good morning. the right path? lawmakers set to press the head of the federal reserve to whether he can do more to spur the economic recovery. this after the dow posted its best day of the year. criminal act. a massachusetts teen becomes the first in his state to be convicted of causing a deadly accident while texting behind the wheel. he'll spend the next year in jail. this morning, a landmark decision is sending a clear message to other drivers. and unmasked. michael jackson's daughter, paris, opens up with oprah and talks about how her late father covered up his kids' faces when they went out in public. how does she feel about that now? her answer thursday, june 7th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to "today" on this thursday morning. i'm ann curry. welcome back. >> thank you very much. i'm matt lauer. ben bernanke is expected to face pretty tough questions on capitol hill today. he'll be speaking to members of the joint economic committee. >> that's right. we've been getting a lot of mixed signals. recently wednesday' 286-point dow surge comes just days after the unemployment rate jumped to 8.2%. so both lawmakers and investors on wall street will be listening very carefully to what he has to say. we'll get a live report from wall street coming up straight ahead this morning. also ahead, we'll talk about a case involving a florida man acquitted in the murder of his wife. he has fought these charges for five long years. at one point, he blamed her death on a reaction to some

spray tanning chemicals. this morning he speaks out about the verdict and the toll the case has taken on his family. and then we're going to have an eye-opening hidden camera experiment, matt. because what would you do if you saw a missing child poster and then moments later you actually saw the child pictured on that poster? would you recognize him or her? and what would you do? we put people to the test and frankly, you're going to be shocked by the results we found. >> alarming, i think. people are going to really be surprised by what we see here. and imagine waking up with a skill that you never had. it happened to this man. he had no musical training. he suffered a concussion in a swimming accident, and now he can play the piano like a virt woe s virtuoso. he's going to demonstrate his remarkable gift this morning in the studio. it's odd, the human brain. >> it really is. we'll get to that later on. let's begin with the top stories with natalie morales joining us at the news desk.

>> good morning, everyone. as you heard, all eyes are on the economy today after wednesday's ginn gains on wallt marked the best day of the year to date for the dow which ended up more than 286 points. this as ben bernanke heads to capitol hill to give lawmakers an update on the economy. for more we want to turn to cnbc's mary thompson at the new york stock exchange. would this finally be a worldwide rally? >> near term, stocks could extend their climb if they perceive bernanke's comments as being friendly. the markets rallied on expectations central banks around the world would take additional actions to boost flagging economies. what could he do? his second in command vice chair janet yellen saying in a speech she thinks it could either be bond purchases further extend i should say hiking interest rates. we'll keep watch on it today. back to you. >> we'll be listening for those

comments. mary thompson, thanks so much. new reports this morning of yet another massacre in syria. we have the latest now from cairo cairo. good morning. >> reporter: activists inside and outside syria say the village witnessed about 250 residents in that village, 100 of them were killed, many of them at close range, executed by government supporters. meanwhile, the diplomatic efforts continue to stall. secretary of state hillary clinton in turkey trying to bring together arab and european allies to prop up the syrian opposition. they're holding a meeting later in the month of june to try and get some support to the syrian opposition, ordering or carrying out rather attacks inside syria. natalie? >> reporter: eamon reporting from cairo, thank you. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta is in afghanistan this morning amid a recent upswing in violence. this morning hamid karzai is condemning a nato air strike

that he says killed 18 civilians on wednesday. nato has sent the team to investigate the reports that civilians were killed in the strike. a massachusetts teen has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years behind bars after being found guilty of texting while driving. causing a fatal car crash. 18-year-old aaron deveau will serve one year in jail for negligent homicide in the head-on collision that killed 55-year-old donald boley. he'll finish out his sentence performing community service. science fiction writer ray bradbury is being remembered as a visionary, anticipating our modern technology decades before it became reality. bradbury best known for "fahrenheit 451" died at 91. high schools and universities nationwide still study the author's works. and the donald just might give miss pennsylvania a second chance to avoid a lawsuit. trump released a statement last night saying that she has 24

hours to apologize for saying that his miss usa pageant is rigged. the 27-year-old resigned as miss pennsylvania on tuesday saying that another contestant saw a list of the top five finalists before the show went to air. well, trump denies that the contest is fixed and says he'll sue her for making defamatory statements. it's six minutes past the hour. let's turn it back over to you. not an end to this one, i don't think. >> thank you so much. meantime, look who else is back from london this morning. >> you know what's weird? we were in london together. >> we never saw each other. >> never saw each other. no. >> we both landed very early, went to our respective stops. >> separate corners and came out fighting. there you go. nice to see you. >> good to see you see, finally. unfortunately, folks who saw some weather they did not want to see in the rockies, let's first go to the video we've got, we've got some hail out of denver, colorado. this douglas kointd, just to the south of denver.

rain and hail, cars were stranded. hail was up to three inches thick in some spots. plus, there was a tornado spotted. right near the denver international airport. take a look at this. i mean, it's basically called a landspout, not really a tornado. but still unusual stuff. and today, again we show you a risk of strong storms from pueblo, up to alliance, we're looking at the possibility of tornadoes and a risk of strong storms firing up down through texas. we're looking at heavy rain, anywhere from two to three inches of rain before that's over. and our friends in florida getting dumped. they've got more rain and they could see anywhere from one to four inches of rain in the next 24 hours. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. mostly sunny and cool on this thursday morning. good morning, tom kierein, in storm center 4. once again we're down into the 50s throughout most of the region, and later today, should climb to 80 degrees and the

possibility of a passing mitd to late afternoon thundershower. and clearing out after midnight, 50s again tomorrow morning, sunny, low humidity, beautiful day tomorrow. and low 80s during the and that's your latest weather. ann? >> al, thanks. president obama's fund-raising out west today as he spars with mitt romney and republicans over the state of the country. nbc's kristen welker is in beverly hills with more. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, ann. president obama got a warm welcome at the lgbt council gala here in beverly hills but also got serious quickly, warning supporters this race will be tight until november. president obama greeted by thundering and sustained applause as stars turned out for an event sponsored by hollywood's gay community. newly energized after the president's recent endorsement of same-sex marriage. >> the fight for equality and

justice on behalf of the lgbt community is just part of a broader fight on behalf of all americans. >> reporter: mr. obama ticked off a litany of what he sees as his biggest accomplishments. >> i keep a little checklist of my accomplishments at the oval office. every so often i take a look at it and say we're doing okay. >> reporter: but on the stump in texas, mitt romney took direct aim. >> 23 million americans out of work or stopped looking for work or can only get part-time work and need full-time employment. the median income in america the last 3 1/2, 4 years has dropped by 10%. >> reporter: republicans are also trying to paint the president as being out of touch for frequently fund-raising in tinseltown. the president attended two fund-raisers on wednesday, rubbing elbows with cher, ellen degeneres, julia roberts. in may, mr. obama raked in nearly $15 million at george clooney's house, and his

campaigns got an ad touting a fund-raiser ne week in new york hosted by sarah jessica parker and "vogue" chief anna wintour. >> just don't be late. >> reporter: the republican national committee responded with its own ad, criticizing the president for using wintour, a wealthy fashion icon, at a time when unemployment ticked up to 8.2%. white house press secretary jay carney fired back, pointing out that romney has his own celebrity surrogates. >> two words. donald trump. >> reporter: wednesday night, both candidates appeared in comedy sketches at the "cmt music awards" about who should host the show. toby keith or kristen bell. >> i want them both. >> i propose toby and kristen cohost the show. see? i just put two people back to work. you're welcome, americans. >> reporter: now, just before the president's first fund-raiser here in los angeles, an f-16 fighter jet intercepted a single-engine cessna which are flown into restricted airspace.

norad says it landed out incident. today it is back to politics. mitt romney will be stumping in st. louis, missouri. president obama attends one more fund-raiser here in los angeles and then heads to las vegas where he will talk about the economy. matt? >> kristen welker out in california this morning, ki kristen, thanks very much. tom brokaw, good to see you. welcome back. >> good to be back. >> the president is warning his supporters, it's going to be razor tight, razor close this race. more and more people are saying to me -- and i'm listening to the pundits say this over and over again -- that this is going to boil down to one thing and one thing only, that unemployment number as we get closer to november. do you disagree? >> i do. i felt this way for a year now, that it's a referendum on the economy. and as i've been going around the country, the people are very wary about what they're hearing, recovery or not, there's kind of a bait and switch going on. we seem to be in recovery in april or may and then suddenly it turns sour when you get to june. the president's had two bad setbacks in the last week.

first of all, the number that came out last friday, and then wisconsin. even though he didn't go out there and get involved, it showed the muscle of the republican party. and as my friend chuck todd says, they've come to play this time in a way they didn't four years ago. >> save wisconsin. i'll get to that in just a second, though. when you talk about the economy, how does the president go out to voters and say, after these three lackluster months, that these numbers do not accurately reflect the state of the recovery? >> well, some people who are fans and friends of his will say the same thing. warren buffett, for example, thinks that the economy is recovering at a faster rate than the public realizes at this point. but it's still a slow ramp-up. he's borrowed a page from ronald reagan. reagan, people forget, in his first term, they were in a very deep recession for a long time. so as he came into this year in his presidency, he said it is getting better. trust me, we can really make it better if i get one more term. that's what barack obama is going to attempt to sell. >> and on the other side, mitt

romney takes a look at this unemployment number ticking up slightly over the last month. and how does he go out and use that as a political weapon on this campaign trail without being that guy who's rooting against the economy for his own purposes? >> well, it's the unspoken part of the republican campaign now. when that number came out last friday, bad news for the country, they thought it was good news for them. first of all, it diverted attention from romney back to obama not getting the job done. within the romney campaign, they think their big job is to transform him between now and the convention from the candidate who was more beholden to the right wing in the republican primaries and debates than he has to be come the fall. so they're working hard to make him more user friendly, if you will. as one of them said to me, he can't be gordon gecko going into the fall. >> real quickly, you mentioned wisconsin, that's the big political news of the last couple days. scott walker, the governor there, pushing back a recall bid. what is the big lesson to be learned in terms of national

politics from wisconsin? >> well, the republicans come to play wherever there is a big competition. now in play. they spent a lot of money up there. and also, i think as you look around the country, matt, you see a lot of people just saying, we're not going to play by the old rules anymore. look at the trouble they've got us into. public pensions are a big, big issue. and however you feel about whether the unions overstepped in trying to recall him, most voters felt that it was not a recallable issue in terms of they have voted for him, after all. so it was an issue for him. >> in the last few seconds i have left, the situation where the president is out raising a lot of money in hollywood. it's good for his political coffers. it is a double-edged sword, though? >> i don't think it's that much. you know, i've been covering politics and money for a long time, and people kind of say that's the way the game is played. on the other side, they'll point to the coke brothers and the big industrial interests that are sending a lot of money because of citizens united and the pacs

who support romney. i just don't know. here's the important thing to remember. we have a geologic age between now and the election. a lot of things can happen. we'll have a much better idea after the conventions going into the fall, post-olympics, people will begin to pay attention and we'll see where we are. >> tom brokaw, always good to see you. thanks very much. 7:15. now here's ann. >> matt, thanks. as the school year winds down across the country, parents at one high school in california are being warned of the dangers of a possible student initiation ritual. our janet shamlian is in malibu with this story. >> reporter: ann, good morning. school officials say they have no hard evidence this is happening. but if you talk to students, it is a different story. they say this welcome to high school-type hazing is an org organized and annual event, the time and date usually posted on facebook. classes are almost out at malibu high school. but the e-mail sent to parents recently wasn't about any closing celebration. it was a warning about possible

hazing. the note said, potentially scheduled for this weekend or next. >> it's just like a paddling. i mean, i don't really know for sure. i hear, like, covered in cat food or some degrading thing and that's about it. >> reporter: clark says students call the event an initiation. 11th graders soon to be seniors targeting incoming freshmen. initiation for boys often involves violence, usually in the form of being paddled and physical fighting. the e-mail warned. girls, it said, are humiliated and harassed. according to the principal's letter, the so-called initiations have sometimes happened here on the beach in malibu as girls in bathing suits were covered in food or even cat food and then rolled in the sand. school officials insist the note is precautionary after teachers heard chatter among students. >> we hear that word "initiation," and it raises concern. just in the word itself, it raises concern. >> reporter: students say with

good reason. it does happen. >> well, i went through it in eighth grade. there was a facebook message about it and i do know people who did go. >> reporter: harassment at the high school level has already taken its toll in westchester county, new york, where three teens were charged as adults for assault, hazing and unlawful imprisonment of a group of incoming students. police tell nbc news more than a dozen students were taken from a library to a remote area and then beaten and paddled as part of a freshmen friday. one required hospitalization. >> it usually doesn't go as far as the hospital. they just kind of rough them up and take them to, like, a private area where no one can see. >> reporter: no comment from those arrested. back in malibu, parents like brett linden are grateful for the heads up. >> is it on my radar more now? yes, it is. >> reporter: unlike the incident in new york, students here describe initiation as a

voluntary-type event that most 8th and 11th graders choose not to attend. ann, back to you. >> important for all parents to pay attention to. 7:17. here's matt. >> the family of a georgia grad student who's put on a brave face as she fights a flesh-eating bacteria says that the 24-year-old is now starting to show some signs of frustration for the first time. nbc's thanh truong is at the hospital in augusta, georgia, where that young lady is being treated. thanh, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. aimee copeland's parents have been by her side every day since she contracted flesh-eating bacteria. through multiple amputations and a lot of trauma, she's put on a strong face. but for the first time, her father's describing the frustrating toll it's taken on aimee. for more than a month, aimee copeland has bravely fought a flesh-eating bacteria that almost killed her. >> you try not to think about the rest of your life without your sister because really, i mean, she's the closest thing i have. it was really a hard time, but

at the same moment, i just knew aimee couldn't give up. >> reporter: when we recently sat down with aimee's family, they were celebrating the fact that she was finally able to talk again and how she was cracking jokes with nurses. it sounds like she's a remarkably strong young woman. but has there been a time where she said, why me? or any frustration? >> not yet. >> reporter: but in his latest blog, aimee's father painted a painful picture. this past week aimee had struggled mightily, he wrote. aimee has lost both hands, her left leg and right foot to amputations. aimee's dad explained her phantom pains. although she has no hands, her brain is apparently still telling her body that the hands are there. aimee described the pain, saying "it feels like i have been carrying bags of rocks." >> generally phantom pain is sharp or burning pain in an area where they no longer have part of their limb.

some people describe it as kind of dipping their limb into acid. >> reporter: aimee's father went on, explaining how the pain and frustration she was feeling caused her to uncharacteristically lash out at nurses. >> there needs to be a period of mourning or an opportunity for the patient to accept the loss of their limb. and so this will always take a psychological toll on our patients. >> reporter: aimee remains in critical condition and faces a mountain of medical procedures and rehab. despite her latest struggles, aimee's family says she's still showing a resilience they didn't know was possible. >> just seeing the strength that she had and the courage that she's displayed right now is just -- to me is just remarkable because, you know, i try to put myself in her situation, and i don't know that maybe i would not be as strong as she has been. >> reporter: for now, aimee's family measures progress by the removal of stuff from her room. she used to be on a ventilator. that's now gone.

and she used to be hooked up to 16 different i.v.s. it's now down to two. the next major procedure for her will be skin grafts, matt. >> still a long road ahead. thanh truong, thank you very much. the florida man accused of killing his wife who initially blamed her death on a bad reaction to spray tanning. he'll open up about being found not guilty in that case. but first, this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. got my bearings. ♪ a little bird told me about a band. ♪ an old man shared some fish stories. ♪

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results of our hidden camera experiment to see how much attention you pay to those missing children posters. and michael jackson's daughter talks about having to wear a mask in public while she was growing up after your local news. it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain.

