. >>> and meredith vieira takes you behind the scenes on a tour of the home where prince william andis bride to be, kate middleton, will live after their big day. >>> now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

the man with the golden voice, ted williams, speaks out live to meredith vieira about spending two stints in the past three months, and find out from tennis star serena williams how soon she could be back on the court after her recent health struggles. >>> now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

our friend meredith vieira live in london this morning. rning again. >> hey, matt and al. good morning to you guys. you know what? some 2 billion people are expected to watch prince william marry his princess katherine in just six short weeks. the ceremony will take place at westminster abbey and i was given a special tour of the church and the bishop that will oh efficient at the wedding. he shared what we can expect on april 29th and shared some information about the couple. more on that coming up. matt, you asked about the scaffolding. whether they will be putting that up, the platforms th s tha people like you and i will be sitting on as we report on the wedding. they go up on monday. >> wait a minute. so when you were in westminster abbey you didn't, like, ribbon off a couple of seats for us? >> i tried so hard. when i mentioned my partner, they said, no way. >> yeah? >> failure. fairing. >>> also coming up, spring comes sunday. we told you about that. we'll get you ready. we have a friday with everything you need to know to prepare fo

. >> i'm meredith vieira. this morning the problems facing actor charlie sheen just got more serious and more personal. >> this is a story we have been following and a lot of people have been following over the past several days. well, the los angeles police department sent officers to his los angeles home last night and they took his twin boys. this after their mother, sheen's estranged wife brooke mueller, filed a temporary restraining order. what does charlie sheen have to say about it? is he concerned his comments about his life could cost him his children? we'll ask him in a live interview coming up. >>> also ahead the firing that dominated the news in fashion week in paris. christian dior dismissed john galliano after video surfaced of him making anti-semitic remarks. details coming up. >> let us begin with breaking news out of libya. what appears to be an escalation in afax by forces loyal to moammar gadhafi. nbc's jim maceda is in tripoli. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. there are

. >> i'm meredith vieira. japan's prime minister calling this the gravest crisis in his country since world war ii. >> the death toll is now estimated at 10,000. that's expected to climb. so far, about 2,800 people are confirmed dead including those 1,000 bodies discovered overnight. meanwhile, 11 workers have been injured during a second hydrogen explosion today at the fukushima nuclear plant and the u.s. military shifted some of the fleet further away from shore after military personnel were exposed to low level radiation. the state department is warning americans to avoid travel to japan. >> we also have new home video that captured the tsunami as it destroyed towns on the japanese coast. in the wake of the disaster, there is new speculation that the san andreas fault in california will be the source of the next big tremor. more on that just ahead. we begin with the latest on the unfolding situation in japan. we have several reports starting with ann curry who is in the hard hit region of miyogi. good morni

i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer and al roker.. >> a big, excited crowd. >> yeah. >> i wonder how these people would feel about the question we'll be asking in the next half hour. you have children, teenagers. inevitably it seems they will experience with drinking alcohol. >> right. >> a lot of parents say, wait, if they are going to experience with drinking anyway, i'm going to let them experiment in my own home under my supervision. other parents say, no, that's not right. 21 is 21. we'll get into the debate. >> they all have opinions. >> around thanksgiving or christmas. >> what age? >> 12, 13. we had a little wine. >> sometimes it's cultural, too. >> absolutely. >> from a portuguese or italian family. did you? >> i may have had a sip. i don't think i ever had my parents say, here, have a full glass of wine at age 16. >> right. >> on a different note, harry potter is stopping by. daniel radcliffe is getting ready to part from his famous role and is bringing his talents back to broadway, but this time singing and dancing in a cl

i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. president obama vowed america's role would be limited in libya. last night he told the nation that we have fulfilled that pledge. we have done what we said we would do. those were his words speaking from the national defense university the president said nato would take command on wednesday. as to why he involved the u.s., he said it was necessary to prevent a campaign of killing. how is that speech being received in both washington and in libya? we will get the latest straight ahead. >>> on a different subject, barry bonds' former mistress took the stand on monday at his perjury trial. she gave graphic testimony about the baseball star's alleged steroid use and what it apparently did to his body. we'll have details of that testimony coming up. >>> plus, a new memoir by one of john f. kennedy jr.'s former girlfriends is revealing intimate details about his private life including rather candid memories of their romantic vacations and also a near death experience on a kayaking trip. she

i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. the expression is march comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. it may not be the case for gas prices. we have already broken the record for march and it's the beginning of the month. >> the average price per gallon, 3 cloin 52, up about a penny from monday. this time last year, we were only paying $2.75. we'll talk about why prices seem to go up every day and why we pay more in the spring and summer months ahead. >> also ahead, a potentially dangerous way to lose weight called combo pilling. it's taking a mixture of prescription drugs to shed pounds. it can come with troubling side effects. who one woman who did it will share her story. >> it's an exciting morning for us launching our new website today.com. to mark the event we are doing something we have never done before. >> starting in the next half hour, while we are on the air kathie lee and hoda will be live online hosting the today.com show showing you what goes on behind the scenes during "today." they are upstairs in

