mr. mandela to experience it while he's still around. we want him to see the outpour of love and goodwill while he's still around. what better way to do it than participating in a day like mandela day? >> reporter: however, for those who really want to give him something this birthday, his personal assistant has a few suggestions. >> simple thing like a good pair of slippers, a blanket, something that makes his life more comfortable. a good book or autobiography. he enjoys reading. good music. simple things in life that still makes him happy. ♪ nelson mandela >> reporter: robin kernow, cnn, johannesburg, south africa. >>> among those wishing mandela happy birthday, cedric suesman with the southern center for international studies, the cousin of the late ellen souzman who challenged south africa's apartheid and visit s. mandela in jail weekly. he's joining us. >> thanks for the invitation. >> this is a fantastic birthday celebration, as is every birthday, particularly for this man, nelson mandela. his legacy is extraordinary. however, he i

mr. mandela. >>> cindy lauper and lil' kim together at last.t was a tribute to a human rights icon that brought them to the same stage. >>> let's talk now about what matters. president barack obama says he wants african-american children to aspire to be more than the next great athlete or entertainer. he spoke at the naacp centennial celebration in new york this week. take a listen. >> it also means pushing children to set their sayings a little bit higher. they might think they've got a pretty good jump shot. or a pretty good flow. but our kids can't all aspire to be lebron or lil wayne. i want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers. doctors and teachers. not just ballers and rappers. i want them aspiring to be a supreme court justice. i want them aspiring to be the president of the united states of america. >> okay. see that man right there? that's stephen a. smith, he's a journalist and former espn anchor, radio analyst. also a trumpet, one of the vices in the african-american community. we appreciate you joining us. you heard him, he

mr. mandela. p car insurance company in the nation. but, it's not like we're kicking back, now, havin' a cuppa tea. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently rated excellent or better in terms of financial strength. gecko vo: second rule: "don't steal a coworker's egg salad, 'specially if it's marked "the gecko." come on people. >>> in the pensacola, florida, area, stunning new details keep surfacing in the wake of a deadly home invasion. we're going to go in-depth into this story this hour. first, a small safe allegedly taken during the home invasion was recovered, buried in the backyard of pamela long wiggins. susan candiotti takes a closer look at the lone woman suspect in the double killings of byrd and melanie billings. >> reporter: charged as an accessory after the fact to murder, pamela long wiggins smiles as

mr. mandela back in 2007? >> yeah, we did.africa, we got the opportunity to sit down and spend some beautiful time, which is amazing video man who's spread so much light to the world. so it was a beautiful time for them. i think my littlest was shaking, she could barely speak she was so impressed with the exchange. >> you it too, to meet nelson mandela, i would probably feel the same way. i get to meet a lot of dignitaries, but man, that is certainly an honor. what did you take away, anything personally from his life or from meeting him? >> oh, the meaning of his life, i think what's most important that i really learned in a deep way was about reconciliation and people being able to come together. no matter what the circumstances were before that, if we go with a common goal and the common goal good and for us to exist together in a great way, that it can happen, and that an individual can like -- can impress the world, touch the world in such a powerful way. and each one of us can add our little bit to that. he's someone that

mr. mandela, who spent 67 years of his life fighting for social justice, basically the campaign is makingheir time to doing good. we're getting over 4,000 volunteers signing a day. it's fantastic. >> it is. the first global celebration of mandela. tim, good luck with you. josh, good to see you again. >> thank you. >> let us now get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> "today's uv index" is brought to you by the american cancer society. the official sponsor of birthdays. quote we're in the risk for showers and storms today. partly sunny today and more clouds by this afternoon and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thanks very much. when we come back, how to change your weight fate, and the all-american rejects in concert. but first on a friday morning, this is "today" on nbc. >>> back now at 8:37. this morning on "take it off "today,"" your weight fate. how will your lifestyle today affect your weight down the road. the editor in chief of self magazine and madeline is a contributor to ivillage dotcom. some key questions here. we're going to go through the entire day. let's

mr. mandela, who spent 67 years of his life fighting for social justice, basically the campaign is makingtime to doing good. we're getting over 4,000 volunteers signing a day. it's fantastic. >> it is. the first global celebration of mandela. tim, good luck with you. josh, good to see you again. >> thank you. >> let us now get a check of the weather rom. merokr. >> "today's uv index" is brought to you by the american cancer society. the official sponsor of birthdays. >> and a warm one out here. the sun is out. going to need sunscreen here in manhattan. let's see, you can see a slight risk today, stretching from interior new york all the way down into the mid-atlantic states and the southeast. also a slight risk from texas into parts of colorado. record highs will continue again in the pacific northwest, except for right along the >>> it's a mild and humid friday morning around our region. sunshine here around washington, north and east. south and west mostly cloudy across much of virginia and the shenandoah valley. the areas of blue, sprinkles now in southern fauquier county and culpepper