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good morning, it's 7:26 right now, i'm aaron gilchrest. before you head out, tom has a look at your forecast. >> you may need a jacket or a sweater, because right now it's still only in the 50s throughout much of the region. but later today, seven-day outlook, up near 80 degrees, possibility of a passing afternoon shower or thundershower. that might linger into the evening hours. another cool start to friday morning, but warmer tomorrow, lots of sunshine, low humidity into the low 80s. still not very humid for the weekend, but heating up, upper 80s, saturday afternoon, near 90, sunday getting humid first part of next week. we'll have a look at traffic for you next. stay with us.

when mitt romney says "planned parenthood we're gonna get rid of that." romney is saying he'll deny women the birth control and cancer screenings they depend on. when romney says "do i believe the supreme court should overturn roe v. wade? yes." he's saying he'll deny women the right to make their own medical decisions and when hisampaign can't say whether he'd support equal pay protections. "and we'll get back to you on that." romney's putting your paycheck at risk. planned parenthood action fund is responsible for the content of this advertising because mitt romney is out of touch and wrong for women. good morning, taking the beltway, a couple of things to look for, first in virginia, the inner loop at telegraph road, the left lane is blocked by the

crash. let's head to maryland, the biggest set of delays, the inner loop approaching route 450, annapolis road, two left lanes blocked in this area and you're jammed in college park. aaron, back to you. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message. [ male announcer ] it started like this... i speak the language of business. i know how jobs are created. [ male announcer ] but it ended like this. one of the worst economic records in the country. when mitt romney was governor, massachusetts lost 40,000 manufacturing jobs. a rate twice the national average. and fell to forty-seventh in job creation. fourth from the bottom. instead of hiring workers from his own state, romney outsourced call center jobs to india. he cut taxes for millionaires like himself... while raising them on the middle class... and left the state two point six billion deeper in debt. so now, when mitt romney talks about what he'd do as president...

i know what it takes to create jobs. [ male announcer ] remember, we've heard it all before. i know how jobs are created. [ male announcer ] romney economics. it didn't work then, and it won't work now. you are rirlistening to a musical wonder at work, but his skills didn't come from years of training. his talent came after he suffered a concussion doctors say changed the way his brain is wired. we'll hear more from derek and talk to him coming up. 7:30 on a thursday morning, the 7th of june, 2012. i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry. derek was always musically inclined, but he never played the piano. he never took a lesson, had this concussion, and afterward has this amazing gift. it's a very rare occurrence.

>> a window into how the brain can work. and i think it makes a lot of people, including me, wonder -- some of us really wish we could be talented musically. >> you wouldn't want to have to go through what he went there to get there. we'll talk to derek coming up. also ahead, much more. >> also ahead, an experiment because we've all seen those missing children's posters, but would you be able to spot that child if you saw him or her at a store? if you did, would you speak up? we'll have the surprising -- some say -- sobering results of a hidden camera experiment. and michael jackson famously made his chirp wear those masks in public, so did it bother the kids? did they understand why he wanted them to cover their faces? coming up with jackson's daughter paris is now saying in the new interview with oprah. >> she looks really beautiful. we begin with a verdict in a murder case that's been pretty closely watched in florida for years now. a husband accused of killing his wife in cold blood. nbc's keith morrison is in miami

this morning. keith, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. this was a case that transfixed miami, became known probably in false pretenses frankly as the case of the spray-tan defense. a phrase generally used with a smirk. in fact, the story of the young woman, the otherwise healthy young woman who died after getting a spray tan was bizarre, but for a whole different set of reasons. homicidal husband or bungled investigation? the jury's answer? a dramatic -- >> the defendant is not guilty, so say we all. >> reporter: the words adam kaufman had been waiting five years to hear, five years after his frantic call to 911. >> my wife is in the bathroom. she is in the bathroom on the floor dying. and i don't know what's going on. >> okay. >> reporter: it was a moment a charmed life turned on a dime. the morning in 2007 when lena, the mother of her two children, collapsed and died for no apparent reason. at least none that made any sense. >> it was like a nightmare.

that you feel like one day you're going to wake up from, and then it just -- you just don't wake up. >> reporter: then 18 months after he buried her, adam got another jolt. he was arrested and charged with murdering lena. the newspapers dubbed it the "spray tan case" after his lawyer suggested in one of his court hearings that a fatal reaction to tanning chemicals might have been a reason lina died. but to the police and prosecutor, it was a clear case of murder by angry husband. >> i don't think that anyone could imagine what it's like to be -- to love someone so much, then lose that person, then be accused of murdering them, be charged with their murder? it's unfathomable. >> reporter: last month the case finally came to trial in miami. the evidence, a medical examiner's report that cited mechanical asphyxiation. in other words, her airway was cut off by some other person, and the only person around was her husband.

>> the defendant, her husband, is the one that did it. that is second-degree murder. >> reporter: the parade of cops, emts and others who responded that morning took the stand. >> i noticed some scratches on her neck and on her shoulder. >> reporter: and the parade of evidence. the hood of adam's car warm to the touch, his side of the bed didn't look slept in as if he had come in after a night out, argued, then killed her and then kept changing his story about what happened. but experts hired by kaufman's attorney discovered that lina had a heart condition, and having got up in the night to go to the bathroom fainted, collapsed and suffocated. >> this is a prosecution in search of a crime. an innocent man has been falsely charged with a crime that did not occur which he did not commit. >> reporter: what followed, said the defense, was a classic rush to judgment against a loving father who rarely even quarrelled with his wife.

>> there's really nothing i would have changed about our relationship, nothing. >> reporter: after three weeks of testimony and one day of deliberation, the jury returned its verdict. >> the court is in recess. >> reporter: and adam kaufman clutched his identical twin and said his priorities now are simple. to take care of his two children and take a big, long sigh of relief. >> i can only move forward and do the right things for my family, my children, myself and not look back. >> reporter: after the verdict, we talked to some of the jurors who listened to all of that state evidence, and they told us that frankly they were appalled the case ever came to trial at all. in fact, the jury foreman said thank god for him, this is america. and then he thought for a minute and said, "i wonder what happens to people who can't afford an expensive legal defense." matt? >> keith morrison in florida for us this morning, keith, thanks. you can see more of this story tomorrow night on a special

"dateline," 9:00/8:00 central time here on nbc. let's get a check of the weather now from al. >> matt, thanks very much. nice folks here. where are you all from? >> columbia! >> columbia, all right. having a nice time. let's check you ocolumbia! >> let's check you out and see what we've got for you. cooler than normal in the northeast, northwest as well, in between, nice and warm. look at the temperatures, we're talking about in the southeast, anywhere from five to six degrees below normal. 15 degrees below normal in the midsection of the country. chilly out west. we're looking at 94 in vegas, 74 in oklahoma city. we've got a risk of strong storms throughout northeastern colorado. on into the central plains. more rain in the pacific northwest. hit-and-miss showers up into new england, heavy rain down along the west coast of florida. and look for rain from the gulf coast on into texas. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning, tom kierein,

storm center 4. it is fresh and cool this morning. we've got some sunshine, a few clouds coming through. all of these areas in green are in generally the 50s. near 60 in washington and near the bay. later today, warming to near 80 by mid afternoon. and by then, a lot of clouds building. might get a passing shower or thundershower late afternoon, into early evening. and after midnight, clearing out, 50s again tomorrow morning, a beautiful day friday with low humidity, highs low 80s, still not very humid over the weekend, but heating up. and don't fo weather anytime you need it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> all right, al, thank you very much. up next, would you be able to spot a missing child if he or she were standing close to his or her missing persons poster? and what would you do if you did? the eye-opening results of a hidden camera experiment right after this. i knew it'd be tough on our retirement savings, especially in this economy. but with three kids, being home more really helped.

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back now at 7:40, and this morning on "rossen reports," missing children. we've all seen the tragic stories, but would you be able to spot that missing kid if he or she were standing right in front of you? "today" national investigative correspondent jeff rossen is here with an eye-opening midden

camera experiment. >> yeah, we hear these stories way too often. a lot of the times on this show, a young child disappears, and the search is on. everyone bands together, blanketing the area with missing child posters. police say it's a critical tool, but think about it. do you really pay attention to them? and if you spotted the missing child, would you call the cops? don't be so sure. this morning our hidden camera experiment may be a wake-up call for all of us. >> reporter: a little girl has vanished. alyssa mcadams only 10 years old. blonde hair, blue eyes. and the missing child posters are up in this small new york suburb. and inside this local bakery. >> that's, like, really disturbing. just today? >> when did she disappear? >> reporter: but would you notice her if she was standing right next to you? >> i want to see my parents. >> listen to me. >> reporter: what if a man was berating her right in front of you? >> i told you you have to listen to what i say or i'll lock you in a room. >> reporter: our hidden cameras

are rolling. remember, this could be your child. we see it all the time, and the real-life cases are heartbreaking. >> we love kyron and we want him home. >> reporter: desperate parents relying on posters to get them home. police say those posters can save kids' lives but only if the public pays attention. so how alert are you? we set up an experiment in new york. working with police, we printed these fake missing posters and hung them everywhere from trees to lamp posts, even inside that local hotspot, the bakery, wired with hidden cameras. we even put a camera inside the poster, right at the register. here's the good news. alyssa isn't really missing. she's an actress working with us. >> i want to go home! >> i'll take you home when i'm good and ready to take you home. >> reporter: we had her walk into the bakery with a strange man holding her by the arm. he's working with us, too, bill stanton, a security expert.

>> someone just walked away. >> reporter: we're watching from a control room downstairs with alyssa's mother. >> is she going to do something? >> reporter: and a local police detective. >> call 911. let us investigate. >> reporter: to see how people react. >> she's missing. >> reporter: this woman is alarmed at the poster, asking the cashier about it several times. >> since when? the sign just went up? that's, like, really disturbing. >> reporter: then alyssa walks in. the woman immediately looks over at her and seems to recognize alyssa as the missing girl. >> so pretty in pink. >> reporter: but even after that, watch as she moves hleads young daughter away. >> she knew that was her and she walked away? you've got to be kidding me. >> reporter: the scenario brings her mom to tears. jeff rossen, nbc news. time to reveal the experiment. did you look at the little girl and make a connection? >> i saw she resembled the picture. it was unsettling. >> reporter: but then you didn't do anything about it.

>> because i wasn't sure. i didn't want to insult the gentleman if it wasn't her or stare at her if it wasn't her. >> reporter: but police say if you suspect anything, call 911. >> we would rather come out and investigate and have it be nothing versus miss an opportunity to save a child. >> reporter: there were encouraging moments. this man saw the poster, saw alyssa and didn't waste any time calling the police. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> there seems to be a missing child which is all over the place on little flyers. >> reporter: but most didn't call the cops. watch this woman, out with her family, buying italian ices. our missing poster clearly gets her attention, and she does a double take when she sees alyssa sitting alone. >> that little girl? >> i don't know. >> reporter: she seems conflicted what to do. >> that looks like the girl sitting over there. >> where? >> we just saw the sign and walked in and saw her. >> reporter: while she does tell the clerk, the clerk is in on our experiment and plays dumb. meanwhile, bill and alyssa walk right by her, leaving the store.

it's her last chance to stop them. but in the end, she doesn't and leaves with her family. time to reveal ourselves. it looked like you made the connection that that girl was the same girl on the poster. >> we did. >> reporter: and then you left the store. >> i did. i kind of asked somebody if they confirmed my feeling, and they ignored me, so i guess i went on. it was the wrong thing. you need to do the right thing. >> reporter: it's okay. it's okay. you did what a lot of people did. >> but that doesn't make it right. >> reporter: at least she noticed the poster. in our experiment, most seemed to miss it entirely. >> business ciscotti. >> reporter: ordering pastry, going about her lives, with the missing girl just an arm's reach away. >> it breaks my heart. >> reporter: we showed our results to john walsh. >> your investigation makes me sad, and it makes me mad and makes me angry. >> reporter: his own son was

abducted and murdered more than 30 years ago. now john is a leading crusader for missing children. >> we need to pay attention. as busy as we are, we need to stop for a second, look at that child and thank god it's not your child. >> reporter: we ran the scenario 16 times over an entire day. in the end, only three people contacted police. >> that's my child. and if she was really missing, it's scary to think about what would happen becae nobody would be there to help her. it's disturbing on many levels. >> we also shared our results with the national center for missing and exploited children. they say thousands of kids have been saved because of those photos and posters and that our experiment proves that people need to pay closer attention. ann, obviously the point is not to embarrass or humiliate people. i think we're all a little guilty of this at times. but the key is we all need to pay more attention. >> here's the question. obviously the people who didn't participate in calling the police were concerned about

repercussions. so what do experts say? they shouldn't actually intervene and stop someone, right? >> call the police. you don't know if this is a dangerous kidnapper who has a gun, who is armed. you're supposed to keep them in your sights. do what that man did in the piece. step outside, keep them in your sights, make sure they don't leave and call 911 and let the authorities hamgds it. they want to be called. even if you just suspect, better safe than sorry. could save a life versus angering somebody. >> so it's the right thing to do. jeff rossen, very important reporting. thank you so much. and coming up next, we'll talk about michael jackson's daughter, paris. she's opened up about having to wear masks in public as a child. you're going to hear from her coming up right after this. 3 o'clock. my daily meeting with a salty snack.