i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. we've got people in 14 states doing a lot of cleaning up after the deadly storms on monday. >> that's right. there were reports of tornadoes in indiana, kentucky and tennessee where one man was killed when he was pinned under a trailer. torrential rains triggered flooding in ohio, pennsylvania and tennessee. we'll have the latest in a live report and al's forecast just ahead. >> on a much different note she's one of america's most beloved tv moms. we're talking about meredith baxter, she plays elise keaton on "family ties." she announced she was a lesbian she actually did it on this show in 2009. now she's written a memoir about coming to terms with that as well as her career. she'll be here to share part of that story in a live interview. >> and a new interview with charlie sheen and his so-called goddesses. what's it like to live with the actor? they will fill us in. coming up. >> let us begin with the bad wild weather that spawned deadly tornadoes in the midwest and the south. mike

i'm meredith vieira. >> i'm matt lauer. the storm we have been talking about for 48 hours is slowly making its way into our area. it will make for a sense couple of days in the northeast, especially for people in flood-prone area. we are talking as much as five, maybe even six inches of rain in some places. >> in new jersey, governor chris christie has declared a state of emergency. this is part of the same smm that slammed the south wednesday with tornadoes, rain and high winds. by the time it is through more than 100 million americans will be affected by the storm. details coming up. >> also ahead, mel gibson is set to plead no contests to charges he hit his now ex-girlfriend. is justice being served? did the tapes tell the whole story? the latest on that. >> plus, the age old parenting dilemma sparked by this picture of tom cruise and katie holmes's daughter suri. she's almost 5 and was spotted with a pacifier. how old is too old? problems up and down the east coast. nbc's ron allen is in wayne, new jersey, for us. ron,

from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," "disaster in japan" with matt lauer and meredith vieira live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning. welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm savannah guthrie in for meredith who is on assignment. it feels like a sign of just how desperate things are in japan that they're willing to try such a long shot. helicopters dropping water from the air. >> take a look. you're looking at the video right now. as you can see when they do that a significant amount of that water seems to be dispersed by the wind. now massive high pressure water cannesens, the kind you maybe have seen police use on rioters are going to be used to hose down reactors from the ground. the latest on this desperate attempt coming up just ahead. >>> meanwhile, growing disagreement today between officials in japan and here in the u.s. over the severity of this situation. the chair of the u.s. regulatory commission believes a storage pool holding highly radioactive spent fuel rods may be completely empty at this point and that at times radia

meanwhile inside studio 1a i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer.ahead in this half hour, what does actor george clooney have to do with the sex and corruption trial of italian prime minister silvio berlusconi? straight ahead, why his name is included as a potential witness for the defense. >>> and ahead, dating is nothing new on college campuses but there is a controversial website at some schools making it easier for students to hook up for casual sex. a lot of people think this is not a good idea, saying it's just not safe. we'll have details on that. >> plus, the twin toddlers who appear to be carrying on a conversation. we may not understand them, but do they understand each other? we're going to talk about that. >>> we're going to begin in florida where an honors student is accused of using a stolen gun to pistol whip and threaten her mother in order to get a car. kerry sanders is in ft. myers, florida, with details. good morning. bizarre story. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, meredith. the 17-year-old is being held here at juvenile detention

i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer and al roker. it is cold. >> yeah. coming up, a great career opportunity, but you have to leave your spouse and your children for six months. would you take it? >> it's a hard call. >> one woman did. during their time apart, she realized that she didn't want to be a full-time mom. now she is opening up about that choice in a very honest memoir. we'll talk to her about decision and also the criticism that she has faced. >>> we are also going to spend some time with a young lady from georgia named ruby. she has had a long-time battle with weight. she at one point reached 716 points. decided to do something about it. let some reality television cameras follow her around. had great success, but this year a little bit of a setback. ruby is going to be here to talk about that and how she gets back on track in just a little while. >>> and then later on,fitness guru and his wife, tony little, talk about the health scare that literally brought them to their knees. we'll talk about that coming up. >>> first, let's get a check of

