive film. had a difficult production. they stopped production to finish the script which is kind of crazy but it's gotten really good reviews. our critic loved it. josh brolin's in it, he plays a young tommy lee jones. will smith has to go back and save tommy lee jones in the past -- >> lost me. >> there's another snow white movie. >> this one's like really epic and intense and it is kristin

stewart plays snow white. charlize theron is the evil queen. charlize, this is like she's been quoted as saying this is her bitch period. which i understand. she is riding that. >> how fun is that though? >> that's like trees come alive, it is a very dark version of snow white. it is sort of like lord of the ringsy. whereas "mirror mirror" is more comedy. >> that did okay. >> not amazing. this is pg-13 so kids could see it. not like young, young kids. prometheus is ridley scott who directed "alien" and "blade runner" and "gladiato"gladiator" they won't confirm this but it is said to be a prequel.

charlize might also be a villain in this. michael fastbender. in this he plays a robot. >> madagascar 3 is the other. >> i was surprised how much i enjoyed that last time. >> all the animals are back. there's like a zebra, a lion, there is a flamingo, there's lots of animals -- >> and some people! >> and lots of people. ben stiller's character, the animals are trying to get back to central park and end up in monaco accidentally being chased and they join a circus to hide. >> it's a lot of fun. >> where they just fit right in. >> i think they do. >> let's move on to tom cruise. this movie's been getting a lot of press. >> "rock of ages" based on the broadway show which i'm sure you've seen. >> hoda loved it. >> for this one, just bring a flask. but basically it is a movie version of the musical. it is all these great '80s songs

like styx and poison and tom cruise -- >> he nails it. he really can sing. >> look at his body. >> he's 50 years old and look at him. >> any good dvds if you're going to stay home? >> yes. in breaking news, "the sting" is out on dvd. >> that movie is fabulous! >> i know. i loved "the sting." >> i heard you loved it. >> anything paul newman did, especially robert redford. >> you guys are the modern day redford and newman, the lady version. >> you know what, tim? >> that was ridiculous. >> i know where my bread is buttered. look what you've done for my career. i'm here, i flexed on tv. >> do it again. >> please! i can't. >> we got to go. the fun continues. back with more of "today" right after this. ♪

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it is time for "3-2-1 live with sara haines" who's rounded up our friends and fans across the street at the nbc experience store. >> i'm with rachel from albany. >> we just graduated from college and we were wondering what your best advice is for noon graduates. >> i think you just have to be really tenacious. think it is tough to find a job out there. it's not simple and i think you

just have to be one of those people who never gives up. i think most of the people who are still standing at the end are the ones who just didn't quit. i think that's the best for me. >> i'll give you the same advice my daddy did, honey. it is the best advice anyone ever gave me. find something you love to do and then figure out a way to get paid for it because you want to be happy in life. you'll be happier in life doing something you can't wait to do every morning when you wake up. >> sure. >> next up, sara from texas. real quickly with this adorable baby. >> hello. do you have a memorial day tradition in your family? >> look at that baby! >> we love your baby! i'm sorry. >> i saw that baby the other day! she's back! >> we sometimes go to rehoboth. >> for years and years an years we went to where my parents -- >> kiss that baby for me.

she is so delicious. >> my god. still ahead, remember that favorite lipstick color you thought was gone? think again. from pool to party, easy ways to cover up and turn your swimsuit from day to night. we'll be right back. ] i am a pr. 11 years playing the outfield, and i got no plans to retire. [ female announcer ] aging may slow a dog down, but iams helps keep dogs playing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it helps boost the immune response to that of an adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life.

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we're back on this try day friday with "today's consumer watch" and something you are going to love. you know how when you finally find that perfect lip color and your eyeliner, then you find out it is discontinued? well guess what? >> they're back! that's right. style and beauty experts are here to help you try to find some your old favorites and make sure they never, ever vanish again. >> why do they do it in the first place? when there is a great shade of lipstick or nail color or something and suddenly it vanishes. what's the story? >> i think in beauty, a lot of it is about inknow vags. there's only so much shelf space, something has to go away. >> to make room for something

else. they think we've got something that's new, improved, you're going to love it. >> but sometimes it is the most popular items that they discontinue. it's like if mcdonald's stopped making the quarter pounder with cheese. it doesn't make sense. >> we get attached to our products. it takes a long time to find something you love so when you find it you want to make sure you hold on to it. >> are there any ways to know something's one of those passing fads or something is a maybes a mainstay? >> if shades have been around for a long time, there is no guarantee they'll stick around forever. but when you find your product is a little scarce, if you're having trouble finding it, it may be going away. >> stock up at that point? >> does it affect their efficacy? >> stop showing off. >> it takes about three years for a product to go bad. that's not true for things like sunscreens that have an expiration date. cosmetics, about three years. >> you look and think, sure,