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paris, is opening up in a new interview with oprah about the childhood of the late pop superstar. take a look. >> do you remember when you were little, little, younger and when you would go out in public, like your face would be covered? >> mm-hmm. >> you would be, like, secluded from the public? what did you think about that then? or did you just think that was -- >> i was really confused. like i didn't get why i was wearing a mask. >> mm-hmm. >> but i understand it now. why my dad would want our face to be covered. like when we went out without him, we wouldn't be recognized and we'd have a normal childhood. >> mm-hmm. so you would only do that when you were with your dad? >> yes. >> yeah. and then when you weren't with

your dad, you could go out and people wouldn't know who you were. smart. smart. and so did you feel that he wanted you to have a, quote, normal life? >> yeah. he did. >> yeah. do you feel that he thought that that was possible with him being who he was? >> he had his doubts. he told us that when he was younger, he didn't really have a childhood. like he would always be stuck in the studio singing while all the other kids were out playing. and he wanted us to have that. so we'd be able to go to chuck e. cheese. chuck e. cheese and toys 'r' us were our favorite places to go. >> and they were able to go to chuck e. cheese and toys 'r' us because of that. >> it makes sense when you listen to the logic from her perspective where it did allow her to go out on her own with her brother and not be recognized. it does add a little clarity to what seemed bizarre at the time. >> because we don't have that

filter to be in that situation. >> right. >> michael jackson never had a childhood, so he knew how important it was to give his kids what he didn't have. >> and you could argue, had he not covered their faces, would he have created more curiosity about them. >> what a beautiful girl. well-spoken. she's obviously done a very good job. >> we've got a lot more coming up on a thursday morning after these messages, your local news and weather.

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7:56 is your time now, good morning to you, i'm eun yang. let's get an update on the traffic now with danella sealock. good morning. >> still watching the beltway, we had a crash the inner loop of the beltway at telegraph road, it's in your left shoulder lane. still seeing some delays on the inner loop of the beltway making your way from maryland to virginia. the iner loop, approaching route 450 annapolis road. still seeing very big delays making your way in college park, you're slow, 29 miles per hour from i-95 to route 50. eun, back to you. ♪

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good morning, tom kierein, storm center 4. off to another cool start this thursday, partly cloudy around the metro, 63 at reagan national. but still generally upper 50s to near 60 elsewhere. 40s out of the mountains and parts of the shenandoah valley. later today, much of the region in the upper 70s to near 80. might get an isolated afternoon or evening thundershower. tomorrow, sunny, low humidity, beautiful day and getting hotter over the weekend. more humid first part of next week. eun?

♪ i've waited my whole life for this one night ♪ 8:00 now on a thursday morning, the 7th day of june, 2012. we have a very nice-sized crowd out there on the plaza this morning as we show you the happy faces. a lot less room out here tomorrow and 24 hours from now because one of the biggest pop stars around, chris brown, will be joining us outside here on our plaza, taking to our "summer concert" stage. and we also saw -- there he is, in fact. and there's going to be a huge crowd, we think. we're excited about that concert. and i'm ann curry alongside matt lauer and al roker.

also tomorrow, we've got chris rock actually this morning joining us. that's why we have all of these people in wigs. that's why. >> apple circus. >> that's on youtube and is such a big deal. "madagascar 3" is in theaters. also in our studio, we have a musician with an incredible story, derek amado. he had never taken a piano lesson. he suffered a concussion, hit his head in a swimming pool. after he recovered from the concussion, all of a sudden he had remarkable abilities to play the piano. doctors say this is extraordinarily rare. derek's in our studio. we'll talk to him and hear him play in just a little while. >> amazing story. and then look who else is in our studio, a certain 3-year-old red furry monster. >> aww! >> aww! >> elmo is on a quest to join us in london at the olympics.

>> yes, a mission. >> he's on a mission. >> we're going to talk about elmo about that coming up. let's go inside with natalie at the news desk with a check of all the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. president obama wraps up a two-day west coast trip today with a fund-raiser in los angeles and a speech on the economy at the university of nevada-las vegas. the president appeared with celebrities and members of hollywood's gay community at two events on wednesday. meantime in texas, republican rival, mitt romney, focused on the recent uptick in the nation's jobless rate. we are now hearing from a woman who once dated the canadian man accused of killing a student, then sending his body parts through the mail. nbc's michelle kosinski is in berlin where the suspect is now in custody. good morning, michelle. >> reporter: hi, natalie. police say luka magnotta killed a man he dated in montreal, dismembered him, posted the video online, then sent parts of him through the mail. why, though, they say, remains a

mystery. but we do know more about this man, arrested here in berlin while surfing the web for stories about himself. in ottawa and vancouver, canadian cities stunned by the deliveries of body parts through the mail to locations including the prime minister's offices and now an elementary school and a private academy. >> it was awful. i was thinking, how could this happen in our community? >> reporter: police now feel certain this is all the work of luka magnotta and connected to the chinese student they're calling his victim. >> shipped from montreal, we know that as a fact. right now we've got no reasons to believe that there could be someone else involved in this horrible crime. >> reporter: investigators say there were similar notes included with the shipments and more pack j ages could be out there. >> hi to all my fans. >> reporter: he's left a long trail from photos, inspirational tweets to rants in blogs about disappearing, cannibalism. police say he had posted video

of himself stabbing and dismembering, sexually abusing and possibly cannibalizing lin. this woman says she dated magnotta for three weeks. >> at first he's very charming but eventually, i could see that he was lying a lot, that he was probably a pathological liar, that he was manipulating people, that he used people as objects to get what he wanted from them. >> reporter: she describes magnotta as possessing a rage and wanting to be adored. >> every goal that i put my mind to, i surpass. >> reporter: for now, luka magnotta spends 23 hours a day alone in his cell. his lawyer describes him as nice, friendland afraid for his own safety. >> all he wanted to do is go back to canada and then maybe the problem can be cleared up. >> reporter: police say there is plenty of evidence magnotta is an attention seeker, but they

just don't know what the possible motive could be for all this. natalie? >> michelle kosinski in berlin, thank you. and now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." brian? >> natalie, good morning. coming up tonight, something unusual, a rare exclusive look inside gitmo, guantanamo bay, cuba, that well-known prison. president obama vowed to shut it, but it's still open and costing millions to keep it running. our cameras go inside. we'll have that for you tonight on "nightly news." natalie, back to you. now for a look at what's trending, a quick roundup of what has you talking online. jim carrey is firing back at ex-girlfriend jenny mccarthy. he's accused carrey of abanding their son after their five-year relationship ended. carrey says he will always love evan adding it's unfortunate the boy's privacy is not being considered. twitter went wild after los angeles lakers star meta worldpeace did a guest weatherman stint on canadian television.

>> victoria, 14 degrees. in april, the nba suspended meta worldpeace for seven games after he threw a vicious elbow to an opponent's head. and the opening skit from last night's "cmt music awards" is hot online. it used celebrities and politicians to build up a phony dispute over who should host the show. singer toby keith or actress kristen bell. >> there are disturbing reports out of nashville that the cohosts, they don't want to share the spotlight. >> imagine that. i don't blame them. i feel the same way. get out of my kick light, by the way. >> this is the one of the toughest decisions i've had to make since i've been in office, but i think i've decided. i want them both. >> i think i have a solution, though. i propose toby and kristen cohost the show. see? i just put two people back to work. you're welcome, america. >> and so, of course, in the end, toby and kristen hosted the

show together and did a great job at that. 8:06 now. let's go back outside to al with a check of your weather. hey, al. >> toby keith, they load in a big red plastic cup. can't go wrong with that. oh! well, thank you. let's see what we've got for got for you, our pick city of the day -- we're not going to show you that. we've got heavy showers and thunderstorms making their way into texas. down through florida. slight risk of strong storms, colorado into the central plains, more wet weather in the pacific northwest. lots of rain in northern new england. heavy rain along the west coast of florida. look for shurs, gulf coast, texas, louisiana being, here's

what's happening in your neck of the woods. another unusually cool morning around the washington metro area. temperatures are beginning to climb into the low 60s. suburbs, rural areas near 60 now. lots of sun, a few clouds over the metro area now. later today, clouds building, highs reaching near 80. the possibility of a passing afternoon or evening thundershower. then on friday, beautiful day, lots of sun, low humidity. cool in the morning, afternoon highs low 80s. heating up over the weekend. still not very humid. getting more humid first part of next week. and that's your l weather. ann? >> all right, al, thank you. by the way, i wanted to make sure you saw this guy who's used his wig as chest hair. there you go. a little smile for you. meantime, coming up, imagine waking up with a talent you never had before. well, that actual hi happly hap a man after he suffered a concussion. he's discovered the ability to play the piano. we'll hear from him coming up right after this. turners i've ever seen. hey son! come on over here! coach t, it's an honor.

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derek amato. his talents appeared virtually overnight after he suffered a blow to the head. we're going to talk to him exclusively in a moment. but first, here's nbc's john yang. ♪ >> reporter: derek amato is at work on his second album. like his first, it will be all his own compositions like this song written for his mother. ♪ ♪ a moment she'll never get back ♪ >> reporter: amazingly less than six years ago, the extent of his musical ability was messing around on the guitar. how good was your guitar playing? >> on a scale of one to ten? oh, i'd like to think like a 2.5. >> reporter: that all changed in october 2006. while horsing around with friends, he jumped into the shallow end of a pool and hit his head hard. >> i remember the panic that set in like i knew i hurt myself. i knew it was something bad.

>> reporter: he was hospitalized with a concussion. a few days later, he visited a musician friend and was drawn to his keyboard. amato never had a lesson, but he sat down and began playing as if he had been doing it for years. you just went straight to this? >> straight. it just all came out. it was almost like it was just flowing with no limitations, really. ♪ >> reporter: the flows never stopped. ♪ amato who can't read music says he sees black and white squares moving from left to right in his mind's eye, generating music in his head and triggering his fingers to move on the keys. >> it's just a nonstop motion. in conversation, it's going. >> reporter: even as we're talking, it's still going. >> as we're speaking, my brain is making violins and cellos and guitars and pianos. >> reporter: mayo clinic neurologist dr. andrew reeves examined amato, a visit captured by the science channel. he says amato has what's called

acquired savant syndrome. the head injury changed his brain's circuitry. >> the kind of acquired savant syndrome that he has is first off quite rare, and second, very unique in the sense of the combination of music, visual and motor ability. >> reporter: life hasn't always been easy for amato who had juggled a series of corporate jobs before music came crashing into his life. now he's trying to use his gift to inspire others. >> i'm convinced it's all for a reason. and i think it's my job to do it right. >> reporter: as he comes to grips with his remarkable and mysterious talent. for "today," john jayang, nbc news, lafayette, colorado. >> and derek amato is with us. good to see you. good morning. thanks for providing the background music all morning long for us here. there are only about 30 people in the world who have this kind of situation after a concussion or brain trauma. those black-and-white squares we showed you talked about, can you

explain how they help you play music? >> that's my notation. so when those black and white squares are going, that's what my hands do. it's almost like, you know, a prereading to what my hands are going to play. so i don't know beforehand. >> i thought it was amazing, you went over to your friends after this concussion, and you say you were almost drawn to the keyboard. so your brain was looking at the piano saying, there's something you need to do over there. >> oh, it was one of those moments where you just knew. it was just drawing me to it, yeah. >> have you lost any abilities, any changes in your personality as a result of the concussion? have you gained other things other than this musical ability? >> i play several instruments. you know, there's probably seven, eight instruments that i'm playing now. >> that you couldn't play before the accident? >> right. the guitar abilities just kind of were enhanced. everything was enhanced. >> i know there are people at home watching this right now, derek, saying he had to have some abilities before this

happened. >> right. >> i mean, he had to have gone to a keyboard before and at least figured out where the notes are. you can't read music. >> no. >> so just set the record straight on that. >> i have no piano experience or playing instruction before that moment. but i dabbled in guitar, and i played a snare drum in school band. i always had an interest in music. but the aftereffects are pretty serious now. i deal with the fluorescent light issues and the energy from that. i collapse sometimes out of the blue, and migraine headaches are intense and my hearing is half gone. >> and so when you look at this, do you look at this as a blessing or a curse or some kind of a mixed bag? >> i think the headaches and the loss of hearing, you know, those things are kind of the price tag on this particular gift, and i'm okay with that. so i look at it as a blessing. >> you talk about the fact that you've got some sensitivity to fluorescent light, some hearing loss. one of the doctors who examined, andrew reeves, said, quote, it's possible that over time over years and years that this may start to morph a little bit into

a slightly different experience for him. do you wake up now each day and kind of rush to the keyboard to see if you still have the skill? >> yeah, i do. sometimes i just have to find a piano and make sure it's still there. >> and would it be okay with you if it went away? >> probably not so good, but i suppose you would adjust. it's loss, but i wouldn't think it would be a good moment. i'd like to it to stay. >> why don't you do us a favor and i'll let you play us into a commercial so people can listen to you a little bit more. >> okay. >> derek, go ahead. and this is a song you first played. >> this is the first piece that i first played and it's always stayed there. it's like it's always there. >> go ahead. ♪ ♪

♪ >> derek amato. der der derek, thanks for sharing with us. we're going to catch up with chris rock right after this. [ woman ] for the london olympic games, our town had a "brilliant" idea. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card holders can combine the thankyou points they've earned and get even greater rewards. ♪

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or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. back now at 8:21 with comedian and actor chris rock. he's back as the voice of a free-spirited, wise-cracking zebra in the new movie "madagascar 3: escape to europe." >> you're going the wrong way, marty! >> just call me martio andretti. >> no, you're suckio andretti. >> give me the wheel. >> it's not a wheel. this is my baby. >> your hoofs aren't meant to be on the wheel. >> too late for you to drive. >> don't look at me when we argue. look at the road. >> hi, officer. is there a problem?

>> chris rock, good morning. that's so classically you, i think. >> that is very classically me whenever i get pulled over by the cops. maybe this record will help me not get beat up. that's what i always do. >> i understand that you -- is it true that you actually like making this movie, "madagascar 3," more than making the first two? >> this one -- you know, like the first two -- like the first two, they're trying to figure out the character. no one knows what's going to work. and this one, everybody knows what the characters are. so you know, you kind of worked a little less. >> oh. easier money. >> it was easier money. >> and on top of that, you actually wrote a song for this. we've been listening to it. we just heard al singing it. >> the afro circus. al roker was singing it? >> al was singing it. >> wow! he can do that without the weight? he used to sing all the time. >> without the weight. it actually has gotten 750,000 hits on youtube. do you have a reaction to that?