i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer. coming up the baby putting a smile on the faces of millions of people worldwide. >> that's micah mcarthur, star of one of the hottest youtube videos now laughing hysterically as his unemployed father rips up a job rejection letter. micah is in the house, checking himself out on the monitor. we'll talk to his parents about the funny video. >> it's the best. plus latoya jackson calls herself the maverick of the jackson family. she's taking on a new challenge now on "celebrity apprentice." we'll talk to her about that and the latest developments in the case of her brother motorcycich death. >> we all fly a lot. are you afraid of germs and bed bugs? what you can do to avoid leaving the next flight with cold, flu or unwanted guests. >> on the casey anthony case prosecuting attorneys and lawyers are laying the ground work for the case. kerry sanders has the latest. good morning, kerry. >> reporter: well, good morning, meredith. for the past two days and again today lawyers will argue what e

meredith vieira will be tweeting for the very first time. her twitter handle is @meredith vieira. is starting at 7:30 with hoda and kathie lee tomorrow at today.com as well. >> coming up in this half hour, the latest on charlie sheen. the embattled actor may not be working but he didn't take the weekend off either. he hosted a web cast from his home. we'll have an update on his efforts to get his kids and hit tv show back and new video from inside his mansion. >> love that hat. also ahead, making your home more pet-friendly from the best alternatives to your shoes for chewing on to the easiest ways to clean up after your four-legged friends. >> so cute. >> having a romantic moment. >> sitting here with a candle. >> oh. >> i'm leaving. >> we embarrassed him. >> i'm done with the close-up. >> oh, lucky. so cute. there goes mommy. >> also in "today's kitchen" what are the must have ingredients you should always have in the pantry? chef giada shares what she keeps on hand in the kitchen as we whip up simple dishes using her favorite ingredients. first, al, all smiles this morning. how

. >> i'm meredith vieira. take a look at little falls, new jersey, where homeowners are dealing with some of the worst flooding there in years. >> the flooding is the result of the storm we told you about hear monday morning. it hit sunday night into monday causing creeks and rivers to overflow their banks. as we mentioned the storm headed to the northeast today is expected to create even more problems in this area. the latest in a live report and al's forecast in just a bit. >> also a warning if you use a wireless internet router. imagine sitting home when a dozen fbi agents storm in and accuse you of trafficking in child pornography. it happened to one stunned man in florida because someone else was stealing his signal. he will share his story and we'll tell you how to keep your computer safe. >>> and charlie sheen blasts his bosses in another online conversation. now at least one mental health expert says the actor should be hospitalized against his will. he'll explain why. but let's begin with flooding in

i'm matt lauer along with ann curry filling in for meredith vieira.half hour we'll talk about planning your summer vacation. if you went to your friends and said, i will be renting a villa on my next location. >> la-di-da. >> get a load of mrs. vanderbilt. actually they can be an affordable option to pricey hotels. kate maxwell is here from conde nast travel. >> we did that one time. with our family. >> let's clear that up. with our families. >> martha stewart's in the house and will show us how to make savory pies which sounds perfect for today. you can see on the table that bacon is involved. >> mushrooms, garlic and bacon. the smells are intoxicating. >> i love it. >> also coming up, there are so many different kinds of websites out there. especially for online dating. there's a site out there for people who want to have an affair. >> yeah. >> the tagline is, life is short, have an affair. we'll introduce you to people who have been doing this. >> i wonder how much money that site is making. >> do they charge? >> they must have some way. let's get

paid for by nbc-universal television >>> from nbc news, this is "today," with matt lauer, and meredith vieira. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning, welcome to "today" on a thursday morning, i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm ann curry in for meredith. good morning. first, that control tower story is crazy. and let's talk about this weather. here in new york, we had everything. rain, hail, snow, even thundersnow. but, man, nothing like the storms in pennsylvania. >> looks at that. there's some video of a twister. this is one that did the most damage. it was in greensburg, just outside of pittsburgh. as you can see, caught on tape. as well as a major hail storm there. we're going to get the latest in a live report. al will give us the forecast in a couple of minutes. >>> in the meantime, we'll get our first look inside the nuclear power plant in japan. you can see the dangerous and dark conditions those heroic workers are battling as they try to restore power to the reactors. and overnight two of those workers had to be rushed to the hospital after being exposed to radioactive

i'm meredith vieira along with ann curry and al roker.that, but 8.9 earthquake. the worst they've ever seen and that was followed by the tsunami waves up to 33 feet high. several hundred bodies found in northeast japan, 200 to 300, more than 100 others confirmed dead. at least 350 people still missing and more than 50 aftershocks in japan. >> registering 6.0. >> pretty devastating to watch this image. you're looking at the tsunami hitting parts of japan and moving as fast as a jumbo jet. reports that these things can move at something like 500 miles per hour. >> they can travel a real distance because of that. >> the waves generated by the tsunami are hitting california. jeff ranieri is in california. good morning. >> good morning, meredith. we're continuing to watch the water behind me. we are in a low-tide psychoal and the water really doesn't look too much different than an average day here in san francisco, but, as we've already heard, some of this higher wave action already hitting portions of oregon and moving to the south. we are u