these are all over the place but some of these have been discontinued. >> some of them have gone away. pan teen, they had this ice shine line at drugstores. they discontinued it in 2010. people went crazy. they were taking to facebook, and twitter. pan te pantene listened and brought it back. prescriptives discontinued their wholesale distribution and they're really known for their foundations. i think something like 350,000 customers went crazy over this and prescriptives then relaunched their whole website featuring the foundations, the best selling products, so people could get them. >> look, nothing creates more buzz and more need than taking it away and having everybody lean in and say, gosh, i wish i could have that. >> i think it is interesting. there is limited edition products they make and tell you from the outset it is limited edition. even if you know that, like guerlain and revlon. the eyeliner was limited edition in 2009 as part of an indian

inspired collection. beauty editors were hoarding it. in the revlon case, this is a fashions night pout that they made for the special fashions night out event. people loved it so much, they brought it back. >> does it really work if you go to facebook and a bunch of people take to facebook? i know they listened for the pantene ice, but does that work most of the time? >> absolutely. you are putting your complaint out there for the world to see. companies are reading those posts and really acting on the facebook and twitter. >> don't they have to make their customer happy? it is one thing if five people are saying i can't go on with livfy don't have my lipstick. but if 350,000 people clamoring for it. we want to buy it but you got to make it possible. >> what if it is discontinued? >> i had a nail color chanel had and i just loved. bobbie told me about this little company that would make -- you tell them what it is and they'll make it for you. >> freecustom.com. we've written about it.

they have a vast inventory of formulas that people have asked for. you can also send in a little dime size sample and they will make a custom blend brand-new version of your discontinued favorite. >> it wasn't outrageously expensive. >> thank you, ladies. up next -- from splashing to smashing, just another day for hoda. looks that will take you from the party to the pool, whatever. ♪ [ male announcer ] if you like movies that make you laugh... [ sirens ] ...tv dramas... ♪ ...timeless classics, or whatever else, then you'll love netflix. netflix lets you watch unlimited movies and tv episodes on your pc or tv via game console or other devices connected to the internet. browse genres, and get personalized suggestions. it's instant, it's unlimited.

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style" and with the official start of swimsuit season this weekend, we have looks that are going to take the from the pool to your party. >> to help avoid schlepping all throws extra outfits with you, liliana vasquez is here. >> you look beautiful. >> thank you guys. you guys look great too. >> going from a pool to a party, do you have to throw an extra thing in the bag. >> nobody has time or space for an extra outfit. we're always about discovering new ways to wear the stuff that's already in your closet. sl prove it. >> we have four 70s models. some are twins, some are not but they're sporting two different looks with the same piece of

clothing. >> erica and ebony. >> so cute. hey adorable. very cute. >> twins? >> yes! i love this look. pants for me, these lightweight pants are great way to cover up at the pool. it is a little unexpected but for women that maybe want to not show off their hips an thighs, these are only $24.99. i love it with this tankini from kohl's. great straw bag from t.j. maxx. to transition to night, it is all about color and accessory. i added a neon sweater from j. crew. great statement necklaces. i layered two from carol lee. can't forget about the shoes. girls got to have her heels for the party. i love these white sandals. they're white without being too white. i think both girls look great. >> thanks, ladies. next up, tory and eileen.

>> a super cute beach look. this coverup i love because it is two trends in one -- print and neon. from h & m. $17.95. so pretty. i love this as a maxi dress, we added a great beach hat. flat sandals. but then look how cute it looks on eileen as a skirt. then it becomes a maxi skirt for the evening and again adding in bold pops of color. tie-waist shirt. great accessories. neon sandal. >> the nighttime look, it is so funny -- just gathers around the top like that. is there she could be going out for cocktails at the beach and not look overdressed. because in the summer it is about being casual but still put together. >> are you guys aware that we can see right through it? >> she's got a little help for the evening. >> next we'll bring out jazz.

>> this is a lightweight cotton gingham dress. what makes this dress very easy is that it is neutral so you can pair it with any swimsuit. you don't have to match your coverup to the swimsuit. i found this for $50 at marshall's. huge steal. love the polka dots. bringing in the neon this summer. i love the idea of adding a structured blazer. this one is a white linen blazer from macy. it takes the look from casual and beachy to polished and professional. you could even take that to the office. these shoes are a stacked woven hell from kohl's. $53. >> you find good bargains. >> i'm all about the bargain. >> we have adrian and claudicla. they have this great open weave sweater. >> if you're not beach body ready but you want people to see

your swimsuit, this is the way to do it. swim seat peeks through the crochet. it is is exy and understated tame. she's in a fabulous wedge from aerosols. look for natural material for the wedge. to transition to night, all i did was add this bandage skirt. the sweater is a little bit bigger, it is more voluminous on top so pair it with something that's a little more body conscious. this skirt is $50 from charlotte rousse. what is that? new crystal light energy.