♪ da da da da da ♪ afro circus ♪ afro circus ♪ polka dot polka dot polka dot afro ♪ >> really? >> too bad -- wow! >> we could do the entire interview this way. >> wow! >> that's gotten 750,000 hits on youtube. >> isn't it a shame youtube pays nothing? not a dime, ann curry. nothing. >> you should have gotten royalties for that. i think we should write something down, make a protest. >> something. give a brother, you know, a computer or something. >> so you can watch it again on youtube. >> yeah. youtube pays you nothing. no royalties. >> i know. >> residuals. >> but it's making people smile. >> it pays you in smiles. >> it pays you in smiles. >> yeah, smiles. yeah, okay. you know that, right? >> but you make people smile as playing a zebra. they offered you this role. you took this role. >> i took this role, yes.

>> but if you could be any animal in the animal kingdom, chris, what would it be? >> what would i be? i wanted to be the lion, you know, king of the jungle and all that, but you know, that didn't work out. snake is always good, you know. scare people. sss. but i'll take the zebra. you know. you know. >> he's got game. >> in honor of our debora preside in honor of our zebra president, black and white, kind of like george jefferson. i love our president, black and white. he appeals to all. and that's what i'm going for. >> good. have you mentioned this to him, by the way? because i wonder how he would react to the analogy you're making. >> you know. we ignore the president's whiteness, but it's there. it's there. >> meantime, your kids are not going to ignore this movie. they're going to see it for the first time today. when your first "madagascar" came out, they were not even born, right? now they're 8 and 10?

>> yeah, they weren't even around. >> so they're going to be critics. >> they made me have kids. you know, i got this movie. maybe i should get my wife pregnant so we can have kids to take to see the movie. yeah, my kids are going to the premiere today. they're taking, like, 20 of their friends. they've got, like, a pink limo or something. i don't know. >> big deal. >> yeah, big deal. they're going to be with their friends and ignore dad through the whole movie. >> meantime, you're also in this movie coming out "two days in new york," and also the movie -- what's it called -- "before sunset." this movie is in french. >> most movies are in french and i'm the american. if anybody saw "two days in new york" with julie delpy, it's the sequel to that. i'm her new boyfriend. her family comes in from france. and we're expecting them to -- you know, ip expe'm expecting t be french, but they're kind of

like ghetto french and hilarity ensues. "madagascar 3" comes out friday. >> that's what we're going to tell people. >> it's going to be the biggest movie. it's an amazing movie. people hear the music. dance. movie. people hear the music. and dance. they're going to sing. good morning, it's 8:26 on this thursday, june 7, i'm aaron gilchrest. a nice start to the day outside. tom kierein, is this beautiful weather going to stick around? >> yeah, we just have a small chance of an isolated afternoon thundershower. and right now, it is fresh and cool around the region. we're near 60 degrees. later today, near 80. and then the isolated thundershower threat is by late afternoon into early evening. don't avenue any severe storms. then sunny tomorrow, beautiful day, low humidity. highs reaching low 80s, heating up over the weekend. saturday and sunday, 80s to near 90. more humid first part of next week. aaron?

good morning, traveling 295 southbound in maryland, just past the beltway, an accident blocking the left side of the roadway here. still seeing big delays on 295,

just 12 miles per hour. past 197, let's head over to 395 here at seminary road. have a multivehicle accident in the right shoulder lane, you're slow on 395, back to you.

nothing is like the olympics. >> it's the most intense competitive teamwork in sport. >> each person sacrifices for the team. >> everyone's clicking. >> it's just bigger than the moment. that's when gold medals are made. ♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ yeah i want to ♪ yeah yeah yeah it's 8:30 on a thursday morning, the 7th day of june, 2012, nice out on the plaza where those people have been gathered since early this morning. we thank them for that. and we're hoping the same kind of weather hits us tomorrow when we've got chris brown out on the plaza live for a big concert. >> he doesn't look happy. >> that's right.

chris rock today, chris brown tomorrow. >> did you say the same one that hits you? change it up. >> should we fix that one for the west coast? >> i hope the weather smacks us upside the head tomorrow. >> we've got chris rock in the studio which might have been a bad decision. he's joining us for the 8:30 open here. >> along with -- >> who do we have right here? >> elmo will make it wholesome. >> thank goodness. >> tell that to him. >> we've got the yin and the yang here. >> there's only three. >> we want to talk about why elmo's here. he's got a campaign. he wants to serve as a torch bearer leading up to the london olympics. and he's got a new viral video. how's this going? >> elmo wants to know, are you guys going this year? >> yes, we are. >> can you put in a good word for elmo? >> sure. >> we definitely will. >> mr. rock, are you going? >> yeah, yeah. i'm competing. >> what are you competing in?

>> javelin. javelin. at the end of javelin. >> i hope you do very well. >> elmo, you tried out in a lot of different sports. i hear it didn't go all that well, though. >> you know, try, try again. that's elmo's motto. >> in fact, we've got a viral video. let's take a look. >> okay. >> oh, now that elmo has run all around london, elmo's ready to start training to be a torch bearer. yea! oh, cramp, cramp. can you help elmo, please? oh, thanks. okay, elmo's ready. elmo forgot something. >> elmo's still talking. >> are you allowed to handle fire? >> elmo's mommy and daddy made it. that was made out of cardboard. >> elmo hopes elmo can go. because elmo can see you all

there, too. >> that video has gone viral. do you know what that means? >> elmo has no idea what viral means. tell me what viral means. >> be careful. >> well, there's different kinds of viral. elmo, you can go, but you can't sit in the seat. you ever heard of a twomey bag? >> what is that? did elmo just learn something? >> no, no. if you do make it to london, we are going to be there for 2 1/2 weeks. would you come and visit us on the set there? >> no. just kidding. of course. seriously, seriously. >> seriously? >> really, serious ly. >> you might get something viral. >> you wake up in the morning, you've got a little fur.

>> i didn't go there. >> you started it. you started it. >> mr. matt, what number olympics is it? >> that would be the games of the london summer games. the games of the what olympiad? quick, jim bell in our control room. >> xxx. >> elmo wanted to know. >> it's not that hard, elmo. nice to have you here. chris, thanks for sticking around. >> thanks for having me. >> this has been good for your career. >> and good luck, elmo, as itth torch bearer because that's a big campaign. you can like it. >> you can like it and make sure elmo gets there. >> you're a perfect age, you might want to check out "madagascar 3" elmo. >> i saw your movie. >> elmo will definitely go and see it. polka dot, polka dot, afro!

a check of the weather. for tomorrow, wet weather in the pacific northwest. slight risk of some strong storms in northern new england, wet weather along the gulf coast. on saturday, a risk along the northern plains, wet weather in the pacific northwest. sunny and hot through the mid-atlantic states. and then sunday -- sunday -- more sunshine and warmth in the northeast. sunny and hot from texas all the way on up into central california and oregon. look for a few showers in the western plains. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning, a fresh and cool morning now, temperatures in the 60s throughout much of the region. with some sunshine. and 63 at reagan national. later today, ought to hit the upper 70s, near 8. the possibility of an afternoon shower or thundershower passing by. perhaps into the evening hours as well. tomorrow, sunshine, low humidity, a beautiful day into the low 80s after a cool start. near 60 saturday morning. saturday and sunday afternoons, highs 80s to near 90. not very humid. more humid first part of next

week elmo wants to say the "sunday, sunday." >> let's try that. >> and on sunday, sunday! >> he does that pretty well. >> we're going to bring you back when football season starts. up next, some celebrity homes from zsa zsa gabor to claire danes that are now on the market. you want to put yours on the market? >> a house? >> but first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ our house ♪ in the middle of our street back now at 8:30 with "today's real estate," this morning a peek inside some celebrity homes that are up for sale across the country. barbara corcoran is "today's" real estate contributor. she joins us this morning. good morning. i think we've got sound effects to close the curtain. meantime, let's talk about the first house. it belonged to zsa zsa gabor. it still belongs to zsa zsa gabor, and it's, of course, in

bel air, california, darling. and many famous people have been in this house? >> many famous people have, the reagans, a whole lineup of people. and it's given the house a little history. but they're all old people, and the house kind of looks a little bit old, too. it's zsa zsa's home, and it's bounced on and off the market for $2 million more than she last priced it for. what is she thinking about? doesn't she know about the real estate bubble? it's now on for $14.9 million. back in the '60s, howard hughes lived there. he actually rented the house before gabor and her husband actually bought it in 1974. it's a 26-room home. and it's hosted so many people, as you mentioned, i forgot to mention elizabeth taylor. she was a regular there. every room is larger than life. have a look at that room. what is that horse head on the table? who would want to have dinner with that horse head every night? look at the dimensions. it's truly a mansion. there are several indoor/outdoor entertaining spaces. it's made for having parties. of course, there's a spark ling

pool flanked by fountains in the backyard. this ground property has over an acre of land, and out in bel air, that's worth a ton of money. you can see forever views of the pacific ocean. i think you ought to grab it, ann. >> oh, my gosh, it's definitely how the other half lives. it's fun to look at the inside of that house. >> sure. >> another house we get to see it one that may or may not have already been sold. it was owned or is owned by actor/wrestler dwayne "the rock" johnson. he is -- it's in hidden hills, california. and certainly this is an area where a lot of people like to hide out. famous. >> a lot of people like to hide out. there are a lot of famous neighbors as well. one of his most favorite neighbors is tommy lee, also justin bieber owns a home here. and that's why it's called hidden hills because the properties all here are very private. that's a pool you're looking at there. looks like they own their own lake. what a beautiful house. it's custom made done in a mediterranean style. it has two sets of private gates. you have to break your way through to even see the front of

the house. there's the living room. there's a lot of architectural details throughout. i think this house has been done top to bottom. all the rooms have a clean, contemporary feels. it looks like it takes care of itself. the living room has views of mountains. there's a screening room that's every big guy's dream of what they want with a lobby and a bar of its own and its own movie marquee at the entrance. right there is the cliff of the house with the terraces that tumble right down a waterfall, an infinity pool and its own private spa. not a bad place to live. >> that is gorgeous. good taste. now we also have -- our final house is a place not far from here owned by claire danes and her husband, hugh. it's a soho loft. and it's by this city's standards, it's a very large space. >> yeah, a lot of people don't realize that when you have 4,000 square feet in a loft, that is

one huge home in new york city. this is in soho. it's on the market for $5.998 million, why not make it $6 million, but she reportedly only paid $4.6 million a few years back. it's in an old cast-iron building that people love here in new york. it dates back to 1882 and has some funky updates. i think that's my favorite. it's actually a table that swings into the dining room and back into the kitchen as a working counter. it accommodates whatever your real need is. >> look at that. >> that's a lot of money for a table like that. a total of 16 windows plus wood beams and columns and woodburning fireplace and also a very unusual in new york city, a private elevator from the street only to your apartment. boy, that's bragging rights. the space is wide open with exposed brick walls, gleaming hardwood floors and half dozen french doors and it has southern and eastern exposures which in our town makes it worth a clean 5% more because it's the best exposure to have in an apartment. >> let me tell you, most of us can't afford those places, but it's fun to dream. barbara corcoran.

thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up next, the mayor of london who happens to be a native new yorker opens up about the jubilee, the olympics and more. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ we're now back at 8:45 with the mayor of london, boris johnson. his city just wrapped up a huge event, the queen's diamond jubilee. now he's gearing up for the summer olympic games. but he's found time to write a new book called "johnson's life of london: the people that made the city that made the world." mr. mayor, it's good to have you. >> good morning, matt. >> we were there two days ago. >> you were. >> we flew across the pond together. how do you think the city did hosting the jubilee? >> it was a big kick for us. it was very important because everybody was watching us. the whole transport system had to work well, the security had to work well.

and i think we came out fine. you've got a picture of me. that's right. >> yeah. where were you during that processional when the queen came in that open landau down the mile to buckingham palace? what seats did you have? >> i was with the crowd in trafalgar square standing there waving my flag. and that was actually the whole time in the whole three days -- the only time in the whole three days that i saw her. >> really? >> yes, because i was on the river pageant. >> right. >> but that was -- that moment, i saw her go past. and it really meant a lot to me. >> the whole city seemed to be electric. but how can your resources not be stretched a little thin? you had the big royal wedding last year. you've got the diamond jubilee now. you've got the olympic games starting next month. are you worried at all that it's been too much in too short a time? >> on the contrary. and i'd say to, you know, viewers that london is going to cope, i hope, very well with the games in 50 days' time.

i think the jubilee proved that we can do it. and obviously, i'm hoping very much to welcome people this summer to a summer like no other. >> bus operators, are they going to go on strike on you? >> bus operators are -- >> you're going to guarantee me. >> i'm going to guarantee to you and the american people, i think the people who work on our mass transit systems, people who work on the tube, on the buses, they're going to want to put on a fantastic display of london in the next few months. >> speaking of fantastic displays, what is this crazy tower that you had built near the olympic stadium? >> you don't like it? >> how do you even say the name of it? >> the orbit. it is the largest and most preposterous ever representation of a shisha pipe. >> have you ever heard what people are calling this? i can't even say it on morning television. some of the names people are calling that. >> well, i don't know. i've heard it called a gigantic mutant trombone. >> and worse. >> and bubble. >> and worse. >> this is a very important --

it's a visitor attraction. it's something we put there in the middle of the park. every big world fair, every olympics, every international expo, historially from the eiffel tower has had a kind of vertical pillar of attraction. >> and this is your mark on that landscape. >> well, you know, i like it. >> i know you do. i know you do. i'm not making fun of it. >> globally acclaimed. >> the bird's nest stadium. >> almost. >> almost? i thought this guy did the bird's nest. let me talk about your book, then, all right? you tell the story of london through the people who made it great. some of them are a little obscure, right? i mean, how did you two sort of include in this book and who not to include? >> they all did wonderful things for london and for the world. and the point i'm trying to make in the book is that things that started in london like the

flushed toilet and liberty. >> right. >> democracy. >> right. >> habeas corpus. >> right. >> are things that we've exported to america. not all of our exports are successful. but london, i think, can claim credit -- one of my great, great loves is rock 'n' roll music. >> i know. stones or beatles? you know, that famous question. not boxers or briefs, stones or beatles? you like? >> you're asking me to choose between -- i would have to say the rolling stones, if only because i think they have a higher energy level. >> sir paul is on line one for you right now. >> yeah. it's a difficult thing. in this book, i come down on the stones, in favor of keith. >> mick was noted. >> i want to say now, to the benefit of your show, to apologize to sir mick. >> it's too late. >> no, i want to make it up to mick and say he is equally

magnificent. how about that? >> tell people who are listening -- >> provided the stones perform in the closing ceremonies. >> i know. tell people who are listening to this, you were born? >> i was born in new york general hospital. >> new york city. >> i was. i'm a proud new yorker. >> and we're happy you went off and made something of yourself also. >> i'm honored to be back here. thank you very much for having me on your show. thank you. >> mr. mayor, we'll see you in a month or so. >> i hope very much to see you. >> thanks very much. boris johnson, the mayor of london. the book is called "johnson's life of london." still ahead, the summer's hottest barbecues. first, this is "today" on nbc. [ male announcer ] here's a friendly reminder.

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back now at 8:52 with one woman's crusade to empower kids through learning. debra kenny's life was turned upside down 12 years ago when her husband died of leukemia. but out of that tragedy came an inspirational mission to give every child a chance at a quality education. she writes about her journey in her new book called "born to rise." debra kenny, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> some might ask, how could it be that out of such tragedy, the loss of your husband to leukemia, being a single mother, how could that have sparked for you to create this possibility, to educate kids in charter

schools? >> so many people who have written to me after reading the book said that it spoke to them. it was not about education for them, but there are so many people who have had difficult things or going through challenges in their life. and what i found is that the only thing that lifted me up was the idea of doing something for other people. and so the book is really about education, but it's also about the idea of if you are going through something really hard, what can you do in the world? >> saying that and feeling that is one thing. putting your entire life savings into something you didn't know was going to work or not in creating these charter schools, you know, in harlem, is a major risk. and yet in 2007, president bush came to your school and said that your schools are the national model. what works with your schools that might work elsewhere? >> yeah. well, ten years ago, everyone in the education reform community was focusing on curriculum,

school size, class size. and for some inspiration, i looked to what about the teacher? we need to develop people rather than worrying about the program. and so i became obsessed with how do you make teachers happy, and how do you develop them? how do you make all teachers great? and for ten years, i worked on nothing but figuring out how to attract and develop the best teachers. and so the book provides that answer to the question everybody's looking for today. >> and one of the answers you say is to give teachers more freedom. >> yes. >> which i think might be scary for some people. >> right. >> we worry about the quality of teachers in their own school districts. there may be some who think are terrific and some they don't think are terrific. so giving freedom may feel risky for some of them. >> you know, it's funny, if you can't trust the teacher in the classroom, they shouldn't be in that classroom. so as a principal, all schools in the country need to be able to give teachers freedom. and the way to do that is to

have the right to hold them accountable. right now only charter schools are allowed to hold teachers accountable. i believe all schools in the country need to be able to hold teachers completely accountable because that's the way you'll give them freedom. and then they're passionate, they're on fire, they love what they're doing because of that freedom. it's really giving them respect. >> do you think your husband would be proud of what you've done? >> yes. yeah. i -- but i -- i look forward. i look to the future. and i'm proud of my own kids, and i'm proud of the kids in the school here. >> some of whom have said that they wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for what you have done because of all the opportunities. deborah kenny, congratulations. >> thank you. >> we're back right after this.

8:56 is your time now on this thursday, june 7th, 2012, good morning to you, i'm eun yang. expect slow going on the roads as you head out, danella sealock is here with a look at the trouble spots. >> well, let's start with i-270 southbound at i-270, a crash at meadow brook road but i want to show you father hurley

boulevard, your delays continue from germantown to the beltway. not seeing any accidents in the roadway. let's head over to 395, a disabled vehicle in your right shoulder lane past edsall. your delays are significant as you make your way to the 14th street bridge. just 13 miles per hour. over to you.

good morning, in the mid and upper 60s now, a lot of sunshine, low humidity, a beautiful morning under way. later today, near 80, might get an isolated afternoon or evening thundershower. and heating up over the weekend with low humidity. getting more humid first part of next week. could get showers and thunder again late on tuesday and into wednesday, with highs in the mid 80s both days.

we're back now with more of "today" on a thursday morning. it's the 7th day of june, 2012. and it's a doozie here out on the plaza. bright, sunny skies, nice warm temperatures. and all of those people on the plaza as well. somebody did something a little weird. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker and savannah guthrie. coming up, we're going to ask the question and i think most people would answer it yes, is it important to get your yearly annual -- or your annual physical? >> i would think so. >> right. i think most of us would say

yes, right? that's what we've been told. >> i got mine a few days ago. >> i hate to tell you this but there's been research done, and now some are saying in some cases they may be doing more harm than good. i'm sure you're going to want to pay attention. dr. nancy snider mayderman who joining us to weigh in to see if it's as important as we've been taught. another very important question, the burning question literally of the ages. gas or charcoal? >> oh. well, i know what you think. >> that's right. a lot of folks, how easy it was, people were doing that, but now charcoal is back, baby. it's back big. lou manfredini is here, going to show us new types of grills. remember that big green oval egg? there's other versions that are out there. ceramic smokers. ooh, smokin'! >> and you never, ever left

coal. >> i never left charcoal. >> what kind of grills do you have? >> i just got a fourth one. >> oh! really? >> you're a little fired up about that segment. we're doing something really -- well, maybe it's going to be crazy, but we're going to try something tomorrow. we are giving the entire 9:00 hour, we're devoting it to "today's professionals," okay? star, donny, dr. nancy. they're going to be here. of course, they're going to talk about the hottest stories that have everyone talking. they're also going to give one lucky a complete lifestyle makeover. >> they do makeovers now? >> yeah, but i mean a lifestyle makeover. not just your hair and makeup. something even harder, your life. we'll find out all about that. >> we will be watching. first let's go inside. natalie's standing by at the news desk with a check of all the headlines. >> good morning. an update on the economy as fed chairman ben bernanke testifies before congress. the economy remains front and center in the presidential campaign. last night republican mitt romney accused of president of being out of touch and failing

to fix the economy. and for his part, the president told a beverly hills fund-raiser there's been progress on the economy but said there is more work to do. and the two meanwhile appeared in comedy sketches at the "cmt music awards" about who should host the show, toby keith or kristen bell. and they agreed that both should host the show. frightening moments wednesday for students and adults in ken condition moments after they left on a trip to washington, d.c. their tour bus overturned just minutes into the trip. about two dozen people on the bus were hurt. a san diego company says it has created the first blood test to diagnose depression. the test analyzes biomarkers or psychological changes that take place when a patient is depressed. the tests should be available throughout the u.s. in about a year. the boy scouts of america have agreed to review a proposal that would let individual units accept adult leaders who are gay. but a spokesman says there is no expectation that the ban on gay

leaders will be lifted any time soon. tributes this morning for famed sci-fi writer ray bradbury who died tuesday at the age of 91. best known for "fahrenheit 451," many of his stories were said to have been fueled by nightmares that he had as a child. steven spielberg said of bradbury, in a world of science fiction and imagination, he is immortal. a massive reminder of japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami has washed ashore in oregon. officials have confirmed that this 66-foot-long floating dock came from an area in japan hard hit by the tsunami. it traveled more than 5,000 miles across the pacific. officials say the dock, though, tested negative for radiation, suggesting it broke free before the nuclear power plant accident triggered by the tsunami. academy award winners nicole kidman and mira sorvino are calling for an end to violence against women. they spoke at an event to support the u.n. agency that

promotes equality for women and an end to attacks against women and girls worldwide. kidman called violence against women a gross violation of human rights. and a heartwarming homecoming to show you after female soldier returned from a six-month deployment. on hand to greet her, her very excited beagle named daisy. the reunion now a big hit online. aww. that is true love. daisy was just a puppy when she was deployed about 3 1/2 dog years ago and is now making up her lost time. so cute. it's amazing how animals never forget. it's now five minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to al with a check of your weather. >> that is so sweet. >> so sweet. >> 35, 45, 65. are you guys all related? >> yes. >> yeah? what's the deal? you're the mom. and the two sisters. very nice.

happy birthday. let's see what's going on. show you for today, we've g you for today, we've got a risk of some strong storms, from colorado all the way on up into nebraska, we're looking at strong storms, possibility of tornado, you can see the rain starting to fire up. as we make our way to texas, look out, heavy thunderstorms firing up. a lot of rain expected there, anywhere from two to four inches of rain. north of san angelo and dallas, and florida, a lot of prop cal moisture streaming in. we're talking along the west coast of florida, between tampa and fort myers, up to five inches of rain over the next 24 hours. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4. right now, just past 9:00, we're in the 60s throughout most of the area. reagan national now at 68. and it will continue to climb, about another 12 degrees to near 80 by later this afternoon. clouds building and maybe turning into some passing thundershowers late afternoon, into the evening hours. tomorrow, sunny, low humidity.

beautiful day. still cool in the morning. afternoon highs, low 80s. heating up over the weekend, not very humid. getting more humid first part of next week. more rain tuesday into latest weather. savannah? ♪ "today's daily dose" is brought to you by cheerios cereal. >> this morning on "today's daily dose," do you really need your annual physical? it's a staple in the medical world, but the exam is considered important to good health. however, studies show it's unnecessary and in some cases may be dangerous. dr. nancy snyderman is nbc's chief medical editor. >> i like your glasses. >> i was going to say, i really like your style. >> this was not planned. but anyway, back to our point about the physical. i mean, a lot of people think this is just routine maintenance. >> it is routine maintenance but doesn't have to be. interestingly, it started in the

1950s when companies required that their executives get annual physicals so that it could insure them and get policies. so it started tumbling into normal society thinking oh, well, i have to go see someone every year like you take your car in for maintenance. but now we know we waste billions of dollars checking otherwise healthy people for things that aren't going to hit you until you're 50 or 60. >> i'll be devil's advocate. a lot of people think if you have insurance, if you have the money, why not get it? >> because every time your insurance pays for it, guess who pays for it in the end? you pay for me to abuse the health care system to get stuff that i don't need. it costs all of us in the end. >> and the notion that it may be dangerous. >> let's take the controversial psa test a couple of weeks ago. it goes up. it's not a great screening test, as we know, phenomenally sensitive, we may pick up infections, benign problems, not necessarily prostate cancer. spikes a little bit. a guy goes in, has a biopsy, has

a complication, he may get surgery. so there's a cascade effect when we go hunting for something. like getting a ct scan to look for lumps and bumps in your body. i can guarantee you right now you have something that on a routine ct scan would look abnormal. and then the question is what do you do? well, you follow it up with tests. and then you go. >> doctors feel if i don't follow up, then i'm potentially facing malpractice. >> another part of the problem. and sometimes it's patients saying no, i'm not leaving until you give me blah, blah, blah. >> let's run through some of the annual screening tests that some regard as unnecessary. i guess some people say ekg scans. >> classic ekg. ekg at risk is going to tell you relatively little. if you are at risk for heart disease, you have symptoms, you want a stress test anyway. the old chest x-ray just gives you radiation and now we learn years later it may cause cancer. the psa i just mentioned.

mammography is in that same controversial category because as you know a couple years ago the screening guidelines changed from 50 to 40. the other two on the list, pap smears, women have been taught that every year you need one. but if you are in a monogamous relationship and you have not had an abnormal pap smear, you really only need one every three years. and for routine blood tests, the only thing you really need is to know your cholesterol early in life, say 20 or 21. and then keep it in a normal range and get it checked every five years. colonoscopies if you're not having a problem, every five to ten years. >> i guess the question is whether advertising, too, contributes to this. because now it's sort of the internet, you can diagnose your own disease or you see advertising for drugs that talk about certain illnesses. do you think that drives up the demand? >> i think we are a disease-searching society and we expect something to fix us, either something high tech or a pill. i would warn people, what you want to do is take care of

yourself. and then when you get to a certain stage in life like 50, you start doing routine screening tests to just get your baseline. obviously heart disease, cancer, strong family history for things, that changes things. but if you don't have those risk factors, use the system prudently. >> all right. some good common sense this morning. again, love your outfit. >> thank you. >> dr. nancy snyderman, thanks. next, gas or charcoal? which grill is right for you? and later taking care of your skin with the best body products. but first, these messages. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol

as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios ...is to create it. [ female announcer ] now create a new future for your skin. only aveeno positively radiant has total soy, for a whole new level of radiance. it's clinically proven to visibly reduce blotchiness, brown spots, and other past damage, while broad spectrum spf 30 helps prevent future damage. healthier, more radiant skin. it's in your future now. [ female announcer ] positively radiant. and for brighter skin, try skin brightening daily scrub. only from aveeno. try skin brightening daily scrub. olivthe taste of tuscanyyou starting at just $10.95. new chicken with tortelloni or grilled sausage with orecchiette. and choose two tuscan extras. all served with unlimited salad and breadsticks. the taste of tuscany. at olive garden.

[ male announcer ] a blt is... good. a blt with hellmann's... is the best. hellmann's is made with real ingredients like cage-free eggs, and exceptional oils and vinegar. ♪ hellmann's. bring out the best. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good.

♪ fire oh, yeah, old school. this morning on "today's home," the grill debate. gas or charcoal? which is easier? better?

which gives you better flavor? well, "today" contributor lou manfredini, the host of the syndicated show is here with his top picks. >> good to see you. >> nice to see you. propane has been moving up, moving up. >> oh, yeah. >> but charcoal is back, baby. >> i don't have to tell you about the benefits of charcoal grilling. it tastes better. it's more of an event. it's more of an event. and the idea behind it is that you get more flavor out of it. and with what we're going to show you today, it's more attainable from a price perspective and you still get high-quality products. >> i know a few years ago the big green egg, pan, ceramic smoker and there are a lot more of these on the market. >> kamado behind the huge ceramic egg. it's a big cooker. what you can do is purely lump charcoal. can you get this grill up to about 750 degrees. can you bake, can you grill, you can smoke. you can attain a temperature with the charcoal, can you get -- you know, heat up pretty quickly and hold it there for hours at a time.