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all right, let's face it, this is going to be a weekend spent eating and drinking. just accept that. >> before you fire up the grill and have that burger, we're going to put our nutrition knowledge to the test. >> that way you can learn what's in the favorite memorial day foods are you putting in front of your families. >> the key is favorite because today is national wine day. we're going to start off with some wine coolers. have you a little sample there. we all know that wine coolers are a sweet drink but just how much sugar is in them? do these two wine cool verse more or less -- let me finish. than 12 teaspoons of sugar? more or less. >> i was going to say more. >> and you would be right. they have 16. this is the sugar. >> i know my wine coolers. >> yes, you do! >> i know to avoid them. >> that's a good thing, too. who doesn't love to dip? whether it is veggies, chips, whatever you want to do. here are three popular ones,

chunky salsa, there's hummus, then guacamole. only one of these has less than 40 calories for two tablespoons. >> the answer is -- salsa. >> that's correct. it's only 15 calories. the others are between 50 and 70 just for -- >> everybody knows that, hoda. >> some people thought it was hummus. >> here's an option for a juicy burger. you might want to try a flame grilled veggie cheeseburger with all the fixings. does this veggie cheeseburger have 300, 400 or 500 calories. >> 400. >> no. >> i'm going to go with 500. >> i'm going to say you're both wrong. it's 300 calories. you save a lot of calories and fat with a veggie burger. even a cheese one. >> you still want the real one. >> a large ear of corn -- listen carefully. it's rich in one of these nutrients -- which one. is it potassium, fiber or

vitamin b-6. >> oh, lord. >> that's a tough one. kathie lee. >> look at you. go for it. >> fiber. >> it is fiber. it is four grams. about 20% of your daily requirement. >> wait a second! i'm not enjoying this game. >> you will love this question. water mechanicalen is a popular dessert and so easy to prepare. just hack off a chunk. so does this wedge of watermelon have more or less than 100 calories. >> less. >> that's right. it's 85. >> love watermelon. >> this is getting tougher. on to dessert. fudge brownie ice cream and fudge brownie yogurt. if you replaced the ice cream with yogurt instead how many fat grams would you save -- 5, 10 or 15. >> 5. >> no. >> 10 -- 15. >> you'd save 10 grams of fat. 12 for the ice cream and 2 for frozen yogurt.

now we're going to talk about food safety. you're going to be outdoor eating, it is hot outside. how long could you keep this plate of food outdoors safely? is it one hour? two hours or three hours? >> one hour. do not eat it if it's been out longer than an hour. >> kathie lee. >> two hours. >> two hours. that is correct. i think you should split this because when it's over 90 degrees -- >> if we split it, we'd still win. just for once in your life, you know i give it to you anyway. and today's no different. here you go, hoda. >> no, thank you. i am disinterested in the prize. you won it fair and square. >> this is what we were waiting on? up next, now that you know what to eat, we're going to thrshow you how to throw that party.

if you are hoping to create the most fabulous memorial day bash on the block, are you in luck. >> kathleen delmans has some ideas on how to throw one heck of a memorial day celebration. we love when you come to see us. >> thank you for bringing me back. first, i have to thank you and team "today" because the little companies that we've been featuring on the show, you have helped so many of them. you've just given them a hand up. you've saved jobs, created jobs, you've brought awareness to brands who would not otherwise be able to be part of this platform. >> we're so thrilled. >> looks like the tables are adorned with nice drinks for us already. tell us about these. >> so we have -- we're starting out with some summer brews. we've got a colorado brewery, america's third largest brewery.

the guy started in his basement with an idea, his imagination and -- >> they're really cute. >> we've got summer salt beer, something to sing about. blue paddle beer. it is a pilsner which was named for the brewer whose mother used to kind of slap him with the paddle when she would steal zips of her beer. firefly lemonade. this is the first sweet tea vodka. >> that has got a kick in it. >> that is delicious. >> kathleen, let's walk up here. good luck to you getting out of that chair. >> let's talk about the furniture, too. >> this adirondack furniture made in the adirondacks by 100-year-old woodworking company. the more and more we ask for american, lands end is now outsourcing in america which is a great thing. these are all $250. free shipping. handmade sustainable woods. >> these are beautiful here. >> for our table and for the

food because we don't want to work so much on the holidays. we still want to have a lot of fun. it is buy it, fake it, take it. >> my motto. >> you can keep it healthy. can you go both ways. it is about portion control. this is costco did all the work for us or sam's club. when you go to the warehouses they have the barbecued pulled pork already made. make yourself some biscuits. we have the watermelon feta. these are just great little bites, sweet and sour, salt ya. feta cheese, cracked pepper, mint. >> they're adorable. buy it, use real whipped cream topping. some sprinkles. three minutes and you're out the door. star spangled berry pie. made with graham cracker crust that you can buy and cream cheese filling that you don't bake and some cookies. french bowl, a local u.s. company. this stuff is beautiful

melamine. schwinn. as american as it gets. >> all great. thank you so much. come back next week when our friend edwardo will be here along with martin short! bye, everybody.

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