>> it holds the heat. >> right. and it really is terrific. i'm going to show you in a bit, we did banana bread, and it's delicious. the kamado joe is about $7$799. >> and weighs. >> it's heavy. >> this is the primo? >> this is the primo. one of the knocks in a shape, this one what i like is it's the only american-made one out there. and the oval shape gives you a larger cooking surface. >> that's not that much of a surface. >> there's different sizes. there's what they call a big joe as well. but this one here like the big joe has multiple surfaces that you can cook. these are pizza stones that you use on top. you can fill this. you can see the large cooking surface. and available is this nice table, the cedar table. and so you really have this wonderful unit. again, very heavy, to your point, al. this unit all in is about $1,800. >> okay. >> so it's a big investment, but more and more people that i talk to have have these, once they

get them, i love it. it's almost like a cult. it's like a cult. >> i've got a weber kettle that's so old, it's got a wood handle. >> well, there you go. what's amazing about the weber company is that they make high-quality products. they have for years. this weber performer, about $369. it's their standard kettle but with a side table. it has a gas lighter so it helps get things going. >> right. >> on the side here it's got an area for you to store your briquettes or whatever it may be. it makes thehole kettle experience a little bit better. >> i've got to tell you, i love the lump hardwood charcoal. >> that is the secret to any charcoal grilling. the flavor you get, and i know you know this, you can play around with the types of wood that you use to get different flavors. >> now, equal time gas grills. >> still a fabulous choice. this is a company out of nevada, minden, nevada, the minden grill

company. what's unique about this, $479 for a high-quality grill. it's very well made. if you lift that up there, al, it's a side burner. >> oh, nice. >> and it's shippable. >> is this a griddle? >> this is a griddle that's removable. it's an accessory, but it gives you all these different options. the beauty behind the gas grill is the convenience of going -- i live in chicago. we grill all the time. we go outside, we fire the thing up in the wintertime. our weber -- >> isn't weber based in chicago? >> it is based in the chicagoland area. the weber genesis is probably the granddaddy of the gas grills. what's really unique about weber is that there's this whole genesis line. this particular unit is about $799 with the side burner. it's the e-310. you can buy parts for this thing 20 years from now. >> you can't say that about us. >> no, no. no. we're going to need some parts. they've got new knee things you can do. anyway, with these, we've got people that have grills that are 20 years old.

they can still get the parts. when you make this investment, when you're saying, wow, lou, $800, $1,000, it's for a long time. >> lou manfredini. >> happy grilling. >> whether it's gas or charcoal. >> you decide. >> we don't discriminate. you grill, we decide. we've got a lot more coming up right after these messages. ♪ ♪ i woke up to a new day ♪ every little thing gonna go my way ♪ ♪ i woke up to a light bulb on ♪ every little thing is possible now ♪ [ female announcer ] kraft singles have no artificial flavors and they're always made with milk

so all you taste is something amazing. ♪ life is amazing with the love that i found ♪ ♪ [ stomach growls ] [ female announcer ] skipping breakfast to get ahead? research shows that women that eat breakfast like the special k breakfast actually weigh less. what will you gain when you lose?™ [ female announcer ] hamburger helper stroganoff. beefy. creamy. stroganoffy. helpers. forty dishes, all delicious. guys, check this out. [ crowd ] yay! aww! yay! aww! [ water ] see? and it removes 99% of lead and microbial cysts. [ crowd cheering ] and the crowd goes wild. [ imitates crowd cheering ]

[ female announcer ] with depression, simple pleasures can simply hurt. the sadness, anxiety, the loss of interest. the aches and pains and fatigue. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine

and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. simple pleasures shouldn't hurt. talk to your doctor about cymbalta. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. and the cravings begin... again. for nights like these there's special k chocolatey delight cereal. an unguilty pleasure. what will you gain when you lose?

i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. >> it's a great way to beat the heat. it's summer. there's some cool combinations out there. these are some of the newest ice creams on the market. they're a little, shall we say, unorthodox. >> it looks yummy. >> the combo. >> the first one is -- >> pop tart. >> right, it's the pop tart ice cream sandwich. that looks good. >> why don't you pick it up, savannah? >> should i? i was trying to be classy. >> that works well. >> the next? >> chocolate candy shop blizzard. you realize dave zincenko is having a heart attack. it's got mini chocolate, fudge, caramels and soft serve vanilla ice cream. >> next is the ice cream pizza. that's from friendly's.

that looks good. i'll get in there. >> and this one, we were trying to figure out -- >> i like that one. >> it's a sushi ice cream cupcake. >> which we really couldn't figure out. >> if you look at it from the top, it kind of looks like a roll. >> the inside of a roll. >> a sushi roll. the only reason i'm not is because i've got something i've got to do some testing later. >> okay. >> i've got testing to do. i'm studying for a test later. >> okay. and then finally, this is the ice cream burger. >> burger. >> with chocolate ice cream in the middle. this one looks good. this is watermelon from baskin robbins. >> it matches my jacket. >> it does. it would look good on your jacket. >> and no brain freezes. impressive. coming up, award-winning beauty products for your skin. >> easy chinese recipes. in "today's kitchen," we're making dim sum. i'm here with karen and her bffs

and we are talking about activia. i've been eating activia and i feel great! i'm used to having irregularity. i feel like that's normal. if you are not feeling like trying this on, that's not normal. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. feeling regular to me was a new feeling... i came to find my 'new normal' and i love it! ♪ activia and try new silky, fruity activia harvest picks. another way to enjoy activia. to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. [ stomach growls ] [ female announcer ] skipping breakfast to get ahead?

research shows that women that eat breakfast like the special k breakfast actually weigh less. what will you gain when you lose?™ good morning, it is 9:26 now on this thursday, june 7th, i'm aaron gilchrest. another chilly start to the day. but warmer temperatures are on the horizon. meteorologist tom kierein here now, tom? >> yeah, in fact it's warming up now throughout most of the region. virginia, maryland, the district of columbia into west virginia. it's now into the 60s. although some of the highlands out of the mountains still just in the 50s. 68 at reagan national. later today, up around 80, a passing thundershower is possible mid to late afternoon into early evening. then on friday and into the weekend. sunshine, low humidity, warmer temperatures, although cool in the mornings. next week, getting a little more humid. aaron? >> thank you, tom. a look at the roads, when we

come back. stay with us.

good morning, if you're taking the rails, we an earlier medical emergency at l'enfante plaza. traveling the roadways, 495 at

193, 13 minutes from i-95 to i-270. aaron, back to you.

♪ dressed up. chris brown, triple threat, singer, songwriter, dancer. the 23-year-old has collaborated with everybody from justin bieber to lil' wayne. tomorrow on "today," he's going to be performing live on the plaza. the last time he came, we had to shut the streets down. >> the block. >> yeah, we literally did. if you're planning on getting here, come early. i'm al roker. >> they're hanging out already, i'm sure. >> with natalie morales, savannah guthrie. just ahead, it's that time

of year for lots of indoor/outdoor parties. from showers to backyard barbecues, we'll help you make your party stand out without breaking a sweat. don't party too hard, my crew. we need you. and then, of course, getting that summer glow with the best body products on the market from self-tanners to moisturizers. we're going to show you the award winners. and then in "today's kitchen," a lesson in dim sum. those bite-sized chinese dishes. and we'll show you how to make them at home. >> love dim sum. >> we all do. all right. excited about that. first, al, you've got a check of the weather for us. >> we'll see what's going on as far as your weekend. pacific northwest. sunny and hot in the southwest. texas, showers along the gulf coast. light risk of strong storms into northern plains and new england. the showers continue into the upper mississippi river valley. more wet weather in the lower mississippi river valley. sizzling and hot in the southwest and texas. sunday, more wet weather in the lower gulf. looking for showers along the western plains, a risk of strong

storms again through much of minnesota. plenty of sunshine in new england and the northeast. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. a delightful morning under way here on this thursday morning, good morning, tom kierein in storm center 4. right now we're in the 60s around the region, 68 at reagan national. ought to hit near 80 by mid afternoon. a possibility of a thundershower popping up by later in the afternoon or into the evening hours. then tomorrow, sunshine, cool in the morning, afternoon highs low 80s. not very humid. still not a lot of humidity for the weekend, even though we'll be heating up saturday and sunday, upper 80s to near 90, getting more h and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thanks. coming up next, summer entertaining in style. we've got some really fun ideas coming up right after this. dirty floors can't resist the power of snuggling. let's do this." how does it look? ridiculous. why don't you just try hugging the dirt off that floor?

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and the cravings begin... again. for nights like these there's special k chocolatey delight cereal. an unguilty pleasure. what will you gain when you lose? 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, annihilating the next generation of fleas. and, frontline plus works non-stop for thirty days. no wonder it's the number one choice of vets for their pets and yours. ask your vet about frontline plus. accept nothing less.

it's the time of year forbr backyard barbecues. if you want to make a statement, we have the lifestyle editor for guilt.com. >> good morning. >> let's get started with our beautiful umbrella. this creates a great setting. >> doesn't it? we always say if you pitch an umbrella, they will come. >> it's true. >> this is from world market. and it's just $55. >> it's great. >> outdoor fabric, i think that's one of the best things about it. it's really come a long way. and it's so cute. they have lots of great patterns. >> i love that. matching outdoor pillows. >> but you can use it on a table, in the sand. but once you get your guests

jupd nooet the underneath the umbrella, you can cool them off. these dispensers are great for guests to serve themselves. this is really high quality. it's from west elm and really good-looking. >> fun. the drink, i hear that your guilt fans love. >> yes. you know, this is one of my favorites. it's by lorena. not only does it taste great, but it actually, natalie, looks beautiful on a table with these old-fashioned battles. >> very refreshing. >> really fun. >> all different flavors, nonalcoholic. very good. >> now, i've got to tell you about these glasses. we are obsessed with these at guilt. they're called the govino, go anywhere wine glass. >> they're plastic. >> yeah, they're the plastic version of anyone's favorite stepless wine glass. they're sommelier approved. just $12. >> love it. >> to add a little color, we love these glasses. $70 for a set.

they also make a great housewarming or hostess gift. let's move on. lighting is important indoors and outdoor important, too. lanterns. >> these lanterns are real showstoppers from "z" gallery. $49 for the big up withes. these are great indoors or out. >> a pool. great place settings here. >> we love the melamine plates, a fancy word for plastic. these monogrammed plates and the colorful bird and animal plates by thomas paul from all modern. these paper products. >> so cute. goody bags. >> they're from the orson gigi company. you've got these goody bags and cupcake holders and the old-fashioned paper straws. >> fun. >> they're festive whether you're having a kid party or

adult party. >> adults who want to be kids again. you also say it's important tony about what you put on the floor. >> mats are incredible. this is an indoor/outdoor rug meets beach mat meets picnic mat. >> beautiful. >> they're from cocoatrends.com. you can roll them up. >> the colors are great. >> take them anywhere. really affordable and good-looking enough to use in a kid's room. >> different patterns. >> and you can hose them down. >> over here, let's talk about our barbecue grills. first these great chairs set around the table. >> aren't these great? >> fantastic. >> they're are special. they look like the classic adirondack chair but they're made out of recycled milk jugs. can you get them at stonecrest furniture. starting at $59. >> great. >> they're indestructible and folding. >> and i love these grills, by the way. no longer just the boring grill in the backyard here. you've got all these great colors. >> i never thought i'd call a grill adorable, but it is, and

it's portable. you can take it anywhere. >> it's not al's grillmaster. take it to the beach. put those beverages here. >> yeah, we love these portable sort of, you know, party tubs. and this is seagrass with galvanized metal inside. it's just $49 and you'll use it again and again indoors or out. >> fantastic. don't forget to have your lawn games. we don't have time, but thank you so much for creating a great set. we're ready to party now. >> thanks, natalie. coming up next, the best body products for firm, glowing skin right after this. inspired by tuscany's freshest and savoriest.

olive garden brings you the taste of tuscany starting at $10.95. try our new chicken with tortelloni or grilled sausage with orecchiette then choose two of four tasty tuscan extras. like a bruschetta and our roasted asparagus. enjoy it all with our unlimited fresh salad and warm breadsticks. starting at just $10.95. for a limited time at olive garden. when you're here, you're family. [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious. ♪ 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. but what about your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®. [ male announcer ] a blt is... good. a blt with hellmann's... is the best. hellmann's is made

with real ingredients like cage-free eggs, and exceptional oils and vinegar. ♪ hellmann's. bring out the best. ♪ (belhi.ings) good morning. big news. we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry... and banana/blueberry. we're telling everyone. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. try some. mmm! two flavors. in harmony. yummy. four nutritious grains and two big fruit flavors to make your day bunches better.

♪ this morning on "today's beauty," pampering your body. "prevention" magazine held its annual celebrate your beauty awards. and after reviewing more than 1700 products, we are showing off the winners in the best body products. jennifer, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> this was exhaustive testing. there were 1700 products. how did you choose the winners? >> our readers chose them along with a panel of dermatologists and cosmetic chemists. we narrowed down the finalists and we had almost 300 readers use the products under the supervision of a dermatologist who's taken pictures before and after. >> let's start, best body wash, without further ado. >> this is really exciting because this is an all-natural body wash that beat out all the other traditional body washes that we tested.

so it lathers, but the lathers which can be drying and irritating comes from coconut oil and a sugar beet derivative but still lathers up. it also has green tea and olive oil and ant oxidants which are great for making your skin look better and firmer in summer. >> great. next, hair removal. you've got a razor. you didn't do waxing. >> we tested waxing and a bunch of razors. this one came out on top. everybody knows a razor rue movmove removes hair, fine. when you're stroking it over your skin, it delivers protein and vitamins that condition your skin and make it softer. >> wow, that's pretty high tech. >> yeah, our testers liked it, too, because the head wasn't too large so they could get around all the corners. >> it has, like, five blades in there. >> you get a really close shave. the blades around sitting on the shower edge where there's bacteria. >> that's the race car razors right there.

self-tanners. a lot of people have many misadventures with self-tanners. why was this one good? >> they're hard to formulate is what the judge who is a cosmetic chemist told us. we want one that makes your skin healthier. this has vitamin b and d. it does great things for your skin. if it turns you orange, it's a no go. our testers like it had because it looked really natural. what's cool, you undo them. they're like a large sheet, a towel. and you can use the whole thing to wipe around your body. and you won't have streaks which is great. >> and the smell? >> no corn chip smell, no burnt toast smell. i've used this. the next day you smell like yourself, but you have a tan. it's great. >> okay. sticking with our sun theme, we've got the best sunscreen. what was it? >> l'oreal paris, sublime sun. every dermatologist will tell you sunscreen helps you look younger, protects your skin.

this one is one of those clear continuous sprays. you hold it down and you can sweep around your whole body and you can go upside down and do your own back. >> it's an aerosol, it's not a lotion that sprays out. >> this one, it's a continuous spray, but it is white when it goes on. that's actually why our readers liked it the best. some of those clear sprays, it blows off into the wind. this one has a lotion so you know that you're protected. >> best body lotion. >> yeah, positively ageless body lotion from aveeno. this one's cool because it has antioxidants that will make your skin firmer and younger looking. our readers liked it because they got to see the before and after pictures of what their skin looked like. >> can you tell a difference? >> in six weeks they had less spots and a better tone. hand cream. nobody likes a hand cream that makes their hands greasy. that was the reasl reason this was a winner. they had fewer spots after six weeks. >> understand has of hope. good title, too. jennifer goldstein, thank you so

much. >> thank you. next, easy chinese food you can make at home. first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ this morning in "today's kitchen," what's for dinner? how about dim sum for the whole family that's easy to make. the host of "easy chinese san francisco" on the cooking channel. good to see you. >> good to see you. thanks for having me. >> you know, we love going to chinese restaurant dim sum because it's little bites and you can fill up pretty good. >> little parcels of deliciousness, pan fried. who doesn't love dim sum? >> nobody i know. and if they don't, i don't know them. we're starting off with a pork belly. but you say it's kind of hard to deal with ground pork. >> yes, ground pork. i'm going to make you one of my dim sum favorites, a classic.

>> is this steamed dim sum? >> it's steamed. it's really healthy. it's called pearly pork balls. >> could you replace another ground meat if you wanted to? >> you could do turkey, chicken. >> but it doesn't sound as good to say pearly turkey balls. >> it doesn't have the same ring. this is really easy. some chefs, it takes years for them. you're going to learn this in about three minutes. we're going to use pork belly. mince it down. i've got a good amount of fat. about 30% fat here to lean meat. if you're watching your health, of course you could use ground lean. i've already started grating shallots in there. but you do want a bit of that fat because it's going to be tender and juicy once it steams. one shallot and then a teaspoon of grated ginger. i love ginger. >> i do, too. >> you want a bit more? >> yes. >> all right. then i'm going to grate in

bulli bullion. it adds lovely flavor. you just add a little bit in. and then my favorite which is chinese five spice. it's really wonderful. but if you don't have chinese five spice, just salt and pepper. that would be absolutely perfect. traditionally, all we'd have is just salt, pepper and good quality meat. that's it. start to give this a good mix. all right? and then i'm going to introduce some rice wine. good enough to drink. about a teaspoon in there. give that a good mix. and then to bind it all together, a little bit of egg. so one egg yolk. it doesn't want to go in. and then some corn starch as well. this helps bring all the flavors together. a little grind of ground white pepper and pinched salt. work it away so you can make meatballs. >> basically meatballs. >> exactly. we've got some made here,

already rolled. get your hands dirty. what we do is coat it in a little bit of corn starch. just a light dusting. >> almost looks like a truffle. >> absolutely. and at this stage, it would be gorgeous and delicious. we're going to roll it in some sticky rice. >> is this already cooked? >> it's raw rice. and it's basically already been soaked overnight in some cold water. >> okay. >> so it basically helps to cook as it steams. >> i see. >> at the same time as the pork. yeah. exactly. so basically roll it like that. beautiful. and then just put it into the bamboo steamer like that. now, sticky rice is really delicious. it's a lovely stickiness about it. as simple as that. you've got to put it on high steam. fill the wok up with water. steam about 20 to 25 minutes. >> cover it? >> yeah, cover it. this is one i've already done. put that over there. and there you have it. >> wow! >> it really does smell with the very best of chinese cooking.

it's the five spice. >> ooh, mommy. ooh, daddy. >> it's easier than waking up in the morning, no? >> yes, it is. now, how do you serve this? >> i've got here some condiments, some chili sauce, soy and vinegar with ginger. this is really traditionally how it's served. try a hot one. >> try a hot one. >> these are really good. and then also here, while you're trying that, help yourselves. >> okay. >> thank you. >> i've also got some easy entertaining ideas here. i've got some roasted chicken wings. and basically, make a simple marinade, easy chinese. some ginger, some garlic, some brown sugar, soy and honey. you marinate that with a little bit of miso and put it on the oven or on the grill. >> that's a chinese phrase, isn't it? just kidding. thank you so much. recipes are on our website.

today.com. >> thank you. >> always good to see you. >> thank you very much. >> delicious. coming up, kathie lee and hoda have ambush makeovers for two lucky ladies in the crowd. zbl i'm going to practice my chopsticks. first, your local news and weather. have a great day, everybody.

9:57 is your time now on this thursday, june 7th, 2012, good morning, i'm eun yang. a chance for shurs in the forecast. that's the question, meteorologist tom kierein in the storm center with the answers. >> maybe later this afternoon, right now, though, with the sunshine, we're warming up. nicely, it's a beautiful morning, right now reagan national, is at 70 degrees, and it is near 70 throughout most of the region. later today, ought to climb ten

degrees up around 80. mid to late afternoon into the evening, we could get some passing thundershowers. and then tomorrow, saturday and sunday, delightful and warming up now, not too humid. a little more humid the first part of next week. danella, how's traffic. >> why the now we have a situation on 355, rockville pike, your closures on cedar lane due do low-hanging wires. the cars are forced on to cedar. you can see crews are working to get the traffic light back up. for now, avoid 355 rockville pike between pooks hill and jones bridge, back to you. jones bridge, back to you. >> wake up with us tomorro

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, everybody! it is thirst day thursday. it's june 7th. we're so happy you're here with us today. >> we certainly are, aren't we 1234 look at us in our matching dresses. >> it is a tahari kind of day. >> if you were home last night you may have turned on the cmt awards. >> country music television. >> this was a big show for them. it is one of the biggest shows i think in country music.

there were two hosts, toby keith and kristen bell hosted last night's awards. they made a huge grand entrance when they came in. ♪ >> it's in a red solo cup which is of course, his hit. >> there was a little controversy. seems like they're getting along okay. >> carrie underwood was the big winner in this whole entire deal. what was that song she sings -- >> "remind me." >> "good girl." >> also "remind me" won. ♪ ♪ >> she is just -- >> she rocks it. >> amazing singer.

>> she did steal the show but there was some controversy that were you referring to. >> it does sort of happen to people when they host something together. >> these two -- the two were hosting, toby and kristen. and there was some question as to whether or not they would host together. just when they were about to come out, they ran this big -- this big film clip. let's take a look at it. >> it is that time of the year, the cmt music awards are upon us. country superstar sewby keith and actress kristen bell are all set to host zblch. >> i love them both. there is going to be a great show. >> there is disturbing news out of nashville the co-hosts don't want to share the spotlight. >> i don't blame them. i feel the same way. >> mr. president, do you have a decision? >> this is one of the toughest decisions i've had to make since i've been in office but i think i've decided. i want them both. >> i thought the presidential election was a tough race. but it's nothing compared to the

politics at the cmt music awards. i think i have a solution though. i propose toby and kristen co-host the show. see? i just put two people back to work. you're welcome, america. >> we haven't seen a fight this bad since tebow keith took on the dixie chicks. >> you knee attack was bull, bell. >> you're going down, toby. this is my show. i'm hosting this. >> wow. that was great. there is a very disturbing -- you never know what you're going to see on the cover of the "new york post." i'm just always grateful when it's not my ugly face looking back at plea. this sick lar day this is what greeted us this morning. knotty secrets. >> this is about "50 shades of gray." we know it is a huge fphenomeno. >> you can't availed it because it is everywhere. >> according to some stores, the

sale of rope has seen a 150% increase in the past month. women buying rope. if you've read the book, you might understand the rope. >> maybe they're just getting crafty and starting to do things with -- >> and also -- also, the sale of -- >> adult toy stores say they've sign an increase of all kinds of things like whips and change. >> non-sticky bonding tape to is doesn't stick to your skin. anyway, it is $18. in case you were wondering. >> the trilogy of the "50 shades" has sold -- 10 million books? she's had to self-public it or something because no one would publish her. >> she's funny because she can't believe what's going on with the book. >> i'm with her! >> she has no idea since sheet's totally shocked. michelle kosinski interviewed her a little while.

>> are you a revolutionary about this. >> absolutely not. >> why is this causing such a stir. >> i don't know. >> as you're writing this are you thinking, this is good? people are going to love this? >> not at all. no! i was amazed how popular it was. i'm stunned by its popularity. i did this in a very undisciplined kind of way. i'm a very undisciplined writer. it's very kind of raw and i'm not a great writer. >> i love her. hi. >> she's apparently very smart writer though. >> she's genius. she said it all came from her head. >> here. i have no use for it. >> you sure? sbl yes. you might. i'd love to know from our facebook fans and friends how you all feel about this. for as many people that love it and can't get enough of you, i always think of my mother who would be -- i mean stunned that something like this even exists, much less that people are waiting in line to buy it. your mother, on the other hand -- >> but here's the thing. i told my mom to read it before i read it. so i didn't know what it was.

then she's sending me e-mails going ooh, it's so juicy, i love it. i'm like, wow, mom loves it. she said i've read lots of pages. >> why don't you give her this? she might find some use for that. another thing people are talking about is this paris jackson, daughter of michael jackson, such a sweetheart. she db an interview with oprah. it illuminated a question that a lot of us have had about why the kids wore the masks and why they were hidden from view and all of that. we all thought it seemed not only strange but bordered a little bit on child abuse. >> brought more attention to them. right. >> let's listen. >> do you remember when you were little little, younger -- and when you would go out in public like your face would be covered and -- >> um-hmm. >> would you be like seclude from the public? >> um-hmm. >> what did you think about that

then or did you just think that -- >> i was really confused. like i didn't get why i was wearing a mask. but i understand it now why my dad would want our face to be covered. like when we went out without him we wouldn't be recognized and we could have a normal childhood. >> so you would only do that when you were with your dad. >> yeah. >> yeah. and then, when you weren't with your dad you could go out and people wouldn't know who you were. smart. smart. and so did you feel that he wanted you to have a "normal" life? >> yeah. he did. >> wow. impossible to have a normal life when michael jackson's your father. but that was his intent. it made me see it from a different perspective. >> you know what's interesting? i had only heard her speak the one of the memorial services for her dad. it's interesting to see her. she's beautiful, by the way. >> she's apparently a talented little actress and we wish her all the best. >> we sure do. we love some of these

studies. this one is the city's with the most spoiled kids in the country. >> this did not come as a surprise to me. >> right? they did all -- they checked out 36 cities and here are the top five. they judged it based on how much you spend on toys -- >> and schools and -- clothes an all kinds of things. >> number five -- tulsa, oklahoma. spl surprised me a little bit. having spent a lot of time in tulsa, people are very down to earth there. >> minneapolis, minnesota. >> same thing. >> number three is miami, florida. >> kind of a crazy, wonderful city. >> number two -- brooklyn, new york. which is where they have the baby chinos. they -- remember? number one -- >> no surprise. >> -- new york city. some nursery schools in new york and manhattan can cost over $30,000 a year. >> that's a nursery school. before school. >> it's outrageous the lengths

people -- sometimes people, the minute they have a child, line up to get in certain schools. i knew something was amiss -- talking about spoiled, too. one of my children's books came out a couple years ago and i went to a book signing. they invited 100 kids from did shall i won't say where but an area in manhattan. i sat with the kids for about an hour, read the book to them and all of that. they all got a signed book as they left and i said good-bye to them. or when i signed it. and i asked, too, at the time, how many of these kids out of 100 do you think said thank you? >> one child out of 100 kids said thank you. i was so upset about this. i just thought, no wonder our whole society's deteriorating. we haven't even been taught the basics of how to see please and thank you and good-bye. >> i think a lot of these kids are entitled when you see birthday parties for some kids. there are people who have prema ballerinas coming to their

child's 2-year-old birthday. i saw an invitation, so and so is turning "two-two" and the ballerina is twirling around in their house. >> you have to top it all the time. spoiled kids grow into spoiled adults. we all know who they are. the trouble is they don't know who they are. but i'm going to make everyone feel so much better with my song. >> before that -- >> oh, yes, our mugs. >> anything to avoid that. apparently there's been a clamor for these, hoda woman. we were given bum information. imagine that. >> so strange. so our mugs are not yet available in the store. >> in the experience store. >> but they will be. we're checking them out to make sure that they pass all the tests that cups need to pass. >> consumer affairs or something. >> before you can sell them. >> how can a cup hurt you? >> i don't know but maybe it could. >> what you put in the cup and drink could potentially hurt you. >> we promise you, we'll let you know dch. >> we stand by our mugs. >> i think it is fine.

here it is. you'll like this one. this is an old song made new. it's an old song made new. it is by the counting crows. they have redone this song. and you'll know this song and so will everyone in here. it's called "big yellow taxi." do it. ♪ listen to this version. it's kind of cool. >> oh, the joni mitchell version. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> i love the song. i adore joni mitchell. one of the greatest, greatest musicians/song writers god ever made. like her version better. sorry. just sayin'. linda lavin just shows up in a show and instantly get a tony nomination. >> from the show "alice." >> this play, what i love about this play is neither of us had any idea what was it was about. that's why what i love about so many of the shows we go to on broadway. i want to go and be taken away to another world. boy, are you going to be taken away. at the court theater. it is a small cast. let's just say it is about family dynamics. with the emphasis on "die"-namics. it covers just about every familial topic it can cover and she is fabulous in it. after when we went backstage to say hello to her -- i didn't

break my neck. it looks like i did there. she welcomed us so much. her dog mickey was there and everything. she gave me this cd which is available, i guess. it is called linda lavin "possibilities." has a lovely little thing here but -- i guess she's coming back to broadway this year in "prince of broadway" or something? i don't know what it is. but this is a lovely surprise. i'd forgotten what a good singer she is. >> there is a point if the show where you imagine all the women in the audience wanting to stand up and cheer because she gives such a dynamic speech near the end that you just feel empowered. >> you take it and take it. until you can't take it anymore. >> no more! coming up next, jada pi's i the house. hey girl.

do you ever wish you could make some things just disappear? [ ping! ] that's why i use new tampax radiant. with its best-ever leak protection, it helps keep my period out of sight. hi. so i can stand out. new tampax radiant. do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine... power to your mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. look who we got here. put a little pepper on that. i'm a typical mom. i go to amusement parks. and my kid's games. and just like any typical mom i'm thrilled when my champion loves to eat something nutritious,

like chobani champions yogurt. it's a good source of protein, and most important, he loves it. so even though i'm an olympian, around here, i'm just another mom trying to help her champion win the day. chobani champions. win the day. smith an actress, writer, director, lead singer or mom, or just call her super woman. like many moms, jada has learned

to juggle it all with grace. >> her latest project is a circus. in madagascar 3 jada returns as the beloved hip pop muss gloria whose wild journey back to the big apple takes her traveling to a circus in europe. >> your body types are so different. >> you're last person in the world that should play a hippopotamus. usually when we do those animation things they film you when you're doing it. right? >> yes, they do. >> then they animate to you. >> they still do. >> you're's a peanut. >> i get my inner hippo on but can you still see my inner characteristics in gloria. absolutely. >> that must be so fun. >> it is just beyond. >> have the kids seen the movie? >> no, they haven't. seal's see it tonight. >> it must be fun to be back with the original cast. >> but we don't see each other until we do promos. the press junket, we got to hang

out a bit in cannes. which was fantastic. had a great time. >> because everybody records separately. you have to do the lines hundred different times and ways -- >> you want to give as many variations as possible. >> the circus -- >> look at you. >> the circus is not one of your favorite things, is it? >> well, you know, i'm not too keen on clowns. >> they're not for you? >> kind of creepy? >> yeah. sovy to stay that i kind of stay away from the circus because of the clowns. >> one thing -- i didn't know the thing about you being a rocker. >> i didn't either! >> i had to youtube you singing. i said what is happening here? how long has this been going on? >> the music has changed a little bit, hence wicked evolution, we were wicked wiz. and i love -- that's the song that i -- for will for valentine's day.

i wrote that -- >> i've never seen you in a musical on broadway or something. you have the chops for it. would you ever do something like that? >> i absolutely would. absolutely would. but there is "wicked evolution." i've been on oz fest, been on tour with britney spears. i've had many different evolutions with my music but i have something svery special coming out this month. >> tell us about it. >> you'll see it. i want to come back and talk -- because it's a song that's tied to an extremely important issue which is my passion and so we're going to come back and i'm going to talk to you guys. >> the other thing you're producing with will the new movie of the version "annie." jay-z's going to write a new score? >> oh, yeah. we're partnering with jay-z and rock nation as far as "annie" is concerned. >> your daughter will star. >> absolutely. it's the least i could do! but, yes. we're very excited about it. we had success when jaden was

taking "kraty kid." that was a film that will and i both loved. we're like we have got bring justice to this movie. the same thing for "annie." that's a classic. we're taking our time to make sure the script is right. you know jay-z's going to kill the music. >> that's funny. you're out in the public a lot but you guys have managed to keep things private. a lot of people on twitter were saying one of the things they admire about you is you manage to somehow keep your relationship with will and the rest of it yours and not share with every single person that walks by. >> i have to share my husband with the world. >> anyway. >> you snow so -- >> came with the deal. >> it came with the deal. there's just aspects that you want to have for yourself. you know? >> or else you have nothing to go home. >> yeah! you know? >> things are great there. he's waiting for you at the hotel right now. >> we're going to the madagascar premier tonight. >> of course you are. >> have fun. >> stand up. show how cute. >> look at this outfit.

>> thanks for coming to see us. >> so nice to see you guys. >> the movie madagascar 3, europe's most wanted, opens tomorrow at a theater near yu. amazing results of "today's" "ambush makeover"s. but first these messages. [ female announcer ] what's new from ziploc?

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when sara haines digs up the next video that will have everyone hitting "send." >> school's almost out for summer but that didn't stop colorado's fossil ridge high school from working together to create a lip dub featuring more than 1,900 students and faculty. check it out. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> this fossil ridge school is in colorado. this is over 1,900 students. it only took two states. it was actually arranged by the diversity councillor to show off the different students' personalities and skills. >> love it. lot of fun.

>> they have good taste in music. >> hey. >> i think you did rascal flatts before. still ahead, we'll have the results of "today's" plaza "ambush makeovers." and "everyone has a story." how does it look? ridiculous. why don't you just try hugging the dirt off that floor? ha! that's silly! this dirt snuggler is gently cleaning and polishing the floors at the same time. and why would you want to treat dirt "gently"? honey? i'm thinking. don't overthink it. everything you need, and nothing you don't. that's cleanin' with the power of pine sol, baby. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

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call 1-877-729-fios. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1-877-729-3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. ♪ fios. a network ahead. it's thirst day thursday and that means it is time for "today's" plaza "ambush makeover"s when we pluck two lucky ladies out of the crowd and surprise them with a brand-new look. >> here to show off their fine work is our resident makeover team, "today" contributor and stylist to the stars -- louis licari la-la-la-la-la. >> he still likes it. >> love. >> "us weekly" contributor and author, jill martin. >> how was it out there today? >> beautiful day. as a matter of fact, we found a lady with the craziest sign. she wrote a complete song with versus. two take up all four years. the other lady -- it was someone

who just wanted to be younger and more beautiful. >> let's meet our first lucky lady. roberta is 60 years old from smyrna, georgia. too focused on everyone else to take care of herself. >> why does miss roberta deserve this? >> because we love her and she's so great. >> well, she's always taking care of us and she us a puts us first. >> she's always there. >> i love this! why do you want this for your wife? >> well, she is beautiful to me, to begin with, but man, a whole makeover? i can't wait. >> all right. we are going to make you so sexy. are you ready to go? >> oh, yes, i'm ready. >> sexeiest choir teacher in th country. >> here is roberta before. let's see the new you.

>> hey, sexy! >> are you ready? >> are you guys ready? >> take off your blindfolds. >> who's that? >> shock and awe. >> roberta, are you ready? spin right around, sweetie. >> oh, my gosh. it doesn't even look like me. >> you look fantastic. >> please look into that camera right there. we can show folks at home what a difference. >> the hair color and cut. >> she wanted to be younger and even more beautiful and -- i mean you have it, girl. what can i tell you? max gave her this great haircut. she was doing everything wrong. she made her hair too light which made it look liner and grew it too long which made her fine hair look finer. max gave her this great haircut, choppy, easy and the depth givings the illusion of more hair. >> how about that, gang? >> oh, my gosh. she's so beautiful.

>> terry, what do you think? >> it goes great with her smile. it's a totally new look. >> a new look. >> i loved her before but i love her now! >> jill, that outfit -- >> i really love it. >> that jacket especially is fantastic. >> i asked the girls how they wanted her to look -- they said cool. we were going for cool. tank and the jeans, white house black market. and the jacket, andrew marc trench day to night. >> our second lady is carol len in order, 51 from kansas city, kansas. she watches "ambush makeover"s every week so she begged us to give her a brand-new look. let's listen to her story. >> okay. well, we noticed this novel in the crowd so -- verbally tell us your sign. >> we're off to see the stylists, the wonderful stylist of stars. >> that's so funny. we are going to be your wizard

of oz but why do you want this so badly? >> i've us a wanted a makeover. i always watch this show and never believed i'd be in this spot. >> what do you think? >> she's talked about this for years. she watches the show daily and she's very well deserving of this. >> well, you're not in kansas anymore. >> i'm off to see the stylist! >> they have been known to do wizardry around here. that's so sweet. carol is here with her husband ron who's blindfolded -- the way she likes him. >> 50 shades. >> one last look at carol before. let's bring out carol leonard. >> oh, my gosh. ron, are you in for the night of your life. take off your blindfold, ron. she looks great. >> he put the mike down. >> she looks terrific. >> carol, turn around and see what he's talking about. >> oh, my gosh!

oh, my gosh. oh, my goodness. >> look at your hair. i love it. >> totally different color. the gray kids are gone! >> you look great. >> again, this is just refreshing the color, making it a little lighter, a little brighter. we took away the highlights but there's still nuances of color. enid made the eyebrows more pronounced which is something that again is one of the little secrets that make you look years younger. >> gorgeous. >> young care-free haircut by max. >> the outfit -- >> beautiful. >> by maggie london. take a look at back. really cut-outs really big for spring summer. >> oh, i'm sorry. party in the back. >> it seems to be a theme here today. >> let's bring roberta back in. big round of applause for both of our ladies. >> thank you, louis. thank you, jill. "everyone has a story" today is going to inspire you like

crazy. stick around, everybody. it is really worth it. the wonderful brian darcy james from broadway will sing for us. we'll be right back. we give our kids toaster strudel. it's delicious... and they love that... ...they can draw on their breakfast. so does he... hi awesome bird, oh hello. bird fly back to master cave. [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] toaster strudel. create some delicious. i love the fact that quicken loans provides va loans. quicken loans understood the details and guided me through every step of the process.

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pampers. proud supporter of babies' play. ♪ it is file for our newest "everyone has a story" contest winner. his name is hunter brown. he's from las vegas, nevada. >> before we meet 11-year-old hunter, let's listen to the letters, mom, lisa brown, wrote us about her amazing son.

>> my name is lisa brown and i'm hunter's very proud mom. hunter is 11 years old and was diagnosed with autism at age 3. he has taught me about life, love and a special gift called autism. i used to be his voice. now he has his own. it is beautiful, powerful, and most of all, inspiring. he truly touches the lives of everyone he meets. he is a compassionate and very sweet boy who has loved music from the time he was born. my husband and i nicknamed him "the songbird" when he was a baby as he would wake up by humming these beautiful little melodies. when he was 8 he entered a school talent show and from that day on completely fell in love with the stage. he said, "i would rather you on stage instead of off." he now performs in vocal competitions, sings in a coral ensemble glee group and has sung the national anthem for several events this bast yepast year. we believe he was born to entertain and make others smile

and share his gift of performing arts. music has helped him overcome some of the daily challenges with autism. he said "one day, i will be a triple threat on broadway -- but i will also have a day job, an entomologist or meteorologist. al roker is his all-time favorite. hunter's story is so inspirational for a little boy who could not speak until age 4 who now gives hope to so many families that are now dealing with autism. hunter will continue his mission with raising awareness and hoping to inspire other children with autism to find their passion, follow their dreams and never, ever give up. >> well, can you see what grabbed our attention in that wonderful letter. hunter is here with his parents, lisa and mike. so nice to have you all with us. hi. >> hello. >> how are you? >> he was downstairs looking for you earlier today. he says, is she down -- is she up there with all the other celebrities? i said, no, i'm just down here with you. did you know your mom sent this letter to us? did she sell you she was going to do it?

>> yeah. i already know. >> yeah. but were you excited? >> yeah, i'm so excited to meet you, kathie lee and hoda. >> i love it here. >> he's a charmer. >> who's your favorite singer in the whole world? >> my favorite singer in the whole world definitely has to be frank sinatra. >> you've got really good taste. >> hunter, what made you decide to enter that talent show? >> what made me decide to enter that talent show, because i thought that inspiring people would be a great opportunity to make others impressed. >> yes. and you've done that. when you were given the diagnosis, as parents, what -- did you ever dream that your son but as functioning as well as he is today? >> it was scary in the beginning. and for a few weeks i think that we were both in denial. and then i'm like, you's this amaze 3g-year-old and i think he has a gift and i'm just going to like use it to the best -- just inspire other families to kind of look at their children so that they can live out their

dreams. >> not speaking -- age 4 and he wasn't speaking. what did you guys think was happening there? >> i don't think we knew. we just knew that he was kind of falling behind a little bit. but we didn't really know anything about autism except stereotypes so we didn't really think that was what hunter had until we went on the internet and research. >> when you heard him humming in the morning, i love that. you called him the songbird. so he always had the music in him? >> always. >> what's it like watching you up on stage. >> especially whether he's sinning the national anthem -- which a lot of people who sing professional don't do. >> exactly. >> it is a tough song to sing. >> how many people did you song for that day? >> well, like i think i sang for 28,000 people. >> 28,000. no fear. went right up there -- >> and didn't forget the words? >> i didn't forget the words. not even messed up one word or key. >> not too many people can say that. >> we're so excited about the next part of this. >> yeah, yeah. we really are. when we come back what's going

to happen. >> we'll go from the stage to the small screen. in our studio, brian darcy james is going to perform a song written just for hunter by kathie lee and david. right after this. [ indistinct conversations ] ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] mango pineapple real fruit smoothie from mccafé. two of your favorite fruits come together to create a smoothie made just for you. a simple joy of refreshing memories. ♪ but what about your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®.

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we are back with "everyone has a story" honoring 11-year-old hunter brown, who's here with his parents lisa and mike. >> now, hunter, it is time for to you hear the song david friedman and i wrote just for you. i think you're going to like it. here to perform is with the wonderful talented, film, broadway stage star to sing "the sun and the songbird." ♪ ♪ the day dawns the songbird

sings and one boy pulls the mother's heart strings ♪ ♪ each one in harmony each one in one voice ♪ ♪ and all of creation can't help but rejoice ♪ ♪ can you imagine how the world would be ♪ ♪ can you imagine the beauty we'd see if we all did what we are all here to do and kept on doing it ♪ ♪ our whole life through ♪ i can't imagine it ♪ can you ♪ the sun and the songbird wake up every day ♪ ♪ and break out in song in their own special way ♪ ♪ this is their purpose their passion their joy ♪ ♪ and we can learn much from the

sun and the boy ♪ ♪ oh follow your dreams never give up fill up your lungs fill up your cup ♪ ♪ drink in the dance sing your own song ♪ ♪ and keep on singing it all day long ♪ ♪ cause that's what we're all here to do ♪ ♪ oh i can't imagine it ♪ can you ♪ can you imagine what we all could see if we looked at the miracle of you and me ♪ ♪ could you imagine the peace we would find if we were of one heart one voice and one mind ♪ ♪ oh follow your dreams ♪ never give up ♪ fill up your lungs fill up your cup ♪ ♪ drink in the dance sing your

own song ♪ ♪ and keep on singing it all day long ♪ ♪ cause that's what we're all here to do ♪ ♪ oh i can imagine it ♪ i can imagine it ♪ i can imagine it ♪ can you >> beautiful. brian darcy james. beautiful! come on here, guys. we'll be right back with a surprise for hunter. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

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go ahead, hoda woman. we're back with "everyone has a story." first of all, did you enjoy the song? >> yes, i sure did. i want to thank brian darcy james for the rest of his life. >> oh, that's sweet! >> we hear there's somebody else you like a whole lot around here. >> we have a surprise coming up. we know you want to see "newsies"? guess who has tickets in his hand? >> al roker! wow! >> how are you, lad? >> i'm good. >> how's it going 123. >> it's going good, al roker. >> hunter brown, how fantastic! where am i going to sit? >> everybody. >> brian, did you a magnificent job but you're not the only singer around here. you ready to sing something for al? hit it, hunter. >> okay. >> go ahead. stand up. go ahead. ♪ l is for the way you look at

me ♪ ♪ o is for the only one i see ♪ v is very, very extraordinary ♪ ♪ e is even more than anyone that's you adore ♪ ♪ and love is all that i can give to you ♪ ♪ love is more than just a game ♪ true love it make it take a heart and bring it home ♪ >> bring it home. ♪ love was made for me and you ♪ >> hey! huntser! >> thank you, sweetheart. >> tony nominated "newsies." you're going tonight but the tonies are coming up on sunday. thank you, brian. thank you, dave. >> tomorrow, funny man andy

sandberg and jane fonda. never thought i'd say those two words in the same sentence. are going to be with us. and what to wear at a wedding. >> we'll see you on friday. >> did you have a good time? >> yeah, i sure did. [ male announcer ] here's a friendly reminder.

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